How Much Can You Carry on a Bicycle?

...s to climb hills even with heavy groceries. One need not be car-free to enjoy a cargo bike. For many years Kelly and I shared a car. The Xtracycle was a big part of making that car-light arrangement work. When people ask if urban homesteading saves money, the first thing I point to is the cargo bike, not the chicken coop. The problem? Cargo bikes are not nearly as sexy as the Playboy Land Yacht. That’s a problem I’ll get to in a future post....

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In Praise of Turkish Towels

...your body. After a few disconcerting mornings spent missing terry, I grew used to them, and then fell in love. I love them because: The are not as bulky as terry, so wrap and tie around the body more more easily They roll up into neat little bundles and take up very little space in my bathroom cupboard They dry more quickly than terry towels They don’t hog the washer They’re not heavy when wet They dry quickly on the line and feel soft afterward...

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Who Killed the Non-Electric Toaster?

...ind an alternative and remembered seeing non-electric toasters that people used to use back in the 1920s when our house was built. These types of toasters have not died out entirely. Most non-electric toaster designs look like the one above. Some Googling also led us to an innovative looking non-electric toaster called the DeltaToast. Counter-intuitively, all of these simple stove top toasters coast about twice as much as electric toaster, at leas...

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Pooh Power!

...en in your standard home toilet when water flushing is unavailable. Can be used under or over (to keep sanitary) any toilet seat. After use, simply fold the Wag™ Bag into the zip-close bag and close. Dispose in trash container. An absolute must for your car, camper, boat, or plane (or those unsavory outhouses). Weighs 3 lbs. per kit. The Wag™ and Pooh-Powder technology was developed by Phillips Environmental Products, a company that received a fed...

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We are all gardeners

...ters as it does in those about child development. The phrase is also often used in permacultural circles, where — by oral tradition, at least — it is attributed to Bill Mollison, though after a solid half hour of searching I haven’t been able to find a citation of him saying this in print. In permacultural terms, to say we are all gardeners means simply that everything we do influences our environment. Whether we will it or not, our daily decision...

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