Know how

Article categories

Grow your own

Whatever the scale of your ambitions or plot you'll find something useful here.

Make your own

Reduce your footprint by making your own, from knitting to soap-making to adorning your home.

Livestock and pets

Find out about rearing livestock from the farm to the garden, and doing the best for your pets.

Energy efficiency and construction

Discover how to adapt, change and even build your own home to enable you to tread more lightly upon the planet.

Cooking, preserving and home brewing

From the home brewery to ambitions of chefly grandeur. Find out how to do it all here and really taste the difference.

Wild food

Subsidise the larder in a sustainable way. From fishing, to shooting, to foraging safely, find it among these articles.

Conservation and the environment

Conserve our world for future generations. See how you can help in these pages.

Marketplace

From shopping with a conscience to building your own enterprise. Find advice and encouragement among these pages.

Everything else

Sometimes the diversity of downsizing can throw up an unusual topic.

Editorial

Past editorial items from the downsizer front page.

You are here: Home arrow Articles arrow Editorial arrow Spring 2015

Spring 2015 Print

Editorial Spring 2016

Written by Nell Merionwen

2016 is romping along with gusto.

Here we are at the beginning of spring already.

With bracing weather and promise of the year's harvests it is time to breath life back into the plots. Have a look here for an idea of what is to be done in March to get the best from the land you have. We have articles a plenty even if you are starting from scratch with a new allotment. If, however the land you have is diminutive in stature then don't lose heart. With this article you can see that having your own home grown in the kitchen is still a good goal to aspire to. In fact, we at downsizer believe that you can still eat your own home grown goodies even if you have no garden at all.

So come on, pull on those gloves and get stuck in.

Of course, we at downsizer are not just about growing your own. We also like to raise our own, and believe you can too. From raising your own chickens, an introduction to Beekeeping, or even first time lambing we are here to help with the assistance of our many resident experts.

We can even assist you in how to deal with the animal before it comes to the table. From butchery to a recipe database we have helpful information on it all.

It's not all about filling our bellies though. We also cater for the crafter in you. From aspiring knitters to breathing a new lease of life into that much loved piece of furniture; it is all within your grasp with our make your own section. You too could become a wizz with your hands.

Never far from our minds are the downsizer ideals of conservation and environment. We can assist you to tread more lightly on the planet. From cutting petrol consumption by jumping on your bike, to promoting essential flora and fauna with a wildlife garden it is all possible.

And once you have browsed the articles and found inspiration please sign up and share your ideas on our friendly forum. You will be made to feel most welcome.