REduce, REuse, REcycle, RE-THINK. Ramblings on resources.

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REduce, REuse, REcycle, RE-THINK. Ramblings on resources.

I don't think of myself as a consumer since I don't love to shop or buy stuff. But I most certainly consume. We are all constantly consuming just by the fact that we're on the planet and breathing. I've been thinking a lot about the resources I use on a daily basis.

The Museum of Litter and I are on an extended road trip, experimenting with living off-grid and boondocking.

Sharon at side of RoadTrek Senators Wash

I figure if I can cut expenses to a bare minimum I can keep the Museum of Litter alive and work on litter-prevention full-time. Since I've been on the road, my use of resources has changed. I've had to rethink everything, and I hope I'm making the wisest choices.

What used to work for me in a land based dwelling has dramatically changed. Here are some ramblings on my experience of living economically off-grid, as green as possible and using the fewest resources.

PAPER TOWELS:

At home I hardly ever used paper towels. I always had a roll in the house just in case there was something too gross for a sponge or reusable rag, but almost never used them. On the road, I started sparingly using paper towels because it helped me conserve water by removing more food from the dishes before washing. I used them, with my conscious nagging me, until I found a better way (keep reading).

WATER:

My vehicle is self-contained. I carry my own water. My RoadTrek tank holds 36 gallons of fresh water. I don't keep it filled when traveling because of the weight and gas expense. If I know I'll be somewhere a week then I'll fill it with as much water as I expect I'll use. We always have a few plastic jugs that we can refill with water as we go.

At first I used paper towels to cut down on water usage, but that was definitely not working for me or the planet. For some reason I brought this old Tupperware tool my mother used to use (she was a Tupperware Lady) with me on this trip and started using that for scraping the food from the dishes.

It worked really well. Not only did it use less water for washing dishes, but kept the sponge cleaner so there is less water wasted rinsing gunk from the sponge. I've created something similar, upcycled from an old credit card.

Because it's so flexible, it works even better. It easily conforms to the shape of the bowl or dish or pan and doesn't scratch the surface

To save water I even pour the water from the washed dish onto the next dirty one, enabling me to reuse water. Each dish gets its own fresh rinse, with the smallest amount of water possible, rinsing only the fork tines or inside of the bowl and wiping dry the handle or outside of the bowl where a thin residue of soap won't matter. This may seem nit picky, but if you're running out of water in a remote location, even a tablespoon or two is helpful, so I am learning to not waste a single drop. I use less than 25 gallons a week. I'm sure at home I used that much daily with each shower. Now I can wash and rinse my hair with less than 1/2 gallon of water. I used to really be a water-waster, but I'm learning. Also, using less water means using less gas to transport it.

PLASTIC:

I have always carried reusable bags to the market (or beat myself up if I forgot), but on this road trip I do get plastic bags for most purchases to use for garbage bags.

At home I was vigilant about not bringing home unnecessary plastic. These days I agonize in the produce section, and now buy the pre-washed plastic

bagged salad. Although I'm purchasing plastic my thought is I'm saving a lot of water by not having to wash it. I save the plastic and reuse it to wrap food or for picking up litter in my travels.

PROPANE:

The propane operates the gas range, the refrigerator, the hot water tank and the furnace. We use at the most, about $14 a month and the propane seems to last forever. We fill up when in town but have never come close to running out.

COOKING FOOD STORAGE AND REFRIGERATION:

This RoadTrek has a 3 cubic foot refrigerator. It runs off electric (when plugged in), propane (when dry camping) or 12 volts (when driving) and holds about a week to ten days worth of food.

I've altered some of my food purchases. I use a lot of *Crumbles* (soy protein that resembles hamburger) and have replaced that with dry flakes of TVP (textured vegetable protein) that does not require refrigeration. Also instead of buying liquid soy or almond milk that needs refrigeration when opened, I buy soy powder and just mix it with water as needed.

WASTE /TRASH / RECYCLING:

It was so easy at home pitching something in the garbage can or recycling bin without giving it a second thought. Now, in addition to finding an RV Dump station, we need to dispose of our daily garbage. Having to be always looking for a place to throw away a bag of trash sure helps with the choices I make about what to buy and how it is packaged. Recycling poses a challenge and I'm always happy to see a recycling bin.

GAS:

Gas is a big issue and expensive. We are conscious of conserving yet it is certainly our biggest expense and use of a nonrenewable resource. I had also been using it for electricity via the generator for an hour or two a day. One hour of generator use consumes a little over a half gallon of gas. I wish I was in a position to consider biofuel, but I'm not. I am hoping my limited use of other resources, and any good I might do by meeting people and bringing awareness of the importance of litter-prevention will balance out and help offset the use of this resource.

ELECTRIC:

AC: I haven't needed air conditioning since I left northern Florida in September 2012. That's eight months without AC. About a days drive from where I live in South Florida the air was just cool enough to sleep with open windows. Since then I haven't used AC. My AC has been the natural AC of moving North or South with the seasons and Up & Down in elevation.

The other things in the motorhome that I used that required electric on an daily basis were the microwave and the coffee pot. I still had a regular electric drip pot and if we were not plugged into electric I would turn the generator on to get electric just to perk a pot of coffee or to make oatmeal in the microwave. Isn't that just pathetic? My camping neighbors who had solar thought so. LOL. Well, I've graduated to an old fashioned percolator pot and now make coffee...quietly... on the propane stove. And I can easily make oatmeal on the propane stove. In fact I prefer it. I never thought microwaves were safe anyway and heating up things in them had become a bad and convenient habit.

The ONLY thing I am still dependent on electric for is to recharge my cell phone, laptop and MiFi jetpack. I had been scrambling to give them as much charge as possible while running the generator for morning coffee or heating up food for dinner. I would continue to run the generator after the food was done, just to recharge my electronics. The generator was annoyingly noisy, wasted expensive gas and I rarely had it on long enough to fully charge all of the devices anyway.

I can do without electricity for the most part, but there is no way around needing electricity to stay connected, so,

SOLAR:

I broke down and bought solar. It is expensive but also an investment. I feel having a charged cell phone is an important survival tool and being able to connect is an important part of litter-prevention. I LOVE solar, and have been an advocate for a long time, as you can see. The friend on the right

is wearing a solar tee shirt I designed in the 70's. I now have a 155 watt panel on the roof which is enough to charge my devices, run my roof fan to help keep cool and give me lights at night.

NOW I'm a happy camper!

CONCLUSION:

I used to feel so virtuous when I'd remember to consume less of one particular resource. Now I realize, sometimes using less of one resource can mean using more of another. It's a tradeoff....a balancing act. Of all the R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) ReTHINK may be the most important of all!

Comments and suggestions are welcomed as we all try to figure out how to consume less and preserve the planet

*******************************************************************************************

IF YOU WANT more info on mobile, off-grid, living there are a number of great sites. Check out RV Vagabond, Frugal RV Travel, and Cheap Green RV Living. I am in no way affiliated with any of these sites. This is just to share information with you.

Posted on 04/13/2013 | Permalink

Tags: 3 R's, alternative energy, boondocking, consumerism, dry camping, eco, food storage, green, litter, litter-prevention, Motorhome, off grid, plastic, RECYCLE, reduce reuse recycle, renewable, resources, roadtrip, RV, solar, trash, travel, upcycle, vagabond, water

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Museum of Litter

Virtual museum whose mission is litter-prevention by ARTiculating litter with humor, art and kindness. Kind of like Greenpeace meets the Dalai Lama. Museum's Goal is to go out of business because there's no more litter to showcase. Litter-art sales fund awareness, education & events.

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