Sustainable living

Carbon Footprint

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Laura

I took a test this morning to see what the carbon footprint for Tiny House Ontario is.

Here are the results

House 0.03 metric tons of CO2
Flights 0.00 metric tons of CO2
Car 0.00 metric tons of CO2
Motorbike 1.22 metric tons of CO2
Bus & Rail 0.00 metric tons of CO2
Secondary 1.76 metric tons of CO2

Total = 3.01 metric tons of CO2

It went on to say:

  • Your footprint is 3.01 metric tons per year
  • The average footprint for people in Canada is 20.00 metric tons
  • The average for the industrial nations is about 11 metric tons
  • The average worldwide carbon footprint is about 4 metric tons
  • The worldwide target to combat climate change is 2 metric tons

It is a pretty good result, but I have to say that I am very surprised to learn that I am over consuming in the secondary section.  Here are the answers that I gave:

Carbon Footprint Screen Shot 2013-01-18 at 2.44.03 PM

I guess this means that next year I have to hope for a better growing year so that I can reap as much as I sow. I am not sure how else I can reduce really as my bike is essential for me to get around and I really don’t buy much besides food and things to complete THO.  This gives me a lot to think about!

What are your results?  Do you see any way that you can reduce this number?

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Update: I just found that an acre of 15 year old forest will carry 1-2 cubic metres of carbon per acre.  THO forest is at least 9.5 acres of forest which means that it likely carries at least 19 cubic meters… not sure still what the different measurements are, but this does make me feel a little better.

Categories: Off Grid, Open your eyes, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario, View | Tags: , , , | 11 Comments

Popping Beans

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Laura

Popping Beans

 

Yesterday morning I soaked a 2 pound bag of white navy beans in my big crockpot.  It turns out that this is slightly too many so I had to remove a quarter of them into a different pot.  The small pot I added some seasoning to, a few of my garden tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and and onion and made a good heartily soup.  I got four large meals and two small jars (only one is pictured here) from the first quarter.  The other 3/4 of the beans were turned on last night and I salted and canned them earlier this afternoon.  I got four full quarts plus a little.  They will be used later for a recipe that calls for beans – or to make another soup, whatever.  The bag of beans cost me $2.50 Canadian; a lot of food for very cheap and very little work.  As a matter of fact boiling the jars to make them sterile was the toughest part.

The best part, is that I get the satisfaction of hearing the cans pop!  Silly as this is, it even beats the cheap cost, and feeding myself slow food, with no preservatives and good taste and quality.  Did you know that when you can beans yourself there is no slime in the jar at all?  What is that slime in canned beans?

Pop!  Pop!  Pop!  Pop!  😀

 

Categories: Open your eyes, Simple living, Sustainable living | Tags: , , , , | 5 Comments

Awesome Cartoon!

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Laura

 

 

 

Entertaining!  Still this pretty much sums up why I am a vegan who is on the road to living in a Tiny House.

carbon footprint by diet type

Categories: Nature, Open your eyes, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario | 5 Comments

Qanik

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Laura

Snowflake

There are a lot of people who believe that our Canadian Inuit have a huge number of words to describe snow.  This of course is just a fanciful urban legend.  In English we have a similar variety of words to Inuit language that describes snow and snow conditions, such as: snow, sleet, slush, ice rain, blizzard, blustery and snowing…

Even so, last night as the snow fell I wished that there was a lovely succinct Inuit or English word that I could ascribe to the sort of snow that fell here in Hamilton.  The conditions were absolutely ideal; just cold enough, no wind at all and a very light number of flakes forming.  This made the flakes huge all about a half centimetre across and perfect large crystal formation like a billion glass renditions of paper snowflakes falling.  They fell like feathers, magically, resisting landing, dancing slowly to the earth.

The Inuit word for falling snow is qanik but this does not describe the perfect snowfall.  Indeed, it was just the sort of snowfall that made me wish I was at THO, in the night forest, with a flashlight, to catch the fleeting, breathtaking art show that Mother Nature prepared.

My home community tell me that there has been a powerful lot of snow at THO.  They had a blast and there is around two feet that have fallen.  My cousin Kenny has ploughed me out so I can drive right in, when I go up next week for a few days.  I have a new propane heater called a Propane Buddy with an adapter that allows it to be connected to a large propane cylinder.  It is designed to heat 200 square feet and cost me $129 Canadian.  I can’t wait to give it a whirl!  I am hoping it is very effective.  While I don’t intend to use propane as a permanent solution, I am hoping that it is an adequate temporary fix until I move forward with wood.   I mean, look at all those dead sticks that I can burn off and thus keep the land looking tidy!

Tiny House in Snow

Categories: Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario, View | 2 Comments

Sew Nice!

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Laura

Okay, so the truth is, I have been holding back on you.  I can sew.  Please don’t tell anyone!  It is a secret because I find that if you tell people that you sew, they always want you to do their mending and hem their pants.  Truthfully, this is not the sort of stuff I like / want to sew and I have a hard time saying no because it really is simple for me… It is just that don’t enjoy it.

What I love to do is projects!  I like picking out fabric, making a pattern and sewing up something from my own imagination when the mood strikes me.

When I was first out of school I worked in a dry cleaner’s as a seamstress, so I was a professional seamstress at one time.  More than this, I can draft patterns,  tailor a man’s suit jacket and sew things as complex as a wedding dress.  I had very accomplished teachers!

Anyway, a while ago, my friend D mentioned that she needed a crate for her dog and on Sunday a rescuer friend L gave me a heads up about a crate for $10 at the Salvation Army, so I skipped down and picked it up.  I decided to pretty it up as a Christmas gift.  I made a cover, a cushion and two matching little blankets.

I think this beats a Christmas gift from the mall, hands down!

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As things turned out D did not need it after all, but there was a terrible fire on King Street and a woman named Jen lost everything including her dog crate.  Synchronicity?

I brought it over for her dog Riley.  On the way I stopped at Pet Value on Wilson Street in Hamilton to get a few other things too.  I told them what I was shopping for and they handed me a nice big bag full of treats and food!  Yeah Pet Value!  You really rocked the day for Riley and his mom!

March... Riley is enjoying his grate!

Categories: Dogs, Simple living, Sustainable living | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments