Water and Stuff

Ok, I need my own blog... before I take over this joint blog (Kurt & Melissa) and make it all about health! I just saw this on We Like It Raw. It's about the amount of water we use; click here.

Then, you should check this out... and because people have asked us what we're doing, I've decided to post here... but you have to watch the Story of Stuff first; click here.

(Kurt) It took a generation or so to become this way in the first place, so it will take a generation or so to go back to the way we were 100 years ago. The problem is most people consider being less of a consumer a step back, lowering our living standards, or even unpatriotic. This anti-consumerism also shouldn't (even if it could) happen over night because if it did, millions of people would be out of jobs creating just as big social problems. What do people do if they aren't making stuff that will end up getting thrown away? The same thing we did 100 years ago... farming, along with other "third world" activities. So you can see why many people think this would be a reduction in living standards.

What are we doing? Well, we have already stopped buying things we don't need. Years ago I committed myself to not buying things I don't really need. I use the stuff I have until it really can't be used anymore. As much as I want a new cell phone, mine is still working and with a new battery will probably still work another three years, even if the face is cracked a bit. Even though we don't have curb-side recycling in our neighborhood, we've found out where to take our recyclables, so we're doing that now. Instead of throwing away usable stuff, we put it on Craigs list or freecycle. Gotten rid of some obsolete but perfectly usable stuff that way, and it's still getting used! And the people there are just as committed to using, re-using, and recycling. So that's a start. We've converted many of our light fixtures to compact fluorescent bulbs, bought energy star kitchen appliances, use less energy for cooking (since we eat more raw), we carpool almost everywhere we go, our water heater is turned down to 120 degrees, we use a programmable thermostat that saves us a bunch on energy bills, and we dress warmly in the winter. We sometimes ride our bikes to work and walk to the grocery store. If we could, we'd be composting our trash (80% is compostable). I'm switching our bills to electronic billing so there will be less printing and mailing (not to mention reduced possibility for interception by fraudsters). Next year we plan to support CSA--community supported agriculture. We pay a fixed fee and a local farm grows organic food for us. Pretty neat, huh?

As for tips/ideas...
Recycling is the last of the three R's. Re-use is even better than recycling, and reducing is even better than re-using. If it never is manufactured in the first place, then there are many fewer problems downstream. So, the most helpful thing you can do is to reduce consumption; if nobody buys junk, they'll make less of it (eventually). Buy quality goods that last a long time and aren't designed to be thrown away and/or replaced.

(Melissa)
As far as cleaning... Sometimes I use lemon peels to clean our tub. But, it's rare. We take 12 lemons that were juiced and throw them into the tub full of water. After several hours (overnight or after work), I drain and wipe. It takes a little elbow power at first. But, more lemon cleanses like that, and it would be good. We eat a lot of lemons when on the raw food diet, so this is feasible for us. We use glycerin soap w/ a loofa to wash... and I don't get any soap scum at all. So, it takes a while before the tub needs cleaning. Nice! Also, I wash my hair every 2nd day or 3rd day.

I also use a Thai stone for deodorant. None of the natural ones worked for me at all... I always had to switch back to the regular anti-perspirants with aluminum. But, this stone works wonders... even put it through the test of working out with it. It costs $8... but it is said to last YEARS! Also, lemon peels work too... but I haven't tried that; I like my stone.

I dry my clothes indoor on a wire rack... except sheets, towels, and whites. We are saving the lint from the dryer... and later we'll mix it with wax to make a fire-starter for the camp fire.

There are more improvements we can make... but, I'm not as "green" as Kurt.

But, we do use more energy with a toaster oven and dehydrator... since we don't have a microwave that will *zap* our food in seconds (thank goodness).

Plus, it's greener to be vegan than it is to own a green car!