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We're getting back to basics in these recessionary times, says Edel Morgan

ANYONE WHO, like me, has only recently learned to appreciate the wonders of Lidl will not be surprised by Ulster Bank's recent revelation that spending took the biggest nosedive since 1983 in the first three quarters of this year and Irish consumers continue to spend cautiously in the run up to Christmas.

There was a time when the stark lighting, the anaemic decor (would a cheery sunburst yellow colour scheme be out of the question Mr Lidl?) and that curiously earthy smell once you hit the door (what is that?) was enough to have some of us running to the more sweet smelling Superquinn for cover. But our priorities are changing and we're discovering that rampant parsimony has its thrills.

The psyche of a nation, formed over 10 years of profligate spending, is under review and it's not just property we're holding back on, but household goods, which Ulster Bank attributes to the weakness in the housing market, clothing, footwear and even food. We're acquiring new learned behaviours. Instead of the old "see, want, buy", it's now more a case of "see, want, agonise, agonise again, only buy if it's needed and cheaper than everywhere else".

We haven't entirely shrugged off the behaviour of our recent past though. If you hit a Dublin shopping centre at the weekend, you'd never know we are in a recession. On a recent Sunday we went to Dundrum Town Centre and it was heaving with people. Admittedly few appeared to be weighed down with bags, so it begs the question that if retail sales are down, are people just wandering around shopping centres, soaking in the atmosphere without actually making many purchases?

I did spot quite a few Hamleys bags but you could put that down to a recession-proof universal law, ie if you want your day to go well, don't bring a child to a toy shop and try to leave without buying something. Our purchase was the cheapest thing in the shop, a Nemo-like bath toy for around €11. For anyone who is rediscovering their inner cheapskate, there are no end of bargains to be had as shops, companies and restaurants vie for custom in this difficult time. If you actually have the money to get a job done in the house, you will find tradesmen undercutting each other to get the job.

On the cusp of the recession we decided to have our lumpy back lawn relaid and even negotiated a price with a gardener. By the time he was ready to do it, we had some sobering financial news, and decided only to spend on necessary repair jobs, ie ones that would prevent the house falling down around us.

Up until recently we had a cleaner come in once a week to help us stem the chaos and dirt that accrues when you're full-time working parents with young children but now we've had to limit it to every third week. Although we're doing our best to keep a level of hygiene that won't attract the attention of social services, it's all starting to look a bit shabby around the edges. I've been looking into acquiring a staple gun to do a few quick fix upholstery jobs.

And it's not just our homes that are starting to lose their lustre, the recession is also taking the sheen off us as a nation. With twice weekly blow-dries gone by the wayside, I reckon I'm not the only one who has had the trauma of becoming re-acquainted with their real hair. I won't be buying a new LBD for the Christmas party but will be customising last year's one à la Gok Wan. And conversation has become more mundane as I feel compelled share my latest Lidl triumph: "Can you believe it, 39 cent for marrowfat peas?"

On a positive note we were nearly beside ourselves at the weekend when we went out for our now once monthly family lunch to the Old Boro in Swords and were offered a four-course lunch for €18.95. "Aren't the portions very generous," we kept on marvelling, while trying to do breakdowns of the cost of each course. If there's one upside to the current downturn it's that sometimes it's the simple things that make us happy.