Author: jennynazak

Multitasking!! Or, as we say in permaculture design, “stacking functions” or “multiple functions served by one element.”

Functions served:

• Cooking food! (pot of soup made with local veggies, spices, + some nonvegetarian scrap ingredients that would otherwise have been thrown away)
• Eco PR! Using my high-profile driveway on a heavily foot-trafficked street to publicize solar cooking, solar energy (yes! solar energy other than photovoltaic is a major thing, and is way underutilized!).
• Evidence of homebased presence helps to create a safe, friendly atmosphere for the neighborhood.

Side note: The “STOP” sign might seem excessively stern, but over the years we have found it to be necessary, as too many people were mistaking the residents’ personal space for a public area. Over time I have found that setting clear boundaries is actually a kindness, and is part of creating healthy safe community.

See pix here, in my post in the Transformative Adventures group.

WILDNESS OF THE HEART:

“We tend to think of wildness as being something beyond the frontier of a normal human life, out there ‘in nature’ — in the African bush, in the mountains of Alaska, or across the broad oceans, but all of us who have had times of great joy or untrammeled grief have felt a kind of wildness of the heart in those moments. A sense that the edges of our sense of self are fraying and falling away into something to begin with, unrecognizable, with its own rules and compelling nature far beyond our everyday comprehension. Absolute joy and absolute grief are states that almost always result from powerful states of compelling attention: a birth, a long-anticipated reunion, or the bereft, desolate state of losing a loved one. But a more sustained sense of the wilder edge of things in the everyday, outside of these subversive and compelling moments thrust upon us against our will, comes from the willingness and the practiced ability to give deep attention to people and things other than ourselves.”
— Eric Brown

(Note: The above is an excerpt that really spoke to me, from a longer post by my friend and fellow “FREE” Book author Eric; you can read the post in full here.)

P.S.: To find out more about the “Growing FREE” Book (Financial Resilience, Economic Empowerment) and purchase your own copy, and to check out our upcoming workshop, please visit our website growingfree.money . This is a cooperative venture among five of us. We co-write, co-teach, and share revenue. So you’ll be supporting all of our work — and, we look forward to supporting you on your path to creative and occupational freedom!

With all the badmouthing our cellphones get, they sure can do a lot for us!

With this tiny device I travel to distant lands; access libraries; take courses and workshops; attend international conferences; have a coffee or cocktail with friend or family; have business meetings with geographically scattered colleagues; communicate with elected officials; do my part to publicize beneficial businesses and social movements.

Oh, and of course produce my own content too: articles, books, slide presentations, artworks, videos.

All without leaving the comfort of my home and neighborhood!

But there’s one built-in function of our phones that’s much more ordinary, yet a great boon to my life: the built-in flashlight! I use it to provide a level of illumination that’s enough to see by for basic early morning or late-evening tasks in my room (getting dressed, going to the kitchen to fill up my water-glass etc.), while being unobtrusive and not bright and glaring.

My housemates and I all have similar sleeping patterns: early to rise; mostly early to bed. So we don’t usually have to worry that we’ll bother each other with bright lights. But, I do find the candlelight-level light from my phone to be very pleasing to ME: convenient and ambient in the early mornings or late evenings.

For extra nice illumination I set the phone on top of an empty clear glass jar or empty drinking-glass (or just about any flat-topped transparent container or even translucent container), light-side down.

I do enjoy actual candlelight on a regular basis for illumination too of course! But there are times when the phone flashlight makes more sense, such as when I only need a few minutes of light, or when I know I will need to leave the room for periods longer than a second or two.

#hygge #personalstyle #ambiance #selfexpression

This will be a “Lifelong Learning” talk for Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ormond Beach (UUCOB). Both in-person and by Zoom. The general public is invited.

Date Wednesday April 26; time 4pm-5:30pm US EST.

Here are the Zoom coordinates: ZOOM LINK https://zoom.us/j/5203271236?pwd=YVdVWEFFajhodVpRelJWMIE1MjF0dz09 ZOOM LOGIN – Meeting ID: 520 327 1236 Passcode: iti376

We (at least we in the industrialized wealthy western world), are accustomed to taking “economic growth” not only as a given, but as outright necessity. Doesn’t an economy HAVE to grow? 

But wait — DOES it? And from an ecological and a social standpoint, SHOULD it? This LLL by Jenny Nazak introduces the concept of “degrowth,” and related concept of a “steady-state economy.” These concepts have been around for quite some time, as it turns out. Find out more about degrowth and how it can benefit your economic and emotional wellbeing, while also benefiting the planet.

From Wikipedia: 

“A steady-state economy is an economy made up of a constant stock of physical wealth (capital) and a constant population size. In effect, such an economy does not grow in the course of time.”

This talk is given by a non-economist, for other non-economists. However, links to in-depth books, websites, and other resources will be provided to satisfy the intellectual thirst of even the wonky economist who might show up, or who lives within our own selves! 

Time permitting, we will cover related concepts such as the “8 forms of capital.” Of which money is but one, and possibly the least versatile. 

Ample time for Q&A will be included; come prepared for enjoyable exploration and creative exchange. 

ABOUT JENNY NAZAK 

Jenny Nazak is a sustainability educator and ecosocial activist. Author of DEEP GREEN book and blog; contributing author of FREE book (Financial Resilience and Economic Empowerment). Active participant in the Degrowth movement, as well as closely related movements including permaculture design, Deep Adaptation, and other worldwide movements for social/economic transformation. Her blog, a scrap-box of her written musings and takes on various stuff, is jennynazak.com . And she can also readily be found sharing ideas and resources on Facebook, Tiktok, and other social media.

“Perhaps one of the most redemptive aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic was how it revealed to us our own adaptability. Seemingly overnight, we adjusted to social distancing, masking, take-out only, long queues at the grocery, attending places of worship online, pop-up outdoor dining, and streets suddenly closed to cars. Improving our cities requires not shrinking back in fear, but courageously presenting new visions of life that bet on this impressive capacity to adapt …”

(From “LESSONS FROM THE FOREST”
BY TIFFANY OWENS in Strong Towns.)

Came up in my socials feed this morn, Q thread from a permaculture design colleague who’s a beautiful soul, cool Mom, and a bright star of her community:

How often do y’all buy all new, or fully replace, old sheets and towels? I’ve got some that are 20 years old. Is that “normal,” “weird,” “ew, no, gross”?

I’ve got newer ones too. But I’m considering a larger purchase and change out on all linens. Bath towels, sheets, kitchen towels. It is so expensive though and I’m wondering if this is crazy or just basic life stuff … Where’s the dang manual for this sh*t

My approach:

— I only replace towels or sheets if they have holes (and sometimes esp w sheets i even mend the holes which has been known to extend the life by years while adding cute stitching, patches, & other non-corporate unique embellishment not available from manufacturers at any price ).

— when stuff gets super threadbare & holey I cycle it thru various levels of household rag (including finally bicycle/garage/carpentry/garden tasks) before finally tossing it into the yard to compost.

— i strive to own the fewest towels & sheets i can possbly get by with; more is a liability in terms of storage space, mold & mildew etc

— long ago i stopped being into “matching sets” of anything — greatly reduced my financial expenditure, eco footprint, and general level of fuss / labor

— The waste stream from thrift stores & free-boxes & friends/curbside on down, is filled with expensive towels & sheets that are still good. Can’t remember last time I paid for a towel; last time I bought sheets was in 2000, it was a set and i do still have some of those sheets (some I sewed into pillowcases, skirts, cycled-down thru the household rag cycle etc; but a couple sheets are still fine for bed use!) .

— — Washing gently by hand w minimal detergent (or even just rain/sun w maybe a spritz of a dilute essential-oil solution), keeps sheets & towels nice & fresh while helping them last longer and minimizing eco impact. And personalizing my unique sense of “home identity”!

And on a meta note:

— “The system” (corporations, advertisers, colonizer culture social norms, etc.) wants us to NOT decide for ourselves what’s right for us. But, we do get to decide!! And we will be A LOT happier and less economically stressed and time-pressed, the more we do decide!!

— “Etiquette” is handed down by entities that do not have our best interests at heart. Much of it shame-based, classist, etc. Even our own loving aunts, grandmothers, etc were often operating from unconscious internalized misogyny / patriarchy, colonialist mentality. WE each get to decide what is right for us!! We and everyone else on the planet will be much better off.

— Household processes are a way-overlooked oppty for sustainability … and for joy; self-expression!! And, the interior of your home is part of permaculture!!!

#homeeconomics #oikos #hygge #gemütlichkeit #konmarimindset #doesitsparkjoy #permaculturezonezero

Further exploration:

• Awhile back I wrote a post that included my joy at discovering I didn’t need to buy, own, wash, or otherwise deal with any big thick towels ever again! My five years living in Tokyo back in the 1990s, bathing mainly at public baths (sento), introduced me to the super versatile, handy, multipurpose tenugui washcloth/hand-towel, and I became an instant convert! It was certainly liberating to find that I could meet all of my body-washing/drying needs with just this small hand-towel! I never looked back. Anyone living in a humid climate especially, and/or wanting to optimize space (van-dwellers etc.) … a tenugui is your friend! I will try to dig up my old post for you and will post the link here.

• OK! Here’s that post for you: More Tips for the Ultra-Waterwise Household. The hand-towel paragraph is near the end. Enjoy!

• And I just found a fun link for you: Iroha Shop Japan. “Tenugui, a Japanese towel. People in Edo period used tenugui in many ways, for instance, washing and drying off their bodies at public baths, called sento in Japanese, and for wrapping things. They wore it around their necks or on their heads for protection against cold or dust. It was therefore natural that they enjoyed, as a fashion, putting many different colors or patterns on tenugui. To this day, designs created in the Edo period can often be seen, and they never become stale: rather, they are modern and urbane.”

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I hope you are enjoying this blog. Thank you for being here.

If you would like to access my personalized services and/or support my ongoing community work, here are some ways:

• book a private teleconsult/workshop*: $100 (I will contact you to schedule upon receipt of payment)
• buy my book DEEP GREEN (while limited supply lasts): $25 for book; $50 for book plus half-hour teleconsult* — prices include shipping
• tangibly express thanks for value you’ve received from my many public writings, talks, videos, or other public content: any amount gratefully received; suggested minimum $3

my cashapp $jennynazak (contact me if you need to use a different method)

*Teleconsult: Although my teleconsults were originally intended to give you personalized one-on-one attention (up to 2-1/2 hours if you want!), you are welcome to invite members of your family, communities etc. to sit in also.

Design for failure; aim for success.

Design for hate (that is, design to accommodate the hate that is out there in the world and might show up) … but hope for and aspire for and be open to LOVE that shows up.

Design systems & processes to take into account the worst-case scenario. I can’t recall any instances (at least in my direct personal experience) where this principle hasn’t been helpful.