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Showing posts with label homesteading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homesteading. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2016
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Homesteading Tools! Expected verses Actual
So with all that has been going on I have kind of gotten off track of keeping things together homestead wise. With working 2 jobs and the farm and the kids and just life in general happening I have gotten just mired down.
I realized this yesterday and just decided I needed to regroup and readjust where I am and what I need to get done....I have a lot of people ask me about tools and such we use on the homestead. We made a list years ago of things we would need. We have worked slowly on getting those items built up. We had a set limit of money we would spend on each item. As we find them for that price we buy them if we have the extra money.
Here is that list.
The first item is the item we needed. The first price is what we anticipated paying. The second price (if there is one) is the price we actually paid.
Green House $200
2 compost piles $50 $40
Chainsaw $100 $169*
Bone Saw $20 $5
Gardening Fence $200 FREE
I realized this yesterday and just decided I needed to regroup and readjust where I am and what I need to get done....I have a lot of people ask me about tools and such we use on the homestead. We made a list years ago of things we would need. We have worked slowly on getting those items built up. We had a set limit of money we would spend on each item. As we find them for that price we buy them if we have the extra money.
Here is that list.
The first item is the item we needed. The first price is what we anticipated paying. The second price (if there is one) is the price we actually paid.
Green House $200
2 compost piles $50 $40
Chainsaw $100 $169*
Bone Saw $20 $5
Gardening Fence $200 FREE
2 Plum Trees $60 $30
2 Apple Trees $60
2 Peach Trees $60 $12 (still need 1)
Good Barn $500
Bow Saw $20 $5
Horse Trailer $1000 $1400
Wood Stove $300 $65
Heirloom Seeds $100 $79
2 Spade Shovels $50 $6 (still need 1)
2 Regular Shovels $50 $6 (still need 1)
6 Quilts $500 decided to make on own
Tractor $3000
Tiller $300 $70 (auction)
Wheel Barrow $100 FREE
15 Rabbit Cages $300 $60
2 Freezers $300 $65 for one the other free
Hoe $25 FREE
Broad Fork $50
6 Oil Lamps $100
Cast Iron Cookware $100 $60*
Canning Jars/Lids continual cost per year
Welder $200 $50
Torch $50
Pressure Canner $150 $79
We overspent on the chainsaw. However, we did get a bigger one than we anticipated and I bought it for Morgan new for Christmas as a gift. I did use a coupon and it was on sale. We had figured we would have to buy a smaller used one so we came out ahead by spending the extra money and getting a larger new one for not much more money.
Morgan got me my cast iron set (I had many pans already but wanted to add to them) for Christmas the same year we got the Chainsaw. It was on sale the day after Thanksgiving.
The freezer at Church started frosting inside really badly. The church opted to buy a new one. They gave us the old one and we figured we would have to replace the seal. We unloaded it in the drive way where it had to set for 3 days until we could get it inside. This warmed the seal up enough that walla it went back into place and so we had to pay nothing for it.
We paid more for the horse trailer than we anticipated, however, we got a chance to buy a bigger one that was much newer than we had planned which would do us a lot better for just $400 more. We got this from a friend and were able to make payments on it.
The bone saw and other saw we got super cheap off of a Facebook group where a guy was selling out a bunch of stuff because he was moving out of the country.
The wood stove we bought off of a Facebook selling group. It wasn't the exact kind I wanted but it worked for what we need. In a few years, after we get a few other things bought up, I will purchase a new one when it goes on sale for the end of the season.
The rabbit cages came cheaply because we had some wire given to us and we bought some other wire on sale. It was MUCH cheaper than we had anticipated materials wise.
Heirloom seeds will be a constant, however, we won't have to buy the same kinds of seeds every year as we can harvest from what we grow. I do anticipate it costing us about $50 per year to add new things and such.
We add to this list as we find other things we might need and as we learn of things that would just make our homesteading life easier and better.
Hope this list inspires you to make one of your own and figure out what you need! Planning is definitely key to Homesteading.
2 Peach Trees $60 $12 (still need 1)
Good Barn $500
Bow Saw $20 $5
Horse Trailer $1000 $1400
Wood Stove $300 $65
Heirloom Seeds $100 $79
2 Spade Shovels $50 $6 (still need 1)
2 Regular Shovels $50 $6 (still need 1)
6 Quilts $500 decided to make on own
Tractor $3000
Tiller $300 $70 (auction)
Wheel Barrow $100 FREE
15 Rabbit Cages $300 $60
2 Freezers $300 $65 for one the other free
Hoe $25 FREE
Broad Fork $50
6 Oil Lamps $100
Cast Iron Cookware $100 $60*
Canning Jars/Lids continual cost per year
Welder $200 $50
Torch $50
Pressure Canner $150 $79
We overspent on the chainsaw. However, we did get a bigger one than we anticipated and I bought it for Morgan new for Christmas as a gift. I did use a coupon and it was on sale. We had figured we would have to buy a smaller used one so we came out ahead by spending the extra money and getting a larger new one for not much more money.
Morgan got me my cast iron set (I had many pans already but wanted to add to them) for Christmas the same year we got the Chainsaw. It was on sale the day after Thanksgiving.
The freezer at Church started frosting inside really badly. The church opted to buy a new one. They gave us the old one and we figured we would have to replace the seal. We unloaded it in the drive way where it had to set for 3 days until we could get it inside. This warmed the seal up enough that walla it went back into place and so we had to pay nothing for it.
We paid more for the horse trailer than we anticipated, however, we got a chance to buy a bigger one that was much newer than we had planned which would do us a lot better for just $400 more. We got this from a friend and were able to make payments on it.
The bone saw and other saw we got super cheap off of a Facebook group where a guy was selling out a bunch of stuff because he was moving out of the country.
The wood stove we bought off of a Facebook selling group. It wasn't the exact kind I wanted but it worked for what we need. In a few years, after we get a few other things bought up, I will purchase a new one when it goes on sale for the end of the season.
The rabbit cages came cheaply because we had some wire given to us and we bought some other wire on sale. It was MUCH cheaper than we had anticipated materials wise.
Heirloom seeds will be a constant, however, we won't have to buy the same kinds of seeds every year as we can harvest from what we grow. I do anticipate it costing us about $50 per year to add new things and such.
We add to this list as we find other things we might need and as we learn of things that would just make our homesteading life easier and better.
Hope this list inspires you to make one of your own and figure out what you need! Planning is definitely key to Homesteading.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
"Calgon, Take Me Away"
When I was a young kid there was a commercial where a mother, ran ragged from the "stresses" of the day just wanted to take a bath in this wonderful, relaxing, amazing smelling, bath salts to soak all the cares of the day away. (For those of you who are from an age this side of the 70's I have added a video for your amazement).
Stress can mean different things for different people. With that said, many people are stressed about things that wouldn't bother another person. What stresses one person out can be a comfort to someone else.
Lets use me as an example. I can run a billion dollar a year restaurant, make schedules, order food, keep the drive-thru moving steadily, cover shifts, count money, make change, go to the bank, pay bills, make payroll, do end of the day paperwork, do opening paperwork, and run a position in a restaurant and feel right at home trying to do all these things in a few hours. For me, it is relaxing. I "get" it. I am "good" at it. Now, we will use today as an example. In a matter of 6 hours I had 2 anxiety attacks. Both were to the point that I broke down, my chest hurt, I was crying, and almost immobilized....guess what happened to cause this? The first one came when I tried to fold a king size fitted sheet. Don't get me wrong, I love my king size bed. In fact, we just got it not long ago. I excitedly ran out and bought a second set of sheets so I wouldn't have to launder the one set and put it back on the bed, leaving the bed unmade while the sheets were being laundered. HUGE mistake...now I have to fold the other set of sheets. I am telling you that someone smoked some strange stuff before they came up with the idea of king size fitted sheets. I was so stressed out I couldn't handle it.
Now, before you laugh too hard let me tell you what caused the second anxiety attack...a basket of socks. I am not EVEN joking. I have always hated socks. I almost wish I was born in this era where wearing mismatched socks was fashionable. (I hate it when I see kids doing this). Socks stress me out beyond measure. I use to throw them all in a basket and everyone would have to dig for their own socks. I learned several lessons by this...1. they will always grab MY socks and I will end up with none. 2. they wear them mismatched so grabbing a "pair" of socks is no big thing to them. 3. if I just leave them in the basket then I have to face the stupid basket of socks every day to get a new pair and I learned that was just too stressful so I do actually fold them now. (FYI...buy the same kinds of socks and make them all white and mating them is MUCH easier...plus I have 16 pairs now..which means I only have to do this chore once every 2 weeks.)
For this kind of stress you learn how to calm yourself. To breath and start again in a few minutes. To walk away, to ask for help, to leave it for another day or another time...or to realize that it isn't life or death. If the socks don't get folded no one is really going to be bothered by it.
Since I stay at home full-time now these two things are a routine job for me. Well, as routine as they can be. However, they aren't the only thing that causes stress in my life. I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. It came about as the result of several very traumatic events in my life in a short period of time. It is like a battlefield in your mind. A war that is being raged against every single one of your senses. It is horrible and can be horrendous.
For this kind of stress you may been medical intervention. Medication, counseling, or other things can help to ease this stress....however, it may not ever go away completely.
We all have things that stress us out in different ways. For some people big things just send them over the edge, for others, like me, the small things eat my lunch on a regular basis. The answer lies with finding what works best for you. A hobby, a walk, reading, a phone call to a friend, journaling, there are so many things that one can do to combat stress.
With today being National Stress Awareness Day I hope we are all able to realize that we all have small and large stressors....we are each different....things bother each of us differently. No two people are alike in every aspect. If nothing else, if you see someone else stressed out give them an extra smile, say a thank-you, open their door for them, help them pick something up off the floor. DO SOMETHING...if we all help each other with the small things life would be a lot less stressful.
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