Increasingly, My Home Supports Me. Does Yours?
I think every home should be a productive asset. An asset that helps you succeed in life and supports you as you get older. Unfortunately, most people don't see it that way. They see a home as an empty shell. Their perfect home doesn't produce. In fact, it costs money. Their homes only generate a return if you are lucky enough to sell it for more than you bought it. That doesn't cut it for me.
Particularly when there are a great many low cost — in time, effort, and money — things that can be done to increase your homes ability to produce. Simple things people can do to avoid wasting money and making themselves vulnerable to adversity. The best way to do start is to take a modular approach.
A Modular Approach to Rainwater Harvesting
I'll use rainwater harvesting to demonstrate a modular approach. Why would you harvest rainwater? Simply, a home that produces water can support you during the intense heat, flooding rains, high priced water, contaminated water, and water bans that are guaranteed to be in our future. So, what would be the first module? If you have a gutter, all you need to get started is a rain barrel.
Want more? You can add a second barrel. Want more functionality? Add a feature like an irrigation hose. Need even more functionality? Put the rain barrel higher up, so you can use gravity to generate pressure for irrigation, plumbing, or a sprinkler. Need a bigger system? Add a 500 gallon container. Want cleaner water? Add a downspout filter.
The list goes on and on. Each step is a small cost. Each step adds to the resilience of your home and the ability of your home to support you. So, there's no reason to put this off. Take the first step.
Resiliently Yours,
JOHN ROBB
PS: The first Resilient Strategies conference call was excellent. Devin Cumming, an expert in rainwater harvesting systems, was our guest. He covered everything from how to keeping the rainwater you capture free of contaminants to how to optimize a rainwater system's size for the climate you live in. If you missed the call, it will be posted in your account area for download at your convenience.
PPS: If you aren't a member of Resilient Strategies, it's easy to subscribe and there is a 60-day money back guarantee if it isn't what you expected. I strongly believe that this service will save or make you MANY, MANY times the amount of money it costs to join.
