PM's Self Reliance Tools: free rainwater capture

Showing posts with label free rainwater capture. Show all posts

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Harvesting Rainwater & Other Money Saving Tips

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

http://PoorManSurvivor.net

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

"The minute you read something that you can't understand,
you can almost be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer."
-- Will Rogers

Harvesting Rainwater

Harvesting Rainwater and Snowmelt Is Simple and Effective…

Part of our winter repair and fix it projects on our mini-farm will include replacing a well bladder and filtration system which all suffered damage from this year’s extreme weather. Clean water (and its high cost if through a city government utility) will increasingly become a national problem and today’s post is a repeat of one I wrote last year…

Harvesting rainwater is sustainable and provides many rural communities around the world with both domestic and potable water. It’s also something that’s been practiced for over 4,000 years.

Establishing a rain (or snow) water harvesting system can improve your self-reliance in good times and bad. It’s also a great way to cut costs and in most cases is more affordable than drilling or digging a well. In light of water shortages around world and a depreciating dollar, it can prove to be a prudent long-term investment.

And in a true crisis, a gallon jug of clean water or a SUPATANK will prove to be a fantastic barter item.

One warning: some areas have weird laws about who “owns” the rain and snowmelt, Colorado and Oregon being two examples. In Oregon, for instance, state law says all water belongs to the government, and if you want “to divert or store it, you have to acquire a water right from the state,” says Oregon Water Resources Department administrator Tom Paul.

A Basic Rain Harvesting System That Works!

A basic system is a relatively easy and quick way to get started. The main idea is to catch the rain as it runs off your roof and guide it into a container. Do not use water collected from a roof for human consumption unless you’ve sanitized it, but it’s great for watering your roses, your survival vegetable garden, and your fruit trees.

On a 1,000 square feet roof, a rudimentary collection system can yield about 623 gallons of water from 1 inch of rain. With this basic system and following proper water conservation methods (i.e. fixing leaks, drip irrigation, etc.), you could have enough water for your garden, washing your car, water for animals, and more.

At minimum you’ll need:

§ A sloped roof;

§ Rain gutters;

§ Downspout;

§ A filter to keep out or minimize debris such as leaves from clogging your system;

§ A container for the water, like a trash can or barrel (rainwater barrels run about $100 retail, but savvy ‘Preppers’ look for discarded food barrels for a few bucks or even free);

§ Secure container cover or screen so mosquitoes don’t breed in the water;

§ And a method to get the water in the container to where you need it. A pail, a hand or mechanical pump, or simply a gravity fed hose.

If you want to use your rainwater for drinking and cooking (and brushing your teeth), you’ll want to add a few important steps to your system, or hire an expert to do it for you. As you can guess, these steps involve better filtration and purification so it’s safe to drink.

In addition to the steps above, many who use rainwater for drinking also utilize:

§ A Pre-Wash. The idea behind this step is to divert the first few gallons of rain water that washes off the roof containing bird droppings, chemical residue from pollution, sediment, etc., away from entering your water container;

§ Ceramic and Carbon Filters. High quality filters can remove inorganic chemicals and many biological dangers. Read the manufacturer’s labels for details.

§ Purification. These methods include reverse osmosis and/or Ultra Violet (UV) light to make certain even the smallest biological threats, like viruses, are dealt with.

On-the-Go Ideas You Can Use in a Pinch…

Even if you’re not planning on using your rainwater for drinking, or if your electricity goes down and your home water filtration system, such as the UV light and reverse osmosis, gets knocked offline, you may want to have a few back-ups ready:

§ Take the extra steps to keep your rain catchment system clear of debris and sediment, and protected from mosquito infestation. Even if you only plan to use the water in your garden, this will save you a few important steps if you run into a situation where you need the water for survival.

§ It may be handy to own one or more hand-held water purifiers, like the Katadyn, which is often sold for camping. You can also find gravity fed counter top versions, such as the Big Berkey, that can purify gallons of water without physical effort. Read the manufacturer’s labels for effectiveness information.

§ Boiling water can help kill many biological dangers, but may not help with all chemical or radiological pollutants. You might consider using a solar oven to boil water and save on energy and fuel.

More useful tips and resources…

Rationing: Frugal Living Lessons from WWII
Life for women on the home-front during World War II was a challenge. The economic recessions we have had don't compare to what they had to go through. We can learn lessons from their experiences to help us to make it through hard times.

Compost Help

With the garden season starting, your thoughts may turn to your compost. Call your local coffee shop to see if you can get coffee grounds for your garden. Most are happy to give the grounds to you in the interest of recycling. >>Toni

How home maintenance can save you money
read more here

Where's the Beef?
For many families, ground beef is a popular item on the weekly household menu plan. With the price increase, hamburgers and recipes that include hamburger are becoming somewhat of an indulgence. In order to serve ground beef without breaking the budget, you may need to explore ways to stretch a pound. Read more.

Yours in freedom,

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

Got a News Tip or Resource to Share With the Poor Man?

Send it to: PoorManSurvivor@Gmail.com

A Shallow Planet Production

8 Issues of Countryside & Small Stock Journal…Plus, find other homesteading magazine back issues at:

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/8-Back-Issues-of-Countryside-Small-Stock-Journal/173830999

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Why Women Should Run the USA, Free Herb/Culinary Directory, Self Sufficiency Guide

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

http://PoorManSurvivor.net

ISSN 2161-5543

A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom. – F.A. Hayek

2014 The Year of the Woman or Why Women Should Rule the Nation

I’ve always had this theory that women usually make better leaders. Given my experience growing up with the original super mom this comes as no surprise. My mother was the neighborhood Kool-Aid mom, always ready with homemade cookies and a pitcher of that life sustaining liquid.

She worked a full time job too as an LPN at our local hospital and then for our family doctor. She invented TV dinners, always repacking leftovers from big Sunday family dinners so we could reheat them if she wasn’t able to be home.

My mother was a product of the Great Depression and she sure knew how to squeeze a dollar from every dime would have managed our national budget better than any one of those who has been in charge during the last 25 years.

The Arctic blast winding its way through the country this week and news reports of families struggling to find daycare due to school closings prompted this. There were no daycare centers or electronic babysitters when I was a kid.

Cultural Anthropology was my original college major and I wrote a thesis on how life changed for the worse once women were no longer stay-at-home mothers. During WWII more and more women worked outside the home to help with the war effort.

Historically, women have always been the nurturers of the young in society. During the war, extended family (grandma, a favorite aunt) became the nurturing element. Not bad as they were family. After the war, many women discovered they enjoyed the freedom and spending power of working outside the home so many kept on doing so, often out of necessity if the husband had been killed or injured.

During WWII the government began withholding income taxes from paychecks to pay for the war as a temporary measure. They liked having all that money to spend, so this temporary measure became permanent.

We live in a world of instant gratification, the world of the quick fix.
Rachael Taylor

Within a generation it was no longer a grandmother or aunt who cared for the kids and by the 1960s two-income families became the norm so we could live the ‘American Dream’ of owning a home and multiple cars. Buying on credit became the norm too. The days of easy credit or as my Dad called it “the get it now, pay for it later, just like our government” philosophy helped fuel the go-go years of American prosperity.

Being in debt and instant gratification became a vicious cycle and the high interest charges on credit cards made bankers very happy. As PT Barnum once quipped, the age of the Sucker accelerated.

These cultural trends gave rise to the latch-key generation, often raised by TV and daycare. The strong moral guidance traditionally provided by mothers was shrinking as it became a necessity to have both parents working to pay for rising taxes, a rising cost of living and the ever growing desire for more goods.

Studies at the time indicated single parent households boosted drug use, dependency on government, juvenile delinquency rates and other negative social behavior. By then however, most families were trapped by high debt loads, social pressure to live beyond one’s means and overall frustration with the cost of living. Gone were the days typified by 1950s TV shows featuring Father Knows Best, replaced by TV dinners and the Nanny State.

In terms of political leadership, America by the 70s didn’t have much to go on. Nixon was a paranoid crook who took us off the gold standard and began opening ‘trade’ (debt) with China. Female leaders such as Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher were exceptions and proved to be strong leaders.

Meanwhile, women in America continued to make ends meet, raise families (often as single mothers) and eventually became the primary breadwinner in a majority of families.

In my humble opinion, women often make better leaders probably from the simple fact they’ve frequently had to manage households, money and budgets with far less. Think Mother Earth or Mother Nature, a traditional role often undermined by men (examples abound in various religions where women are treated more as chattel or second class mates).

In so many ways I have mixed feelings 40 years after writing my original thesis but inherently feel the world might be a better place with more women in place as the primary nurturing factor as opposed to video games and daycare! (What sparked my revisit of this was a suggestion that welfare recipients be trained to care for the children of working mothers –at a discount rate- much like the old TVA and other Great Depression era work programs our country had).

Yes, I know there are some paradoxes here and there are exceptions to every rule (not sure I’d want Mrs. Clinton or Nancy Pelosi in charge) so what do you think?

NOTE: To read my Brief History of Consumerism, go here:

http://voices.yahoo.com/brief-history-consumerism-why-buy-5142725.html?cat=37

Some fresh goodies I’ve picked just for our readers…

Complete Guide to Self Sufficiency AND Rain Water Harvesting guide…

The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more

Useful and Free e-books from the Poor Man Survival crew!

http://sdrv.ms/MkNQzx

Directory of Culinary and Medicinal Herbs

From soothing aloe to spicy horseradish, subtle-sweet marjoram to savory thyme, discover the exceptional flavors and gentle healing capabilities of more than 40 of the plant kingdom’s finest here in the Mother Earth News Directory of Culinary and Medicinal Herbs.

Find more easy and useful DIY tips and recipes at our Homemade tab.

http://www.poormansurvival.com/Pages/Homemade.aspx

Can homemade frozen biscuits replace the refrigerated dough version?
read more here

Gift Card Alert!

Don’t use Craigslist to sell gift cards you don’t want. Scammers are targeting folks here. Instead, use sites like CardPool.com or GiftCardZen.com

Forgotten Books

Forgotten Books is a site that offers a way to discover books. They offer a Free Book a Day, and cover many areas of interest. They also support many formats like iPad, Android, Windows Tablet, Kindle, .PDF, their own reader, and the opportunity to read online.

The Free account level allows you to view up 85% of the books as viewable, and if you opted for the Free Book of the Day that will be 100% viewable

http://www.forgottenbooks.org

Dehydrator recipes and resources
read more here

How to torment telemarketers

Blasting an air horn, putting the telemarketers on a lengthy hold, boring them with sob stories — readers respond in force to a request for ideas on combating 'Rachel from cardholder services.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20140114,0,1753169.column#ixzz2rcfCsYgp

The Poor Man has been educating Americans about the systematic plundering of their resources and way of life and what they can do about it since 1999.

Encourage your fellow Americans to wake up and smell the country. Share our resources!

www.PoorManSurvival.com