Table of Contents

Introduction 1 Reality check Live to work - or work to live? Think carefully about your work/life balance or you may find yourself churning round the work treadmill so intensely that life passes you by completely. 2 Commuting costs Commuting has costs in terms of money, time, and the environment -- but perhaps most importantly in terms of personal stress. There are alternatives that offer benefits to you, and your employer. 3 All aboard? You've decided to downshift. You're brimming with enthusiasm, but who's that in the corner with a face like thunder? Make sure the family shares your dreams before you go too far! 4 Cheap as chips Frugal living - is it Scrooge-like penny pinching or everyday money saving? Well, it's up to you to decide how far you want to go. 5 Check out your assets Controlling your money gives you control of your life. It buys your freedom. Money under control gives you a breather and can release you from a job you hate. 6 Jump off the consumer carousel New isn't always the best. And second-hand is not a pauper's option, it's a thrifty one. Be careful with your money and buy yourself more free time. 7 Cut the crap: decluttering for dummies As we go through life, we all collect piles of crap that we drag along behind us like Jacob Marley's chains - but the more we have, the more there is to keep clean and tidy. Declutter and free yourself! 8 Supplementing is great for your health No matter what you decide to do to downshift - work 'smarter', garden farm or move to a smallholding - putting a little extra money in your pocket doesn't hurt. 9 Happy homebody Is commuting getting you down? Do workplace politics leave you cold? Consider working from home and leave all that stress behind you. 10 Getting down to business Have you always fancied being your own boss and starting your own business? Think carefully about the pros and cons to save you from exchanging one sort of stressful life for another. 11 Release your creative self No time for that novel you've always wanted to write? Want to take time to look at the scenery - and paint it? Downshifting gives you the chance to get your creative juices flowing. 12 Get fresh in the kitchen Moving to the country is not going to turn you into a keen cook overnight but when you are faced with all of that fresh produce, bursting with vitamins and minerals, it really is time to become creative in the kitchen. 13 Wholefood for the soul Downshifting is all about improving your quality of life. This includes being good to yourself and stepping off the stress treadmill. 14 Self-sufficient in suburbia: garden farming Is it really possible to create a downshifted Utopia without moving to the country? The simple answer is yes. It's all a matter of scale. 15 Should I stay or should I go? Moving to the country The countryside has a culture all of its own, where life moves at a different pace. This can be wonderful - if you adjust. 16 Look before you leap: finding out more If you are wondering how to get started with downshifting, becoming self-sufficient or productive gardening, you need to do your research. 17 Cabin fever families: downshifting with children Many people who decide to downshift have kids. In fact, your kids may well be the reason you decide to downshift. What's the downshifting experience like for them - rural heaven or pastoral purgatory? 18 A lot of scope for growth Allotments are of vital importance, giving many urban dwellers and those with tiny gardens an opportunity to become at least partially self-sufficient. 19 Scaling up: buying a smallholding You have been growing vegetables and fruit for some time; you may even have some chickens. If you do decide to go the whole hog and buy a smallholding, what should you look for? 20 The home run Once you become self-sufficient with food and other produce, you start to look closely at taking control other areas of your life, including the education of your children. 21 Frozen assets So you've grown a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables. You've made jam, pickles, chutney and wine. What else can you do to stop your crops going to waste? You can freeze them. 22 Catch the rhythm: live by the seasons Animals and plants work with the rhythms of the year. We, as humans, are programmed to do the same. 23 Tool time You can make your life much easier if you have the right tools for the job. As a downshifter, you need to know you've got what it takes in your shed. 24 The best laid plans... With adequate forethought, you will find you make fewer, potentially costly, mistakes, and that the plants you try to grow are suited to your site and soil. 25 Little weed! You've found your ideal vegetable garden - except that it's waist deep in nettles, docks and thistles. Take heart: with a little time and effort, you can beat them! 26 Get down and dirty If you are trying to buy a smallholding, check out the soil before you purchase the property - both the depth and type. Without good, hearty soil, your vegetables and fruit will never thrive. 27 A turn around the garden: crop rotation No, this doesn't mean you have to spin your carrots or turn your turnips. It just means that you don't grow the same type of crop in the same place every year. 28 Vegetable matters For many people, growing vegetables to feed their family is one of the main things they want to achieve when they downshift. There are many to choose from. 29 Get fruity! Fruit in jewel colours, ripened in the sun and brought straight to the table - what more could you ask for? Fruit is the crowning glory of any smallholding. 30 Self-contained Even a tiny garden - or an apartment with a yard - can be used to grow edible produce if you know what containers to use. 31 Food for free Canny downshifters don't eat just the fruits of their smallholding. They hunt all over for the bounties of nature - the ancient ancestors of the cultivated plants we eat today. 32 Good companions Planning a garden is like making a seating plan for a dinner party - you have to be careful about what you put together to make sure they get on. 33 Hitting the bottle Ruby red raspberry jelly, glowing blackberry jam, squash and red onion chutney, and peaches poached in brandy - preserves are the jewels of the downshifter's winter store cupboard. 34 The undercover gardener Providing plants with shelter from harsh weather allows you to extend the season and grow more tender crops. Bring on the 'polytunnel'! 35 Free and easy Propagation is easy and the equipment you need is cheap and readily available. Go ahead, get new plants for free. 36 Animal allies It is true that bugs can do harm in the garden but if you garden organically you'll be on the way to befriending beneficial insects and they'll help you to rid the garden of pests. 37 More honey for your money Bees are fabulous for the smallholder - drowsy but industrious, they remind us of ourselves! They also have the added benefit of providing honey and wax. 38 Chicken run Keeping hens is a delight. For very little effort, they repay you with eggs that taste better than any others you'll have eaten before -- even free range. 39 Magical muck Soil can easily become depleted if you do not nurture it carefully. Making your own compost is the best way to create fertility without recourse to chemicals. 40 Animal instincts If you have a smallholding, you might be toying with the idea of keeping livestock. Think carefully before you embark on what could be a long-term commitment. 41 Hedging your bets Hedges are the backbone of any smallholding. Planting them gives your garden structure and definition, and it's an investment for the future. 42 Fencing: on guard or en garde? Fences are vitally important for downshifters - not just because they delineate the edges of your property, but also because they keep livestock safe from going AWOL. 43 Wonderful willow Willow is one of nature's finest gifts to the crafty downshifter. A useful material employed since at least as early as the time of the ancient Egyptians, it is invaluable today. 44 Bodge it! Green woodworking For the smallholder, green woodworking offers the opportunity to make useful items for a fraction of what they'd cost to buy new. You can even grow your own raw materials. 45 What a load of rubbish! Smallholders are the undisputed kings and queens of recycling and reuse. It's not because we're a parsimonious bunch; we just don't like to see anything wasted. 46 The green gym Taking part in regular physical activity can halve your risk of developing heart disease. If gyms and sports centres don't appeal to you, consider your day-to-day activities. 47 Clean, green beauty queen Cosmetics and toiletries are jaw-droppingly expensive - for men and for women. So, take the downshifted option - make your own! 48 Home grown herbs Herbs can be used to flavour food, make houses fragrant, dye cloth and 'doctor' animals - and humans! Every garden should have some. 49 LETS make a difference LETS is a system of local community-based mutual aid networks. They are ideal for downshifters who have limited financial resources. 50 Boxes of delights: brown box organic schemes Many people today order organic vegetables to be delivered on a regular basis via 'brown box' schemes. As a smallholder, you may wish to join a scheme as a supplier. 51 Farmers' markets Farmers' markets have sprung up all over the world, in urban areas as much as in the country. They are ideal outlets for your surplus produce. 52 Downshifting to another country A restaurant in Spain or a guesthouse in Greece? Downshifting to warmer climes may be your ultimate dream, but it could go sour if you don't plan the move properly.

About the Author

Lynn Huggins-Cooper is a widely published author with well over 80 books in print for parents and their children. She is also a regular contributor to the Times Educational Supplement, Nursery Education, Prima, Disney Explorer and BBC Learning Magazine. She is a qualified primary teacher, praised by OFSTED as 'outstanding', who left the crowded South of England some years ago for the rural delights of County Durham.