Since we've been on our 'resident leasehold' as it's called, Nux and I have balanced our time between hard work and relaxed enjoyment. We've spent a lot of time sitting around, looking at the land, enjoying sunsets and clouds and campfires.
We've also been trying to get things goin' so we can take good care of ourselves during our six-month residency period. That's included:
-cleaning our food and water storage barrels
-cleaning out and filling 5-gal buckets with food and kitchenware
-cleaning up mouse poop
-setting mousetraps
-setting up our solar shower
-digging topsoil and moving it to the garden
-cutting down hung-up limbs for garden posts
-digging post holes and putting in garden posts
-hunting for cheap chicken wire to keep rabbits out
-starting seedlings for the garden in a neighbor's greenhouse (tomatoes, squash, peppers, lemon basil, dark opal basil, and sugar snap peas)
-doing lots of laundry by hand
-peeing outside and using cloth wipes
-trying to stay clean
-modifying the washing area to have a 'drying rack' for our dishes
-cutting down tall grasses and brambles around the garden
-clearing dead wood out of the draw so it can one day become a pond
Those are the major things that have been occupying our time. Of course we spend time cooking food from scratch as well, and we've helped Jacob out with various tasks to help him set up a shelter at his new 'stead.
Most of these things I'd never done before. It seems like the main challenge of starting a homestead is to figure out how to get All sorts of things done - breaking things down into small steps, finding materials for free or cheap, figuring out how to put stuff together so it works for ya, and utilizing whatever resources are nearby to make ideas become reality.
We've also been trying to get things goin' so we can take good care of ourselves during our six-month residency period. That's included:
-cleaning our food and water storage barrels
-cleaning out and filling 5-gal buckets with food and kitchenware
-cleaning up mouse poop
-setting mousetraps
-setting up our solar shower
-digging topsoil and moving it to the garden
-cutting down hung-up limbs for garden posts
-digging post holes and putting in garden posts
-hunting for cheap chicken wire to keep rabbits out
-starting seedlings for the garden in a neighbor's greenhouse (tomatoes, squash, peppers, lemon basil, dark opal basil, and sugar snap peas)
-doing lots of laundry by hand
-peeing outside and using cloth wipes
-trying to stay clean
-modifying the washing area to have a 'drying rack' for our dishes
-cutting down tall grasses and brambles around the garden
-clearing dead wood out of the draw so it can one day become a pond
Those are the major things that have been occupying our time. Of course we spend time cooking food from scratch as well, and we've helped Jacob out with various tasks to help him set up a shelter at his new 'stead.
Most of these things I'd never done before. It seems like the main challenge of starting a homestead is to figure out how to get All sorts of things done - breaking things down into small steps, finding materials for free or cheap, figuring out how to put stuff together so it works for ya, and utilizing whatever resources are nearby to make ideas become reality.
Comments
It's amazing how much time and effort day to day life can take without 'modern conveniences' isn't it?
I used to get back from a few weeks out in the wilds and be amazed and feel somewhat guilty about all the time I waste day to day.
I think "What the heck? I spent 2-3 hours rounding up dinner, All I had to do was warm these leftovers up for 1 minute, what did I DO with my day?"
Minor suggestion, maybe make a small 'shelf' or two for your shower to rest your solar showers on. It will angle it better to the sun unless it's REALLY low in the sky (winter), and also allow the water to heat more evenly.
One mini project I have always wanted to try was reconditioning the back of a fridge to a solar water heater. Build windowed frame (can even use heavy duty sheeting tarp they sell for painting for the 'window'), hack the coils from the back of a fridge out, spray paint it with matte black rustoleum or something, let it rest at about a 45` angle, pipe one side to the bottom of a barrel or bucket, pipe the top of the construction into the 'top' of the barrel (making sure it stays under the water line). As water heats it rises and flows back into the barrel drawing cold water in from the bottom.
I want to use a system like this to provide thermal mass for a greenhouse in the winter.
-Tyme