Welcome!
I'm Frugal Trenches (no, not my real name!) a lover of natural, simple and frugal living! I use this space and my camera to document a beautiful, purposeful, downshifted and abundant life! Life is not always simple (oh how I wish it was!) but it is always rich and I hope this space demonstrates beauty and joy!
If you have a question, feel free to leave it in the comments! I read and appreciate every comment and will reply to questions within the comment section, even if it takes a day or two (or three, but whose counting!).
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Category Archives: Downshifting
Simple Living and Reducing Stress – Part I
Today, I am going to start a series on living simply and downshifting by reducing stress. The reality is that we all have stress in our lives, it is a normal, somewhat natural part of living, particularly in a modern … Continue reading
At What Cost….
All week, those three little words have been running through my mind. There have been events witnessed where I’ve wanted to sit people down with a nice mug of herbal tea and just look into their eyes and say “at … Continue reading
Posted in Downshifting, Dreams, Giving, Lessons Learned
Tagged good for the heart & soul
29 Comments
Life with no shopping!
Well I’ve officially made it past the 6 month mark….that is 6 months with none of the following: new clothes magazines new jewelry new make up or facial creams etc new CD’s or music new books new things for the … Continue reading
Posted in Downshifting, Dreams, Simplicity
21 Comments
The world is not a dangerous place!
Part of downshifting and simplicity is seeing the wonderfulness that exists in this world, our communities and our homes. Substitute North American media for UK media if you are a UK reader, sadly we have the same experience. “I think … Continue reading
Posted in Downshifting, Simplicity
20 Comments
Working 9 to 5…..!
Maybe in Dolly’s world but certainly not mine! Currently, how I feel, is more along the lines of: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat – Winston Churchill Everyone who reads this blog knows I want … Continue reading
Posted in Downshifting, Dreams, Goals
19 Comments
Learning Self Discipline
Since I started on this downshifting and financial responsibility path, I notice something, I have learned the art of self-discipline. Now, I was never in hordes of debt, I could always pay my bills, but, I thought nothing about seeing … Continue reading
Posted in Daily Tracking, Downshifting, Lessons Learned
13 Comments
The great BIG shop costs oh so little….come shopping with me!
I should preface this by saying I don’t buy cheap food. I don’t believe in buying processed nonsense and putting those toxins in my body. For a very long time my organic, local & fair trade (when not local) values … Continue reading
Posted in Downshifting, Eco Living, Frugal Food, Frugal Living
43 Comments
Why I’m NOT tempted by summer sales!
One thing I noticed when I lived in North America was how everyone told you what they bought on sale. Over lunch break @ work people would pop into the local mall or drug store (nothing like our small chemists … Continue reading
Posted in Downshifting, Frugal Living, Lessons Learned, Simplicity
5 Comments
Learning To Love Sundays
Before I began on this downshifting, simplicity path, I hated Sundays. They were filled with dread about the impending day. I did many things over the years to try to enjoy Sundays, most involved spending money and none helped me … Continue reading
Posted in Daily Tracking, Downshifting, Simplicity
13 Comments
Learning To Wait
Perhaps one of the biggest conveniences and advances in our society has centred around advances in technology that makes things happen in an instant. We can now microwave food in minutes, have fast food almost anything, pay our bills with … Continue reading
Posted in Downshifting, Frugal Living, Lessons Learned, Simplicity
14 Comments
