Forced Conservationism...

Ok, maybe not "forced", but coming all the same and by my own doing. Seems that life in a trailer will do that to you. I've done my share of camping over the short span of my life, and am no stranger to spit baths and port-o-potties, but meshing your everyday life into those confines is a new one. Yeah, I planned it all out and bought the books and read the forums and blah, blah, blah - truth is in the lifestyle though. I'm beginning to believe that, just as all people should be forced to ride a motorcycle for a year prior to getting a car license, that they should also have to live in a trailer before being let out in the world on their own.

It's not just the slimming down of your belongings that I've mentioned before, but now it's more apparent than ever, that slimming down your consumption of resources is a very doable and non-invasive action as well.

It's only taken a short amount of time to realize that if I only run the water when i'm actually using it, I save my holding tanks at both ends. If I only use lights in the room I'm in and only when I can't have sun, I save my inverter and battery life. If I plan my daily trips in the truck efficiently and only go once to do everything, then I save the fuel in the tank. This list goes on and on, but you get the drift. On the road like this, you have to be aware of things that we take for granted in our daily lives in a brick-and-mortar dwelling. Ok, maybe gas is on your mind just like me lately due to the ever-increasing costs, but other than that, how many of you really do the other things?

Now don't go thinking I'm some greenpeace-loving, earth-hugging, hippy-dancing, fruit loop here. I still believe that the best way to induce alternative fuels is to use up what we have as quickly as possible so that the smart types get off their asses quicker. I'm doing my part there for sure. Drill, drill, drill. That being said, I do believe that if we only use what we need, we will have what we need when we need to use it. Make sense? I'm a fan of not having to scrape and scrounge to get the necessities in life.

It's been an eye-opener for me to see how much I've wasted in my life. I stood there washing my dishes this morning and only turned the faucet on when I was filling the sink, then again when I was actually rinsing the dishes off. Plug the sink and use the first batch of water to wash and then only drain once. Much less than usual, where I run the damn faucet if I'm in front of the sink. Same goes for showering or whatever. Same outcome, but much less waste. You may think that water isn't something to be concerned about, and that's cool, but for me, it's all the same. We're seeing everything cost more and more, so I'm all about using less and less. The lighting thing is a different story. Last I checked, they rape you in the summer for electricity and in the winter for heating fuels. By cutting your usage to only the areas you are in, you can cut your costs down considerably.

I'm not preaching, just relating my experience over to you a little. I work hard for what I have and want to make sure that it always has the ability to get me what I need. What I really need is up to me, so it's an equation that you control. One of the few. Doesn't take a trailer to figure out that simple math...

...But it helps!

See ya out there.