Anyone living off the land?

[newbie32]

Amen to that Galanie! I don't have safe water here but for a dollar we fill a 5 gallon drum from the water machines. Those water machines take our nasty, bad, arsenic water and filters the heck out of it. When I lived in the big city I always drank the water that came out of the sink. It just goes to show how gullible people can be.

I am seeing more and more people using refillable carry cups though.

 

[chicken-lady13]

I guess living in the south eastern United States we take lots of fresh water for granted. The good Lord blessed us here !!!. I sure hope u can get your water problems worked out and get safe drinkable water. I remember when I went to visit family in New Mexico and they had really bad water and all kinds of filtration systems set up, but it still tasted bad to this Tennessee girl. I told them they had a beautiful place there in the mountains, but the Smokey Mountains was home sweet home to me. Where we didn't have to worry with water problems and surviving. The mountains provided all we needed , then some.

 

[newbie32]

Yeah the difference between Colorado (where I am originally from) water and this water is HUGE! I think its because the Southwestern states don't have their own water sources so they have to buy it elsewhere. Here in Southern California we get 90% from the Colorado river but by the time it reaches us it is pretty gross from agricultural runoff, salt, and other stuff. Plus the pipes here are from a LONG time ago and the county wont do anything about it because we are unincorporated so they don't care.

 

[LBejaran]

I'm definitely looking into recycling more now that I've seen that darn documentary, haha! I think I made Dad paranoid, so now he's looking at his plastic water bottles with a bit of concern. I think what I'm going to do is buy him a big reusable bottle that he can stick in the freezer (he, for whatever reason, really likes to freeze his water until there is just a small pocket of icy cold water trapped in the ice) and enjoy.

As for our water supply, since we're in Texas, we're in a near-constant state of drought. I'm pretty sure we have to have a decent water-storing system, though, considering how bad it gets down here. We had some great rain a week ago, though, so I think it helped. Either way, I'm definitely going to look into a water storage system and that manual pump. We really don't like to take our underground water sources for granted, so we haven't touched it recently. However, I'm making sure to utilize all the water we use outdoors more so as to not waste. The water from the duck/kiddie pool is being used on potted plants when I need to change it out (it's filled with nutrients!) and I'm keeping the dog's bucket of water clean with a little extra apple cider vinegar so I'm not having to change it as often. And now, my lil' sister has a schedule for her showers (because if it was up to her, she'd shower for an hour in the hottest water available until she is a raisin). Weekends are her days to pamper herself, though. Oh well, I'll take what I can get, hehe!

 

[Teri Metcalf]

We've been recycling for several years now, bringing our own bags for shopping, purchasing items with minimal or no packaging, composting, using a clothes line, etc. But the biggest challenge for me is to reduce our water consumption. I find that I use less water when I take a bath than when I shower, so most of the time I just put about 3 inches of water in the tub. And unless it is real hot and humid, I don't bathe every day. But in Texas the heat & humidity are pretty intense over a long summer. I keep a spreadsheet of our water & electricity bills over several years so I can compare our consumption each July, etc. Of course, variations in temp & drought from year to year affect our usage. But just the act of keeping track motivates me to try harder.

 

[mg15]

Even from the start, I could never understand why on earth people would buy those little plastic bottles of water when nearly every one of them had perfectly safe drinking water coming out of the tap. And I still don't understand that. If I can get 10,000 gallons for $20 a month then why would I want to pay $1 for a little bottle of it?

I understand if you live in a place where the water is not safe, that's a completely different story. But really, most of us don't have that problem. I wish everyone except those whose water is not safe would just stop buying the bottled stuff. Problem solved.

I agree.
I remember when merchandizing water for sale started creeping in. They scared us into believing that all water from the tap was unsafe. WHAT A MERCHANDIZING BONANZA. Lie to the public and then hope we buy it. right now I can barely watch T.V. because of the misuse of advertising to increase sales. It is shameful.

 

[newbie32]

Documentaries need to be shown in schools instead of so many Disney movies. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Disney, but even free days should be at least a little educational. I have always liked to watch documentaries, but it is always good to cross reference things to weed out any biases. I like that your sister is using less water and that your dad will have a new reusable cup soon! My teens freeze their water too LOL.

I have my own bags for shopping and I have spent a pretty penny on the zip up cooler bags too. Unfortunately I always forget to put them back in the car after I use them so they only get used occasionally. I would like to buy all my foods in less packaging. Really the only way to not have packaging is to buy only produce. We do buy a ton of produce but sometimes it is not practical. It is the glass that I focus on. Since it is biodegradable (after a long time) I think its the best way to help. Just today I went shopping and paid an extra $3 just for the olive oil in the glass bottle instead of plastic. Plus the plastic can melt slightly over time and contaminate our food and condiments-CANCER!!!!! And please don't scrap out those last few spoonfuls with a utensil because you are also scrapping plastic into your food.

yeah I remember the advertising too! LAME! The advertising industry would have us believe all kinds of false truths. Unfortunately only a small few actually check into their claims. Kind of reminds me of the depression medications that they advertise on T.V. LOL if you listen closely to the guy talking really fast at the end of the commercial you will hear them say that it could lead to severe cases of depression. WHAT?

Oh and they always say-In extreme cases could cause death. Ummm no thanks! They say this very quickly while the person on T.V is happily in bliss and distracting you. LOL that was just my favorite example.

Sorry for the tangent.

 

[mg15]

Tangents are good.
They are informative !

 

[Teri Metcalf]

Today we have a clear blue sky in College Station, so we've put the sun to work cooking up a small pot of brown rice in our solar cooker.

 

[mg15]

Solar cooker ??
I am going to look that one up on the web.
Cool.