Cha Cha Changes

[PAChickenChick]

Well,
I have read everyone else's posts and I really don't have too much more to add to their lists...I pretty much do the same. The problem for me lies in that I live in a town that is mostly executive types so my kids and I sorta get singled out for being the "poor folk" in the neighborhood....lol
That's ok with me though, my kids are so much more aware of what life is REALLY about.

The one thing that I didn't see on here yet that I do is...
become more politically aware.

Oh I know, I know....it IS boring and a lot of times tedious and depressing but it can also be empowering!

Up until 2000 I couldn't have even told you the simplest thing about how our country runs...how bad is that considering that this is a country that is "FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE".

I now know that if I EVER hope to get back to any resemblance of the life my Parents were able to have it has to start with me. I have to become active in the school board (although I'm giving serious thought to Home Schooling) and I also have to attend and participate in local council meetings. That is my goal this year, to figure out the local workings and then possibly throw my hat into the ring. NOT because I'm looking for any kind of Political glory (or perks) but because if I wish to complain about anything I have to be willing to put my money where my mouth is.

I have to become the change I wish to see! (to quote Ghandi)

Oh and did I tell you I'm starting to raise Chickens....

 

[1shelby1]

Quote:
Yes! I just got honey bees,so will have about 40lbs of honey this fall! If you can post the recipe...please!

 

[lengel]

The only downfall to using clotheslines exclusively is if you or your family members are allergic to dust mites. I have found that this is much more common than I thought. Only extreme heat kills dust mites. If you or yours have these allergies, ten minutes in the clothes dryer will kill the dust mites. It's only necessary for sheets and clothing. This type of allergy is very uncomfortable so if you have it, don't underestimate it.

In addition to what's listed here we:

Trade eggs for honey from our neighbors.

Give eggs to our dog trainer for a 10% discount.

When we need food from stores, we buy it in bulk and recycle it among all of our animals when we can't finish it off ourselves. This saves a tremendous amount in feed.

Compost everything possible.

We also hire the local kids to help out when we need some small job done.

Look at every single resource on our land and use it accordingly.

We are also investigating rainwater recovery.

 

[FL Peeps]

Thanks for sharing!
We have always lived very simply...and we, too, are looking for ways to save $'s.

I changed jobs -- working close to home now (10 miles rather than 60 miles). Less salary but...saving on the gas bill and my stress level is so much lower! BF is still commuting 80 miles one way - but, that will be changing as soon as he can find a job close to home.

We have our first garden and first chicken coop... Need to get the nerve to process the rooster that was supposed to be a hen. His days are numbered.

No eating out.

Goodwill clothes shopping.

Cutting the air conditioning (oh, it is HOT here in southwest FL).

Will be using a clothes line as soon as BF gets it up.

Tried making own laundry soap - but, we itch so bad...

No more expensive cleaning supplies - now we use soap, water, vinegar...

Making own bread, butter...and everything else we can

Taking lunch to work.

Making the slow switch from Folgers to generic

No car payments.

Paying EVERYTHING in cash --- if we don't have the cash...we don't buy it.

 

[Mom]

Quote:
Use fabric softner and even after towels have dried throw them on with no heat - just fluf and they are softer. Also - one of the things that makes them stiff to start with is not getting all the soap out of them. If you don't believe me, take what you think is a clean dry item (towel) and wash it by hand in cold water in the sink - the water will be cloudy from soap. So cut way back on the amount of laundry soap. I have extremely soft water so I use only about 1/4 of what is recommended but even with the hardest water you can probably use half of what is recommended and still get b7/ Mix up a pre-treatment of water, amonia and dawn dishwashing soap and pre-treat really dirty spots. The cleaner "Greased Lightening" is a wonderful pretreatment and just a few tablespoons in a spray bottle of water is plenty.

OH, yea - washing machine water goes onto the lawn and gardens.

As to the question of power for a pump - 20 miles from me is an electric plant - huge and it is powered by coal that is dug in this area. Fuel may be a problem in the near future but electricity probably will be available for cheap for a long time. BTW, they have done a super job of reclamation. But as I mentioned, next year we are looking into a wind, turbine generator. Too cloudy most of the time for solar and we have huge trees around the house which help tremendously in hot weather - we suffer from heat much more than from cold weather. But there is always a breeze of some sort if not a good wind so a wind generator or even a windmil would work. Worse comes to worse, a pulley and rope. Wells are shallow here.

 

[dixygirl]

Moved my bedroom to a smaller room and cool it with a ceiling fan. No central ac this year.
bought chickens to eat eggs and meat
planted a vegetable garden and fruit trees
fertilize with my horse's manure compost
hardly ever drive (tempted to get a horse carriage instead of using a car)
buying a wood stove
maybe will cook on the wood stove during the winter
Want to buy a cabin solar panel kit

Anyone have a good easy recipee for mead?

 

[lengel]

Quote:
Vinegar is without a doubt the *best* cleaning substance. Just be sure to rinse it off after using it. Everything else is a marketing thing.

We also cook on our grill at every opportunity (it has a burner). Helps to keep the house cool.

 

[okiemommy]

This is a great thread! Hi Shellie!

These are the things that we have done:

Moved to 5 acres on the outskirts of the city
planted 6 tomato plants, 6 bell pepper plants,
4 jalepeno plants.
Bought 4 chickens for eggs, and most of their diet will be free range/scraps( i hope)

Getting ALL (we really hope!!)of our materials for our chicken coop off of freecycle or craigslist postings(going really well so far)

What we are going to do/working on:

Buy meat birds

including turkeys

I might catch it for this but we are one of those people who do have debt, and we will be eliminating it.

getting rid of extra channels that we REALLY dont need (tv is our entertainment as well)

continue collecting items for our barns

plant heirloom gardens and hope to sell the surplus

I would like a grape arbor if it is possible in this region.

will be using a soapy water mixture for bug control on garden (was told this is safe and effective)

Will be paring down our unnessecary items in the months to come

Would like to bake our own bread, process our own chickens, can and freeze, in time

Camp on the back part of our property as it is wooded.

try making soap cleaning solution etc and see how that works out for us


These are just a few things that we want to do, as we can change what we can.

OH, yea - washing machine water goes onto the lawn and gardens.

how does that work? do you have a way that you get it out other than scooping it out? We have a well, but are still interested in reusing the water that we can...it wont last forever.​

 

[lilshadow]

Hey all, here is my list
I have a garden, and made it bigger this year
I use my clothes line
Switched jobs instead of 42 miles one way I only go 10 miles one way, plus I car pool so I only drive once every 2 weeks.
I am going to learn how to can this summer.
I barter for things with family, friends and nieghbors.
Try to make everything from scratch.
Have my own chickens for meat and eggs.

 

[southernsibe]

Ok, how do I change the plumbing on the washer?? I am interested in this! I have many uses for the water, even just to the back yard. What sort of detergent do you have to use in order to make sure it doesn't hurt anything?

Rachel