The Compact

I think it is interesting what people are doing with "The Compact" though I have been living this way for nearly all my life. It is simpler and you are able to live on less. We grow our own food, never go out to eat so avoid the issue of fast food fat content that has been on nearly everyone's mind. I sew my own clothes, often altering stuff bought at thrift stores and now have sewn some shopping bags so when we do shop at the grocers I don't have to bring home a bunch of plastic that needs to be recycled. My husband does not believe in buying new cars and we have just recently bought a small stationwagon for $300 that he is fixing up with parts from the junk yard, about the only new parts he bought were brake line and computer. We don't drive much. I take the bike/bus to work. The bus has a bike rack so it makes this possible. My husband likes to can and we do a heap of apples, beans, pickles, even dried beans which make a quick meal if we don't have much time. We are not vegetarian, we have chickens and hope to raise a pig next year. We get milk from the farm and always shop the farm markets when they are open. I hate to buy produce that has been shipped 3,000 miles. You wonder how many toxins it has been exposed to and how ripe it was when it was picked and how many gallons of gas it took to get it here. That's scary. Not to mention that the farmers in our own area are in desperate need of business.

Just a few thoughts on this. Nothing new for any person who is conscientious about what is going on in the world and the environment.