Urban Homesteads Revisited

Last May, we spotlighted a suggestion for the biggest waste of real estate in America, namely the residential lawn. ("Spring Cleaning Revisited", included in our "More-Or-Less Best of 2010.") We were introduced to a family in California that converted their own yard into a gardener's paradise, a major component in their household self-sufficiency. The video clip featured in that piece is shown again here.

Now, imagine a reality TV episode called "Invasion of the Valley Girls," or something like it. In this case, it's actually an episode of VH1's You're Cut Off entitled "Down on the Urban Farm." You can witness the first segment here. The other segments in this episode can be found at the series' website.

One thing, though. Showering twice a week is ridiculous, unless you're on a two-week trek in the mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch, in which case you don't even get to shower once until you get back to the base. Yours truly has to shower twice a day in the summer, if only for five minutes, or a decent night's sleep is out of the question.

What do they think we are, animals?