The Trailer Park Girl blog is about four years old, contrary to present appearances. Changes in my website hosting situation forced me to make some choices, and I chose the least complicated alternative. Now I’m starting from scratch. That’s OK. To use permaculture jargon, I deliberately caused a disturbance in the established ecosystem, thus creating an opening for new growth.
Sustainable, richly simple living is my joy and the main theme of this blog. I live in a tiny RV park (for readers from outside the US, that’s a caravan park) in South Austin, Texas, USA. Unlike most RV parks, this one consists entirely of long-term, permanent residents who have built all sorts of quirky, homey additions to their “rigs.” Some of the rigs, like mine, aren’t even road-worthy! I built a front porch out of old pallet wood and other found materials. At about 10 feet by 13 feet, it doubles the living area of my 19-foot travel trailer.
Though the spots we rent are tiny by American standards, a lot of us garden. I even built a 2-by-5-foot raised bed on the asphalt where my truck used to be parked. The main theme of my “yard” right now is MULCH. Many bags of leaves that had been put out for curbside disposal have found a home in my yard. Since 2000, when I moved in here, I have added several inches of topsoil to my tiny island by composting and mulching. A couple of my neighbors are quite avid gardeners, growing “Three Sisters” guilds and peppers, tomatoes, and herbs in neat clusters of pots that encroach nicely on the vehicle parking area.
A key element of sustainability and simple living is transportation. In town, I rarely get around by car, but instead prefer to walk or cycle. The RV park is on a major bus line and is about 10 minutes by bicycle from downtown. For roadtrips, I used to use my Ford F-150 truck, but that was before I found out about Bikes At Work trailers. Recently I sold the truck to a friend who needed it for his work. From now on when I travel long-distance, I plan to use a combination of bicycle, ride-sharing, and public transport, as well as occasional vehicle rental. Most of my neighbors have cars, but leave those cars at home at least some of the time in favor of bicycle, foot, or public transport.
I live for the hot summers of Texas, and never use air conditioning. Being constitutionally suited to the weather of the place I call home cuts down my energy consumption drastically. If I were a polar bear type I would live in Michigan or someplace like that. When the heat gets to me, I just go for a dip in Barton Springs. 68 degrees year-round! It’s actually fun to swim there in winter too. When the air temperature is significantly cooler than 68, steam rises from the water, creating a misty wonder world.
Whenever I can, I cook with my solar oven. It’s like a crock pot, with no electricity! The rainy weather we’ve had in Austin has put a bit of a damper on solar cooking lately, but has inspired me to do a lot of haybox cooking (also known as retained-heat cooking). The haybox is another kind of crock pot with no electricity.
Also in the realm of renewable energy, one of my neighbors uses a solar shower bag to heat her dishwashing water. Recently I acquired a solar shower bag myself (second-hand from a friend who had an extra), and have started doing the same. And speaking of dishwater and other gray water, I collect all of mine and pour it onto my “yard.” Soapier water gets poured onto the taller mounds of leaves, whereas less-soapy rinse water can go on the compost bin or be used to water plants.
I’m an avid participant in the Riot for Austerity, a grassroots movement to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants by 90% of the US average. Why not join us; it’s challenging but you’ll be in good company, and get a lot of satisfaction from taking such huge positive steps.
Sustainability and simple living should NOT be about deprivation or self-righteousness. I do all this because it’s fun and rewarding; because I like experimenting to see how much “waste” I can turn into resources. And because I want to live to a ripe old age, and always see dancing leaf shadows out my window, and hear layers of frog and cricket music, and the laughter of my neighbors.
None of this means I’ve given up jewelry or platform boots. Or ice cream and candy. (But I am working on curbing the sweet tooth, because my current sugar intake is, um, kind of unsustainable from a planetary standpoint.)
hey, this is great, I was thinking of doing something like this and now I know I will not be the only person. I am in Australia, though. And we call them Caravan Parks. But the same difference.
Hi Jen:
I’d send you $10 for your Sustain-A-Gal project, but I don’t have your address. You can send it to me at:
chairista at gmail dot com
Glad to see you blogging again.
–Liz in VA
Jenny!
You’re so awesome! It sounds like the New Mexico trip went so well! And you’re upcoming tour is so exciting! I’ll try to help fund raise anything if i can.
I need to write you and ask you for some wisdom very soon.
Fond Memories and Warm Wishes,
N. Saks
hey Maxena
thanks for stopping by! I stayed at a caravan park in Cairns some years back, when i traveled to Oz briefly on business.
happy trails! and good luck with your venture.
hi,
my name is Mike Litt, and I caught the very tail end of you on the radio today. I’ve been a vegan for 2 years. We’re
throwing a veggie hot dog eating contest. Hopefully you can come.
Can you tell your friends about this? If you have any ideas or questions,
lemme know.
thanks,
Hi Mike,
Thanks for listening to our SHADES OF GREEN show.
I’ll be at the Kerrville Folk Fest at the time of your veggie hotdog eating contest but will do what I can to spread the word. Will some or all of the proceeds go toward some socially beneficial cause? If so, it might be good to publicize that. Anyway, have fun!
Hi!! I am thinking of renting out a trailer in Austin instead of an apartment… I think I would like the atmosphere better. Are the trailers to rent already at the park, and I just need to rent one? Also, what parks are there? Price-wise what do they run for a one-person type thing? Thanks!