tagged by two frog home, the question of what won't i give up to be green is the subject. this is a hard one because i use several things for convenience but when it comes down to it, they really aren't necessary in my life.
my vehicle, i'd give up in a second if i had a team of fjords (pjedro and pjaco). i dream of a world where vehicles don't exist and we go back to horse and buggy...have so since i was a kid. i should've become amish. heh. i need the vehicle only to go pick up my kids from their dad's but i could do that on horse back! most other trips are fairly frivolous including grocery shopping. i suppose transporting livestock isn't frivolous but that could be done with a wagon too.
my fridge, gone. i have trouble keeping it stocked unless we are backed up in milk and eggs. that's not a problem anymore since we got our license.
electricity, gone. if it weren't for my laptop (see below) i could care less for electricity. we have a wood burning stove, granted it has an electric blower, and no a/c so mostly, it's for the lights and the fridge. i'd love to live more simply. (note, this is not necessarily the view of any of the other family members).
ironing board and iron - oh, i'd so like to chuck that one already. i've been extremely lax with it this week and greg has had to iron all his work shirts. shame on me (hey, i'm giving it up to green the earth. that's my story and i'm sticking with it!)
however, here are a few things i thought of:
my laptop and wifi connection and printer - seriously, i use the heck out of my computer and internet. i've actually started researching a solar power adapter to run the computer on (anyone have any good recommendations?) my printer is used every day for my business
my kitchen aid mixer - it would probably be one of the first to go but i use it to knead my bread and to churn my butter. but, i have hands and i have a churn. both work just as well but are more time consuming.
anyone else care to play?
I'd give up electricity too but it'd be hard to charge my (mythical) electric car. A solar car would be ok with me so would a grease car.
ReplyDeleteAre there any foods you won't give up such as avocados?
Please link back to my original post.
I was thinking like you: there isn't anything I WOULDN'T give up, but there are some things that would be damn hard (truck & trailer, laptop & internet, mixer, hot [convenient] water, freezer...)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I'm prepared to give up things if and when I have too.. but in the meantime I am choosing convenience sometimes.
ReplyDeleteour ultimate romantic ideal would be to free of the electric grid. already we only heat with wood--three winters and counting. the electric oven is the only thing that i don't see leaving any time soon. i'd like to build a cob bread oven but the kids will have to be old enough to get it started for tabitha to bake bread.
ReplyDeleterunning the clothes washer, lights, fans and computer could be easily offset by a small pv system. i already have the hot water system figured out and most of the parts. i just need the time and money to buy the pipe and build it. it'll be after the root cellar and just after the cob barn but before the new chicken coop, summer kitchen and new steel roof for rain water collection.
i'll never give up tuna sahimi--only take extended sabbaticals like now.
We were just talking about this the other day, I would hate to give up my pickup, tractor, and chainsaw. I'm counting DH in this too!
ReplyDeleteWe had draft horses, but couldn't justify the cost at the time, but we could go back. Our hydro power plant got taken away in a family land squabble, so maybe we could start that up and give up the electric. But, I would absolutely hate to give up my greenhouse plastic. I've used some 6 years longer than the recommendation so I hope that counts for something...