Category Archives: Self-reliance

Sharing the Bounty

5 Comments

We try to grow enough food so that we can share some with our extended family.  Some of our efforts are more successful than others.

Here are some mandarins and avocados that I took to Belle.

2012-06-16 01We usually have plenty of eggs, although this depends a bit on the season.  At the moment we have an abundance so I can give them away to various family members.  There are always many more lemons and limes than we can use so I have taken to putting them in the wheelbarrow outside the gate with a sign on a piece of cardboard indicating that they are free.

One of my planned projects is to make a more permanent arrangement using a sandwich board style of sign with the option of changing what is ‘advertised’.  I hope to be able to show it to you once I get around to making it.  Don’t hold your breath waiting, though!

It is great to be able to share.

Outdoor Organising – Woodshed

9 Comments

The cold, wet weather of the past couple of weeks forced me to do some outdoor organising.  Our only form of heating is the wood-burning heater and this is fueled entirely by wood collected from our own land.

https://organisedcastle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/0032.jpg

We have an area next to the chicken coop which we use as a woodshed, however, this was mostly small branches suitable for kindling.

There are several piles of large pieces of wood that are out in the weather to season before being split into pieces that are suitable for the fireplace.  They have been there for at least a couple of years so are well and truly ready for use.

One of the problems with our wood storage system – if you can call it a system – is that it is stored directly on the ground and over a period of time this will degrade into soil.

After much thought over the years I was finally galvanised into action.

Most of the medium-sized pieces had been used last week to keep us warm and to dry the clothes so there was space cleared on the right-hand side of the shed.  I raked up the remnants of kindling and then used a couple of offcuts of corrugated iron to make a ‘floor’ and stacked some pieces from the outdoor pile against the side wall of the woodshed.  Now that the wood is undercover they will be able to dry out and be split ready for use.

We have a spare half-size wheelie rubbish bin which I filled  with small pieces of kindling.  That is now in the workshop and there are also 4 black tubs in the shed stacked with small to medium wood.

This definitely a work in progress but I am determined that the pile of large, wet  and well-seasoned logs in the backyard will be a a stack of dry,split firewood that is ready to use and easily accessible from the house.

The first step of the process has been taken towards this goal.  That is often the most difficult.

Do you have an overwhelming jobs that you do not  know where or how to start?

Follow The Sun

Leave a comment

Generally our winter months are drier and mostly sunny but we have had a couple of weeks of quite cool, wet weather.  This has meant that we have not generated much solar power from our panels and have also had to turn the booster on the solar hot water on every couple of days.  I also used the drier once or twice to finish drying clothes.  They would at least partially dry on the airer indoors.

However, today is a return to the winter weather that I love.  Sunny with a cold breeze – perfect weather in my opinion.

2012-06-14 01I am making the most of this sunny corner of the verandah in the early morning.  The portable clothes airer which was indoors has been wheeled out  to finish drying the clothes in sun and wind.  The hanging frame with pegs has socks, underwear and plastic bags hanging out to dry as well as 2 woollen sweaters on hangers out to air.  The doormat was washed the other day and is draped over the railing to dry.

I have a rotary clothesline in the backyard which I rarely use and my everyday clothesline is at the other end of the verandah under cover.  That is great for wet weather and also in the summer to help prevent the clothes from fading but at this time of the year I definitely follow the sun.

Meanwhile, the solar panels are generating power which is being exported to the grid as we are using very little power here at the moment.  The only things that are turned on are the computer, refrigerator, small freezer and the bedside clock radio.  The hot water is heating up thanks to the solar hot water system.

The sun is beginning to stream in the windows and warm the house, the winter vegetables are thriving because of it and the chickens are out in the yard searching for their breakfast in the sunshine.  And all of this for free!

Bag It Again

2 Comments

Last week The Duke was given a bottle of wine.  As usual, it was presented in a gift bag.

2012-06-12 01Unfortunately, the giver had chosen to write a message directly on the bag, rendering it unusable.  Or was it?

I was about to dismantle the bag and put most of it in the recycling when I thought again and decided to make a smaller bag by cutting off the top that contained the writing.

Firstly, I removed the ribbon ties then marked where I need to cut.

2012-06-12 02I then cut off the top and refolded about 2cm to the inside and creased the fold to a sharp edge.

2012-06-12 03Finally, I punched some new holes and re-threaded the ribbon.

2012-06-12 04Here is the bag ready for several more uses.

Firepower

2 Comments

The only heating we have is our wood heater and since we are out of the house most days it does not get used a lot.  It costs us nothing to run as the only wood we use is fallen branches from trees on our property.  This weekend it has been wet and cold so the fire has been on for the best part of each day.

While any heating is designed primarily for heating the room to a comfortable temperature it can be used for other purposes at the same time.

2012-06-10 01I put the kettle on top of the heater to heat some water and you can also see the wood drying out which will be added to the fire later.

2012-06-10 02Our wood fire is very versatile and will dry the clothes as well.  I have a clothes dryer which I use from time to time but the fire is better as I can even dry knitted and delicate items which I would not normally put in the dryer.

So the humble fire can keep the room warm, dry out the firewood, dry the clothes and heat water – all at the same time!

Can your heating do double duty?

Taking Care

2 Comments

One of the most important things you can do is to take care of the possessions that you have.

This can come in many different forms such as sweeping and vacuuming floors regularly so that dirt does not get ground into the floor-covering or washing clothes using the appropriate method such as handwashing woollenknits.  Another is keeping your shoes in good condition.  You can extend the life of them significantly and keep them looking good with a few simple tips.

  • If they get wet, stuff the toes with some scrunched up newspaper while they dry so that the shape is maintained.
  • Polish your shoes regularly.  This reduces scuffing and maintains the suppleness of the leather.
  • Have heels and soles repaired or replaced before they get too worn.

2012-06-09 01This is our shoe cleaning kit which we keep in a lidded container in the cupboard under the laundry sink.  There is an assortment of brushes, rags and different coloured polish for our various shoes.  We also keep a couple of sets of spare shoelaces so that we have some on hand if we break a lace.

2012-06-09 02Here are my shoes and boots to be polished.  I always remove any laces before polishing so that I can effectively polish the whole shoe, including the tongue, without getting polish on the laces.

2012-06-09 03Polishing my shoes regularly is a routine which we were taught as young children.  Every weekend our school shoes had to be polished ready for the week ahead.  Some things never change.

Lunch – Local and Leftovers

2 Comments

I dislike seeing food being wasted, so whenever I am at home during the day my lunches can be interesting, to say the least.

2012-06-08 01Here is what I found for my lunch today.Clockwise from the top – last of the home-made tortillas from the freezer, some leftover coleslaw, a bell chilli, an avocado, spoonful of cold, mashed potato and the block of cheese.

The chilli and avocado are from the garden.  I then picked a perennial onion and a bunch of parsley.

2012-06-08 02The avocado skin had been nibbled by some of the local wildlife and there was dirt on it from where it had been lying on the ground but the inside was smooth, creamy and perfect when I cut it.

2012-06-08 03I spread the potato on the tortilla and then cut and piled all of the other ingredients on top, created a wrap and toasted it in the sandwich maker.

2012-06-08 04Here is my toasted gourmet wrap and a glass of lemon cordial.  I finished my meal with a mandarin from our tree.

What do you eat for lunches – at home or when you are at work?

Success

Leave a comment

We have had chickens for about 6 years now but in the last 12 months the most recent ones have been broadening their horizons.  They wander beyond our boundaries and have been making a nuisance of themselves by scratching on the neighbour’s property.  So for the last few weeks we have had to keep them shut up mostly except when we are around to closely supervise their whereabouts.

In the long term we plan to rebuild the chicken house in a different location and have a substantial fenced area where they will be able to roam.  However, this is not going to happen immediately as it is to be done in conjunction with fencing the vegetable garden area and some other landscaping.

2012-05-31 01 So, today I have put some nylon bird-netting over the fence and gate where I think they get out and seem to have successfully kept the chickens in our yard.

We also have some temporary fencing around the vegetable gardens as they are diligent when it comes to looking for tasty morsels, and there are plenty of earthworms in the garden.

2012-05-31 02And here are a couple of photos of the girls happily scratching in an area that is perfect for them.

2012-05-31 04Having a lovely time in the leaf litter…………

2012-05-31 03

DIY Dishcloths

3 Comments

In response to an earlier post about the dishcloths I had finished knitting, Cathy asked if I could share the pattern.

This pattern is from the ‘Down to Earth’ book by Rhonda Hetzel who writes a blog of the same name.  If you have not seen it yet please pop in here.

This is the pattern which I have put into my own words.

Using 8 ply (or doubled 4 ply) cotton, cast on 38 stitches.

Rows 1 – 3      Knit
Row 4             Knit
Row 5             K3, purl to last 3 stitches, K3
Row 6             K3, [P2, K1], repeat to last 2 stitches, K2
Row 7             K3, [K2, P1], repeat to last 5 stitches, K5

Repeat rows 4 – 7, 14 times (total of 63 rows)

Rows 64 – 67    Knit

Cast off, fasten thread and weave in the ends.

On a (Jelly) Roll

2 Comments

After hearing the term ‘jelly roll’ in relation to quilting I was sufficiently intrigued to try to find out what it is.  A Google search was all I needed.  I found this video on You Tube and was inspired to give it a go with my own fabric rather than buying a roll of precut fabric.

I spent a couple of hours on this and here is the result.

2012-05-27 01I am going to use this as the centre of a quilt for Izz.

2012-05-27 02These are some of the squares I have done.  You can start to get a general idea of what it will look like.

I have more fabric and more ideas but you will have to wait to see the next step.