NON-ELECTRIC ALTERNATIVES
We can accomplish many tasks for which we now use electrical products and appliances with equally effective and convenient non-electric alternatives. Most of these alternatives will also save you money and offer additional benefits. For instance:
Drying clothes on a clothes line or drying rack instead of in an electric dryer means your clothes last longer, will be less likely to shrink, and smell nice.
A manual lawn mower provides additional exercise, is quieter, and is easier to maneuver in small city yards than an electric or gas mower.
A hand-crank coffee grinder is quieter, easier to clean and store, and will likely last much longer than an electric one. Manual kitchen tools have fewer parts than electric versions, so they are less likely to break. Consider also hand-cranked beaters, food mills, and graters.
Drying clothes on a clothes line or drying rack instead of in an electric dryer means your clothes last longer, will be less likely to shrink, and smell nice.
A manual lawn mower provides additional exercise, is quieter, and is easier to maneuver in small city yards than an electric or gas mower.
A hand-crank coffee grinder is quieter, easier to clean and store, and will likely last much longer than an electric one. Manual kitchen tools have fewer parts than electric versions, so they are less likely to break. Consider also hand-cranked beaters, food mills, and graters.
The Lehman's Catalog offers a wide variety of products that don't use electricity. It was originally created to supply the Amish. However, many modern city-dwellers now order from it as well. You'll find products such as clothes drying racks, kerosene lamps, hand-crank radios and blenders, and solar-powered attic fans. They also have a website: www.lehmans.com.
You don't need to live "off the grid" to get inspiration from people who do. Multiple books and websites provide suggestions and instructions for living without electricity -- from solar ovens to pedal-powered blenders.
See for example:
How to Live Without Electricity and Like It by Anita Evangelista
The Human Powered Home - Choosing Muscles Over Motors by Tamara Dean.
See for example:
How to Live Without Electricity and Like It by Anita Evangelista
The Human Powered Home - Choosing Muscles Over Motors by Tamara Dean.