Just curious who else is living super frugal

[ScottnLydia]

alright ol' timers (hey, you have said it yourselves AND used the bearded smiley...) I am ready for your advice.

We just found out this past weekend that we got the house we were trying for. It comes with 10 acres of land, much of it pastured, with 2 ponds (one of which has been claimed by husband and daughters as the hockey pond, so that one is off limits), and a 2 stall barn already with electric and running water. We wont have access to the barn for a while (its a lease to own set up and we probably wont have barn access until we formally purchase the home), but its there for future planning. Also already has a large garden plot which looks like it will bounce back nicely next year with a little tlc (not that I know much about gardening. But I guess now is my chance to learn!)

So, what would be the first things you would do? What kind of DIY projects would you suggest to put us on a path towards more self-reliance and organic/healthier lifestyle? Start me out small and simple, and then maybe throw some bigger ideas my way

I forgot to mention earlier, the first thing you should do is take stock of your fencing. See where it needs mending or beefing up. Since you have pasture, what kind of stock do you have in mind? Consider cross-fencing to do rotational grazing. See if you can find the direction of the prevailing winds, it will make a difference when building animal shelters.

Dennis has a good point about growing a tree crop, either for firewood, or nursery stock for sale. Pumpkins are another seasonal seller that, if unsold, can be used for livestock feed. Berries and fruit trees should have their place. Excess of any crop can be sold at farmers markets in the area, or perhaps you could find another way to market it. Again, with livestock, nothing need go to waste.

With regards to livestock, since you have the room, I would encourage you to consider breeding. For instance, instead of getting a couple of pigs to fatten and butcher, get a boar and a sow or 2. True, you would have many more piglets than you could possibly use yourself, but since in my area they are selling for $75 to $95 apiece just weened, you can see why they were called "mortgage lifters" in the old days.

Many on here may be surprised to know about my love of hair sheep, easy care and wonderful meat. Bees are another livestock worth mentioning. Honey is a commodity always in demand. I keep thinking about those dog kennels. I have seen those used by poultry breeders to keep breeds separate, but I don't know if you want to get into heavy duty breeding so soon.

If you don't like goat milk don't get goats! They're too hard to keep contained and entertained unless you know what you are doing. You look out one morning to find them doing a tap-dance on the roof of your car. Try explaining THAT to your insurance agent !

~S

 

[ScottnLydia]

yea, we want moo moo's and baa baa's. we ain't scared of no moo's.

I called "MOO BUSTERS" on my moo, he busted me up real bad. Since I'm a gimp anyway, Lydia said I can't play with any animal bigger than I am, except the llama. But since I'm not a 'yote, he likes me.

~S

May God bless and keep the moos...far away from ME !!!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

alright ol' timers (hey, you have said it yourselves AND used the bearded smiley...) I am ready for your advice.

We just found out this past weekend that we got the house we were trying for. It comes with 10 acres of land, much of it pastured, with 2 ponds (one of which has been claimed by husband and daughters as the hockey pond, so that one is off limits), and a 2 stall barn already with electric and running water. We wont have access to the barn for a while (its a lease to own set up and we probably wont have barn access until we formally purchase the home), but its there for future planning. Also already has a large garden plot which looks like it will bounce back nicely next year with a little tlc (not that I know much about gardening. But I guess now is my chance to learn!)

So, what would be the first things you would do? What kind of DIY projects would you suggest to put us on a path towards more self-reliance and organic/healthier lifestyle? Start me out small and simple, and then maybe throw some bigger ideas my way

congrats... Garden , fruit trees , chickens,, then pig , cow

 

[mickey328]

All excellent ideas, Carebear. I used to freeze almost everything...till the freezer got too full to fit anything else. I've been moving more and more into canning and dehydrating. It does depend on the item though...some things just do better one way than another. Freecycle is awesome! I joined our local one as well. It's a great way to move things around in the community...I post things that are still usable and give them to folks who can use 'em, and post for things people may have and aren't using. I just HATE throwing things away if there's any "life" left in them. Plus, we save things we think we can use in the future. With the exception of paint and hardware, our entire chicken coop was built with material we had on hand from previous projects and things we just didn't use any more.

Dennis, I believe Black Sagebrush is good forage for critters, though evidently it's better after it's dried. So, that might be an option. Part of the reason nothing else grows around it might simply be because it thrives in such harsh conditions...dry, poor soils. I think an experiment is definitely in order

I grew up in a pretty remote spot in Canada and it was , by today's standards, pretty primitive. We used a big ole wood stove in the kitchen and an auxillary oil burner in the corner of the living room; didn't even have a furnace. I agree...nothing beats wood for good heat. Since we were surrounded by thousands upon thousands of acres of trees, finding wood was only a matter of cutting, hauling, splitting and storing. Years later, we went "uptown" and got one of those big outdoor stoves with the built in tank around them that provides water heat...it was a HUGE step for us...no splitting cuz the thing took 3 foot logs, now carrying the wood in the house or cleaning up the bark and bugs, no soot and smoke in the house...and it only needed tending twice a day.

When we first moved there, we had a pump in the kitchen sink for water. A couple years later, we hooked up a pump to the well, but in the winter the water didn't seep back into the well very quickly. So if one of us wanted a bath in the evening, we drew off a bucket here and there through out the day. The galvanized buckets went on the wood stove to heat and the plastic ones held the room temp water so you could mix and not scald or freeze yourself. We DID have a propane stove, so we weren't total "barbarians" LOL.

We had access to so much of nature's bounty and of course as a kid, I didn't appreciate it; couldn't wait to get out of the bush and into the city. Now I've come full circle...and would so love to be back in similar surroundings...though I can't say I miss the winters

 

[Hangtown Farms]

my wife has been doing tons of canning. Also making meals and freezing them. Lots of breed too.

 

[erinszoo]

Just came across an old self sufficiency book that's pretty interesting. Among other things it shows how to make all sorts of traps and snares, build anything you can think of, find wild foods, etc. Part of it I'm taking as a challenge though ... it had charts on what it should cost to feed your family in 1973 per week based on how old the people in your home were and what sex they were. So we took their figures for our family ($23 - $28 per week) and rounded it up to $30 per week and challenged ourselves to see if we could even remotely do it. That comes out to $4.28 a day. Today we spent $6.50 for everything including snacks, drinks, meals, and dessert tonight. We'll see how we do tomorrow. Maybe we can save some and equal it all out.

 

[jbirds2012]

All excellent ideas, Carebear. I used to freeze almost everything...till the freezer got too full to fit anything else. I've been moving more and more into canning and dehydrating. It does depend on the item though...some things just do better one way than another. Freecycle is awesome! I joined our local one as well. It's a great way to move things around in the community...I post things that are still usable and give them to folks who can use 'em, and post for things people may have and aren't using. I just HATE throwing things away if there's any "life" left in them. Plus, we save things we think we can use in the future. With the exception of paint and hardware, our entire chicken coop was built with material we had on hand from previous projects and things we just didn't use any more.

Dennis, I believe Black Sagebrush is good forage for critters, though evidently it's better after it's dried. So, that might be an option. Part of the reason nothing else grows around it might simply be because it thrives in such harsh conditions...dry, poor soils. I think an experiment is definitely in order

I grew up in a pretty remote spot in Canada and it was , by today's standards, pretty primitive. We used a big ole wood stove in the kitchen and an auxillary oil burner in the corner of the living room; didn't even have a furnace. I agree...nothing beats wood for good heat. Since we were surrounded by thousands upon thousands of acres of trees, finding wood was only a matter of cutting, hauling, splitting and storing. Years later, we went "uptown" and got one of those big outdoor stoves with the built in tank around them that provides water heat...it was a HUGE step for us...no splitting cuz the thing took 3 foot logs, now carrying the wood in the house or cleaning up the bark and bugs, no soot and smoke in the house...and it only needed tending twice a day.

When we first moved there, we had a pump in the kitchen sink for water. A couple years later, we hooked up a pump to the well, but in the winter the water didn't seep back into the well very quickly. So if one of us wanted a bath in the evening, we drew off a bucket here and there through out the day. The galvanized buckets went on the wood stove to heat and the plastic ones held the room temp water so you could mix and not scald or freeze yourself. We DID have a propane stove, so we weren't total "barbarians" LOL.

We had access to so much of nature's bounty and of course as a kid, I didn't appreciate it; couldn't wait to get out of the bush and into the city. Now I've come full circle...and would so love to be back in similar surroundings...though I can't say I miss the winters

yea, getting more into canning myself. i canned corn for the first time and I'm going to can chicken soup Thurs. our freezer is already full and i figure if ya can it, then ya don't haf'ta pay to keep it fresh. one more step toward self sufficiency.

 

[jbirds2012]

I forgot to mention earlier, the first thing you should do is take stock of your fencing. See where it needs mending or beefing up. Since you have pasture, what kind of stock do you have in mind? Consider cross-fencing to do rotational grazing. See if you can find the direction of the prevailing winds, it will make a difference when building animal shelters.

Dennis has a good point about growing a tree crop, either for firewood, or nursery stock for sale. Pumpkins are another seasonal seller that, if unsold, can be used for livestock feed. Berries and fruit trees should have their place. Excess of any crop can be sold at farmers markets in the area, or perhaps you could find another way to market it. Again, with livestock, nothing need go to waste.

With regards to livestock, since you have the room, I would encourage you to consider breeding. For instance, instead of getting a couple of pigs to fatten and butcher, get a boar and a sow or 2. True, you would have many more piglets than you could possibly use yourself, but since in my area they are selling for $75 to $95 apiece just weened, you can see why they were called "mortgage lifters" in the old days.

Many on here may be surprised to know about my love of hair sheep, easy care and wonderful meat. Bees are another livestock worth mentioning. Honey is a commodity always in demand. I keep thinking about those dog kennels. I have seen those used by poultry breeders to keep breeds separate, but I don't know if you want to get into heavy duty breeding so soon.

If you don't like goat milk don't get goats! They're too hard to keep contained and entertained unless you know what you are doing. You look out one morning to find them doing a tap-dance on the roof of your car. Try explaining THAT to your insurance agent !

~S

i disagree with the advice on the pigs. i tried it a few years ago. i bought 2 babies raised them none produced babies that lived. bought 4 more that grew up and started having babies like crazy. i hd 24 little piggys, yay !!! i thought. then i got laid off work and started doing the math on how much i was spending on feed,meds,etc... so i decided to take some to the market to keep the dream alive. well i left the aution yard soo ****** off i couldn' see straight. i didn't get s**t. so i liquidated that venture A.S.A.P. i still wish i had the $ 9 k. i took in the shorts over that ordeal. but hey, life goes on. don't get me wrong, i love piggys, they are right up there with puppy dogs and chickies but when i do it agian we are going to buy it at weened, raise it on food we grew for a few weeks and butcher it our self.

 

[jbirds2012]

i disagree with the advice on the pigs. i tried it a few years ago. i bought 2 babies raised them none produced babies that lived. bought 4 more that grew up and started having babies like crazy. i hd 24 little piggys, yay !!! i thought. then i got laid off work and started doing the math on how much i was spending on feed,meds,etc... so i decided to take some to the market to keep the dream alive. well i left the aution yard soo ****** off i couldn' see straight. i didn't get s**t. so i liquidated that venture A.S.A.P. i still wish i had the $ 9 k. i took in the shorts over that ordeal. but hey, life goes on. don't get me wrong, i love piggys, they are right up there with puppy dogs and chickies but when i do it agian we are going to buy it at weened, raise it on food we grew for a few weeks and butcher it our self.

oh, i forgot. maybe in the " old days " they were morgage lifters, but not today. do the math, consider the laybor involved before ya jump ??? just giving ya sut'um ta think bout as friendly advice

 

[Mattemma]

Congrats on the 10 acre homestead. I would plant fruit trees the first year. I waited and regret it. If you are going to get rabbits for meat I read to get 2 does and a buck to start with.Maybe grow some crops that will feed your animals so you do not have to buy so much. Oh and first thing I did was get a boundary survey.Marked out my land(less than an acre),and then put up a fence.