Le's get creative. This is a tool that I will frequently update to show you some ways that I am living a free lifestyle, or as free as I can get, and I'm hoping I'll get responses from others about how you are doing the same.
So here is my
freegan update for this week:
-14 free bikes, some cruisers, some road, some mountain, but all very good shape and pretty classic (so slick!) need some work, but they have a
recyclery downtown
Asheville where you can build or fix up your bike for free.
-free light bright I scored off of a couple's messy break up (aw!)
-curbside
toss out provided me with a few new books, a whole new wardrobe (skirts, shirts, jacket, bikini...) without one stain or tear, and a stuffed grateful dead dancing bear
-local dumpster provided me with 2 boxes of very decent tomatoes in which me and a fellow
couchsurfer that I was hosting created a delicious bean salsa, and the dumpster also provided a porch full of pumpkins and gourds in beautiful shape and very great for seed swapping, pies, and a great decoration for fall!
And that's just this week!!
I am a firm believer that in this day and age you cannot go hungry or homeless, unless you don't care. If you really don't want to sleep on the street, you won't!
-If you need cash, grab a guitar, or any instrument, and play it! Up in Boone me and some friends played on the street for a few days and came out with a decent amount of cash. A few people gave us packaged and canned food, some even gave us their leftovers from the
restaurants they were leaving, we were offered several rides and many places to stay.
-Another way to make a little cash (this involves a little bit of cash to start out, but not too much) go pick-up some lemonade mix and some cups and sell that on a nearby campus or a busy street on a hot day. As long as you have an eye-catching sign people will really go for it. For example, I painted a sign that said "FREE LOVE and cheap lemonade" and sold lemonade for a dollar on campus and came out with at least 30 bucks! I was only there for maybe 2 hours, it wasn't a busy day and it wasn't particularly hot either. Or buy a big bag of fruit loops or some off brand and thread them into necklaces. I sold those and grilled cheese sandwiches (with mama's special sauce!) at a
phish tour and made bank! I got to follow them up and down the coast with the profit!
-The next door neighbor has a lot of apples from her trees, and let's me use them. So I will often make apple chips and trade them at farmer's markets for the veggies or bread that I need, or whatever other goods they are willing to trade. I also traded my "Mama's special Salsa" this week for a loaf of fresh baguette (
MMMMM!) Also, try starting a garden. You can make your own potato or even sweet potato chips and trade those. People love them! Packaging is so easy as well, just save all the plastic and glass jars and containers you have and re-use them. Even ask around to see if your friends can give you their old jars or even go through people's
recycling. The fun part is making them look good. Paint them or something that will make your product unique in your own way.
Anyways, this post is mainly just for awareness. It's possible to live a life without Uncle Sam digging into your back pocket. These are only a handful of ways that I have found to get by. There's also
WWOOFing, which is a great
opportunity. If you've never heard of it, go to the site right now. Farmers from all over the world are offering to teach you a trade of any kind, depending on the place, but it's brilliant! Most of the farms will offer food(straight from the fresh garden!) and a place to stay, but some even may offer a little cash per week. It's almost like a free school! And it's great for networking. While you're there you will meet other
WWOOFers that are headed to other farms and all you have to do is hop a ride with them.
Now let's say you don't have transportation... Well, there are so many sites out there now for carpooling:
ridesharelist,
craigslist rideshare,
ridesurfing, blah blah, even a friend of a friend that is headed to visit their grandmother a few states away, they can all help you get a ride to where you want to go. Think about it, there are so many cars out there on the road RIGHT NOW, and at least one of them is going the direction you are headed. And if nothing else, stick out your thumb and make a great sign and I guarantee you will get a ride. I've had enough experience hitching, some took one minute to get a ride, some took forever, but, as of now, I haven't had a bad experience yet. Everyone has always been very kind and generous, and, knock on wood, they will continue to be that way. And in the "about me" section there are a few sites for tips on hitching that you should check out.
Now, give me one minute to rave about
Craigslist! I really do swear by it! I was
WWOOFing in the woods living out of my tent. It was getting to cold to be sleeping in my tent at the top of the mountain, and I needed a place to stay. I had no money in my pocket and I was in an area where I didn't know anyone. And I also kind of liked the area,
Asheville, and wanted to stay there for the winter. I get on
Craigslist at the library and, what do you know, a woman has put a posting out there saying "Free apartment to someone if you nanny my 3 kids!" And I took it. And she hired me, and I am living here right now, with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, washer/dryer, A bed! I mean this is fantastic! (
Craigslist helped me get all those 14 bikes as well!) But it is a great tool, and the more people we have aware of it, the more
opportunities will be available.
Freecycle, okay, this is a great tool as well. People are giving away the greatest things:
TVs, VCR, books, clothes, art, furniture, refrigerators, canned goods, the list goes on! I find the greatest things up there, like the light bright :] , and people have delivered bags and bags of clothes to my doorstep, which is a great source of fabric for any craft ideas you want to create and trade or sell!!
Dumpsters are great. Especially grocery stores like Food Lion, Price Chopper,
Ingles, Harris Teeter,
Publix, whatever they are called in your area, depending on the time they close. I've found that some places actually will
separate their meats from their other thrown out goods which makes diving a whole lot easier. I've lived for a long time off of the dumpster, because think about it, as soon as the
expiration date is out they toss it, it's the law or whatever. So much stuff thrown away is still good. I've scored on cereals, crackers, even
gummies, freeze ices, bread, canned goods, boxes rices and pastas, cakes! I mean come on, there is so much thrown out goodies, get yourself a head lamp, a sturdy box, and dive in!
Anyways, with all of these tools out there, let's use them! And let's talk ways to use them! Let me know your ideas, and have a beautiful day! :]
