So, I have a contract for the frame and roof on the future imaginary home. It's more than I want to pay and less than the builder wants to get.
One contract term was left open and I'm not super happy with it. It has to do with some deferred payments.
Pretty sure I can avoid the term entirely if I pay without the deferred bit. Hence the new budget cuts.
It's summer. The garden is going. The community garden is going. The farmers market is going with some folks selling veg for 1$/lb and less which is below the grocery store prices by 30-500% for the same veggies.
AND it's berry season. AND Mom (Hi mom) and my sister (HI!) sent some dehydrated mushrooms and stuff.
It seem sensible to cut the food budget.
No coffee out. I do that some months anyway. This month again.
Limited dining out to the meals I'd committed to with friends BEFORE this month started.
No grocery store trip in August. Grocery shopping is a habit for me. I check for deals at a rotating cast of stores. That's fine. It also seems to involve 1 treat per trip at 1$. That isn't a huge amount, but it's a habit I can break.
Instead of the grocery trips this month, I'm eating what I have including the veg and eggs. The neighbor lady is bringing me potatoes about once a week. I have potatoes in the garden so I can dig those if I feel like it. I've picked service berries and have 3 quarts set by. A friend has strawberries on. I got a quart of huckleberries the other day. My blueberries are a bust. Oh well. The apples will be ready on the trees next month but fruit this month will be tomatoes (farmers market and friends) and berries mostly. I hear there is a "you pick" blueberry place near me so perhaps check that out and can them with a friend which will leave me with more fruit for the winter.
I've got cracked wheat and rice in the pantry stash so I'm not lacking on starch. I got a loaf of bread at the farmers market and will cut down to a few rolls next week. Also got bagels from a new marketer. I try to support folks who join up. Next week, nope. The cookie kids weren't at the market so I didn't have to drop that 50cents. Next week I will also skip one of the 2 markets. I buy very little at the Thursday market and will cut back to every other week I think. A friend's kids sell really nice honey based lemonade and I like to support them. A friend sells scones but she sells whether I buy or not so I can cut those out easily.
Since I don't do milk products, skipping the store isn't that hard.
For protein I have jarred up pekin duck meat and my fresh eggs from the hens, and some sunflower seeds. Also peas and beans in the garden. Basically high end stuff which I will eat. I have enough eggs to share back with the neighbor.
I still have greens going and hope to plant some kale or lettuce today to help get through more of the fall with greens. Have sprouting seeds if all else fails. The beets are coming on as well. Garlic will be picked shortly. And more horseradish.
No problem with fiber or iron or vitamin C or anything else I can think of so, no grocery trip needed.
It is a habit to break though! Yesterday I did laundry and almost automatically started the grocery store rounds. One stop includes food for donation. Instead of that, I will donate $$ online to a local food bank or something.
The other area I can cut, I think, is fuel. Driving slower gets the mileage up about 10% which should mean a 10% savings. And making do rather than running to town should help. I usually do that, but will double down now.
The subaru shows me my miles per gallon average and I'm trying to keep that at 27 or higher. Probably should trade out the air filter. I'll see what they cost. I know it's clogged up.
Also need to swap out a headlamp. Dang it. I have it...15$!!!! GEEZ. Anyway, doing it myself as usual and expected to use some of my bandaid stock pile as a result.
Other than that, sticking with just what I need.
I have a garden spending debate. Some tiny black beetle in the raised bed that ate the leaves of radishes and the arugula. Dang things! I hope the seeds on those still come on. That's what I was going for at the moment. As of yesterday the bugs hated the kale. I think the best solution is diatomaceous earth so I need to price that.
I also need to get some peat in to get the composting toilet through winter. Dang.
No clothing purchases this month. Use what I have.
I brought the laundry home to dry and saved 4 or 5 bucks. Next week I'll do the delicates and lightweight stuff at home. I've cut laundry to every 2 weeks at the laundromat, but with more diligent home laundry I might be able to push that to every 3 weeks.
I'll keep looking at other cuts to make.
Showing posts with label build. Show all posts
Showing posts with label build. Show all posts
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Saturday, August 1, 2020
101 Money Saving Ideas: Numbers 60-73
Remember, I'm taking this idea from Centsible Living with Money Mom on the youtubes. Check out her channel.
Starting to have to get more creative and think more so this is getting a bit more fun.
60 Stay home! And not just to shop on line. When I stay home I eat what I have, don't spend on gas, don't spend on anything (usually, unless I have forgotten to pay a bill and get online to avoid a late fee). Staying home days are also about the only times I don't acquire plastic. I don't have home mail delivery so no stupid plastic envelope windows acquired at home. Sometimes people drop stuff off and almost always in a plastic bag...it's like we've forgotten how to live without goddamn plastic bags. Even me. Anyway. More anon. Stay home. I like home days. I get stuff done. Today is hopefully a home day. I picked a quart of berries before breakfast because I noticed them while I was letting the chickens out and feeding them. I grabbed the berry bucket and had at the service berries because they are read...see above "free fruit". Had some in a pancake...made from what I have on hand. I hope to stay home tomorrow too! I took some time off work to run errands, like picking up more fuel for the wee butane stove so I don't have any "musts" in town that can't be done on the phone.
61 Use the phone. You can still call ahead to the hardwares, groceries, and other businesses to find out if they have what you are looking for what the prices are. This saves me stops when I am in town. Sometimes I do want to do a run through on hardware/lumber place to check clearance or the free scraps bins for lumber or chain bits (one store had free chain bits, handy for many things), but it's better for me not to stop at all because they might have something else I want to buy but don't need. Right now I'm checking jar prices for the mustard business and jar stock. Everyone seems to be using more jars, or buying more jars. I don't know if we're all using them. More of us went back to calling with the corona "stay home" and curbside service available. It also keeps the number of people down in the stores and this helps with the 'rona distancing and etc that we're trying to do (well, some of us are trying to do). I've called this year for fence post prices and stock and it saved me a few stops at places that either didn't have the posts I wanted, or were too expensive. Then of course I found posts at the recycling center but I go through posts and they won't be cheaper next year so I did not return what I had bought. I have about 10 fence posts for when I'm ready to beef up the garden fence or build the chicken jail. Good to have on hand rather than need to run to town.,
62 Keep your eyes on the side of the road! I almost stopped for a bag of cookies yesterday that someone had lost along the road. It looked like it was closed. I was on my way somewhere and in a hurry and decided the odds the cookies were NOT breached upon impact was low, and I did not need a bag of cookies when I'm trying to cut down on sugar. I DO stop for pallets, giant hubcaps off dump trucks (hello new fire ring!...and since a trip to the free metal bin at the recycling center it's also a new BBQ grill because there was a grill grate that fit). I also have picked up lumber, firewood, and hope to pick up wood chips once my pickup truck unloader gets here. Free chicken bedding, compost and garden bed base!
63 Buy tools that will help you save money. Think it through. Maybe borrow them first or test them. Read reviews, perhaps watch a few youtubes including those from folks who hated or didn't find the tool useful so you get more than just "this is awesome" vids because those are often paid for or in exchange for a free item. Recently, and it's not here yet so we'll see if it is worth it, I bought a truck bed unloader. I'll put a picture up if I like it. Tools I've already invested in that have saved me money are...dewalt 20v cordless reciprocating saw, drill/driver, and weed whacker. The saw came in a set that included a circular saw. I haven't used that one yet. If it goes a year without use, I might sell it or trade it. I use the others all the time. They save me time and make me more likely to DIY things with my scrap lumber and pallets than to go in town and buy something to fill the want/need. The drill/drive is used pretty much every week to fix something or jerry rig something. Decent hand tools are useful too! I haven't had to buy these but others might. Basic hammer, saw, drill, screw drivers. Have them. Also, a good multi-tool with pliers, screw drivers and a blade. Keep it with you. You'll end up fixing things or doing things rather than putting them off.
63 Reuse those damn plastic bags. I haven't bought trash bags...other than contractor bags for house construction trash that needed hauled to a place that requires bags...for myself for YEARS. Reuse those stupid plastic grocery/store bags that you constantly get from stores and from people. I almost always remember to bring my own bag or ask for paper when I'm in a store, or even just juggle the purchases until I get to the car, but now and then a clerk will have extra-bagged something (like those nails were going to leak into the candy bars?) when I wasn't looking or I'm tired or someone gives me food or something else in a plastic damn bag. Or my SISTER...you know who you are...uses these as stuffing when she ships a package to me. So I reuse them. Hence never purchasing household garbage bags. I rarely run out and when I do, there's always produce bags for trash...or...get this...paper bags. OR get THIS...putting trash in a trash can WITHOUT A BAG!!!!! Epic. Ground breaking. NORMAL. Rinse the can out if it's stinky but since I compost and have chickens there is rarely anything in the trash that will stink. The compost transport container will reek but not the trash. I tried braiding the grocery sacks for rugs etc, but they are so flimsy they shred and make micro plastic trash which I find more offensive than macro plastic trash.
64 Shop at product specific stores. Skip the big box stores. This save by avoiding distractions like going for tampons and seeing tires on sale. Or trying acres of free samples and coming home with bags (plastic bags) of pot stickers you didn't plan on buying. Also saves the "club" fee that some of the big box stores have. If you need groceries, go to the grocery store. Preferably a locally owned or smaller chain type. Or the discount grocery if you have one around. When I need hardware I go to the hardware store. I don't leave with eggs. Of course I check thrift and free first, but when those let me down, real hardware or real groceries. Or real clothing stores (like discount off brand clothing stores when I need undies and socks, the rest is thrift and hand me downs for the most part). I haven't been in a walmart since the giant flood in iowa. Well, maybe I was IN one with a friend who shops there, but I haven't purchased from them for YEARS. Probably over a decade. If you skip that one event when the other stores were flooded, it's been multiple decades. I haven't been in a costco in over a decade. I do NOT need a pallet of toilet paper. Or 3lbs of cheesy poofs. Gross. By shopping at local/specific product stores I support the community, most pay better than the big box conglomerates (not all, but I do ask), and I know my prices. Crap isn't always cheaper at the big boxes. I limit my distractions by not seeing hardware at the grocery store etc. I also end up with staff who know me and don't mind when I ask annoying bougie questions like "how much will it cost to special order 5lbs of brown mustard seed?" (actual question). They also know I like the free/cheap/discount hardware and lumber so when I buy 2 2x4s and drive out of the lumber yard with a pickup full of scrap and bent fence posts that were in the free bin, they don't have to take the extra time to double check the load. They know me, they know I didn't hide 3 more bits of good lumber under the crappy scrap (or do they... they do).
65 Wait before you buy. This is in addition to the thinking noted in #26. I wanted that pick up unloader for a while. A friend (Hi Cindy) mentioned that it existed. I thought about it. Looked it up. Thought some more. That was the "thinking" portion. THEN, with enough thinking, I'd picked a brand and store to get it from (a product specific store that shall remain nameless because a lot of their stuff is so cheap its crap and not the good kind for the garden). THEN, it wasn't in stock yet so I kept hand-unloading the truck and thought through buying the more expensive brand. But I kept checking the website and the brick-n-mortar store location when I was close to it and suddenly this last week the item could be ordered again. So I jumped on that and it's hopefully on the way. I didn't spend the Bday money while waiting. I didn't crack and buy the more expensive one. This also works for electronics. This computer I'm typing on is old and breaks sometimes. My car and truck are older with high miles. But I'm waiting before replacing. Electronics get cheaper with time and more used items show up. Cars sometime get cheaper, sometimes not. With waiting I can save up, think things through, and perhaps decide I didn't need it in the first place. Perhaps I borrowed the tool and it was a one time use or I didn't like it. Or I rented an option and didn't like it. Or, rented and loved it and solidified the choice to purchase. Whatever. The waiting almost always saves money. Now and then you spend more, but in the big picture, it saves.
66 Freeware/Shareware is your friend! At home, on this old grindy laptop, I use "libreoffice" because it works. It's free to download and is close enough to the big expensive brand
word processing etc software that things translate back and forth well enough. Not perfect, but good enough. I donate a little back if a freeware/shareware looks like it is particularly well done. I check with the IT savvy sibling on that. It also helps delineate the work/home line. The work from home time during 'rona sucked, but that's OK. I don't want to make it easy to work at home. I had to pay for therapy for workaholism so let's not support the cross over. Make work pay for that if they really need me to work at home again. I used paper and pencils (think of it! paper and pencils) and got as much done as my coworkers with full spendy home working set ups. I did crack and get the wifi but next time work will have to pay for that too. I don't buy egames, emovies, etc. If it's free, MAYBE but not always. I have the free version of the anti-virus as well. Right now it's irritating because I have to tell it to buzz off about 3 times a day, even when I'm not online it tries to tell me I'm being tracked. But, it's free. The freeware wordprocessing works for me partly because I'm a fast typist (compared to other modern folks, not 1950s secretaries) and decent editor so when I lose formatting in translating between programs, it doesn't take me long to fix it. The "per hour" savings is still good.
68 Support local crafts people. This isn't always cheaper in the moment. It is a long range community frugal/money saving deal. It ensures there are local crafts people. E.g. I'm selling at the farmers market in a town by me. Partly my stuff and partly someone else's stuff. So, I buy from the other vendors. I've mentioned this before. Yesterday and last week, I bought a couple of things I didn't specifically NEED but they support a young person who is learning some crafts. He made tops so is learning wood working/turning. I bought one. It's pretty and may become a gift (or a plumb bob) but it doesn't spin. It was 3$ so not a big loss. It supports him as he starts college. Yesterday I bought a small knife from him. I don't specifically NEED a knife that size. It was 5$ and he was doing his last trip to the market this year before he starts college. I want to support his craft. The knife is made from carbon steel and takes and edge nicely, is a good small size for a gutting knife, and is cute. I also know it's from recycled materials that he locally sourced. I want to support him and his practices so I got the wee knife. I've already used it. I also buy cookies from his little brother. The kid sells them cheap and is learning to cook and run a business. It's a buck and it's delicious. Same with the local bread guy. I don't technically NEED bread, I could make it or eat something else. But he's a crafts man with the sourdough so I buy a bit each week to support him and the business. For my house build, I'm going with a more craftsman type builder who trains up younger staff. It's not the cheapest but it's more flexible in the style he will do and I meet crafts people who will be around for decades when I need a repair. They will also mostly stay in the community and we'll have actual builders around.
69 Share your skills. This saves you and others money. When I've shared my skills by teaching, people give back and become part of the frugal network around here. I've taught small batch fermenting, jam making and canning, and vermicomposting. I'm in touch with students from all these and the local extension agent knows they can call on me for these skills and teaching. I've also passed on ferments to those who wanted to try them. I generally get the jar back with something in it or a favor. I don't do it specifically for that, it's just how humans usually work. The network is another long range savings even if I spend a few bucks up front. Right now I'm activating the network to find jars for my mustards. People have offered jars and creative options when those aren't available. I also enjoy running in to the kids at schools where I've helped set up vermicomposting. Someday those kids will grow up to compost or garden. Not all of them, but maybe a few. That helps the community and in general saves cash for them.
70 Know your limits. How does that save money? Well, I KNOW I can't fix the broken dash display on the pick up. If I try, I will break it more. Then I will have to get it fixed by paying someone. I ran into a guy with the same issue and even doing his own work and getting the bits at a scrap yard, he was out 250$. I'm working around the issue entirely. I also didn't try to pour my own slab or build my own post and beam structure. Chicken coop construction...yes. Human house construction...no. I DID learn something about plumbing, largely that it is one of my limits, but still saved a bit on that by DIYing with lots of help. I don't change my oil. I COULD but I COULD also cross thread the screw every damn time which is a trip to town, spilled oil to clean up, and reliance on 2 running vehicles (so I have one to run to town in while I get the thingy to retap the hole and a bigger plug screw thingy and crap to clean up the oil spill). Change a headlamp...yes. Oil...usually NO.
Other ways to do that. If you can't cook much, don't think "I'm making pad thai." Instead think "I have rice, I'm making rice." Baby steps. For every day cooking, fixing, making, know your limits. When you acquire a new skill, incorporate it but maybe don't make a plan based on skills you hope to acquire anymore than you make a budget based on a lottery you intend to win. I don't buy broken down "project" cars because I can't fix them. I don't adopt abused dogs for the same reason. I can't fix that. Same with my men. Anyway. Know your limits.
71 Meal plan. Meal plan around what you have. Then make the list for shopping if you MUST. Then be flexible. Don't write "oranges" write "fruit." Last time I ran by a grocery store, cantaloupe was on sale for 18cents/lb while oranges were $1.39/lb. I have cantaloupes. Now I have service berries for free so even better. I have duck and eggs for protein so I do not plan a steak dinner. I plan and egg or duck dinner. If you can meal plan entirely by what you have, even better. This weekend, that's what I'm doing. Partly because I'm home and partly because it's fun.
72 Creative opportunities are everywhere. I don't really get paying to go paint ceramics while drinking wine (oops...first wrote "whine" which is what I'm doing). I don't like wine. (I do like whining though.) I don't need any painted ceramic anything. I like to do crafts and crafting, but the costs should be minimal or zeroed out. I also look at creative options elsewhere. I'd rather try cooking something new or learning more wild plants by walking around with my plant identification books, or picking berries or making boxes for my mustard samples, than paying to paint a mug that will end up at a thrift store in a few weeks (I see them there...along with HUNDREDS of items from "the pampered chef" parties). Meal planning is an excellent creative outlet. If you have 3 eggs, 2 cups of raw rice and a salsa packet from that drive-thru frugal mistake, I'm sure you can make something. Be creative. If you need a tool, think more about the task that made you think you "need" the tool and figure out if there is a different option based on what you have. E.g. I needed to move well over a ton of wet straw off the slab for my future home. I didn't have help or power equipment. I hauled straw by hand on a pitch fork for a while. Walking it all the way to the erosion problem I was putting it on (rather than buying erosion fabric or getting straw sprayed on it...creative solution is to use what I have). That was heavy and time consuming and killing my shoulders. I have a utility sled and used that for a bit. It's small and had the strength to haul more once the load was off my shoulders. Then I remembered tarp technology. I shoved the straw off the slab onto a scrap of torn tarp about 15' square. Pulled it with my arms and that was better. Then I had the real epiphany. Tie 2 corners of the tarp together to make a loop like the rope on the sled. I load the tarp up with it pretty well spread out but those corners tied. Then I step into the loop, pull the knot up to my hip bones, keeping the hauling load on my legs and butt rather than my back. Grab some of the wadded tarp bit. Then I walk over the to erosion area, dragging the heavy load with my powerful hind quarters. Once I have it a bit past where I want it, I walk back over the loaded tarp and continue on in that direction. The tarp rolls over itself, dumping the load of heavy wet straw while I walk horizontally, not lifting anything. The chickens head over to check for bugs and scratch it up, throwing it around in a fairly even layer. Someday I might rake it around but for now the chickens are doing that work and are happy with the job. It took a while but it was creative, got something done that needed doing, and ended up entertaining my chickens and getting some extra bug protein in their diets.
There is a section in the Tightwad Gazette (a great book for the frugal to have or to get from the library) about being creative. It is pretty much like what I wrote but with pictures and sketches and briefer.
73 Keep a frugal reference library on hand. Yes, real books. They work when the electricity is out. The wifi is out. The internet is down. The car is broken. Your leg is broken. When whatever keeps you from getting to the library or the internet or calling people for help. Books are with you. I have a reference library for gardening, wild plant and mushroom identification, basic home repair, cooking, frugality, beekeeping, a dictionary, home construction, solar power, and DIY projects. Part of the library is in rotation based on what I find in the free book bin. Many cookbooks come and go from there. Basic cookbooks like "More with Less" and a classic Better Homes and Gardens, are permanent. I find local and church cookbooks amusing so those come and go. If there is an interesting recipe I tear it out or copy it down and move on. For home repair those rotate too. When I find the one I like best, I will keep it. I get them from the library and the free book bin. I keep a dictionary because I like language(s) and because I like learning new words. For 25cents I found a 1906 vest pocket dictionary at a thrift store. It includes how to give a toast, how to write a thank you letter, how to write a complaint/compliment letter to a business and some other handy outdated tips that I still use. I'm trying to get a home built hence those books. They might move on if I find ones I like better. Same with gardening books. Those were mostly from the free bin and when I find ones I like better, they move on.
Starting to have to get more creative and think more so this is getting a bit more fun.
60 Stay home! And not just to shop on line. When I stay home I eat what I have, don't spend on gas, don't spend on anything (usually, unless I have forgotten to pay a bill and get online to avoid a late fee). Staying home days are also about the only times I don't acquire plastic. I don't have home mail delivery so no stupid plastic envelope windows acquired at home. Sometimes people drop stuff off and almost always in a plastic bag...it's like we've forgotten how to live without goddamn plastic bags. Even me. Anyway. More anon. Stay home. I like home days. I get stuff done. Today is hopefully a home day. I picked a quart of berries before breakfast because I noticed them while I was letting the chickens out and feeding them. I grabbed the berry bucket and had at the service berries because they are read...see above "free fruit". Had some in a pancake...made from what I have on hand. I hope to stay home tomorrow too! I took some time off work to run errands, like picking up more fuel for the wee butane stove so I don't have any "musts" in town that can't be done on the phone.
61 Use the phone. You can still call ahead to the hardwares, groceries, and other businesses to find out if they have what you are looking for what the prices are. This saves me stops when I am in town. Sometimes I do want to do a run through on hardware/lumber place to check clearance or the free scraps bins for lumber or chain bits (one store had free chain bits, handy for many things), but it's better for me not to stop at all because they might have something else I want to buy but don't need. Right now I'm checking jar prices for the mustard business and jar stock. Everyone seems to be using more jars, or buying more jars. I don't know if we're all using them. More of us went back to calling with the corona "stay home" and curbside service available. It also keeps the number of people down in the stores and this helps with the 'rona distancing and etc that we're trying to do (well, some of us are trying to do). I've called this year for fence post prices and stock and it saved me a few stops at places that either didn't have the posts I wanted, or were too expensive. Then of course I found posts at the recycling center but I go through posts and they won't be cheaper next year so I did not return what I had bought. I have about 10 fence posts for when I'm ready to beef up the garden fence or build the chicken jail. Good to have on hand rather than need to run to town.,
62 Keep your eyes on the side of the road! I almost stopped for a bag of cookies yesterday that someone had lost along the road. It looked like it was closed. I was on my way somewhere and in a hurry and decided the odds the cookies were NOT breached upon impact was low, and I did not need a bag of cookies when I'm trying to cut down on sugar. I DO stop for pallets, giant hubcaps off dump trucks (hello new fire ring!...and since a trip to the free metal bin at the recycling center it's also a new BBQ grill because there was a grill grate that fit). I also have picked up lumber, firewood, and hope to pick up wood chips once my pickup truck unloader gets here. Free chicken bedding, compost and garden bed base!
63 Buy tools that will help you save money. Think it through. Maybe borrow them first or test them. Read reviews, perhaps watch a few youtubes including those from folks who hated or didn't find the tool useful so you get more than just "this is awesome" vids because those are often paid for or in exchange for a free item. Recently, and it's not here yet so we'll see if it is worth it, I bought a truck bed unloader. I'll put a picture up if I like it. Tools I've already invested in that have saved me money are...dewalt 20v cordless reciprocating saw, drill/driver, and weed whacker. The saw came in a set that included a circular saw. I haven't used that one yet. If it goes a year without use, I might sell it or trade it. I use the others all the time. They save me time and make me more likely to DIY things with my scrap lumber and pallets than to go in town and buy something to fill the want/need. The drill/drive is used pretty much every week to fix something or jerry rig something. Decent hand tools are useful too! I haven't had to buy these but others might. Basic hammer, saw, drill, screw drivers. Have them. Also, a good multi-tool with pliers, screw drivers and a blade. Keep it with you. You'll end up fixing things or doing things rather than putting them off.
63 Reuse those damn plastic bags. I haven't bought trash bags...other than contractor bags for house construction trash that needed hauled to a place that requires bags...for myself for YEARS. Reuse those stupid plastic grocery/store bags that you constantly get from stores and from people. I almost always remember to bring my own bag or ask for paper when I'm in a store, or even just juggle the purchases until I get to the car, but now and then a clerk will have extra-bagged something (like those nails were going to leak into the candy bars?) when I wasn't looking or I'm tired or someone gives me food or something else in a plastic damn bag. Or my SISTER...you know who you are...uses these as stuffing when she ships a package to me. So I reuse them. Hence never purchasing household garbage bags. I rarely run out and when I do, there's always produce bags for trash...or...get this...paper bags. OR get THIS...putting trash in a trash can WITHOUT A BAG!!!!! Epic. Ground breaking. NORMAL. Rinse the can out if it's stinky but since I compost and have chickens there is rarely anything in the trash that will stink. The compost transport container will reek but not the trash. I tried braiding the grocery sacks for rugs etc, but they are so flimsy they shred and make micro plastic trash which I find more offensive than macro plastic trash.
64 Shop at product specific stores. Skip the big box stores. This save by avoiding distractions like going for tampons and seeing tires on sale. Or trying acres of free samples and coming home with bags (plastic bags) of pot stickers you didn't plan on buying. Also saves the "club" fee that some of the big box stores have. If you need groceries, go to the grocery store. Preferably a locally owned or smaller chain type. Or the discount grocery if you have one around. When I need hardware I go to the hardware store. I don't leave with eggs. Of course I check thrift and free first, but when those let me down, real hardware or real groceries. Or real clothing stores (like discount off brand clothing stores when I need undies and socks, the rest is thrift and hand me downs for the most part). I haven't been in a walmart since the giant flood in iowa. Well, maybe I was IN one with a friend who shops there, but I haven't purchased from them for YEARS. Probably over a decade. If you skip that one event when the other stores were flooded, it's been multiple decades. I haven't been in a costco in over a decade. I do NOT need a pallet of toilet paper. Or 3lbs of cheesy poofs. Gross. By shopping at local/specific product stores I support the community, most pay better than the big box conglomerates (not all, but I do ask), and I know my prices. Crap isn't always cheaper at the big boxes. I limit my distractions by not seeing hardware at the grocery store etc. I also end up with staff who know me and don't mind when I ask annoying bougie questions like "how much will it cost to special order 5lbs of brown mustard seed?" (actual question). They also know I like the free/cheap/discount hardware and lumber so when I buy 2 2x4s and drive out of the lumber yard with a pickup full of scrap and bent fence posts that were in the free bin, they don't have to take the extra time to double check the load. They know me, they know I didn't hide 3 more bits of good lumber under the crappy scrap (or do they... they do).
65 Wait before you buy. This is in addition to the thinking noted in #26. I wanted that pick up unloader for a while. A friend (Hi Cindy) mentioned that it existed. I thought about it. Looked it up. Thought some more. That was the "thinking" portion. THEN, with enough thinking, I'd picked a brand and store to get it from (a product specific store that shall remain nameless because a lot of their stuff is so cheap its crap and not the good kind for the garden). THEN, it wasn't in stock yet so I kept hand-unloading the truck and thought through buying the more expensive brand. But I kept checking the website and the brick-n-mortar store location when I was close to it and suddenly this last week the item could be ordered again. So I jumped on that and it's hopefully on the way. I didn't spend the Bday money while waiting. I didn't crack and buy the more expensive one. This also works for electronics. This computer I'm typing on is old and breaks sometimes. My car and truck are older with high miles. But I'm waiting before replacing. Electronics get cheaper with time and more used items show up. Cars sometime get cheaper, sometimes not. With waiting I can save up, think things through, and perhaps decide I didn't need it in the first place. Perhaps I borrowed the tool and it was a one time use or I didn't like it. Or I rented an option and didn't like it. Or, rented and loved it and solidified the choice to purchase. Whatever. The waiting almost always saves money. Now and then you spend more, but in the big picture, it saves.
66 Freeware/Shareware is your friend! At home, on this old grindy laptop, I use "libreoffice" because it works. It's free to download and is close enough to the big expensive brand
word processing etc software that things translate back and forth well enough. Not perfect, but good enough. I donate a little back if a freeware/shareware looks like it is particularly well done. I check with the IT savvy sibling on that. It also helps delineate the work/home line. The work from home time during 'rona sucked, but that's OK. I don't want to make it easy to work at home. I had to pay for therapy for workaholism so let's not support the cross over. Make work pay for that if they really need me to work at home again. I used paper and pencils (think of it! paper and pencils) and got as much done as my coworkers with full spendy home working set ups. I did crack and get the wifi but next time work will have to pay for that too. I don't buy egames, emovies, etc. If it's free, MAYBE but not always. I have the free version of the anti-virus as well. Right now it's irritating because I have to tell it to buzz off about 3 times a day, even when I'm not online it tries to tell me I'm being tracked. But, it's free. The freeware wordprocessing works for me partly because I'm a fast typist (compared to other modern folks, not 1950s secretaries) and decent editor so when I lose formatting in translating between programs, it doesn't take me long to fix it. The "per hour" savings is still good.
68 Support local crafts people. This isn't always cheaper in the moment. It is a long range community frugal/money saving deal. It ensures there are local crafts people. E.g. I'm selling at the farmers market in a town by me. Partly my stuff and partly someone else's stuff. So, I buy from the other vendors. I've mentioned this before. Yesterday and last week, I bought a couple of things I didn't specifically NEED but they support a young person who is learning some crafts. He made tops so is learning wood working/turning. I bought one. It's pretty and may become a gift (or a plumb bob) but it doesn't spin. It was 3$ so not a big loss. It supports him as he starts college. Yesterday I bought a small knife from him. I don't specifically NEED a knife that size. It was 5$ and he was doing his last trip to the market this year before he starts college. I want to support his craft. The knife is made from carbon steel and takes and edge nicely, is a good small size for a gutting knife, and is cute. I also know it's from recycled materials that he locally sourced. I want to support him and his practices so I got the wee knife. I've already used it. I also buy cookies from his little brother. The kid sells them cheap and is learning to cook and run a business. It's a buck and it's delicious. Same with the local bread guy. I don't technically NEED bread, I could make it or eat something else. But he's a crafts man with the sourdough so I buy a bit each week to support him and the business. For my house build, I'm going with a more craftsman type builder who trains up younger staff. It's not the cheapest but it's more flexible in the style he will do and I meet crafts people who will be around for decades when I need a repair. They will also mostly stay in the community and we'll have actual builders around.
69 Share your skills. This saves you and others money. When I've shared my skills by teaching, people give back and become part of the frugal network around here. I've taught small batch fermenting, jam making and canning, and vermicomposting. I'm in touch with students from all these and the local extension agent knows they can call on me for these skills and teaching. I've also passed on ferments to those who wanted to try them. I generally get the jar back with something in it or a favor. I don't do it specifically for that, it's just how humans usually work. The network is another long range savings even if I spend a few bucks up front. Right now I'm activating the network to find jars for my mustards. People have offered jars and creative options when those aren't available. I also enjoy running in to the kids at schools where I've helped set up vermicomposting. Someday those kids will grow up to compost or garden. Not all of them, but maybe a few. That helps the community and in general saves cash for them.
70 Know your limits. How does that save money? Well, I KNOW I can't fix the broken dash display on the pick up. If I try, I will break it more. Then I will have to get it fixed by paying someone. I ran into a guy with the same issue and even doing his own work and getting the bits at a scrap yard, he was out 250$. I'm working around the issue entirely. I also didn't try to pour my own slab or build my own post and beam structure. Chicken coop construction...yes. Human house construction...no. I DID learn something about plumbing, largely that it is one of my limits, but still saved a bit on that by DIYing with lots of help. I don't change my oil. I COULD but I COULD also cross thread the screw every damn time which is a trip to town, spilled oil to clean up, and reliance on 2 running vehicles (so I have one to run to town in while I get the thingy to retap the hole and a bigger plug screw thingy and crap to clean up the oil spill). Change a headlamp...yes. Oil...usually NO.
Other ways to do that. If you can't cook much, don't think "I'm making pad thai." Instead think "I have rice, I'm making rice." Baby steps. For every day cooking, fixing, making, know your limits. When you acquire a new skill, incorporate it but maybe don't make a plan based on skills you hope to acquire anymore than you make a budget based on a lottery you intend to win. I don't buy broken down "project" cars because I can't fix them. I don't adopt abused dogs for the same reason. I can't fix that. Same with my men. Anyway. Know your limits.
71 Meal plan. Meal plan around what you have. Then make the list for shopping if you MUST. Then be flexible. Don't write "oranges" write "fruit." Last time I ran by a grocery store, cantaloupe was on sale for 18cents/lb while oranges were $1.39/lb. I have cantaloupes. Now I have service berries for free so even better. I have duck and eggs for protein so I do not plan a steak dinner. I plan and egg or duck dinner. If you can meal plan entirely by what you have, even better. This weekend, that's what I'm doing. Partly because I'm home and partly because it's fun.
72 Creative opportunities are everywhere. I don't really get paying to go paint ceramics while drinking wine (oops...first wrote "whine" which is what I'm doing). I don't like wine. (I do like whining though.) I don't need any painted ceramic anything. I like to do crafts and crafting, but the costs should be minimal or zeroed out. I also look at creative options elsewhere. I'd rather try cooking something new or learning more wild plants by walking around with my plant identification books, or picking berries or making boxes for my mustard samples, than paying to paint a mug that will end up at a thrift store in a few weeks (I see them there...along with HUNDREDS of items from "the pampered chef" parties). Meal planning is an excellent creative outlet. If you have 3 eggs, 2 cups of raw rice and a salsa packet from that drive-thru frugal mistake, I'm sure you can make something. Be creative. If you need a tool, think more about the task that made you think you "need" the tool and figure out if there is a different option based on what you have. E.g. I needed to move well over a ton of wet straw off the slab for my future home. I didn't have help or power equipment. I hauled straw by hand on a pitch fork for a while. Walking it all the way to the erosion problem I was putting it on (rather than buying erosion fabric or getting straw sprayed on it...creative solution is to use what I have). That was heavy and time consuming and killing my shoulders. I have a utility sled and used that for a bit. It's small and had the strength to haul more once the load was off my shoulders. Then I remembered tarp technology. I shoved the straw off the slab onto a scrap of torn tarp about 15' square. Pulled it with my arms and that was better. Then I had the real epiphany. Tie 2 corners of the tarp together to make a loop like the rope on the sled. I load the tarp up with it pretty well spread out but those corners tied. Then I step into the loop, pull the knot up to my hip bones, keeping the hauling load on my legs and butt rather than my back. Grab some of the wadded tarp bit. Then I walk over the to erosion area, dragging the heavy load with my powerful hind quarters. Once I have it a bit past where I want it, I walk back over the loaded tarp and continue on in that direction. The tarp rolls over itself, dumping the load of heavy wet straw while I walk horizontally, not lifting anything. The chickens head over to check for bugs and scratch it up, throwing it around in a fairly even layer. Someday I might rake it around but for now the chickens are doing that work and are happy with the job. It took a while but it was creative, got something done that needed doing, and ended up entertaining my chickens and getting some extra bug protein in their diets.
There is a section in the Tightwad Gazette (a great book for the frugal to have or to get from the library) about being creative. It is pretty much like what I wrote but with pictures and sketches and briefer.
73 Keep a frugal reference library on hand. Yes, real books. They work when the electricity is out. The wifi is out. The internet is down. The car is broken. Your leg is broken. When whatever keeps you from getting to the library or the internet or calling people for help. Books are with you. I have a reference library for gardening, wild plant and mushroom identification, basic home repair, cooking, frugality, beekeeping, a dictionary, home construction, solar power, and DIY projects. Part of the library is in rotation based on what I find in the free book bin. Many cookbooks come and go from there. Basic cookbooks like "More with Less" and a classic Better Homes and Gardens, are permanent. I find local and church cookbooks amusing so those come and go. If there is an interesting recipe I tear it out or copy it down and move on. For home repair those rotate too. When I find the one I like best, I will keep it. I get them from the library and the free book bin. I keep a dictionary because I like language(s) and because I like learning new words. For 25cents I found a 1906 vest pocket dictionary at a thrift store. It includes how to give a toast, how to write a thank you letter, how to write a complaint/compliment letter to a business and some other handy outdated tips that I still use. I'm trying to get a home built hence those books. They might move on if I find ones I like better. Same with gardening books. Those were mostly from the free bin and when I find ones I like better, they move on.
Friday, May 29, 2020
Suck It Pinterest...My Egg Storage is WAY Cuter Than All the Ideas on Pinterest
AND I made it for free.
The only "new" bits are the screws and they will get reused on the next project. I had run out of decent used screws with normal head (too many hex heads, square heads, various sizes...couldn't keep up with bits). So, I bought a cheapo box of philips head wood screws about 1 1/2 inches long. Made the door with them.
I had been storing my eggs in an old egg carton or two. Red rubber band on the one that is "ready to go" and a blue rubber band on the carton that is "building up". It didn't work well because I don't have anywhere to set egg cartons. So they were in a grocery basket hanging off my loft ladder. But that basket ALSO had to hold groceries like fruit and veg, often heavy. Annoying. And the cartons wear out.
I saw one of these on a youtube and wanted to make it:
But, that was hard and I can't be bothered. So, I thought about what I had on hand that I could use.
When I found a batch of eggs while doing another project with friends, I had an old mini muffin tin sitting around outside. It had been part of a bee feeder I'd cobbled up, and was then part of the apparatus keeping chickens out from under the shed. I turned it up and put the eggs in it for temporary storage...it worked great and looked cute.
So, I took the muffin tin in (tested the eggs...all were plenty fresh enough to eat so I boiled them up and brought them to work for lunches that week) and sure enough, it fit pretty well between 2 studs in the shed (heh heh...studs). I found an old plant stake, a 1x2, and cut it to length. While doing all this, I found another mini muffin tin, same width.
In total I have 21 muffin-egg holder holes. One tin is 9 muffins and one is 12. They are old and I got them at thrift at least 4 years ago. I usually won't spend over a dollar for a baking item so that is probably the original price to me.
The plant stake, I have no idea. I got a big bundle years ago and use and reuse them until they get too weak to pound in the ground, then they are scrap lumber for propping things closed or propping up chicken wire fencing that is starting to bulge. Maybe it cost a dollar originally.
Box of 250 screws was about 8$. I used 8. You can do that math if you want.
The impact driver was free from Fred's stash of tools.
The bits...I got a box of 10 for 12$ (nice magnetic ones) or so and have been using this one for about a month! Must be better metal than the ones I used to buy because I'd strip those out quite a bit faster.
I guess it is a 3$ egg holder but I think we need to amortize that over the previous lives of the items involved and the future lives of some of them like the screws and the bit which will no doubt be reused.
It is pretty cute though. Here's the big reveal.
Sher said I should get out more...she is mean to me.
The only "new" bits are the screws and they will get reused on the next project. I had run out of decent used screws with normal head (too many hex heads, square heads, various sizes...couldn't keep up with bits). So, I bought a cheapo box of philips head wood screws about 1 1/2 inches long. Made the door with them.
I had been storing my eggs in an old egg carton or two. Red rubber band on the one that is "ready to go" and a blue rubber band on the carton that is "building up". It didn't work well because I don't have anywhere to set egg cartons. So they were in a grocery basket hanging off my loft ladder. But that basket ALSO had to hold groceries like fruit and veg, often heavy. Annoying. And the cartons wear out.
I saw one of these on a youtube and wanted to make it:
But, that was hard and I can't be bothered. So, I thought about what I had on hand that I could use.
When I found a batch of eggs while doing another project with friends, I had an old mini muffin tin sitting around outside. It had been part of a bee feeder I'd cobbled up, and was then part of the apparatus keeping chickens out from under the shed. I turned it up and put the eggs in it for temporary storage...it worked great and looked cute.
So, I took the muffin tin in (tested the eggs...all were plenty fresh enough to eat so I boiled them up and brought them to work for lunches that week) and sure enough, it fit pretty well between 2 studs in the shed (heh heh...studs). I found an old plant stake, a 1x2, and cut it to length. While doing all this, I found another mini muffin tin, same width.
In total I have 21 muffin-egg holder holes. One tin is 9 muffins and one is 12. They are old and I got them at thrift at least 4 years ago. I usually won't spend over a dollar for a baking item so that is probably the original price to me.
The plant stake, I have no idea. I got a big bundle years ago and use and reuse them until they get too weak to pound in the ground, then they are scrap lumber for propping things closed or propping up chicken wire fencing that is starting to bulge. Maybe it cost a dollar originally.
Box of 250 screws was about 8$. I used 8. You can do that math if you want.
The impact driver was free from Fred's stash of tools.
The bits...I got a box of 10 for 12$ (nice magnetic ones) or so and have been using this one for about a month! Must be better metal than the ones I used to buy because I'd strip those out quite a bit faster.
I guess it is a 3$ egg holder but I think we need to amortize that over the previous lives of the items involved and the future lives of some of them like the screws and the bit which will no doubt be reused.
It is pretty cute though. Here's the big reveal.
Sher said I should get out more...she is mean to me.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Coop 3.0: Another Adventure in Crapentry
So, I've got those new hens...Brittany, Suzanne and T-Bone.
They are hilarious and do weird sh*t all day when I'm home...and probably when I'm not home.
They had been in a really crap coop that forced them to sit in...well, crap.
SO, I decided to remodel and upgrade and reuse bits of the old one, some really excellent pallets I'd found, and some bits-n-bobs from elsewhere.
Design upgrades:
1) Bigger. It needed to be bigger. The old one, coop 2.0, had room for 3 hens, but NOT for me to access it easily for clean out. And 1 more hen or a rooster would put it over capacity.
2) Easier access. The old one I had to crawl around and reach in through the door for the chickens. Awkward and meant chicken sh*t on the knees of my work pants. Not all that much fun. Really hard to rake the poo out or get the eggs. But, it had been empty since Eula Goodnight finally croaked...the last hen from last year's misfit chicken ranch.With the new more active chickens, it wasn't great.
SO...I mentally designed and redesigned for about a month.
Then, I grabbed the bull by the pallets, and gave it a shot.
I had a 6 foot long, nearly 4 wide pallet with almost solid decking! One missing board.
This ended up being the north wall. I moved the decking boards around to make the one missing board area at the right height for the laying boxes. Managed to carefully pry a board off, move it down a bit, and screw it back on. Worked great.
I pounded a couple of t-posts in the ground and put that nice pallet up on them.
Then I added the east and west walls...regular size pallets I had around the property. Each is anchored on a t-post, and screwed into the north wall.
For nest boxes, I took some 3 gallon plastic buckets, 2 actually, and screwed them, bottom to the north, open end to the south, onto the north wall pallet. With my reciprocating saw I cut out most of the back side of the buckets. These are lined up with the gap in the north wall pallet.
I used an old 2x2 to run horizontally across the bottom of the south, open, end of the bucket next boxes so the straw I put in there, and any eggs the ladies leave me, won't roll out. Cut to length with the trusty reciprocating saw and screwed it on (I like screws because you can take them out and redo things as you change your mind). It goes fully east to west and the boxes only take up half the east-west distance in the coop so there is about 3' of it the hens can roost on.
A few serviceberry branches that had come off bushes in the winter were added at odd angles here and there inside for more roosting.
I used my reciprocating saw to cut the north end of the east/west walls down to the level of the north wall, leaving the south sides a few inches taller.
Onto this I hoisted (at great risk to my back...) an 8 foot long pallet I found behind bicycle shop about a year ago. It slopes down toward the north wall and was a bit "short" north to south, but that sorted itself out with the roofing...more anon.
The south wall was just open at this point. I wanted to be able to access the entire inside through that wall if need be, AND I wanted the floor to be the bottom part of a car-top carrier that I found at the recycling center a year ago (it had been the roof of Coop 2.0) The 6 foot long pallet, minus the widths of the east/west pallet walls was just about 8" longer than the car-top carrier, and the width was close enough to the width of the east/west wall pallets. I made sure the east wall of the coop was moved in to match that which gives the hens a small sheltered area just outside their door, which is cut into the east pallet-wall (with the reciprocating saw...of course).
SO...I took a board off my wonky wood rack for the pick up (needed upgrading badly anyway) and screwed it along the top part of the east west wall pallets. Another board from the wonky wood rack was screwed on at a level that would allow the car-top carrier to be a removable floor and slide out, poo and straw and all, under the main wall. Like a trundle bed of chicken poo! I put few mini pallets (from my sawdust logs I buy for the wood stove) under the car-top carrier for better slidage. Triple checked the height of the lower south wall horizontal board and added more screws and a few support boards.
I had made some crap panels of cedar boards salvaged off a discarded fence gate I found in an alley last year down in Moscow. They were about the right height to make a passable south wall for the coop! I trimmed the 3 panels down to the right height...actually, they are about 1/4" too tall but I will sort that out one of these days.
To make the south wall an access for getting into the coop for cleaning, I used cedar fence slats I got free off of craigslist to make the horizontal south wall boards into little slots for the panels to slide in. Once I get the panels trimmed up, I will be able to slide them out the east and west ends and rake out any nonsense the hens put in there.
Finally, I used a few of the cedar fence slats to make runners for some scrap boards behind the nest boxes in that missing-board area of the north wall pallet! I just slide the board to the west and grab the eggs without having to get in the coop.
Then it was on to the roof. My builders for my future imaginary house let me have 3 pieces of salvaged metal roofing. They just fit the roof. One is a bit long and makes an overhang on the south side which will eventually use to accidentally poke my own eye out.
Finally finally I used the rest of the cedar fence slats to side between the slats of the pallet on the west wall and east wall, and to make a chicken ladder for the door (which the hens didn't care about) The ladder gets picked up at night and jammed into the pallet gap to close the hens inside.
I contacted the cedar slat guy and he had some more. I got those a few days later and they are laying in the hen-yard waiting to finish up covering some gaps in the siding if I get to it.
Over all, I really like how the coop works.
The slider thingy for egg access gets a bit snug when it rains, but it was free and easier to deal with than lining up hinges.
Sliding the poo-tray out works well.
I had to trap the hens in the coop with food and water for a couple of days until they laid their eggs in there (once the eggs appeared they were cut loose) just to get them in the habit.
There are 4 eggs in this picture because I'm leaving 1 egg in the laying box as bait...it's marked so I don't eat it. It's getting OLD...
They had been just pooping eggs out whereever they happened to be and they roam over about 15 acres. Now 2 of them (T-Bone and I think Suzanne) consistently lay in one of the buckets.
The hens didn't care for the ladder and tore the little steps off it so now it's just the door.
And, the south wall panels need trimming so they slide better. The hens seem happy enough in it. It's somewhere they can relax and take a break when they are sick of digging up my gardens.
They are hilarious and do weird sh*t all day when I'm home...and probably when I'm not home.
They had been in a really crap coop that forced them to sit in...well, crap.
SO, I decided to remodel and upgrade and reuse bits of the old one, some really excellent pallets I'd found, and some bits-n-bobs from elsewhere.
Design upgrades:
1) Bigger. It needed to be bigger. The old one, coop 2.0, had room for 3 hens, but NOT for me to access it easily for clean out. And 1 more hen or a rooster would put it over capacity.
2) Easier access. The old one I had to crawl around and reach in through the door for the chickens. Awkward and meant chicken sh*t on the knees of my work pants. Not all that much fun. Really hard to rake the poo out or get the eggs. But, it had been empty since Eula Goodnight finally croaked...the last hen from last year's misfit chicken ranch.With the new more active chickens, it wasn't great.
SO...I mentally designed and redesigned for about a month.
Then, I grabbed the bull by the pallets, and gave it a shot.
I had a 6 foot long, nearly 4 wide pallet with almost solid decking! One missing board.
This ended up being the north wall. I moved the decking boards around to make the one missing board area at the right height for the laying boxes. Managed to carefully pry a board off, move it down a bit, and screw it back on. Worked great.
I pounded a couple of t-posts in the ground and put that nice pallet up on them.
Then I added the east and west walls...regular size pallets I had around the property. Each is anchored on a t-post, and screwed into the north wall.
For nest boxes, I took some 3 gallon plastic buckets, 2 actually, and screwed them, bottom to the north, open end to the south, onto the north wall pallet. With my reciprocating saw I cut out most of the back side of the buckets. These are lined up with the gap in the north wall pallet.
I used an old 2x2 to run horizontally across the bottom of the south, open, end of the bucket next boxes so the straw I put in there, and any eggs the ladies leave me, won't roll out. Cut to length with the trusty reciprocating saw and screwed it on (I like screws because you can take them out and redo things as you change your mind). It goes fully east to west and the boxes only take up half the east-west distance in the coop so there is about 3' of it the hens can roost on.
A few serviceberry branches that had come off bushes in the winter were added at odd angles here and there inside for more roosting.
I used my reciprocating saw to cut the north end of the east/west walls down to the level of the north wall, leaving the south sides a few inches taller.
Onto this I hoisted (at great risk to my back...) an 8 foot long pallet I found behind bicycle shop about a year ago. It slopes down toward the north wall and was a bit "short" north to south, but that sorted itself out with the roofing...more anon.
The south wall was just open at this point. I wanted to be able to access the entire inside through that wall if need be, AND I wanted the floor to be the bottom part of a car-top carrier that I found at the recycling center a year ago (it had been the roof of Coop 2.0) The 6 foot long pallet, minus the widths of the east/west pallet walls was just about 8" longer than the car-top carrier, and the width was close enough to the width of the east/west wall pallets. I made sure the east wall of the coop was moved in to match that which gives the hens a small sheltered area just outside their door, which is cut into the east pallet-wall (with the reciprocating saw...of course).
SO...I took a board off my wonky wood rack for the pick up (needed upgrading badly anyway) and screwed it along the top part of the east west wall pallets. Another board from the wonky wood rack was screwed on at a level that would allow the car-top carrier to be a removable floor and slide out, poo and straw and all, under the main wall. Like a trundle bed of chicken poo! I put few mini pallets (from my sawdust logs I buy for the wood stove) under the car-top carrier for better slidage. Triple checked the height of the lower south wall horizontal board and added more screws and a few support boards.
I had made some crap panels of cedar boards salvaged off a discarded fence gate I found in an alley last year down in Moscow. They were about the right height to make a passable south wall for the coop! I trimmed the 3 panels down to the right height...actually, they are about 1/4" too tall but I will sort that out one of these days.
Finally, I used a few of the cedar fence slats to make runners for some scrap boards behind the nest boxes in that missing-board area of the north wall pallet! I just slide the board to the west and grab the eggs without having to get in the coop.
Then it was on to the roof. My builders for my future imaginary house let me have 3 pieces of salvaged metal roofing. They just fit the roof. One is a bit long and makes an overhang on the south side which will eventually use to accidentally poke my own eye out.
Finally finally I used the rest of the cedar fence slats to side between the slats of the pallet on the west wall and east wall, and to make a chicken ladder for the door (which the hens didn't care about) The ladder gets picked up at night and jammed into the pallet gap to close the hens inside.
I contacted the cedar slat guy and he had some more. I got those a few days later and they are laying in the hen-yard waiting to finish up covering some gaps in the siding if I get to it.
Over all, I really like how the coop works.
The slider thingy for egg access gets a bit snug when it rains, but it was free and easier to deal with than lining up hinges.
Sliding the poo-tray out works well.
I had to trap the hens in the coop with food and water for a couple of days until they laid their eggs in there (once the eggs appeared they were cut loose) just to get them in the habit.
There are 4 eggs in this picture because I'm leaving 1 egg in the laying box as bait...it's marked so I don't eat it. It's getting OLD...
They had been just pooping eggs out whereever they happened to be and they roam over about 15 acres. Now 2 of them (T-Bone and I think Suzanne) consistently lay in one of the buckets.
The hens didn't care for the ladder and tore the little steps off it so now it's just the door.
And, the south wall panels need trimming so they slide better. The hens seem happy enough in it. It's somewhere they can relax and take a break when they are sick of digging up my gardens.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Waiting for Concrete
That's a play on "Waiting for Godot"...spoiler alert: Godot NEVER arrives.
The concrete was supposed to be today but is delayed for WEATHER! YA! I TOLD the builderman that the hill is a slip-n-slide when wet. Concrete trucks are heavy. The hill is steep. And now we are in the rainy season.
Of course, we can't go back in time. Supposedly the concrete comes tomorrow.
It will take 3 loads. I can't believe there is room for that much concrete given how much rebar is in the slab
It is drilled into a little footing dealy and the brackets for the post-n-beam structure are bolted into that and will be set in the concrete (grade beam and slab are a mono-pour). The builderman added the little footing deal to allow bolting in the brackets rather than wet-setting them. It also allowed the OSB you can see on the side of the photo with visqueen over it. That's holding back the sloped gravel called out in the plans. Gravel doesn't just hold a slope during pour no matter what the engineer draws.
It will be fun to watch.
The concrete was supposed to be today but is delayed for WEATHER! YA! I TOLD the builderman that the hill is a slip-n-slide when wet. Concrete trucks are heavy. The hill is steep. And now we are in the rainy season.
Of course, we can't go back in time. Supposedly the concrete comes tomorrow.
It will take 3 loads. I can't believe there is room for that much concrete given how much rebar is in the slab
It's 12" max spacing, often closer.
It will be fun to watch.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
TOO Many Puns So It's Just Blog Post about the Build Project
Things have been moving FAST.
The plumbing (owner permit...a.k.a ME). I buggered it up the first time. Slammed through another day with new help and MUCH more knowledge thanks to the friends who helped me through the first draft and passed the inspection 49 hours after the "fail". I got a green sticker on a random pipe sticking out of the ground. I also ended up with 2 big boxes of unused bits and pieces to return to 3 or 4 different hardware stores. As soon as I have slept a bit, I will get on that.
The first two assistants taught me a TON! Thanks Jyl and Snuff! For reals.
The final one...I told him that since it passed I would think of him every time I took a dump. He was flattered.
So, the hole was filled and tamped. Gravel...tamping, more gravel...more tamping...lather, rinse, repeat.
Got the permit Thursday morning at about 8:30 AM and by 5pm Friday, 90% of the rebar is in. The builder had a question about a detail (rebar drawn as though floating in the air...hard to pour concrete
on that and keep it in place). So, he added some more rebar, had me take a picture and send it to his boss (aka Mrs Builderman) and hopefully the engineer will OK the slight modification.
At one point, the Mr Builderman said, "I tend to overbuild things." Yep. They should put that on the sign.
This morning 3 people showed up, 2 barely know me!!! And helped me rough in the pex tubes that will distribute heat in the slab in the imaginary magical solar future. We'll see....
I'm sleeping on it and then in the morning I will go back and start tying them more definitively to the rebar. The helpers (no names...well, they have names but I don't like to name names) were SUPER good. None of us had done it but we watched the how-to video. I watched it on a loop for a couple of hours and took notes because I am me.
Anyway, here we are:
And the tubes. I will neaten them up a bit. I may have help tomorrow morning for that.
The plumbing (owner permit...a.k.a ME). I buggered it up the first time. Slammed through another day with new help and MUCH more knowledge thanks to the friends who helped me through the first draft and passed the inspection 49 hours after the "fail". I got a green sticker on a random pipe sticking out of the ground. I also ended up with 2 big boxes of unused bits and pieces to return to 3 or 4 different hardware stores. As soon as I have slept a bit, I will get on that.
The first two assistants taught me a TON! Thanks Jyl and Snuff! For reals.
The final one...I told him that since it passed I would think of him every time I took a dump. He was flattered.
So, the hole was filled and tamped. Gravel...tamping, more gravel...more tamping...lather, rinse, repeat.
Got the permit Thursday morning at about 8:30 AM and by 5pm Friday, 90% of the rebar is in. The builder had a question about a detail (rebar drawn as though floating in the air...hard to pour concrete
on that and keep it in place). So, he added some more rebar, had me take a picture and send it to his boss (aka Mrs Builderman) and hopefully the engineer will OK the slight modification.
At one point, the Mr Builderman said, "I tend to overbuild things." Yep. They should put that on the sign.
This morning 3 people showed up, 2 barely know me!!! And helped me rough in the pex tubes that will distribute heat in the slab in the imaginary magical solar future. We'll see....
I'm sleeping on it and then in the morning I will go back and start tying them more definitively to the rebar. The helpers (no names...well, they have names but I don't like to name names) were SUPER good. None of us had done it but we watched the how-to video. I watched it on a loop for a couple of hours and took notes because I am me.
Anyway, here we are:
And the tubes. I will neaten them up a bit. I may have help tomorrow morning for that.
I will try to fish out some plumbing pictures too. Perhaps one of the EPIC plumbers crack on the last assistant. Cripes!!! It reminded me of the "credit card" joke my sister told me once.
You can admire the beautiful green "right to poop" sticker on the vertical black post.
The builder labor guys complimented me on having all the plumbing in one spot. YA!! AND interior wall. The shortest heat tube goes through the kitchen and bath areas on either side of that. Kitchen faces south. The roll of tubing on the left of the picture is where the manifold will be. It ends up under the kitchen counter. I had wanted it in the bathroom but at 4'10" wide, with a 2'6" door...and a water supply pipe (that might actually be in the kitchen??? was supposed to be in the bathroom but the wall is 2" thick max so things have floated back and forth around it. I don't really care...drill a hole and voila...water supply and most incoming water plumbing back in the bathroom), it was too crowded. So I remembered I didn't have to put this near the hot water heater. If I put solar units on the south 2nd story wall or porch roof, I'll want that thing on the south wall anyway. And it sorted out the tubing plan.
I must have done a dozen tubing lay outs. All of which would have worked and none of which we ultimately used. Bits of each. The boards are where walls will be more or less. It struck me last night on layout 3001 that I had TOO MANY TUBES going through the bathroom if the main manifold is in there. I'd be melting the toilet wax ring all damn winter. That is apparently a thing based on the BIG RED LETTER WARNINGS in the installation manual. Moving the manifold simplified the layout and limited the number of tubes that had to cross each other.
Turning also turned (HA) out to be the biggest installation challenge. So, at the suggestion of EG, a super friend and helper, we went the long way on the north living room and south/east living dining area. BINGO. Saved tubing and labor and it was easier to get into the vestibule where the solar batteries will live.
I thought to switch the supply/return path on the north loop so the sleeping area will get the water after the living area. I like a chilly bedroom.
Now I'm wondering if I could hook up inground tubes through the landscape around the house but deep in the ground and chill the floor in the summer.
One helper (Hi C!!) suggested that this heated floor will be excellent for passing out drunk so I need to start drinking ASAP.
Cousin-in-law BG (not a real relative...no Norwegian has that status) had already suggested drinking when the first plumbing inspection was a fail and there was 2 days to hit the next inspection. I may consider it next week. The concrete pour will either happen or not happen. Either way, I will be stressed out.
In better news...my hair is suddenly down to my belt! And NO I did not switch to high-waisted pants. Since I am the shortest waisted person in the west, I'm sticking with the low waisted ones. I keep the hair braided pretty much all the time so I hadn't noticed it got longer.
SP and JH let me mooch a shower today and I went for the hair. My head was encased in a hard cap made of dust and scalp grease welded to hair. Like adobe...hairdobe? I can't imagine what it did to their drain. But hey, if they need a new drainpipe run, I not only know how, I have enough plumbing parts in the car and on the porch to do it.
Thank you to one and all who have helped, visited, encouraged and brought sustenance and expertise (except the Norwegians)
More anon.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
40 Days and 40 Nights...CRIPES
So, the builderman and crew did not show up onsite for 40 days (and actually 41 nights but that doesn't fit the biblical reference). Fortunately, it wasn't raining during that time. I had more of a dry sea sort of thing than an ark sort of thing at my place. Big empty ass hole.
At last they DID show back up. I wasn't just waiting around, I was visiting, calling, texting and driving by the other job sites to ask when they would be back. We'll leave it there.
The past few days there has been progress. This is where we are at now:
The white things sticking out of the ground are forms for porch piers. There will be a few more over on the side toward the road. The trench is for the drain rock for the "rubble trench foundation". It will hold up the super heavy wall. The white rock behind the tiny excavator (the builderman is quite large so the excavator looks even tinier than it is...his crew today was little guys who are closer than they appear....also the dumptruck just beyond the excavator is actually a little bitty thing like a largish golf cart on tracks rather than wheels...it's like a construction zone in the hobbit movies...perspective is all over the map). ANYWAY...the white rock is part of a rock wall to the north of the future house holding up what used to be a chunk of hill and is now a steep cut.
At last they DID show back up. I wasn't just waiting around, I was visiting, calling, texting and driving by the other job sites to ask when they would be back. We'll leave it there.
The past few days there has been progress. This is where we are at now:
The white things sticking out of the ground are forms for porch piers. There will be a few more over on the side toward the road. The trench is for the drain rock for the "rubble trench foundation". It will hold up the super heavy wall. The white rock behind the tiny excavator (the builderman is quite large so the excavator looks even tinier than it is...his crew today was little guys who are closer than they appear....also the dumptruck just beyond the excavator is actually a little bitty thing like a largish golf cart on tracks rather than wheels...it's like a construction zone in the hobbit movies...perspective is all over the map). ANYWAY...the white rock is part of a rock wall to the north of the future house holding up what used to be a chunk of hill and is now a steep cut.
Monday, July 1, 2019
In the Beginning Was the Hole, and the Hole Was Good (also...a moose)
Well, the hole wasn't really the beginning. There was the planning, the paying, the paying more, the engineering, the permit, permit renewal, other permits...and before that buying land. Before that saving for land and looking for land, and before that... you get the idea.
So, here we are. Last Tuesday evening the builder man (not an actual redneck Santa, but he could pass for one) staked out the location for the build. It ended up further uphill than originally planned. That will help with drainage, but I sacrifice a bit of water pressure because the cistern is also uphill, but less so now.
Then on Sunday morning "early" (9:14am isn't "early" in my book...it's "10ish" in my book but I am widely known to have a stick up my butt about time) the equipment was delivered at the bottom of the hill and the trucks left. I had a radio show to do at 2pm so at noon, after building a super rad rooster coop which may be featured in a later blog post, and a bunch of other stuff, I cleaned up, washed my incredibly sweaty filthy hair, and headed in to town for the show. As I'm driving south, I see a builder truck heading north...to my place. Dang it. But it's all staked out and what was I going to do anyway? There was no back-up DJ for the show so off I went.
3 hours later, driving home, I meet 2 builder trucks heading back to town. Damn! But I am greeted with this at my place:
That's right, I am now the proud owner of a big ass hole. Probably will be bigger and deeper by tonight. I will try to run home mid-day and check it out. It's right where the stakes are so, that's good.
And now...the moose! It's a yearling male the must have been recently booted from his mom's place. That happens about now as the new calves are being born. The yearling males are idiots and make bad housing choices. He and I about bumped noses by my driveway and creek...we were both occupied with other thoughts.
I looked up to see a moose, way too close headed straight toward me. Not a tree to hide behind and in the creek which was close, he would be much more coordinated than me. They don't see so well to the front so I figured that was my best bet. I waved my arms around and screamed like a wee girl and it ran UPHILL away from cover, back toward the creek cover, back up hill...idiot. A mature female or male would have just trotted over and stomped me to death.
NOW I am not walking around my place texting. I pay attention.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)