T.C.L.C - The Considered Living Collective

If you follow us on social media (if not, please do!), you'll have seen that at the beginning of the week we launched something we've been busy working on and are very excited to share with you, 'The Considered Living Collective'.

The Considered Living Collective is a space where living a considered, slower paced, seasonal life is both explored and celebrated. It’s no secret that the speed of modern life is contributing to the decline in people’s mental health, yet it can sometimes feel like an impossible task to find those moments of calm. Living a rural lifestyle here on the farm, we’ve seen the benefits of embracing a more considered approach to daily life, but it certainly shouldn’t be limited to those with readily available access to a more outdoor lifestyle (in fact, this is only a small part of considered, seasonal living).

Seasonal and considered living is the backbone of our farm and homesteading journey, it’s brought us relief and comfort through harder times in life and is something we want to share with you. We're incredibly passionate about this way of life, having seen first hand the impact of fast paced, sped through days and how it physically and mentally affects us. 

I like to use the analogy of breaking distance when driving... if you're speeding through, driving too close to those in front, if anything happens, you can't stop in time. The outcome is so much worse and you'll be left dealing with many issues. It's the same for life, daily problems and stresses. If you speed through, not taking in what's around you, when something we perceive to be negative happens, it can seem and sometimes is, ten times worse than maybe it could have been. Going too quickly in an unconsidered manner, fails to give us the pace (or stopping distance) to deal with things effectively.

Another example is like when you try to find something on Google Maps (other map apps are available!), say you're looking for restaurants in a certain area. When it shows you what it's found, the icons are all on top of each other, zoomed in, making it seem like there are so many restaurants in one area, maybe even making it hard to click on one without interacting with another. However, if we take the time to slow down and zoom out, the image becomes a lot clearer, we can assess each restaurant individually, interacting with the one we've chosen at that time. Again, life's no different. If we take the time and make the effort to be more considered in daily life, zooming out from the mass of things we force ourselves to focus on at once, through a slower pace governed more by the seasons, we're starting to live a much more comfortable life both mentally and physically.

On that note, as a society, we need to accept people wanting to live a comfortable life. For years, we've been told living a comfortable life is lazy, get out of your comfort zone etc. etc. So to be clear, this is completely different. Slowing down mentally takes effort, practice and perseverance, it's probably one of the least 'lazy' things you can do! Also, from personal experience, when I'm rushing through my days and consequently overwhelmed, anxiety can be a real b****h, leaving me feeling like I couldn't possibly entertain doing anything unknown. This makes that old adage of 'do one thing a day that scares you' or 'live out of your comfort zone' feel like an immense amount of pressure and completely unattainable. But when I slow, noticing more by only engaging in what actually serves me and taking time outside, the sky's the limit... I'm suddenly signing up to that course that I've wanted to do for months or taking a trip somewhere new. So, by living a more comfortable, considered lifestyle for our minds, we can actually put ourselves into those exciting moments of unknown or make it through the uncomfortable moments in life much more effectively.

Leading us onto this... we've created something we're excited to share with you, The Considered Living Collective. Whether you join and support us by signing up to our wonderful snail mail subscription club, listen to our upcoming podcasts or take five minutes with a brew every now and again to read our blog, we hope to encourage more people to find the beautiful balance between everyday modern life and a calmer more considered lifestyle. 

---

• The Considered Living Collective - Snail Mail Subscription

Each month, receive through the post, a gorgeous envelope of carefully considered goodies. These will include a letter from us here at Evans and Moose, a 5x7 art print (either watercolour, lino or poem), and some lovely extras, these might include seasonal recipes, folklore of the month, a seasonal activity, journal prompts or even a countryside tradition fact sheet. You'll even get a special gift from the forge at Christmas! Everything included is designed by us here on the farm... no AI art here! 

We want to keep real connection alive, so for just £10 a month you'll get all of this delivered straight to you via good old fashioned snail mail. 

Everything included will be based around that month's theme and give you insights into how to live a more considered lifestyle and reap it's benefits. It's like a little envelope of permission to slow down, even just for ten minutes with a nice, hot brew!

Click the here to sign up!

Currently U.K only, but internationally shipping coming soon. Sign up by the 15th of each month to receive that months envelope (dispatch normally around the 20th), cancel anytime.

• The T.C.L.C Podcast

Following on with the idea that you are what you listen to, The Considered Living Collective Podcast or The T.C.L.C Podcast will be launching soon. It's no mistake that the acronym is a play on TLC, we should all be able to afford ourselves some Tender Love & Care every now and again!

Join Ric and Hannah every fortnight for a friendly chat, discussion and giggle centred around different considered living themes... everything from finding the compromise with technology and social media and considered food to whether considered living is just for women (spoiler, it's not, but it can sure feel like it!) and tales from the farm.

The Podcast is another example of finding a balance. We hope the podcast will be another way of making the considered lifestyle accessible whilst hitting the sweet spot between technology and two real people, with real experiences chatting away!

• Regular Blog Posts & Seasonal Inspiration

Whilst we post regularly on the blog at the moment anyway, we're going to be introducing a new collection of blog posts all centred around considered living. These will be more everyday musings, hopefully encouraging a little pit stop in your day taking time just for you. Like this one... this is one of them!

You'll also see plenty of seasonal living inspiration as considered and seasonal living go hand in hand. 

Throughout the year, we'll be adding four styled seasonal shoots to this section of the website offering inspiration to create seasonal events, home décor or quieter reflective moments. 

---

Honestly, it would mean the world to us if you wanted to join us as part of The Considered Living Collective. Any support via the snail mail subscriptions, blog reads or listening to the podcast when it's live would be amazing. But overall we hope the collective brings some comfort in a fast paced world. Maybe we sometimes feel out of touch with things, going through the motions, but life really is too short. So, let's head into this next season with more consideration for the little things, lean back onto old stories, traditions and knowledge. We're so happy to have you on board.