Just curious who else is living super frugal

[LindaB220]

Deb, I had guinea pigs when I was a kid. I prefer their personality much to that of a rabbit. Not sure I could eat them! My first "mid-wife" experience was with guinea pigs. My girl delivered 4 babies, and I found #4 buried in the shavings with the amniotic sac still intact. I picked the little guy up, peeled the sac back from his face, don't exactly remember what else I did to revive him, but I do know I prayed. Well, he came to life, and did just great. I named him Lucky. My understanding is that the South American "pigs" are much bigger than the pet quality pigs sold here in the states. I bet they are tasty!

Youtube has some videos about the South American ones.

 

[LindaB220]

No problem Deb--- we all have holes in our education.

We have a wood stove and it has been trial and error to learn how to work with the draft for that particular design and the materials I have avaialble---so my kids got the bennies of learning my method. Though I did let them "fail" many times to learn what did not work. THen they were more willing to listen to a better design.

Of course the set up for the BBQ is same components but the actual layout is different. My oldest has perfected the start of that fire.

I think Ihave convinced DH to sell fire wood in the fall as we have enough and can make a bit of cash once the cold season arrives.

Stuff dryer lint in an empty toilet tissue cardboard roll. Dip one end in a melted candle. Dry and store. Almost free. I have tons of lint saved but I keep forgetting to save the rolls.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Lint is free. Tubes are free. Ya, the candle is not-- but 2 out of 3 is repurposing trash so HURRAY! In my book you are good!

Soon you wont have rolls to save!! Have you seen the TV ad on the roll free tp?? Looks like toilet roll tubes will soon be a thing of the past. Well maybe in 5-10 years! lol

 

[Peep_Show]

Okay. I'm feeling ignorant. Are woodchucks and marmots the same thing? I remember being on a golf course with lots of rocky outcroppings in Reno, NV, and the place was crawling with critters too big to be ground squirrels.

 

[alldembirds]

Okay. I'm feeling ignorant. Are woodchucks and marmots the same thing? I remember being on a golf course with lots of rocky outcroppings in Reno, NV, and the place was crawling with critters too big to be ground squirrels.

a woodchuck (groundhog) is a kind of marmot!

 

[lazy gardener]

So, I'm assuming that you use the TP roll stuffed with dryer lint, and a bit of wax to start a fire? Newspapers are also becoming a thing of the past, same with paper bags. Luckily, we still have cardboard boxes. I never throw a newspaper away. They get used to make NP logs in the winter, and I stock pile them to use in the garden during the summer. Cardboard rarely makes it to the dump for the same reasons.

 

[Arielle]

So, I'm assuming that you use the TP roll stuffed with dryer lint, and a bit of wax to start a fire? Newspapers are also becoming a thing of the past, same with paper bags. Luckily, we still have cardboard boxes. I never throw a newspaper away. They get used to make NP logs in the winter, and I stock pile them to use in the garden during the summer. Cardboard rarely makes it to the dump for the same reasons.

Good points.

Honestly I would rather use a paper bag at the grocery than anthing else-- it is the only item that is truely biodegradable. I do reuse the plastic bags over and over, and while some end in the trash ( which makes me feel sick) some are put in the recycling bin to be made into something else plastic. ( shudder)

I have no problem with cutting down trees for paper. No one ever scream about the saving of a sheaf of wheat . . . yet everyone is save the trees. Unfortunately it shows how little people actually know about the paper industry. Tree are a crop. Just that its 25-50 years between harvests. My husband spent summers in Maine evaluating the probress of the growth to determine when the timber would be ready for harvest. THese are planted trees. THe old growth trees are long gone for the most part and in some areas of the country those forests are protected as well they should be.

So my point is paper is a renewable product-- recyclable too and sooo many uses!!

I would rather hold a newspaper than look at a screen-- I would never find such interesting article on line as when poking thru a big or small newspaper.

 

[LindaB220]

So, I'm assuming that you use the TP roll stuffed with dryer lint, and a bit of wax to start a fire? Newspapers are also becoming a thing of the past, same with paper bags. Luckily, we still have cardboard boxes. I never throw a newspaper away. They get used to make NP logs in the winter, and I stock pile them to use in the garden during the summer. Cardboard rarely makes it to the dump for the same reasons.

I haven't done it yet, but I want to make a cement block rocket stove. Just to have available to make ashes. No other way to do it.

 

[lazy gardener]

I agree with you regarding trees. They are a resource to be used. And, yes, there are some species and forests that need to be preserved. Perhaps my view is a bit different b/c I am surrounded by trees every day of my life. I do find myself wondering what my yard will look like after the clearing is done in 2 weeks. In some ways, I'll regret it. The trees do provide cooling and shade, but: My land is on the wet side, and by opening it up, it will dry out, and we won't have the mosquito and black fly issues that we have now. I'm sure the chickens will not like it as much. But, I'll be planting trees and shrubs that will be dual purpose, so they'll have their overhead growth back soon. So, over time, I'll get a bit more garden space, hubby will have more lawn to mow, and the chickens will have expanded horizons and free range food diversity. I may even plant a blueberry grove just for them!

Re: plastic: have you seen the crochet projects done with plastic bags cut into 1" strips? They're cut and looped together, then used to make "rugs" and what ever. I'm thinking that if I have some time to play with such foolishness this winter, I may try to crochet a plastic egg basket. Just thinking out loud, but, I wonder what would happen if a crochet project made out of plastic bags was ironed? The right temp might fuse the crochet stitches together to make it a less bulky item. Then again, an easier recycled egg basket could be made from feed bags!

 

[Arielle]

I agree with you regarding trees. They are a resource to be used. And, yes, there are some species and forests that need to be preserved. Perhaps my view is a bit different b/c I am surrounded by trees every day of my life. I do find myself wondering what my yard will look like after the clearing is done in 2 weeks. In some ways, I'll regret it. The trees do provide cooling and shade, but: My land is on the wet side, and by opening it up, it will dry out, and we won't have the mosquito and black fly issues that we have now. I'm sure the chickens will not like it as much. But, I'll be planting trees and shrubs that will be dual purpose, so they'll have their overhead growth back soon. So, over time, I'll get a bit more garden space, hubby will have more lawn to mow, and the chickens will have expanded horizons and free range food diversity. I may even plant a blueberry grove just for them!

Re: plastic: have you seen the crochet projects done with plastic bags cut into 1" strips? They're cut and looped together, then used to make "rugs" and what ever. I'm thinking that if I have some time to play with such foolishness this winter, I may try to crochet a plastic egg basket. Just thinking out loud, but, I wonder what would happen if a crochet project made out of plastic bags was ironed? The right temp might fuse the crochet stitches together to make it a less bulky item. Then again, an easier recycled egg basket could be made from feed bags!

I love how you think outside the "egg basket" !!

Trees-- we have rules about cutting trees, as our lot was 100% trees. Every tree is evaluated because I can tell you without trees, it does heat up and the wind does blow . . so we keep more than we cut. Or we have historically. We try to keep special trees like oaks, and nut trees. Most trees here are birch. Very few pines and those are great shade whenthe hot sun is blazing and no other shade tree has its leaves out yet. Once a tree is cut down it cannot be put back up-- so we do not clear cut. ANd the wettest section is actually left with its full conplement of treees-- the trees suck up the water better than anything else. We also dont mess with runoff areas-- mother nature has it all set up and we work around the natural terrain of the land.

Mind you -- we passed up more parcels than I can remember because they were rather wet-- seemed our realator thought we dould finally give in and buy a crappy pc of land even the builders didnt want. Fortunately DH can read the tress at any time of year and know even in the dead of winter what the land is like. I tellyou -- these were women in hose and high heels showing us large parcels of land = they stood at their car and pointed!! Sheeesh. Another realtor came in jeans and put on sneakers and trekked with us-- she quickly found a pc of land suitable. And yeah, we cut a 122 foot drive way, cleared the house location, and then the septic and then the barns and worked full time-- boy were we young. lol, and full of energy.

DO look for a few good trees to keep you might change your mind about clear cutting and keep one or two.

For those that dont know-- much of Maine is owned by the logging companies--