This post isn’t about plant-based diets. This post is about being green and living simply. I feel like the two go hand in hand.
There is a certain category of activities that were commonplace 50, 75, or 100 years ago that are no longer seen as worth doing anymore. These activities are sometimes seen as “poor” activities, “old fashioned,” or even “tacky.”
Younger generations tend to blame older generations for carelessly destroying our planet, but a lot of the perfectly ordinary things that they did were quite “green.” Incidentally, these are activities that a lot of people wouldn’t be caught dead doing today. Some of these activities are even prohibited by city codes in the name of neat appearances! We need to talk about this.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but the few things I am thinking about tonight are:
- Clothes Lines
- Patched Clothing
- Compost Piles
People can save a lot of electricity by hanging their clothes on a line to dry. This isn’t always practical (winter/rain/etc.), but on any calm day that reaches at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I’d say go for it! Not only are you saving electricity from not running the dryer, your house will stay a lot cooler in the summer months (your dryer puts off a lot of heat!). Think about it.
Patched clothing is no joke. I understand that most jobs require a (semi)professional appearance, but for those in blue-collar jobs or for our yard-work clothing at home, what harm can come from simply patching those pants instead of tossing them out and buying new ones? You’re not sloppy-looking–you’re telling the world, “Hey, everybody! I’m frugal and I can sew!” Ladies love gentlemen who can sew, because truth is, ladies can’t even sew nowadays. Think about it.
Finally, compost piles are so simple. To ensure success, feed you compost pile a raw vegan diet. These piles like raked leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, old newspapers, and more. Just do a little research. Also, these piles can be quite small or quite large. Consider stacking some old tires and throwing the scraps in the middle. Try buying a tumbler. Or even just stack some cinder blocks into a 3-sided enclosure that is just 2 or 3 feet tall. Composting is so simple, and it amounts to FREE ORGANIC FERTILIZER. What person with a garden wouldn’t want that? You are literally turning trash into something valuable. Think about it.
Rural Vegan 