Non-food Frugalities

[500channelsurfer]

Hi!

Do any of you practice non-food and not-necessarily-vegan frugalness? (some of these actually do fall into the food category)

This includes:

• Purchasing clothes at thrift shops or surplus or charity stores
• Going to flea markets
• Purchasing used furniture and household items such as on kijiji or Craigslist
• Bartering exchanges or free item exchanges such as freecycle
• Not owning a car; or bicycling instead, or belonging to a carshare instead
• Fixing up an old bicycle for transportation
• Using public transit to the max
• Growing your own food in your own garden or shared gardenspace
• Living in a co-op instead of a rental apartment or traditionally mortgaged home
• Purchasing food through a farmer's basket program or community foodbasket bulk program or similar
• Make your own soil from compost
• Community meals/cooking in collective kitchens/food co-ops
• Community bike repair in collective or co-op bike shops
• Community woodworking/furniture repair in collective or co-op workshops

I add this because all these aid to the environmental goals of veganism.

 

[LoreD]

I don't buy clothing through thrift stores. Most of the time it is cheap quality clothing, that was trendy about 10 years ago.

It is really good for kid's clothing, though.

I've found that buying a few high quality items that I really like, and wear a lot, was a better investment.

 

[Mufflon]

I don't buy clothing through thrift stores. Most of the time it is cheap quality clothing, that was trendy about 10 years ago.

Depending on where you live you have to be really lucky to find something decent.

Where I live it's mostly little kid's clothing or old people's clothing. Another issue is size. There seem to be mostly really small or really big sizes.

 

[silva]

I get most of my clothes from thrift stores--I find quality brands that would out of my budget new. All but upholstered furniture I get used

I'm going to start keeping a pot in my kitchen sink to use for toilet flushes. It's right around the corner from it, so convienent enough
It's always bugged me that we let used water go down the drain and fresh water to flush a toilet. I would have thought by now new houses would have a holding tank, even like a rain barrel outside the bathroom, or the shower water.....for flushes
Our water/sewer bills are very high since they're raised the rates for long needed water/sewer repairs! Like 30 water and double that for sewer, a month, is average!

 

[PTree15]

I've done/am considering doing the following:

-- Purchasing clothes at thrift shops or surplus or charity stores.
-- Going to flea markets.
-- Purchasing used furniture and household items such as on kijiji or Craigslist -- Not yet, but I would if I found something I needed.
-- Bartering exchanges or free item exchanges such as freecycle.
-- Using public transit to the max -- I did this pre-pandemic, but not so much right now.
-- Growing your own food in your own garden or shared garden space.
-- Purchasing food through a farmer's basket program or community food basket bulk program or similar.

 

[Deleted member 3018]

Living in a co-op

What does this mean?
I'm sorry, my English isn't good.

 

[500channelsurfer]

What does this mean?
I'm sorry, my English isn't good.

A co-op is a building designation instead of apartment or condo, in which the tenants are also owners, and the building is run as a non-profit.

 

[Deleted member 3018]

A co-op is a building designation instead of apartment or condo, in which the tenants are also owners, and the building is run as a non-profit.

Oh, that's pretty cool. Thank you for explaining.

 

[CondorMr]

Used to buy puzzles for my kids from the op shop, then give them back once done, the puzzles that is.

Mulching and composting for the garden.

Workouts at home.

Some used furniture.

Wear my clothing till "it's comfortable", much to Mrs Condors dismay.

Cooking at home....still counts right.

 

[Hog]

The best things in life are free.
EXAMPLES:
00. Going for long walks outside.
01. Watching the start of a thunderstorm while outside.
02. Reading a good Wikipedia article.
03. Watching science and travel videos.
04. Virtually traveling the world, solar system, galaxy, and the universe.

 

[bEt]

I get most of my clothes from thrift stores--I find quality brands that would out of my budget new. All but upholstered furniture I get used

I'm going to start keeping a pot in my kitchen sink to use for toilet flushes. It's right around the corner from it, so convienent enough
It's always bugged me that we let used water go down the drain and fresh water to flush a toilet. I would have thought by now new houses would have a holding tank, even like a rain barrel outside the bathroom, or the shower water.....for flushes
Our water/sewer bills are very high since they're raised the rates for long needed water/sewer repairs! Like 30 water and double that for sewer, a month, is average!

I thought no one else would do this. I keep a big bucket in the kitchen. I fill it with a big pot that I keep in the sink to catch dirty dishwater. When bucket is full I carry it to the bathroom to flush the toilet. I live in a drought area in California so I worry about water a lot. Sometimes I will let water go down sink drain if it is greasy because I don't want grease in the toilet, but I don't use oil much so mostly it can go for flushes.

I also get all my clothing secondhand, some of the older stuff from the 90's or earlier is better quality than what you can buy today. In the "winter " in California it is easier to bike than in the relentless summer sun t.Not everyone can do that though.

 

[500channelsurfer]

I thought no one else would do this. I keep a big bucket in the kitchen. I fill it with a big pot that I keep in the sink to catch dirty dishwater. When bucket is full I carry it to the bathroom to flush the toilet. I live in a drought area in California so I worry about water a lot. Sometimes I will let water go down sink drain if it is greasy because I don't want grease in the toilet, but I don't use oil much so mostly it can go for flushes.

I also get all my clothing secondhand, some of the older stuff from the 90's or earlier is better quality than what you can buy today. In the "winter " in California it is easier to bike than in the relentless summer sun t.Not everyone can do that though.

There are various experiments with re-using lightly used water ('grey water' meaning water from your sink, clothes washing machine, etc.). You can also put a brick in your toilet tank, which reduces the water volume required to fill. Make sure you get a brick or rock that won't rust or otherwise distatefully discolour the water.

Energy savings can also be achieved by converting from a hot water tank to an instant pipe hot water heating system. In North America, hot water tanks are still the default. Only this year in my area have electric pipe hot water heaters become available in-store.

 

[silva]

There are various experiments with re-using lightly used water ('grey water' meaning water from your sink, clothes washing machine, etc.). You can also put a brick in your toilet tank, which reduces the water volume required to fill. Make sure you get a brick or rock that won't rust or otherwise distatefully discolour the water.

Energy savings can also be achieved by converting from a hot water tank to an instant pipe hot water heating system. In North America, hot water tanks are still the default. Only this year in my area have electric pipe hot water heaters become available in-store.

Growing up we had a water filled bottle in the tank. I'd worry about bits of brick clogging up the flush mechanism, or the small holes in the top of the bowl
I've never lived any where water was compromised, but was always taught that it was a resource to conserve.
When you say "electric pipe hot water heaters" do you mean the kind that heats at the source, as needed?

Does anyone have a sensor activated water faucet? I've been looking, but only see pricey ones. It's not like I need to change

 

[500channelsurfer]

I am not an expert on hot water heaters, but what I meant was point-of-use tankless water heaters, instead of hot water tanks. I believe all point-of-use tankless water heaters are sensor or water flow or action activated?

My understanding is that when point-of-use tankless water heaters were introduced into North America, they were only available as natural-gas powered, but now point-of-use tankless water heaters are available in North America that run on electricity.

Yes Silva, a water bottle filled with water might be better than a brick.

'Grey water' is a term used by environmentalists initially to describe water that has been not completely used, and could be used again instead of sent down the drain. When one does one's laundry, or takes a shower, this [hopefully typically] does not pollute the water or render it unusable a second time, like the water that one flushes down the toilet, which is contaminated by urine or feces.

Grey water is theoretically possibly to re-store, and then use again for uses that do not require 100% fresh water, such as filling up the toilet bowl or maybe watering your lawn, or maybe even washing your car?

Another way grey water can be obtained is via roof runoff, channeling rainwater from one's roof into outdoor rain barrels.

Water is very expensive because it has to be obtained (if to be safe to use) via drilling and maintaining a well or building and maintaining urban municipal water systems. Then, a septic or sewage entirely separate system needs to be used. The costs for municipalities to treat clean water and also then render sewage deemed safe enough to re-release into the environment are very high. Reducing water consumption saves on inputs like chlorine, pipe amortization, and also on output treatment.

Please correct my terminology if I seem to be incorrect in my definitions.

 

[Tea]

Lately my husband and I have been....

-Checking for thrifted or secondhand items before buying new. We've found a few nice furniture and decor pieces this way.
-Walking to the store more often, instead of driving.
-Eating out less, and cooking at home more.
-Because he's a very handy person, we'll try to fix and repair things, before replacing them

In the near future, we're planning to start composting and plant a small garden.

 

[silva]

Lately my husband and I have been....

-Checking for thrifted or secondhand items before buying new. We've found a few nice furniture and decor pieces this way.
-Walking to the store more often, instead of driving.
-Eating out less, and cooking at home more.
-Because he's a very handy person, we'll try to fix and repair things, before replacing them

In the near future, we're planning to start composting and plant a small garden.

Once the weather gets warmer I plan on doing more frequent walks to the grocery, and buying more as needed.'
Gardening is the one I struggle with, but really need and want to start! I have a small yard and need fencing. Right now I've only composted, and boy is the green around it
I hope we get an active threads on it--we do have many green thumbs here!

 

[500channelsurfer]

Are homemade shampoos better for the climate?

Ingredients like palm oil are criticised, often correctly, for their impact on our climate. But what else in our shampoos and soaps could be increasing our shower emissions?

www.bbc.com

This article implies that using solid shampoo bars which are like soap rather than liquid shampoo, or even making your own shampoo, could be very frugal and good for the planet. I am going to try out solid shampoo.

 

[Tea]

Are homemade shampoos better for the climate?

Ingredients like palm oil are criticised, often correctly, for their impact on our climate. But what else in our shampoos and soaps could be increasing our shower emissions?

www.bbc.com

This article implies that using solid shampoo bars which are like soap rather than liquid shampoo, or even making your own shampoo, could be very frugal and good for the planet. I am going to try out solid shampoo.

We've been using solid shampoo bars for a while and at this point I definitely prefer bar over liquid shampoo. We did have to try a few different brands to find one we liked though. They can vary quite a bit, and some are better than others for certain hair types. Some brands (like Ethique) have a sample pack with different kinds of their shampoo/conditioner bars, and some stores (like Lush) will let you try a sample if you ask.