This page is dedicated to reader contributions. If you have an idea for an inexpensive and useful way to do things such as a method of preserving food, storage idea, gardening tip, any homemade items, or some special family secret that you don’t mind sharing that might help someone else in his/her quest for self-sufficiency and sustainability, please share it here!
Surviving the Middle Class Crash 
March 22, 2008 at 3:10 am
This handy idea comes from Donna Craft:
If you are short on storage space for food, perishables, etc, use a metal trash can in place of an end/kitchen table. Fill can, invert lid, add larger wood or glass top (stablize with museum putty), cover with long table cloth. Instant storage!!!
January 31, 2010 at 12:20 am
That’s really brilliant!
Another idea too is to use space under beds, couches et al for storage space. Just use a dust ruffle to cover up the evidence. Canned food, things in jars et al, can be safely kept this way in lidded boxes, to keep any dust or bugs out. (Be sure lids fit very tightly and the containers are completely air-tight. Going cheap will not be so cheap in the end!)
On top of the fridge is another overlooked storage area.
Even people in city apartments can store food or other things in this way! Yay, there’s a way!
December 4, 2011 at 9:03 am
Wonderful ideas. I have my queen size bed up on five gallon buckets with gamma seal lids and store things in the buckets and in the extra space the buckets provide by lifing the bed up so high. My wife needs to have a stool to climb into bed, but she is very short.
March 26, 2008 at 1:35 am
I found this on the web. It is an excellent alternative to caustic cleaning chemicals:
“You can use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to disinfect your kitchen counters, produce and even your cutting boards. All you need is three percent hydrogen peroxide, the type you buy at the drug store, vinegar (white or apple cider), and two clean sprayers, like the kind you use to mist plants. Fill each sprayer separately, one with peroxide and the other with vinegar (don’t mix them together in one bottle – that makes peracetic acid, which isn’t safe and can give you a bad chemical burn). Spritz the item you want to disinfect, first with hydrogen peroxide and then with vinegar, then rinse off under running water. University tests show that this technique killed more potentially lethal bacteria, including Salmonella, Shigella, and even E. coli, than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner.” (C. Gupta)
(http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2006/04/05/
super_disinfectant_spray_using_peroxide_vinegar.htm)
March 28, 2008 at 6:45 am
GOING SOLAR—WITHOUT THE EXPENSE OF MAJOR INSTALLATIONS!
Can’t afford an entire solar panel to be installed on your rooftop? Cheer up: There’s hope!
Here’s how you can go solar, one bit at a time, and gain some energy independence during black-outs, cut back on your carbon footprint, reduce your energy bills…and at affordable cost, too!
Log on to Craigslist and check the website for solar gadgets such as solar hot water heaters, solar attic fans, solar generators, etc. I saw two such items recently in nearly-new condition at half their retail cost (Each about $200). When you think of the cost of the energy bill, these gadgets will be sure to repay themselves in very little time.
SOLAR ATTIC FAN: If your attic is not well insulated and is hard to get to, a fan will blow out the hot air, making your home much cooler during hot weather. This, in turn, minimizes the need for turning on the air conditioner.
SOLAR WATER HEATER: Commercial water heaters waste enormous amounts of energy heating up the large reserves of water while we aren’t even using them. Why waste all that energy and CO2 while you are at work and the kids are at school? A solar water heater is bound to save you loads on your energy bill.
SOLAR OVEN/COOKING POT: Available from http://www.kensolar.com for about $260
This is a travelling cooking pot/oven which may be used for camping or at home cooking alike. It acts like a crockpot, cooking your soups or roasts at a slow rate. Temperature ranges between 350-400 degrees. Slow cooking always preserves nutrients, and solar energy ionizes food cells, releasing nutrients and making them more assimilable. This is a handy gadget to have during energy black-outs and for saving your energy consumption during cooking. Cook ahead and plan left-overs from each meal, and bingo! You have reduced your energy usage (of your own physical reserves, that is) and cut stress out of your life.
SOLAR GENERATOR: May be used to run your computer for as much as 4 hours every day, with batteries which store the solar energy. Very useful during black-outs and just to minimize your energy bill and carbon footprint on a daily basis. Very reasonably priced on http://www.kensolar.com
Who knows what else you may find as you surf the web? Go for it and see what you may come up with!
March 28, 2008 at 6:51 am
ENERGY-SAVING TIPS:
STAY COOL:
Extremely hot day? Don’t turn on the air conditioner. Instead, wet down a towel and wring out the excess water. Put inside your freezer for about twenty minutes. Then, take the frozen wet towel and wrap it around your head, like a cold turban. Ahhhh, it feels so good! I remember doing this while helping friends move on a 105 degree day. It worked like a charm, even under those extreme conditions!
If you run cold water over your wrist (palm side of hand facing upward) and elbows (ditto, with the underside of the arm facing up) you will be surprised at how cooling it is.
Y’ALL BE COOL NOW:
Try hosing down the roof on a hot day. The evaporation cools the roof, which in turn cools the house.
Of course, the old Southern trick of closing windows and drapes during the day keeps the sun and heat out of the house. Opening up the drapes and windows at night airs and cools the house. Close up the house tightly again the next day, close all drapes, and you will save lots on air conditioning bills and add comfort besides!
Be sure your home is well insulated. Insulation keeps hot air out and cool air in during the summer. It also keeps warm air inside and cold air out during the winter.
March 28, 2008 at 6:59 am
Here is an energy-saving tip for snow country:
Rake up fall leaves and save in large garbage bags. Just prior to snowfall, pack the bags of leaves around the foundation of your house. When the snow comes, it will form an embankment around the foundation of your home, piled up on top of the lawn leaf bags. This acts as insulator to the foundation of your home, reducing drafts and cold air currents in your house and helping to keep the heat inside.
This worked very well for us while living in New England during temperatures which regularly ranged between zero and negative twenty degrees each winter.
No guarantees about rhodent-free status, though. So be sure to place the lawn leaf bags around the foundation of your home just prior to snowfall, rather than for the long-term.
Check your house for drafts by placing your hand at the openings of doorways (top, floor level, and sides), by feeling the walls (cold=drafts), and the floors (ditto: Cold=drafts). Using rugs can help to insulate your floors and keep your feet warm during cold winters. If you are lucky you may be able to obtain rug scraps nearly free of charge from rug stores, or look on Craigslist for free or inexpensive used rugs.
May 8, 2008 at 8:57 pm
My little secret: Strawberries and herbs can grow inside during the cold months (and still flower and fruit) if you set them up in a large jar or even an abandoned fish bowl. Set up on the best windows for southern sun exposure and enjoy a little fresh fruit and herbs all year round.
June 4, 2008 at 4:39 am
I have been using the following combination of white vinegar, salt, and baking soda to wash my clothes in the washing machine, and I have to admit, it works better than the laundry detergent I was using.
The clothes smell fresh, and don’t have an artificial scent! They also come out of the dryer much softer, so I don’t have to use any fabric softener.
Certain chemicals in detergents and fabric softeners give me a rash, and this natural alternative works out beautifully for me.
I love it, and I’m sure you will too. You can’t get any more environmentally friendly than this:
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup baking soda
Just place your clothes in the machine, turn on the water, and add your ingredients. You will notice the difference in the first load.
February 23, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Here is a better recipe and way to save money on Laundry:
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups – hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup – Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
– Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer “Super Washing Soda” – in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent – It must be sodium carbonate!!
Powdered Laundry Detergent – Top load machine
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup – Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)
*Arm & Hammer “Super Washing Soda” – in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent – It must be sodium carbonate!!
TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don’t use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can often be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2 per batch.
Inexpensive Fabric Softener Recipes
Recipe #1
1 Cup White Vinegar
Add vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.
Recipe #2
1 Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener
4 Inexpensive sponges, cut in half
Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.
February 11, 2009 at 7:03 am
Kensolar mentioned on your Share Ideas page is no longer in business. He apparently cashed a bunch of checks and then shut down business.
February 11, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Thank you, Ken. I went to the site at kensolar.com, and it no longer exists. I appreciate your bringing this to my attention.
August 6, 2009 at 9:24 am
Another site for used solar and wind turbines(still in business) and a whole lot of other “homesteading” devices is Oasis Montana. Go to the bottom of the home page and click the link. The sale items are located all over the US.
Also..I bought day old chicks from Meyer hatchery in Ohio. All survived the trip(express mail) to Montana, looked healthy and are 2 months old now. Good company to do business with and have a huge selection of all sorts of fowl. I’m getting pheasants next year.
Barb – is the “detergent” recipe safe to use in septic systems? I would think the salt may cause some probs when leeching into the soil(??)
Nice site!! Lots of great info. Thanks, Greg
August 6, 2009 at 10:06 am
Hi Greg,
I have a septic system, and have had for many years. This document explains the use of salt in septic tanks:
Click to access septicsys.pdf
The document addresses high concentrations of salts from water softeners, and interestingly enough, the fact that most commercial laundry detergents contain a large amount of salt. Therefore, I believe that eliminating the other harmful additives in normal laundry detergent and using a more simplified and natural approach will work out better in the long run. IMHO.
I will check out the company’s website that you recommend, thank you!
August 6, 2009 at 11:48 am
Thanks, Barb-interesting article, surely contrary to what I expected. I’ll give the recipe a go. Thanks again. Greg
November 25, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Thanks for creating this site. My tips have to do with recycling old clothes and household linens.
Whenever my trackwear gets too short in the pantlegs or jacket sleeves, I repurpose them as pyjamas. I turn up the sleeves to 3/4 length and cut off the pantlegs to mid- calf or the knee. I also make summer sports clothes out of cool weather wear this way.
Old towels, well-washed and bleached, make fine stuffing for cushions, as do old quilts. Covers and stuffing are both washable, so helpful for allergy sufferers. Comforters work too. Cut the comforters down to size, sew up the edges, roll them up tightly and stuff them into the cushion covers.
Make your own washable cushion covers by sewing washable fabric into a long rectangle and enclosing 2/3 as the cushion pocket. Leave a long flap at one end. Attach Velcro strips to seal that end to the cushion pocket. Use the non-adhesive Velcro. Oops! I had to get a new set of feed dogs for my sewing machine after sewing adhesive Velcro strips – the glue jammed the feed and the needle movement up completely.
My middle-class life ended in 2003, but I am actually happier now that I know how to save some of what little money I earn, and I work for a wonderful boss — myself. I value everything I have, and everyone in my life, much more than I did before. I have always taken good care of my possessions, but now I can find more uses for them than ever before.
Best wishes to all on surviving and thriving after your own middle-class crash.
January 31, 2010 at 12:15 am
Here is an effective way to unclog your drains, chemical-free:
First, pour boiling water down the (unclogged) drain, to break up any soap residues.
Second (or first, in the case of badly clogged drains):
Use 3 tbsp. baking soda and 1/3 cup white vinegar. Pour separately down the drain (watch it fizz like a mini-volcano, the kids will love it).
Let sit for 1/2 hour or a full hour in badly clogged drains.
Follow up with boiling water if you did not do this previously.
We were able to unclog our drains this way without any need for Draino. The book where I read about this, called “Green This” By Deirdre Imus (all about natural and green housecleaning, it’s excellent) suggests that if you do this once a month, “you should be clog-free for life”. Not a bad idea, eh?
Saves the environment, the money and the hassle. Hooray for win-win-win! :-) FYI we get our 12-lb bag of baking soda from Costco for about $5. Very cheap and sure lasts a long time! :-)
March 28, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Another chemical-free tip:
Use apple cider or white vinegar plus salt to polish your copper (Pans, nick-nacks). You’d better get into action scrubbing FAST too, because once you put the combination of the salt and vinegar on your trinket, the chemical reaction is so fast that there will be spots on your surfaces if you don’t scrub away, immediately.
The best thing to do is to put them on the cloth itself, then rub, rather than sprinkle the copper itself.
Make sure you rub all areas evenly and you will have a beautiful product in no time flat. Then rinse with water, and you are done.
March 28, 2010 at 9:21 pm
PS I tried this once on a brass candlestick holder pair, and it worked. It took a lot of scrubbing though. Seems to be much more quick-acting on the copper. But with time, patience and elbow grease, on the brass it also can work.
March 28, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Okay, here’s one. It’s nothing new or original, but in the vein of this site, here are my thoughts about home gardening:
Produce may not cost much compared to the rest of the food bill, it’s true. So at first glance, we may think we are not saving much by gardening at home, and yet we work very hard to cultivate our own produce. (Though it’s sure refreshing and lots of fun to do!)
However, this is where I have come to realize that home gardening will save us lots of money:
Because as you run out of one or two produce items and run back to the store, where you think you will only buy those one or two things, inevitably you end up buying much more. Recently, I went to Trader Joes to restock on avocados and apples, but ended up spending $30. One time I even spent $80! I was shocked. I am a careful shopper,too. You know, we have to conserve these days.
So that is where growing our own produce will save much more than immediately meets the eye. If we need more chard or butternut squash, we can just pick them from the garden and not have to run back to the store in the first place. It’ s fun, and the food tastes so incredibly tasty from the garden. And it gets us outside to hear the singing birds, feel the sunshine on our back, talk with the neighbors and it’s just plain uplifting. Neighbors swapping produce seem to only have more, the more they share with each other. Community, bird song, sunshine, great taste and money saved…it’s win-win! (And we still get the community boost from going to the farmer’s market for some of the things that we aren’t growing at home).
May 3, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Okay, so you have burned your favorite pot, and the bottom of it is a hopelessly encrusted mass of black grit.
What can you do except toss the pot?
(Sounds like the title of a Renaissance song, “Toss the Pot” but this was a game of throwing money into a pot, slightly different eh?)
Well you can, in fact, toss your money into the pot and instead of throwing it out into the trash. Here is how:
Use 10% bleach and 90% water. Boil for at least ten minutes, or as long as it takes to loosen the grit off the bottom of the pot. The bleach will eat away whatever is there and lift it right off the bottom of your pot! It’s as if you had elves scrubbing away for you, within minutes, and you almost don’t have to raise a finger. Rinse, with minimal scrubbing necessary. Done!
No I am not kidding. It really works, and that well too.
I always put the lid on the pot, turn on the fan and open ALL the windows if I ever have to do this. The bleach fumes smell horrible, and are noxious besides, drying out cell material and making one more prone to infections et al. Not a good idea. So, to protect onself is key.
But as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Don’t walk away from a burning pot if you have a short memory, get into the habit of checking the stove when you sit down to dinner (did you really turn that dial to “Off” or is it at full blast instead, at the tick mark right next to the “off” position? Uh-oh. And it happens to the best of us!)
If anybody knows of a non-toxic way to do this, please post below!
Thank you so much.
May 10, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Here is something a shoemaker tipped me off to.
If your cloth shoes, or canvas purse, gets dirty and you can’t wash them/don’t want to pay for the drycleaning bill….just spray them with clear (not blue-tinted) windex. Done! It works. I tried it on my canvas purse and lace shoes, and they came out beautifully.
June 13, 2010 at 3:30 pm
barbara, what are some natural ingredients for getting rid(killing not just repelling) fleas. looked on some sites and they suggested borax, table salt and baking soda mixed. also where do the buggers hide I do have a lot of things on the floor. and what to use in the yard, moth balls were suggested. need response asap please help!
June 13, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Diatomaceous earth is a good choice. Here is some info:
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a powder comprised of microskeletons of deceased diatoms, which are a type of algae (both fresh water and sea water varieties occur). You sprinkle the powder on your pets and your carpets, and the fleas die from dehydration. As a foster care provider for hundreds of dogs, this stuff has been a miracle. You can use it on dogs, puppies, kittens, and cats.
How it works:
When applied to the animal’s fur, DE scrubs on the hard exoskeletons of fleas. The tiny granules of silicon (think finely ground sand) work in the tiny holes of the flea’s respiratory system and in the joints of the fleas. Every time the flea moves or breathes, the silicon grinds away at the exoskeleton, eventually killing the flea through blocking/maiming the respiratory holes or by water loss, as the exoskeleton helps keep in the flea’s body water. It works the same way when applied to carpets instead of fur.
How to use it:
1) Wear a mask and put one on your pet. Even though it’s nontoxic, you don’t want to get it in your lungs.
2) Sprinkle the DE along your dry pet’s spine. Massage it along the body, working your way carefully to the extremities, avoiding the eyes.
3) Spread some diatomaceous earth on the carpets, brush it in and leave for about four days. Then vacuum it up to remove most of the fleas in the carpet.
4) Repeat the application frequently during an infestation. You should notice a decrease in fleas within a couple days.
NOTE: Make sure not to use the kind of DE used in swimming pools. Use natural diatomaceous earth; it is available in gardens supply centers, some health food stores, and from natural-pet catalogs. (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/all-around-non-toxic-flea-control.html)
I will be worming my horses with the food grade, which is used for internal parasites: http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/product/diatomaceous-earth-food-grade
Perma-Guard has different grades, and you can contact them for advice at: http://www.perma-guard.com/
June 14, 2010 at 7:40 am
Barbara, thanks for the scoop on the D.E. diatomaceous earth. Agra Energy in Princton,Il has food grade 50lbs. bag for $20.00, 815-872-1180 & talk to Ken. My local feed store a mile down the road doesn’t carry D.E. probably because it doesn’t say insecticide. Typical, have to push those earth unfriendly pesticides.
Also one of your links provided for worming dogs sounds as if it’s quite a quantity. Will look into it further, thanks again.
September 20, 2010 at 10:10 am
We rent a house, not thrilled with the backyard area, it was never smoothed out and we have tons of insects, crickets, spiders, water bugs, roly poly’s, you name it, it comes inside or makes obnoxious noises early in the a.m. Problem, insects, other problem, not our home, we can’t dig up the backyard to grow any type of produce. Any ideas? Also, someone came out to lift up the toilets and fasten them down again, now we have a terrible odor emanating from the toilet, I see no gaps. I have tried ‘natural’ odor sprays, nothing, smells like vinegar and sewer afterwards. Any ideas? Thanks.
September 20, 2010 at 10:34 am
Hi Michelley,
I would try raised beds and indoor plants in containers using grow lights. As far as the toilets go, there is a wax seal that goes between the hole in the bottom of the toilet and the sewer pipe, sealing the two. If this seal was not seated correctly, then you have a gap that will continue to leak odors until it is sealed properly. It doesn’t matter if there are gaps around the outside of the toilet where it meets the floor, because that is not the problem. The odor will prevail until the seal is done right.
April 3, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Investing a small outlay to build a chicken coop is a great way to get free, fresh eggs every morning for breakfast. If you have kids they will absolutely love having the hens as pets also and it will teach them responsibility.
May 16, 2011 at 4:04 pm
HI Barbara,
I wanted to add a tip about compost tea. I have ducks & no pond, so i made a duck pool connected to a hose and after the ducks have pooped up their pool – i feed the “compost tea” to the garden!
February 23, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups – hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup – Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
– Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer “Super Washing Soda” – in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent – It must be sodium carbonate!!
Powdered Laundry Detergent – Top load machine
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup – Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)
*Arm & Hammer “Super Washing Soda” – in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent – It must be sodium carbonate!!
TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don’t use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can often be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2 per batch.
Inexpensive Fabric Softener Recipes
Recipe #1
1 Cup White Vinegar
Add vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.
Recipe #2
1 Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener
4 Inexpensive sponges, cut in half
Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.
August 16, 2012 at 1:19 pm
A new version of the LDS preparedness manual (Version 8) is available from ldsavow.com for free download or a hard copy can be purchased for $18.50 + shipping.
August 13, 2013 at 10:44 am
Earthships. Thinking about building a community of earthships here in AZ. If this self sustaining housing were to be available to purchase like any other real estate transaction, I would like to know how many people would actually be interested? visit: http://earthship.com/ check it out and let me know what you think. I was looking into purchasing a traditional housing development and then I thought, why not start a self sustaining community.