Posts in category “Creative Fat Grrl”

† Posted on 18 January 2026. Filed in Creative Fat Grrl. Tagged with creative, exploring.

Simple Suggestions from Simple Moodlings

Site by Maria K. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The first time I read this list, there were 100 simple things. It's a growing list and the site is still active as of right now. As long as her link/ site is still available, read this list on her site. Each simple thing links to a blog post where she writes about the idea. I'm just sharing the list.

Doodles + musings = moodlings about living simply, sustainably, and with gratitude, leaving a happier earth for future generations. Moodlings here include Voluntary Simplicity, writing, music, L'Arche, Taize, spirituality, efforts to grow a delicious and nutritious garden, caring for the less fortunate, life with a wonderful man, three amazing kids (who have left home but visit now and then), friends and extended family. All are welcome anytime.

275+ Simple Suggestions

I'll admit that a lot of these suggestions are of the stop-and-smell-the-roses variety, but others might not be quite so obvious...

The idea for 100 Simple Suggestions came to me one day as I was preparing a presentation for a 2011 Social Justice institute where I was invited to speak about Voluntary Simplicity. Wanting to give the participants a helpful handout, I ended up creating a little poster titled 100 Suggestions for Living More Simply. I figured people could take it home and put it on their fridges as a reminder (if anyone wants a copy of the poster, you can request it by sending an email to mjbpkrus@gmail. com and I'll send you a PDF file that you can print).

Then I thought, why not share it around further through my moodlings? And many moodlings were born... and many more after those 100...

If you like what you read, or want to borrow any of these ideas, you're welcome to them at no cost, but I'd ask simply that you leave me a comment about the suggestion you've chosen and how you plan to use it. It makes my day to know that ideas about living simply are making the rounds, and that people are trying to "live simply so that others can simply live."

The thing about living simply is that it's a little more complicated than buying the solutions consumer culture is constantly thrusting at us... but spending the extra time it takes to do things for ourselves is so much more satisfying than going to a mall, taking in pre-made entertainment, or using up the planet's resources when we already have enough.

I know that it's difficult to go back through Moodlings Past to find all the Simple Suggestions... so here they are, in order:

#1 Get to know your neighbours

#2 Appreciate beauty where you find it

#3 Garden like God does

#4 Learn to bake bread

#5 Walk instead of driving

#6 Drink fair trade coffee or tea

#7 Learn to play an instrument

#8 Dry your clothes on a clothesline

#9 Learn about and participate in recycling programs

#10 Join a community garden

#11 Use a library card

#12 Find hope in the rhythms of nature

#13 Install a water saving showerhead or a soap-up valve

#14 Support small businesses

#15 Avoid using pesticides and herbicides

#16 Get enough sleep

#17 Take a stay-cation

#18 Join a car pool

#19 Swap clothes with friends

#20 Compost

#21 Ride a bike

#22 Shop at garage sales and thrift stores

#23 Observe silence

#24 Use a rain barrel

#25 Rediscover your public park

#26 Share your possessions

#27 Repair things

#28 Turn off the television (or computer)

#29 Listen for songbirds

#30 Avoid shopping malls

#31 Give extra possessions to people who need them

#32 Fly a kite

#33 Pay cash for everything

#34 Reduce your intake of animal products

#35 Say thank you often

#36 Grow your own vegetables

#37 Reduce knick-knacks and unnecessary clutter

#38 Take public transit

#39 Terminate subscriptions and memberships for which you don't have time

#40 Use reusable shopping bags

#41 Track your water usage

#42 Use recycled paper products

#43 Practice mindfulness

#44 Reduce or eliminate cosmetics

#45 Write to politicians about issues important to you and your community

#46 Store memories, not souvenirs

#47 Avoid air travel

#48 Learn to sing your favourite songs

#49 Volunteer

#50 Observe and appreciate nature

#51 Memorize wisdom sayings

#52 Donate, trade or recycle at least one thing for every new thing acquired

#53 Tell stories

#54 Make soup from scratch

#55 Learn massage

#56 Buy electricity from a wind power provider

#57 Hang a bird feeder

#58 Donate all clothing you haven't worn in the past year

#59 Shop at a farmer's market

#60 Live a day without any plans

#61 Grow your own herbs

#62 Speak gently and thoughtfully

#63 Laugh often

#64 Drink more tap water

#65 Join a co-operative

#66 Donate blood

#67 Attend a local High School play

#68 Lie on the grass and watch the clouds

#69 Make something new from something old

#70 Have a picnic

#71 Give up TV for a week

#72 Recognize your true riches

#73 Be grateful

#74 Avoid collecting things

#75 Listen to your heartbeat

#76 Simplify your furnishings

#77 Donate all books you will never read again

#78 Invest in "Micro-Loan" organizations

#79 Give away kitchen utensils that haven't been used in a year

#80 Pack trashless lunches

#81 Jump into a pile of leaves

#82 Buy local where possible

#83 Carry an organ donor card

#84 Engage in justice issues

#85 Help someone who is learning English

#86 Bake two pies; give one away

#87 Invite an elderly neighbour to dinner

#88 Buy warm socks for the homeless

#89 Reduce the size of your ecological footprint

#90 Plan one vegetarian day a week

#91 Vote

#92 Join your community league

#93 Decorate with growing things

#94 Give the gift of time

#95 Write letters to loved ones

#96 Take a nap

#97 Rethink your support for professional sports

#98 Give experiential or edible gifts

#99 Teach a child a game from your childhood

#100 Count your blessings

#101 Reduce your junk mail

#102 Remember to "Buy Nothing"

#103 Avoid disposables

#104 Give the kids chores

#105 Think about safety

#106 Rethink the plastic in your life

#107 Visit a cemetery

#108 Naturalize your wardrobe

#109 Speak your mind

#110 Avoid low-fat, dietetic or calorie-wise foods

#111 Become a Master Composter/Recycler

#112 Try winter composting

#113 Eat mindfully

#114 Sing a song

#115 Unplug

#116 Set an example

#117 Think long-term

#118 Ditch your antiperspirant

#119 Make your own cleaners

#120 Grasscycle

#121 Put up a wasp scarer

#122 Learn to like dandelions

#123 Use rags

#124 Listen to some long-haired music

#125 Read together

#126 Listen for bees

#127 Fertilize your lawn with compost

#128 Declare your interdependence

#129 Start your own Amazing Club

#130 Use half as much

#131 Read some classic literature

#132 Take a hike

#133 Write something

#134 Consider alternative therapies

#135 Try canning

#136 Start small

#137 Learn more about Voluntary Simplicity

#138 Look out for ladybugs

#139 Count your squares

#140 Look to the skies

#141 Join a Simplicity Study Circle

#142 Gather ye carbons while ye may

#143 Give a thought to your garbage guys and gals

#144 Clear out your seasonal clothes closet

#145 Celebrate Buy Nothing Day all year round

#146 Attend a simple Christmas Pageant

#147 Opt out

#148 Go natural

#149 Grow your own sandwich sprouts

#150 Turn down the heat by two degrees

#151 Give a little love

#152 Use honey, Honey!

#153 Be something of a 'best before' date skeptic

#154 Go fragrance-free

#155 Support human dignity

#156 Eat mindfully, part II

#157 Drink wasteless coffee

#158 Remember your seven Rs

#159 Get to know the Queens of Green

#160 Embrace imperfection

#161 Boycott bad business and support the common good

#162 Reuse and reuse and reuse your plastic

#163 Spread a little compost

#164 Save your eggshells (and other things)

#165 Have a simple birthday

#166 Stand with the vulnerable

#167 Visit/tour your local waste/recycling facility

#168 Be e-free

#169 Grow your own herbal tea

#170 Plant a tree

#171 Live by the Hippocratic Oath

#172 Do some kitchen gardening

#173 Share some beauty and goodness

#175 Make a simple gift

#176 Just be

#177 Trade

#178 Hold hands

#179 Make time for someone special

#180 Press some autumn leaves

#181 Develop your own gratitude practice

#182 Keep a list of your wallet/purse contents

#183 Bell your cat

#184 Celebrate your saints

#185 Make the most of your jack-o'-lantern

#186 Meet a Voluntary Simplicity expert

#187 Take your travel mug

#188 Live within your needs

#189 Give a gift that makes a difference

#190 Turn over a new leaf (and/or some old ones)

#191 Lose a vehicle (more than 10 good reasons to...)

#192 Try natural hair care

#193 Say a simple hello

#194 Ask for smaller portions

#195 Enjoy the day's diamonds

#196 Support a local artisan

#197 Use every last bit

#198 Love a houseplant (or six)

#199 Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day

#200 Try some Earth Hour activism

#201 Consider your food's sources

#202 Plan a garden (start small)

#203 Share your knowledge

#204 Be nice to bees

#205 Wear sunglasses

#206 Enjoy a playground

#207 Celebrate Environment Week

#208 Read aloud

#209 Spend love miles, not air miles

#210 Take life more slowly

#211 Talk to strangers

#212 Meet a farmer or two

#213 Appreciate your present season

#214 Be childlike

#215 Use those bread crusts

#216 Try a broader perspective

#217 Support farmers' rights to save their seeds

#218 Take a break from technology

#219 Let sleeping plants lie

#220 Celebrate multiculturalism

#221 Befriend someone with a disability

#222 Share a Christmas story

#223 Sand, don't salt

#224 Listen

#225 Avoid "stuffocation"

#226 Craft wisely

#227 Don't be a "mess-it" -- bag it

#228 Bake some Easter bread

#229 Count your steps

#230 Organize a neighbourhood clean-up

#231 Develop an "outdoors habit"

#232 Make your own yogurt

#233 ALWAYS shop with reusable bags

#234 Live in wonder

#235 Be a positive example

#236 Climb a little

#237 Water less, mulch more

#238 Save some local fruit

#239 Get to know an immigrant or refugee

#240 Smile!

#241 Reduce and reuse those single-use items

#242 Reread an old journal

#243 Give gifts of the heart

#244 Simplify your Christmas season

#245 Retreat now and then

#246 Let little things be little things

#247 Buy clothes that you'll wear forever (shop smarter!)

#248 Appreciate the gift of water

#249 Attend an education session

#250 Wake up your compost

#251 Start a bee bistro

#252 Take a nature break

#253 Go back in time

#254 Have waste-less dinner parties

#255 Install a clothesline

#256 Give back to the earth

#257 Indulge your inner child

#258 Walk away from the cell phone

#259 Stick with soap bars

#260 Have a chat with nature

#261 Focus on one thing

#262 Let music lift you

#263 Consider all living things as neighbours

#264 Set yourself an eco-challenge, or join one

#265 Sing with a friend

#266 Stop with the straws

#267 Make a simple fruit fly trap

#268 Drive smarter

#269 Take an evening stroll

#270 Shop like a hunter

#271 Keep on recycling

#272 Start a seed

#273 Go beyond what's expected

#274 Join your organ donor registry

#275 Use compost instead of fertilizer

#276 Plant a local forest

#277 Change for climate

#278 Offer constructive input

#279 Do something just for joy's sake

#280 Ten tips for an almost wasteless wedding

#281 Make every day Earth Day

#282 Use the Waste Wise app

#283 Hug a tree

#284 Nominate a neighbour for Front Yards in Bloom

#285 Build a garden blanket fort

† Posted on 16 January 2026. Filed in Creative Fat Grrl. Tagged with health, self-improvement.

I Found a Feel Better To-Do List

Posted to Patreon by SimsDollhouse/ Cazz, South African Custom Content Clothing Creator for Sims 4. I'm sure she/ he does more than that. But, that's as much as I know. Posting it as is.

List of free things you can do to feel better:

Clean your space (even just your desk. Doesn't need to be the whole house in one go. I'm going room by room right now). But re-organising and clearing space allows your head to think clearer - I tried to fight it but they don't lie about that one haha.

Random suggestion I did: Not the typical cupboard clean of old clothes. Try the option of "do I like this?", "does this make me feel fat or uncomfortable?", "is this REALLY my style or am I being polite cos it was a gift?", "one day I will be skinny again and fit into it", "there are people with less than me, I can't throw this out, it's in good condition" etc. Well, then make a bag of old and damaged, and make a second bag of good condition that you can donate to someone more in need. If it's just sitting there and you never wear it or it makes you sad, or if you have bad memories attached... Get rid of it. Sell it, or give it away. Someone will love it. It doesn't have to be your reminder if you're already not feeling good enough about yourself.

Put pen to paper. If you're not a journal-ly type of person, that's ok too. You don't even need to be creative. Just get your emotions out in a constructive manner. You can draw (badly is really fine), or write down everything that makes you angry and then burn it if you're scared someone sees it. It's kind of therapeutic regardless of how you do it. Just get it out. Keeping things in is what makes us angry out of nowhere.

Give yourself a social media break. I went on and off Instagram etc. for the last few years, it does wonders when you're stuck in a comparison cycle. People don't post their shitty days - don't forget that. A lot is edited, or AI or just the best moments. I kind of like people not knowing my peace. Who am I trying to impress anyway? (Side note: I won't be posting here again, so you can follow me on IG to see what I do next, it's a self-made kids game. @cazztregurtha. But I like to stay private mostly. That happy girl you see there tried to kill herself 3 times since the first post. Just as an example. Not in the last 2 years though. But the thoughts creep in occasionally - it's a constant battle. And that's ok too.)

Make a playlist. I used to have one called "Sad shit 1", that I could have a good cry to haha. My boyfriend still laughs at me for this one cos there was never a Sad Shit 2. But I need to feel stuff sometimes, so it helps... But then change the playlist. Don't sit in the sadness. Use mine. If you hate my style of songs, make one that makes you want to get up. I have another one called "Badass Bitch" if I need motivation haha. I listen to this specific playlist here that I posted "💖" every morning for some motivation and as I write this. But I am very much a music feelings person. Once again, each to their own.

Cut out anyone who makes you feel "less-than" or keeps making toxic choices. Guys, this one is NOT EASY!!!!! I'm gonna be real with you. I have cut out my own mom, best friends and been divorced twice. At some point you need to start choosing yourself. Forgive them and forgive yourself, and then move forward. I now have a partner of two years who just picked me a baby sunflower this weekend on the side of the road when he went to cycle and carefully somehow cycled home with it in tact cos he knew it would make me smile. It's not hard, and does not require money to make someone feel special. Diamonds are not a girl's best friend. That's a lie. Feeling safe is. And your gut is normally right.

There's a cool app I started using called Shmoody. For people like me. You have to pay for full access, I can't right now and it still helps. Just be smart about it. It really is an every day little progress. You can't rush healing anyway.

Phone a friend/Play with a pet if you feel like you can't talk to anyone. It's ok. You have got this. Once the toxic people are gone, your heart has space to invite positivity. Being alone is scary, but if you focus on yourself, you'll stop making decisions that are bad for your life and your future. Once the noise is gone, your brain will have to decide what it actually likes itself. That's a tough one actually, hence the journaling idea.

Cook yourself something healthy. Yes, for some sad reason fast food is cheaper but your body and brain need nutrients to think properly. I know, I know, pizza is also my favourite thing. But I realised it was never about weight gain or being skinny. It's about your brain needing stuff to work best. There's plenty apps to ask or even free ChatGPT could probably give you a recipe of healthier stuff in your fridge if you gave it the list. I don't need a nap in the afternoon anymore. And I will be having pizza this week, do not fear haha. A whole one. My body's healthy weight is around 70kgs and I am only 165cms. So my BMI says otherwise, but I do still want to enjoy life thank you very much haha. It's just about more healthy choices than not. That's all you need to do. Ignore the scale and see how you feel internally. Some people thrive on less and some on more. It's irrelevant. My gorgeous and successful step mom is 20kgs less than me and taller. It really doesn't matter, that's what works for her. I'm tired of everyone trying to fit in the same mould. Your lifestyle, financial situation and medical reasons are your own. You don't need to fit society's perfection standards. That's all nonsense anyway.

Sleep schedule. I am guilty of this. I get inspired and will go for two nights without sleep. Then be depressed a few days later and wonder why like a dumbass haha. Yes, Caroline, you are tired because kids have bed times for a reason and that reason does not disappear when you're an adult.

Have you looked at nature lately? It's pretty beautiful. Here's an unedited pic of a butterfly I appreciated this weekend. If you look up from your phone, you'd be surprised at the world around you.

Write down your goals. Big silly ones that make you feel embarassed, and small achievable ones for your immediate future. From "Eat breakfast every day", to "I want a Grammy". Doesn't matter, just start.

Start a basic To-Do List. You do NOT have to conquer the world or rise up TODAY. There's no rush. Self-care, like playing a game is allowed to be on this list. In fact, it should.

Move your body. It does not have to be gym. I don't like to gym. I take my dog for walks and I dance to this playlist in private in my living room. And I am a TERRIBLE dancer haha. But it does not matter, it feels good.

Most importantly, don't quit. If you wanna quit, go to bed and try again tomorrow. We're living longer, there's no ticking clock. You only have yourself to prove wrong. You can. You really, really can. Tomorrow is always another day. I've been doing these little things for 6 weeks. I'm sorry that the world can be harsh and that there is war, and unfairness and anger and hate. You will be ok, I promise. The world needs your light. Even if you don't see it right now. ✨

† Posted on 23 November 2025. Filed in Creative Fat Grrl. Tagged with quotations.

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams."

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams."

Unknown source. I had it written in my date book from last year.

† Posted on 14 November 2025. Filed in Creative Fat Grrl. Tagged with creative arts, mail art, postcards.

Make and Send Your Own Artsy Postcards

I have used regular index cards to write and send postcards to family while I travelled across Canada. They work great. No need to worry about the size, they are the standard size for the Post Office. Just write on one side and put the address and stamp on the other, same as usual.

On the note side you can add almost anything, but there are some rules. In this case the rules will mean your postcard is able to be delivered, or not. So take heed.

In addition, there are rules about the back side:

The bottom .75″ must be left free of images or text.

A 1.18″ square in the upper right corner must be free of images, to hold a stamp.

The address of the recipient must be on the right side of the back, no more than 2.25″ from the right edge.

Source: Postcard Basics - Go Make Something

† Posted on 6 November 2025. Filed in Creative Fat Grrl. Tagged with art, crafts, quotations, writing.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing…

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams