*PS - I’m Just Like You

I feel the need to tell you a little bit more about myself. I need you to understand that I am by no means the most perfect greenie or eco-friendly person out there.

I want to be. I think about it a lot. I mean to be. But I still buy chips in plastic foil bags made with Amazon-destroying Palm oil when I can’t fight the urge. I might buy veggies in sea-creature-strangling plastic when I’m in a hurry. I will buy loose potatoes and then pop them in a million-year-to-biodegrade plastic bag because I still haven’t made the reusable net ones I have in my mind. I mean to eat beans and tofu instead of chops and chicken legs. But I don’t. I want to recycle but sho - it’s so difficult to get to the recycling drop offs on time - maybe next week. We did start a compost heap - but that’s just what it is, a heap at the top of the garden. It’s very natural. Just doesn’t have fancy worms or a tap were you can run off … whatever it is you run off of a proper compost system. I know solar is good, and expensive, but I’ll read up on it when I have time. I try to remember to turn the geyser off – but I always forget to turn it back on.

I don’t plan on giving up TV, Wi-Fi or good food. But I am hoping to find a practical way to live better, more consciously and with less stress within this mad, mad world we call home. I’m going with a ‘less is more’ philosophy. The less you have, the less you have to be worried about - right? Home-grown, home-made, less preservatives, fewer ingredients I don’t understand, less stuff from far, far away and origins unknown, back to basics, within reason. Does that make any sense? I’m like you, I want to be less selfish and demanding of the planet but I don’t want to live in the dark ages either. Surely we can find a practical, happy medium? That’s my goal right there I think. A practical and happy medium to Living Lightly in the real world.

As I am moving my studio back home and my work hours become more flexitime I will be able to test out all the recipes, building plans, suggested alternatives and green options out there. I hope to figure out what is practical, affordable and what will make an actual difference, no matter how small, as opposed to the crackpot plans that are out there on the net. Electricity from a coke can or Internet out of old CDs? I dunno, maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I have come to the conclusion that I am limited in the amount of income I can bring in doing what I do so another part of the experiment is to discover how much I can save by living lightly - and in this way contribute to the household income. We all know the economy is wobbly in the world and especially in South Africa just now. Nothing is for sure at the moment. This is my backup plan. A lifestyle that is efficient, less stressful, more healthy, economical, and planet friendly. I mean, isn’t that what we all want?

I hope you’ll follow my journey and help out where you can. I’m sure there is a wealth of knowledge between us - things you didn’t even know you knew, things you didn’t think had any value. Things you forgot you knew. I’ll be needing your advice and help along the way - it’s going to be easy to get lost in this story.