I'm a horrible blogger

I started this blog to keep track of my journey into austerity; my family's continuing march to reduce our footprint on the world and be more conscious of our impacts on the environment.

I started out taking readings and averages of my family's usage for things like water, gasoline, electricity, waste, etc, and compared it to national and regional averages. A plan was made to reach a low impact lifestyle that would barely show up as a blip on a map. And, in the first year, I was very quickly working my way there, having cut our usage and waste by at least 50% in some categories, and up to 80% in others.

Next was to start working on making our little half acre into a sustainable garden. Not only were there plans for vegetation, but also plants that could be used for things other than food. Such as hot peppers to make garden spray from, corn for the husks, herbs that can be dried or pressed for oil for homeopathic uses.

The final step, the one I never did get to start, was to populate the land with livestock. Chickens, first, then a milking goat or two. Other animals would be introduced as city ordinance allowed.

Meanwhile, inside the house, lots of changes were taking place. The twins were still potty training, so we had them in cloth diapers, using cloth wipes with a solution I made. I was downsizing the amount of dishes in the kitchen, one set per person, to reduce excess water usage from long periods of dish washing. Plans were in the works for rain water collection, grey water system, a composting toilet...

Then things happened. Things called life. Slowly things stopped being tracked and accounted for. Efforts weren't being made to reduce waste or keep usage down. Disposable items were making their way back into the house more and more. And suddenly everything was back to what it was before. I stopped even trying, feeling that any effort would be wasted, and just let my blog and all I wanted to do be pushed to the side.

But, I never forgot. The desire to start everything back up has always been there. It's been discussed, but never made it far past that. So many things have changed in the past few years, that no matter how great the desire to to back to my plans were, it seemed like it would be harder this time. The kids are older, my health is worse, our finances are in complete disarray... but those are nothing more than excuses. Yes, there are things that will be harder this time around, but it's not like cutting back on all the conveniences that made our footprint as big as it was when I first started was easy the first time. It's always about sacrifice. About doing better. About showing my kids how to be better.

So, I'm pulling out my old charts. I'm looking up averages, and seeing what ours are. I'm starting slow, like changing the products we use for cleaning and personal use from store bought chemicals full of things we don't need to homemade products that are better for us and the environment. We've already been using a homemade dry laundry detergent for months, now I'm working on switching to no shampoo and homemade toothpaste.

And, maybe, just maybe, I can remember to keep blogging about it all this time. Even if no one reads this, and this is all just for me, it's good to keep a diary of my progress. Good and bad.

Springtime again

It's time to start the gardens back up. Today I got some cabbage, spinach, leaf and head lettuce, and broccoli transplanted into one of my raised beds. Getting ready to start some seedlings tonight. I'm going to try to keep a better record of my gardening this year. Notes, progress, problems, etc. Pictures as well. I also want to start up a couple of small grain fields. I wanted to start with wheat instead of corn, which is suggested for a first time grain crop, since we limit our corn consumption more than wheat, but it seems that wheat is better started in the fall as a winter crop than as a spring crop with a fall harvest in this area. Might still see what I can do.

I really want to get a good squash patch this year, too. Last year I was so excited about my zucchini and pumpkin plants, which both started out beautifully, but didn't really go anywhere. My zucchini produced a couple of good fruits, but then was tragically murdered by bugs. The pumpkin vines started out promising, but never actually fruited. Made me sad. 

However, another season is starting, another chance to grow. Can't wait to see what my garden gives us this year.

First year of rioting; some good, some not-so-good

Even though I did an absolute horrible job keeping up with the blog, I have still been keeping track over the last year of our usage. Some of the main things I have discovered in the last year are that if there are people in your house that have no desire or care to reduce usage and waste, not only will it not happen, but it will get worse, and that the minute you stop paying close attention to your usage is when it starts going back up. I thought that if we just kept doing the same things, it wasn't that important if I documented everything for a month or two. How very wrong I was.

According to the numbers, we did really well the first six months. But, then we seriously backslid the next six. Of course, this summer started early, and started hot. Luckily, the heat has broken, so the summer ended early, but I'm afraid that means we're in store for a long, hard winter.

So, here are our averages:

Starting numbers:

Jan-June 2011

Gasoline     Electric     Natural Gas     Water     Trash     Average

63gal          740kWh   20ccf               4400gal  20lbs
75%           67%         28%                113%      13%    60%

First six months of rioting.

July-Dec 2011

57gal         938kWh   32ccf               6233gal    21lbs   
68%          85%          45%                160%       13%   47%

 Second half of the year.

Jan-June 2012

30gal        1032kWh   29ccf               7605gal   17lbs
35%          94%           41%                195%      11%   75%

First (half) month riot results and more plans

So, I didn't make as big of a dent as I thought I would. Granted, two of the five things I'm tracking I didn't have figures for, so I just gave us the average 100% usage, but still the numbers weren't that great. Overall, we only dropped around 6%. But, I think that's only because we used less than the 100% in the two categories that I just estimated for the previous month. Also, our natural gas usage went up in August. How that happened, I'm not sure, but I've got to figure out some more strategies.

Here are our numbers so far:

Category Nat. Avg. (100%) Our Avg. July 2011 Aug 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gasoline 84 gal 63 gal/75% 84 gal/100% 70gal/83%

Electricity 1100kWh 740kWh/67% 1130kWh/103% 1037/94%

Nat. Gas 70ccf 20ccf/28% 6ccf/8.5% 10ccf/14%

Water 3900gal 4400gal/113% 5236gal/134% 5236gal/134%

Trash 160lbs 20lbs/13% 40lbs/25% 20lbs/13%


Our six month average puts us at 60% of the national usage.
In July we were at 74%.
In Aug. we were at 68%.

We are running very far below in natural gas and trash, but our water and electricity is way too high. (especially our water!)

I tried only washing the diapers every other day, but not only do we not have enough covers for that, but I realized that while most people with one baby in diapers can get away with washing every other day, for me to do it with twins would be like washing every four days. It wasn't practical. I'm hoping that we can get something figured out for a rain water collection system soon. We also need to get better at reusing the grey water.

As far as electricity goes, I've gotten hooked on the clothes dryer again. Most days I don't have the time to hang the clothes. Though, I really need to get back into the habit. And, for days that it's raining or when it starts getting too cold, we're going to put a drying rack in the bathroom.

But, it's only been a month. And, I just have to keep reminding myself that this is a year long project/process.

Anyhoo...

New projects I'm looking into are preserving and keeping chickens. As I don't normally work (only working a part time/seasonal job right now), I potentially have lots of free time. So, instead of spending it shopping 2-3 times a week, I want to start making and preserving or freezing my staples for the pantry. Things like tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, cream soups, chicken broth, etc. We are going to look into getting some chickens this spring for fresh eggs and to help fertilize the garden we plan to start back up at the same time.

By spring we should have enough compost ready to get my elevated garden going. (it always amazes me every time I look in the compost bin that all that 'dirt' is from the food we've been putting in there for the last year and a half! Never did think too much about where dirt came from.) I've never been terribly successful with growing things, but I've got to keep trying. I don't think that being able to keep a garden is a special gift, like being artistic, I think it's a learned skill. Sure, some people are probably awesome at it right from the start, but I know that everyone should be able to grow fruits and vegetables.

Maybe if I get a good garden going, and actually figure out what the hell I'm doing, we'll start a bigger one out in Republic. Since, that's where we're going to end up, anyways. Though, it will be a couple of years before I'm able to do that. Gotta wait till the babes are old enough to be able to help, or at least occupy themselves.

So, that's all the news for now. Other than getting adjusted to working again, which after three years of not working outside the home is an adventure all in itself!

Is living off the grid now a crime? California seems to think so.

This just really pisses me off. So many people are trying to live off the grid to help save resources and money, things that are constantly being preached to us in every magazine, newspaper, commercial, TV and radio ad, etc. Yet, the government apparently has issues with us taking it just a couple of steps further.

http://offgridsurvival.com/livingoffthegridcrime/

My big fat riot for austerity plan. Get as close to a 90% reduction in emissions, consumption, and waste in a year.

Listed are either the national or state average for each category, our annual or monthly average, and the 90% reduction goal.

Gasoline:

national usage per person, per year: 500 gallons (100%)

our yearly average, per person: 375 gallons (75%)

90% reduction: 38 gallons a year

Electricity:

national usage per household, per month: 1100kWh (100%)

our household monthly average: 740kWh (67%)

90% reduction: 113kWh a month

Natural Gas:

Missouri usage per household, per month: 70ccf (100%)

our household monthly average: 20ccf (28%)

90% reduction: 7ccf a month

Water:

national usage per household, per month: 3900 gallons (100%)

our household monthly average: 4400 gallons (113%)

90% reduction: 390 gallons a month

Garbage (not including recycling):

national average per household, per week: 40lbs (100%)

our household weekly average: 2.5lbs (6%)

90% reduction: 4lbs a week

The gas and the water are going to be the hardest to reduce.

Without a water collection system or gray water system it will be almost impossible. I am going to try to get our usage down to 50%.

With our now large family, Dan needing his car to get his tools back and forth to work, and my family being 112 miles away, 130 gallons a year is just not going to happen. Though, we're going to try to reduce our consumption as much as possible.

Hi!

Over the years I've found myself becoming more and more aware of the issues we face with the environment. I used to only be concerned with crime, economics, politics, jobs...Until I realized that without our home-the Earth-none of that matters. I also didn't really think too much about what the world was going to be like after I died since not only did I not have children, I was infertile so was most likely never going to have any. So, what did I care what happened after I died. How things change unexpectedly and oh, so suddenly.

I am now married to a great guy and we have three children together. A 3 year old and 4 month old twins.

My husband has always been conscious of the environment, and is always looking for ways to live better, greener, more sustainable lives. I had never really thought much about it. I mean, I would put my aluminum cans and plastic bottles in the recycle bins if they were around, I didn't litter (much), always tried to remember to shut off the lights, not let the water run. You know, the things almost everyone does when they think about it, and assume it's enough to help.

I really had no idea.

Recently I came across this blog, http://sharonastyk.com/. She talks a lot about energy conservation, depletion, green living, etc. But, what really caught my eye was her Riot For Austerity post.

"The Riot for Austerity came about this way. In 2007, after the release of the IPCC report, and a number of books drawing attention to climate change, a friend of mine and I were discussing our frustration that no political organization was considering any kind of emissions cuts that even resembled those necessary to limit the damage from climate change. In fact whenever we discussed the 90+% emissions cuts required to give us the best chance of a reasonable stable climate, the immediate reaction was “that’s not going to happen!”

Stealing a great line from George Monbiot’s wonderful book _Heat_, in which he laments “no one has ever rioted for austerity” Miranda Edel and I, both mothers of children who would be living for this world, wondered if it was really so inconceivable that people could change their lives. After all, our grandparents had done so during WWII – was it really so alien, so far away? Frustrated at lack of political responsiveness, we decided we wouldn’t wait – we’d see if we could make the cuts in our own lives. Someone, we argued, had to model a way of life that was actually viable given the limits of our planet’s resources and pollution absorption capacity. So, why not us?

We set two goals. First, we would spend a year trying to get our emissions down by 90% over the American average. Second, we’d use this as part of a larger public strategy to point out that it can be done – that we don’t have to wait for political action – indeed, that we can’t wait."

So, I figured out our numbers. It took me about two days to find the information and get the figures I needed. I got frustrated many times when I realized that it's rather difficult to find out what national and state averages for energy, natural gas, and water usage. Things, you would think, should be available to anyone, and easy to find.

I'm starting this blog for two reasons. First, to keep track of our progress. To share the things we are doing, are trying, tried but didn't work, etc. Second, to share this with others. Because it's not just about 'showing them' that it can be done. It's not about saving money, even though it will. It's about the realization that we CANNOT continue to live this way. Some people theorize that if we continue at the rate we're going, increasing our usage at the rate it's increasing, we may not make it past another decade or two before we have completely depleted our resources. Whether or not that is correct, it is certainly a scary thought. Even worse, what kind of world are we leaving for our children or grandchildren? And, what kind of example are we setting by living like this?

So, here we go!