Self Sufficiency, 1970s

By TheSnowmade - https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSnowmade

http://www.goodshomedesign.com/extend-your-gardens-growing-season-diy-mini-greenhouse/

Titanic collection of Greenhouses

shopping responsibly

this is a sequel to my other post about alternatives to throwing things away. that post detailed some ways to reduce your waste, but the production, shipping, handling & transportation of new items can also be extremely wasteful & push costs up. obviously there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism & you aren’t a bad person for being unable to “shop ethically,” but some of these ideas can help with personal consumption. here are some tips about purchasing or acquiring goods with minimum environmental impact or just minimal financial impact.

ask around: ask your friends & neighbors if they have the desired item(s) that they are no longer using. this can be handy for most nonperishable goods, especially if you have a cooperative community. the free section of craigslist in your area is a good place to start, or the free section of the nextdoor app; you can also put up an advertisement in nextdoor or a similar app to ask if anyone has what you’re looking for & is willing to give it away.

thrift stores: good for clothing, furniture, & other things. it’s fairly easy to find a local thrift store online, & you never know what kind of treasures are there.

do your research before donating unwanted goods: some thrift stores that depend on donations will give out discounts to donators. you can use this on your next purchase at the store.

reselling sites: if you’re on the hunt for something more specific/that you prefer to be unused (such as makeup), people list all kinds of unwanted gifts & random things on resale sites. ebay is the most famous example, but poshmark, mercari & depop are all more fashion-focused places to get trends at a discount & without directly paying a corporation. thredup is the equivalent of an online thrift store, with more emphasis on basic/classic/affordable pieces. also, check out facebook for sale/trade groups in your area!

farmer’s markets: perfect for local produce. you support small businesses & get food that’s full of fewer artificial additives! warning, though: these can be pricey.

borrowing & renting: if you’re not going to need it forever, then don’t pay a forever price! often local hardware stores have tool rentals, for instance.

barter: trade something you don’t need for something you do. this can easily be another “ask around” one, but there are some websites specifically for swapping makeup, clothes, & more.

local artisans/stores: in the event that you absolutely NEED to buy something new, try getting it handmade or local. etsy is a good online marketplace for handmade goods, & some areas have their own sites/directories. ask around!

make it yourself/repair something: if you need something that you can create on your own (especially from reused materials), then just do it. see if you have a local makerspace, where you can access tools & assistance.

reuse: see if you have anything that would do the job, even if it’s not conventional. as long as it’s safe, you can do some WEIRD substitutions.

reduce: the classic solution, which is just not getting anything new. do you REALLY need another tube of lipstick? more shoes? your 5th jacket this season? i thought not!

edit: dumpster diving & curb picking are valid options as well. you might want to look into the legality of this in your area, but if you’re not afraid of getting your hands dirty it’s great. people throw away things that are still useable ALL the time.

this post isn’t exhaustive, so PLEASE add any websites or ideas that you might have! good luck!!

Picked up this Hoya Bella recently, and it really compliments the window space ❤️

How about a Solarpunk moodboard 🌻🌍

solarpunk……good

solarpunk moodboard for anon

[Top left: Green onion seedlings. Bottom left: Baby basil seedlings. Right: A jungle of thyme.]

I’ve been growing some veggies indoors for a while now (almost a year?) and we finally got the lighting right for the plants. These little guys are completely solarpunk/lunarpunk. I live out in the country and for some reason that wasn’t known to us until after we bought our house there is a ban on all veggie growing and structure building. So we couldn’t even build an outdoor greenhouse. These little guys are growing in a legit solarpunk recycled diy’d greenhouse structure inside my garage. Eventually we are going to try and go with completely heirloom non-gmo organic seedlings but until then these little guys are fighting unjust zoning regulations, fighting our ever increasing dystopian reality (I have a yard and I can’t plant things!), and living it up #solarpunk style.

Did I mention our neighbors are bending these rules too? :) I’m not the only solarpunk in my area. My neighbor plants mint and strawberries in their flowerbeds and planted a plum tree right between our property lines so that when it matures no one can say it was theirs or that the regulation people didn’t know about it. It’s been there for years people. I’ve also started some mint and lavender bushes myself. They can ask me all they want about what they are… I’ll just tell them they’re decorative. 

Now, I’m not saying that people should do these things. Bending the rules can get you into trouble. But my area is poor and people are hungry, local food pantries have been closing too and without these solarpunk guerrilla gardening tactics people would go hungry. I only know three of my neighbors because everyone keeps loosing their homes. Neighbors last about a year here and then are forced to leave. 

At my old town just 20 min away from where I live now, we grew grapes and apples and let whoever was hungry have them. Our neighbors sometimes foraged. There were wild apple trees, grapes, and mulberries and people knew where they were and when they were ready to be picked. It helped a lot of people who wouldn’t have had anything to eat otherwise. banning food sources is what should be illegal. Not tending to gardens. Gardens and plants should never be banned. We live on a living planet, it’s what kept us alive all these centuries. Why are we turning our back on it now?