I ride the school bus to school! At my school, we’re 80 percent solar powered and we compost all of our food waste! The school cafeteria also uses fruits and vegetables from our organic garden! I’m a vegetarian and a member of the “free to grow” garden club at my school.
This post was submitted by Emma.
Dear Colin,
I wasn’t sure how else to reach you but I just wanted to write and say Thanks! I heard you speak at the library last night (I was the girl on your far right up front- that came in late) I just wanted to shake your hand and say:
You did such a good job! Thank U for being here
To see a place (HP) that’s always represented affluence responding to your message- that means a lot.
It was especially inspiring to hear the personal invocation.
- Thryn, a liberal arts grad pursuing a career in community horticulture
This post was submitted by Thryn Murray.
We use cloth napkins and each have a napkin ring, so use them for several days before washing. We dry most laundry outside, except in the winter, when we use a drying rack for some things inside. We don’t have a paper towel holder, but keep a roll in the cabinet for use seldom. We buy some foods in bulk, taking our own containers to the store to refill.
This post was submitted by Mary.
We’ve lived a minimalist lifestyle for thirty-five years in rural Alaska; fourteen years without power, telephone, or running water, and heating our home from the forest on our property. 13 acres includes original growth forest, carefully harvested for firewood, building materials and non-timber resources. The river-flats hold our gardens and small livestock raised for food and trail companions.
We shared our 20×20′ A-frame cabin with our three children who are now contributing young adults, two in the larger world of the lower 48 working to help realize change.
Our choices to live the way we have made sound ecological sense by requiring us to be as self-sufficient as possible and living far within our small financial means. It’s instilled a deep and abiding passion for place and community. Our kids are carrying those convictions with them and returning regularly to refuel while we maintain the homestead.
It’s been a happy, fortunate life.
This post was submitted by Adrian Revenaugh.
Nobody has mentioned spinning. weaving, dyeing, sewing and other 18th C life skills. Not only is spinning fun but you can use your yarn for whatever purpose. I am currently working on angora neckwarmers for my kids. Handwoven dish towels last much much longer than store bought ones. Handknit chenille washcloths are pure luxury. Sewing clothes is fast, easy and cheap.
My sheep eat the lawn, I shear the sheep and use them to make whatever. The black walnuts produce 1) nuts, 2) dye from the husk and 3) VERY strong arm muscles.
One homeschooling project is that we are attempting to make flour from acorns this year. Not sure how that will work but worth a try.
I have goats and cows so fresh milk is in glass containers. The surplus is used for cheese, ice cream, etc. I recycle most kitchen scraps back to the hens. Even olive oil is purchased in metal cans that are put back in play by turning them into lamps. Many types of cans make very cute lamps.
The last time we ate out was a year ago. I make bread, ice cream, everything. And it is better than store bought, cheaper and generates much less trash. When you have a system developed, meals can be * fast food* in less time than it takes to run out and get something. I go to the grocery once every 2 weeks as my cows are dry right now and we use a lot of milk.
Another current project is to cart train one of the goats. Then he can be used to pull a cart to do the * heavy work* here. Plus amuse the kids.
I am not a farmer type. I am a city girl that chose to have better quality foods and has a few acres to do so.
This post was submitted by Mary Margaret.
We’re known as the house where nobody’s ever home in the evening. This is because we only turn on a light when we really need to see. And then, it’s only in a room we are in. We have solar lights along the walkway and don’t turn on the outdoor light unless we’re having company (and turn it off when they’ve arrived and then again immediately after they leave. We turn off the lights when we’re watching TV.
I think it helps us wind down at the end of the day. When possible, we dim the lights if they’re on at all.
It saves us money, but it’s also kind of fun to see how long we can go before flipping on a switch.
This post was submitted by Lynn Hasselberger.
We bought a free-standing umbrella-style clothesline a couple of years ago when the dryer stopped working. It has become a source of pleasure to take the time to hang out the clothes in the backyard, and especially to bring them in smelling so deliciously of fresh air. I’ve learned how to fold big sheets (edges up, pinned to parallel lines)so they don’t drag on the ground. I amuse myself by putting big contour sheets over the top of the clothesline, stretching the corners of the sheets over the lines four “arms,” which makes it look like the clothesline is wearing a big shower cap. Ah the simple pleasures!
Occasionally, it is true, we have to bring in laundry when it is still slightly damp and hang it around the house overnight, but I hope to set up an indoor line in the basement so we can do laundry when the weather is wet.
This post was submitted by Sara Katz.
One day I was taking my tiny bag of garbage out to the dumpster and dumping my load of recycling into the recycling bin. As a single person who doesn’t shop much, it takes FOREVER to fill up that huge recycling bin. As I was tossing my tiny bag of garbage I noticed that the dumpster was full of cardboard boxes & newspapers. I sort of felt deflated. What good would my tiny recycling effort do if everybody else was just tossing stuff? Then it occurred to me… there was PLENTY of room in my recycling bin. So I grabbed the newspapers, flattened the boxes, put them in my recycling bin.
I now make a habit of glancing in the dumpster each time I walk by and pulling out anything easily reached that should go in the recycling. I’ve also been known to dumpster dive for the neighbor’s grass clippings & leaves (my garden can always use the extra compost) and I also pull out anything reusable (as long as it’s on top and not gross). If I can’t use it, I put it in a corner of the garage and take it to the local thrift store next time I’m out and about.
At first my neighbors just thought I was totally nuts… but now they’ve started asking me if I want their leaves and grass clippings. I happily say yes and try to make sure that all of the compost contributors get a big basket of tomatoes at harvest time. I’ve even noticed a few of them starting to recycle. Perhaps leading by example can have some effect after all!
This post was submitted by Rebecca.
Check out the book “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez (tip: you can probably get it at your local library). I read this book over 10 years ago and it made a HUGE impact on how I live. I now enjoy a level of freedom and financial independence that I never thought possible.
The book walks you through the process of tracking every penny that comes in and goes out of your life. You also assign a happiness score to each expenditure. Even if you only do it for one month, you’ll be SHOCKED at the amount of money you spend on stupid things that don’t make you happy.
The first month that I tracked my expenses I had a category called “stuff” for lack of a better term. I has horrified an the amount of money I had spent on things… I couldn’t even remember what most of them were by the end of the month! I then proceeded to have an arguement with myself. Part of me was saying “but I want to be able to treat myself and buy things… it’s MY money after all.” Then it hit me… “IT’S MY MONEY!!!” why was I trhowing it away instead of keeping it?
That was step one in a long process of extracting myself from the consumer rat-race. Exiting from the consumer culture also means living a much more eco-friendly lifestyle!
This post was submitted by Rebecca.
I have 2 vermicompost bins. All of my non-greasy food waste (and since I don’t eat dairy that is most of it) as well as much of my paper waste, goes into the worm bins and becomes a fertilizer with a natural growth enhancer in it. This gets used to start vegetable seeds and fertilize the garden.
About once or twice a year I’ve got enough worms that I can pass them on to another person (sort of like Heifer International but the livestock are much smaller). The bins themselves are not purchased. One is the full-width vegetable drawer out of an old refrigerator and the other is a plastic file box that was no longer needed when I sorted out old papers. Each has holes drilled in them so the worms can breathe and they are kept in the bathroom because that is one of the warmer rooms in the trailer.
They do not smell bad, but occassionally smell like dirt after a rain. that is actually pleasant in the middle of winter.
I’ve been able to keep quite a bit out of the landfill, to enhance my food production, and to give back to my community. And occassionally I get to use a few worms for fishing.
This post was submitted by Jill.