Reply #25: Well, this is what we do.

[Skidmore]

Energy: Not off the grid, but am losing my employment so we can't afford to do that right now. We insulated our home well and weatherproof windows and doors each winter. We open windows in summer and reserve the air conditioning for the hottest and most humid days. Flourescent bulbs in all fixtures and lamp. Only one light in the room on at a time and turn it off when you leave. Use charcoal and grill food in summer. Wash all clothing in cold water, have a high efficiency washer and dryer. Dry clothes outside when weather permits. Programmable thermostat which adjusts temperature of heating and cooling systems for when we are home and away. Wear layers of clothing in the winter and snuggle under throws during cooler hours.


Healthcare: Try to eat healthily most of the time and to get exercise. Take vitamins and wash hands frequently during cold and flu season. Use natural remedies that I am familiar with, there's a lot I don't know though.

Food: Use rain water for watering garden, not tap water. Grow many of the vegetables we use in our garden. Freeze summer veggies for winter use. Usually the garden get us through the winter. Only need to buy fruit, lettuce, and cabbage. We purchase meat on the hoof and usually end up paying about $1.40/lb for enough meat to get us through most of a year. Buy store brand a lot and in bulk. Purchase rice in 20 lb. bags and store in a bin. Purchase pasta in large quantities and store in bins. Basically, we purchase eggs, milk, and cheese weekly. Could keep chickens but our commute times haven't allowed for us to be able to tend them properly. May do this at some time in the future though.

Construction/Consumption: I'm going to lump these together. We do all of our own major repairs, quite often recycling parts. My husband is an avid "professional" dumpster diver (or so he claims that title), and we've done stuff like built a gardenseat with trellis from a discarded futon base (it's very cool). He's knows how to do everything, and I'm his assistant. We have a riding lawnmower that is 30 years old and he keeps it going. Our yard is way too big to mow with walk-behind mower and we're getting to old for that, especially in the heat of summer. I'd rather pay for the gass than have a stroke for that task. I have very few items in my house that were purchased new. Many have been reclaimed and made better. He also finds plenty of discarded electronic equipment, vacuum cleaners, lamps, microwaves, computer parts, etc. and will clean them up, service them, and make sure they are in working order. Some of them we donate to different charities and get a small tax deduction for them, others he'll take to consignment stores, and some we might use ourselves. It gives these things a second life and keeps them out of the landfill. It also keeps him off of the streets and out of trouble. Man lives in the basement. I toss him down a bit of food now and then and remind him that he needs to shower, change clothes, and sleep once in a while. We don't really profit much from this effort because he needs to buy parts. Kinda break even and it's a hobby for him. We also recycle cardboard, glass, plastics, metal.

Actually we live pretty frugrally. Our biggest need is for health insurance since we both now have developed some chronic health issues that will require annual labs and medications for the rest of our lives. He could probably do okay for quite some time on a reduction in his prescription, but without mine, I will die. I worry about this more than anything.


Consumption: Do you buy things you don't need? Do you recycle? Buy used? Shop at Wal-Mart?