Changing habits to meet changing society

Mollygo
You win with this post MissAdventure!
I boil myself in a bucket with some pieces of old cloth, then throw in some lentils to turn it into a nutritious soup when I've finished.

! ??
Have you read Chewbacca’s post on showering? I see a future for the funniest (not vs) posts.

Such a good post M0nica. It’s great that people are more aware of what they can do to help but we need posts like yours to remind us that not everyone’s circumstances are the same and that what is a meaningful saving for one is an impossibility for others. We shouldn’t make others feel guilty for not being able to do everything that others do.

I thought of that sketch,too , JenniferEccles. Virtue signalling taken to a very funny degree.

When you’ve lived off grid for 20 years, as we did, you are very aware of all power and water you use.

Not having the cold water running in the basin while cleaning my teath was a practical change I made some years ago.

I know we all have to do our bit as I’m sure we all are, and I am most certainly not saying that’s what’s happening here but….. I can’t help being reminded of a tv comedy sketch years ago which had three men of a certain age reminiscing about their alleged deprived childhoods.
They ended up determined to outdo each other on the deprivation front!
It was very funny.

I do all my food and household and even garden shopping at our local community store apart from gin! It's a social enterprise.
I also volunteer there because it couldn't operate without volunteers.
There's a re-fillery, milk in returnable glass bottles,
fresh local fruit and veg in season.
It was hard work and the vision of my late DH which got it started but I would like to think that every town could have something similar.

Nothing is going to make me give up a daily shower, and a second shower after working in the garden. But I don’t go on foreign holidays so don’t do air travel or cruises.
I wonder how many of the people who take a ‘holier than thou’ attitudes towards having a daily shower then go and wreck the environment by travelling by airplane or cruise ship?

This way of life is exactly how my parents lived their lives .
It was known as Thrift, Waste not Want not, Make-do-and- Mend, the only difference being people didn't find it necessary to boast about it.

I keep the waxed bag inside the
cereal box and find it keeps food fresh when used instead of plastic bags.

MissAdventure

I boil myself in a bucket with some pieces of old cloth, then throw in some lentils to turn it into a nutritious soup when I've finished.

Thank you so much.

That has made me laugh hysterically. My husband has had to come in to check I'm OK. My dogs are startled.

Best comment I've ever seen on Gransnet

You win Gransnet today MissAdventure! ??

Shinamae

I Turn the microwave off at the wall because apparently on standby that can use quite a bit of electricity over the year. I don’t drive and I don’t fly so I think I’m doing my bit…?

That's helpful, thank you!

My kettle (unaccountably) sets itself to boil if let plugged in, so gets plugged out when not being used.

Excellent post M0nica.

Well-balanced and thoughtful.

Those living in flats with no outside space cannot function in the same way as those who live in houses with gardens. Ditto those living in rural areas as opposed to others living in urban spaces.

Disabled people cannot necessarily live the same way as able-bodied individuals.

I have a house built from Cotswold Stone. The temperature can vary from room to room, depending on the sun's position. I have the heating on still at various times and in various rooms because it can be icy cold in one room, and warm in another.

As long as we all try to do our best to cut down on waste and preserve our environment... and I think Grans are quite adept at that. Some of us are of the generation that took shopping baskets with us, and accepted a "pound" of dried rice in a brown paper bag, or a "quarter" of loose tea!

Dishwashers use less water than washing up by hand, so not having one is a false economy
And you can put the dishcloth in the dishwasher too!

I doubt I could squeeze myself in there as well, though.

?

MissAdventure

I boil myself in a bucket with some pieces of old cloth, then throw in some lentils to turn it into a nutritious soup when I've finished.

???

You always cheer me up MissAdventure
We need to keep laughing otherwise .....

Dickens

MissAdventure

I boil myself in a bucket with some pieces of old cloth, then throw in some lentils to turn it into a nutritious soup when I've finished.

... I'm loving this!

Ditto! ?

oh MissAdventure you are a scream!
I was going to say I do all those things already but.....

I was just saying, as I waited an hour for my bus in central Edinburgh while I watched as 4 tour buses passed me along with solid traffic belching out fumes and moving at a snail's pace.
What happened to climate crisis?
My cousin from America is coming to stay, for one week. Was I supposed to say she couldn't?
My DS is coming from NZ this year for the first time in 4 years. What was I to say?

I accept that we all have to make changes and cut down and I have turned off the heating though it is freezing still.

My shampoo and conditioner, in bar form, have lasted me over a year and I do wash my hair once a week

MissAdventure

I boil myself in a bucket with some pieces of old cloth, then throw in some lentils to turn it into a nutritious soup when I've finished.

... I'm loving this!

I have been doing everything you have been doing GagaJo apart from unplugging things. It causes arguments because my husband has everything on standby. I have been re using and washing plastic bags and lunch bags for years. I use recycled plastic bottles in my veg garden for all kinds of uses.
I don’t always peel veg or if I do I make something out of them. I come from a big family so food waste to me is a crime. I do eat meat and fish but only in small quantities and from sustainable and traceable sources. I grow fruit and veg in season and I order a box of mixed fruit and veg that would otherwise be thrown away.

Further, we have never had either a dishwasher or a tumble dryer. Some folk would really struggle to cope without these fundamentally unnecessary items nowadays.

Maybe "fundamentally unnecessary", but to some - like myself and my partner with disabilities that make standing at the sink or walking up steps and a gradient to get to the washing line holding on to a basket of washing in one hand and a walking stick the other - quite difficult and painful... they do appear to be crucially necessary.

I have chronic venous insufficiency in my legs, my partner can barely walk. Both tumble drier and dishwasher allow us to remain independent of outside help.

A washing machine is also intrinsically unnecessary - we could do washing of clothes and linen by hand (or in the bath tub if you have one)... but I'm really pleased I don't have to. Basically, because I couldn't stand long enough to do it!

We try to be as careful as we can be with electricity/gas/water and there's hardly ever any food waste here.
We are lucky to have a 'take your own container' plastic free shop locally so I can buy what I need rather than a big packet of something. I also have a good butcher and a veg market.

Both have bikes and use them whenever possible, car when necessary so that's sometimes once in a fortnight sometimes every day depending on what we're doing.
We have kept away from public transport throughout the pandemic and still do so.

Charity shops are a way of life for me - I liked to ring the changes when I was teaching so often would buy something, use it for a little while and then take it to a different charity shop. Anything from everyday wear to wedding outfits have been sourced from charity shops! Do the same with books - especially reference ones.
OH has had the same clothes for years!
Just try to be mindful while living a normal life really.

Re phone charges read this article www.howtogeek.com/231886/tested-should-you-unplug-chargers-when-youre-not-using-them/

I think it is only old charges that are bad

I Turn the microwave off at the wall because apparently on standby that can use quite a bit of electricity over the year. I don’t drive and I don’t fly so I think I’m doing my bit…?

People who don't use plastic - what do you do about bin bags? We have to bag our household waste (not the stuff that goes in the cardboard/recyclable bin) or the binmen won't take it.

If you could get strong paper binbags I would consider using them, but AFAIK they are not available. I do try to use the ones that scam charities put through the door, and repurpose bags that have been used for other things, but even so, I can't avoid buying binbags, which are the ultimate in single use plastic.

As an aside, autocorrect doesn't like binbags either . I've had to change beanbags and bonbons back to 'binbags' already.

Oh, others I forgot. For my outer clothes (not underwear), I don't use detergent. They clean perfectly well with just water. I've taken to using only the 15 minute wash and it's fine. Obviously, anything more soiled or bedding, gets a longer wash plus detergent. To be honest, the no detergent thing didn't start as an eco measure, it was because I wear a lot of black and I was fed up with detergent fading it. But discovered it washed perfectly well without.