Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Tikkijane]

I ferment fot the babies mostly-- I do think it is a great source of microbes that are killed in the processing of pellets ( heat treated) and our own diet is also devoid of those good microbes. Not many people ferment their own food for storage  like pickles and  sauer kraut etc. I have been making pickled green beans as a way to store the extras from the store: bulk purchase of green beans prepackaged at a cheap price, kids cant eat all, so decided to add make the pickled green beans: win- win. Food stored long term i frig and get good microbes at the same time.

I read that one person did a whole trash barrel full of mash-- hoping to get that going  this summer. FOr some reason I cant get the FF going in the winter months. 

IMO it is the better gut function that also contributes to the more efficient use of FF. OF course the smaller particle and some predigestion is at work too. ANd it all works together. 

I did ferment a batch of alfalfa cubes for the horses and they loved it!!  Much cheaper than Fast Track. 

THe corn beef did not go on sale at St Patricks holiday time. NOt before and not after. THat was a first. It was also a first that we skipped buying it-- too expensive. DIdnt meet our price point. Will definitely keep your recipe in mind the next time though!! 

WOw I envy that you had a dad with such skills-- a leaned skill passed person to person. LIke collecting mushrooms, really need first hand experience to be safe. 

One of the kids found a favorite bird dead yesterday. A heavy bird, in good condition. I cooked it and I'll feed it back as that is a huge amt of meat. THe kids were ok with  that instead of burying it. Ya, desperate times. 

WRT FF- SCOBY goes dormant in the upper 30s. It replicates *best* in temps in the upper 90s. Base temps in the 40s would take a loooonnnngggg time to actually ferment. If it's done inside in a cool house, crack the lid (instead of leaving it off or covering with a light towel). Fermenting generates heat, so trapping it in will encourage faster fermentation.

My house is cool during the winter- and mud room is closed off from the main rooms which are warmer. That room was likely less than 60 degrees when I started it, and it took the normal 3-4 days to ferment initially. Fwiw.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
You would think I could get a batch going when the 5 gal pail is beside the wood stove ( safe distance) . . . but nope.

I will keep a batch going all summer and keep it going in the house come falll . . .

 

[vintagegem]

Sure! I love playing around with recipes and making new combinations in products. It's super easy----I use hot process instead of cold process. So that means everything is done in a crock pot vs on the stove, and since the crockpot allows the lye and the fats/oils to blend at a specific temperature, they saponify immediately so you can use the soap (I usually wait 12-24 hours for it to cool and hold its shape in the box) without curing it the month that cold process requires (otherwise you can get lye burns----nasty painful business!).
Here is the link to the step by step process I use for the soap: http://chickensintheroad.com/house/crafts/hot-process-soap-in-a-crock-pot/

I've got two batches that I love and everyone I gave it to uses the most:
The first I used actual lard in that I rendered from the deer I shot last fall (there are no preservatives in it that way, like the stuff from the store). I used it in place of the Crisco. There was no smell of lard in the soap at all once finished. Toward the end of the process I added 1/2 cup of French green clay and stirred it in, which gave it a gorgeous moss green swirled color. I added lemon essential oil and rose essential oil to it. It was the best smell ever!
The second one I used the same process except I didn't use any lard but instead substituted my infused grapeseed oils. I didn't add any clay, but I did add 1/4 cup of bee pollen (I bought supplements at the pharmacy and opened up the tablets). I added jasmine and rose essential oils to it and it wound up curing into a beautiful opaque golden color.

I infuse my oils in two ways. I prefer to use grapeseed oil for it's multitude of health benefits. It's very healing to the skin and full of antioxidants that you can absorb in the skin. Big key to infusing is you need heat, but not anything that would be too hot to the touch as it will destroy the beneficial properties of the herbs. I pick herbs and then dry them either on a rack or hang them for a day or two until there is almost no to none of the moisture left in them (you can use chickweed, mallow, plantain, peppermint, lemonbalm, etc). Then you can simply crush up the herbs by tearing them with your hands into a mason jar or something else similar and clean (I typically sterilize mine in the dish washer) and fill with olive or grapeseed oil until the herb is covered. (I now use my blender and blend the oil and herbs together to make sure I'm getting as much of the internal properties of the herbs as I can) You can put them in a warm area (not in direct sunlight) for 2 weeks and wait, shaking the jars a few times a day to stir things up----OR you can put them in a crockpot on warm or the lowest setting you have for a day. Make sure the lids are on secure, as you don't want any water getting into your oil/herb mixture.
Then, once the infusion is complete, you can strain it into a clean container through a cheese cloth. Squeeze the mixture like you would a teabag to get all the oil and goodness that the herb mash soaked up. Store in a cool dark area for a few months. I use mine right away so that it's fresh, and once you use it in soap, it's not going to spoil (the less water you've let get into the mixture the less the likelihood of spoilage during storage ---like the drier the herbs, the jar being dry, etc).
Here are a few great links I like with ideas and instructions: http://thenerdyfarmwife.com/diy-herbals-vinegars/
http://rootsandflowers.blogspot.com/2010/01/making-herbal-infused-oils.html

Thanks so much for the information and the links! I'll definitely be giving this a go, I already make my own herb infused oils and vinegars, and also homemade pot pourri...great fun and very relaxing to do

 

[LindaB220]

I think I got it. do the seed heads look like a bunch of tiny little grey green beads fused together? Better to borrow the book, then you don't have to pay for it. My church runs his course 2 x / year, but I haven't gone b/c I don't want to shell out the $100. On average during the weeks of the course, folks trim thousands of dollars from their debt.

Not much of a problem here. I have 2 boxes of washing soda, and 2 boxes of borax, 1 bar of Fels, and I've heard that you can use other brands of soap. Perhaps I'll try the next batch with ivory.

Making soap is on my bucket list.



God loves a cheerful giver. Remember the widow and her mite? Her gift was looked on in favor, while the snooty coin janglers did not receive His favor, because they were giving in a boisterous way to let everybody see how wonderful they were. I tithe my Sundays. Teach Jr. Church one week every other month. People are scared to death to work with these kids. It's not my gift, but over time, I've come to enjoy my time with these kiddos. Would the organizer let you organize one day of the snack time? I'm sure you could come up with some creative ideas that would please kids, and definitely please the parents. The positive feed back might get her out of her box. Given a choice, kids will choose the junk food. That's a major beef I have regarding how snacks are doled out to my kids every Sunday. I might as well not even bother feeding my 7 y.o. any lunch on Sunday. But, when kids are given a healthy snack, and the cookies are not available, they chow down on the good stuff.

Agreed re: keeping up skills and licensure in the medical profession. I can bring home a good pay check for working a few hours per-diem. Physically exhausting, but a good return for the time and body power invested.

Yeah, I'm going to be making the soap. But I bought the Fels Naptha for a different reason. Do you know that it is the only kind of soap that will remove the poison ivy oil? My $5 purchase is cheap at the price after I get in from the woods, garden, yard. Poison Ivy around somewhere and I'm allergic. It travels on the air.

 

[perchie.girl]

just came back from my house.... its a 60 mile drive one way.... The Well guy was putting in a new pressure tank by the well. The originals were over twenty years old and one had given out completely. I coulnt afford to replace the second one.... So I will do that next time.

I realize now that when i jumped in to this discussion group I really didnt introduce myself.

You know my name.... deb. I have eighteen acres of high desert in San Diego county. With a small house. At one point I had about thirty Wellsummers and about ten Guinea Fowl and a few odd birds silkies araucanas.... I also had three Goats Two Nigerian Dwarfs and One pygmy.... And One horse One dog and a few cats. I live away from home with my soon to be 98 year old grandmother.... I was going up there about once a week to count noses refill feeders and giving my horse a skritch.


Last year I lost almost everything.... The well pump died and I was trucking 150 gallons of water up to the house every other day. In the process I had to release my poultry so they could get to the water source I could provide from a Piece of PVC and a water tote to water tubs in the back yard.

My neighbor Tom Feeds my horse a bale of hay every three days. The rest of the critters were doing fine with once a week tending. It took a week to coordinate with the well guy to come out and replace my pump.... During that time the Coyotes got into the yard and killed and ate all my chickens and Guineas. The cats were gone at that time too.... Just before that I had had to have my bestist doggie put down... she was almost seventeen and failing.

The Goats got taken this spring by Mountain lions.... Sigh.... So Now I am down to just my baby girl Katee.... Rocking Jolly Kateen is her registered name. So now all I have to water is her. She goes through a hundred gallons of water in about two and a half days. When the well guy came last year he said my pressure tanks would have to be replaced within the year.... Yep he was right.

So today I could only afford to replace a single tank. Which is fine. Its enough to give me pressure for a quick shower and to wash dishes. Katee is the one though that MUST have a reliable water source... So my sleepless nights will be over for a while.

While we were waiting for the glue to dry and Marty was certain the tanks were working right we had a nice conversation.... Come to find out this rough and tough Well specialist is a quite the cook. He gave me a recipe for canning Trout.... OMG. AND we were talking about frugality he said he never bought beef in the grocery store.

He buys a whole beef from a family friend in Idaho. He and his sister split it have it cut and wrapped and Frozen solid. He does this in the winter so he packs the beef into the back of his truck and drives straight through from Idaho to San Diego County and the beef is still frozen. When he goes on vacation Hunting and fishing he Brings along his Canning equipment. He said the last time he came back from a fishing vacation he had 30 quart jars of Canned Trout with him.

LOL he says when he invites his buds over to watch the Game they have Barbeque and Trout on Crackers.... What a hoot.

deb

 

[lazy gardener]

Deb, what a story. I'm so sorry for your hardships and animal losses. Being away from home is hard, even more so when you have animals to tend. I love the ingenuity of your water tank guy. If only more people would live a frugal life style, can you just imagine what it would do to the US economy? Probably turn things totally upside down, and I think the outcome would be fun to watch. Can you imagine if people actually learned how to be self sufficient, and started bartering goods and services??? Wow!

 

[Wasson6Pack]

Yeah, I'm going to be making the soap.  But I bought the Fels Naptha for a different reason.  Do you know that it is the only kind of soap that will remove the poison ivy oil?   My $5 purchase is cheap at the price after I get in from the woods, garden, yard.  Poison Ivy around somewhere and I'm allergic.  It travels on the air.   

I love my fels naptha soap. I make it liquid, but I'm going to try powdered next time. It takes less space to store. I used to add a couple drops of essential oils as wanted, but not sure how to get it done if I make it dry.
I was told by a person who wanted to make their own soap, but was allergic to everything that she couldn't use the ivory. She tried mine and out was ok for her, so I guess done threat are very sensitive can still use fels naptha.
I need to one up it and find a good recipe for shampoo and dish detergent.

 

[perchie.girl]

Deb, what a story. I'm so sorry for your hardships and animal losses. Being away from home is hard, even more so when you have animals to tend. I love the ingenuity of your water tank guy. If only more people would live a frugal life style, can you just imagine what it would do to the US economy? Probably turn things totally upside down, and I think the outcome would be fun to watch. Can you imagine if people actually learned how to be self sufficient, and started bartering goods and services??? Wow!

I am responsible for the failure in hindsight I could have done things differently. I wont be having livestock again till I can live there...

I have bartered and traded services for a very long time. My very first foray into that was when i was about 22-23 ish. I was chatting with a Tack store owner Who also happed to have just bought a brand new Horse boarding facility. She had had some Jumps made. Hunter jumper shows here in San Diego are pretty big. She needed to get them painted. But wanted to paint them like brick walls and stone walls and with her Ranch colors on the bars....

I offered to do the job in exchange for riding equipment. She agreed. And I turned them into brick walls and stone walls and her barn colors.... she provided the paint.... I provided the creativity. Out of it I got a Beautiful rolled bridle and a fleece saddle pad for my english saddle as well as Products for cleaning leather and for grooming my horse. She was very pleased with the whole transaction.

I once traded my engineering skills for a chance to work on a software that would be letting me get my toe into another field of work. They got a Design enginerr for the price of a draftsman.... I got skills that served me on the next job.

deb

 

[Arielle]

Hi Deb, We have passed each other on other threads, and I have always felt a kinship with you as a fellow horse lover-- your avatar says it all. GIven your outback consideration, you might look at a livestock guard dog. Many are raised to work on their own in remote areas with out a human--- would actually take some effort on your part to keep the dog socialized with you. But they really do a good job.

Sorry to hear of all your struggles this last year. . . .

 

[Nofowlplay]

I love my fels naptha soap. I make it liquid, but I'm going to try powdered next time. It takes less space to store. I used to add a couple drops of essential oils as wanted, but not sure how to get it done if I make it dry.
I was told by a person who wanted to make their own soap, but was allergic to everything that she couldn't use the ivory. She tried mine and out was ok for her, so I guess done threat are very sensitive can still use fels naptha.
I need to one up it and find a good recipe for shampoo and dish detergent.

I will be trying the fels naptha thanks for the post