Dolly and The Good Life

On the topic of sustainable living, I'm inspired today by Dolly Freed and her book 'Possum Living' that she wrote in the 1970's.

The book is due for re-release this year. I found out about it from a feature article written by Paige Williams in which she writes 'She [Dolly] wanted others to know they didn’t have to panic if they lost their jobs, that it’s possible to live on very little money.' which is poignant considering the GFC of last year (more detail about Paige and Radiohead Journalism in my next blog post)

The documentary looks dated now, but none of the ideas are. Bookstores eagerly promote books about de-cluttering, affluenza, recycling, thrift store style, simplifying our lives and returning to the basics of how to access food and the things we need. Dolly says in her book "It’s easier to learn to do without some of the things that money can buy than to earn the money to buy them". In the 1970's the concern may have been around not needing to be financially dependant on a job, but the lessons are still there for today when we're also concerned with the environment, waste and unnecessary stress.