My goal someday is to be completely off the grid. Currently, we are searching for some acreage so we can build our own off the grid house.
In the meantime, we are trying to cut back on our use of electricity. I don't have many kitchen counter appliances that use electricity (most of mine are hand crank) and I try not to use my oven too often. Instead, I use a Sun Oven and cook in the sunshine.
But there is something else that we do to gain a significant reduction in our electric bill. It is easy and anyone can do it! Put anything that uses a phantom load on a surge protector. All of our television sets, our CD player, record player (yes, we still have one of those relics), DVD player and radio are on surge protectors. Here is a picture of cabinet where these appliances live in my family room.
Standing directly in front of the cabinet, you can't even see the surge protector. It is on the left of the cabinet. Here is an up close picture of the surge protector.
Notice the stick? This was a compromise with my husband to get him to turn off the surge protector when he turns off the TV. I just hit the button with my foot, my husband wanted a stick to hit the button.
When you turn off the TV with your remote, turn off the surge protector. It took a while for this new habit to become second nature in my house. So the compromise was to turn off the surge protector when you leave the room. If you are still sitting on the couch, it is OK to leave it on, when you get up to leave the room, it goes off.
In addition to the surge protectors, I switched all of my clocks to battery power. I now have an old fashioned clock on my kitchen wall with a battery in it. (Just like many of us did growing up.) Extra clocks in the guest bedrooms have been eliminated. I do still have an alarm clock/radio in my bedroom, but it is the only one in the house.
Using these techniques, we saw about a 25% reduction in our electric bill.
Your savings may vary based on your family's ability to comply with the new procedure and the number of appliances you have in the house . But once this becomes second nature to everyone in your family, you can watch your electricity bill go down!
For more frugal ideas, you can visit the blog: Frugally Sustainable.
Yes, my question is a serious one! And if you answered, "I throw it away," let me offer you a few other alternatives.
Dryer lint has useful purposes. For one thing, you can add it to your compost pile. On occasion, I do add it to my compost pile. But that isn't my favorite use of dryer lint. This picture shows my favorite use of dryer lint.
These are toilet paper tubes stuffed with dryer lint. Toilet paper tubes are collected in my house. We do not throw them away. They are stored in my laundry room while they are waiting to be stuffed with dryer lint.
What do I do with them? They make great fire starters! Whether you are camping or starting a fire in your fireplace on a cold winter night, one of these will get the fire going in no time. Of course, this works best when the lint comes from cotton clothes.
I know some people who run a string through the tube and then dip them in wax. They burn slower that way. Currently, I am out of ones that were dipped in wax so all I have is what is shown here. Heating up wax is not my most favorite thing to do (especially in the summer) so I will collect up quite a few over the year, then dip them all at once. This chore is usually saved for sometime in the fall. Any left over wax can be made into candles.
In the meantime, I put three of them in a baggie and store them in a Rubbermaid bin in my garage. This set is now ready to go until dipping time in the fall.
So save up that dryer lint! It is much cheaper and less frustrating than rolling up newspaper to get a fire started!
This is the time of year that I put most of my efforts into gardening. Growing a year's worth of vegetables in the garden takes up quite a bit of time. Managing it without chemicals makes it more of a challenge but also makes me feel better about the results. Because we really didn't have a winter, this year the bugs are everywhere and managing them without chemicals can test anyone's patience!
A friend of mine asked me this past Sunday what to do about all the whiteflies on the bushes in her yard. She told me they seemed to be everywhere. Whiteflies are tiny flies, they are white, (who would have thought), and they fly off the plant as you touch it. They are sucking insects and will ruin the looks of any garden or landscaping plant. If not controlled, they can kill the plant. Working in my herb garden yesterday, I felt her pain. I had whiteflies everywhere!
So, I thought I would pass along a spray solution that kills the whiteflies (and any other sucking insect) on your plants. The best thing about this spray solution is it works wonders on indoor houseplants as well.
Alcohol Insecticide:
1 cup isopropyl alcohol (either 70% or 91%)
3 cups water
2 to 3 drops liquid dishwashing liquid
Put everything in a plastic sprayer and shake well. Spray the plant, wetting both the top and underside of the leaves.
Now, this will kill the adult flies but it won't do anything about eggs left on the plant. So, you will need to spray again in three days to kill the new adults that hatch. Spray again in three more days to break the reproduction cycle of this pest. Most insecticides aim to break the life cycle of the pest. That is why so many commercial products recommend spraying every few days. For this homemade alcohol insecticide, you must spray three times, three days apart to completely eliminate the insect. If you don't spray that often, you will control them but not eliminate them.
I use this on flowers and shrubs, rather than edible plants. In fact, I don't recommend spraying anything you plan to eat. After all, you are spraying isopropyl alcohol on the plants. Also, to prevent your hands from stinging, wear gloves and certainly don't get the spray in your eyes. Be sure to follow all other caution statements on the isopropyl alcohol bottle and use normal safety practices for applying insecticide.
Having said that, I did spray my herbs yesterday. I severely cut them back to just a few inches tall and left just a few leaves. (This alone eliminated a lot of the bug problem.) I threw away these clippings - rather than put them on the compost pile. Then I sprayed. I don't plan to eat anything from these plants until they at least double in size. I will spray twice more before I check the underside of the leaves for new eggs.
You can use this spray for all indoor/outdoor non-edible plants. If you are a bit hesitant to use it on your roses or other prize plants, test an area first. Spray just a few leaves. Then, go back and check it the next day for damage. This test will tell you if you plant can tolerate the spray.
If you have a specific bug problem that you can't seem to solve, just email me! I will be happy to help.
Happy Gardening!
Have you ever had a flat tire and been stranded? Have you ever been stuck in a snow storm in your car? Has your car ever had mechanical problems while you were driving? To help you have peace of mind in these situations and more, make an emergency car kit. They are easy and fun to make as well as a huge help in an emergency!
Here is a picture of everything I put in my emergency car kit.
This kit includes:
- A change of clothes
- Athletic shoes and socks (Just in case I am in the car in a suit and I have to walk somewhere.)
- Food and water (I have granola bars. For the summer, make sure not to have anything that will melt.)
- Pen and paper
- Pocket knife
- Rain poncho
- Emergency blanket
- Wet wipes
- First aid kit
- Hand sanitizer
- $15 to $20 cash (In small bills.)
- Toilet Paper
- Flashlight & batteries
- Towels
I also keep the following in my car although they are not "officially" in my emergency car kit box:
- Umbrella
- Jumper cables
- Emergency flares and caution sign
- Inflatable Tire in a Can
If you do not have an emergency car kit now, or if you need to increase the number of items currently in your kit, there is no need to go out and purchase all these things at once. When assembling my kit a few years ago, it took me two months to purchase and gather everything I have listed here. If you have more then one car, start gathering the items for one car then when it is complete, start gathering items for the second car.
You can also purchase a complete kit all at once, but since you can find most individual items in the big box stores for much less, it make sense to assemble your kit yourself.
Be sure to rotate the food and water every six months or so. A good time to rotate is when you change your clocks in the spring and fall. This is also a good time to change out summer/winter clothes as well. I change my kit at General Conference time. This event occurs in both April and October for all LDS church members.
Having an emergency car kit gives you complete peace of mind if you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal! And even if you do have a phone signal, it is really nice to know you have food and water and can wait for help to arrive.
If you would like a checklist and some support to help you gather the items for your emergency car kit, visit this blog. These ladies do a terrific job of laying out everything you should do step-by-step. Safely Gathered In
This is one of my favorite foods to eat for breakfast. It is so easy to make and it's made from 100% shelf stable foods. Here are the ingredients:
5 cups steel cut oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup flax seeds
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup
1 TBS vanilla flavoring
5 cups dried fruit
The best thing about this recipe is you can add what you like and leave out what you don't like. I have seen granola recipes on the Internet that include wheat germ, sunflower seeds, cashews, sesame seeds and/or brown sugar. I modified the recipe above by adding a bit more shredded coconut and a bit more maple syrup (1 1/2 cups of each). Feel free to substitute!
Here is how you make it:
Grind the oats, if necessary. I have 180 lbs of oat groats in my food storage. To help with rotation, I use some of the oat groats each time I make granola. I have to grind them to make steel cut oats. For this, I use a WonderMill Jr. grinder - it makes easy work of grinding ANYTHING! However, If you don't have a grain grinder don't despair! You can grind the oats in a blender or just buy steel cut oats at the grocery store. Here is a picture of my grinding activities.
I used a small nut grinder to chop the almonds and walnuts. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, except for the dried fruit. I just combine mine in the same pan I will use when it goes in the oven.
Mix the dry ingredients well. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix well.
When the wet ingredients are mixed, pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.
Place the granola mixture in the oven at 250 degrees for 90 minutes. It is best to stir often. One trick I've found useful is to set the oven timer for 15 to 20 minute intervals. When the timer goes off, take the granola out, stir well and put back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes. The picture below is what it looks like about half way through the baking process.
Did you notice that this pan appears a little empty compared to the one above? That's because I divided the granola mixture in half and placed it in two separate pans. Using two pans allows me to create two different kinds. This one, I left plain. I added 2 tsp of cinnamon to the other half of the recipe to make apple cinnamon granola. Don't worry if it looks like it won't dry, It really comes together nicely, but not until the end.
When the granola is completely dry and a bit toasted, let it cool on the counter. Add the fruit of your choice and enjoy. I usually use my own dried fruit. For this recipe though, I bought some dried fruit at the grocery store. In addition to the apple cinnamon, I created a mixed fruit variety.
Try making some granola of your own. It is easy, delicious and doesn't have any preservatives!
