How GERMANY Made Us MORE ECOFRIENDLY 🇩🇪 (Why Aren't these Things Done in the USA?)
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- Since moving to Germany a year and a half ago, our lifestyles have changed A LOT, which was the top of last week's video (link below). For this week, we talk about all of the changes we've made concerning the environment - such as using our car WAY less, using renewable energy sources, recycling much more, and buying more used and handmade items.
#germany #germanylifestyle #ecofriendly #greenliving #livingingermany #americansingermany
//VIDEOS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO//
How Germany Changed Our Lifestyles for the Better - • How Germany Changed Ou...
Recycling in Germany - It Wasn't Like this in the USA! • Recycling in Germany v...
ARTICLE on Fossil Fuels - ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels
//LINKS TO THE ITEMS WE'VE BOUGHT FOR THE HOUSE//
Italian Hand-Painted Ceramics Shop - www.thatsarte.com/?gclid=Cj0K...
SwedeBavarian Shop on Etsy (Wilkommen and Grüß Gott signs) www.etsy.com/de/search?q=swed...
Parisian Clothing Website - www.sezane.com/de/new-in
//JUMP TO YOUR FAVORITE PART//
0:00 - Intro - who are we?
02:26 - 1 - We Buy More Second-Hand and Hand-Made
11:56 - 2 - We Buy Less "Fast-Fashion"
13:59 - 3 - We Recycle Much More
15:16 - 4 - We Use Less Plastic
16:56 - 5 - We Buy More Local Items
17:39 - 6 - We Have Battery Powered Yard Tools
18:22 - 7 - We Buy Less Stuff, But Higher Quality
19:19 - 8 - We Use Our Car WAY Less
20:01 - 9 - We Use More Renewable Energy Sources
24:56 - BLOOPERS!
📖 See the blog post that goes with this video here - mymerrymessygermanlife.com/ho...
🤩 LIKE THE MUSIC IN THIS VIDEO?
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🇩🇪 Life in Germany blog posts and videos here - mymerrymessygermanlife.com
//PLAYLISTS/
🇩🇪 Life in Germany - • Life in Germany
🇩🇪 Raising Children in Germany - • Raising Children in Ge...
🇩🇪 Traveling with Kids - • Traveling with Kids
🇩🇪 Germany is Beautiful - Relaxing Nature Videos of Germany - • How Germans & Scandina...
🇩🇪 Christmas is Magical in Germany - • First Time Trying Germ...
//ABOUT US//
We are a family of six, with four kids and a cat 😹, who moved from the USA to Germany in February of 2021 to pursue our dreams of adventure, travel, learning another language, and integrating into German life. We hope you enjoy our videos about our journey to integrate - the highs and the lows of being foreigners on the adventure of a lifetime.
//LET'S CONNECT!//
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Pinterest: / merrymessylife
Twitter: / merrymessylife
Visit the Website: mymerrymessylife.com/
Visit my Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/MyMerryMess...
See My Book, Detox Your Home, on Amazon: amzn.to/31NjzRv
My grandfather said we are too poor to buy cheap things
That’s a great quote!
You guys are so adorable. So sweet how you embrace your new home and culture.
Hey! i’m from Canada and I’m planning on studying in Germany next year. I did an exchange in Germany in 2019-2020 (fell short due to the pandemic), but i absolutely fell in love with the country and mentality. I love watching your videos, they are really well made and thought-out. Just wanted to spread the love from a fellow north american!!
Oh very cool! So awesome that you’re able to come back!
Many positiv things were said already. I just want to congratulate to your great kids. I am deeply impressed how your son described the parts of his bike in German. You did a wonderful job Mum and Dad!
Just some points to improve on:
...a hamster, a dog and chickens (they're great recyclers!).
Growing your own vegetables, ask your neigbors what works best on the local soil and how to do gardening.
Yeah we do have a small vegetable garden that we forgot to include in the video! But you’re right - growing your own food helps with sustainability.
I remember Jako-o (for younger kids) and Fit-z (for older kids/preteens) as great clothing brands for kids from my old childhood. Super comfy, the right fabric, last for a long time and cute designs. As far as I now they also have more and more pieces made out of organic cotton. They also have a lot of things for kid’s room staging and school supplies.
I'm 66 now and when I was 18 the first "Bioläden" started their business. Most people laughed at them and didn't take them seriously but today you find "Bio" in every supermarket. Two things we can learn from this: first: everybody has the power to change things by shopping the "right" way. And second: it took 50 years from the beginning to where we are now.
Hopefully this slow pace ist not too slow for the upcoming challenges climate change will put us in.
Have you ever looked at your "Ökologischer Fußabdruck" ( ecological footprint) ?
Have a nice sunday!
it´s amazing how fast griffin learns german ^-^
You are a wonderful family! We need more people like you here in Germany. Definitely!
Thank you!
My ex put solar panels on his roof in Mesa/AZ. He never paid for the AC. Now, all the neighbors asked what the costs were and some more panels appear on roofs nearby...
It seems that only someone has to make a start.
Love it! That’s true, one person can make the change and it spreads.
Wow, Griffin' s german ist really good! Some little mistakes but still really good! And he has no accent, he sounds like a native. I was really impressed that he knew the word Katzenaugen for those things stuck to the wheel (I don't know the english word 😅😂) I like to buy handmade things like these signs too, especially at the christmas markets ❤ Or handmade candles or those plates where they burn your name in when you buy them and sth. like that. Or handmade christmas bubbles (do you say so?😅) for the christmas tree❤
HI! Katzenaugen on a bike are called reflectors, but the similar things on the middle of roads are called cats' eyes! The ball shaped decorations on the tree are baubles - in England at least, might be different in the US.
@@gailfromengland2553 Thank you for the information, that's very kind of you
@gailfromengland2553 I would still go for the word for Word translation Weihnachts(Baum) Kugeln = Christmas(tree) balls 😂
For the plastic wrapped tomatoes : you can leave the plastic in the store. There has to be a container. I always unpack vegetables, cosmetics, Pizzakartons, Müslikartons, short "Umverpackung" in the store. First for not to transport Müll to my home, which I have to pay for and second to make a sign to the store, that I do not want all that stuff, so hopefully they change their choice in what they offer me.
Oh, and: when I lived in the countryside, I used to find Farmers for as much I could buy there. But it was long time ago. So I had my "weekend shopping" cruising around the farmsites, which was also nice and felt kind of free. I was even happy to have a mill in my reach, so I could buy fresh flour in big packs.
You should have a lot of farmers in your reach and sometimes they sell "not so nice" food for less.
More local you couldn't buy. And you can make it by bike as a family action.
And sure you have farmers, that offer "Selberpflücken" in the fields.
Last year I left Berlin for collecting potatoes, that were left on the fields. Fun action with big fire in the evening for baked potatoes. I went there with three Kids, we had a beautiful day and the farner took 1 Euro per Kilo Potatoes, we harvested. A win-win-win.
@@barbara-xt6cc Oh yes, good points! I grow a lot of herbs, veggies, berries and other fruit and have hens and usually also bees for the honey, and for other things I look around to see where I can get local produce: milk from an organic dairy farmer nearby, flour from a nearby mill, potatoes from the "Kartoffelkiste" in our village. And I love to barter things with friends and neighbours: I exchange my sourdough bread for freshly picked pears or plums, or eggs for the mushrooms my neighbour picked in the woods and so on. And now in summer, if you don't get zucchinis for free you either have no garden or no friends!
Amazon has not only the problem not to be eco friendly. In German TV (on RTL) we have an undercover-reporter named Günther Wallraff, who worked for a while at "Amazon Germany" with a hidden camera. They have inhuman working-conditions, they exploit their workers, they control every step you make, every word you say and even can measure how fast you walk... In the labour union's magazin (Ver.Di) they describe the situation at "Amazon USA" even worse than here in Germany (mobbing, they cheat around overtime-hours and they force the workers to overtime hours, because it is impossible to get the lot of work done in the normal working hours).
Yikes! That is not good, thanks for sharing with us.
and this is exactly why I'm boycotting Amazon. As long as they treat their employees like this, they will not earn a single cent out of my purse.
the environmental unfriendliness of IKEA doesn´t lie in their Packaging, it is the short life span of their furniture and the stuff being shipped all around the world.
Yeah that’s true…
@@adas1988 5 years? It better be in good shape, cos that's almost new! Good quality furniture lasts for generations, survives several circles of its style going out of fashion and coming into fashion again - it needs first minor repairs (like surface damages) after 30 or 40 years. And it is repairable, of course, which ikea furniture isn't in most cases.
@@adas1988 thank you, you are confirming my underlying assumption that the criterion of longevity is not a thing in us culture. Otherwise, in a consumer/demand driven system like the US, economy would have to cater to this demand.
Griffin's pronunciation is flawless - the words are just cutely translated (backlight=das Rücklicht, not "Hinterlicht"), and the articles are not always the right ones but who cares? His German is so good!
Thank you! Another year in school and it’ll be even better!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Sure thing!
It's great that you took the opportunity of the move to change your lifestyle towards a more ecofriendly one. As you pointed out yourselves, there were a lot of points on your lists which are not typically German. But often one just gets stuck in routines, doing the things one has always done or how ones parents did them.
Regarding solar panels (PV): Germany probably has the highest KWH prices in the world. Hence why Germans quickly adopt anything energy efficient. It just makes sense. 7 years ago I put up PV panel system. They planned ROI was 8 years. But actually , due to lower degradation than expected on the panels, they have already paid for themselves. For the next 20 or 30 years, 60 to 70% of my electricity will be free.
I don't believe - I would expect in 20 years you will need much more electric energy than now, for decarbonization. - It is good nevertheless.
i just checked and you really pay 1.5 times the price per kwh that we do here in switzerland where everything is expensive comapred to almost everywhere. you have your own coal production and powerplants, yes they are dirty, but you should think cheaper than to import ressources like gas as we do. i dont get it how you pay more. yes we have like 40% waterpower, but out of those more than half are pump storage that use power to "refill". so why is it so expensive?
@@Henning_Rech 8.7 Kw system. Total cost 10.5 k before tax reduction. Normal kWh cost is now over 30 cents. For what we put into network it’s 13.6 cents . We use 6k kWh per year. Do the math.
@@grasgruen84 Before the prices rose so much starting in late 2021, because many French nuclear power plants were shut down and France had to import more power, the price per kWh (about 30 cent) was roughly:
25% production, marketing
25% investments in the grid, measurement and accounting
25% special taxes for conversion to green energy production
25% general taxes (like VAT and others)
Now the 1st share has increased by a multiple, while the 3rd has been mostly abandoned since July 1st.
BTW in 2021 Switzerland had a net import of nearly 5 TWh electricity (out of 60 TWh total consumption) from Germany...
@@brucemc1581 My doubt did not refer to the ROI but to your last senstence: "For the next 20 or 30 years, 60 to 70% of my electricity will be free." - As I already wrote, in 20 years you most probably will consume more electricity. With an electrical heat pump, one or two electric cars, you can easily add 5-10 MWh/year.
Former DM 500 bank note shows Burg Eltz.
14:30 "Is Recycling enforced?" :
No: You can also apply for a huge general trashcan, throw everything into it and put it on a weekly schedule, but it will cost you an arm and a leg.
Yes: If you chose to follow the general standard, you are expected to seperate your waste accordingly. Trash service does indeed check on correct filling every once in a while, especially if they notice people slacking while disseminating the collected waste inside their central waste facilities.
If you don´t follow the rules, you might end up with a red label sticker on your still full trashcan, which reminds you to do a better job or they won´t collect your trash in the future.
In case your 15th wedding anniversary is coming up - this is known in Germany as "Kristallhochzeit" (crystal wedding anniversary). People celebrate it with friends and family and set up all kinds of glass bottles etc. with candles and lights and different colors :) Since you love art and vintage, that might be something really special to do
Oh that sounds so nice! I think it’s the same in the US - crystal anniversary.
When i first stumble over your channel i was attracted by a legendary hat and while watching by your enthusiastic to go to germany. So i subscribed to follow your journey. The fear not getting soap made me smile and even more curious. Now several Vids and almost 2 years later i still love to watch your channel every sunday morning while having breakfast. Love to see your exitment, the smile in your kids eyes, your progress in learning German and of cause the loveley Pictures you show us. Hope it will never ends. Have a nice Week and don t forget to wear the hat when visiting my Hometown Hamburg. You know cause of recognation.
In my community, it is common for mothers to organize a so-called "Kinderflohmakr ak. children's flea market". Parents with several children in particular know how quickly children grow and how often new clothes and shoes are needed. At such "children's flea markets" you can buy the "next size" of clothing for your own children for very little money and at the same time sell clothing that no longer fits the children. At such flea markets you have the advantage that the clothes are very often of high quality. At the same time, the so-called chemical "finish" is greatly reduced by repeated washing and the fabric transfers less chemicals to the skin. Even shoes (as long as they are not too worn out) of high quality (winter shoes) are sold and bought.
All this is organized by a group of mothers who already have some experience. The rush is regularly so large that admission controls take place to actually only allow mothers with children access and not any dealers who only want to buy cheap used goods.
Great video again! About burning trash: During my apprenticeship in the late 90s we visited the company in Augsburg that burns trash. They said that even the burnt material is used when building streets.
Another super nice video to start this awesome sunny 🌞 day 👏🏻😃😃
Hi Sara& Kevin, just two little Tipps : wooden boards or boxes wit "flamed" look can very easy be done by yourself with a blowtorch! 2: almost every city in germany has something like a sheltered workshop. Disabled people find work there and you can often buy nice and mostly cheap things there. and you help! Here is an example: Pidinger Werkstätten GmbH of Lebenshilfe BGL. or have a look in traunstein or ruhpolding . Many of these things like Your "GRÜ? GOTT"sign are made in sheltered workshops. i know that cause i worked as teacher here in hannover for such an institution. and it s not necessary that Mr. Bezos earns money with it! 😉😉
Michael/Hannover
YES! Agreeing with you! Also our local Grundschule usually has its own little market (I think around christmas time) where you can buy art projects from the Grundschüler!
Hi, I recently learned about another way to share ressources, and have used it on several occasions. There is an online neighborhood "sharing" community called "nebenan". It's strictly the close neighborhood, which makes it work better in cities, not so much in the countryside. I have recently lent my mom's old wheelchair to a young man who had an accident with an axe, and couldn't walk for six weeks. When the heating in our apartment broke down for a few weeks last winter, a neighbor gave me an electric heater he didn't need at the moment - so I didn't have to go buy one. I have shared my stapler, given away countless offshoots of my plants, etc. etc.
This saves a lot of ressources.
I’m in Munich and Idebtify myself so much with you… thanks for your channel
I have started to try out cleaning and hygiene products that don‘t use plastic: shampoos and conditioners that come in the shape of a soap bar (wrapped in cardboard, not plastic), luffas instead of plastic sponges in the kitchen, tablets to refill cleaner bottles… There are a lot of ways to avoid plastic waste in the household
Hey there...🙂 I just wanted to say, how awesome Griffin's german is! He introduced the bike parts very well and his pronounciation is amazing!
You set a good example in enviroment awareness. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
There are roof coverings that have intergrated solarpannels wich would look more estaticaly pleasing. They are a lot more expensive, like double the cost of just roof covering with solar plannels on top, but I believe in the future this will become a common thing on newbuilds.
Best quality kids clothes are from jako-o designd in Bavaria made in EU. Really high quality and durable. Nicht klein zu kriegen!
Okay great! Thanks for the suggestion.
Great video and thank you for sharing!
1. What kind of bikes do you have for all this commuting? They don’t look like road bikes. Touring? Fat tires?
2. In California the plastic grocery bags are thicker than the traditional thinner ones in the south so that in theory they can be reused more. You do get charged a few cents for them. We tended to forget our bags so we had a lot of thick bags to recycle. In Utah we can’t put the grocery bags in the curbside recycling; we have to take them back to the store to put them in a recycle bin.
3. I was composting in our garden by burying the scraps under dirt and leaves until our dog started eating the rotted food. She suddenly started getting sick in the house and I noticed scraps coming out.
Another way to buy local is to go to the market, Wochenmarkt which is on Stadtplatz in TS on Wednesday and Saturday morning.
It is more expensive, but great for stuff like fruit, cheese and meat.
In my last years on Gymnasium in the early 80s I started using the then new recycled paper in school and one teacher forbid my using it for tests. It was not "ordentlich" enough (and I still haven't found an exact one term translation for this use of the word, but it's sooo German).
Things like Kevin's snow boots, that you don't use that often - if you buy good quality, they really last for decades. I bought a sleeping bag in 1993 and still use it :)
Hi McFalls. You are doing a great job over there! I wish you all a nice sunday. Tomorrow me and two friends are on our trip to Bavaria (Erding) and we are very exited to join the Therme in Erding on tuesday. Viele Grüße aus Rheinland-Pfalz (the german state with the Burg Eltz in it 🙂)
Gute Reise und viel Spaß in Bayern! 🙂
Grüße auch aus Rheinland-Pfalz. 🙋🏻♀️
Sounds like you do a great job at conciencly making consumer decisions! I think there are a lot of sharing/resusing offers as people live in smaller places (compared to most US) and do not want their flat/house stuffed full to the brim. Personally I love my Baumarkt, as they offer tools for a very reasonable rent. I do not have to research, buy, store, service or dispose of electric tools that I use once a year. Good for me, good for the shop and good for the environment. Win-win-win
You can see how proud Ella is of her bike and you score again with your professional presentation of your pretty things. I think that waste is not separated enough in Germany.
I hope that there will soon be different bins for white and brown eggshells. And at easter for colored eggshells. 🥚🙃
Hallo Merry Family!😀 schönes Wochenende to all 😀
Go to the farmers market for veggies and fruit, meat and cold cuts from the butcher. Less plastic.
Butcher...BYOD...I mean box.
The wooden sign could very well be handmade with special tools, like a CNC-Fräse or Schneidplotter. That way they are cut out by a machine (and not painstakingly with a jigsaw) but designing it and programming the machines is still art!
As for the recycling, I saw a package for pink lady apples or something in your garbage, which is fully cardboard (so no plastic) if I am not wrong, so good job. In regards of solar panels: My uncle in Italy has solar panels in his house and they are so effective, they don't only fully power the house, he even sells some of the energy it generates, to the community/village he lives in.
Wow that’s awesome about your uncle! It’s so simple - they need to be all over the US. It will save them so much money, especially in the south where it’s hot.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Even if it can't supply enough energy for the entire home, just having it power your AC would be amazing. Imagine the heat, that causes you to need AC, will power it, that's like turning a problem into its own solution.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife If you fill up your roof with PV panels you will collect close to 10.000 kWh per year (estimated - would mean 50 square meter with good illumination), which I guess is more than your house needs. Or the equivalent of 40.000-50.000 km with an EV.
If he generates electricity he has photovoltaic panels, not solar. Solar panels are used to heat water.
@@hovawartfreunde4599 "Everyone" will have electric cars in 20 years - until then it will be a smooth transition. And until then hopefully you charge your car during the day when solar energy is produced. - I drive an EV since 2 years, and never have charged at home in the evening.
Here are some ideas to help avoid fast fashion: there are online platforms like Kleiderkreisel or my favourite momox fashion. There you can buy second hand but often high quality clothes. They are sorted into categories like "used" or "as good as new". I recently buy a lot of my stuff there. Also we got stores like "refurbed" or "notebooksbilliger" for electronics. Often they are refurbed and sometimes they have B-Ware that are new but have little optical issues you hardly notice. An since you love painted ceramics: in many cities you can find small shops where you can paint your own ceramics. You sometimes even can have childrens birthday parties there and do this as an activity. I painted something there for the birth of my oldest nephew.
Kleiderkreisel is now called "vinted"
Wasn't the dark blue top new too? Looks good very on you.
You were able to present articles again and you obviously enjoyed it. 😀
Thank you! No the top isn't new, I've had it for many years but haven't it worn it much. I should wear it more!
Loved the video and your hauls from second-hand shops.
Unless ceramics shatter into thousands of piece they can be glued back together with a special ceramic glue.
Yes, obviously, they will show the cracks but they may be salvagable in case they broke into a small number of pieces. So don't throw away a broken ceramic vase or container. Some pieces even gain character by having a few glued cracks.
What I see from all the pieces you have shown, Sara, is that while they may be vintage they aren't massively gilded, ornately fluted or set with hundreds of intricate tiny flower petals of ceramic, gold, silver, or some other embellishments. They have a peaceful, simplistic, yet still artful decor style, with pleasant rounded edges and curves to them.
But be careful with ceramics and microwaves. Many ceramics contain metalic dyes in their laquer which may cause the laquer to crack and spark in the microwave. Sadly, many of them aren't dishwasher safe so may loose some shine, or maybe even crack in a dishwasher.
Griffin showing off his bike and the knowledge of specific terms in German: awesome.
Also, the automatic call-out "Auto" when either of your kids detected the approaching car is awesome as well.
They have become aware of vehicles, registered them, and react appropriately to them. Nice! 👍👍
When it comes to fashion: I still have a t-shirt from more than 30 years ago that defines my current nickname, and was the inspiration for it. It's black color has faded to a dark grey, its formerly white lines to a light grey, and it sports some tiny holes, yet I still wear it regularly. Stick with what you like, not what you feel fashion dictates for you to wear.
The enforcing of recycling only happens when there are regular mismatches in the trash in larger quantities. Then the recycling companies may, possibly start looking at individiual Kreise /counties, then narrow it down to streets, and finally maybe to the culprit house where it happens. But until that happens you have more than enough time to mend your ways. And in most cases people DO want to recycle and a certain error tolerance is built into the system as well.
In larger cities it is probably more other people in an apartment block when you throw your trash haphazardly into the wrong bin who will chastise you for it then the trash collectors themselves. Because everybody pays part of the trash collection fee as part of their amenities cost. When the 'Restmüll' / 'residual unrecycled trash' has to be upgraded because someone constantly refuses to separate their trash and dumps it all into the black residual bin then everybody's wallet from that apartment block is affected, so people can get a bit cranky when you DON'T recycle there. For single family homes it is more an admonishment from the trash collectors than actual 'enforcement' unless it is blatantly obvious you aren't complying with regulations.
That's the stereotypical German working there: set up rules, and if they seem at least somewhat reasonable, most German communities will do enough self-policing (including the dreaded Grandma / Oma stare out of the window) that you don't break them. We tend to just follow rules where we can rationalize the usefulness of them.
The "Quality vs Quantity" aspect has been summed up by my father's boss during his vocational training more than 70 years ago: "Nur die Reichen können sich billiges Zeug leisten, für den Armen ist das Beste grade gut genug."
"Only the rich can afford to buy cheap stuff; for the poor, the best is barely good enough."
With that he summed up the buy one thing of the highest quality at twice the cost, but maybe it will last you ten times longer, making you save a lot of money in the long run.
Only the filthy rich can afford to buy the cheap stuff they throw away after a few uses and buy something new all the time.
If you know Terry Pratchett, he has framed it in the terms of boot economics, as in an internal monologue by Sam Vimes. He always bought cheap boots with thin cardboard soles. While he could feel the cobblestones beneath his feet through those cardboard soles, giving him a perfect location sense in his home city of Ankh-Morpork, he did have to buy new boots every two years when the soles wore out. His aristocratic wife wore the same set of boots for more than thirty years. His boots may have cost ten dollars, his wife's fity.
The solar panels have been subsidized on and off for the last thirty years or so. Unfortunately when I refurbished my roof a few years ago, just at the start of that year subsidies for solar panels had been cut off (again) so I decided not to get solar panels. Also, my house is situated in such an unfortunate facing towards the sun that any kind of solar panels would only recieve a tiny amount of direct, 90° influx of solar rays for only a very short time every day that even with subsidies solar panels would take decades in my house's case to amorticize themselves.
Many houses use a so-called Schichtspeicher, a layer storage of hot water. The sun heats the water in a large cylindrical, insulated water container. Due to its incredible properties water naturally forms layers of heated water that mix only very slowly. So from the top to the bottom these layers get cooler and cooler. With high-performance solar panels the water in these storage units can reach up to 90°C (194°F), that is a mere ten degrees C under boiling point, but usually they are regulated down to 75°C. These storage containers use bi-metal valves that function purely on physical distortion of metals to open and close the valves, so that the heated water gets transfered automatically to lower and lower layers, until the whole storage container is at one uniform temperature. When temperature is needed for heating, the same system funnels water through heat exchangers for the desired water temperature, be it for bathing, showering, a pool , or even central heating. No electricity required for that system. Only the supporting software generating a smart-home heating system requires a small amount of electricity.
It is linked to the solar panels by highly insulated pipes. My parents got one of these for their house with a 2000 liter storage, but it was unfortunately much too small for the size of their solar panel area. Their solar panels could have easily heated a storage with ten times greater storage capacity, but there simply wasn't enough room in the house to place that container. Even during sunny winter days the solar panels generate heated water up to 75°C (167°F) with only a few hours of sunshine. Even a cold water startup of that container reaches 75°C even during the winter within a few hours.
It was so nice to meet you at marquartstein schulfest. Sorry for talking german so fast and sorry for my rusty english.
Hi Andreas!! It was so nice to meet you, too! Bis bald! 😀
Maybe you can join the CSA / Solawi Chiemgau next season or get delivered a weekly Biokiste to get veggies without plastic
Oh thanks for including the name of it so we can look it up! That's a good idea.
You should find out when there is a farmers market at your place. I buy everything fresh at ours and the good thing is, none of it is wrapped. So I have absolutely no waste with our fresh produce.... and the produce is the freshest, picked in the morning, taste better and stay fresh longer
Here they sometimes go through the trash to look if it’s sorted the right way , a few weeks ago my neighbor had a note on her graue Tonne that they had not emptied it because it was sorted wrong !
Our children had an unemptied organic waste bin with the note: no plastic, not even so-called "bioplastic"**.
**Some stores sold such bags for organic waste.
I just like you for your commitment. 😊
Hallo Familie McFall, das freut mich für euch das ihr euch so gut eingelebt habt in Deutschland. Bayern ist ein sehr schönes Bundesland. Es macht spaß zu sehen das ihr jeden Tag an eurem Lebensstil arbeitet. Ja wir Deutschen leben umweltbewusster als die Menschen in den USA. Aber trotzdem können auch wir uns noch sehr verbessern. Ich wünsche euch weiterhin viel Spaß und ein schönes glückliches Leben in Deutschland. Was macht ihr beruflich?
There is a movement for certain companies to become 'circular'. Basically they try to use as few resources as possible. And they actually are increasing fast.
In the us?
@@tnit7554 yes, though the uptake in the US is, eh, slow?!
You are a really sweet family and I really enjoy watching your vlogs. You are really a good example of how quickly man can adapt and realize that everything is not so bad. For the rest of us this should be a good example and otherwise excuses remain excuses not to get out of the comfort zone.
...and Florida...haha (I just imagine).
Yeah the Florida part was so funny! 😂
Your channel is wonderful.
Thank you!
In the beginning you said that you like buying second hand or relatively local, sometimes even from france or the netherlands. The dutch equivalent to eBay Kleinanzeigen is called Marktplaats and the french is leboncoin. I live somewhat close to the netherlands so i get most of my stuff i buy used from Marktplaats. The dutch are shrewd negotiators, but it's often cheaper than on Kleinanzeigen, especially bicycles.
Okay good to know about what it’s called in those 2 countries! Makes a lot of sense to use them for those who live in the border.
18:42 omg 90% - I remember the luggage you had with you ;) For moving a whole family it was actually quite reasonable.
I just realized why i like your videos so much. It is a reverse experience for me. Im german and i moved to the US for my company a couple of years ago. Im back in Germany now. The reverse experience is so much fun :D - btw Wal-Mart was a total shock for me. Single items in tiny plastic bags. Also, i am interested in your job experience. Like the differences you experienced.
Yeah plastic bad usage is really bad in the states.
"Grüß Gott" (or Grias Gott or Grias Di) is a blessing and means "(May) God bless" you (Möge Gott Dir zugewandt sein/Dich grüßen/Dich segnen).
If you leave one the Bavarians say "Pfiat di / or Pfiat Di God" it means "Gott behüte Dich" God save you.
"Grüß Gott" is spread in southern regions of Germany and especially in Bavaria and Austria + South Tyrol. There ist the "Grüß-Gott-Guten-Tag-Grenze" - there some areas in the "center of Germany" where the people in one village/town say "Grüß Gott" whereas the inhabitants a few kilometres use "Guten Tag" instead.
Some people in Northern Germany where "Guten Tag" is the way people greet each other they make a joke: If a Bavarian says "Grüß Gott" they answer "... wenn ich ihn sehe" - "if I see him" because they do not know about the deeper meaning of that greeting (God bless you) 🙂
An example for such a "Sprachgrenze" is the "Main-Kinzig-Kreis" (Hessen), Oberzeller Berg (see link below) - there are many examples for that "Sprachgrenze" 🙂
www.quaeldich.de/paesse/oberzeller-berg_a/
Greetings from Philipp
Liebe Freunde
In Deutschland sagt man :Wer billig kauft, kauft zwei mal, Quaility will cost more,but its worth it. Quality first, well i am german 😍😍❤❤ I am 62 grumpy bavarian and i just love you 😍😍
Ah cool! I didn’t know there was a German phrase for it. Thanks for sharing.
Though there is some cultural difference from region to region. In Baden-Württemberg there is traditionally very much an emphasis on not spending a lot of money, not wasting it and really not spend more than is essential
I‘m not from Bayern 😉 but in Hessen they think the same way too. Ich bin nicht reich genug, um billig zu kaufen.
You are such good people! I love you!!!
Well thank you! 😍
Regarding solar Panels. If you built a New house here in Germany you have to put Panels in the roof. So if you look arround Building areas, you will see all the new houses have Panels.
Oh that’s great!!
@15:31The reason why many vegetables are wrapped in plastic is that it is less prone to damage and so supermarkets have to throw away much less food. Some time ago, we had the same discussion in the Netherlands.
Ah yeah that’s a good point.
Plus, on the occasion when fruits without packaging are on offer, there are people who grabble through them to pick the best ones out, which is really off-putting to watch, and really puts you off from buying one yourself.
@@swanpride for real!
all german viewers mght relate to it, i saw a video from Brie Larson (Cap. Marvel) a few weeks back about composting, and i had to smile a lot cuz EVERYBODY is doing it here in germany, i grew up with it (i'm over 40 now) and for her as an american it was new.
That's just family and how you grew up. I'm 60 and have always composted. My mom is 89 and composts...so it's not something Americans have not heard of or not done - just depends on where you live and how you were brought up. With over 300 million Americans, there is always going to be someone or a subculture that has never done this or that.
I remember, in 1985 we went to a recycling center as a school trip so we see how trash is being separated, some automatic, some by hand in Baden Wuertemberg. We learned at school on how to recycle and how important that is. Now, being in Las Vegas in 2022, still no recycling when you live in an apartment and only 2 super large trash bins for 1 family houses, whereas one is for recycling. However, my grand kids, 11-16 years old have no idea about what and why to recycle in 2022!
Yeah that's just unacceptable! So many parts of the USA are so behind on basic things like this.
Please allow me some comment on the audio again: Pan your mic about 75% left, and pan your husband's mic about 75% right. Or full left and full right, respectively. Because with your present audio settings, the signals of the two mics interfere and there's the "Kammfiltereffekt" sound again. Your previous vids with the full left/right pans were crispier, but only sometimes the channels left/right were wrongly associated (i.e. they were switched).
I grew up as the oldest of 4 brothers. Saturdays were always bath day. Father was the first in the tub, then the two oldest and then the two youngest sons...all in the same bath water.
As the oldest son, I got the new clothes and my younger brothers got the ones I had already outgrown.
That was still a very different time of environmental friendliness ;-)
Your comment reminds me of my childhood, I had to laugh again at the memory of the clothes swap. My older sister had a completely different style of dress, she was folk music and I was rock 'n roll... There was always a fight about that :)
I was born in 1975 in Germany and was totally normal for me to wear the clothes of older girls. My mum had some friends and when their daughters had grown again, they gave the clothes to another mum. Some of the clothes were really fancy compared what my mum normally bought. :D
@@KitsuneHB It's sooo funny that we older people can humorously reminisce about a time when parents couldn't afford new clothes for their kids all the time, but it was totally normal for us to wear those used clothes.
Basically, our parents were - at that time unwanted, but financially forced - environmentally friendly.
Well, the story with the bath water is quite disgusting from today's perspective ;-)
About the solar panels, in germany the Denkmalschutz can prohibit the installation of solar panels on old buildings which are under monumental protection. And even if your house is not protected, if you live in a region with lots of old buildings it might happen you don't get a building permission for a solar installation because it "disturbs" the aesthetic look of the town/street whatever.
Okay good to know! So it happens here also.
Dear Sara, I really like the beautiful handmade wooden Map of Germany the one that you have on your wall is nice. I have a question what size did you order as there are 2 sizes that I saw on Etsy?
If you're into old things the only thing I can recommend is a local flea market (ein Flohmarkt). You can find many old things to a cheap price. 🙂
Hi, thanks so much for sharing how your family is being more eco-friendly & making better choices with your purchases. I have been enjoying your videos since I found your channel about a month ago. It was surprising when you talked about wanting to buy from artists that are not famous or well known. At 9:10 the term “no name artist” was mentioned & I have to say that term is degrading to all struggling artists. Please say “artists who are not famous.” Please keep positive & hopeful with your message of a more health conscious & eco-friendly world 😊
Have you checked the kids clothes at local stores (no shipping) like NKD, Ernstings Family, kik oder Tedi? As long as the boys don't have design needs 😁 it might work. Even for Ella there should be enough in all shades of pink 😉
not to forget the discounters: Aldi, Lidl and co often also have children's clothing on offer.
Hello Sarah and Kevin.
I really like it that fact, that you use your bikes now way more, than you would ever have had in the US. A few Videos earlier you've mentioned, that you struggle because of that if it comes to grocery shopping. And I really never understand, why. Because I too only have a bike and get everything home. (okay. I'm all alone and you are 6+a cat & a Hamster) ...but now that you showed your bikes in this Video... it hit me!
Why do you not get some ...uhm ...Gepäckträgertaschen. Bags for the pannier rack (?) I haven't seen any in this Video (while you showed the part with the bottles in ella's bike trailer)
Even your Kids could get some for their bikes and help carrying the goods home that way.
greetings
Lhuras
Yeah I do have some big pannier bags for my e-bike and we use Ella’s carriage for groceries, too. So now taking the e-bike with the carriage to go shopping isn’t a problem!
I have a colleague who buys all her clothes at flea markets. She absolutely loves the fashion of the 70's (which she can easily get there), but her daughter hate that and says she should buy something new 😄 I guess one day she will pull all these things out of her mother's closet and put them on herself 🤣
Do you have a ,,Unverpackt-Laden" nearby? You bring your bags, containers, jars... before youand fill it with your groceries.
Sorry, my Phone sucks... wanted to mention, before you fill your containers, bags, et cetera you weigh them
I'm not sure - I've not heard of that before!
Euer Einsatz ist wirklich lobenswert! Liebe Grüße an euch alle!
P.S.: Lokale Lebensmittel und manch anderes bekommt man auch auf Wochenmärkten, die es bestimmt auch bei euch gibt.
If you are so much into those Ebay "Kleinanzeigen" (en: little advertisements) from other households, another idea would be to check those in your local supermarket (like Edeka, Rewe and alike). They sometimes have a board located inside the store next to the entry / exit where people from the town or village pin a note on things or services they sell / offer or even might gift if they are still useable (instead of disposing).
Another fun thing about that wooden plate at 4:30 you might not be aware of: Besides the "Grüß Gott" which is spoken in Bavaria, Austria and even parts of northern Italy (Südtirol), the flower between those sheeps is the famous "Edelweiss", a protected flower in the Alps region and many official organizations like the Bergwacht (mountain rescue) have those flowers in their emblem.
@JoTheBaer Thanks for sharing. 👍🏻Didn't know that. When I read classifieds I always thought of classified or secret documents.
Dont you have weekly markets where you can buy regional products. Here in Munich we have it every Friday nearby, vegetables, meat, cheese and so on.
In Germany? There is a small market in the next town that is open once a week but not in our village. It’s so expensive that with our 4 kids, we just can’t afford it.
20:39 you jump a bit between electric energy consumption and total primary energy consumption. And obviously all numbers apply to the total consumption, where residential homes are only a part of (e. g. gas, only 1/3 is directly consumed by residential homes). - Electric energy is generated renewably around 50% now (Q1/2022 each 47% fossile and renewable, 6% nuclear).
That’s what I thought first too. In Germany we are way better at renewables in electric energy. But then I also realized there is a really long way to go to reduce and change all of the primary energy consumption. Sometimes you forget how bad things are by looking at the nice numbers and not the whole picture…
Did you know that in Baden-Würtemberg there is a regulation that EVERY new built house HAS to have solar panels? This only goes to show how normal it is to have solar panels here.
That is awesome!! I didn’t know that.
Burg Eltz is great. 😃 It‘s even been on a Deutsche Mark note.
"In America! And in Florida!"🤣 Seems like Ella does already know that Florida is "special". Or does she know things about the future of the US? 😋
Yeah so she watches this very popular RUclips channel of Ukrainians who live in Florida - Diana and Roma. 😂 So everyday she’s thinking Florida!
12:18 nice dress, nice model :)
Can you post a link for the wool clothing shop you mentioned in the video? You said their goods were so warm…thanks:)
Hi! Yes it should be in the description box but it’s bergfreunde.com or .de, not sure.
Hello Sarah, Hello Kevin. I have spent a few days in the USA and learned to appreciate the air conditioning systems in the hot south. As the owner of a Solarpower system, I know that you get a lot of electricity (more than I need on sunny days) with relatively little money, even if you need most necessarily an air conditioning systems.
Why in the US, have not been combined (and many other countries with hot weather) the air conditioning systems with solar panels?
And if you isolatad the houses (even in the south) a little better, the houses would also be cool in the evening and at night if the air conditioning no longer runs because there is no more solar power.
Why is that not done? Is electricity really so cheap in the USA? Cheaper than 5 cent /kWh?
It's quite a bit cheaper than here in Poland - I will ask my sis what it costs - she lives in FL and uses her a/c all the time, naturally.
One easy way to reduce plastic is to avoid liquid soap, liquid bodywash, liquid shampoo, etc. Even your normal DM has various types of shampoo, bodywash, and even conditioner in form of solid bars (look online for "festes shampoo", "feste duschseife", "feste spülung"). Like with all this stuff, you have to try out what you like best, of course...
I stopped using liquid hand soap years ago, but I only recently realized that all the other types of soap products are available as bars as well, of course. They come just like normal soap wrapped in paper or cardboard, and no energy is wasted on shipping what is 98% water in plastic bottles.
Also, depending on the quality, you also have only natural ingredients and no crazy stuff like microplastic in the recipe. These bars seem expensive at first because the price per kg ranges from twenty euros to over a hundred, but that's just because the water is missing in the weight calculation. Per usage, the price is more or less the same. The only thing you need to buy are extra soap holders. ;-)
Another advantage is that these bars take up much less space than bottled shampoo/soap etc. Great for travelling. I only got the idea after looking into reducing the space requirements in my self-converted mini RV.
From the RV, I also learned how little (warm) water one needs for a complete shower. Waste water volume is a big problem for me because I strictly won't leave my grey water out in nature like too many black-sheep campers are doing, and therefore it can be days between emptying it into a regular sink. So, I try to reduce waste water as much as possible, but since I do biking in the mountains, I also need my shower afterwards. I've come down to 2-3 litres now without compromising hygiene. For the moment, I'm doing this even at home because my water heater is defective and is going to be fixed only next week. All I need is a liter of boiling water mixed into 3 l of cold water. That's not for everybody, of course, but it's just nice to know that it works if necessary. Of course it also saves a lot of gas of which we may have less than we want not long from now...
Take care!
These are excellent tips - thanks so much for sharing! Great point on the liquid soaps. I used to make my own soaps in the US and loved it. At DM I buy the bill soap refills so that helps reduce plastic packaging but bar soaps would be even better! The problem for me is my skin is really dry so the bar soaps are usually harsher and dry out my skin even more. I need to find one without sulfates.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yep, I know that problem. I had always a dry scalp and itchy skin. One or two years ago, I changed my habits from daily shampooing with very warm water to washing with just pure lukewarm water and "Spülung" (conditioner?) afterwards because that's much better for the skin. Took only 40 years to learn that. ;-)
I think it's not difficult to find good solid soap, just needs time to find one that you like. I checked out quite a few webshops and the choice is quite large. It could be interesting to look for the ones for children, for instance Sebamed Baby+Kind which generally have less critical ingredients. And of course there are more exotic ones and no price limits. ;-)
If you don't use your car often, you should check the battery every 3 months since it can loose charge over the time. It happenend to me many times.
That’s a good point!
Great video! Ill be checking out sezane, your outfits are so cute!!
Isn’t it great how much solar and photovoltaic systems there are in Europe? ( despite the long winters)! It disgusts must how little attention Americans pay to the environment. Crazy how popular dryers are in the USA even though the weather there for the most part is way better than in Germany.
Yes!! Solar panels on every house is not a big structural change or big deal. Especially in the south where it could massively save on energy. Governors could even give citizens vouchers or incentives to get the trend going at first. It’s not a hard thing to change and it would make a big reduction in energy consumption AND save citizens a lot of money.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I couldn’t agree more Sarah!
we recently put photovoltaic panels on our roof in Austria and we got a Förderung for the panels and battery from the Austrian government. Our estimated return on investment is less than 8 years. Because of the voucher program a lot of families are investing in pv panels, and a lot of new companies are going into business. I’d love to show this to Joe Mancin- going green is such an economic opportunity- lots of great jobs are out there plus it’s so good for the environment.
The buying second-hand and hand made items can easily be done in the USA as well - just have to look. Many already do. I think it depends on the people you are around. I watch a lot of You Tubers who buy exclusively second-hand.
Recycling/Trash if they see at first sight that in "Gelbe Sack" or Papiertonne is Restmüll or other Stuff there is a neon-red Sticker put on top of the trashbin and they dont fill it in the Truck. But they dont search for false Recycling.
When talking about "primary energy", it's important to keep in mind that this is not (only) energy used to generate electricity, but also the energy which is used to heat houses, for traffic, and for industrial production.
As almost all cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes in Germany go on fossil fuel, and houses are most commonly heated using (fossil) gas or oil, the percentage of fossil energy in "primary energy consumption" is - unsurprisingly - much higher than just in production of electricity ( I think the percentage of fossil energy for electricity generation was somewhere near 50% in each of the last 4 years)
I have some cloths dated back to the 90s like Kevin's boots.
In California solar panels would be great, because they got a lot of sunshine there.
Yes! And in the whole south of the US - there’s a lot of sun and heat in all of the southern states.
they definitely check our paper containers before they empty them. we have several for our street and from time to time it gets an orange sticker that says they wont empty it because there is plastic or regular trash in it
That happens with the biotonne here.
@@tnit7554 🙋🏼♀️ gelbe Tonne. Yesterday. 😕
I search for whatever I need on Amazon, then find the company and check if they have a homepage or a shop where they sell their stuff without a middle man. It's mostly cheaper because Amazon doesn't get a cut.
If you put your trash in the wrong trash can and the garbage man sees it, hey wont empty that can and pin a note on it to sort it. Plastic in the Biotonne will force you to suffer with a full trash can until the next Leerung.
That is a good idea about Amazon!
Amazon (U.S.) is THE worst, when it comes to being eco friendly. The impact it has on the environment, is really disgusting. I just read an article about what happens with return items and how Americans don't think twice about ordering things in 3 different sizes, then keep the one that fits best and return the other 2 items. Think about what that means on the carbon footprint, or they might wear an item once, then return it and then it can't be resold. Also, the work environment is horrible. You have to schedule your bathroom breaks, and you are constantly monitored regarding your activity. We have a 1 million square foot Amazon Fulfillment Center in my hometown and employees walk on average 10-12 miles a day, to retrieve items from shelves and get them ready to ship. I had to laugh at the Texas "Eco friendly" neighborhood. No solar panels on roofs? I guess, windmills are out of the question then. In general, Texas and Eco friendly don't work well together. The Texas motto is "Drill baby, drill!" We have recently seen what the Texas power grid is not capable of handling during hot or cold weather. Since their power grid is PRIVATE and separate from the rest of the country, it has proven itself to be outdated and severely ailing because of lack of maintenance and upgrades, because you know, corporate greed. Profits are king! Just ask their customers, who recently sweltered in 110 F degree heat w/o power or last winter, when people actually froze to death because the system was ill equipped for the inclement weather. And let's not forget the enormous power bills customers received, worth thousands of dollars for one month of electricity, because Texas has deregulated its power generation market and choosing a provider is a maze and mess of confusion.
I've seen a lot of windmills in the south end of Texas. Some weren't spinning. I joke they need to turn those fans on to cool the place.
As ex-Americans you now live in a rental house quite unusual :) ? I think it's nice that they've settled in so nicely. And yes, it is a quantum leap how to compare environmental protection and sustainability in the US and Europe.
Yeah we actually can't buy a house here until we are permanent residents, unless we could pay for it all in cash. So we don't really have a choice but to rent for right now!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife you have to be a resident before you can own a home unless you want to pay cash?! Could you provide a bit more information on that?
I love kids clothes from Ernstings Family 😍
Some of the "plastic" the fruits and veggies are wrapped in is actually not real platic but made from corn starch (I think, or something similar) so it can be thrown into the Biotonne and will rot. At least here in Austria that is the case.
No way! I had no idea. That is so cool!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife in Germany you can get corn starch bags for Biomüll - maybe even for free at your Gemeinde
I'm pretty sure there still are landfills... but possibly a lot less,
and some illegal ones aside, they are very well regulated.
I get almost all of my kids' clothes used off Vinted, Ebay Kleinanzeigen or from friends and family. Even clothes for me and my husband I buy off Vinted if I can
Btw the z in Kleinanzeigen is pronounced like ts in tsunami
Okay thanks for the suggestions! I haven’t looked into Vinted yet. Will do that!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I hope you'll find it useful! Btw the z in Kleinanzeigen is said like ts in tsunami 😊 and emphasis is on Klein