A Few Tips For Simple Life In Paradise
Organic farmer Mary Jane Butters long ago embraced Thoreau’s dictum to “Simplify, simplify.”
As a Forest Service ranger in the 1970s, she spent two summers roaming Utah’s Uinta Mountains with her home on her back. Later she maintained the most remote wilderness ranger station in the Lower 48.
Today, Butters and her family live eight miles outside Moscow on Paradise Farm, headquarters of her mail-order dry-foods business (www.organic-paradise.com).
But even e-commerce hasn’t tempered Butters’ enthusiasm for simplicity. Here’s her personal list of “seven wonders”:
Wooden drying rack
“I’ve never owned an electric or gas clothes dryer,” Butters says. “But I have a beautiful collection of wooden racks. Over the years I’ve found them in antique stores, or purchased them new from an Amish catalog.
“Laundry is a religion for me. I love it when I’m all caught up. I love it when I have a bunch to do. I love the smell and repetitive reward of laundry.
“My daughter has an apartment now, but continues the tradition. She has two wooden racks.”
Treadle sewing machine
“I come from a family of seamstresses,” says Butters. “When I left home, my mother bought me a new electric sewing machine. Within a year, I sold it and switched to a Singer treadle machine. I’ve reupholstered couches with my treadle, sewn sleeping bags, made car seatcovers and, of course, clothes. You can’t beat the stitch and reliability of a treadle.”
Root cellar
“My root cellar was built around 1910. In it now are potatoes, beets, parsnips, artichokes, carrots and cabbage. It’s an easy, `free’ way to store food.”
Hand-powered grater
“I use a hand vegetable mill to grate or slice all of our cheeses, potatoes, carrots - even shelled walnuts.
“It’s permanently mounted in my kitchen and has four different attachments,” Butters says. “It’s faster and easier than an electric grinder. And it’s a great way to involve kids in the kitchen.”
Sauerkraut and kimchi
“Sauerkraut and kimchi (pickled cabbage) are family staples. I make them in 5-gallon crocks. I chop or shred vegetables, add a bit of dry salt and cover it for six weeks. Fermented vegetables aid in digestion,” Butters says, “and they’re very tasty.”
Hand pump
“Last summer, I contacted the original 1800s company that made hand water pumps. They were about to quit when Y2K brought them a surge of orders. If the electricity goes out, I can walk to my pump and, with 15 easy strokes, a stream of water from 400 feet underground spews out the spout.”
Alternatives to lawn
“As an adult, I’ve never had a lawn,” says Butters. “Americans spend about a billion hours a year caring for lawns, and apply 67 million pounds of pesticides.
“When my grandpa moved to the city, he amused his neighbors by turning his front yard into a vegetable and flower garden. Early one morning, when he was around 85, he fell over while picking beans and died in his beloved patch of food. How much nicer a way to go than steering a gas mower!”