Just curious who else is living super frugal

[erinszoo]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. It seems when I have a few moments to do something like cook ahead, I am so relieved to have a few moments off that I don't think about cooking ahead. sigh. But I'm going to write on the kitchen blackboard as "to do" so it will be in front of me to look at.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. It seems when I have a few moments to do something like cook ahead, I am so relieved to have a few moments off that I don't think about cooking ahead. sigh. But I'm going to write on the kitchen blackboard as "to do" so it will be in front of me to look at.

It doesn't have to be a stand alone chore that you make time to do. It just takes a little extra time while you are already cooking. Instead of cooking and eating the extra, wrap and freeze it. Since you are already using the cutting board and knife for that purpose, the time to pullout the knife/cutting board/bag of veggies and then the clean-up time after is saved for all the extra that you prepped. Does that make sense?
When slicing or dicing onions - do the entire onion or an extra one or two. Take what you don't use in that recipe and put it in the freezer. As long as you are just going to cook with it later, frozen is good. Then when you need chopped onion for a recipe, pull out what you need - no mess, no fuss.

 

[Baymule]

I haven't read this thread in a long time. Marking it now so I can play catch up!

 

[Turk Raphael]

ROFL

YOu guys are killing me!!

On a simialr not I was talking with a learned man last night and told me the full details of the impact of the effects of the sun, like the other night but many times stronger. A good blast of solar_______ and our power grid would be fried and the ability to fix and replace would take about 18 months. I could hardly contain my panic. Geting water from a well is my biggest worry. I cant wash clothes without water. ANd I'm about 1/4 mile from a river so hauling would be impractical. THough I have heard horror stories of young boys traveling twice a day to the river on horse back to water the horses . . . the fellow suggested a windmill and a tank . . .Last year I was thinking of a merrygoround system but also heard it wasnt very good---

SUggestions on how to pump water up a 300 foot artisian well??? ? Lordy, maybe I need to be thinking about a hand dug well!

Dad has an artesian well and no pump is required...It flows non-stop and has the most wonderful water that seems ice cold, no matter what season. Of course, the water can't be any colder than 50* or 55* but I guess the well house just makes it feel colder. I'd love to have one but along with 'city water'...we do have a drilled well that one of those old devices that is dropped into the casing and grabs water works but it would provide very good exercise if it needed to be used alone...We do use it for drinking water, as we refuse to buy bottled water with this delicious stuff in the back yard!!

Oh..300 ft...is it that far to the water or is the well that deep?

One of those 'devices' is very effective to get a couple gallons at a time. They can be bought for greater or lesser amounts of water.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: YEs, many possible solutions. Definitely need one that I can afford. OF course when out of water and none available getting water becomes worth its weight in gold. Like your ideas !! THe more ideas to stew about and mull over, the better.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I cant remember the reason now, but the company chose that depth for a specific reason. Part of it was water pressure; I suspect it might be that there is a house every 2-3 acres along the roads that need water from a well. I remember the well company taking about what the flow per minutes was but not all these years later I cant remember.

No public water here. I try to NOT need a drink while at the library or at the school-- yuck, it smells and tastes of chlorine. I recently heard that chlorine is not good for the natural bugs in our gut-- begs the question what does the water cycle look like in a human body. DOes the chlorinated water actually get into the gut area and kill off the microbes. . . but I digress.

If you remember the name of that devise that pumps drop me a pm. THen I can research it.

IWe buy bottled water-- for the bottles!! mY kids use them over and over and then lose them! Get a weeks use out of each one: refiledl at home with clean unchlorinated water.

Ya, seems like deep well water is pretty cold.

I still get angry when I think that my mother filled in her hand dug well outside the kitchen door. Seriously??? I cant imagine why she would want to pay for town water!!!! DOH!!!

 

[Arielle]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. It seems when I have a few moments to do something like cook ahead, I am so relieved to have a few moments off that I don't think about cooking ahead. sigh. But I'm going to write on the kitchen blackboard as "to do" so it will be in front of me to look at.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. It seems when I have a few moments to do something like cook ahead, I am so relieved to have a few moments off that I don't think about cooking ahead. sigh. But I'm going to write on the kitchen blackboard as "to do" so it will be in front of me to look at.

I don't so much cook ahead as make more than I can eat and freeze the leftovers (as others have already suggested). That way I'm always a little ahead of myself and if I'm broke for some reason or just too exhausted to deal, I have a freezer full of stuff to fall back on. Cause I'm with you on the inability to plan ahead and cook and squirrel it all away. My friends and I also do a monthly dinner where everyone brings something as if they were hosting and then we pack it all up so people can take home a variety of options (since most of us are one-two people households).

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Linda-- how is the bicycle used???? Part of the pump system, or to get the ol' body to the 7 acres?

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: I cant remember the reason now, but the company chose that depth for a specific reason. Part of it was water pressure; I suspect it might be that there is a house every 2-3 acres along the roads that need water from a well. I remember the well company taking about what the flow per minutes was but not all these years later I cant remember.

No public water here. I try to NOT need a drink while at the library or at the school-- yuck, it smells and tastes of chlorine. I recently heard that chlorine is not good for the natural bugs in our gut-- begs the question what does the water cycle look like in a human body. DOes the chlorinated water actually get into the gut area and kill off the microbes. . . but I digress.

If you remember the name of that devise that pumps drop me a pm. THen I can research it.

IWe buy bottled water-- for the bottles!! mY kids use them over and over and then lose them! Get a weeks use out of each one: refiledl at home with clean unchlorinated water.

Ya, seems like deep well water is pretty cold.

I still get angry when I think that my mother filled in her hand dug well outside the kitchen door. Seriously??? I cant imagine why she would want to pay for town water!!!! DOH!!!

300 feet is the approximate limit to how far a windmill can pump a column of water straight out of the ground.

The pump device is a hand pump.... youve seen them on westerns... they have a hook to hook a bucket to so you can fill one with water.

they still make them.
I have seen one like this set right in the kitchen to serve as the water faucet They have about a 25 foot limitation on how far they can draw the water. But if you placed your storage tank next to the house there would be no issue.

deb