pull down to refresh

As a bitcoiner I think that switching to a hard money will give us a better tomorrow but as the saying goes "change starts at home" so here I'm going to list some ideas to start the ball rolling on a better future.
Self sufficiency:
Try and grow some veg at home. Potatoes and onions are a great vegetables to grow at home, they can be used in many meals and can store for a long time if done correctly. Here is a video I found that gives a great tutorial for setting up a efficient and low maintenance Potatoe grow (after setup is complete) https://youtu.be/AYdC60Hvxow?si=Encot8SuAUHIdEDM This guy also has many more videos on garden growing that are both informative and engaging so have a poke around and see what you can do in your garden.
After you setup a vegetable patch of sorts try and learn about composting your waste correctly as this can be beneficial to your as a new Gardner. More things can be composted then you might think like animals furs and human hair so look into this and learn what you can recycle.
Here is a link about composting. https://youtu.be/n1cVCkCfwi0?si=RQdCWtwxQQAkzCoW
Recycling:
Try and recycle your waste more. Try re using fizzy pop bottles or milk bottles, thease can be used for many things, I've seen them used with string to make a watering device for plants. I've also seen people use plastic bottles to make 3d printer filliament then they made tubs on the printer so try and think outside the box. So have a look around to see what you can find.
If you cant reuse some of your waste make sure you recycle them properly and try and produce less waste in general if you can (buy good reliable products once rather then a shitty product twice).
Your new compost heap may help you recycle some of your waste also.
Using less energy:
Try and use less energy if you can, this will save energy and will save you money. If its getting cold put a jumper on and light some candles rather then putting the heating on. Remember to turn of lights when you go out the room. Get reflective pads for the back of your radiators to make them more efficient. Upgrade to triple glazing if you have the money. Get better and more efficient seals for your external door and windows. And my favourite one of all, install solar panels if you have the ideal house location and money for this.
Try and drive less to save on fuel and money. If its a nice day and you have the time consider walking to where you need to go if its not too inconvenient. If you live near a work friend consider car pooling so there's 1 less car on the road and you can even split the bill on fuel used.
Post your suggestions in the comments for a better tomorrow starting at home.
Thanks for reading ✌️
Self sufficiency and using less energy are at odds. Thru division of labor and specialisation we create efficiencies in production that are unachievable thru self sufficiency.
You will use 10x the water, energy, and time to produce 1 potato than it costs to let the market produce that potato for you.
reply
This. Division of labor and specialization, especially reducing the labor input required for agriculture, is what civilization is built off of. We wouldn't have bitcoin if we didn't have mass produced agriculture.
That being said, I can't agree with some of your later comments. You seem to put too much emphasis on the market value of a person's time... but there are many things that aren't priced by the market that can guide a person's actions. For example, there is enormous social benefit to growing your own food and gifting it to neighbors. Not everything should be evaluated based on the market value of the opportunity cost.
reply
Most gardeners have a system to collect natural rain water for the crop. As for energy used, it can be fun to do and is a hobby for gardners so we don't mind spending time working in our gardens and of course the sun gives out energy for free.
I find it really odd for someone to try and discourage simple home growing.
reply
If its a hobby or it gives you spiritual feelings to play in dirt, then by all means go ahead. But to most people, it looks like work. Work with very little reward.
I take issue with the people who say gardening saves money. It could be true that seeds are cheaper than finished produce. But even if your dirt, water, and fertilizer are free, you will spend more time and effort and opportunity cost getting those seeds to ripen, than if you just purchased them at market.
You could spend that time gardening to build a business or even take a second job and be much more effective with your energy.
reply
There's a critical assumption in what you said that is false.
you will spend more time and effort and opportunity cost getting those seeds to ripen, than if you just purchased them at market
Many homegrown varieties of produce are not available in stores, because the commercial varieties are chosen for traits like durability and appearance, rather than flavor and nutrition. You are certainly welcome to maintain that those quality differences aren't worth the effort, but obviously many people think they are.
Personally, I tend to grow things that are expensive, perishable, or often out-of-stock, while relying on the division of labor to provide staple goods at low prices.
reply
If you are actually able to grow something profitably, consider making a business of it. Congrats! You found something to specialize in! Your neighbors are better off buying from you than growing themselves.
reply
That's not at all the point. If I have a tomato plant on my deck and the store is out of tomatoes, then I still get to have some tomatoes on my sandwich.
Also, see the point about commercial vs garden produce traits. An activity can have very poor returns to scale without being unprofitable.
reply
If you value having redundancy enough, then yes, being self sufficient can be worthwhile. Most people would probably just forgo the tomato or substitute it until the market has resupplied. Likewise for valuing nutrition. It can make self sufficiency worthwhile, but most will seek nutrition from supplements rather than backyard gardens.
reply
You're obviously correct about what most people do, but most people are also pretty unhealthy and the point of advice is that people have room for improvement, so it's not really relevant what they currently do.
Is not about how much effort and energy you put in... is a whole more than just that. Do it yourself and we can talk later. You are talking from the perspective of a "city boy".
reply
Just saying you'd have to do a lifetime of weatherproofing, wearing layers of clothes indoors, or carpooling to undo the inefficiencies you've created by choosing to grow your own produce for a single season.
Energy-scarcity-minded Environmentalists who promote Self sufficiency are deluded
reply
If only there was a downvote button...
I've never seen anyone say that growing veg using natural resources is bad for the environment, this makes no sense.
Water comes from the sky, solar comes from the sky, you can reuse and make your own compost yearly. This is bad for the environment how?
reply
I never said its bad for environment. Just that you will waste so much money that other money saving techniques like carpooling will likely not offset the deficit.
I mean humans used to have agricultural society where everyone had to be self sustainable and people were poor AF and starved to death any time there was a drought or long winter.
reply
man, same people would say that milk is coming from the grocery store... and the cows are polluting the planet. They have no idea how is to grow plants and what and how to eat healthy.
reply
I think you piled on a guy for nothing. He's just saying that homegrown stuff takes more energy than mass-produced crap due to the economy of scale. Does it mean we should all buy crap instead? Absolutely not, but pretending that homegrown saves the planet specifically by using less energy (which is not even how it works, we need MORE energy produced and used, not less) is delusional.
reply
Thanks. I swear common sense is more scarce than bitcoin these days.
reply
Experienced this first hand. Crazy how much water a few tomato plants need, for a relatively meager return. As a hobby it's fun, but that's about it I guess.
reply
It's worth it. Homegrown tomatoes and store-bought aren't even in the same ballpark
reply
Have to admit the taste was amazing.
reply
It seems some people like to water tomatoes and some like to wash their garbage. Crazy how being wasteful with fresh water is encouraged by environmentalists.
reply
Simple things I already do:
  • Avoid single use plastics.
  • Compost is definitely the easiest and most satisfying.
  • Transport: walk > bike > public transport > car
  • Paying for cleaning products is a scam: I make them myself from bought chemicals.
  • Used to have chickens, I loved that but harder if you live in the city.
reply
284 sats \ 1 reply \ @fm 14 Sep 2023
Never forget Recycling is a business.. Never a solution with the earth in mind.. Gov is just trying to push the carbon credits Just dont fall for the scam. That being said, being self concious with what you pollute is a good thing
reply
I'm all for the "Reduce" and "Reuse" parts, but the "Recycle" part is mostly a scam.
reply
There's a lot to discuss about self-sufficiency. I started myself, after I moved from big city. Great decision. Here is one of my garden in 2015 - link to postimg gallery to not spam here with lots of images.
Was another experiment of mine. Growing your own food is not for saving money. Sometimes you will spend more than just buy it. But the joy you have to grow it and taking care of it is UNIMAGINABLE. Also healthy, for mind and body.
I will recommend to all here: get the fuck out of city, in a rural area and grow your veggies. You will never regret it.
Now I am moving even further, deep into wilderness where I will build another vegetables garden with greenhouse also.
My advice to those who want to start:
  • in growing your own veggies, there's no need to follow exactly others advice about how to plant, how to seed, water etc. FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCT and if you fail, no worry, start over, THINK.
  • plant only what you think you will eat 100% and do not waste. Plant only enough for your consumption. You will really regret to throw away to compost what you can't eat or put in conservation
  • do as much as you can canned conservation for winter. You can't imagine how man y things you can do simply.
  • don't waste your money on complicated, expensive and useless tubes and systems for irrigation, think simple, spend less.
reply
I get 3 - 9 hour power cuts per day and in that time I need to maintain my level of productivity I think we are as environmentally friendly as it gets lol
reply
I haven't had a power cut in 17 years.
reply
Lol I haven't had a year of 24 hour power since 2006, different worlds hey
reply
Don't need to tell me twice! Lol To be self-sufficient has always been my philosophy and I'm glad you posted this for this community to encourage more plebs into it.. Thank you for the post
reply
I am a lot more intentional about recycling items now. It used to be just things like cardboard, clean plastics. Now I’ll rinse out as much as I can to clean and recycle it. I check everything for whether it’s recyclable or not. I even consulted my garbage collection company to confirm what is recyclable in our area. It makes me feel good for doing my part.
reply
Definitely put more focus on the "reduce" and "reuse" part. Recycling should be the very last choice before "straight in the trash"
reply
We got to change the way we live or else our kids will have no livable planet
reply
Capitalism is eco friendly by default, because it wants to conserve resources. And its not fair to look back at how things was done 100 years ago and how dirty it was. Because things have progressed and ppl 100 years ago probably shouldnt be held to the standards that we have today. Also how did things progress? Through free market forces. People who waste resources lose business :) Its an on going process. The government is counterbalancing it, and it likes to give money to unproductive people. Thats really the essence of government. Its about wasting money and resources. So in order to become more eco friendly the government institution must go. And it will sooner or later because of how it wastes resources.
reply
Self-sufficiency is good for self-sovereignty, but terribly inefficient as you give up on the benefits of division of labour (specialization and marginal utility / marginal cost of production.) It makes more sense to make your own meals though than to make your own cars, computers and smartphones.
Grow potatoes and onions? No, thanks. They cost pennies, for the time it takes to grow a kilo of those I could buy a ton.
reply