**Bumped, 8/23/22 8:30pm ET**
My jaw came near the floor when I opened July’s electricity bill to find a notification of a 28% increase in electricity rates, effective immediately. An increase of 28%…. just like that. This month, August, even higher with less use.
After the initial shock wore off, I started thinking about what this means to the working-class people in my community.
Already struggling with a doubling of gas prices, massive food price increases at the grocery store and the pain of all costs for goods far outpacing any rate of wage increase, this type of uncontrollable increase in price of electricity is going to hit hard.
In the past we have used CTH threads to spotlight the smart thinking and resourcefulness of Treepers from all walks of life. A discussion thread where people can share tips, things that can actually be done, to help offset the financial pressures during severe economic times. I think we may all benefit from starting a series of post like that again.
Let us share our wisdom and experience again. There are many thousand who will benefit, as I have always done, from reading your smart tips and suggestions.
What ideas, tips and suggestions do you have to help people save money on ordinary life and living expenses?
These are painful economic times and the stress that is caused by financial worry is some of the most horrific family stress that people can face. Let us come together with tips as a community to help each other. No suggestion is too small. What advice do you have that can help people save money on monthly expenses?
During one of our previous discussions someone gave a tip about putting a clean dry towel in the clothes dryer as a way of cutting down drying time and energy used. I tried it and jumping ju-ju-bones it worked fantastically. Simply putting a dry towel into the dryer when you add the wet clothes from the washer reduces laundry drying time by around 25%. Not only does that save time, but it also saves money – and it was so simple.
So, what suggestions do you have? Tips about anything and everything that might lower the monthly cost of ordinary life. No tip is too small. No suggestion is too odd. Your advice can/will make a difference.
Please use the comments section to drop your advice.
Thanks again for being part of our fellowship.
Love to all.
An actual tip to reduce energy bills on lighting:
Right now is a great time to purchase outdoor solar lights on clearance. You can get them cheap, and use them indoors. Past the purchase price, the energy is free. Use your imagination, depending on what you can get.
If you can get the ones on stakes to put around patios (or such), stand them up in a pretty vase or container. During the day, charge them up outside. Bring inside at night. Simple.
Make a solar lampshade, with the little string-lights. They can be the ones like X-mas tree lights, or the ones in tubes. Just wrap around the metal frame of an old lampshade. Charge outside during the day, and bring inside when you want.
I got a perfect crappy lampshade at the ReStore for 50-cents. Removed all the crappy fabric, down to the frame. Weaved my discount solar lights through it, and it’s beautiful! Bonus is, it’s portable. I can bring inside for adequate light, or move around outside hanging on a shepherd’s hook wherever I want for working or grilling or entertaining. No electric!
There will be a small solar panel which you’ll have to locate at the top, but there’s usually an off switch. So when you bring it indoors, you can shut it off if needed.
Brilliant. Thanks a bundle.
Absolutely Love Your Lamp Idea , Peoria !!!
I’m going to try that , Thank You !
Happy Weekend to You 💐
You’re welcome! Use your imagination for whatever sort of solar lights you can get.
Best thing about winding light strings around an old lampshade frame is that you can use it anywhere, indoors or out. It gives really good concentrated light.
LOL I was just telling my husband a couple days ago that I was going to do that and then we could cut the lights in the evening. Like minds working together!!
Awesome , Free ! I’m going to do it !!!
I have smaller solar light strings in 3 of my windows because I find them Cheery after all the Beautiful Lights of Christmas !
I would have Never Thought of the lamp shade idea , it is Excellent ,
Peoria !
Thank you for your suggestion. I’ve never gotten a solar light before, but I’ll try one. I’ll get one that has good reviews for simplicity and reliability.
Know any of those outdoor solar powered lights that last more than a month or two. All the ones I’ve tried give up too quickly.
Look for solar lights by Patriot Lighting they last along time. I use them as my outside lighting and have lasted several years even thru winter. Some of them even have replaceable solar batteries.
Went to patriotlighting website and every outdoor solar light I looked at (about 20) have zero reviews. I like your personal recommendation but need to see more reviews; what website do you use? Thx
Google it, they might be sold on Amazon. I know Menards sells the Patriot Lighting brand but they don’t have reviews on their site.
I buy them at Menards. I have patriot solar spotlights on their third year and just replaced path lights after 4. This is my personal experience with the products.
Lowes and HD steal Menard’s thunder. Menard’s has a lot of awesome products!
Some from the cheap stores can be junk, but I’ve had better ones that last years. Also, the better-made ones have rechargeable/replaceable batteries.
Store link? Brand? Please
Can’t recommend a specific brand, but have had good luck at Menard’s. Discount stores like Big Lots always have them, but you get what you pay for. If you get them cheap enough, it may be worth it. The whole idea is saving money.
Don’t forget, anything with batteries will eventually need them recharged or replaced. If your lights don’t allow for that, then consider them disposable when they no longer take a charge.
I am going to figure a way to incorporate this idea for some indoor lighting should the electricity go down. Thank you a bundle!
Great idea. We do this here in Florida after hurricane. It works great in the aftermath until electricity is restored.
So ready
Dryer tips: Get a clothes line, hang towels, jeans, heavy stuff on it till dry. Fluff & soften in dryer. Buy some handmade (local famers market maybe) wool balls. They cut drying time.
Does anyone know anything about these As Seen on TV, dryer lint removal gadgets? Dryer Gator or some silly name. Do they work?
I bought a “as seen on TV” dryer lint gadget that attaches to my vacuums hose, it’s this long rubber tube that you can shove down into the lint screen compartment. I’m glad I only paid $5.00 for it at Ross because it doesn’t work that well. You can’t really control the flexible tube once it’s in the lint screen compartment.
Straighten out a wire hanger and tape it to the hose, maybe then you could maneuver the hose.
Someone else told me to use an empty paper towel roll. Works pretty well, is replaceable and cheep. Just did that between the wall and the dryer
Also a dryer tip. No need to buy the dryer sheets for reducing static electricity. Scrunch up some tin foil into balls. Use 2 or 3. It works. Every now and then add a new one.
I just use a clean tennis ball.
I’ve got a long wire brush. seems to work fine.
The Girlfriend some years ago bought a thingamajig called a Lint Lizard. Out of the box there was a smallish rechargeable vacuum unit but its motor froze up – I rigged the “squiggly brush end” [apologies for the technologese] to fit on the hose end of my wet/dry vac.
Proved very useful too, car heater/ac vents, house registers, etc.
I have broached the subject to my wife. She’s not in board yet. I may have to make an executive decision.
Crazy but effective method for cleaning dryer vents (found this on YT): Remove the cap on the vent’s outside wall end. Disconnect the dryer. Bring your leaf blower into the laundry room. Don ear plugs. Fire up the leaf blower and insert its outlet into the dryer vent pipe thru your wall. Incredible piles of crud will appear outdoors in a few seconds.
I bought one that is on a telescoping flexible wire with the brush on last third. Designed for the top pull out lint filter. Works fine.
During the summer I am a household of one. My husband is traveling and will be back in Sept. We have solar since 2008. Solar produces the most during the long summer days. I try to use up all my own solar productions since SCE pays a pittance for buyback. I keep the thermostat at 74 during the day when I am gone and 67 at night when I am sleeping. I am purposely not in the sacrifice mode as the state of Ca does not seem to be cooperative in rewarding us for energy efficiencies.
My wife and I were “idiots” who got rid of lawns and planted low water native plants in our yard years ago in the Los Angeles, CA area. We also added some solar electricity generation
For reducing our water usage and power usage, we are now penalized. They made the baselines our extremely low water and power usage. They have regulations in place that penalize you as if you never reduced consumption. You are supposed to reduce even more, when you are already being extremely frugal.
F the bureaucracies and the govt!
Reminds me of Stockton, Ca…they asked citizens to cutback on water usage to conserve. Citizens did and then they water company raised the rates because they said they lost too much revenue from people cutting back use. SMH
Similar experience with Houston Lighting & Power back in the day.
Oh, that’s classic.
I’m in the process of doing just that, I have about 3 acres of nothing but grass to mow. Not what I wanted when I built this place but somehow the yard kept getting bigger, not anymore, I’m going to get it to under an acre, that’s plenty.
Please consider replacing your yard with a garden. Look into Food Forest Abundance for ideas. Sweet potatoes will thrive in many conditions, grow fast and actually are a pretty ground cover. Where ever you live fine edible low water/ easy to grow native plants. You may need them in time!
If you don’t have any HOA restrictions, you may want to think about investing in some fencing and putting ruminates on your grass. They will mow your lawn for you and you get meat out of the deal. We are putting hair sheep on our grass next year. Sheep are easier livestock to keep and will give you high quality protein.
I wish I had more than 2 acres. I’d have a couple of goats and a pig!
Could you let a farmer rent those acres for sheep or goats?
Pack up and move to a sane state. We have nice people and nice jobs everywhere. Not all states are run by idiots.
Amazing behavior from the progressives in Sacramento. But not a surprise.
Liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent, always.
One of things i’m doing now, (and have been for a month now) is looking at the things I know I’m going to need in the next several months, toilet paper etc, food items, particularly grain based, meat (when it’s on special) and frozen veggies AND BUYING THEM NOW INSTEAD OF “SAVING MONEY”. Cash sittining in the bank is losing money. Chicken breast bought at $1.99/lb and frozen for later will return me 50% as opposed to regular prices today.
I’m struggling with how to provide backup power, ie 3 fuel generator seems best bet. I’ll be getting 1-2 cords of dried firewood soon and am looking at other backup power/cooking/lighting options.
I’m in a So Cal suburb and some distance from the higher crime areas and my neighborhood is 80% MAGA, however firearms training is ongoing along with stocking up on ammo.
For my house I’m upgrading lighting and security measures. In a collapse scenario, it’s the “unprepared” and vultures we have to be concerned about.
“Cash sitting in the bank is losing money.”
Good call. I’m thinking that way regarding ‘durable goods’ in general.
I have a well, am thinking of putting in a hand pump.
Might get a small solar generator and batteries to run a small fridge and some lights.
I don’t have a fortune in my IRA, but I am concerned that the government might seize “excessive savings.”
Might as well use the money to prepare more for a grid down situation.
I too, have been stocking up on canned goods, etc. and dehydrate frozen veggies, and such.
Also, everyone who has stocked up on ‘whatever’ Do NOT tell anyone what you have or where you keep it. Trust nobody, not even relatives and close friends when it comes to your survival….or you familys. Remember in the WW2 the old saying….’Loose lips sink ships’; the same about your own home in these days.
Wow. Incredibly excellent comments. It reminds of the author of the following blog and his extremely astute commentors.
https://modernsurvivalblog.com/
Ritchie’s The Backwoodsman Magazine is pretty awesome, E61.
I love Backwoods Home magazine!
Never throw away candle stubs. You may be thankful someday to have them for heat and light.
carboard egg cartons, filled sawdust or lint, with melted candle pieces, make great fire starters
I’m saving all the lint from my dryer…another good fire starter. Put in small pill bottles. I also am putting together a Bug-Out bag. Survival food, flashlight, ammo and weapon, phone charger, batteries etc etc
Got to be ready to grab and go if necessary.
I used to think preppers were crazy, now I’m ready to go whenever. Good luck Treepers, we are all in this ride together.
I’ve had the prepper/homesteader mindset since I first read the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder some 55 years ago.
My family thought I was crazy. They still do. Oh well.
Unless you have a well prepared/guarded place to go, bugging out is risky. While en route, you are a nomad without preps or protection. If you live in a big city, bugging out may be safer than staying put. If you live in the suburbs, probably not.
Here in AZ there’s always been a shortage of roads into and out of town. Weekends going to the OOT sights are mostly spent stuck in traffic in the heat. One needs 4W drive and maps of forest service roads.
In late summer, stores sell inexpensive furniture, bedding and appliances for college students who live in a dorm.
To get good deals on such items (even if you’re not a college student), go to a store’s website and do a search on “dorm”. Some of the listed items will be cheap. For example https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=dorm+rooms+essentials lists plastic bowls and cups for 50 cents.
Target here in CO has those prices year round on tumblers, bowls and salad size plates, but in Aug and Sept they often drop to 25¢, and their storage containers go down to an amazing degree, too.
Just wait until May and pick the stuff up off the curb when they move out of the dorms.
Many are also moving out of apartments, too…another place to check, near the dumpsters. Or in areas where a few kids share a house…(curbside)….
I live in Japan what we do is pretty normal here. It is 95f now. We have one air conditioner in the bedroom which we just use to take the heat out of the walls and bed before we go to sleep then open the windows . We close the windows and drapes on the south and west side of the apartment at from 10 am until 5pm. We don’t cook much inside during the afternoon. When we lived in an apartment without an overhang we put up shade fabric to keep the sun off the windows. In winter, we use space heaters to heat the room we are in. Basically we tend to gather in one room. We take a bath before bed to raise up our body temperate. No dryer, no dishwater, hot water limited to bathing and washing dishes. If the weather gets too extreme, I hang out at Starbucks a lot. Our energy usage about 1/5 of my sisters in the states.
Mike. Where in Japan do you live? Conservative friends are scarce here!
Hi Jack
We are actually moving to Kagoshima from Kyoto this weekend. We need to get out of the city. Where are you?
This is a trivial suggestion, but it for some reason won me big points early in my wonderful 33 year marriage.
When the soap bar in the shower or bath gets too small to hold onto easily, get a new, fresh bar of soap and place it in the shower/bath before you bathe.
Use the new, big bar of soap to bathe. When you are done and both the new bar and the old sliver of soap are wet, push the sliver onto the bar and then grab both together and squeeze with your fist until the sliver sticks to the bar. Wet both well and place in the soap holder to dry for the next bathing session. The water gets into the crack between the two pieces and cements them together when they dry.
By the time you bathe the next time, both should be “welded” together, avoiding any waste of soap.
My wife and I were raised by children of the depression & many of their habits definitely rubbed off on we two.
These habits have done us very well over the years. We have always lived well under our means.
You can collect the slivers and melt them into a new bar apparently
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2022/02/how-to-turn-old-soap-slivers-into-new-bars-of-soap/
Or you can get a jar with a lid and collect soap slivers with a bit of water. Use for hand washing clothes or whatever, like dip a cloth or sponge in the jar and clean stuff. Slosh the jar around every so often.
Thank You , Joemama , because I thought I was the only one that did this with the old bar and new bar of soap 😊
The *Never-Ending* soap bar has been part of my life forever ! I’m Happy to Know Others do this also !
Happy Weekend to You 💐
In arid climes you can unwrap several bars of bath soap and put them in a basket to “dry”. The drier they get, the longer the soap lasts!
to save on bars of soap unwrap them when you store them at home. They become harder and still give you the same amount of suds! The bar will last much longer
I’m getting interested in felting soap. Supposedly I can get the wool cheap at Hobby Lobby. It’s supposed to make soap last longer. When the soap is gone you can cut a hole and put your slivers in. Others say the wool shrinks with the soap bar. I guess I will have to try it to find out who’s telling the truth. I’m thinking stocking stuffers once I get the kinks worked out. The other issue around it is that you have to have a well draining soap dish. Not to let it set in water.
I remember my Grandma darning my dad’s socks….does anyone do that anymore?
Sat my butt down in December 2018 and put all my bills in front of me, came up with must haves, needs and wants. Got rid of the wants, took the must haves and needs, added them up and divided by 4. Got paid on a weekly basis and automatically sent every company I used a 1/4 of their monthly bill on that weekly basis. Anything left over was for food for my pets and myself, anything after that was for fun.
Got a better job – joined the corporate world for health benefits, built up small excesses in my utility accounts and built up my credit score. Thankfully, I refinanced at the end of 2011 – got a fifteen year 3 1/8% and hope to pay it off by 2024 – the year I turn 65. I am determined to own my house prior to my retirement.
The use of an actual budget and sticking to that budget was key. I admit it was hard at first, but after 6 months I adapted…
I commend your approach. My wife & I did something very similar ~ 25 years ago. We had a 30 year mortgage on our home. I calculated how much extra we would have to pay each month to pay it off in 20 years.
We stuck to the program most of the time, unless there were unexpected large expenses, in which case we went to the minimum payment for a while.
When the kids went to college, we backed off of payments to have some buffer for unexpected expenses. Fortunately, very little of that happened.
We paid off our home about 7 years ago.
I know that my wife and I are blessed, in many ways, including financially.
I also know that many “Treepers” are not financially blessed. I pray for you. I also believe that you will be blessed financially in time.
And hang on to your job…lay offs are coming.
Ive got 5 payments left to be a free man. Monday ill have 4 payments left. Told the wife im taking her out to dinner come December.
Congratulations!
Debt free is our goal too-
Hopefully by December.
We also just purchased solar generators, buying ahead on food, gardening, learning to can and become more self-sufficient.
Continuing to pray for our country.
The key to retirement is no debt. We buy so much we don’t need or really want, then throw it away after a few years and accumulate more. The consumer mindset. Get rid of it for a much happier life.
I could not have retired as early as I did if my home was not paid for.
My late hubby paid for the house with cash from selling off some property.
Several people chided him for not getting a mortgage for the tax savings, but I bless him every day for leaving me with a paid for home.
Boise, Idaho (high desert climate): we are in our hottest months–July/August– now (triple digit temps from late afternoon-evening).
I’ve trained myself to NOT turn on central air conditioning until at least 7pm. Happy to say I can make it through 8pm and sometimes 9pm on most days. It can be 84 degrees, but I invested in a personalized AC that sits on my end table. It’s basically a fan that blows over a tray that I fill with ice cubes: keeps me cool while I work in my home office. I refill tray 1-2 times/day.
Our high desert climate means it usually does get cooler when the sun goes down. I find it pleasant around 10-11pm to sit on my porch, when temps have fallen to mid-upper 70s. By morning, it cooler still, so I open as many windows as I can around 6-7am and usually close them by 10am. Fans move the cool air in. I’d sleep with the windows open, but I’m single and live in a one-level home an am concerned for safety. (AND my California transplant neighbor runs her AC non-stop from late March to early November (when outside temps at night are perfect for sleeping, mid 50s): her AC is 6’outside my bedroom window–and it sure ain’t “white noise” to me!)
Winter: I use space heaters (I have two). No fireplace (gas or wood), unfortunately. I bundle up. I’ve learned to buy those stretchy gloves that are a few dollars/pair, cut the finger tips off, and happily type away on my keyboard, my space heater keeping my office cozy.
Dishwasher, washer, dryer are run at night (I’m a night owl, so it doesn’t bother me). I handwash most of my dishes at the end of the day year round. And I hang out my clothes (exception: under clothing, towels, socks, sheets) to dry on drying racks in my enclosed back yard most months of the year.
I shut down my computer every night and put it in sleep mode if I’m planning to be away from it for an hour or more during the day.
Final thing: I’ve learned to shower (or at least get my hair wet) before I go to bed in the summer months. I have long hair, and if I tie/clip it in a bun before bed, it’s still damp in the morning, having kept me cool all night. Bonus: my board-straight hair has a nice wave to it by morning 🙂
Has it worked? So far, so good….
Get hot water bottles while still cheap, and get a good large hot water flask. If power out when cold, fill water bottles from flask. I got two for $12 on Amazon, but intend to get a few more for warming the bed etc
Good tip. I place a pot of water on top of the insert in the winter, heating water, then into the water flask it goes. We used those rubber flasks when I was a kid to warm the bed and as a heating pad.
In summer, like yesterday, I made hot water for a shower by shutting off the irrigation so the well pump wouldn’t cycle and let the water heat up in the well tank which sits in the sun all day and took a hot shower last night by running the cold water tap. I haven’t had propane in nearly four months for the water heater so let the sun do the heating.
In winter the fireplace insert can provide bath/wash water as well as blow hot air to dry laundry and heat the house. I use the big graniteware pots from my grandparent’s ranch to heat the water. Same thing they did during the 20’s before electricity.
If you get a qualifying wood stove installed before the end of the year there’s a 27% rebate on your taxes. You receive back from the feds 27% of the entire cost of installation including if you have to get the stove pipe / chimney put in and even a pad. Next year it drops off to 22%. If you can’t heat your home without electricity and or gas you need to make plans. Depending of course on the climate where you live.
In case it’s not clear it includes the stove. For example, if I buy a jotul f500 oslo for 4500 and pay another 5500 for installation and chimney work total 10k I would get back on my taxes 2700.
I had a metal roof installed about 3 years ago and noticed my energy usage in the summer months is way down.
Also replaced my old furnace and my gas bill went down by half.
In my state we get rebates for installing energy efficient furnaces, etc.
Use the water in the dehumidifier for watering plants or mopping the floor.
Mindset
After cooking vegetables let the water cool and use for plants. They love the extra vitamins and minerals.
Drink the water after it cools & have the benefit yourself.
use all water,coffee, tea on plants rather than down sink and learned to adjust thermostat one degree a month as you get use to it
The war has begun and it’s going much harder for those people who laughed people like us to ignore. Not a pessimist by trade but there’s too much happening food/fertilizer/energy to be coincidence. There’s getting ready to be a lot of people totally caught off guard by all this. And even tho I have been very pissed at them I will get know pleasure in this.
I will derive no pleasure in saying “I told you so.”
I pray frequently for family members, friends and acquaintances to wake up and begin to see reality.
Sundance, you warned all of us to stockpile as much food and supplies before price increases hit in January 2022. Many of us heeded your warning. Now, while prices are definitely higher since last fall, the prices on food and supplies are about to go exponential. We are about to witness an inflationary spiral none of us has ever seen. Consequently, the misery index is set to explode, too.
My advice is to tune in to several prepping channels on YouTube for specific advice, and to stockpile at least 1 year of provisions. Additionally if possible, buy and fill extra propane tanks, store 5 gallon jugs of water in dark, cool places in your home, by tons of spam, canned salmon, and other protein rich foods. Bread flour, sugar, popcorn, canned fruits and vegetables. Vitamins and minerals,, especially vitamin C. Order as much prescription medicines as possible. This sounds expensive, but it is cheaper than stocking up on MREs, and you’re still on the hook to purchase supplies and necessities. Store all of this in stackable 55 gallon, clear plastic chests, or smaller. I’m also investing in 3 cords of wood for home heating in case SHTF. If you get 1 year’s stockpile begin working on year 2 if things haven’t gone ballistic. Plan to be self-sufficient, shelter in place. Your local and state governments will probably be inept. Local sheriff, police, and fire departments will be stretched thin. So, network with your neighbors AND extended neighborhood to form a survival community. Know who is willing to do what and publish that list so people will know and trust their neighbors. Remember, in an inflationary spiral the misery index WILL explode in people’s lives. Plan for and expect irrational behavior. I pray this helps just one family. Forewarned is forearmed.
If you believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ pray without ceasing. If you are not a believer, seek faith in Jesus with all your heart, soul, and mind. Accept that irresistible call to faith in Jesus. Then begin praying to Jesus as if your life depended on every word in every prayer, because you life does.
Be at peace, trust in the LORD because He is at your side!
Amen! To all of it. Amen!
Big pharma is trying to get rid of the dietary supplements and homeopathic meds that are available. They want control of that market, so keep that in mind.
Yes, millions have found out they can control much of what ails them through proper nutrition, supplements, and homeopathic remedies. Big Pharma isn’t as necessary as Big Pharma wants to be.
Hence, they want to eliminate the competition.
Nobody should be stocking MREs the expiration date on those actually means something and most of what’s sold online is expired surplus. Even if you are lucky enough to get fresh ones they don’t store long term.
That’s right about MRE’s.
Better bet are canned goods. Usually “best by” date for three years. Usually last much longer. Just check for quality on older cans (appearance, smell, taste).
So true.
It’s not really the food itself that’s past expiration, but the chemical packet that heats the package up, that expires.
Most expired MRE’s, when prepared by traditional backpack meal methods (add boiling hot water and let sit), taste just fine, I’ve found.
That said…I find it more efficient (for preparation time and simplicity) and to simply go the canned and dry goods route, especially for prepping and camping.
Try here for freeze-dried foods vacuum-sealed in mylar bags, ten year shelf life. And fair prices. And this vendor has the correct mindset, too: http://www.mypatriotsupply.com
He is the one that is ALWAYS in control.
Keep your faith in Him, always.
Yep, my father’s battle rosary is stored next to his service weapon and its support equipment. Both served him well in WW2. Faith is very important in battle, as well as other aspects of life.
Works without faith are useless!
For warehousing preps, IMO disperse. I’ve got stuff in two outbuildings, the pump house, some stuff in the truck, some stuff in the bolt bag, and some stuff in the house. Pay attention, as applicable, to vermin control.
Now downsized in old age, I only keep an extra barrel of diesel around. I used to have a 500 gallon tank of it behind the shop.
I learned most of the ‘prepper’ stuff from my parents. It wasn’t ‘prepping’ during the Depression, it was life. Nothing was wasted.
These days, if the power goes out at night, which does sometimes happen in the forest, training op. Don’t turn lights on, don’t light lamps, train to operate in the pitch dark. Find food, locate guns and ammunition, practice movements and tactics in pitch dark. Some folks will have expensive night vision but don’t count on it. Blind people deal with it daily so if they can do it, so can we.
I agree with all you have written, except I would be hesitant to publish a list of neighbors and who will do what, on-line.
Big Brother really is watching.
Great Thread Sundance.
Thanks for periodically bumping it.
Here is a site that is very interesting for do it yourselfers.
https://mb-soft.com/public3/globalzl.html
This man claims to have heated his home in Chicago for the past 13 years using his yard clippings.
very interesting read. I am going to give it a try in my greenhouse and see how it works. All plans and details are included.
The composting process creates heat. If you go to YouTube and search on “Jean Pain” you’ll get videos about how to build a wood chip compost pile with Pex (or whatever) circled through the pile during construction. Jean Pain generated methane too and used that in his vehicle and for the kitchen stove. Eventually, he had finished compost to use for soil improvement.
Later, his family started a wood compost business.
North Texas here. Yeah we be hot down here. It’s been over 100 for weeks, little if any relief in sight. I left a can of soda in the backseat today. Yeah, oops. Cleanup on Aisle 5.
But I’m lucky as all get out. My recent promotion moved me to second shift. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s nice to utilize much of my AC usage on the company dime. I set the thermo at 82-83 during peak hours while I’m away during the hottest part of the day. And I’m pretty okay with warmer temps, so 77-78 at night when I’m home works for me. And I’m sure my apartment neighbors don’t care for it, but I do the laundry in the wee hours also.
In short, move all your heavy loads to the off peak hours.
And, someone mentioned it the other day, but it bears repeating because it’s one of the primary sources of energy loss. Cracks and gaps in your windows and doors. Ensure all those “gaskets” are in good working condition.
One of the biggest savings is to start canning. Get a good quality canner. All American are the best.
Mine will can 32 pint jars at a time. Rotisserie chicken from Sam’s club are $4.99 each (boil bones for broth), 2 pound Carrots from Aldi $2, Celery bunch $1.60, pound onions $1.49. $12 and you have 32 pints of Chicken soup cooked in one pot that took 75 minutes, and can be heated for 2 mins in microwave, or even over a fire if needed. Add egg noodles when reheating if you need to bulk it out.
I currently have 600 jars sitting on my shelves and adding 40 half pints of breakfast sausage at the weekend. Just needs to be fried up and gravy added, but you get my point of cooking many shelf stable meals in one go to save on gas/electric
How long do those last?
Decades!
Properly canned and stored, they last for years.
For people who only use celery stalks for soups, I wash and cut the celery up- leaves and stalks and all and put soup/stew sized amounts in bags and freeze them
I use those frozen portions of leaves and stalks in soups and stews and its Ok
I dehydrate them.
I make celery powder for salt free. Dehydrate, blend.
Some rural communities that host farmers’ markets, also have community canning plants. You bring your foodstuffs and canning supplies, and use the giant stoves and sinks in the plant to do the work. At ours, there are many old hands who are more than happy to help newbies. I’m in N E GA mountain area, many family farms around here (in between the USFS tracts and the urban escapees in their $600K “cabins”).
things you can collect for free and potentially sell:
wood pallets.
cardboard boxes.
there is actually a bigger market for this than you may think considering how big moving and storage has gotten.
be creative connecting with people moving… they may pay you cash not just for the supplies but also participating in packing and the move itself if you still have a spring in your step!
also check your zoning… you may be able to store a boat or camper behind your front residential building line and there will be people looking for your affordable alternative paying increasingly high rent in commercial facilities.
they are getting expensive.
if you feel beaten down, just know one little thing can happen that will open the new path.
what you get with accomplishment is fuel that is free.
always get free boxes at front of store at sav a lot saves them breaking them down
I use cardboard boxes in the garden to make pathways and mulch between rows.
The worms love them!
Just beware the insurance risk if you provide harbor for someone else’s boat or camper.
Can get very sturdy boxes at the ABC or liquor stores. Most are smaller to mid-size so they can be loaded easily. You might get some laughs about the amount of alcohol you must have consumed, but hey….it works.
Idea for toilet paper I used when my children were in diapers: Use small pieces of flannel after going number one, place in a lidded pail, and wash like you would cloth diapers.
Though not used as toilet paper, my mother was still using my diapers as wash rags well into my adulthood. In fact, when I cleaned her house out after she died at about 90 years old, there were still some diapers in the rag drawer. Durable stuff.
I still use the diapers from my children. Best “rags” ever!
Be prepared. “It is better to be a warrior tending a garden, than a gardener in a war”…
“Be Prepared”.
Boy Scout motto.
Taught us much back in the good old days of Scouting.
I keep the Scout compass and knife in the drawer next to the bed. There are paper toppo maps in the truck. We were fortunate to get that wilderness training back in the 60’s. A gift that keeps giving.
My warrior garden is producing well and will peak in about a month when the tomatoes ripen. I have been washing and bagging and then freezing a lot already. I cleared out space in my freezers this spring by canning the meat that I have been picking up on sales since last fall so now I’m ready to load it up with vegetables. My company has been buying lunch for everyone on Fridays since the woofroo scheme, but that is coming to an end with looming expenditure cutbacks. I will try to feed a few nutritious lunches once or twice a month from my storage – we already have people eating PB&J, cereal or whatever they can find at home to bring to work for lunch. Their bills are crushing them.
Vikings would always be armed, when tending to their fields.
You never know when the enemy will attack.
Yep, but even those of us too old or handicapped can surreptitiously support the able-bodied warriors with food and meds.
And you are never too old to be a prayer warrior!
Youtube can be your friend and save you a lot. Whenever we have problems with our appliances and computers, I check Youtube to see if there are videos on how to fix the problem. I’m no handyman, but I managed to extend the life of our window a/c by five years and kept my MacBook Pro going for over 10 years among other fixes and upgrades.
Also, if you live in an urban area, get to know the supers. Very often they have very useful knowledge about the tenants – especially the older ones. We picked up a barely used HP laptop for $75.00 from one of them. An old gentleman in the building had purchased 3 laptops but couldn’t figure out how to use them, so he asked the super to sell them off for whatever he could get. Supers also know who is moving out and very often you can pick up things for next to nothing that were going to go into the trash but are still perfectly fine.
Lastly, if you’re thinking of cutting the cord, just do it. We cut our cable about 8 years ago. Don’t miss it one bit. We have one subscription service for $7.99/month, a far cry from the $139.00/month we used to pay. In 8 years, that works out to saving over $12,500.00. Hardly chump change….
My husband laughs at my YT adventures but it has saved us a good amount of money. A recent foray was changing the batter in my Mac.
Thanks to the warnings Sundance has been giving, I got raised garden beds done this year after watching a bunch of YT videos. Filling those with plantable soil was going to be pricey. YT showed how to do Hugelkultur and Lasagna raised bed filling. In the end, it took very little good planting soil because I’d prepped the bed filling them with branches, wood, grass and yard clippings. They will break down and provide nutrients for future plantings.
Though I’ve deigned to go on the broadband/cellular assistance program for low income seniors, I find one cheap smartphone, cost me 100 bucks new, and a prepaid ATT cell program gives me TV, internet, phone and text for about 33 bucks a month. I can afford that.
Even with throttling, definitely an issue since I plow through a couple hundred gigabytes a month, because I’m one of the few ATT tower users in my area of the forest, I get amazing throughput. It literally doesn’t change from unthrottled to throttled.
So, by ‘cutting the cables’ so to speak, I spend 400 or so bucks a year for all electronic services and one simple small portable device provides them.
Other devices are used for different communications. I got interested in radio communications back in the 60’s. Fascinating stuff.
Congrats on those savings. Impressive.
Those “backout” curtains are helpful to insulate rooms from the heat and cold.
Norwex cleaning cloths (yes, they are sort of expensive) but…. no cleaning chemicals are needed. Counters, floors, surfaces, toilets, tubs, appliances, etc. For ovens, of course, something stronger is needed, like Norwex cleaning paste (have not tried it yet, but rather I use baking soda and vinegar and a scrub brush)
There are Norwex subs for paper towels. I have not tried those yet. I have lots of old towels and use them.
Norwex washcloths replace soap and makeup remover. These excellent cloths exfoliate so well. Baking soda replaces shampoo.
Work on the possibilities solar and wind energy may provide as you jump out of the plane, but don’t cut the lines on your parachute while you’re being brought back down to earth.
Vote out the Green Nuts!
Get outside and do some work and recreation early in each change of season to acclimate to what’s coming. Now 80F is pretty comfortable, don’t really sweat until over 85F. I use fans during hotter hours. Just run ac to cut humidity and at night when I succumb to the luxury of cool temps for sleep. Winter regimen is the polar opposite. Bills are pretty low and would be lower if utilities and pol regulators weren’t crooks.
An alternative approach I’ve used in the past is to bump t-stat so ac (or heat in winter) barely runs, then go to a library or other place where you can do what you need and/or want in decent comfort until evening.
Almost all cooking is done outside on a charcoal grill or in a toaster oven.
In those past days, I also fished 2-3 days per week, providing at least dinners for most of the week. Fishing is a twofer bc you get great food and direct appreciation for the bounty of God’s creation. Fresh caught crabmeat stuffed flounder cooked on a hand-me-down grill is a pretty good definition of grace in my book.
Our first house was a small, brick 1-storey house with no air conditioning. Others have already mentioned opening windows at night and closing the house up during the day.
If you now have a brick house, this helps even if you have A/C.
If you live where water is still inexpensive and, well, electricity is going up everywhere, in the late afternoon and evening, get the garden hose out and spray the Sun-facing brick walls that got all that high temp afternoon sun. Wet them down once or twice. You don’t have to soak the bricks.
Heat travels to cold and your house interior is cooler than the outside, so that heat is traveling into your house. With the evaporation cooling the outer surface, you are getting the heat to flow towards the exterior of the house and the bricks will cool faster overnight.
And… the cycle repats the next day, of course.
I had East and West facing walls, but I never sprayed the East side in the morning. Maybe I should have. But cooling the West wall definitely helped on those 85 and 90-plus days.
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For Winter, if you have South-facing windows, put some dark, heavy objects (decorative! Hey, why not?) where they will absorb heat from the sun during the day and give it off after dark.
It depends on your physical situation – windows, how directly south, #objects, and other things – but they will give off some BTUs in the evening and save a little on heating. It’s free and takes no effort other than a little bit of ‘decorating’.
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Sorry, no magic cure-alls, but those tips will help and require minimal effort. Combined with the other tips that have already been given, the little bits will add up.
Get a window fan ($30 at DolGen or similar). Set it to exhaust in a window in one end of the house. After sundown in the summer, turn off the a/c, open a window or two in the other end. Turn on the window fan, and enjoy the Lord’s free fresh air. Here in the southern Appalachians, this method actually makes the house chilly by dawn.
I now have A/C but before I did, I slept in the basement in the summer.
Much cooler down there.
If I get to the point where I can’t use my A/C anymore, it’s back to the basement for me!
Read the thread & can’t say I can add much. I do know shutting down electronics ( computer, actual turn off, not sleep mode, printer, monitor, & cell phone, at night helps.
Electricity vampires, I call them, Bonnie.
Yup. It helps, and if someone has a lot of electronic gadgets around the house, it can be quite a bit.
My main caveat is keeping mission critical devices, the portable ones, at full charge just in case things go sideways. Examples would include the laptop, cell phone and portable communications equipment that is battery powered. Else, TV’s, radios, desktops, printer, etc, yup, off at the power strips/conditioners, essentially unplugged.
I live alone. I’ve been doing the following for many years.
I don’t heat my house in the winter. Not even the bathroom. It’s a true outhouse. My house is frozen all winter. I run a trickle of water in the faucets so the pipes don’t freeze.
I stay in just one room with an electric heater.
I don’t have a dryer for my clothes. I hang my clothes up all through the house to dry. I put them on fans too.
I don’t have a stove. I just use a hot plate and a toaster oven.
I had a tree fall on my house last year and it broke the electric line to the house. I had no electricity for about a week.
There’s no way to sleep when you’re freezing to death. Even if you bundle up, you are still breathing cold air. So, you freeze from the inside out.
I really don’t have any tips for that one.
There’s a heating option if it’s a small closed room – using tea light candles and terracotta pots. There’s some YouTube videos, but basically, the candles go under the upside down pots and heat the pots, which in turn will heat the room. You also need space for air to keep the candles alight – so elevate the pots on a brick.
Definitely check out the internet, because my explanation is a bit lacking.
And definitely be careful with safety and don’t start a fire!
Sounds like my uncle’s ‘cabin’ he built to get some ‘space’ from his wife. Every time I visited he’d be in the cabin at least part of the day. It was 50′ from the house and had running water, a toilet, and a wood stove.
If possible to install, a simple wood stove in the room most used can help a lot. If that’s the living room, easy to put a bed in there. It doesn’t take much to heat a small space. Windows can be insulated, doors shut or covered, attic insulation improved. The beauty of small space is changes are noticed immediately and don’t take much expenditure of time/resources.
Back when camping in the cold, I’d build a fire, throw rocks in it and get the whole mess good and hot then bury it and pitch the tent over the spot. Nice and warm, no foggy breath. One can adapt that idea in a small house space by bringing in the thermal mass that’s heated outside. A wood stove is better but there are other ways.
As long as one has power, pipes are easy and inexpensively preserved with heat tape. I’ve got a half dozen or so running at my Oregon place full time, controlled by their thermostats. They’ve worked really well over the years. The most exposed get heat tape and closed cell foam over that.
If you can afford it, get an electric heating pad or an electric blanket. They are cheap at thrift stores and garage sales. They dont use much electricity. When my heater broke I slept with bundled up with blankets and a hat, put a sheet over my head and I was on top of the heating pad. It saved me from misery.
Get both.
YouTube has a lot of channels, like CheapRVLiving, that show how folks who actually live in their vehicles cope.
Many of these folks don’t even have a small solar set up, but they manage to survive some pretty rough weather conditions.
Very ingenious.
How much does it cost to install solar panels on your roof? What if we find videos online about how to install those things ourselves and save $?
Little different from any other electrical install that pierces the roof, like a unitized HVAC or cooler or electronics installation.
In practice though, there’s more to it, particularly the electrical end. If a totally separate system, like to run dedicated low voltage lighting and charge electronics, pretty easy. Integrating it into the house utility system or powering 120V equipment, far more complex and better left to professionals.
Typical roof deck the panel frames are attached and attachments sealed, cable is routed through or down the roof and electrical attachments made.
We experimented with it on RV’s back in the 90’s and didn’t have any trouble with the membrane roofs on the trailers and campers. Sealed right up using normal products for that. Electrical was straightforward. RV stuff was 12V and we ran an inverter to power the TV and other low wattage 120V equipment.
Some states and their captive utility companies *may* still offer credits for rooftop solar installations. The federal gummint has had such programs, on and off, for years. Worth looking into.
Charge cell phone in car while driving around. Same with Ipods and Ipads.
Also, when at the gas station, I grab a handful of paper towels (if available, they seem to not be refilling the container/dispensers by the gas pumps)…I have not bought paper towels in over a year. Good for quick clean up in the car and at home.
Also, check out Daisy Luther’s site. She was a single mom who faced some hard times and became incredibly creative in how to save money.
https://www.theorganicprepper.com/
I also now use washable shop ‘paper towels’ in the house instead of the use and throw away paper ones. They’re blue. When degraded they become part of the fuel to heat the house.
I’ll use the station provided gear for washing windows on the truck but haven’t gotten to the point of taking their gear, though I don’t doubt others do. Where I live it’s kinda hard to do that anyway since the pump islands are manned full-time and the attendants pump gasoline and, sometimes, will even wash windows.
New Jersey I’m guessing, at least lower gas taxes then PA!
Great idea. Thank you.
I just bought a large bag of rice to add to our supplies. Dry beans and rice can go a long ways and pretty much last years if kept dry. Stock up now. Even on a very limited budget one can get foods that will sustain you if needed.
I encourage everyone to learn what is edible that grows wild in their areas.
I am planning on putting up an outside clothes line, for now I will try the dry towel method!
I also have the ingredients to make a homemade detergent that should last about a year for under $20.
Once I give it a try I will post the recipe.
Speaking of what is edible that grows in the wild;
Cattails . The pealed roots raw or boiled.The cotton heads can be fire starters, dried and stripped leaves can be woven into matts, baskets.shelter? There are numerous videos on the uses for cattails.
Just don’t eat the ones that have been sprayed In urban areas.
Hope it never comes to that tho.
Frog legs taste like chicken.
Swamp life ain’t for just the swamp critters in DC.
Something I do with beans, grains, flour, etc, is buy them in bags small enough to put in the freezer, in my case 25lb bags max, and freeze them for a few days to kill off critters/eggs that might be lurking, then store in air-tight containers. Works pretty good.
Do not wash a few pieces of clothes. Wait until you have a full batch, and if you separate colors, wait till you can wash full batches of each. You will save on detergent, dryer sheets, and water. Also, use cold wash.
Also, give up the dishwasher. Its the largest user of power in your house. Wash dishes by hand and use dishwasher as drain basket. Buy ceiling fans for living and bedrooms. They will slow you to raise your thermostat by several degrees.
Allow you to raise thermostat several degrees. Sorry!
I stopped using dryer sheets many years ago and frankly noticed no difference.
Good idea! Dryer sheers are filled with chemicals that are horrible for you!
I am a trained energy auditor and have inspected thousands of homes in order tisane on utilities.
The best thing you can do which gives you the highest ROI is to install radiant barrier in your attic. Radiant barrier is very inexpensive ($.10-15 per square foot) and you can install it yourself. It is easily installed by stapling it to your roof joists in your attic.. I also recommend blowing enough insulation in your attic up to the level of the 6″ floor joists. If you do these two things, you will save approximately 30% on your heating and cooling costs, save wear and tear on your HVAC units (which are getting harder to source and price is exploding) and make your house much more comfortable.
Innovative Insulation out of Texas had the best radiant barrier for the best price and has online tutorials on how to install.
Dear Iron Man,
My house was built (like a fortress) in 1911. It has a gambrel roof.
Most of the attic space is taken up with the ductwork for the original air conditioning system installed by my predecessors in the late 1990’s, including the air handler. I replaced the air conditioner last month and the new air handler is mercifully about half the size of the original, but still very large.
There is also lots of electrical conduit from many eras, as well as a flexible gas line which I had installed to replace the original line supplying gas to the master bedroom fireplace. Astoundingly, that gas line was found to be running right up the chimney flue that served the wood burning fireplace directly below it in the library, and which was immediately vacated upon discovery when I had a chimney liner installed shortly after buying the house.
I would dearly love to have reflective barrier installed, but I’m wondering if there is enough area available to cover to have an impact.
I would welcome any thoughts or advice you might have.
I wish more people living alone could connect with each other and share progressive meals or potlucks or take turns. Cooking for one is wasteful.
That’s where your social groups at church or neighborhood social media pages could help.
I was raised on leftovers so use the same cook and store strategies my grandparents used on the ranch. There’s a cooking day with the week’s menu planned and then the leftovers get rotated throughout the week, some cold, some reheated.
I eat on about five bucks a day since Covid hit so have mastered some nuances of efficient cooking for one.
Forex, if I splurge today on a homemade pizza where I heat the oven stone to 500 degrees, that heat isn’t wasted when the pizza is done, a rice dish and brownie pan are prepared to go in as soon as the pizza is done, temp is lowered to 350 and they bake while I eat, then all three items provide menu options to add to the mix over the next week.
After they’re done baking, that heat isn’t wasted either, a hotel bowl of water goes into the turned-off oven and heat soaks and I use that water to wash dishes.
I’m at $100 a month for just food. It’s doable, but you have to work at it.
My wife and I have been living mobile since 2020. We have found on our limited income that sourcing local gardens and flocks for produce and eggs (as long as one knows the person) saves a good deal of money. Likewise we have stocked up on dry beans and rice. Beans and rice are a complete source of amino acids and a good source of fiber. We have a dual fuel generator for power and for non-potable water have purchased a sump pump to pump from a common water body should the need arise. We have also acquired various means of trapping, fishing and small game hunting. Most of these things can be acquired for very little and supply good peace of mind.
We live outside of Philadelphia and it does get cold on winter nights. A few years ago we bought an electric mattress cover-not a blanket. It has a timer that can be set to turn on the same time each night so the bed is toasty warm at bedtime. The thermostat is turned down to 58 at night but we are very comfortable. Also cover is set at low-any higher and we are too warm. Our gas bills have noticeably decreased.
Our electricity prices are increasing locally
I am a huge fan of “equal pay” where the bills get averaged out monthly over the year
This is particularly helpful when rates are rising. It spreads the pain at no (interest) cost to you
Call your utility companies today and ask
This is SO GREAT!! The major change I made many years back was to “go rural”. Firstly, no crime to speak of. Secondly, I have a well, septic tank, and haul my own trash out (or burn it). So, no water, sewer, or trash bills. Always have a well and septic inspection before you buy. Underground water in places like Northern and Central Idaho is pristine and drinkable from the tap, but in many locations you must chlorinate and/or filter the water for drinking. A Berkey water filter is essential to have no matter where you are. When the grid goes down so does “city water” and “city sewer” capabilities, so I consider having my own sources essential. Yes, that makes me responsible for upkeep. My bills are: mortgage+insurance, cheap Internet, car insurance (car paid off), cheap cell phone plan, electricity, and other expenses such as animal feed, gas, misc.
Years ago, I decided to develop a small farm, so cows for all things dairy & beef, chickens for meat and eggs, large gardens, guard dogs to keep predators off the land. I purchase food I can’t grow in bulk. I have a backup generator for power outages. For a short term emergency, I wouldn’t have to leave the property for anything.
Long term… I’d actually rather live up North than in the South where I currently am because you can always heat with wood and don’t normally require air conditioning all the time. Having 5 full cords of wood on hand is not unusual. We have a very long growing season in the South, but the heat and humidity are a force that requires air conditioning. In the North you need greenhouses to grow as abundantly as in the South.
There are pros and cons to location. It all depends upon what you can’t put up with. Tons of snow or humidity+heat – I’ve done both. My goal is always striving for independence, self responsibility, safety, ability to grow food. The Communist/Socialist/WEF/Davos crowd are intent upon reducing our ability to be independent and free. Whether that be access to electricity or food or healthcare or banking or weapons or whatever. I’ll work every day to workaround their wicked plans.
Sorry for the verbose response.
My only TIP is: have cast iron cookware on hand so you can cook over an open fire if you need to. Cast iron cooks food a lot faster, even in a traditional setting. It’s pretty indestructible and can last 100 years or more. There are 3 pieces I consider essential: a flat “griddle”, a Dutch oven, a frying pan. You can occasionally find deals on cast iron and sometimes find them in thrift stores. If rusty, they are easy to refinish. The Lodge brand is decent and will last if you take care of it. Do not buy knockoffs.
Cast iron is the best. I got most of mine from thrift stores though a couple cherished ones were inherited.
Nothing sears like a heated cast iron skillet.
Great tips, thanks. I’ve lived rural the majority of my life so many were familiar to me.
I’m fortunate my mother saved all the cast iron cookware her parents used on the family ranch, plus all their oil lamps and barn lanterns.
For some reason rice just tastes better out of that big old cast iron cooker, even if it is sitting on an electric stove. Works great on a wood fire outside too, as you noted, or on the fireplace insert top. Century or more old and still going strong.
Gardening and various forms of preservation of foods are my big projects. I’ve ordered a pressure cooker (should be in tomorrow) and have a “Seal a Meal” vacuum system for freezing produce. There are many forms of food preservation that can be used, like dehydration, salting, fermentation, canning, and freezing.
We are gearing up to make raised beds this fall and to implement what’s called the “Back to Eden” method of gardening for next year. Essentially, you use ground cover (mainly wood chips) to maintain ground moisture and block weeds/grass. Some people have access to free wood chips from city resources or tree removal businesses. The plants grow like magic, and you cut down tremendously on physical labor. YouTube has been a wonderful resource for information. I highly recommend the following people to “subscribe to” for this method of gardening: Growfully with Jenna (zone 6A), Gardener Scott, L2Survive, MIgardener, and The Gardening Channel with James Prigiori. There are many others.
Congratulations on getting a PC.
Hope you see this because it will save you water AND time.
Using your PC as a Steam Canner instead of water bathing:
http://realfoodheritage.com/index.php/28-real-food-heritage/preserving-food/18-using-a-pressure-canner-as-a-steam-canner
Thank you for the link!
Quite welcome! Someone shared with me; glad to keep passing it on.
It was a game changer for me. I even stack as high as I can and it works well.
In case you haven’t found her BexarPrepper (utube) was an early teacher for me. She hasn’t been posting canning vids lately, but she sure thought out of the box.
You may be interested in knowing you can jar up milk, cheese, butter. We don’t use a lot of milk, but it is handy for some recipes. The last jar I opened was 5 yo and fine. It may turn a tad beige because of the sugars, but it’s fine.
IF you’re on FB, there’s a canning group that is awesome. I can’t get in right now, but the title is either Canning Rebels or Rebel Canners – It’ll have a “cartoon” pic of old gals in colorful outfits with a “wow” expression on their face. They are incredible – talk about broadening horizons!
You may know this already, but that SealAMeal system will seal about anything with a rubber seal in the lid. If you can fit the jar (like baby food, olive jars, pickle jars, etc) into one of those sealing “bowls”, it’ll work.
Have fun!
I use pine shavings for chicken bedding and twice a year they go out to the garden, well broken down and enriched with chicken manure.
I understand chick poo is excellent for the garden! I live somewhat in the country – my neighbor raises cattle, and every year he has to move a large pile of cow manure/dirt that has accumulated where he feeds hay to them in the winter. This spring he brought half of it over to us, and we incorporated it into the garden. He’ll bring the rest this fall. From now on, we will ask him to bring the whole thing over in the spring. Once the season gets busy for him, he is on his tractor all day long!
No one seems to want things like this. Guess it’s too much work.
I think that my next door neighbor spends a small fortune on it here in the city. With little kids he wants grass for them to play in.
You’ll lucky to have someone willing to bring manure to you.
Horse is available around here, but you have to either load up a trailer or bags. No one close enough to us anymore.
Be careful with that chicken poo – it can be a bit “hot” for veggies.
I can’t offer any advice; surely there’s something “out there” that will advise.
My electricity bill has seen similar increases. People with solar energy panels pay much less in electric bills. Line maintenance charges are a percentage of everyone’s bill. Solar panel owners pass the cost of line maintenance on to people who can’t afford solar. We need to abolish Congress.
Utilities vary widely in process but ours separates out infrastructure charges from power charges. I have services in California and Oregon.
Depending on service, there can be minimum charges as well. In CA the three phase service for the shop has a ‘standby’ charge so, even if the shop is powered off at the main breaker, I still pay a minimum power charge.
I don’t know how infrastructure charges are handled for grid-connected solar customers. Solar doesn’t work well in the forest so no local experience.
Passing the cost on … sounds like the scheme behind electric cars. We’ll all pay for their network of charging stations, whether or not we need to use them ourselves. Communism got a toehold in our economy via public utilities.
Americans pays an average of 14 cents a kilowatt hour.
In some parts of the US it is over 20 cents a kilowatt hour.
Here in Montana we pay:
Simple solution – move to Montana
https://www.pge.com/pge_global/common/pdfs/rate-plans/how-rates-work/Residential-Rates-Plan-Pricing.pdf
Here in the beautiful, sunny and foggy, SF Bay Area … PG&E charges tiered (punishment for USING energy) rates. The tiers are;
The people I know who install solar … are doing it JUST to stay out of PG&E’s top tier. This is what the “Green Screw Deal” will do … make energy use sooooooooo expensive … that it economically *cough* *cough* incentivizes consumers to “go green”.
I’ve been paying about seven cents a kWh for over five years in Oregon. These days the residential power charge in my rural area of CA is about 21 cents or more and over 30 cents for the shop three phase 240V.
Power costs, while no guarantee, loomed large in the decision making process of where to move to die. As long as there’s a grid we’ll use it, particularly at such low cost. Solar really isn’t an option in the forest, too shady for the investment required. Micro-power from the creek, perhaps.
I have only a seasonal creek.
If I had a year-round creek adequate for the purpose, I would for sure put in a small hydro system!
Ssshhhhh …. don’t invite the leftist refugees!
Only if you are a Constitutionalist!
I’m an old fella, and grew up around relatives born in the late 1850’s-1890’s. Here’s the energy saving tips I saw or experienced from them;
Lighting rarely used because they slept at nighttime
air-conditioning was a breeze circulating via large windows and/or doors, overhead or portable fans.
Heating/cooking supplied by coal or wood
Water supply was hand or wind powered.
Food preservation was done by canning, root cellars, salt, smoke, dehydration. A tiny portion of foods was kept in a small Ice Box cooled by a block of ice, a small electric refrigerator, or sunk in the water well.
All methods were adjusted if needed to maximize seasonal weather.
I don’t use ANY air conditioning. NONE … even if we have a week of > 100 deg. heat. Open windows at night … and I just FOAM insulated all my cathedral ceilings … R-7 per inch of insul … and … it’s seals everything
Some food was hung from the rafters cause it would take all night for the bugs to figure out how to get to it.
Limited storage space is a problem for many of us. A 250 foot roll of Reynolds aluminum foil takes up the same amount of space as a 25 foot roll. Buy several big rolls and you will save money later, plus have it on hand if the wheels really come off and foil becomes unavailable. I am trying to heavily stock up on stuff that won’t expire.
Dry towel inversion:
Rather than heat up the iron for wrinkled clothes, place a wet towel in the dryer with a wrinkled load and go get your hangers. In a few minutes you can begin taking the garments out and hanging them up, keeping the dryer going between times.
Works like a charm to save time and electricity.
Don’t buy plastic food storage containers or plastic cling wrap. Save glass jars and wash them thoroughly, then use them for storing food staples and leftovers.
Make bone and veggie broth with leftover chicken bones and veggie parings. Organic chicken feet and necks are cheap or even free, put them into the pot with the bones. Check online for different bone broth recipes. Freeze family size containers. Excellent cure for colds and digestive issues. Use as stock with stews and rice or pasta dishes for flavor and nutrition.
I converted all the lights in my house. This is long term solution though. Air conditioner at 75 and furnace at 65 is my recommendation.
I noticed the power savings right away switching from HPS and MV to LED when the former lost a ballast or bulb. The longevity is about equivalent but the power savings sold me, with little to no loss in light output. Impressive.
The newest LED bulbs even offer color temperature switches – change from 6000K (“daylight”) to 2800K (“incandescent”) with a switch, instead of having to change out the LED bulb itself.