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How to Live like a Pioneer. If leg warmers could make a comeback, then so can the eco-friendly
ways of our forefathers. See if you have what it takes to turn back the clock and rock the
less-is-more trend. You will need Log cabin Outhouse Food preservation skills Large cooking
pot Fireplace Homemade soap Newspaper and quilting and square-dancing talent. Step 1.
Move into a 1-room log cabin -- that you build yourself. Make sure it's near a water source,
because you won't have indoor plumbing. Or outdoor plumbing, for that matter. Hello,
outhouse! Giving up a bathroom means huge water savings. The average person uses about
80-100 gallons of water a day -- most of it to flush the toilet. Step 2. Learn how to
salt, smoke, pickle, can, and preserve; you won't have a refrigerator. Become proficient
at 1-pot meals: You'll be cooking everything in a large kettle over your fireplace. You
did build a fireplace, didn't you? If you live for a year without a refrigerator, you’ll
save around $200 and 1,200 or more kilowatt-hours of energy. Step 3. Get used to smelling a
little gamy: Your whole family will be taking turns bathing in a single tub of water, once
a week, with soap you make yourself out of lye and grease. Afterwards, use the dirty
bath water to clean the cabin. Now _that's_ recycling! Step 4. Give away all your electronics
and enjoy simpler pastimes. Pioneers often pasted layers of newspaper to their walls
for both insulation and entertainment. You can also take up quilting and square dancing
-- 2 more favorite leisure activities on the frontier. Step 5. Not quite ready to shove
your belongings into a covered wagon and head into the sunset? Try bringing a bit of the
pioneer sensibility into your modern lifestyle. Just think of all the water you'll save by
not flushing! Did you know Pioneers picked berries with another person so one could be
on the lookout for bears, who also enjoyed foraging for fruit.