A Special Message on Simple and Straightforward's First Birthday
We're growing...
Today is Simple and Straightforward’s first birthday.
In 365 days, I’ve written around 40,000 words about simple living and sent somewhere in the region of 29,000 emails to thousands of inboxes across the world.
I always had it in mind that after a year, I would expand this little project into something bigger. As such, from today I’m offering a paid option to you lovely lot, with some very exciting (and value-driven) content that is going to be off the hook.
The cost? I want to keep it as low as I can for as long as I can so I’m starting at Substack’s minimum of $5 a month, or $50 a year. You’ll also receive a 7-day trial so you can see what you think.
Before I launch into all those lovely paid subscriber-only goodies, let me be clear. If you don’t opt in to a paid subscription, you won’t lose the usual Friday mailout. I’m all about adding extra value, not taking anything away. That free Friday newsletter is here to stay for all.
For those of you who want to supercharge your simple living journey, read on…
First thing’s first. What’s in it for you?
I want to make this good value. Like reeeeeally good value. If you upgrade to a paid subscription, here’s what you’ll get:
On Tuesdays, you’ll have a paid-susbcriber-only essay sent to your inbox on to help simplify several aspects of your life, from decluttering to finance.
Wednesday is “recipe Wednesday" to help you cut food waste and cook delicious food.
And Friday is the usual newsletter mailout, available to everyone.
Here’s how it’s going to look:
A bonus free simple living ebook for the first 100 subscribers
I’ve only gone and taken 16 of my best simple living and minimalism essays and turned them into an ebook, haven’t I?
It’s available on Amazon for $14.99 or it’s yours for the low low price of $0 if you’re one of my first 100 paid subscribers. That alone pays for the first three months of subscriptions.
Tuesday - Paid-subscriber-only essay
These will be themed essays over a number of weeks to help you simplify the most important parts of your life.
We started with decluttering in August-October. October-December’s essays will focus on the sticky issue of simplifying your finances.
The essays will also include recommendations for extra reading and communities.
As a paid member you will also receive the full back catalogue of paywalled essays.
Wednesday - “Recipe Wednesday”
I’ve talked about my hospitality background a little bit but for those of you not in the know, for nearly 8 years I owned a natural wine store and bar in the UK.
And with wine always comes food. I used to host wine and food pairing evenings and designed the food menu for our bar.
Basically, food is my life and I want to include it as part of Simple and Straightforward.
Food doesn’t necessarily seem an obvious fit with minimalism and simple living until you think that Americans waste 40% of their food. It’s a huge problem that could be avoided if we all took a more flexible (and indeed minimal) approach to cooking. That doesn’t mean meager portions and boring food, it means knowing how to cook like a chef. Chefs don’t waste, they can’t afford to. Instead, they know how to make a meal from what they have to hand.
Recipe Wednesday is here to help you think just like that.
Every week I’ll share a recipe that is super flexible. There’ll be tips on how to make the dish your own, what to do with the leftovers (if there are any), and how to use up that half a can of sweetcorn (or whatever it is the recipe calls for) that might otherwise grow new lifeforms in the fridge.
Better for sustainability, better for your wallet, better for your health.
Again, every recipe will be available in an index - like an evergrowing recipe book.
The first recipe will be launched tomorrow so you don’t even have to wait that long.
You can read more about my “thinking like a chef” philosophy about food here.
Finally…a note on the cost
I don’t want to labor this point too much but I did want to make a comparison between a subscription to Simple and Straightforward and some other aspects of life as a nod to its value.
A $50 yearly subscription is:
$0.32 a post. That’s less than the cost of a single Reeses snack size cup (and a damn sight better for you).
Less than the cost of a single specialty coffee per month.
Less than many recipe books.
And don’t forget you’ll be entitled to that free 7-day trial.
Finally, a note of gratitude. This is an exciting (and to be honest, quite nerve-wracking) juncture in the life of Simple and Straightforward. Your paid subscription gives me the chance to build this little corner of the internet into something that is both valuable and value-driven.
Finally, you’ll be supporting a new kind of writing. One that is ad-free and independent. If you choose to support Simple and Straightforward, thank you. Seriously.