A Hippie's guide to surviving the recession

 The Hippie Dictionary www.hippiedictionary.com

After his scathing account of the hippie generation’s descent into self-obsessed materialism, Joe Queenan,  author of Balsamic Dreams is having the last laugh watching their empires collapse like a bad souffle (unless his is collapsing too).

Well now what? Is it time for us suck in our behemoth lifestyles and see if we can still fit into those old worn out tie-dyed values?

Cultivate cheap taste    In the new world order. people rattle off brand names like they used to cite authors and artists. Obviously this will have to change. As hippies, we’ll be using merchandise that’s either homemade or second hand.

 If you’d rather not patronize your local thrift store, you can shop goodwill online in an eBay-style auction (at reportedly lower prices).  Keep in mind you can also try your hand at selling items through online auctions while you’re waiting for the economy to recover.   (Meanwhile we can still impress people by cultivating our minds instead of our exotic mustard collections).

Live communally You don’t have to join the Love Family.  But there are other ways to pool resources, like sharing freezer space or going in on a rented power tool or a truckload of cement. Here’s a few neighborhood co op ideas to consider . Community gardens are also growing at a rapid rate and The Nation lists 10 things you can do to start one. The concept of co-ops is alive and well in everything from buildings and co-op owned houseboat docks to freelance co-ops,  tool sharing co-ops and perhaps even health insurance co-ops, 

If you need assistance getting back on your feet, the Department of Health and Human Services or the  Department of Labor lists a plethora of programs that can help. Your local community center is still a good place to take what you need and give what you can - from food banks to literacy programs. Roll up your sleeves for an afternoon and make a few dollars -or just be neighborly. 

photo courtesy Bedrock industries

Be creative.  It may not be a means of support,  but if you’re an artist or craftsman,Etsy is like an online street fair for all things handmade. (If nothing else it’ll keep you from staring at your Quicken account, waiting for the numbers to change.)

Resourceful thinking has seeded many cottage industries. Award-winning  Bedrock Industries, started from a simple idea to turn recycled wine bottles and mayonnaise jars into upscale glass shower tiles, countertops and garden pavers. Running a business isn’t easy. But if you’re enterprising enough, the Small Business Administration has some helpful suggestions.   And check out the resources at Mint to help you download, create and manage a budget online.

Name your vacuum cleaner  It wasn't uncommon for hippies to name everything - from their electric guitar to the fridge to the generator that powered them all. Empathy for inanimate objects can be a sign of mental illness - or it just may be the motivation you need to hang on to stuff you own and learn how to fix it

Online DIY sites likeAcme Home Repair or Bob Vila’s Fix It Club can save Beulah the beverage chiller from an early death. And if your Burning Man Bus quits running, you can find Chilton’s  manuals online (for a small fee) complete with how-to  video demonstrations and on-call repair technicians. And for no fee, Click and Clack's online Car Talk will either help you figure out why your car's making that Churrachurra noise or make you die laughing while trying.

Living off the grid. Rethinking your energy consumption habits is a good idea, whether you’re out to save the planet like eco-extremist,  No Impact Man or just save a few dollars on your monthly utility bill. Start small with consumer tips from the Alliance to Save Energy. Call your utility company to see if they make housecalls for energy saving inspections. When you’ve worked your way up to installing solar panels and wind turbines on your roof.  there’s a very cool tool on IMBY’s (in my backyard) website that’ll google-earth your home and estimate how much power you could generate from your property.

 

And finally 

 Live in peace - It'll save you a ton of legal fees.