Sex, death, and recycling: Lessons learned growing up on a homestead farm
Nowadays, homesteading is a cool new trend for city folks to “get back to nature.” I want to encourage those of you interested in homesteading to give it a go! I spent my whole life on a homestead, before it was something trendy. Here are the things I learned from growing up on a homestead farm…
How do I recycle greywater in the winter?
Due to some boring logistics, we will probably end up placing the washing machine in the garage. The problem is that there is no drain there, and it’s cost prohibitive to install one right now. Our solution is to recycle the greywater from the wash. In the summer we will use it to water the lawn. However, in the winter the temperature drops below freezing, and we don’t really need an ice skating rink in our back yard. What ideas do you have for recycling greywater in the winter?
Repurpose a fancy tea box as DIY tie holders
I received a gift of a fancy assortment of green teas in a lovely wooden box, and I was just itching to figure out a great way to repurpose it. I loved that it already had dividers inside, making it a great little organizer. My hubby’s tie collection was a mess, so I decided to give it a whirl.
A full-size C-3PO costume and 5 other wonders kids can create from empty paper towel rolls
Environmentalism, for me, is less about recycle and far more about reuse. “Recycle” smacks of some propaganda feel-good program for using too much crap in the first place. As a parent, I naturally impart my opinionated views on my offspring. They’re all about reusing things — from junk mail to paper towel rolls.
You could recycle those leftover diaper boxes… or you could make your own AT-AT out of them
I have a dozen nappies boxes sitting around, and recently decided (whether out of a fit of stay-at-home-mum induced anxiety or just total creativity) to put together an AT-AT out of them. My son naturally destroyed it three days later, but once he did I was able to snap a few shots of how I set up the structure in the first place.
Is recycling still worth it?
I seem to have run into an obstacle in my marriage, regarding recycling. My husband seems to be under the impression that it takes more energy to recycle a bottle, or can, or cardboard box, than it does to simply toss it in the garbage — and therefore, is not worth recycling, because it’s creating more pollution than just tossing it.
So, I have some questions…
What’s your best trick on reducing the number of consumable plastics your household goes through?
Hey Homies! What do you think about turning some of our advice posts into VIDEO advice posts? We’ll still run text-only posts — so don’t worry if you’re camera-shy or don’t have the tech — but I think it’ll be fun for us to see members of the community once in a while. Here, let’s try it!
How to find your dining room table under that pile of mail
I was wondering if y’all have any suggestions for dealing with like mail/bills/tax information/etc.
Right now, I tend to just throw it on top of (what used to be) a dining room table, but it has gotten to the point where it is just too much. Halp?