How it all ended

For those of you who were actually reading my blog (were there any of you?) my freegan fast ended not with a bang, but a whimper. Seriously. I learned a lot from the experiment, but started shopping...about a week before Easter. Ahem. There's such a vast difference between WANTS and NEEDS and the two of them can be confused in so many ways... I started shopping at grocery stores, then it grew to clothing and then other unnecessary items. I can say I had a good excuse, since I had to deal with some pretty serious medical issues (which I won't disclose) right before Easter.

So. This was a fantastic learning experiment, but it didn't end as well as I would have liked. More reflecting to come at a later time.

This link doesn't have much to do with freeganism, but I still find it interesting. From the fine folks at Virgin:

http://www.screwyourecession.ca/

The allure of food, and shopping on the curbside.

I'm teetering closer and closer to starting to shop again. Damn grocery stores, stop looking so appetizing. :P

In other news, while on a walk, we picked up a large granite tile. It'll make a good cutting board. And we took a coffee table off our neighbour's hands.

Searching for a recipe...

I'm housesitting for a friend on vacation right now, and she offered me some leftover couscous and dry red lentils. She's coming home tomorrow, and I want to cook them up for her as a "welcome home" dinner. For the life of me, I cannot find a recipe! Does anyone have a good (vegetarian) one that I could use? I also have some zucchini and carrot that I could add to it.

A small slip-up

I was a bad freegan today. I went to the dollar store and spent three bucks and change (!). All necessary stuff (apple juice, soy milk, and bottled water), so I guess it's not ALL bad.

Reflections thus far

So at about the halfway point through this little experiment, I've come to the following conclusions:

1. it is both very easy and very difficult to live as a freegan, in winter, in a northern climate.
2. we do not always need everything we think we need.
3. with a little bit of creativity, we can get all we want without spending a ton of money.

More on that as I come closer to the end.

I know that when this experiment is over, I will be spending my money in a more just and less wasteful manner. Though it isn't the be-all and end-all of our society, it has incredible power and can bring joy (Bill Gates? Warren Buffett? Bono?) or misery (Madoff? AIG?)

OK, off to figure out how I'm going to pay my (necessary!) Hydro and phone bills.

The Sacred Page: My Freegan Finds

The Sacred Page: My Freegan Finds

Here's a woman who understands what I do.