profile

Hi! Let me help you become a nomad!

The ONE thing we can do....

Published about 1 year ago • 1 min read

Hello Reader!

I am currently writing this email as we sail slowly south down the Sea of Cortez in very light winds and flat seas. I just pulled a loaf of sourdough out of the oven, and this morning we saw the spouts of a couple whales! How cool!

When we’re out on our sailboat like this I am often thinking about trash.

We have to rinse out, crush, compress and store our trash, sometimes for over a week - and then carry it to shore in a dinghy or on a paddle board.

It’s an annoying process that makes me seriously want to reduce the amount of trash I create both on the boat and in the van. And not only just GARBAGE, but food waste as well.

In fact, I recently read a startling article in the New York Times about food waste where I read these crazy statistics:

  • The average U.S. household wastes nearly a third of the food it buys.
  • Households account for 39 percent of food waste in the United States, more than restaurants, grocery stores or farms.
  • In the United States, food waste is responsible for twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as commercial aviation.

Let’s think about that again. Our rotting food waste in landfills creates MORE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS than commercial aviation. Incredible, right?

It made me think one HUGE and EASY thing we can do to help the environment is to cut back on our food waste.

My friend Behan Gifford of Sailing Totem is an expert in reducing both garbage and food waste on her sailboat. In fact, on one 30-day journey her family only created enough trash to fit into a small plastic container.

I just knew I had to interview (in person, in Mexico!) her about techniques that help anyone cut back on trash and food waste. A lot of those tips include canning, pickling and fermenting food.

This was one of my favorite podcasts episodes yet.

Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Listen on Spotify.

Or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

I hope you enjoy this one!

And have a great day!

Kristin Hanes

Publisher, The Wayward Home, and The Wayward Home Podcast

P.S. Remember to follow me on Instagram to see photos and videos of our sailboat time in the Sea of Cortez!

Hi! Let me help you become a nomad!

Kristin Hanes, Publisher of The Wayward Home

I spend half the year in a DIY Sprinter van camper, and the other half on a sailboat. I want to help you achieve your nomadic living dreams, whether that's with van life, RVing, sailboats or tiny homes! Join my email list for van life tips and advice, remote work ideas, personal stories and anecdotes, and more!

Read more from Hi! Let me help you become a nomad!

HeyReader, This might surprise you, but once again we are hauled out at Cabrales boatyard after just three weeks of cruising around the northern Sea of Cortez. Yes, our cruising season on the boat was SUPER SHORT this spring for a variety of reasons: The impending heat The fact that we just got new mountain bikes in the fall that we are very excited to go ride We have tons of family and friends to see The lack of exercise on a sailboat is hard -----PAID AD------- Ready to hit the open road...

7 days ago • 2 min read

HeyReader! Any moment now, we will push out from our marina here in Puerto Penasco, Mexico and head down to the Sea of Cortez for a couple months of cruising. I love this time on our sailboat, when we are exploring the islands off Baja. Someone once asked me: do sailboats boondock like vans and RVs? And the answer is yes, but in the sailboat world it's called gunkholing (referring to the anchor getting stuck in mud). Both have a similar vibe: away from hordes of people, absolute solitude,...

27 days ago • 2 min read

Hey Reader! After a much-needed weekend away from the boatyard, Tom and I made a big decision! We are tired of endless boat work, bouncing around in rough seas, barfing over the stern of the boat, and getting caught in ferocious blows. We are also exhausted by van life: digging holes, showering outside in the wind in sub-zero temperatures, swatting mosquitos, and generally living in the dirt. So we decided to sell both the sailboat and the van and upgrade our lives to..... A CAMPING AIRPLANE....

about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Share this post