Wow~this family is incredible. A husband, wife and 2 y.o. daughter have decided to live without electricity, modern indoor plumbing, and to avoid contributing to CO2 waste by not using transportation other than their own feet-all this in New York City, consumerism capital of the northeast! The blog is aptly called LowImpactMan.
I have to say as I was reading it last night, it got my little wheels spinning. Now, first of all, I wouldn't want to do something this drastic right at this point in my life for an entire year...but could I do it for a day? A week? I mentioned it to my husband who's first (common sense) thought was "What will we do with all the food in the fridge/freezer?" Hmmmm, good point. This started me thinking about cooking in general-how does this family eat hot foods? Or don't they? Do I have that many sandwich recipes in my repertoire? I had a quick image of me hauling a cast iron fry pan out to the backyard fire ring after work... But the family doing the one year experiment started with just a week, so there must be a way, right?
I've also been ultra-inspired by The Compact which, for those of you who haven't heard of it, is a group of people in California who began a one-year experiment to try to live with just the bare necessities: Food, hygiene products (Toilet paper, etc.), and underwear. There's a story about it here by USA Today. That's it~no new anything else. They are allowed to purchase from thrift stores or obtain used things through craigslist.org or freecycle.org. Personally, because they are able to buy used, it doesn't seem like it would be a very hard challenge...but then, you don't see ME running to sign up! It would be much more difficult to not BUY anything for a year, except the aforementioned food, hygiene items and underwear. But THAT is a little extreme for me. I wonder though....
Go check out LowImpactMan..this blog is fascinating and there are lots of great links on the blogroll...even if you aren't especially interested in simple living, this blog is very intriguing and well-written. Take a peek!
2 comments:
we've been doing a modified version of the compact since january, and it really isn't all that difficult. our deal is that we'll search for something used. after a legitimate search, we'll buy something if we have to. for example, i looked eeeeeeeeeeeeeverywhere for a cast-iron dutch oven. no dice. on the other hand, we were looking for a waffle maker, and found an $80 one for $5 at the Goodwill.
we also really scrutinize labels to avoid buying things from countries with an iffy civil rights record. oh, and no plastic. the bane of my existence.
i can probably count the things we have bought new on my hands.
Don't you LOVE thrift shops? Every time we travel I try to check out the thrift shops and natural food stores in the area we're in...they're great! I too have been trying to be patient if I need a replacement for something, looking first for used/asking around, then buying if I can't find it but with all the great used places these days (ebay/half.com, and thrift shops) it's getting easier and easier. :)
Post a Comment