Green Eyes on: Day of Decadence Done? Simplify.
by Sara Snow on 09.29.08
Sara and her mom discovering the great outdoors.
I think, and I think you’ll agree, that our days of decadence are done. I mean, who can afford a $5 daily coffee fix everyday anymore? Who can afford the bottomless tank of yesteryear’s monster SUVs? Who can afford to travel? Or heat and cool their McMansion? It seems that we have been living in a time of decadence; a time of $100 burgers and $12.5 million bras. Key words: have been. Is it safe to say that those times have come, or are coming to, a close? So what now? Well, times like this, there’s only one thing to do. Simplify!
I know, sounds boring, right? It doesn’t have to be. When I was growing up we didn’t have a furnace (a wood burning stove and solar heat did the trick), we grew a good portion of the food we ate, we stayed home unless we really needed to go out…. It was simple living; tough on the body but easy on the planet. Sure, today I live with my share of excess too. I drink the occasional bottle of water from a single-serve (when I’m on the road and have forgotten my Sigg), I eat some foods that come from far away (though I much prefer my CSA!), and stuff like that. Not as much as some but I’d be lying if I pretended to be perfect. Regardless, the idea of simplifying sometimes sends shivers down one’s spine, so here are my Top Five Tips to Simplify; When the Bottom Falls Out of the Economy:
1. Rediscover Your Kitchen
If it’s been a while since you went a whole week or even month without eating out, it’s time for you to rediscover your kitchen. You’ll be amazed, I hope, at how easy it is to actually make your lunch and your dinner. Here’s what I did for dinner tonight. I took: 1 bunch of beets-greens (leaves) intact, 1 onion, 1 double handful of mushrooms (a blend is good but use what you’ve got), a little olive oil, salt and soy sauce. I thinly sliced the onion and beets and threw those into a sauté pan with some olive oil, pepper and salt (lid on). Once they got a little softer (but far from soft) I added the chopped mushrooms and cooked for about 3 minutes then tossed in the chopped beet greens for another 2 minutes. I finished with some soy sauce and pepper. On the side I cooked some brown rice (according to package directions). I put the sautéed vegetables on the rice, poured a little organic wine, and voila! Ready to try a few others? Here are some of my favorites.
2. Eat Leftovers Again
You know the dinner you just fixed? Put what you can’t eat in a bowl and throw it back in a sauté pan (rice included) tomorrow for lunch or dinner. Or the next time you do hit a restaurant, don’t finish everything on your plate. You’re probably not hungry enough to eat it all anyway and you might be surprised at how it’s the perfect amount for lunch or dinner in a day or two.
3. Forgo the Coffee Fix
Ok, so maybe you don’t have to forgo the fix altogether, but how about trying some home brew for a change? My method of choice involves two things: yerba mate (my coffee alternative), and a french press (better than an electric coffee maker that clutters up the counter and siphons electricity to run it’s clock when you’re not around).
4. Shift Gears…on your bike.
Surrender the gym membership and get outside again! Ride a bike, go for walks, runs, rake leaves… you get the picture.
5. Buy Less, Share More
This is my favorite of them all! A swap party is what happens when you get all of your stuff (the stuff you’re not in love with anymore) and a bunch of your friends get all of their stuff and you meet together somewhere, drop all your stuff, and then take turns sharing around. I want your sweater, you want my purse, she wants his ipod, he wants her roasting pan. It’s free, it’s liberating, and it’s SO MUCH FUN!!!
Five “simplify” tips. And I’m sure you can think of five to ten more. If you can, post them below. We’d all love to see them!
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Really, that's the best you could come up with? How about:
Drying your own fruits and vegetables and meat jerky
with a food dehydrator. Makes a great lunch snack at
work, and keeps fresh for months.
Keep the TV off. It's quicker to go on the net, get the news and get off and shut down again. There's too much spin on TV news anyway. The anchors get in the way. You'll save a lot of electricity.
Water can be at a premium, depending on where you live. I was told that if I put all of my back yard into grass, it would cost me $300 per month. I'm re-landscaping to
create a less water-intensive yard. That could save me
money, but it could also keep me from wasting water. Our State recently officially declared a drought.
Hypermile. Under the Ford Administration, freeway
speeds were capped at 55 mph. There are no caps
now, but individuals can govern their own driving habits.
For starters, I suggest leaving for work 10 to 15m
early so that you do not have to rush. That burns up
considerable amounts of fuel. Leaving early can put
off the next fill-up.
Bread has become expensive and bread is a staple
that is easy to bake. I don't recommend bread
machines. Bread can be easily baked in conventional
ovens. Get your grain mill, or flour, and the necessary
equipment together. It's simple. Go on the web and
read a tutorial. Most families consume a lot of bread.
$1 vs. $4.50 is quite a disparity!
Drink water. Drop carbonated beverages. Get a home
filter and bottle your own.
Sara,
You are brilliant! I have learned so much from you through your shows on Discovery and now thru TreeHugger. Don't stop educating all of us.
Your Mom should teach weekend retreats on living the simple life. As a mother of 6 I would love any knowledge she could impart.
Keep the entries coming especially with the hard economic times ahead.
Becky Pingrey
Join a Food Coop
Join a CSA
Join the Slow Food movement
manufacture locally....
be the change..good article
Larz.. Don't be so hard! Being green is not easy. It is a total lifestyle change for most people and those people can't go from one extreme straight to another. Yes, there are always more you can do but we need to remember something is BETTER than NOTHING. Just a thought.
"I mean, who can afford a $5 daily coffee fix everyday anymore? Who can afford the bottomless tank of yesteryear’s monster SUVs? Who can afford to travel? Or heat and cool their McMansion?"
Presumably, the author intends these questions to be rhetorical. Otherwise, if we treated them as real questions, the answer would completely contradict the author's imaginary prescriptions for a non-existent disease.
Quite simply, the answer to a question such as, "Who can afford the bottomless tank of yesteryear’s monster SUVs?", is: more people than ever, in recorded history.
Taken as a percentage of average disposable income, proportionally more people can afford to drive, than at any time in the last 100 years, and it is the cheapest it ever has been.
Who can afford to travel? Almost anyone. Any time, any place.
Who can afford to heat their "McMansion" (note the implied snobbish disdain for the growing middle classes)? Well, if you can afford to purchase one in the first place, and pay the property tax and insurance, heating it is the least of your worries.
And $5 for a cup of coffee? Well, if that's how much you've been paying, then I've got a sack of magic beans to trade for your family cow. The smart money stops at Dunkin' Donuts. No wonder you can't afford to heat your house!
Stay home and sew your own hairshirts if you want, but the vast majority of North Americans have no need for such self-flagellation.
This is an excellent post, I'm grateful to you , thanks a lot.
People who can afford $100 burgers probably aren't worried anyway, and in fact are probably getting even richer somehow out of the whole economic mess. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Sorry for the ad hom. I didn't mean anything derogatory
and could easily have left that out. Let's all offer our
solutions to the problem in a constructive way. It hit
home to me yesterday when Nancy Pelosi, on national
television, unnecessarily took pot-shots at Republican
colleagues who she was supposed to be cooperating
with in a bipartisan way, possibly derailing an early
positive vote on bailout legislation. I behaved in the
same reckless manner. It's no way to be a team player.
In reference to the comments about the 5 dollar a day coffee, monster SUV's and McMansions:
I think that Sara was simply implying that these are very hard times on a lot of Americans and ALOT of us are feeling it financially. Her top five simplifying tips are for a more simple life, but also notice that they don't require a lot of cash.
If we could just think about how our grandparents lived, I think we would all be a little bit wealthier, and it's not money that I am referring to. To live a simple life is easier on the bank account but also easier on our minds, bodies and our souls. Just a personal thought. It is something I strive for everyday and Sara is someone who I personally admire in reminding us that. Sara, keep these great blogs coming. I look forward to what's on your mind and I look forward to your CNN interviews too!
I'm so glad that most of you were able to discern that my questions..."who can afford a $5 coffee, or $100 burger, or to heat their McMansion".... were hypothetical and tongue in check. It's great to see many of you adding your own tips. Jacque is right - something is better than nothing!!
Larz - I like the new team player attitude.
We all in this (the good and the bad) together.
Sara