Green BECAUSE I'm Poor

There have been times when I couldn't afford to buy toilet paper.  I did, however, have lots of cotton fabric from someone that had freecycled some craft materials.  I washed it in hot water, dried it so it shrank, and then cut it into large squares.  That became our toilet paper for the week.  It got thrown into a bucket with a lid, and rewashed every evening, dried, and ready to go for the next day.  Imagine how surprised I was to find that people sold these online!

I've done the same thing when I couldn't afford to by pads or tampons.  Again, imagine how surprised I was when I found out about Glad Rags and other reusable cotton pad replacements!

I keep the heat in the house at 65 through the winter, and simply bundle up in sweaters and other warm clothes, and lots of blankets.  I do this not to reduce my carbon footprint, but to save money.  Heat bills kill me through the winter.  Same goes for electricity.  Lights are off, unless someone is in that room.  When I'm working on the computer at night, the light is off, because the screen puts off enough light to see.  Again, it's not to reduce my carbon footprint, but to save money.

I work hard to keep everything in working order, and in very good repair.  That's not so I save energy, that's so that I don't have to worry about the furnace breaking down in the middle of the winter, with no way to replace it.

I'm debating whether or not to buy a dryer in January.  I probably won't.  I'll buy a washer, but in the summer, I can hang clothes outside to dry, and string lines in the basement to hang them to dry in the winter.

All these things that I see suggested as ways to green up, and save the environment, are things that I've had to do to save money and just to survive.  It's kind of interesting to see how everyone is changing and adjusting and moving to a lifestyle that I have no real choice but to live.


0 comments: