Why pay to heat your house?

Here we are in the freezing clutches of old man winter once again.  This winter, however, is different.  I have yet to turn on our heat!  Crazy right?  I know what you are thinking... "well, it sure must be nice to have one of those ultra-modern, high efficiency, eco-friendly, always 72 degrees, hippy houses!"  I hate to burst your bubble but my house was one of the first houses built in my neighborhood...way back in 1895!  That's right, my drafty old house has not used conventional heat all winter.

How is it even bearable to live in a old drafty house with no heat you ask?  Quite simple!  We are the proud new owners of a parlor style wood burning stove!  Our little stove was a bit pricey up front, but has totally offset our monthly heating bill.  Our stove typically keeps our house about 70-75 degrees.  Our Kitchen and bathroom are farthest away and both tile so they stay a bit cooler.

The hardest part of having a wood burning stove is feeding it.  The stove we have is one of the least efficient models due to the simplicity of it's construction.  Needless to say, we burn some wood!  Purchasing wood, even in bulk, would just shift our heating bill from the gas company to some guy who enjoys selling wood to suckers like us...  Sorry! Not going to happen.  Part of living like we do is finding mutually advantageous relationships to take part in.  One of these is with a local tree trimmer.  In order for him to make money on a job he has to pass the price of dumping the wood to the customer.  We approached him and suggested he dump his wood for free at my folks house.  He was quite glad to do so.  That's more money in his pocket, and a savings to his customers.

Next issue is hand splitting all that wood.  That is again simply overcome!  Craigslist!  We found an old log splitter for sale and with a bit of "creative bargaining" got it for a song.  Now when my dad gets a load of wood we have a family night (much like a Duck Dynasty style packing party) splitting wood and eating mama's delicious home cooking.

The installation of our stove is another example of a mutually advantageous relationship.  A friend of mine from church is an engineer and as he happily
states "enjoys cutting holes in other peoples' houses."  Luckily for me, that is exactly what I needed.  I did the prep work the night before and we had the stove in and ready for burning by the next night.

Why we do it

When I tell someone that we have a little farm they response is always the same; "Really?  Where?"  It has become a game to guess their response to my answer.  I live in a small suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.  The conversation usually goes one of two ways.  Either, "Wow! That's really cool!" or "You have a farm in the city?"  To my co-workers they lovingly refer to my place as the "city farm" and usually tell me I'm "Livin' Amish in the hood."

We find that living this way has had many advantages.  We enjoy being able to grow and raise our own food.  Growing and raising our food, while saving us money, is only one reason we do it.  I personally find that eating food we have grown tastes much better and strange as it might sound it makes you feel better.  Not only the fact that it is as close to organic as you can get without getting certified but, it keeps you busy.

Most people come home from work and eat some supper and veg out on the couch, but not me.  My days are pretty regular; work, supper, farm chores, put kids to bed, go to bed.  My days are full.  One would think all that work would make for long boring days.  False!  I love working on my little farm.  I get to see the tangible fruits of my labor!  I look forward to collecting all the veggies and milk and eggs at the end of the day and admiring it all over a big glass of mint tea from my own mint plant and sweetened with stevia from my garden.

While eating and drinking the "fruits of our labor" is nice we use the farm to teach our kids and sometimes the occasional neighborhood kid about how we get food and how much work it takes to get it to the table.  Recently we butchered some Cornish Crossover chickens we had raised from chicks and were able to have some family friends over to "partake in the festivities."  They were surprized at how much work is required to get a live chicken butchered, plucked, cleaned, and quartered.  They told me they were excited to learn and enjoyed their "time on the farm."

These, and many others, are skills that are dying off in our modern world.  Kids and adults alike are ignorant of some of the simplest skills it takes to produce food.  We believe the ability to provide ones own food is a skill and lifestyle that will pay off not only for us but for those around us.

The hidden resources

My brother and sister in law lived in China for about 10 months.  They recently returned to find a bit of a culture shock waiting for them.  My brother was telling me how efficiently the Chinese people utilize their land and other resources.  While living there he lived in an apartment on a college campus (he and his wife were teaching English as a second language on the campus).  He told me how the people that lived near them would plant herbs and small vegetables in the space between the sidewalk and the street.  How ingenious!

These stories made me start thinking about how I utilize the land and how I could do better.  I realized I was doing a lot more than I thought.

On a recent camping trip I got to talking with my dad about how most people who get lost in the woods and starve to death are usually surrounded by food.  I imagine if most of us found ourselves in the same situation we too would probably starve.  The vast majority of people today are totally clueless to the abundance of wild foods, even in their own neighborhood.

Most state and local parks are available for gathering everything from herbs to nuts and fruits.  Just a couple weeks ago I took the family to a local county park and noticed as we walked up to the playground a couple of girls using crab apples on their sand castles.  You should have heard the moms freak out about playing with poisonous berries.  Similarly we have a mulberry tree that is quite bushy not too far from my house.  My neighbor told me she wished the owner would cut down that eye sore.  Another example is a tree at work the guys all want cut down.  I objected...it's where I get my persimmons!

Another resource I utilize, as much as possible, is our local water ways.  Ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers are everywhere you look.  They are overflowing with all sorts of good food if you just know how to catch it.  Fishing is not for everyone and luckily pole and line is not the only way!  I have successfully used everything from pole and line on the banks of a farm pond to a trot line on the mighty Mississippi river.  Everything from crawdads to huge catfish are just waiting for their invite to dinner!  

 To sum things up, learn what you have around you and make the best of it!

Sharing the Harvest

When urban homesteading it is nearly impossible to grow or raise everything you will want or need.  However, there is typically an abundance of fruits and veggies you do grow.  This allows for a very beneficial relationship between friends and family.

Bartering is one of my favorite things to do.  I find the bantering back and forth quite exciting.  However, a whole new excitment is added when I am bartering with something I raised, grew, or harvested from my own little farm.

The whole act of bartering, to some, may seem like a greedy grab to unfairly take someone elses items for the least amout you can.  This is only in part true.  Of course you want to get the best trade you can, but this does not make you greedy.  If you remember, you are not bartering by yourself.  You and your barter buddy have to agree on a deal that both find reasonable.  No one is forced to make a deal they don't want.

On the other hand, bartering can be quite beneficial to both parties.  I have several people I barter with on a regular basis.  Some I provide with fresh goat milk, some with veggies, and some with good ole manual labor.

A good example of bartering working out for both parties went on all last summer.  My neighbor worked for a grass cutting company owned by his family.  When he would finish mowing his yard he would come over and cut my front yard.  In return we would give him home made bread and fresh eggs.  He didn't mind cutting my front yard, and I had eggs to spare!  It was like a match made in heaven!

Do yourself a favor... barter!

Why waste free water?

Something I have noticed is it takes a lot of water to keep the animals hydrated and the garden watered.  I also am not really excited about watering my garden with chemicals such as chlorine, fluoride, as well as trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs.  It is bad enough we have to drink it, so why not use a healthier substitute if one was available?  Well wouldn't you know it!  There is one!  We call it rain.  

Below is a quick, down and dirty, and mostly free rain water barrel collector! 

First thing I did was acquired a couple of "food grade"  plastic barrels.  

Second, I cut off the downspout about 4" higher than the barrel.

Next I got a piece of old fire hose that was laying around the house and removed the thin rubber inner liner, fashioned a funnel with some staples, and attached it to the downspout with some small screws.

Lastly, I scooted over a barrel and inserted the rubber funnel into one side of it making sure the caps were both off (so as to allow it to overflow away from my funnel).

As far as getting the water out, we use a simple siphon (with the assistance of a foot pump usually used to air up pool toys) to fill buckets and watering cans.  The intent was to get a hand pump for them but the fact that the free solution is working makes the pump less of a priority.  

A couple things I am going to add are several more barrels, a connector of some kind (to allow them to overflow into each other, relieving me of the duty of moving rain collectors after every storm), a hand pump, and probably some black paint or plastic to keep the algae from growing inside.  


Questions?  Comments?  Suggestions on topics or Ideas for other projects we could do?  Leave them here in the comments and we will be happy to address them!

I HATE WEEDS!

Weeds...the arch nemisis of anyone trying to grow a garden or have a nice walkway/driveway.  How the heck do you expect to do anything with weeds taking over?  That has been my exact thoughts every spring.  So, how are you supposed to kill the weeds without having to worry about the kids or animals getting into some crazy poison?  

I'm glad you asked!  I was wondering the same thing...so I tried some stuff out.  To my surprise I found a recipe that works really well.  Now you have to remember this works really well for a non-poison herbicide.  Not like the stuff we used when I was a groundskeeper.  (I think that stuff was part agent orange).  Fill a large squirt bottle with white vinegar and add about a quarter cup of dish soap.  After mixing well, I sprayed this on the weeds and in about 4-5 days the weds were totally fried.  I read an article that said this killer will also "poison" the soil for about a week.  I have not tried to plant where I sprayed due to the fact I don't want veggies growing out of the cracks in the driveway.  

If you are worried about weeds in the garden there are a couple alternatives.  First is the old fashioned way.  Go out and pull out all the weed green and roots.  Down side to that is it takes forever if you don't keep up on it.  Second is get a black tarp or sheeting and lay it out.  Cut holes where your plants are to be planted.  Down side is watering.  If the hole is too big it can get weeds if it is too small you can't get enough water to the plant.  Lastly, plant your veggies making sure they are the only thing green in the garden.  Then place a thick layer of straw (Not hay!  Hay is grass and contains grass seeds, straw is the stems from wheat stalks, containing no seeds.) covering the open ground.  This needs to be as dense as you can keep it.  If it is too "fluffy" it could allow weeds to sprout.

Something my parents are trying is laying down a layer of cardboard down (if you use newspaper be sure not to use the glossy sales ads and not to layer it more than two layers thick) then covering it with your dirt and planting it there.  The idea sounds great.  No tilling, limited weeds, and in theory the plants should be able to break through the cardboard.  I'm sure we will have an update towards the end of the season. 

These are a few of the things I have tried.  If you have any other ideas leave me a comment and let me know.  Be sure to follow us to keep up on our adventures!

Saving Money the Stinky Way

Hey, Tiff here! As the momma of our growing family, I have the responsibility of being frugal with the money God has blessed us with. It’s a duty that isn’t always fun, but one that I accept with gladness. I know that my decisions affect my whole family, not only in the now, but in the future as well. Here is a story of the beginnings of my ‘learning to be frugal adventure‘. While I was still pregnant with our little Lydia (our first child), I ventured into Cotton Babies out of pure curiosity (I managed to get my hubby to go with me). I didn’t really know what kind of store it was, just that they sold baby products. A first time momma + a baby store = trouble! Upon entering Cotton Babies, I realized this wasn’t your ordinary baby store…it was mostly a cloth diaper store. I had heard of cloth diapers, but only the kind that great grandma used. I was in awe of all of the different styles of cloth diapers, not to mention all the cute colors and prints! After browsing around…and around…and around, and talking with the ladies who worked there, Dave and I realized that cloth diapering might actually be an option for us. While my mind was still buzzing with thoughts of diaper sprayers, diaper pails, and wet bags, we went home and did our own research to see if this decision could really save us money. Our investigation led us to the final decision…WE WERE GOING TO CLOTH DIAPER…AHHHH! Next time I went to Cotton Babies, I made one of the biggest purchases of our married life…diapers! We ended up spending around $450 if I remember right. We got 24 diapers with inserts, a wet bag, diaper pail, and diaper sprayer. It doesn’t sound like much bang for your buck, but when you think about the fact that you will spend about $2,500 in disposable diapers during a baby’s diaper career (if potty trained by 2.5 years), it puts things in perspective. For us, an added bonus is that we have been able to use most of the diapers we purchased for our first child, for our second as well…ChaChing!!! While spraying out poopy diapers isn’t my favorite mommy job, I know I am helping to contribute to our family by saving us money. J I just want to say, even though cloth diapering has worked out wonderfully for our family, it isn’t for everyone. Every family has to take into consideration their own situation and go from there! So kudos to the cloth diaper momma and kudos to the disposable diaper momma. I can’t wait to go diaper shopping for baby Charlotte…they have way too many cute prints out now! Stay tuned for my next entry on homemade cloth wipes and DIY wipe solution!