One of my greatest fears of being caught in a disaster is my dependence on CLEAN water. Depending on circumstances, a human being can only live 3 days without water. If water doesn’t come out my tap- then I’m toast! For that reason, we started looking and researching for a water filter. Some good friends introduced us to the Berkey water filter. They use it on a regular bases to filter what harmful things remain in our water, even after the city has cleaned it. We were sold! Top 5 … [Read more...]
Urban Garden Challenge
City life makes gardening seem out of the question. If you live in an apartment and don’t have access to a yard you might think you can’t grow a garden this summer. However, there are actually many ways to grow a garden in your house or on a back patio. Here are a bunch of ideas that I have wanted to try that might work for you. In fact, I challenge you to take one or two of these ideas and try them yourself. Help others learn from your experience by sharing in the comments below which one … [Read more...]
How to raise meat chickens
I have recently become the proud owner of 36 Rock Cornish Game Hens. You may be thinking, why bother raising my own chickens for meat? $1.99/lb. at the grocery store is easier, right? The reason we are growing our own meat chickens is I want to know what’s going into my chickens so I know what is going in to my family. After all, we are what we eat. We want to live sustainably. We don’t want to be dependent on getting meat at the store. Best Breed Rock Cornish Game Hens are the … [Read more...]
How to Raise Meat Rabbits for Free
My Garden Experiment
I grew up on a farm. Every year my family would grow a garden. Boy, I dreaded gardening. My dad would get the tractor and plow up the garden spot. We would plow in a bunch of horse manure and leaves from the previous year. Then, we would spend one day and plant everything we wanted. Everything was fine at first. Then about June would hit and we would have to spend hours in the garden weeding and weeding. The ground was so hard that we would water the whole garden the day before so the weeds … [Read more...]
Behold, the symbol of SUSTAINABILITY!
The “S” symbolizes what sustainability means to me. The top part of the “S” represents going back to the basics—meaning, focusing on the period of time when folks lived off the land, grew their own food and had simple lifestyles. They worked hard and had to survive without the luxuries of electricity and many other comforts that we use today. Frequently you will hear me refer to those skills that people have been using for thousands of years before modern conveniences. The bottom part of … [Read more...]
3-month supply of food
What’s the difference between a year supply of food and a 3-month supply of food? A year supply is the main staples like your flour, wheat, and sugar that can store for years. Whereas a 3-month supply is a three months supply of the food you eat every day like condiments, canned goods, etc. Often these have a shorter shelf life. The goal of a 3-month supply is at any time having 3 months of the things you eat everyday by consistently replenishing them as you use them. When we were first … [Read more...]
The Secret of Garden Boxes for FREE
As I’ve been contemplating how to grow my garden the most efficient way, I came across a book called “Square Food Gardening Method” (SFG). The method revolves around garden boxes. Like you, I want an awesome garden with little maintenance and SFG with garden boxes seemed like the perfect solution. The problem is the cost in buying the lumber and the time in making the boxes. When discussing it with my wife and researching the cost of lumber right now, it almost didn’t seem worth it. In the SFG … [Read more...]
Building your 72 hr Kits
72 hour kits can sound like a daunting task. They are an item rarely used that take frequent maintenance. However, in the chance of an emergency, they will be the life-line to all you have. We have put together 2 kits for 2 adults and 2 children. This an estimated cost on how much it would be to compile these 2 kits for my family. When planning what should go in your 72 hr kits, first think about what situations in which you would need them. The concept of a 72 hr kit is to hold you over … [Read more...]
How to utilize your garbage
When you eat an apple, what do you do with your core? When your baby only eats half of their food, what do you do with the leftovers? When the spinach in the back of your fridge is found and slimy, what do you do with it? If you grew up like me, then you are thinking of animals and compost. Growing up, it was a sin to throw away food. Why throw it away, if it can feed your animals and give you a beautiful garden? Here is the simplest way to do it: Collecting your trash Even in an … [Read more...]