Many of us want to be able to live frugally and be self-sustaining rather than depending on the store for everything we use. I know to most people that is a foreign concept - I've heard horror stories of people going to a school to chat with students about where their food comes from and they will argue with the presenter that it comes from the store; not the farm. How ridiculous is that? One of my 'things' is being able to make as much as I can for myself, but I am not all-knowing, so I rely on websites of those who know what they are talking about for a little assistance. Here are a few that can help you out too.
Budget101.com
Actually, Liss Burnell, Budget 101's founder used to live in the same town I do and I got to know her. She helped me get my website moved to a different host company. She's way more tech-savvy than I am. She is also very good at budgeting and making things one would think they could only BUY at a store. I have been looking for a way to make laundry detergent, for instance, and low and behold she posted one on her website, and it uses an ingredient I already keep on hand- Fels Naptha. Another recipe I have used over the years is for that coffee creamer we like to get in the store. Now, I must admit it is less expensive to buy this, but if you run out and are not able to get to that store (I live a long way from the store) this recipe uses ingredients already on hand, at least at my house, and it works well in a pinch.
Liss has recipes for all sorts of products we usually buy from household cleaning products to quick mixes for dinner and everything in between. She has great homemade gift ideas too. You just have to check out her website to see what all you can find as they are too many to list here. http://www.budget101.com
There is a Facebook page called Homemade Living Frugally. People can ask questions and Suzanne will do her best to get them an answer from other readers. She also has in lieu of a website (or as a website) a forum board, http://homemadeliving.freeforums.net/ where you can ask questions and find answers, or give the answers if you have them to others' questions. Great concept!
There are a number of blogs out there too if you want to cook really great food or for farming (small and large) that I like to visit.
http://sweetteaandcornbread.blogspot.com,
http://jimmycrackedcorn.wordpress.com,
http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com
Of course, you can use a search engine for frugal living sites on your own and find a plethora of ideas. That is how I usually find them.Some ideas I get from actually talking to people who have done it so don't be afraid to go up to that farmer and ask them how they get that particular plant to grow so well or where they came up with the idea for something. I recently subscribed to Farm Show Magazine. It has ideas on how to make things (or remake things) useful for farmers that either are not available in the stores or may be too expensive to buy. Some people just look at and say, "Why didn't I think of that?" I do.
You can also find a number of books and e-books on the subjects you seek. They can be found at retailers such as Amazon.com ( I have a handy page you can use too!).
*No one in this article has asked me to recommend their websites or blogs. I was not paid for any recommendations either. For Amazon.com, if you use my link I make a small amount of money, but it does not cost you anymore and they do not tell me who bought anything (or what they bought) or who may have used my link.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Oh My Goodness- That Snow is Deep
When my husband left for work this morning he told me to have a good day with the dog because there was no way my car was going to make it down the driveway. He has a four-wheel drive GMC Sierra and it sits fairly high. Within ten minutes I couldn't even see his tracks where he walked to the machine shed where we park and after daylight I looked out the kitchen window and said, "What driveway?" Even the dog got buried trying to get through it. I thought I was going to have to dig her out.
At chore time I finally ventured out and shoveled off the porch and then used that big snow shovel to go around the house as if it was a ski pole and found I was right in spite of the hubby stating the heater vent pipes (intake and exhaust) did not need shoveled out because he did just two weeks ago. That should have been my first clue it needed it. It had about a foot of snow over it. The exhaust pipe sending out warm air had actually made a small path, as it were, for the fumes to get out, but the intake pipe had snow caked inside. It shoveled it out all the way to the ground and a fair bit around it and then took the ends off and cleared all the snow out. This is something everyone should check every time it snows. Carbon monoxide will build up inside your home if that exhaust pipe is plugged and the heater will malfunction if the intake is blocked. Other than the fact that the CO can kill you if you don't get it cleared, it can be very expensive to get your furnace repaired from that blocked intake pipe. I couldn't even get around to the side where the dryer vents and I asked my husband when he got home if he would plow a trail so I can. I don't need that blocked up or frozen shut either. It can start a fire from lint that blows out that pipe if it gets plugged and too hot. Check that often also. It can ruin your dryer.
Now to the part where he got home. Sometimes a wife just knows her husband will try, in spite of the obvious obstruction to the driveway, to drive through it. I saw him coming and just told the dog to stand back out of the way with me (we have a long driveway but she would have charged out there to greet him). I waved my arms and shook my head 'no' and then all I could do was hang my head and laugh. He tried to come up the driveway and barely got the length of the truck before it refused to move another inch. He tried to, which means it is stuck really bad. He finally gave up and tried to walk the rest of the way. Now, he is fairly tall, six-one or so, and he about couldn't make it. It went up to his backside. He struggled mightily and laughed a lot, because I was laughing at him and was sort of contagious at that point.The dog in all her Labradorean exuberance tried to get to him and fell so far down I couldn't even see her tail. I don't know how she managed to get out of that drift but she did right about the time he got to her to dig her out with his hands.
Below are some pictures!
That sure is a lot of snow on the barn roof. I hope it holds up.
There is an LP tank under there somewhere. We're running out of room to put all this snow!
I don't think my farm truck is moving out of the shed until spring.
Yup, he just had to try to get through all that snow.Oops!
THINK SPRING - PLEASE!!!!
At chore time I finally ventured out and shoveled off the porch and then used that big snow shovel to go around the house as if it was a ski pole and found I was right in spite of the hubby stating the heater vent pipes (intake and exhaust) did not need shoveled out because he did just two weeks ago. That should have been my first clue it needed it. It had about a foot of snow over it. The exhaust pipe sending out warm air had actually made a small path, as it were, for the fumes to get out, but the intake pipe had snow caked inside. It shoveled it out all the way to the ground and a fair bit around it and then took the ends off and cleared all the snow out. This is something everyone should check every time it snows. Carbon monoxide will build up inside your home if that exhaust pipe is plugged and the heater will malfunction if the intake is blocked. Other than the fact that the CO can kill you if you don't get it cleared, it can be very expensive to get your furnace repaired from that blocked intake pipe. I couldn't even get around to the side where the dryer vents and I asked my husband when he got home if he would plow a trail so I can. I don't need that blocked up or frozen shut either. It can start a fire from lint that blows out that pipe if it gets plugged and too hot. Check that often also. It can ruin your dryer.
Now to the part where he got home. Sometimes a wife just knows her husband will try, in spite of the obvious obstruction to the driveway, to drive through it. I saw him coming and just told the dog to stand back out of the way with me (we have a long driveway but she would have charged out there to greet him). I waved my arms and shook my head 'no' and then all I could do was hang my head and laugh. He tried to come up the driveway and barely got the length of the truck before it refused to move another inch. He tried to, which means it is stuck really bad. He finally gave up and tried to walk the rest of the way. Now, he is fairly tall, six-one or so, and he about couldn't make it. It went up to his backside. He struggled mightily and laughed a lot, because I was laughing at him and was sort of contagious at that point.The dog in all her Labradorean exuberance tried to get to him and fell so far down I couldn't even see her tail. I don't know how she managed to get out of that drift but she did right about the time he got to her to dig her out with his hands.
Below are some pictures!
THINK SPRING - PLEASE!!!!
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