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steve hiker
11-12-2004, 12:17
Last week I went out of town and lost my electric shaver. I had a handheld razer that I received in the mail years ago as a sample, and used it and found I like it. No buzzing and noisy electricity, and I like the leizure of dragging the thing across my face and feeling the wiskers give way. Simpler is better in this case and I don't think i'll replace the lectric razer.

Right now there's this A-Hole outside with his noisy lawn mowers and leaf blower, creating a hellofa racket that totally drowns out everything and I can't even talk on the phone. Think how much healthier that idiot would be if he pushed a simple mechanical mover and raked the leaves with a (horrors!) rake.

Anyone else have examples of simpler is better, of getting away from the complex, noisey, and expensive and going simple.

Blue Jay
11-12-2004, 13:24
Mowing and raking, why would anyone waste their time in the first place?

art to linda
11-12-2004, 13:26
Mowing with a push mower would take me forever, it's 3 hours with the power mower now. I do mulch up the leaves with the mower when I mow for the last time.

I do bake & cook from scratch... in a bake off with a friend I made dinner rolls faster then she could using frozen dough & they tasted better too :D

Have an old fashion carpet sweeper that workes great for a quick run over the carpet so don't have to haul out the old vacum as often

don't own a dishwasher, ( that's what God made hands & kids for ;) )

Lone Wolf
11-12-2004, 13:26
Why shave? Raking sharp steel across your skin is pretty dumb.

TDale
11-12-2004, 13:27
Turning off the compu

smokymtnsteve
11-12-2004, 13:36
Mowing and raking, why would anyone waste their time in the first place?


cause folks love thier BIG, drug-addicted (fertilizer and chemical)
mono-culture yards,

Mags
11-12-2004, 13:45
Why shave? Raking sharp steel across your skin is pretty dumb.


Because trimming my very thick beard takes too long. :)

I'm lazy..rather just spend five minutes shaving than futzing around keeping my beard all neat and trimmed. Blech! I typically only shave every other day (and seldom on weekends), so not having a beard actually saves me time and makes life simpler for me. YMMV.

Jaybird
11-12-2004, 13:57
i have a "dish-washer"...its ME!...hehehehehe

own an electric push mower & weed eater....

(i'm thinking about buying a regular rotor blade mower..the kind i used @ my grandmothers house when i wuz a kid)


i shave twice a week (regular single blade razor)...& use the same blade for a couple o' months...but, i'm NOT shaving my goatee! :D

Bolo
11-12-2004, 13:59
I believe it is said, when Ghandi died, everything he owned could fit in a shoebox!

And I keep working on getting my pack weight down.

Duggie
11-12-2004, 14:42
Somewhere I saw a picture of all that Ghandi owned at the time of his death. As I recall it was a spoon, a bowl, a cup, a pair of sandles, simple indian clothing, paper, pencil and his glasses. I think of this everytime I clean out my garage.

Noggin
11-12-2004, 14:55
(i'm thinking about buying a regular rotor blade mower..the kind i used @ my grandmothers house when i wuz a kid)
My grandparents had one of those. So simple and unpretentious it was a work of art.

Dances with Mice
11-12-2004, 15:17
....when he could have just said it once?

I have a big vegetable garden, all raised beds. I used to have a big Troy-bilt tiller for turning the soil.

I spent about as much time maintaining and repairing the tiller than I did using it - that's not really a knock on TB, once it was running it made short work of the garden chores. But sometimes I'd spend the better part of a day getting that monster started and ready to till. So I gave it away to a friend.

I've just been using shovel, hoes, and a rake for the last ten years. It's a lot easier. It's even faster. Now that the soil's in good condition I can turn it over and rake it smooth in about the same time it used to take to get the tiller from the garage to the garden. I can also do what needs to be done when it needs doing, I don't have to put off garden maintenance until there is enough work to justify starting the tiller. Or I can do just a little digging when I have a little time and finish when I have a little more. It's quieter and safer working with hand tools.

I planted 1.5 acres of former mowed yard in trees, gave away my old riding John Deere and bought the cheapest push mower I could find for the little patch of grass remaining around the house. That saved several hundred dollars a year in mower maintenance and repair, and many hours of work each year, too.

Now I have grapevines, blueberry bushes, thornless blackberries, and raspberry plants on order, scheduled for shipment in December. I have to build 5 new raised beds to hold them all. I'll be starting that this weekend, with the shovel. And then there will be even less grass to mow!

smokymtnsteve
11-12-2004, 15:20
PLEASE STAND OF THE GOSPEL OF ABBEY!

"We spend more time working for our labor-saving machines than they do working for us."
~

THANKS BE TO ABBEY!

weary
11-12-2004, 16:05
cause folks love thier BIG, drug-addicted (fertilizer and chemical)
mono-culture yards,

Well, I started simple 42 years ago. A beatup $2,900 house on a grossly polluted river. But the river got clean. Then the state enacted a law that says I can't cut anything bigger than 2 inches in diameter, so I'm stuck with mowing parts of my two acres occasionally.

I don't mind having a few trees between me an the river, but this house and land is our only capital asset and my wife has a thing about living in poverty if inflation gets bad again or medical costs intervene again.

I haven't checked personnally, but I hear rumors that most buyers of waterfront property like to see water not trees. I remain the disgrace of the neighborhood in the condition of my lawn. I'm not into chemicals, but I do run the machine a few times each summer to keep a swath open so that whoever eventually buys the place will be able to see the 1802 church steeple across the cove.

I have to admit, that today, just as the heavy clouds began spitting the first snow of the season, that it was kinda nice to see some wild ducks paddling up through the marsh, while I was putting another stick of wood in the kitchen range.

Weary

chris
11-12-2004, 16:06
I think it is simpler for me to walk down the store and buy some food than to grow it and process it myself. Now, I do make my own beer and mead, but I have rather high standards.

smokymtnsteve
11-12-2004, 16:10
it's cool and wet here in ATL,,,still pickin a few homegrown maters, they will be finished soon,,,and then I;ll have fried green maters from the remnants.

but the arugala , chard and other salad greens are loving this weather :D

Dances with Mice
11-12-2004, 16:34
it's cool and wet here in ATL,,,still pickin a few homegrown maters, they will be finished soon,,,and then I;ll have fried green maters from the remnants. but the arugala , chard and other salad greens are loving this weather :D

Yep, I'm thinking the cool weather and rain-softened soil should be just right for some serious digging. The great majority of the broccoli heads are already in the freezer, just a few side shoots are left for salads. But the cauliflower are just starting to head and it looks like it'll be a great harvest. This cold snap should sweeten up the collards, and I'll pick the first green cabbage this weekend, the red cabbage still needs more time. And the cayenne, tobasco, and habanero peppers need to be picked, should get a couple more gallons to add to the freezer for hot sauce making later. The garlic is up and growing nicely. It is nice to be able to garden all 4 seasons.

c.coyle
11-12-2004, 16:38
own an electric push mower & weed eater....

(i'm thinking about buying a regular rotor blade mower..the kind i used @ my grandmothers house when i wuz a kid)

In April of '82, the same week I bought my house, I bought a used "armstrong powered" push mower for $10. Still have it. About every third spring I get it sharpened for about $12. Using it is actually soothing. You get a rhythm going to the sound of whirring blades. Makes talking on my cellphone a real pleasure. :bse

smokymtnsteve
11-12-2004, 16:38
next couple days forecast calls for sunny weather, might be little wet to dig right now,

Dances with Mice
11-12-2004, 16:55
next couple days forecast calls for sunny weather, might be little wet to dig right now,

Right now it's all solid red clay under tall native grasses, won't be wet but maybe the top inch. I'll double dig and work in chopped leaves, ground pine bark, sand, and lime then turn it over again when the plants arrive.

I won't touch my existing beds, tho, too wet to work them. I also need to take in the irrigation system, they're still getting an hour of watering every day!

Magic City
11-12-2004, 17:21
When I moved to Millinocket, I wanted a rotor blade mower, the kind without a motor. I found one at Sears and bought it new, only to find that it didn't work very well at all, but simply flattened the grass under it without cutting it.

Later, I decided to clean out the shed behind the house and found a very old one wrapped in plastic. The old one works great.

I sold the new one for $20 at a yard sale and felt like I had cheated someone.

JimM
11-12-2004, 20:38
Somewhere I saw a picture of all that Ghandi owned at the time of his death. As I recall it was a spoon, a bowl, a cup, a pair of sandles, simple indian clothing, paper, pencil and his glasses. I think of this everytime I clean out my garage.
.....sounds like a nasty divorce......YMMV
Jim

minnesotasmith
11-13-2004, 05:17
1) My sister can't understand why I don't spend money that's already allocated elsewhere to buy a chemical spreader for my lawn. I recently spread 300# of fertilizer and 1120# of lime over an acre with just a bucket and a large plastic cup, and I think I did a better job than a mechanical spreader would have done.

2) I can't understand why people buy electric toothbrushes and electric canopeners, when the nonelectric ones are cheaper and easy to use. (The nonelectric ones work when the power bill hasn't been paid, too!);)

3) Lone Wolf asked: "Why shave?"

Well, with all the horny guys out there that just can't seem to get laid, why would you want your mouth to look any more like a vagina than you can help?:-?
Now that you know about that concern, IMO it'll tell us LOTS about you if you continue to wear a beard...:D

Pencil Pusher
11-13-2004, 06:36
Turning off the compu
Isn't that the ironic part of this thread? lol;)

Youngblood
11-13-2004, 09:52
Just a thought!

There are some people on this site that... well, if good sense costs a dollar, I'm afraid they would be about two-bits short. :rolleyes:

Youngblood

Noggin
11-13-2004, 13:24
I planted 1.5 acres of former mowed yard in trees, gave away my old riding John Deere and bought the cheapest push mower I could find for the little patch of grass remaining around the house. That saved several hundred dollars a year in mower maintenance and repair, and many hours of work each year, too.

Now I have grapevines, blueberry bushes, thornless blackberries, and raspberry plants on order, scheduled for shipment in December. I have to build 5 new raised beds to hold them all. I'll be starting that this weekend, with the shovel. And then there will be even less grass to mow!
Good luck Mice, sounds like yer on the right path. I remember hearing of someone, I don't remember where he was from, saying he didn't understand why Americans like to grow so much grass. And they don't even harvest it.

illininagel
11-13-2004, 13:35
Simpler stuff?

I like to ride my bike for local errands versus taking my car. Not only is it simple, but it's good exercise and helps save gas.

Noggin
11-13-2004, 13:51
Brings to mind in high school shop when we made alunimum molds. As part of the foundering process we'd sift sand, then press the hard copy of the object into the sand before pouring the molten metal stuff in.

The other guys all used a motorized electric sifter to sift their sand. But I refused and used a hand sifter. Turns out the hand sifter did a much better job of sifting the sand into a fine pattern. As a result, the horse I made came out a lot better than anyone else's mold, and they all remarked on how good and smooth it was and couldn't understand why.

smokymtnsteve
11-13-2004, 14:27
Good luck Mice, sounds like yer on the right path. I remember hearing of someone, I don't remember where he was from, saying he didn't understand why Americans like to grow so much grass. And they don't even harvest it.


Don't Harvest It?? what a shame! :D

FatMan
11-13-2004, 14:38
Simpler life you bet. That's why I bought my Maserati instead of that more complicated Ferrari.:banana

I get my simple life experiences on the trails. At home, its only the finest comforts for me.

BTW....about the Maserati, I bought the Ferrari anyway.
Only kidding, I drive a jeep.

Tha Wookie
11-13-2004, 15:00
Why shave? Raking sharp steel across your skin is pretty dumb.

Yup... I read that John Muir never ONCE shaved. He was to busy creating Yosemite, our first National Park.

saimyoji
11-14-2004, 10:41
Don't kid yourselves, life today is much more complex and filled with annoying crap that we drive ourselves insane dealing with it all. Folks like Thoreau had the luxury of fighting for ideals. I'm fighting to provide my family with every comfort, every little thing that will take their minds off the crazy disturbed world we live in. Though our home is secure, we hear gunshots every night, we hear the gamut of sirens and other city noises reminding us of the horor that some folks live. I'm sometimes afraid to turn on the news with the little one in the room.

What do I do to make my life "simpler?" HA.

Dances with Mice
11-14-2004, 12:10
Don't kid yourselves, life today is much more complex and filled with annoying crap that we drive ourselves insane dealing with it all. Folks like Thoreau had the luxury of fighting for ideals. I'm fighting to provide my family with every comfort, every little thing that will take their minds off the crazy disturbed world we live in. Though our home is secure, we hear gunshots every night, we hear the gamut of sirens and other city noises reminding us of the horor that some folks live. I'm sometimes afraid to turn on the news with the little one in the room.

What do I do to make my life "simpler?" HA.

Someone else once felt the same way as you. He wrote:

"The problem of living is at bottom an economic one. And this alone is bad enough, even in a period of so-called "normalcy." But living has been considerably complicated of late in various ways - by war, by questions of personal liberty, and by "menaces" of one kind or another." - Benton Mackaye, 1921, An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Rocks 'n Roots
11-15-2004, 15:06
The catch 22 is that a simpler life becomes more cost effective as things increase in price due to inflation. I believe Thoureau first started this idea. If you can build a simple hut and raise some simple crops you can avoid some of life's higher costs. What kills this concept are increasing land values and taxes. The catch 22 then arises because if you follow this concept you have to keep moving further out into wilderness to escape the costs. When you do this you are contributing to sprawl...

Dances with Mice
11-15-2004, 17:36
The catch 22 is that a simpler life becomes more cost effective as things increase in price due to inflation. I believe Thoureau first started this idea. If you can build a simple hut and raise some simple crops you can avoid some of life's higher costs. What kills this concept are ...

... providing for a spouse and children, both of which were outside Henry's experience. But the Amish and Old Order Mennonites, true practictioners of the art of simple living, seem to be doing OK.

MOWGLI
11-15-2004, 19:35
... providing for a spouse and children, both of which were outside Henry's experience. But the Amish and Old Order Mennonites, true practictioners of the art of simple living, seem to be doing OK.

One of the coolest things I saw during my thru-hike, was a co-ed Amish softball game at Pine Grove Furnace State Park (I think that was the PA park where I saw that). There was loads of food, buggies, the men in their suspenders and hats, and the women in their dresses, all playing softball.

The first baseman was a woman, and she slapped a mean back-handed tag on a runner, who rounded first base a little too wide. The right fielder threw a bullet to the first baseman, and she tagged out the runner. No arguments, just polite applause, and the next batter was up.

I kept on walking.

smokymtnsteve
11-15-2004, 20:07
... providing for a spouse and children, both of which were outside Henry's experience. But the Amish and Old Order Mennonites, true practictioners of the art of simple living, seem to be doing OK.

henri actually had a very close relationship with waldo emerson and family,,,seems that henri took care of emerson's domestic duties while waldo was away.

Lone Wolf
11-15-2004, 20:09
So old Hank was a homer sexual?

smokymtnsteve
11-15-2004, 20:17
no probably not..it seems that henri took care of waldo's wife, while waldo himself took extensive european trips. you know taking care of a fermale wife is not a homer sexual thang.

steve hiker
11-15-2004, 20:23
... But the Amish and Old Order Mennonites, true practictioners of the art of simple living, seem to be doing OK.
I don't think the Amish are true practitioners of simplicity, seeing how they're always going places in cars. They preach rejection of the internal combustion engine but are always bumming rides. Makes a bad impression.

It'd be better if they just bought a few cheap, fuel efficient Honda Civics and supported their car habits themselves.

smokymtnsteve
11-15-2004, 20:26
also the amish have those gasoline powered washing machines.

steve hiker
11-15-2004, 20:39
homer sexual?
I always knew them ancient Greeks were queer.

Lone Wolf
11-15-2004, 20:41
A good Greek never leaves his friends behind.

smokymtnsteve
11-15-2004, 20:46
friend's behind.... :confused:

Dances with Mice
11-15-2004, 20:58
The Amish / Mennonites display a spectrum of beliefs, I'd think hikers should relate. Within their ranks are purists, slackpackers, blue blazers, and yellow blazers.

I dunno about gas powered washing machines, but judging from their laundry lines, none of them have mechanical dryers.

minnesotasmith
11-15-2004, 21:00
The motto of the Greek Army:

"Never leave your brother(')s behind.":o

The Eleven
11-16-2004, 15:28
I agree...why bother racking and mowing in the first place? When we going hiking, do we bring a rake to take the leaves off the trail? Keep the yard all natural. More time used out in the woods. Littlebear 2 in CT

minnesotasmith
11-16-2004, 16:34
your face, at least (unless you're from San Francisco). ;)

weary
11-16-2004, 17:35
One of the coolest things I saw during my thru-hike, was a co-ed Amish softball game at Pine Grove Furnace State Park (I think that was the PA park where I saw that). There was loads of food, buggies, the men in their suspenders and hats, and the women in their dresses, all playing softball.

The first baseman was a woman, and she slapped a mean back-handed tag on a runner, who rounded first base a little too wide. The right fielder threw a bullet to the first baseman, and she tagged out the runner. No arguments, just polite applause, and the next batter was up.
I kept on walking.
When I walked through Pine Grove Furnace State Park a church group was having some sort of a shindig. Everyone was in chairs and some guy was talking very excitedly in front of them.

Behind the group was a table loaded with all kinds of donuts, muffins and such. I was polite. I only took two.

Weary

Rocks 'n Roots
11-17-2004, 01:58
Behind the group was a table loaded with all kinds of donuts, muffins and such. I was polite. I only took two.

On a through-hike? This man has ultra-abilities of self-restraint...