DIY (Do it yourself)

Wikipedia defines DIY as "a term used by various communities that focus on people creating things for themselves without the aid of paid professionals. Many DIY subcultures explicitly critique consumer culture, which emphasizes that the solution to our needs is to purchase things, and instead encourage people to take technologies into their own hands.

The actual activity of DIY goes back through the ages--since the beginning of time, people have used their own abilities and available tools and technologies to take care of their own needs, make their own clothing, and so on."

Doing things yourself often saves time, resources and money. Well, sometimes it doesn't save time, but it cuts down on waste and definitely is cheaper! My top eight list of things to DIY:

1. Buy grains and beans in bulk. Soak beans in water before cooking. Beans bought this way are SO cheap. Way cheaper than beans in a can. Buy all foods possible in their raw form. You have a lot more packaging and expense when you buy a box of rice-a-roni vs. just buying a big bag of rice.

2. Make your own cleaners. I'm going to post a list of recipes sometime soon. Basically, you can make a cleaner for anything out of vinegar and baking soda. You can make your own bathroom cleaner, laundry soap, shampoo, toothpaste, dish soap, etc. Its incredibly cheap and so much better for the environment than those horrible chemical cleaners. Bleach is the worst. Please, please do not use bleach. It is an endocrine-disrupting dioxin that has a very long half-life. It is horrible for human health and the environment. There are many alternatives to chlorine bleach.

3. Cutting your family's hair. With a little practice, you get pretty good. Jay has had to wear a baseball hat for a few days, but that is rare. Especially for little kids, a homemade hair cut is the best!

4. Grow your own food. Even if you don't have space, you can rent a community garden plot in most cities, or you can container garden with tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc.

5. Make as much of your own food from scratch as possible. Making your own bread is so rewarding and fun. It only takes about 10 minutes of your actual time, the yeast do the rest. Cook from scratch as much as you can. For example, we make our own seitan (wheat meat), salad dressings, etc. Many things can be made in advance, then frozen or dried for later use.

6. Handcrafts. The best gifts are home-made and will be cherished for a long time. Things like sewing, quilting, knitting, clay/ceramics, crochet, woodwork, etc.

7. Car repairs. Some car repairs are pretty simple and you save yourself hundreds of dollars. Get a manual for your car off e-bay. You can at least change your own oil.

8. Home repairs/home improvement. I'll admit, I'm not the most knowledgeable about this topic, never having owned a home. But i've been told that with some good books and perhaps a class or two, it is very do-able.