Category Archives: Prepping

Silent Green Giants – An Update

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In March last year, during the first couple of weeks of this blog, I posted this entry about our ‘big 3’ – the solar panels, solar hot water and rainwater tanks.

Today I finally received our statement from our electricity company for the meter reading which was done back at the end of November.  This means that we now have the statistics for a full 12 month period of having solar panels and exporting generated power, which is excess to our requirements, back to the grid.

In one year of having our solar panels connected to the grid we will receive a refund of $1,244.33 as well as having $0 in power bills.  This represents a total turnaround of costs over 12 months of $2,392.17.  I am really pleased with the result as it was achieved despite one of the wettest summers on record (and next to no sunshine) in the first 3 months after the installation of the panels.

We have a 3.7kW system which cost nearly $14,000 after the rebates.  We anticipated that we would recover our costs (in refunds and no bills) within about 5 years.  We will go close to achieving this and my goal for the next year is to reduce our electricity consumption even further by being more vigilant in monitoring our usage.  I will also endeavour to make sure that more of our necessary consumption is at night, thereby maximising the power being exported to the grid.

I am pleased that we can minimise our costs as well as making a positive contribution to reducing our carbon footprint.

The Ones That Got Away

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Yesterday I ventured down to the vegetable gardens and found these zucchini.  At 1.8kg and 2.8kg they could certainly be regarded as the ones that got away.

2012-01-15 01The photograph shows them beside the food processor which gives an indication of the size of them.

In keeping with my previous post, there was no way I was going to waste them so I cut them up and and scooped the seeds out.  I then cut them into manageable pieces and fed them through the food processor with the grater attachment.  Since the skin is fairly tough on these large zucchini it did not grate particularly well but my work still yielded 8 x 400 g packs of grated zucchini in ziplock bags ready to freeze.

2012-01-15 02These are now packed away in the freezer, ready for use.  I make zucchini quiche/slice which works perfectly well with previously frozen zucchini.  I also add it to bolognaise sauce and lasagne.

I will post the recipe for the Zucchini Slice on Friday in Friday Favourites.

What do you do when you have a glut of a particular fruit or vegetable?

Be Prepared

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Here we are in the third week of December and everyone’s thoughts are firmly focused on Christmas celebrations.

There are other things we should be thinking about at this time of the year as well.  The weather bureau is expecting a low pressure system which is south-east of Papua New Guinea to develop into the first cyclone of the season, probably within the next 48 hours.  You can see the details here.  While it is unlikely to directly affect Queensland in the immediate future, it is worth remembering that cyclones can be extremely unpredictable.

Regardless of where you live or what natural disasters are a threat to your region, you should have both an evacuation plan and arrangements which ensure that you can survive  in your home or current location without supplies or resources for at least 3 days (minimum).

Part of being organised is that it is easy to decide what to take if you have to leave in a hurry, or conversely, being able to function with what you have for at least a few days.  I have no intention of being in the queue for toilet paper and other basic necessities in the last 12 hours as a cyclone or flood approach.

What plans do you have in place in the event of a natural disaster?

Where Are the Savings?

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I was debating what to write tonight when I came across this post from Jennifer Lorenzetti at Fast, Cheap and Good.  The final 2 paragraphs are the crux of the matter as far as I am concerned.

For many people it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet financial commitments and this is a clear reminder that simply making at least some meals from scratch can be a huge saving on the budget.

If you can manage to grow even a few vegetables it can make an even greater difference.  Here in Australia, we have the benefit of being able to grow something almost all of the year round in most parts of the country.

Lettuce, bok choy, pak choy and broccoli

Compared to the USA and Europe we are still in relatively good financial shape but it is anyone’s guess how long that will continue.  Therefore, it is prudent to consider what changes we can make to the way we prepare our meals that will both save us money and reduce our reliance on ‘just in time deliveries’ to the major supermarkets.

Have you made any changes to the foods you eat or way you prepare meals?