So, enough preamble. What is my project all about. For a month, starting tomorrow, I want to keep a small journal of everything I use in my personal life on a day to day basis. I will exclude materials I use at work, because it is doubtful I will be in need of venti cups or syrup pumps on my homestead.
So, what types of things will I be cataloging. Basically everything. Books, my computer, toilet paper, food I eat, paper towels, every object I interact with in my personal life. The reason for this is that I want to calculate exactly how self-sufficient I can and want to be, and what areas I'd rather be community- or locally-sufficient.
To give a few quick examples...
- I washed my clothes today using laundry detergent I purchased from a store. It would also be possible for me to grow some soapberry bushes on my homestead, and use these to produce my own laundry soap instead. This is a product with which I can be self-sufficient.
- As anyone could guess, I also used toilet paper today. It is possible that I could make and use my own toilet paper, but I have not yet discovered or devised an efficient way of doing so. Most likely, this will be something I will rely on a specialist in the community to provide for my acquisition.
- Clothes are my final example. I wear clothes everyday, and while I probably could make my own, I prefer not to. Purchasing or bartering for clothes manufactured by a responsible, ethical company will not only support good business practices, but will also probably last much longer than anything I could make for myself, therefore reducing the amount of "stuff" I'm using in my lifetime.
Would anyone like to join me in quantifying how sustainable you can/want to be?
I have decided to postpone this project for a little bit. I did not quite realize exactly how much I might be listing on a day to day basis. I need to plan out to what detail I will be documenting my daily "things" used. I will restart this project sometime after the new year.
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