usedteabag - or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the Journal

[luvinlife offthegrid]

http://www.readymade.com/blog/fashion/2011/02/25/make_your_own_hair_conditioner/P2/



I just realized after reading your response to me- I have no desire to be fully self sufficient. I would rather trade off with others. We have about 8.5 acres in the middle of the woods. I haven't read the most recent issue of Mother Earth News. I have read the book "the Self Sufficient Life and How to Live it". It talks about that but on 3 acres. There are so many other people raising meat and vegetables here, that I don't have to. Neighbors and extended family and the CSAs are plentiful. Besides the farms, nobody else does meat chickens and eggs. So I could bring some chickens and eggs to my uncle for the bison. Plus we hunt deer. It's why people formed communities, I think.

It's great that you work on a farm, I'm so jealous!

 

[usedteabag]

So, I broke down and started recording everything my partner and I buy. As I've mentioned before we're moving to Halifax in September and there is a distinct possibility that we will not have two incomes at that point, as he might be going to school. So not only am I planning on saving a lot of money between now and then, I want a good idea of how much we spend per day/week/month on average and to see the patterns, where we can save money, etc. I know from living both here and in the States that it is a LOT more expensive to live in Canada, especially when it comes to heavily subsidized products in the US like dairy. For a 1 gallon or 4 litre jug of milk, it costs around $2.50 where I used to live in Maine, and here, it costs $7.50, and that's not even for organic or local--just as one example. There are things that are about equal, for sure, but many things aren't. The only reason this matters of course is for the majority of the readers here, and for my mother, who has been living in the US for so long that she seems to forget how expensive it is to live here--let alone for someone like myself who prefers local and organic.

But I'm happy to do that. I know the vast majority of the money I spend--after bills--is food, and I'm okay with that. I don't have a cell phone, car, or TV, and I'm quite satisfied. I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be truly self-sufficient. And keep in mind that I live in a community in which local vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, fish, cheese, beer, wine, spirits, and even flour are available to me virtually all year long, and I know many of you reading aren't as lucky. I want to support this vibrant community. But at the same time, I only make so much money.

Obvious answers: grow as much of my own food as possible, buy in bulk, deal in trade, invest in products that will last me a long time, have my own useful animals which can provide me food and fertilizer, make use of cheap home remedies. There are so many things I can do... and yet, I still feel like I have to buy things that aren't local, organic, fair trade, etc. I can't seem to avoid buying made-in-China products (or Thailand, India, Indonesia, etc.) and for someone like me who just has this goal, I find it really frustrating. Even the packaging that these aforementioned lovely products come in is made overseas. I feel like I can't win.

I try just to revel in what I am already doing right. And not to say that my way of life is so right and those who don't live like I do are so wrong. I respect all walks of life, provided they respect mine. I just have this goal in mind and sometimes I am overwhelmed with what I've set for myself. But I think it will be worth it. At least I tell myself it will be.

 

[the_whingnut]

just remember to give yourself small goals as you go. just having one huge goal can be easily overwhelming and scary (trust me in know) so have little goals medium goals and the big goals it will a couple of things for you

1. give you a rough plan
2. build your confidence
and lastly give you a reason to reward yourself for your own hard work without feeling guilty about it.

just my take on it. good luck with everything

Let us know how Halifax looks my eyes haven't crossed the town in a decade, but i remember from the water front everything was sharp!

 

[hqueen13]

But I'm happy to do that. I know the vast majority of the money I spend--after bills--is food, and I'm okay with that. I don't have a cell phone, car, or TV, and I'm quite satisfied. I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be truly self-sufficient. And keep in mind that I live in a community in which local vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, fish, cheese, beer, wine, spirits, and even flour are available to me virtually all year long, and I know many of you reading aren't as lucky. I want to support this vibrant community. But at the same time, I only make so much money.

Obvious answers: grow as much of my own food as possible, buy in bulk, deal in trade, invest in products that will last me a long time, have my own useful animals which can provide me food and fertilizer, make use of cheap home remedies. There are so many things I can do... and yet, I still feel like I have to buy things that aren't local, organic, fair trade, etc. I can't seem to avoid buying made-in-China products (or Thailand, India, Indonesia, etc.) and for someone like me who just has this goal, I find it really frustrating. Even the packaging that these aforementioned lovely products come in is made overseas. I feel like I can't win.

I often feel like this. We struggle between the choice of eating organic/local and eating within a tighter budget. One of our biggest struggles needs to be not buying so much "stuff" and buying better food. Our weak point is that he works 50 hour work weeks plus a 3+ hour commute round trip each day, and I work 40 hours per week, and in the time that he's not home I am busy trying to keep up with the house, and add on top of that being the events coordinator for a non-profit equestrian center, plus taking care of horses one night a week, and horse sitting when a handful of friends go out of town and there isn't much time left. We end up eating out WAY more than either of us want to. That is very hard for me to deal with, especially as I am working to eliminate things like sugars and grains from our diet as I explore the possibility that I may have more food allergies than I realized.

Food is health, so having the majority of spending be on your food isn't a bad thing.

Just keep doing what you CAN do, don't worry about what you can't, and continue to work to change the things that you can.