Going green in September - downshifting

Recently I've had both the good and bad fortune to stop work. It's bad in that there is less money coming into the household, so I need to focus on reducing costs, reusing and repairing items. But there are many good (and green) aspects:

• I can walk to many more places - as I now have the extra time, I can use the car less, which saves petrol, increases my fitness, and gets me out into the sunshine (I'm vitamin D deficient). I recently completed a 20km walk from the city to home!
• Spend time in the garden and grow my own food - unfortunately, I start my non-working stint by house-sitting, but once I get home, I will get stuck into the garden and put in loads of vegetables for the spring growing season. All from seeds that I already have.
• Cook from scratch - although cooking from scratch takes more time, it is more rewarding, makes me a better cook and costs less. My meals are more healthful as I am using less packaged foods with 'numbered' ingredients.
• Repair my clothes - many of my clothes are wearing very thin, instead of throwing them away and buying new ones, I can spend the time repairing my existing clothes. Both my partner and I have lost weight, so there are a number of clothes that can be 'cut down', providing I have the time to do so. Not working will give me the time (and hopefully the energy) to repair our wardrobes.
• Focus on my health - decreasing medications, trips to the doctors and specialists and the number of tests I have to undergo to treat numerous chronic illnesses is the main reason I have stopped working. I am using this non-work time to focus on regaining a lot of the health, energy and motivation I have lost while spending my few spoons on my career. To add an incentive, I will be participating in a 50km walk in November!
• Use the library - I now have the time to read and increase my knowledge, so the library (and the internet) is beckoning to be used as a resource. When walking, I can listen to educational podcasts and ebooks on various topics, as well as free music provided by various podcasts.
• Declutter - I will be selling or giving away many of my less-loved possessions, partly to help on the financial front, but mainly to reduce the clutter around home, and simplify my life. Often I have found that these possessions will be loved by others more than I currently love them, so it's time they moved on.
• Finish what I started - I have so many craft projects that are part-way through, now that I have some extra time and energy (after completing my studies), I will be able to spend some on completing some (all!) of my unfinished craft projects.

Ceasing work was my choice, and it wasn't an easy one. In the last few years, my health has taken a back seat, difficult with many worsening and difficult to treat chronic pain conditions. Although I am mainly focused on improving my health and completing my studies, not working will have a positive impact on the environment in many non-obvious ways. I have been given a chance to slow down and simplify my life, to focus on looking after my health and my family, and in the process, to improve my impact on the environment.

Each month I am posting a 'Going green' tip for a year long electronic swap.