We have started a co-operative, pooled our resources, and bought more prime farmland than any of us could have afforded alone. (In fact, it’s more than even the founders can afford, and we’re seeking additional member-investors.)
Our goal is to produce most of our own food and energy, and to distribute the excess within the greater community.
We heat with wood from our own land, drive (a limited amount) on biodiesel that we make from restaurant waste, and grow almost all our vegetables and produce all our own eggs and milk.
Many of the ten current residents have home-based businesses to avoid commuting.
This post was submitted by Jan Steinman.
i gave up Shampoo a long time ago, probably at least a year and a half, and i have never been happier with my hair. its not always super dried out anymore, and I’m sure I’ve saved tons of money by not buying shampoo. i tried the balking soda thing for a while and the “transition period” lasted to long, so i just use my glycerin bar soap if i feel like i need to wash my hair, other wise i just get it wet when i shower and it seems fine. it never stinks or looks or feels dirty. i recently got it cut so i want to try the baking soda again. every time i get my hair cut now, the hair dresser tells me how nice and healthy my hair is.
This post was submitted by Tabatha.
We purchased a hillside property of several acres, some years ago. It was almost void of trees, except some at the property lines. There were several erosion gullies, poor soil for supporting native plants, etc. The slopes were between 20-35%. We started planting trees, leveled vegetable garden areas, repaired erosion gullies, etc. We terraced the steep slopes, built raised beds for vegetables, planted redwoods, pines, and fruit trees. We built a holding pond for containing some erosion causing sheet flows during the California rainy season, etc.
From our initial efforts, it’s almost 20 years. We have no significant erosion. Even the native plants seem much happier. We are happier.
This post was submitted by Reijo Koski.
Reduce your full time working week to 4 days of 9.5hrs each.
I am trying this for the first time and expect to save money mostly on transport. Another small bonus is reducing my professional wardrobe needs.
Obviously the best bit is to have a whole day to myself to work on hobbies. This might increase my homesteading and self sufficiency.
I’ve already found that I like starting work earlier, its very quiet and peaceful in the office. This is good for reducing stress.
*This tip was originally from the Your Money or Your Life book.
This post was submitted by BohoBelle.
For one year I bought no clothes for myself - new or used. The point of this is not what you might assume. It is a way to recalibrate your mind away from consuming as pleasure seeking or pain avoiding. Other ways I’ve done this is to have Buy Nothing Tuesdays, or Eat Local Meals, Weeks or forever! What I found is that my trip was busted - like Colin, I went a long time thinking being grumpy at SUV’s or ‘talking about ecology’ was actually doing something positive. I call that ‘David Suzuki Syndrome’. You just get mad and nothing happens. This year I’m buying no food at work, I’m packing or going without. I stress this is a method to change the way I think (or don’t think) but just consume without need or really the wherewithall to continue apace.
This post was submitted by Jan Morrison.
I eat no meat or meat products to help support a clean environment. After years of giving up all meats…all animal products have been eliminated from my diet. It feels good to know that all of the pollution from animal agriculture is not necessary for a “vegan” diet.
This post was submitted by Lisa.
I donated my car 2.5 years ago. Travel by bike and bus. Last month I sold my fridge. A week ago I gave away my microwave. I line-dry my clothes. I vermicompost all food waste (learned about this on NoImpactMan!). Hand wash my dishes. Rarely shop - easy for me since I don’t like to. I love this lifestyle and keep looking for other ways to be more radical.
This post was submitted by Robyn.
We started using cheap fun-colored washcloths for napkins. We bought two dozen for 6 bucks and now avoid buying paper napkins, have much more absorbant napkins/paper towels, avoid waste and have added some color to the dinner table.
When I was pregnant, I realized how much money I was spending on granola bars not to mention how much waste is involved with individually wrapped snacks. Now, I make a full pan or two of my own no-bake energy bars - very tasty treats that I can throw in tupperwear and bring with me on the go! (1.5 cup PB and .5 cup honey warmed with 6 cups seeds/oatmeal/flake cereal mix)
This post was submitted by Hilary.
My partner and I have made more sustainable living a permanent choice. We built our small (600 sq ft) house mostly out of straw, earth, trees we cut ourselves, and other, mostly on-site or local materials. We live off-grid with solar panels and a microhydro system. We have solar and wood-heated hot water. We have a composting toilet and reuse our graywater. We are in the process of growing our own food, much of it from trees. Most of our water comes from our roof or a pond. My partner commutes to work with an electric bike most days (otherwise a Prius). We have already met the UN’s climate goal of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions, yet we pretty much still live a US middle class lifestyle (except that we don’t fly for vacations). It helps that we chose a rural area with permissive building codes, but many of these things are possible in urban neighborhoods and suburbs.
We have been empowered by taking control of our ecological and social impacts. By being more self-reliant, we don’t have to work at jobs we hate that are raping the planet. In addition, our lifestyle supports our health, with lots of exercise and good food. Individual choices like ours won’t solve the problems we face by themselves, but they are a crucial part of the picture.
This post was submitted by Rain Tenaqiya.
you write in your web site about using cloth diapers but I have an even better idea. One that is practiced in different parts of the world and used by some in the US. It is called elimination communication (EC) and it involves the gentle practice of communicating about eliminating. Babies give cues when they need to go but parents often don’t recognize them until they know what to look for.. There are also the easy times like when the baby wakes up from a nap or in the morning. Imagine the environmental impact if all diaper users could do with 1 or 2 less diapers a day! Imagine if some people decided to practice EC full-time!
I also consider breast feeding to have no impact.
This post was submitted by Rossana.