Voluntary simplicity in practice

[Beautymist]

You tend like many people to make an amalgam between decay and return to the Stone Age.
Besides, it is perfectly possible to live better with less, it is "voluntary simplicity".

...

If this sweet utopia were realized (allowing a drastic reduction of pollution, accidents, health problems etc ...) we would cause a significant decrease at the national level, without losing anything to our standard of living, and contrary, gaining health, money, love (a well-muscled body goes better on the beach than a "fast food" profile).
This is proof that we can decrease (materially) and grow well, right?

Hello,

I find it very well to speak of voluntary simplicity, but often we just start the debate, without developing concrete examples.

what if we lived "without"? here are some of the "sans" that I use in my personal life:

without microwaves
without a car (but by bike)
without credit
without TV!
without ads (or as little as possible, my phone is on a red list, for example)
without mobile phone (well I ended up cracking, but it mainly serves me as a camera and extra computer)
without conventional bulbs
without traditional cosmetics derived from petrochemistry
etc ...





thank you for extending the list!


BM

[dirk pitt]

Very good subject. I believe that our consumption should return to more reasonable levels if we want to be able to make a transition to renewables. we would have to do research on the increases in the number of equipment that we did very well in the 80s for example (not the stone age) and quantify that in annual MWh.

what if we lived "without"? here are some of the "sans" that I use in my personal life:

without microwaves
without a car (but by bike)
without credit
without TV!
without ads (or as little as possible, my phone is on a red list, for example)
without mobile phone (well I ended up cracking, but it mainly serves me as a camera and extra computer)
without conventional bulbs
without traditional cosmetics derived from petrochemistry
etc ...
BM

-clothes dryers: i hate tumble dryers
- dishwashers: especially those where you cannot bypass drying or supply them with hot water (solar)
- internet boxes.


on the other hand the incandescent bulbs, I am very very skeptical. I remain convinced that the impact is minimal or even zero energetically speaking (including gray energy).

[Beautymist]

-clothes dryers: i hate tumble dryers
- dishwashers: especially those where you cannot bypass drying or supply them with hot water (solar)
- internet boxes.

oh there, there, YES!

of course i live without that!
I add them to my list, thank you!

BM

[Christine]

Hello, and welcome to Beautymist (or Beautymiss? )

This is a good topic because it allows me to present you a new site and a new shop which are from my personal evolution in this direction:
http://www.conservation-alimentaire.com

Christophe also sympathetically gave me a place on this forum to discuss the subject of food selection, preparation and storage

Because voluntary simplicity has something nice in my eyes, it is that it is not the restriction consumption of objects. I rather see it as a increase respect: respect for myself and my loved ones to start with. So I no longer have a TV because I respect myself too much to accept spending part of my life letting myself be stupid to better format myself. I realize that since I adopted this philosophy, respect for others has also come more naturally.

To go back to http://www.conservation-alimentaire.com it is the application of this in the field of food. Let us respect our body by providing it with what it needs: healthy, balanced and pleasurable food, not just poor food, with no taste or nutritious interests, but packed with useless additives. And from this respect for ourselves naturally follows a greater respect for healthy agriculture, local products, less transport and less pressure on developing countries, etc.

[Christophe]

- internet boxes.

Uh and how do you surf?
What exactly is the economic problem with internet boxes? That they rotate 24/24 (nothing obliges it if?)?

Otherwise in terms of connecting the dishwasher to solar hot water: why are there restrictions to do so on a standard model with a single entry (I never understood ...)

Here is a subject that answers it in detail to the question of the washing machine: https://www.econologie.com/forums/lave-linge ... t1435.html

It would be impossible to clean delicate clothes at 30 and maybe even 40 ° C (depending on the T ° of your solar DHW arrival).

But then on the dishwasher? There is no objection to do so?

I made a subject to clarify this point: https://www.econologie.com/forums/lave-vaiss ... 10814.html I will make comparative measurements (cold water / hot water connection)

[Beautymist]

- internet boxes.

Uh and how do you surf?)

with an ADSL modem. a system that is cool, fast, inexpensive ...
and especially which works (contrary to the boxes which break down often and oblige you to call a hotline in overtaxed).

econology in there? well already the respect of the client's person. An ADSL modem works very (too) well, and is it inexpensive? so we take it off the market! indeed, this system no longer exists in the offers available today.

BM

[Christophe]

I did not know that it was so weak a box compared to a modem but here is what I thought: there is no longer a conventional modem when you take a subscription (moving ...) ...

Ok for respect, that's fine with me (every euro earned and spent at its point in pollution and CO2)

By cons you can buy an independent modem router (more reliable than a box) ... it costs between 20 and 100 € depending on quality and number of ports. I recommend Cisco (pro hardware) or Linksys (cisco inside). I had a netgear that held me for less than 2 years, my linksys has held me since 2006 (on 24/24)

By cons, you will not watch TV with (well I think ..) or the free phone (but there may be independent models that include these functions now?).

Also energy saving level: disable wifi and switch to wired (not said above but it goes without saying for any "econologist") ...

[Christophe]

I see that you put the 1st message on your blog: http://teatatteredpages.canalblog.com/a ... 13599.html

You can put a link to this topic if you want, it will complete the info for your visitors!

[Did67]

Interesting!

I would add:

- turn off unnecessary lights (even if I agree that question "consumption", it is not even peanuts; but in the head, it is a lot; to obtain it from its children: a victory and ... beware relapse !!!); LED "night lights" or "external lighting" (we live apart in total darkness); otherwise compact fluorescent ...

- I try to manage more generally: the least possible electricity, but also the least possible fossil CO² and attention to the particles, and there, it gets tougher!

So I add:

- condensing pellet boiler
- downsizing of cars (from a ZX Diesel + a Xantia TD to 2 C1 + 1 C5 LPG only if you leave in 5 or 4 with dog and luggage)
- end of Diesel: 1 C1 LPG (the one that will do the most km - we exchange every day according to the schedule) and 1 petrol
- towards more organic food and if possible in a short and seasonal circuit ... more strawberries or fresh green beans at Christmas ... no "early vegetables" so as not to encourage producers to drift (greenhouses, selection on precocity, etc ...) ...
- much less red meats (also for reasons of menu "cardiocompatible" following a heart attack); luckily, this helps the C balance!

[sen-no-sen]

without traditional cosmetics derived from petrochemistry
etc ...
thank you for extending the list!

BM

In addition, it should be remembered that the components of cosmetics sold in supermarkets are in their entirety tested on animals, even Ushuyoyo shower gels ...

In terms of voluntary simplicity, I think that one of the priorities remains the abandonment (or at least the minimum use) of the automobile, undoubtedly one of the biggest vectors of pollution and expenditure existing (14% of the household budget, 4200 deaths per year for road accidents, several tens of thousands for pollution ...).

More generally, it is a question of not giving in to the sirens of consumption and boycotting the purchase of the many products that have become so essential to certain, What else?