Sustainability Update

I've intended to keep an accurate log of some of Kevin & my sustainability measures. A lot of resources paint truly romantic portraits of life without electricity and sending Timmy to the well. We haven't gone quite that far (yet-- Kevin is persistent) but we have gone well over a year without a drying machine, converted one toilet to a composting toilet, and introduced vermiculture to our composting routine. There are other measures outside, but these are some of the practices that stay with us year-round.

Here's the status update:

LIFE WITHOUT A DRYER

Truly, not so bad.

Here are the exceptions: 2013 was a particularly wet summer. At times, I felt like monsoon season had arrived. Laundry was an issue. The outdoor lines were useless. We have two clothes racks in the house, but the clothes took fo-eva to dry given humidity. When they did dry, they really didn't smell great. (I became friendly with essential oils.)

I started wondering what folks do in regions where there are rainy seasons. These regions tend to coincide with low-technology usage. I posed the question to a friend who lived in Peru. She reflected and responded, "Folks were really creative during that season. A lot of people painted and wrote."

Yeah yeah, "but what about their clothes?"

"Oh, I think we were just kind of smelly then."

Yup. I think that's the truth. My friend, Pete, explained that dryers remove moisture thereby drying (he has advanced degrees in science, so ya know). Without some type of dehumidifier, we were just kind of smelly.

Exception #2: The winter of 2013-2014 was particularly snowy. I've discovered that hanging clothes on the outdoor line when the temps are below freezing is fine. When the sun is out, the clothes will dry. And clothes hung on an outdoor line smell great! And if there was wind? Even better! They are fresh like daisies.

However! Snow, sleet, rain, and a mix thereof does not work. There were WEEKS when I couldn't hang clothes on the line due to various accumulations of the aforementioned. I used the indoor clothes racks for our clothes, but I was at a bit of a loss for sheets and blankets. My solution? Be thankful that we had enough sheets and blankets to get us through the winter. Today is spring-like. I think I just washed and hung every piece of bedding used throughout the winter.

Again, what do people normally do? I think many have clothes lines in their basement. I'm not a fan of this because my basement is kind of musty. Again, the smell issue. I love the freshness of clothes dried in the sun and clean air.

Overall, it's completely possible. I'd love more outdoor line space and I'd love more indoor rack space. We have a relatively small house so that's probably not possible. We'll get by. I also love our electricity bill.

COMPOSTING TOILET

We have a very simple indoor outhouse involving a bucket and cedar shavings. We have learned that you have to periodically change the bucket (not just what's in it-- we do that!). When you own your own landscaping business and are farming your backyard, buckets are plentiful. In another household, the bucket issue would likely be a bigger hassle.

Cedar is one of our favorite additives to our... leavings. Usually, there's not a smell. During the heat of the summer we had to be conscious about enough cedar and frequently taking the bucket out to the compost pile. However, "leavings" from months ago? Pure, rich dirt. And all of those gallons of water were saved from treatment processing plants and our waste! Whoo hoo! I love our water bill.

VERMICULTURE

Kevin's wormies. The wormies like a rather specific diet. We have a simple composting bucket in the kitchen as well, for organic matter that the worms can't, or shouldn't, process. A few times we were a bit off with our worm feedings and they were unable to process the organic matter. (I think. I get a bit fuzzy on this stuff. Very much Kevin's territory.) Whatever the specific cause, the result was MANY, MANY fruit flies. Lord of the fruit flies! We are very careful with our wormies now. We do not appreciate their wrath.

Summary:

The other day I lay in bed while I oil pulled, a practice of swishing organic coconut oil in your mouth for various health benefits. Kevin got up to take an ice cold shower and meditate. "We're weird," he said. I smiled, unable to respond due to a mouth-ful of organic coconut oil.