I finally finished reading The Urban Homestead tonight (again, while procrastinating working on midterms...). I was going to go to bed, but it listed some AMAZING websites that I just couldn't help and check out; there would be no way I could sleep without sharing these with everyone.
First (I already sent an e-mail to my father asking him to get me one for Christmas, a joke!) is the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company:
This is a really inspiring and innovative company which makes/sells houses (and sells blueprints) for incredibly small but EXTREMELY efficient, no-space wasted, houses. The creator himself lives in a space less than 100 sq ft and it is complete with living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, storage space, and outdoor porch. Most people would find living in such confined spaces claustrophobic, but even still, its worth a look!
Second: Urban Foraging. I'm a bit weary to begin this regiment on my own, but essentially you find edibles in your backyard. Ever since a woman died recently at a rest stop because she ate a rare and poisonous mushroom, I've been somewhat reserved about this. Nonetheless, after taking a class on the do's and dont's (community "walk-throughs" by educators are offered), as well as reading some of these books, I plan to pursue urban foraging myself on an extremely reserved basis. I won't be eating any mushrooms thank you.
Third: Dumpster Diving. I had a friend who always used to steal bagels out of the bakery dumpster at the end of the day because they would be able to eat free for a week afterwards. Shops tend to throw out their day-old products since they can no longer advertise them as "fresh". If you aren't inclined to eat food out of the garbage, some shops donate their day-old products to the homeless; you may want to verify that the places you are eating don't partake in this devastating waste and do something more productive with the hour-old product. If you are inclined to go dumpster diving however, check out the book:
I'm contemplating putting together a little group to go out one night and see how this goes. I have a few people in mind :)...let me know if you would be interested.
Lastly, (and I would like some input on this one) is a book by Joseph Jenkins titled, "The Humanure Handbook". I must admit, this goes WAY beyond my comfort level, and I'm inclined to call these people fundamentalists. Yet, the radical nature of this is what makes it so intriguing. As you can see in the name, humanure refers to the composting of your own excrement (it takes about year) with a 5-gallon tub fitted with a toilet seat. One person wrote that they had no place to put this "loo" so they kept in their bedroom. The title of their article, "Pooping in the Bedroom and Proud of It". Initially I was horrified, that dulled to being outrageously amused but shocked nonetheless. There is no doubt that this won't become part of the 'pop-culture goes green' rage, but I'm still curious about everyone else's reaction to this. If you have time, the book is available to download for free on:
or download the
If you could, browse through it and let me know if you think this is excessive or courageous. Personally, I'm torn between awe and disgust and way to cowardly to pursue this myself.
PS. I found some websites to help with my worms (I wasn't sure if the worms were trying to escape because they weren't happy or because a few stragglers were bad at directions). Again, the directions in The Urban Homestead are a little spotty. If you are interested in making your own bin, try the directions on:
BTW: The worms are fine :)
