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!
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!!!
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 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:
http://www.uaf.edu/ces/faculty/seifert/pdf_nuaf/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