I had drinks with some friends at Golden Monkey (I accepted one drink from a friend, for free), an Asian-themed bar on Hardware Lane. Very lovely and atmospheric, and delicious food, but they only seemed to have a single menu as they kept taking it away from us, and the staff was quite aggressive in trying to get us to buy drinks.

Boyfriend-creature threw a cushion at Erika just as this picture was being taken. Classic.

When Golden Monkey started to get busy, we moved to Cafe Giraffe on Little Lonsdale Street, not far from Hardware Lane. Cafe Giraffe has quirky, homey decor, and I want to live there. They have delicious, incredibly rich desserts, too (I accepted a dark Italian hot chocolate from Boyfriend-creature).

me with katy and andy. they are so cute.

What’s your favourite quirky cafe or bar?

Downshifting is a social behavior or trend in which individuals live simpler lives to escape from the rat race of obsessive materialism and to reduce the “stress, overtime, and psychological expense that may accompany it.” It emphasizes finding an improved balance between leisure and work and focusing life goals on personal fulfillment and relationship building instead of the all-consuming pursuit of economic success. (Source: Wikipedia)

I became interested in the concept of downshifting at around the time I first heard about The Compact. I thought long and hard about how I might embrace downshifting in my life, and accepting the no spending challenge seemed like the ideal first step. Other ways people usually downshift — working part-time instead of full-time, downshifting from two cars to one, trading a highly paid, soul-destroying job for fulfilling work and a much lower salary– aren’t available to me, as I haven’t really ‘upshifted’ yet. I’m a full-time student, living at my parents’ house, and not working — can’t shift further down than that.

When I hear a new concept that resonates with me it tends to make itself a part of me without me even really noticing. It becomes a theme in my life, a paradigm, a way of thinking, and it exerts its influence almost imperceptibly. Instead of downshifting in the ways I’d read about — possessions, occupation, and so on — I found myself downshifting my aspirations, goals and pursuits.

One night, after I’d spent an entire day making origami and not doing anything productive, I wrote down everything I was doing, trying to do, or saying I would do, but avoiding. I came up with 18 things. This shocked me. I’m only one person, how can I possibly expect to do 18 things at once? But I was afraid of cutting down my list, because I believed that I must be an overachiever and a Renaissance woman in order to be successful.

I spoke to Best Friend-creature about it and she said, “i can’t remember the last time you completed a long term or even medium term project you set yourself, and by being involved with so many things, you rob yourself of the joy and satisfaction of completing any of them.” OUCH. But true. By overloading myself, I have ended up achieving fewer things and being less successful than if I had put my energy into only a few things. Together, Best Friend-creature and I adapted Stephen Covey’s four quadrants to help me take my list down to a manageable size. Here’s how.

The art of decluttering your life

You will need

- A pen and paper
- Courage

1. Write down everything you are doing right now, including the things you are supposed to be doing, and things you say you will do in the immediate future, but never seem to get around to.

2. On a fresh sheet of paper, write down the following headings: Necessary and Important, Not Necessary and Important, Not Important and Not Necessary.

Necessary refers to the bare minimum, tasks essential to your well-being and long-term goals; the things you must do even if you do nothing else.

Important refers to tasks and pursuits that are related to your long-term goals, and/or contribute to your happiness.

3. Sort your list into the three categories. Be ruthless. Ask yourself if something is really important or necessary to you.

4. Mentally shelve everything that is in your ‘Not Important’ and ‘Not Necessary’ column. Phase these things out of your life.

Here’s how I categorised my 18 things:

Necessary:

- Healthy eating
- Exercise
- Classes and study when uni is on
- The Work when I’m feeling depressed, down or anxious
- Not spending in 2010

Important and not necessary

- The Work as a daily practice.
- Physiotherapy exercises.
- bleedingbeauty_ membership (bleedingbeauty_ is a community I’m part of on LiveJournal).
- Writing.
- Weekly yoga classes.

Examples of not necessary and not important pursuits, removed because they didn’t contribute to my long-term goals:

- Involvement in the student union at my university.
- My Day Zero list.
- A serious approach to my personal blog (though I love it, I won’t be trying to get readers, improve my Technorati rating, or anyting of the sort).
- Making a series of paintings of the Australian Bush Flower Essences flowers.

Do you overload yourself? Tell me about it!

It wasn’t difficult to come up with an anniversary/Valentine’s Day present that wouldn’t entail buying anything. Six months ago I’d bought a tourist map of Melbourne, intending to circle places that have been important or special to us, and make a key to the map with place names and photos. I was going to present it Boyfriend-creature for our 3.5th anniversary. After I bought the map, I had second thoughts. I wondered if he would really appreciate it, or whether it would be just another thing that he would look at once and put in a box, never to be seen again (he doesn’t like a lot of ‘stuff’ around). I doubted that he would appreciate it, so I scrapped the idea. But then, on a trip to Phillip Island last month, I brought the map with us, explaining to him why I’d bought it in the first place. He said, “Oh, I would have loved that!”. So I made it for him.

The Love Map

I have a lot of crafting supplies, so for someone without a stockpile of notebooks, stickers, rubber stamps and so on, this could be an expensive venture. For me, it was entirely free.

I circled each place with a heart, and gave each heart a number. In a gorgeous notebook from Kikki K, bought mid last year and never used, I made a key that named each place and explained why it was special to us.

I added the stamped letters and cat sticker to the cover, of the notebook, the rest of the design was already there.

When you open the journal from the front, it’s all about the suburbs and surrounds of Melbourne.

Here’s a sample spread:

When you open it from the back, you get the key to the city.

I also gave him this bizarre card by Edward Monkton, which I bought last year and have been dying to give to him. It’s printed on 100% recycled paper, with environmentally-friendly ink, and it came in a compostable cellophane bag. I bought it at The Green Store on Brunswick Street.

Boyfriend-creature was really touched by the Love Map, and he wants to add his memories to it. He also wants to keep adding places as our relationship progresses. Overall a successful spend-free present, I think!

Tell me about a romantic (or otherwise!) gift you made for someone.

What are the quotes you turn to for inspiration?

I was interested when a friend of mine Gauri started a blog on how she would cease from shopping for non-essentials for a year. We all know that shopping and buying things we don’t need are big problems when it comes to reducing our environmental footprint. She kindly consented to an interview for Green Renters.

1. Why have you decided to not spend any money in 2010?

I’m a full-time student and part-time credit card abuser with a dysfunctional relationship to shopping. I’ve really bought into the whole ‘retail therapy’ paradigm and I’ve regularly used shopping as a way to suppress loneliness, depression and boredom. As you can imagine, this has landed me in a fair bit of debt. I’ve also accumulated a lot of ’stuff’ that I neither need nor love. It’s incredibly wasteful, and compulsive shopping carries environmental implications which I’m ashamed to say I’ve willingly overlooked in favour of having new ’stuff’. I’m hoping that by going cold turkey and not spending any money this year I’ll sever that connection between emotions and shopping. I’m also hoping to create a less wasteful, cluttered life for myself, and to get out of debt!

Read the rest here!

Origami is incredibly cheap, even free, if you are prepared to use paper you already have.

I was taught to make paper cranes as a class exercise in grade four. I remember it being a very frustrating exercise as my eight-year-old fingers weren’t particularly good at making small, precise movements (my 25-year-old fingers still aren’t). I was never a patient child, and by then I had learned to scorn anything I wasn’t immediately good at. Because it was a class exercise, though, I was encouraged to stick with it.  When I got the hang of it I became excited. At eight I had already settled into my pattern of being too ambitious, and of lacking any realistic idea of how much I can achieve. I told myself I would make 1000 paper cranes that year, like Sadako. Over my lifetime I have made no more than 50, and most of them eventually found their way into the recycling bin.

A friend came over yesterday and we decided to make cranes together,  my first crane in at least 6 years. I’d forgotten how, so we watched a tutorial on YouTube. And now, suddenly, I have origami fever.

Origami is incredibly cheap, even free, if you are prepared to use paper you already have. I have a stack of square, medium-weight scrapbooking sheets I picked up last year at Kmart. At $19 for 167 sheets, I feel pretty proud of myself.

I made twelve cranes this morning to hang in my room. It was a delightful, meditative experience, making precise folds, watching the transformation.

It’s strange, when I look at the cranes hanging by my bedside, I experience an internal silence. There’s something magical about cranes.

I also made these hearts which I’m thinking of giving as gifts.

I’ve been wondering what I can give people for birthdays, seeing as I can’t buy anything. I was thinking of giving a stack of handmade tags (I have the supplies already), origami hearts and stars to use in their own gift giving. I may even make my own wrapping paper by stencilling brown paper and include that in the package. I don’t know, is that cheap?

I could also make some cute origami rings for my female friends.

Are you an origami enthusiast? Got any tutorials for me? Show off your origami creations here!

Also: How do you feel about giving, or receiving handmade gifts? What are some handmade gift ideas?

Reading back through the entries, I found myself thinking, What happened to that girl? What happened to that bubbly, independent, creative woman who took risks, creative and otherwise? What happened to the writer, singer, guitarist and band member? And how can I get her back?

In 2003 I was much more prone to deep troughs of mood than I am now. I was also capable of euphoric peaks that now seem unattainable. At some stage along the way, I must have made the unconscious decision to sacrifice that euphoria in favour of a more steady mood, a more comfortable (read: reclusive) existence.

The solution? I’m going to do The Artist’s Way again.

The Artist’s Way is Julia Cameron’s 12-week creativity course in a book. It is designed to help anyone who picks it up to either discover or rediscover their creativity. It is a book meant for everyone, whether you are a writer, painter, screenwriter, graphic designer, origami artist, knitter, lawyer, pharmacist, executive or entrepreneur.

In order to (re)awaken your dormant artist, the book guides you through stimulating and challenging weekly essays and exercises. While doing the course you embark on weekly ‘artist dates’, stimulating solitary larks designed to tickle your inner arist. You are also required to writing daily morning pages (three pages of stream of consciousness writing).

I first did the course in 2003. Under its influence I began my first novel as an adult, participated in Nanowrimo, and formed my first band as an adult. It had an incalculable positive impact on my creative life. I’m hoping it will have the same affect on the person I am today.

The book can be purchased through the official website, and through Amazon.

Have you done The Artist’s Way before? Of so,what were your experiences? If not, have you undertaken any other creativity course?

Exercising I’m trying for at least three gold star days per week. Gold star days are when I manage to do my full exercise routine (yoga, cardio and strength training, or just yoga and cardio, depending on the day), AND I don’t eat any junk food. My exercise routine takes one to two hours, and I love it. I feel energised, relaxed and happy afterwards. Cost: Free.

Visiting the library My friend K is trying to save for a home loan, and so we are both in a non-spendy frame of mind. During our latest hang-out session we brainstormed spend-free entertainment ideas. Among them were walks, trips to the library, free activities around Melbourne, and gardening. Settling on a trip to the library as our afternoon’s activity, we meandered down to K’s local and amused ourselves among the shelves. From pointing out strange titles to discussing books we’d read, we passed an hour happily perusing, and ended up with a stack of books and CDs promising future spend-free pleasure. K let me borrow a book on her card (mine has a $50 fine on it — EEK), Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich, which I’m excited to start reading. We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, eating Tim Tams (which were on special for $2 at Coles!), and reading to each other from the various books we got. Cost: $3.70 (Tim Tams and bus ticket).

Visiting the beach Boyfriend-creature and I went to the beach at Edithvale. Unfortunately the water wasn’t still, and although it’s a bay beach and the waves are much smaller and gentler than they are at an ocean beach, it was annoying to have to constantly avoid being dunked. We have decided that every time we want to go to the beach, we will drive an hour down to Rosebud, which has beautiful, still waters. Cost: $4 (snacks on the beach, Boyfriend-creature paid for the petrol).

Playing the Sims Boyfriend-creature bought me The Sims 3 for my birthday last year, and since my computer is too old to run it, I play it in snatches when I visit him. My favourite thing is to make Sim versions of myself and Boyfriend-creature and then to make them breed. I can play The Sims for hours. Endless amusement. Cost: Free.

Reading (actually rereading) Janet Evanovich’s Twelve Sharp. The Janet Evanovich numbers series is sexy, quirky and funny, and they are great comfort reading. I already own most of the Numbers series and I never get tired of reading them. Cost: Free.

Studying and working I’m trying to revise what I learned in nutrition during the last two years of uni. So far it’s not going so well, mainly because I keep not studying. Procrastination is of course, Free.

Blogging Self-explanatory! Cost: Free since my parents pay for the internet.

Emailing friends I have a few friends overseas who I haven’t been keeping in touch with as much as I would like to. It’s wonderful to get back in touch with them with all the time that  not buying anything has freed up. Cost: Email is free!

All of these activities could have been done for free if not for my love of junk food! Which I suppose counts as an unnecessary expense, but I find it very difficult to give up. I am trying, though.

Got any spend-free fun you can recommend to me?

Now here it is, the reason organic is better: Tasteless supermarket produce, no matter how healthy it is on paper, often goes uneaten. And how can food be healthy if you don’t eat it in the first place?

Whether you believe that certified organic food has nutritional benefits over conventional produce, or that claims of superior nutrition are just a way to con idiots out of their money, one thing can’t be denied: organic food from a reputable source just tastes better. An unassuming mango, perhaps bruised and a little shrivelled on the outside, opens up to reveal flesh that is so soft and so sweet that you enter a kind of meditative state when eating it.

Personally I believe that organic food is healthier than conventional food. You don’t need scientific experiments to figure this one out. On the one hand, there is organic food which, when not obtained from the supermarket or the now-defunct Macro, is an absolute treat for the taste buds. On the other, you have bland and watery supermarket produce, where you’re never quite sure if you’re eating an apple or a toilet roll. Now here it is, the reason organic is better: tasteless food, no matter how healthy it is on paper, often goes uneaten. And how can food be healthy if you don’t eat it in the first place?

Each week I have a box of beautiful organic food delivered to my door by The Green Line Organic Direct, and I have had many a meditative experience with Green Line mangoes, apricots, strawberries, blueberries, sweet potatoes, baby spinach, mushrooms, and the list goes on. Sourcing a wide range of fresh and non-perishable goodies from Victorian or Australian suppliers, The Green Line is a tasty, convenient, environmentally friendly and relatively cheap choice for Victorians.

There are two ways of shopping with The Green Line.

• You can itemise your order and choose exactly what you’d like included in your delivery. This way is a little more expensive, but you have a lot more control over what appears. If a particular item is not available at the time of ordering, they will either replace it with a similar item, or simply deduct the cost from your invoice total.
• You can order a seasonal box of fresh produce. If you use this method, you do not get to choose exactly what goes into your box, but you do enjoy greater value for money. Seasonal boxes are priced according to size ($35-$100 for mixed fruit and vegetable boxes of various sizes), or according to contents ($40 flat for a box containing only fruit, and the same price for one containing only vegetables). There is also a $60 box that contains $35 worth of fruit and vegetables and a few staples such as eggs and bread. Of course you can order a seasonal box and itemise a selection of other staples and non-perishables to go with it.

As I am a picky eater, I itemise my order. This lovely selection cost me $66 including postage and handling.

Payment is accepted by credit card or direct debit. Deliveries are made to metro regions on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (non-metro regions are also catered for), and you do not have to be home to receive your delivery. You can also elect to have your empty cardboard boxes collected at the time of delivery, to be reused.

There are membership options, too. I’ve been a member with the Green Line for nine months or so. Membership costs $27.50 for 12 months and with it you enjoy free postage and handling for standing orders or orders over $100, and discount metro postage and handling for orders under $100 (I’m usually charged around $5.60 per box). You also get a 100% money back guarantee for perishables that don’t meet your expectations. Occasionally The Green Line will make a mistake with your order, either forgetting to include an item, or sending you the wrong item by mistake. In the case of mistakes, the courteous staff will refund your money if you shoot them an email as soon as possible.

What’s your opinion on organic food? Good? Bad? Why?