What are you doing? What's working?

My habit thus far in life is that I don't celebrate enough, and I want to change that. So one thing I've done and I hope it helps this winter as I get seasonally down, is create a 'YAY! wall' where I post achievements or actions that increased sustainability or were particularly moving somehow, on brightly colored paper in my room. It's encouraging, especially as the wall starts to fill up, and it's changing my sense of self. I'm starting to acknowledge my positive impacts, and I'm starting to expect that I do things worth celebrating. Sometimes it's a bunch of little things that add up. I'd like to recreate that here, for the collective purpose of sharing our brilliant solutions and celebrating even small achievements. By posting here I do not necessarily need a pat-on-the back reply (although that would be great too), because the act of posting is me, giving myself a pat on the back, and I'm hoping this discussion could be a source of encouragement for us all as we practice the transition lifestyle.

What I'm burning to tell you now is, I bought a beautiful antique wash basin and pitcher today! I expect to save many gallons of water by this mere $20 purchase, water that goes down the drain as I'm getting the soap to wash my hands, several times a day. And perhaps even better, I made a point of telling the shopkeeper what I was doing and why, and I told her of my intention to keep my watering can for plants near the shower so I can collect the water that would otherwise be wasted while the water is heating up.

Also my job location changed, so for a while anyway, I'm walking to work, about a mile each way.

Oh, also, I wrote my first Transition Tale, which I posted on the group Music and Dancing and Stories, Oh My! Special thanks to my housemate Sara for editing. I hope you like it, it was really fun and made me cry.

And I am experimenting with a garden fertilizer made by soaking comfrey leaves in water until they decompose.

Hooray! I'm doing something!! I'd love to hear what you've been doing!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Heather K on August 23, 2010 at 12:28pm

Great idea JC! Is the 240 volt timer something I can purchase at hardware sales and install myself, or does it require some cut & pasteing of wires like you electricians do?

J. C. Walker,Jr. said:

I had this idea so long ago, it's sad to say. I've installed a 240 volt timer on my hot water tank. It turns on at 6:30 PM off at 8:00 PM, on again at 4:00 AM off at 9:00 AM. No time(er) like the present. The tank has a blanket and I have something to cross off my procrastination list. Feel the joy.

Permalink Reply by J. C. Walker,Jr. on August 23, 2010 at 12:55pm

Hardware Sales is where I purchased the timer. ( $80 ) With the power off, the feed to your water tank goes to the timer. From the timer you feed your tank. If you're the kind of person who is comfortable replacing a bad switch or changing a light fixture out, I think it would not pose to much of a challenge.Heather K said:

Great idea JC! Is the 240 volt timer something I can purchase at hardware sales and install myself, or does it require some cut & pasteing of wires like you electricians do?

J. C. Walker,Jr. said:
I had this idea so long ago, it's sad to say. I've installed a 240 volt timer on my hot water tank. It turns on at 6:30 PM off at 8:00 PM, on again at 4:00 AM off at 9:00 AM. No time(er) like the present. The tank has a blanket and I have something to cross off my procrastination list. Feel the joy.

Permalink Reply by Laura J Sellens on October 26, 2010 at 11:24pm

Well, I have cycled my kill-a-watts through most of the appliances in my apartment by now, and have made the easy choice to downscale the size of my fridge. The difference is about 3kwh/mo. May not look like much, but as I get closer to calculating and then adding detail to my carbon footprint, I will be able to a) make my reductions in a systematic way, b) track reductions to I can take moments to celebrate when I reach the x% mark, and c) revel in my geekiness. It's good stuff.

The day soon comes when I will not have a cell phone. For me, it's not a critical tool, it's an irritation. When it finally quits, I've decided not to replace it. I did, however, discover that my particular charger DOES NOT have any phantom current, at least not enough to register on the kill-a-watt. The computer sure does though!

If you are curious about the kill-a-watt and the intimacy you can develop with your energy use habits, I believe you can check one out from the library as part of Tom Anderson's tool library collaboration with Whatcom County Library System, how cool is that!

Permalink Reply by Emily Farrell on August 28, 2011 at 10:49am

Hi Laura,

This is so inspiring. I am so glad you are writing this up for us! I just moved back into town and so am beginning back into a bit more sustainability. It is so nice to bike to work again, and to grow herbs on my deck. I am watching the progress of the sun around the backyard to figure where to put in a garden, and just starting to get to know my neighbors. Happy summer! Emily

Permalink Reply by Angela MacLeod on August 28, 2011 at 12:46pm

I like the theme of this thread:

"...for the collective purpose of sharing our brilliant solutions and celebrating even small achievements. "

This summer I have been using a scythe to mow our lawn and orchard meadow. I took a workshop with Brian Kerkvliet at Inspiration Farm on scything last spring and then ordered a scythe from a Scythe Works on Vancouver Island. A fun precess selecting the blade and getting the gear fitted to my body and our needs. We have a half acre lot in the Birchwood neighborhood with much of it in lawn. Last year we mowed with an electric mower and had to do that 2 or 3 times a week in sections to keep up. This year I've been able to scythe 80% or more of what is lawn. We've been turning lawn into garden beds too, and plan to do more of that but it takes time. The best time to scythe is early morning....best because the grass slices easiest then so it is more efficient and pleasurable to do. Good thing I'm an early morning riser! I've gotten into a routine of scything for 20 to 30 minutes 2 or 3 mornings a week. Then raking it up for the compost or mulching. I still don't feel comfortable scything really close to the edges where there are rocks as one brush against a rock messes up the sharp blade edge and requires repairing. So I trim edges by hand or use an electric weed wacker. or let be weeding.

The great thing besides getting the mowing done with out using fossil fuel is the aerobic work out for my body. It is a most pleasant work out plus it is a lovely rhythmic motion doing the arcing swing of the scythe. I like how it works my abdominals and upper body.

Learning how to take care of the blade is another interesting adventure, working the metal (called peening) to get the sharpness needed by using a hammer and special anvil, then a whetstone. I couldn't tell you how long any of this takes and whether or not it takes a lot more time than mowing with a power mower...But if scything takes longer, I don't care because I love everything about scything. David loves it too...he loves that he doesn't have to do any mowing because I do almost all of it now. :)