Search the internet, and you can find all different ways to….save the earth, make a difference, fight climate change or take action now. In ways it can seem a bit overwhelming which one to tackle first. Our feeling is that the little things are what really count, and maybe just being selfish can make a difference. By selfish I mean directly making your own life easier. Whether it’s to save you money, or time, the little things that you do can really make a difference in your own personal ecosystem. This blog is intended not to say one way of being an environmentalist is better than another, or that our way is the best; rather that these are some things that we do in our tiny home to make our lives easier, save money, reduce our waste stream, and regenerate the planet.
Trashblocking
Trashblocking is one way that we save time and money around the home; after awhile this becomes fun and seems like the only way to go. This is not a complicated idea; take your trash and put it in a container (a block). This may seem like some work, but it sure beats buying plastic trash bags; trash to put your trash into and then throw in the trash.
The average American may spend less than 40 dollars a year on trash bags, without considering the containers of the products they purchase could be used instead. I like trash blocking because it uses waste that already exists. We resist having to purchase new waste (trash bags), and it makes our already limited trash more compact. Organics belong in the compost pile, so the block doesn’t stink and the trash block acts as a timeline to easily monitor our waste steam therefore reduce it. We use our trash blocks as building materials rather than throwing them in the landfill. This block above took almost 9 months to fill. We track them with dates.
Trashblocks come in different shapes and sizes
Composting is another way that our economy is improved by being environmentally conscious. We avoid putting organics (food scraps) in our Trash blocks because of the unpleasant aroma and the fact that Organics are not TRASH. As an avid vegetable grower and consumer, I can’t think of anything better than using those organic scraps to create healthy soil, which in turn creates more nutrient dense vegetables. Soil is the key to our survival; it alone makes up the most important thing that we aim to protect, earth. This may seem redundant, but it remains a mystery to me why people miss that soil is in fact, the literal earth. Composting is the most direct way to benefit the earth, because it makes more of it. There are many ways to compost and no one way is the best, however building soil is much better than throwing away your planet. Future blogs will outline different ways to compost and alternatives for people that think that they “can’t”, stay tuned.
Wire Cage Compost Method from Ecology Artisans Blog