Post B0R6BOxEJV2SyIeQgC by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #B0R5Q0lyP0KIMamxEm by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T11:50:54Z
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I'm fascinated by people who eliminate major appliances widely considered "essential" I have a friend who lives without a fridge. I don't really get this because I like cold water and ... perishable things. But, he's made it work and I'm a little jealous. I know several people without smart phones. (That is not happening for me.)Have you found joy in this way?
(DIR) Post #B0R5ms8Igv8uEB8IGe by nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social
2025-11-20T11:55:00Z
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@futurebird There are a lot of things that are good to eliminate, but I really think eliminating a refrigerator is a bad idea unless you have a really really cold cellar that you keep stuffed full of ice from a nearby mountain or something.It's not just the obvious preservation of foods so you waste less. Some things like some medicines need refrigeration.
(DIR) Post #B0R5oVZlWq7mqbl9bE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T11:55:15Z
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@FediThing He makes a lot of rice and uses dried beans and things like that. He eats a lot of fruit and keeps it in a bowl and says it's easier to remember to eat it all before it spoils. He's vegan so having milk and butter isn't an issue. He is a little weird. But, I think it's interesting. But drinking warm water? No. No. No.
(DIR) Post #B0R61ULlOiF0oIOq2K by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T11:57:39Z
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@malmorrow We were in the no dishwasher camp until about 4 years ago when I got a countertop model and ... I LOVE IT. I love the dishwasher so much. I sometimes go in there and give it a hug as it is thrumming softy on the counter. But this is all about laziness. I don't think it saves much time at all.
(DIR) Post #B0R6BOxEJV2SyIeQgC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T11:59:27Z
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@datarama @FediThing Tap water is "cool" if you let it run, but I like it a bit colder than that. And water tastes better after sitting in the fridge for a few days? I can't prove this and it sounds made up... maybe it's in my mind. But "unrested water" has a fizzy flavor I don't like.
(DIR) Post #B0R6OSfrnIRCH0l04W by waitworry@sakurajima.moe
2025-11-20T12:01:47Z
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@futurebird when I was in high school me and my dad realized that since we had cell phones we had stopped using our landline telephone entirely so my dad called the phone company to cancel it and apparently it was a bit of a hassle because at the time that wasn't a thing anyone did and the phone comapny wasn't sure how to handle it
(DIR) Post #B0R6gkSGQPMMdD79JA by dnkboston@apobangpo.space
2025-11-20T12:04:44Z
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@futurebird I lived without a smart phone for about four years. I loved it, and people who talked to me about it were filled with envy, for all the reasons. I got one because I needed to travel overseas on very short notice, but I'm constantly plotting to get rid of it.I read about how long it took for the average Italian to get a fridge in *Consider The Fork*. Their secret? The markets were very close by, so they could buy vegetables "on demand". I fantasize about that all the time.
(DIR) Post #B0R6wGoWOgldKovVYm by loyhena@eldritch.cafe
2025-11-20T12:07:53Z
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@futurebirdThere was a time I lived without a fridge. I didn't eat any yogurt or milk-related product, had oil instead of cream to cook, and yeah... I guess it depends how you eat but it is definitely possible.I live without a TV, never had one in my life but its less a flex now everyone have a phone.
(DIR) Post #B0R6ySy8AzGLc0T6Q4 by beecycling@wandering.shop
2025-11-20T12:08:15Z
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@futurebird I don't have a freezer. I find freezers to be black holes for food, they encourage me to eat more processed food, and tempting stuff like ice cream. I'm not bothered about having ice, it hurts my teeth. I prefer fresh veg to frozen. So when mine broke I didn't replace it.
(DIR) Post #B0R6zoKKFlKk8sUV2O by noplasticshower@infosec.exchange
2025-11-20T12:07:02Z
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@dnkboston @futurebird having lived it Italy in 1993 for a year, I can assure you that buying milk every day sucks.
(DIR) Post #B0R6zpIwcNp5AsquWW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T12:08:33Z
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@noplasticshower @dnkboston unrelated: but do the raw milk people know this is what they should be doing if they wanted their ... choice to be less likely to make them sick? (you still get sick)
(DIR) Post #B0R70jDuiH4abUvgSO by gregeganSF@mathstodon.xyz
2025-11-20T12:08:40Z
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@futurebird I lived without a washing machine for about 20 years, soaking/handwashing everything. That started when I was living in tiny rented flats with no laundry, and I was too lazy and/or poor to go to a laundromat, but once I was used to it, it was just part of the daily routine.
(DIR) Post #B0R7BedA84WzXqwuIq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T12:10:37Z
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@neckspike What are the things your phone does that you'd rather not have?I generally love my smart phone. I love it for writing on the go (I've written most of my book on the phone) for listening to audio books, and reading books, for taking photos, for social media and texting. Love love love it all.
(DIR) Post #B0R7IrGxWdN0mQzzFo by chrisamaphone@hci.social
2025-11-20T12:11:58Z
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@futurebird no
(DIR) Post #B0R7ReUcPR7rkca5i4 by Ehay2k@mastodon.social
2025-11-20T12:13:28Z
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@futurebird @malmorrow Dishwashers do save a LOT of water though. You're using less than a sink full of water for the entire process. Depending on how much it costs you to heat your water I could also be saving a lot of energy.
(DIR) Post #B0R7bDVVb1Bix6YfvU by web_goddess@aus.social
2025-11-20T12:15:14Z
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Does a car count? Probably not for someone in NYC, but all of my relatives think it’s very weird. Haven’t owned one my entire adult life. Occasionally use car share, but otherwise public transport.
(DIR) Post #B0R7fnB6ujcSk5COYq by Flo_Rian@norden.social
2025-11-20T12:16:07Z
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@futurebird Maybe your local water supply is naturally slightly carbonated and keeping it in the fridge allows it to “outgas” and become flat. @datarama @FediThing
(DIR) Post #B0R7jM7XSJ4nz0EAAy by t60n3@mastodon.social
2025-11-20T12:16:46Z
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@futurebird No TV, dishwasher, clothes washer/dryer or microwave. Got rid of the TV when the Obama admin sold the airwaves and my Friday night date with Bill Moyers was canceled (about 20 years ago).No fridge can work if markets are within walking distance. My dad has zero food outside coffee at his place, every morning he goes out and buys what he's going to make for that day. That also means zero snacking ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡ as a kid that was rough! He also has a huge empty fridge (ᵔ⩊ᵔ)
(DIR) Post #B0R8GUR3Yv8jKL9klU by Quantillion@mstdn.io
2025-11-20T12:22:46Z
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@futurebird Depends on the climate. I was without a fridge for a year. Summer meant more regular small shopping trips, winter was easier as I just had a box on the balcony. (Taught me: I think we should all do this & turn off our fridge–in our *heated* kitchens–in winter. The drawback is needing a freezer.) Thinking of downgrading my "smart" phone as I use it sparingly. (No banking apps – my life savings in my pocket or on the table at the pub? No thanks.) Not a fan of the tracking either.
(DIR) Post #B0R9h7ZYm1yUByOdPs by pawpower@beige.party
2025-11-20T12:38:47Z
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@futurebird I don't have a microwave and many people seem to think this is an essential appliance. I just don't like the texture of food cooked in it and I really dislike when people heat water in it for things like tea because it tastes like the ghost of every microwave meal you've ever cooked and a kettle is much better for heating water, so I've lived without a microwave for over 2 years now and never going back.
(DIR) Post #B0R9pDGnTVFIB9Tjrk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T12:40:17Z
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@pawpower "I really dislike when people heat water in it for things like tea because it tastes like the ghost of every microwave meal you've ever cooked"I had people argue with me about this "not if you have a clean microwave" etc. etc. I must say this happens even with my mom's microwave which is spotless always. The water tastes wrong. It has a smell.
(DIR) Post #B0R9x2Ig8xvgTR5adM by jwcph@helvede.net
2025-11-20T12:41:39Z
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@futurebird Well, no TV for well over a decade - but I don't feel like that's much of an accomplishment 😂
(DIR) Post #B0R9xyRXy9UAnjgUVc by APBBlue@thepit.social
2025-11-20T12:41:44Z
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@futurebird @pawpower lol I have this same argument with people over fridge ice makers. Ice from them just tastes bad!
(DIR) Post #B0RA643oy4mqXWRdDs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T12:43:19Z
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@jwcph I've never purchased a TV. But I feel like I watch so much video on my computer it doesn't count?I used to not have a TV and not watch much of anything.
(DIR) Post #B0RA7PsjK5pIVRtxb6 by pawpower@beige.party
2025-11-20T12:43:33Z
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@futurebird It absolutely does!
(DIR) Post #B0RAejlOQNXRiyMGzg by a@beige.party
2025-11-20T12:49:33Z
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@futurebird No dishwasher here. That’s the basic version of all this, but yeah. lol 🤷🏻♂️
(DIR) Post #B0RAygqoxjssU1PZh2 by JonasJRichter@mastodon.pnpde.social
2025-11-20T12:53:09Z
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@futurebird I'm not really minimalist. I don't have a car (but my wife has). A friend (plus family) actually managed to live without a car. On a village, a few kilometers from the town where he works.If, however, "major appliances" also covers apps like WhatsApp, I ditched that years ago. Good riddance, if you ask me. 🙂
(DIR) Post #B0RC7BJHhTEJDmL0lc by HumanServitor@mastodon.social
2025-11-20T13:05:51Z
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@futurebird I have given up pants.
(DIR) Post #B0RDJF4rcQBGKouKoq by Npars01@mstdn.social
2025-11-20T13:19:15Z
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@futurebird Personal experience:1. People who have ditched credit card use entirely. Much less stress.2. People who don't own a car. This is a big trend lately. Their savings are huge.3. People who don't use Walmart, Home Depot, McDonald's, Amazon. Growing trend.4. People who don't go to the mall. Much more body positivity. 5. People growing their own fruit & veggies. Happiest people I've ever met.
(DIR) Post #B0RDbWz3mXLD5CuiDA by distrowatch@mastodon.social
2025-11-20T13:22:32Z
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@futurebird I have never owned a car or purchased a TV and do not currently own an oven. I kind of missed the oven for a bit, but it usually is not hard to work around it as I didn't do much baking anyway. I haven't had a stereo in about 20 years. I find computers and phones replaced a bunch of stuff. Lots of people don't have a dedicated alarm clock anymore.
(DIR) Post #B0RDvp4YErDOyX9rQO by MamaLake@beige.party
2025-11-20T13:26:14Z
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@futurebird I don’t have a shower or bathtub here at home in Thailand. Just an old fashioned open tank of room temperature water and a flat bowl for splashing and pouring over myself. Sometimes I *really* miss having a water heater and especially a bathtub—I love being immersed in water. But most of the time I find it really refreshing—it’s been over a year of this arrangement, but had been taking cold showers for 7 years before now, so it’s pretty natural for me.
(DIR) Post #B0RGb2ooEfQdOCZw6y by LeonianUniverse@caneandable.social
2025-11-20T13:55:39Z
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@JustinMac84 @futurebird No fridge, how do you cool your food if you don't already live in a place that gets cold all year?
(DIR) Post #B0RGwSRKAhiWvvnvsW by roknrol@beige.party
2025-11-20T13:59:58Z
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@futurebird Not usually on purpose, but I won't spend money on something that I've spent my life doing without.Example: my wife loves her robot vacuum for her hardwood floors. It only takes her about twenty minutes to find it, empty it, and put it on the charger. Even if the floor still looks like shit.Meanwhile, I appreciate spending fifteen minutes using a broom to do the same job, more effectively.I can buy a nail gun, but a hammer does a fine job. Etc.
(DIR) Post #B0RH875hN70qCEFN32 by deborahh@cosocial.ca
2025-11-20T14:02:03Z
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@futurebird @malmorrow it does save water, though.
(DIR) Post #B0RI17vLyYUghudlzM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-20T14:12:04Z
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@roknrol if I lived in the kind of space where a robot vacuum made even the least bit of sense I would absolutely have one NOT because it’s effective or efficient, but because *I want to play with a robot.* Please consider this regarding your wife. A girl needs her robots.
(DIR) Post #B0RIP5GdVMsZPx1Epc by floreana@poliversity.it
2025-11-20T14:16:21Z
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@futurebird Not without a fridge, but I live with a small, fridge only appliance (no integrated freezer). I just hate cooking, can't be bothered to think about storing food in the freezer, and I have two supermarkets around the corner. 😂The thought of scaling down to a dumber phone (I'm thinking those senior oriented ones), if not all the way back to a GSM phone, is tempting though.I saw someone this week who is using an old Ericsson or similar. Legend.
(DIR) Post #B0RIUQnis31HeQ2prE by CatDragon@mastodon.world
2025-11-20T14:17:19Z
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@futurebird live in the country on a dirt road. No fridge is no way. Don’t actually use our clothes dryer unless it’s unexpectedly vile outside or one of us is sick. A blanket warmed up in the dryer is a wonderful thing then. Don’t have a microwave, I am convinced they’re just nasty and impossible to clean. Oh and share a car which most of our friends think is weird and unmanageable.
(DIR) Post #B0RIVfuoA5RIogx55k by roknrol@beige.party
2025-11-20T14:17:34Z
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@futurebird She has an abundance of electronic devices. She's fine 🤣She has absorbed quite a lot of toxic masculinity though and thinks stuff like that is 'for guys' 🙄...I think you're probably right.Still...she could spend a lot less money on something that's more fun.(None of these are my problems anymore, for which I'm thankful. It's her money to spend)
(DIR) Post #B0RIZWqpntGprZvma0 by timdesuyo@mastodon.social
2025-11-20T14:18:12Z
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@futurebird I have a microwave I haven't plugged in in at least 8 years.
(DIR) Post #B0RInSh83Qsf1g2EPA by Huntn00@mastodon.world
2025-11-20T14:20:43Z
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@futurebird Is doing without a fridge driven by economics or philosophy? It’s economic for me to have a fridge because perishables last until they are consumed. There is also a convenience and economic benefit even though the last fridge cost $2500, and uses electricity, if it lasts for 10 years, knock on wood, I deem that a reasonable cost for the convenience.
(DIR) Post #B0RJHJwj94Boa4ZKCW by arisummerland@beige.party
2025-11-20T14:26:09Z
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@futurebird I had a yoga teacher back in the '90s who also didn't really use their kitchen at all -- and didn't have a fridge. Idk how they did this with small kids, but it was Florida, and fresh produce was available out in the yard almost year-round. I feel overabundant with appliances reading this post! 😳 Currently I have two fridges -- one for everyday food and one for big projects and storage (canning, freezing, tinctures, salves, etc.) I simply kept the old fridge when I got the new one. The old one is the only one I can fit a full sheet pan into (for freezing things, cooling batch cooking, etc).
(DIR) Post #B0RJKEdrK5dyzy8JQ8 by scogings@mastodon.world
2025-11-20T14:26:41Z
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@futurebird Raise your own food and drink water from a well/borehole. Underground water is usually cold. Depending on circumstances, homegrown food can be picked when needed. Seasonal foods can be stored without a fridge, in an underground root-cellar, a pantry in the centre of the house, or as dried/salted preserves or jams/chutneys/sauces/pickles.
(DIR) Post #B0RKKpY2Cu0VPmFxey by serfdeweb@mastodon.world
2025-11-20T14:37:57Z
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@futurebird@sauropods.win No smartphone here, though my wife has one she relies on for driving trips. I tried for a while, but they are too demanding.
(DIR) Post #B0RL8YnujbZdxoOfwG by regendans@todon.eu
2025-11-20T14:46:58Z
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@futurebird I know a few people who live without any phones. Sometimes it is difficult to get hold of them but I respect their decisions. I'm doing my best with #degrowth myself but I do have a phone. I don't have TV or Netflix or newspaper subscriptions and I love living a simple life.A university teacher in the Netherlands, Willem Schinkel, has no mobile phone, and he wrote a book (Aphonismen - Waarom ik geen mobiele telefoon heb) about it. (Text in Dutch) https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Schinkel Willem van Schinkel is also member of politicial party BIJ1 and considered the ideologist of the party I've read in some article. Last year he delivered a speech about fascism at the yearly Domela Nieuwenhuis memorial. (Text in Dutch) https://www.globalinfo.nl/recensies-enzo/lezing-willem-schinkel-over-fascisme-nu-gepubliceerd/I'm trying to show it is not just obscure and unknown persons who go and try to live without mobile phones for as long as possible. 😇
(DIR) Post #B0RLlgghMDHxhxgAVM by relache@woof.group
2025-11-20T14:54:03Z
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@futurebird I am in my later 50s and have never owned a car. That's the one thing other people tell me is essential to them, and they can't imagine how I have lived in multiple US states and cities of different sizes without one.
(DIR) Post #B0RM3pWJG0QyJWTG08 by 5teverin0@toot.community
2025-11-20T14:57:20Z
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@futurebird Our microwave, which a lot of people probably consider essential, broke many years ago and was never replaced. We get along just fine without it. My wife and I are old enough to remember when they were novelties, so it's not a big deal.
(DIR) Post #B0RMAdugoEgGLL7gae by Tamtam@mastodon.de
2025-11-20T14:58:33Z
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@futurebird no fridge: easy. go vegan first though
(DIR) Post #B0RNOILnsL5LTZsYzI by Leafy_Greens@mastodon.social
2025-11-20T15:12:14Z
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@futurebird I'll never ever own an electric blanket, but when I was a kid the old couple who lived upstairs from us had one, which they left folded on a chair unbeknowlingly switched on. Their bedroom lit on fire and the husband died. My bedroom was flooded from the water used to douse the fire, ugh that smell.... So, despite knowing theyre much safer now than their 70s/80s counterparts, I just can't.
(DIR) Post #B0ROsPO4NVH3wPrVuC by Kerplunk@mastodon.scot
2025-11-20T15:28:53Z
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@futurebird I have a friend who lives without a fridge. I don't really get this because I like cold water and ... perishable things. But, he's made it work and I'm a little jealous. I have a fridge, but humans got along without one for countless thousands of years. Many still do that.Knowledge needed, less convenient but no need to worry about power outages.I use a smart phone but wondering if it is better to reactivate an older Nokia, with a removable battery.
(DIR) Post #B0RQheponuE4ZdqJPs by smeg@assortedflotsam.com
2025-11-20T15:49:21Z
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@futurebird we don't have a clothes dryer. Our washer can do wash+dry, but it's very harsh on materials basically only useful for socks and items too large to hang dry indoors. We have a clothes rack in front of the windows in our bedroom where we hang clothes to dry.
(DIR) Post #B0RRh0J3aUI2pblrTk by michael_w_busch@mastodon.online
2025-11-20T16:00:20Z
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@futurebird I have no television. But that seems like the easiest possible version of this, since it just means "watch shows and movies on a computer monitor".
(DIR) Post #B0RS1lp8d1fHzng9fE by notes@social.coop
2025-11-20T16:04:09Z
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@futurebirdIt reminds me of Roxanne Swentzel and the Pueblo Food Experience that has since resulted in a cookbook of the same name: https://elpalacio.org/2018/04/turning-toward-the-taproot/ #PuebloFoodExperience #Permaculture
(DIR) Post #B0RZoGSoiDmObSJEcC by econads@mendeddrum.org
2025-11-20T17:31:19Z
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@futurebird @datarama @FediThing I heard that in America they use chlorine to clean the water and it evaporates over some hours so you might be on to something. I know this because of advice for watering carnivorous and other picky plants - if you're going to use tap water instead of rain water you need to let it sit overnight. But that doesn't apply to all countries.
(DIR) Post #B0RePLnWF9Vzg2vqHw by dl2jml@mastodon.radio
2025-11-20T18:22:49Z
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@futurebird I am living just fine without a vistlorblat, which, as everyone knows, is an essential element of everybody's living space.
(DIR) Post #B0S6vF1XlFU0eTUFBw by EliJquilting@beige.party
2025-11-20T23:42:25Z
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@futurebird My first flat had no fridge. I threw out so much food! Fortunately I was vegetarian so it all fed the soil and my vege garden was fabulous.Hey ho
(DIR) Post #B0SD8zXiiPgqPwTdia by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-21T00:52:09Z
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@vivtek @mcnknopp @datarama @bumblebeedc @Npars01 @ainmosni @Flo_Rian @FediThing Honestly NYC tap water is amazing. IF you let it rest first. It's not hard water. Kettle has no residue. It's just perfect.
(DIR) Post #B0SDPAJYR1K8SSYzOC by gbargoud@masto.nyc
2025-11-21T00:55:01Z
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@futurebird @vivtek @mcnknopp @datarama @bumblebeedc @Npars01 @ainmosni @Flo_Rian @FediThing 2 pitchers in the fridge here (so we can switch their positions when pouring out from one and refilling it)
(DIR) Post #B0SE89UIM65evQ2RqC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-21T01:03:12Z
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@CorvidCrone @HumanServitor Not all heroes wear... pants?IDK sounds dodgy.
(DIR) Post #B0mw3CfGgcqwZAhKsq by rye@ioc.exchange
2025-12-01T00:49:34Z
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@futurebird I don’t have a microwave. The only difficult thing is that it is harder to make popcorn, but you can still buy the bags and cut them open and cook them in a pan. Airfyer and electric stove get everything else cooked.