60+ years old, not homeless but I’m by the government standards in US at poverty level.
When you’re poor you are and always have been living a mostly sustainable life, not out of choice, but because you can’t afford any other option. So you don’t eat meat at every meal, and if you do it’s the cheapest kinds and it’s never more than a cup per person, if not less.
You recycle/re-use/re-purpose anything you can.
You buy from thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, goodwill stores, et al.
You ask for family and friends hand-me-downs, old pots and pans, whatever they got to give, honestly.
You don’t travel because it’s not even affordable, unless you’re gonna hitch hike or take a greyhound bus.
You don’t buy books you go to a library IF you’re lucky and one’s located nearby.
All your technology is old and/or used, refurbed, and if you’re lucky you could cobble something together (build a pc, for example) but you never have the latest and greatest parts etc, you’re always behind and just barely limping along.
You cut your own hair.
You make all your own meals.
You patch and repair your own clothes.
You suffer when it’s too fucking hot and you freeze when it’s too fucking cold because you either can’t afford an AC, or if you can, then you can’t afford to run it very long, and also either you can’t afford an appliance to heat your home, or if you can, it’s just barely ran so you don’t run it all that high or for very long; and with both AC and Heating, you never heat more than a single room, wherever you are dwelling.
IF you’re lucky enough to have a vehicle, you do you’re own service and repairs.
And, I could still go on and on.
I’m NOT stating that everything I did, and have done, and am still reduced to doing, is all 100% sustainable, but I AM stating, that without even purposely trying, just about everything I’ve ever do, always came about out of NECESSITY, rather than a conscious choice to be sustainable, and yet, being poor still brought about A LOT of automatic sustainable results. And I’m feeling it’s that way for most poor people.
If you can’t afford to consume a lot, then you ain’t consuming a lot.
I hear ya! I don’t have a car, so I walk to/from work everyday or take the bus if I have to go further than I can walk. I was surprised to learn that some people thought I was being “holier-than-thou” by not driving. I’m not trying to be a “saint” or whatever, I just can’t fit a car and all its related expenses into my budget!
60+ years old, not homeless but I’m by the government standards in US at poverty level.
When you’re poor you are and always have been living a mostly sustainable life, not out of choice, but because you can’t afford any other option. So you don’t eat meat at every meal, and if you do it’s the cheapest kinds and it’s never more than a cup per person, if not less.
You recycle/re-use/re-purpose anything you can.
You buy from thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, goodwill stores, et al.
You ask for family and friends hand-me-downs, old pots and pans, whatever they got to give, honestly.
You don’t travel because it’s not even affordable, unless you’re gonna hitch hike or take a greyhound bus.
You don’t buy books you go to a library IF you’re lucky and one’s located nearby.
All your technology is old and/or used, refurbed, and if you’re lucky you could cobble something together (build a pc, for example) but you never have the latest and greatest parts etc, you’re always behind and just barely limping along.
You cut your own hair.
You make all your own meals.
You patch and repair your own clothes.
You suffer when it’s too fucking hot and you freeze when it’s too fucking cold because you either can’t afford an AC, or if you can, then you can’t afford to run it very long, and also either you can’t afford an appliance to heat your home, or if you can, it’s just barely ran so you don’t run it all that high or for very long; and with both AC and Heating, you never heat more than a single room, wherever you are dwelling.
IF you’re lucky enough to have a vehicle, you do you’re own service and repairs.
And, I could still go on and on.
I’m NOT stating that everything I did, and have done, and am still reduced to doing, is all 100% sustainable, but I AM stating, that without even purposely trying, just about everything I’ve ever do, always came about out of NECESSITY, rather than a conscious choice to be sustainable, and yet, being poor still brought about A LOT of automatic sustainable results. And I’m feeling it’s that way for most poor people.
If you can’t afford to consume a lot, then you ain’t consuming a lot.
I hear ya! I don’t have a car, so I walk to/from work everyday or take the bus if I have to go further than I can walk. I was surprised to learn that some people thought I was being “holier-than-thou” by not driving. I’m not trying to be a “saint” or whatever, I just can’t fit a car and all its related expenses into my budget!