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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Helpful, Handy Hints from Your Grandma


Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…


 
ISSN 2161-5543

 
 
 

We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.
- Oscar Wilde

 

 
Healthy Kitchen-Healthy Garden

 

The Green Cycler website does a wonderful job of providing resources for the gardener who is learning the value of composting. According to their site, using kitchen scrap compost is not only great for the garden, but it also reduces the amount of waste you throw out, and it makes your fruits and vegetables taste better too! Creating compost from kitchen scraps is beneficial for the garden, and it helps garden plants stay healthy too.

 

The Green Cycler is an easy to use product designed to grind up kitchen scraps to a perfect usable size for compost. It can go on the counter, or it can easily fit in a cabinet and taken out when needed. It has suction cups on the bottom, a crank arm on the side to grind the scraps, and a drawer at the bottom to catch the ground scraps. The ground food scraps in the drawer can then be emptied outside to an outside composter or hole in the ground, so that rich compost can develop.

 


 

Odds and Ends…





 

 
 
 
 


Do-it-yourself play structures for your kids
read more here

 

 

The Farmer’s Almanac site provides a handy chart for when to plant what based on when the last frost is for your area. And the USDA has a map to help you find your hardiness zone. Another resource I like is Burpee. This seed manufacturer lets you enter your zip code and then provides growing advice for each seed type you’re interested in based specifically on where you’re located…

 

Urban gardening survival secrets: How to grow food in ANY city:
http://www.naturalnews.com/045691_urban_gardening_survival_secrets_grow_food.html

 

Mylar Blankets Reflect Energy Savings

We have a couple of unused upstairs bedrooms that face due west, bake in the summer, and radiate heat to the rest of the upstairs. I took a Mylar blanket ($1.27/each on Amazon.com) and covered the window of one room behind the curtain. When I went up there the next day, the room with the covered window felt air conditioned, while the other bedroom felt (as usual) baked. I'm going to cover most of the west-facing windows for the rest of spring, summer, and half of fall. I believe it will make a world of difference keeping the house cool.

 

Homemade floor cleaner recipes
read more here

 

More Kitchen Storage

An easy way to make more space is to hang a towel rack high on your kitchen wall. Attach s-hooks to it. Hang lightweight pots, pans, and utensils on them.

 

Making Laundry Easier

I line my clothes hampers (one for whites and one for colors) with a large green trash bag. When it is time to go to the laundromat, I just pull out the bag and off I go. I also leave the bottle with my liquid soap in the hamper. Everything is in one bag! >>Monique

 


Rain Barrels, Chicken Coops, and Solar Panels-DIY Plans


 

 

Don't Get Hosed by Your Water Bill
Most advice on saving water requires replacing toilets, visiting several hardware stores, or calling an expert. Here are some cheap and easy ways to save on your water bill.

 

Natural Weed Killers

We have found that boiling water will kill the weeds just as effectively as those expensive weed killers. Every time you boil the kettle for a coffee, walk outside and pour the remaining hot water onto a weed or two. In a few days, they will have shriveled up and died!

 

 

Yours in freedom,

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

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