Help me become more of a hippie...

[melnjones]

Ok, so that's just what my friends tell me, but I'm ok with it. I'm trying to make a good list of gadgets that are practical, energy-saving, environmentally-friendly, etc. to distribute to friends of mine who are interested in living responsibly. Some of the items I already know of are the econo-heat, spin clothes dryer and hand washer, chest refrigerator, and toliet lid sink. Help me make my list, and include links if you can!

[NMDemDist2]

1. why do you need more gadgets?

when I was a hippy we didn't have many gadgets at all

buckets, towels (not the paper, the kind you could reuse again and again), clothes lines or bushes and branches to dry clothes, nails for hangers, sheets for curtains, sleeping bags that doubled as blankets when you had a real bed off the road and the only soap we needed was Castille soap from Dr. Bonner. we brushed our teeth with it, washed our bodies, our dishes and our clothes with it.

we had a wok, a steamer, a skillet and a pasta pot and not much else, but never were hungry

if you wanna be a hippy, look around and see how many products and gadgets you can get RID of

[melnjones]

2. because i'm recommending the stuff on this list to friends...

so I'm being realistic:-) Practical items that people can incorporate into their houses and lives to make an economic and ecological impact.

I know that I'm not a hippie by hippie-standards, but to those around me, I'm a bit of a freak. Just trying to have positive influence where I can.

[Uncle Sinister]

26. There aren't really any "gadgets", to live clean, although bicycles come to mind, as do composting..

toilets. But those are choices few are able or prepared to make. Use less. Re-use more. Get everything you use from as close to home as possible. Re-cycle everything you can.

But don't be a fanatic about it, folks will get bored quick.

[LiberalEsto]

3. You're right

At one point my philosophy was to not own anything that wouldn't fit into my backpack.

[fight4my3sons]

6. Wow, you took me back for a minute talking about Castille soap.

I love that stuff. I'm going to have to pick some up next time I'm out. Really is good for cleaning everything, and nothing like a shower or bath on a summer day with Castille soap. It is pretty harsh on my hair though.

[Warpy]

15. I buy the stuff by the quart

because I'm allergic to so many supermarket soaps. When something breaks me out, I just switch to the Dr. Bronner's for a couple of weeks.

There is nothing like washing your face with peppermint Dr B's and having it tingle, but I wouldn't recommend it for folks with super dry skin.

The labels are better than "Jokes for the John."

[eleny]

7. I still use Dr. Bonner's soaps!!!

As itchy as skin can get here in the arid west, his soaps are the best. I use his unscented soap for babies.

[Katherine Brengle]

10. Me too--for my daughter!!! The tea tree oil variety for myself--

and this funky Ayurvedic soap I found at Whole Foods--it's green and it smells like incense...

[Warpy]

18. Also learn to spell it correctly: HIPPIE

"Hippy" means you have a big ass, something that describes most of us old hippies these days but hurts, all the same.

That was the point when we were hippies, we were antimaterialist and we had a whole lot of nothing. We used floor pillows instead of chairs and doubled them up as our beds at night. Traveling meant walking to a highway and sticking our thumbs out. Kitchen equipment was minimalist, to say the very least. Clothing was two pairs of jeans and whatever shirts the thrift shop turned up for us.

The above post is right. If you want to approach the hippie lifestyle, get rid of all the crap you have, don't add more to it.

[politicat]

4. So... maybe the descriptor is technological environmentalist.

I'd make a horrible hippie. I can't stand patchouli and I like living in my house on my little patch of land. But punk ethical technologist environmentalist? Yeah, that works.

I start with light bulbs. Everybody I know gets 6 or 8 packs of 60 or 100 watt equivalent fluorescent bulbs when I want to give a happy nothing's day gift. I use the Costco ones, but any of them will do. Rechargeable batteries and chargers are another one I love to give. Flour sacking towels, cloth napkins, recycled toilet paper.... We're a big fan of www.shitbegone.com and their TP ethic. A 24 pack lasts a while and is a great conversation starter.

I give bike accessories, too. Cargo platforms, lift-off front baskets, headlights... anything that will encourage people to get out of their cars.

I'd give my right arm for a practical sorting recycling bin rack that would hold a week or two's worth of rinsed cans, bottles and jars, paperboard, flattened boxes, and office paper. I keep looking, but so far, no luck. If you could find something like that, you'd be ahead.

If your local farmers' market has a community gift certificate program, getting people out to see the alternative food chain is a good way to get them started.

[here_is_to_hope]

23. Digging that description, fits us to a "T"...n/t

[Warpy]

25. While I appreciate the concept of ShitBGone

I find that soft, double ply toilet paper won't work with the ultra low flow toilets out here in the desert. It's a proven toilet clogger.

I have to use the Scott cheapo, scratch your butt, single ply stuff. They do use recycled paper in it, but don't advertise it because the content varies depending on supply.

[troubleinwinter]

5. I dunno if your friends have wood/pellet stoves,

but this is an AMAZING gadget! I have seen it in action, and it REALLY pushes warm air around the room.

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/parent.asp?product=267437x&dept_id=10830&cm_ven=Froogle&cm_cat=Fireplace_Accessories&cm_pla=Ecofan153_for_Wood_S&cm_ite=267437&code=macs=MP6WFGL

[MADem]

22. What was it? They moved the page...

We're sorry, but the page you are looking for cannot be accessed. It may have been removed, had its name changed, or may be temporarily unavailable.

[Beaverhausen]

8. How about the Happy Hippie website!

http://www.happyhippie.com/
Fun stuff there

Canvas shopping bags are great. They hold more than regular paper or plastic and can be used for lots of things. Some stores give a 5 cents back if you bring your own bags, too. which is cool. All those plastic bags that are used for about 20 minutes but live in landfills for 20,000 year need to go.

[Warpy]

16. I loathe plastic bags

and how they get stuck out of reach in my trees! They can flap there and look like hell for a couple of years until the tatters become small enough to be unnoticeable.

Once a month I go to Wally's for my scrips and recycle all the damned things there.

I use canvas and baskets when and where I can. Some places absolutely insist that one takes a plastic bag with their logo.

[Bluerthanblue]

9. look for your local

"freecycle" org. online. The more we are able to pass along usable 'stuff' and avoid being a 'throw-away' society, the more responsible we become, and oddly, the more contented we learn to be.

http://www.freecycle.org

If you live in a big town or a city, you may want to keep your eyes open on 'dump-day'. Wooden chairs, tables, lamps etc. are often set out because they aren't wanted, but function fine- It's amazing what a little paint, some imagination and time can do to transform trash into treasures,or 'gifts' (I'm serious) that really give in many ways- "use it up, wear it out, make it do, and make it unique" (or if you don't need it, give it to someone who is without)-

Drying racks for clothes work wonders in the winter humidifying the air, and costing nothing

- we have a rule in our bathroom, no tp in the septic, and "if it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down".

Those flashlights that use a magnet to generate electricty are really handy- just don't put them near anything that is magneticly sensitive- they never need batteries, and DO provide excellent light.

We use an OLD Glenwood gas stove, and put in a valve that shuts off the gas to the stove so that there is no pilot light using fuel when it isn't needed. Not only has that been VERY cost effective, it also eliminates the fear of the pilot light going out or a burner being accidently turned on by kids or pets.

We replaced our dead full size refrigerator, with a small one designed for a 'family room' or dorm. It is at counter height, doesn't leave room for 'forgotten leftovers' and uses far less electricty. There is ample room for our family of three- and it is easy to clean. Our small chest freezer works fine for garden surplus, and once a week we make ice-cubes and store in a jug- (trays were akward and always needed replacing)

Now that summer is coming, you can find grass mats (for the beach) at dollar stores- we use them to cover our windows during the hottest part of the day, and replace them in the winter with window quilts-

We have a recycling center aka. dump in our town, and there are bookshelves where folks can leave and choose new books at will (no fines for late return) a table where house-goods, clothing and misc. 'stuff' can be put, and taken at will- ('the put'n'take) encouraging recycling to begin in earnest right in our home town.-

Look around and use your imagination- as a child of a father who learned thrift as he grew up in a large family during the depression, I had a wonderful teacher- there was VERY little wasted in our home- and lots of 'funky' unique solutions to every day needs. (I see it this way now- telling a classmate that my dad made my 'pretty dress' was something that I'll never forget- and now appreciate more than I ever would have thought possible).

Fill your 'needs' as best you can, and you'll find your 'wants' seem to diminish, or fill themselves in unusual ways.-

good luck-

blu

[chaska]

11. The best gift for the planet: birth control pills....

If you (generic you) want to help the planet, don't have children. That's the number one thing.

Also (off the top of my head)

don't eat beef (huge polution source - pork, chicken and turkey are lesser offenders)

new bulbs

drive less and more slowly

stop shopping

buy local and in season produce

no bottled water (major polution invloved in trucking the shit all over the country)

[NMDemDist2]

12. i do all the above except the beef thing, but only eat the locally

range fed cattle from here in my desert home. they only allow 3 head an acre here the land is so barren, no feed lots in the area and the windmills that pull up the water are everywhere (so no streams being polluted either) and since it's windy here all the time the windmills work well with not additional power sources needed

I am lucky to have locally raised and slaughtered beef in my back yard with minimal pollution and the side benefit is that it has more flavor than any of the 'supermarket, bright red, plastic wrapped beef like substance'

my local butcher shop wraps it in paper and it actually is beef colored, not that carbon dioxide bright red nasty looking stuff

[gollygee]

13. Canvas grocery bags

to eliminate the need for single-use plastic bags. You can get a discount for every bag you bring at many grocery stores. It's more earth-friendly than frugal though.

http://www.reusablebags.com/

[AZBlue]

14. I don't think you're officially a hippie unless you wear birkenstocks. Or own a VW Van.

Of course, if you drive your VW Van while wearing your birkenstocks, you're gone.

[bvar22]

17. Use a flour sifter....

Use a flour sifter to clean the ingredients for your brownies. Nobody likes brownies with sticks poking out.
:hippie:

[youthere]

19. Ah...people are too picky these days....

those sticks are a good source of fiber! The only thing better than special brownies, are special brownies AND a clean colon.

[Ellen Forradalom]

20. Give up your home and crash on your buddy's couch

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=6864622&mesg_id=6864622

[southerncrone]

21. How about a canner & canning jars.

These can be used over every year. Just need to replace the lids & sometimes the rings. I have most of the same jars now for over 20 yrs. Plus the food we grow is so much better & better for you.

[xmas74]

24. I want to learn how to can

but have always been so afraid to.

[BensMom]

27. Foxfire

Do you knit or do any of the scrap crafts?
Have you ever seen the Foxfire book series.

Oh what fun!

http://www.amazon.com/Foxfire-Book-Dressing-Building-Moonshining/dp/0385073534/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204345130&sr=8-1

[ThoughtCriminal]

28. Moving to a smaller house or apartment

We just moved from a 3-bedroom house to a 1-bedroom apartment due to a job change. It forces you dispose of a lot a accumulated stuff and keep only what you really need. It can be hard to sort it out, but in the end it's rather liberating.