Now that I'm a work-from-home-Scrimp, I find myself watching a lot more movies to pass the time and keep it from getting too isolated and quiet here at the house.
Yesterday, I watched a documentary about "No-Impact Man," a journalist who decided a couple of years ago that he was going to attempt to live for a year with zero impact on the environment. He and his family stopped buying anything disposable, stopped eating meat, only ate local food, and even went so far as to shut off their electricity for 6 months.
I don't really have an interest in being that extreme. But the lifestyle appeals to me nonetheless. Mr. Scrimp and I do what we can to eat local and we'd like to try growing food and doing other things to generally limit our involvement with the synthetic wasteland that is so much of the modern world.
What about you? Does it even appeal to you? Or do you think the whole thing is blown out of proportion?
It is definitely worth a try. I am by no means "no-impact" either, as my electricity bill shows each month, but I have been trying my hardest to not use disposable things. I bought a Filter for my water so that I could stop buying bottled, yada yada. I definitely think that we should not ignore the impact that our commercialism and general laziness is having on the environment.
ReplyDeleteWe've been doing what is within our means to lower the impact of our moment in the environment. I must say, it will be much easier when our income is greater.
ReplyDeleteI think what I find most interesting in being involved in all this is how affordable it is to be wasteful and participate in acts that are bad for the environment. It's not like that's a huge revelation or anything, but when you actively try to reduce your imprint, financially your life becomes a little more difficult.
The thing I've been considering lately is how much long-term money I might save in a major lifestyle overhaul like this. For instance, the pyrex we use to store our food in cost about $20 per box. On the surface, that's way more expensive than an equivalent amount of Glad plastic storage.
ReplyDeleteBut when you dig a little deeper--glass storageware is absolutely going to last longer than plastic. If I take care of it, I can even potentially pass it on to my kids and grandkids. Plus, I can put it in the oven, so it's more versatile. Plus, the health benefits of not storing food in plastic surely have a financial impact over time if I go all the way with a change like that.