tiiiiiired of puritans

[kalmn]

although i bet now someone comes along and tells me that i am wrong about the puritans just like i was wrong about the lemmings.


tell me a thing that you do.
that is good for you or good for the planet or good for someone else.
that you like doing.
that is easy.

it has to be all of those things. (except for the one with the or clauses; it can be only one of those.)

i'm just so tired of "all easy things are awful and all hard things are superexcellent". there are plenty of hard things that are worth doing, don't get me wrong. but we talk a lot about those.

me?

i eat satsumas or mandarins or whatever they are three at a time during the winter. vitamin c, hydration, enjoyable in a tactile way, has calories so i won't starve to death, and they are so yummy and tasty.

harshing other people's squee will make your comment suddenly disappear.

Comments

[tenacious_snail]

I eat kumquats. I find them Even Yummier than those fruits, and you don't even have to peel them. How awesome is THAT?

[tenacious_snail]

also, I like to masturbate. It is awesomely good for me, it is easy, and I like doing it.

[hellsop]

Awww, you grabbed my answer...

[tenacious_snail]

I don't believe in grabbing other people's genitals without consent, but I have no such compunction about answers ;-)

[axelrod]

Word.

[(Anonymous)]

Walks! Walks are easy (for me), they don't use fossil fuels, they make my body and my mind both happy.

[pantryslut]

Walks! Walks are easy (for me), they don't use fossil fuels, they make my body and my mind both happy.

[tiger_spot]

* walking the dog
* teaching the dog stuff (this is mostly good for him, but also for me and anyone else who has to be around him; sometimes easier than others)
* biking to get groceries (easy for me, not so easy for everybody)
* recycling (I am terribly amused by the number of things that can go into the new city compost bins at work)
* walking the dog downtown to meet people for coffee or lunch or whatever
* going to the library

[ailbhe]

I paint. I paint only recently, but it is good for me and for the people who live with me, and it is very easy, now that I have an easel.

I compost, in a big bucket with bokashi bran, which is easy and non-stinky and good for the planet.

I eat food I really, really enjoy, which is usually easy. I like food which doesn't make me feel guilty - so local, fair-trade etc - and which is tasty and satisfying and interesting and so on. This evening we had a lovely lovely beef stew.

[figment]

I cook, and often cook lentils in one way or another. They are delicious and nutritious and cheap and their cultivation is very low impact on the planet.

And I am nice to customer service people. It's easy and pleasant and human and wouldn't it be nice if this behavior was so normal that it didn't even rate mentioning?

[bibliofile]

As a once upon a time customer service person, I think that second item is very true and also awesome.

Taking care of other people's cats: it makes me happy, it makes the cats happy, it can help out whoever can't do it themselves at the moment, and sometimes I even make a little bit of money from it. Win win win.

When I make eye contact with strangers (kids or adults), I try to smile (at least sort of) rather than look away or ignore them. It can suck when people won't look at you, or they glance only enough to dismiss you.

[jinian]

I buy used clothes. It is good for the charity that gets the profits from the store and good that no more clothes are being made using unfair practices. At the place I go it's both fun and easy -- lots of clothes for many sizes and genders of people, and either a piece works or it doesn't (so no "maybe a size up/down" dance that makes shopping interminable).

[snippy]

I make myself new clothes out of used clothes (my own or bought at Goodwill)!

[spiderplanet]

There's a whole bunch of good ones here that I do too!

But I'll pick a new one that I don't see yet.

I use the cloth grocery bags that I got for free at the State Fair. I really do it because we have way too many bags in the house already and I don't want to bring in any more clutter, but I'm under the impression that it has some ostensible environmental benefit, too.

[mrissa]

For people who live in the Twin Cities and shop at Byerly's: they donate a nickel to the local food shelf for every cloth bag you use. They have apparently decided that since they aren't spending the money on disposable bags, they can spend it on helping people. This usually gets the hungry at least 25c/week from my family using cloth bags alone, never mind the other benefits of cloth bags.

Also, unrelatedly, I make freezable things out of the vegetables Mark grows in our garden, so they don't go to waste and we have tasty soup base and sauces all winter long. Incredibly easy.

[xiphias]

Get a whole bunch of blankets on the bed, and some hot chocolate, and a book, and the cats, and Lis. And read and cuddle and sleep. Very good for me, AND for Lis. And for the cats. Sleeping is healthy.

[quility]

What a great topic! I love others' answers - masturbating, libraries, petting my kitty, biking, used clothes all resonate with me. But the thing that came to mind for me is reusing cloth paper towels instead of throw away. Yes I am easily amused :)

That and eating really good chocolate.

(and you finally got me to sign up for Dreamwidth. Go you! :)

[axelrod]

I sit in a cafe, have a coffee, and read something I want to read: sometimes it's For Fun, sometimes it's Something I Want To Know More About.

I make toast and put honey and LOTS of butter on it.

I declutter ruthlessly. I like to feel fond of my possessions, not overwhelmed by them. I don't buy things I don't need - this is partly out of necessity, but the silver lining to my current situation is that I'm learning to tell the difference between "want" and "need".

I buy locally produced groceries (free-range where applicable) when I can afford it - they taste better, are likely to have better nutritional value, and sticks it to Big Ag ever so slightly.

I am as honest as I can be.

I present androgynously because I feel so much better this way and nonconsensual gendering needs to DIAF.

I turn the heat up high enough to feel warm.

[sasha_feather]

I really like this idea!

I hang around with people that I like. This is good for me and presumably for them. Sometimes I make excuses to go visit my local friends at their jobs, have lunch together, send a text message, etc. Easy, fun, and brightens the day.

[snippy]

I draw my cow-orkers' attention to the beautiful view outside, whether it's alpenglow on Mt. Hood, a rainbow, interesting clouds, or the Navy ships coming upstream to spawn visit the Rose Festival.

I support Oneson's parenting decisions without reservation, even when I disagree with him (of course, if one comes up that I think is life-threatening, I'll dispute it then). Most parents need support, not criticism!

[wordweaverlynn]

What a wonderful idea!

I smile at people who seem to be having a rough day.

I listen.

I listen to music.

I hug and snuggle and scritch the backs of certain intimates.

I remember the small things people want or need, so I can look for perfect little presents that don't cost much -- since I don't have much money -- in thrift shops and other places.

I read. Then I tell other people about books I think they'll like, and lend them out as needed, or buy copies.

I say thank you for any service, small or large, and for anything my housemates do for the house.

When I'm working, I bring in brownies for people. Especially IT! *Always* keep your IT people happy with a plentiful supply of chocolate.

I'm polite to children, and I flirt with babies.

[(Anonymous)]

I walk across the street and buy my iced tea from Charlie at Charlie's cafe.

When I have the energy, I walk over to Valencia street, and visit my buddies at the local bookstores and cafes.

It's fun. I like being a regular. I like getting to know my local businesses and the folks who work there.

[(Anonymous)]

Irene Raun here -
I watch television. Specifically Hoarders and Hoarders: Buried Alive. The only time they have failed to get me to pause play and unload the dishwasher or declutter tables or weed out possessions I was ill.

[pants_of_doom]

sketch a day

[redbird]

Lots of hot drinks, mostly tea but also tisanes and hot chocolate.

I read.

I pet the cat.

[noveldevice]

I teach undergrads about Rome on Wednesdays. I try to convey to them my enthusiasm for classics and talk to them about stuff that is important for them to know, not just to pass the class, but to be thoughtful and educated young adults.

[riverrocks.livejournal.com]

I eat a lot of high quality fair trade chocolate (which also happens to be the only kind I can find without things I'm allergic to in it).

I knit. It calms me, I enjoy it, and a lot of what I'm knitting (mostly mittens and hats, a few sweaters, a blanket) gets donated to people who wouldn't have them otherwise or given to friends. It is also a good thing to occasionally make myself a sweater that actually fits me right.

I donate good quality low allergen food to the food shelf.

[maize]

Also, that was me. I have no idea why my iPad keeps logging out of Dreamwidth.

[rivka]

I dig up awesome books I loved when I was a kid, and then I read them to Alex.

[maize]

So I was thinking about my shower head mod reply (which I think is still screened at the moment) and realizing that it might not fit your definition exactly, because while I enjoy doing it, I enjoy doing it *because* it's good for the environment. I don't get any intrinsic pleasure out of pushing the button. So let's take another stab at this.

I make my own peanut butter. This might seem to be a similar thing as the above, but for me at least it's not -- I find the process of making peanut butter actively fun. I've only made a few batches, so I'm sure the excitement will wear off eventually, but right now standing there watching it transmute through its various stages is totally nifty in the way that watching a cool science experiment is nifty. And the resulting product is much less expensive, better for the environment (due to reduced packaging), and healthier than many peanut butter options (they do sell peanut butter at our local grocery store that's made with just peanuts, but it's really expensive). Also, I can choose to use other nuts or blend them or whatever -- this weekend I'm making a jar of peanut butter and a jar of cashew nut butter. (Again, I could buy those, but they're expensive, and there's a lot of waste packaging.) Also, it's dead simple in terms of effort -- you put 2 cups of nuts and about 1.4 tbs of oil (optional, but I use it) and a little salt if you like that into the food processor and push Go. Five minutes later, peanut butter.

The requirement that it not be any effort trips me up a bit because things that for me seem to fit the spirit that you're looking for are things that other people would argue require effort. (Then again, a lot of the things that people have noted so far seem to me to require effort, so I think relative effort is a general issue.) Like, riding my bike is one that really fits the bill for me. I ride because I love it. When I commute to work by bike, I feel calmer and it really helps to de-stress me. I also ride because it's better for the environment. However, to a lot of people commuting by bike to and from work is something they'd see as a huge sacrifice and a sort of puritan act. It's not that way for me, but... *shrug*

Likewise, making music is at least beneficial to me. I always hope it's beneficial to others (esp. since I give it away for free), but I sometimes wonder about that. But the hope is that some people benefit from it. The outlay in effort is *massive*, though. However, it's effort that I enjoy, though. So is that the same?

Reading should probably go right up there -- reading is clearly beneficial to me, but it's relatively low effort and is something that I enjoy doing.

[vito_excalibur]

I give compliments. Not insincere ones, just that when I see people being particularly cute or insightful or awesome I make sure to tell them about it. Given that it seems to take about 10 positive comments to outweigh 1 negative on in the human mind, it seems important to make sure everyone has their recommended daily allowance of those 10!

[marydell]

I participate in a workplace giving program. The company takes $5 out of each of my paychecks and gives it to the Chicago Food Depository. The total effort by me is to go to the company intranet and tick a tickybox for the charity I want from a list of 6 that the company's charity committee has vetted out.

In exchange for this, I get an extra day off every year. SO COOL.

[dickens]

One of my favorite meals is spaghetti w/ meat sauce. In the summer I cook thin spaghetti rather than regular spaghetti to save energy and avoid heating up the house.

Every other weekend, I go to France 44 where they invite wine merchants to do free tastings (they have them every weekend, but the same distributor will be there 2 weeks running). I love having 15 minutes to do something that feels decadent but doesn't cost anything. And if I do decide to buy a bottle of something delicious, I'm supporting a local business that I love.