| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| rabbithorns |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 3:46:09 PM
We've gone from using very few products to only one. I buy 10 bars of Ivory soap for $3, grate it for laundry, swipe it with a dishcloth for dishes, swish it briefly in very hot water for any real cleaning. Otherwise, we have found we don't need any cleaners for toilets, countertops, etc. As long as we wipe things down, we don't need to clean so much. I use a green scrubby pad and hot water for cleaning the bathtub instead of scouring powder. I use one bar every 2 or 3 weeks for laundry. I don't use soap on my face or body, I have a natural shampoo I like that also serves as a body wash.
I found out it's a lard soap so I might switch to Kirk's Castille bar soap but I have to check it out because I'm really sensitive to perfumes (asthma). We live on very little money so I was just trying to be frugal and then found I didn't need anything else. Does anyone else just use what Grandma used - plain old soap and nothing else? |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| RueAnn |
Posted - Jan 08 2011 : 6:18:36 PM
Allison- where is the Buddhist center in Bowie? I'm from Tucson and looked for retreat centers around us, but never heard of the one you've mentioned.
Great work with cutting down and buying less. You are truly an inspiration! I can't wait to try similar things as we need to live more frugally.
Have a great night,
Rue Ann |
| momdrinkstea |
Posted - Jan 08 2011 : 10:26:20 AM
Great ideas with the Ivory bars! Going to try it!
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To prove to the opossum that it could be done!
Stacked Stone Farm www.stackedstonefarm.blogspot.com |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Apr 06 2006 : 09:28:35 AM
i agree about Tuscon! Even where my mom lives though is much more populated now than when they moved out there. They used to be the only full time people on the mountain and now i think that there are 4? More weekend people too. it's still beautiful though and surrounded by state forests, so maybe it will stay that way.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Apr 06 2006 : 09:25:41 AM
Ahh, yes. i was picturing one of those big ones they have at state parks and such. Like i said, i am in awe of anyone who can simplify toilet paper out of their life! it's definitely my "one thing on a desert island" item. One step at a time though, right?
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
| rabbithorns |
Posted - Apr 06 2006 : 09:21:55 AM
Also meant to say - yes, Ft. Huachaca area is really beautiful desert area. Tucson used to be, but now it's strip mall/development hell. There are some very nice areas though and the desert, if found pristine, is so rich with life and complexity! |
| rabbithorns |
Posted - Apr 06 2006 : 09:19:23 AM
We're not going to have a conventional composting toilet. It's more of a box with sawdust in it based on the Humanure Book. It was developed by a local woman specifically for retreat. The problem with the tp in it is there's little moisture up here to create the composting action of a Humanure composting toilet; it's hard enough to guarantee composting of even human waste in the sawdust out here. The TP adds too much dry material. We're doing a two year trial now at the center in Bowie. If the county okays it, everyone will be able to use it.
But the TP issue is still an issue of paper use where it's not necessary. The amount of water needed to wash a week's cloths is negligible if you use a pressure washer (like you can get at Real Goods or Lehman's) or you can easily reproduce that washer with a large restaurant sized mayo jar (add 2 cups of hot water, soap, and shake; the hot water pressurizes the air and forces the water through the fabric to clean it fully). I'd rather use 2 cups or so of water and not cut down so many trees.
Also, in retreat, to not be disturbed, I'd have to store lots of TP and it would just become a mouse-house. And that would attract snakes eventually, too. I want to be self-sufficient. I don't want to have to spend gas money going 45 minutes away to buy TP. I mean, that's going to be an extreme situation, but living like that now, I find myself feeling very free from needing stuff I "think" I need. My mind is much less burdened. And I save lots of money! |
| happymama58 |
Posted - Apr 06 2006 : 08:02:33 AM
This is a fascinating discussion, for me at least, and I'm so glad the issue came up (thanks, Rabbithorns). We're looking at using either an outhouse or a composting toilet for the short term, while we build, and these are issues we're working through. It's discussions like this that make me really think and reason through my beliefs.
Sorry for interrupting, but I just had to share this! 
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 9:32:06 PM
Composting toilets are made to handle toilet paper. There has always been toilet paper available when i have used them. i'm not criticizing your choice to go with cloth only just that the composting toilets don't preclude the use of toilet paper and i have even read that some systems require it because it needs a source of carbon to function properly.
Arizona is a beautiful place and perfect for being able to drop out of society for a while. My mom is south of Ft. Huachuca, near the Mexican border. i really do love it there.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
| rabbithorns |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 8:51:54 PM
First, I'm not very concerned about germs in the wash. I used to wash my kids' diapers and that wasn't an issue for all the other wash we did. I have a small enamelware bucket with lid (about 7 inches tall and 7 wide) on the bathroom floor where I put the used ones. It looks like a tiny old-fashioned diaper pail set-up! I just wash those once a week in hot water and soap. I never use disinfectants.
LJRphoto - we're moing onto a Buddhist retreat center when we "pike out" on the world. It's near Bowie 2 hours east. It won't actually be owned by us but we'll be able to live there and do long retreats there for as long as we want to stay. A 3 year retreat is beginning in 2010 so we're getting ready. We're not planning to have much solar (well, my husband is, but I don't want it!) and probably only a small propane back-up heater for when the passive solar isn't enough. We can't do wind because of the noise to other retreaters. We're probably going to have solar lanterns for light. Since they put out light like a 200 watt bulb, we'll charge them during the day and then slip them into parchment tubes to diffuse the light to the whole room. Since our lifestyle will revolve around meditation and retreat practices, we will need very little as far as ownership of stuff. I believe we may actually have water from a spring piped nearby, or we'll haul water from the main area and do water catchment.
Out in the boonies, with no flush toilets (only composting toilets), what would we do with all that paper? No woodstove, because wood fuel is scarce in the desert. We have to come up with another option. Cloth was the best I've heard for that. |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 8:22:59 PM
What area are you planning on moving to, Allison? My mom is off the grid in Arizona, but they have a very modern set up with solar panels, wind and propane. i love visiting them.
i have to say, i've been working hard at simplifying, but i don't think i could ever give up toilet paper. My hat is off to anyone who can get things pared down that far.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
| happymama58 |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 5:06:56 PM
I'm sorry and hate to ask a stupid or really graphic question, but how do you not use toilet paper? I know you said you use cloth, but where do you store the used cloths until you wash them?
Also, as far as the laundry thing goes, how do you disinfect your washer after washing those cloths & underwear? The bacteria that gets in your washer after washing underclothing can be a real issue.
I'm truly curious, since we're trying to do some major life-style changes. tia
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
| rabbithorns |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 4:37:08 PM
I live in town near the edge but definitely in town. We live in an apartment, but we have a nice little courtyard so it's really private and nice. My husband and I are planning to build a strawbale cabin, off-grid (when the last one moves out in a couple of years) and we'll have little water. So I'm really motivated to start living very simply now so it's not a shock later.
2 main areas I'm working on are using cloth instead of plastics and papers, and then the food issue - we won't have alot of fuel for cooking so I'm working on easy foods like sprouting and microgreens, yogurt and yogurt cheese, sprouted breads that can be sun-baked, and bean sprouts ground and made into spreads and pate since cooking beans would take too much fuel. The main thing is NOT TO BUY stuff. The stuff I buy is geared toward experimenting with these new systems.
I used to be a hippie kid and so I really want to figure out how to live on next to no money. That's actually a big motivation. |
| blueroses |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 11:55:07 AM
Wow Allison. Are you in town, or out in the country? It's pretty impressive - what you are doing? Where are some other areas that you are making do with less?
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
| rabbithorns |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 08:12:51 AM
I used to use Ivory liquid for dishes and I do prefer it to the soap, but since we're planning to go off-grid and work much less, I'm looking at living VERY simply. I just keep a bar of soap at the kitchen sink and swipe it with a wet dishcloth. That's all the soap I need to wash the dishes usually. It feels different on my hands as I use it (being soap), but the dishes feel exactly the same once it's rinsed.
To disinfect the bathroom I wash it with very hot water and soap. Soap and hot water do disinfect. No other product is needed. I could use some lavendar essential oil to disinfect also, but usually I just drop a few drops in a corner and behind the toilet seat just for the nice smell.
Lately I've just been doing without all the things I think I need and seeing if I can replace all the household systems with 1) no replacement (I didn't need it in the first place) or 2) one thing that serves many systems - like the soap for all cleaning. I also no longer use plastic bags for anything and have switched to mainly reusable cloth for everything, including TP and sandwich bags! |
| frontierlady |
Posted - Apr 05 2006 : 07:29:57 AM
Wow! That's neat!
I use Ivory dishwashing liquid for washing dishes, but you just use
a bar? I'm kind of confused. Do you keep it in a bar and just get
the washcloth soapy or do you grate it?
What about when someone gets sick how do you disinfect the bathroom?
I was just wondering because I think that this is a great concept.
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| Libbie |
Posted - Apr 04 2006 : 3:57:19 PM
Wow - I am really impressed. I happen to like Ivory, too, but I only use it for hands/face/body. I like Kirk's, too, but it's a little harder to find. Do you have any trouble with soap residue on anything?
That is just so neat that you do this. I have no doubt that it works just fine!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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