2012 ... whatcha got??

So, now it's time to talk about our goals ... YES!  We have been headed here for quite a long time.  We bought a house in Texas and made a safe decision, rather than the choice we truly had wanted.  It wouldn't have been the right place anyway at the time.  (To clarify, we bought our Texas house a few years ago and my point is that we took the safe choice with a new house in a subdivision rather than the house out in the country.) But, it does mean that we've been thinking and dreaming of this life for a while.  This is one of those things that almost feels like an unattainable dream.  In fact, it still does a bit!  So, where is it we want to be next year?  Where are we going and what's the point?

Now, I'm not a big survivalist (can't promise I won't be in a year, though lol), but there is something that sounds really nice about living "off the grid" and you just never know when that zombie apocalypse is going to hit! LOL  Not to mention that B and I are both people who care a lot about our environment. I'm feeling a little flighty (so much going on and to prepare for!), so let me break this down.  In my last post I talked a little bit about what we've left behind.  Tonight I'll share about the fantastic changes we are excited to make!  First, what have we already done?

1. Recycling everything we can!  This isn't a new thing, but we are far more conscious about it.  Teaching P about why we recycle and what we recycle has brought it to the forefront of our minds which is amazing.  We have a little red bucket just outside the kitchen and he absolutely loves to hop up onto the sink, rinse a pop can, and toss it into the bucket.  We don't have a large enough pile yet, but eventually we'll turn them in (who knew you could get money back for them?!  Not me! lol).

2. COMPOST!!  Yippee!  I have been looking forward to this for a very long time!  We have a small garbage can next to our sink and in goes the coffee grounds and lots of (allowable) kitchen scraps.  Then, (for the time being) it goes out into a large, black garbage can at the end of the day ... it's nearly full after a couple of months!  I go out a couple of times per week with a big shovel and stir it up.  Hopefully soon we'll have a compost area behind our garage (where the garden hoophouse will be) which will give us a much larger compost pile for our garden.

3. Heat with wood, something that was mentioned previously.  Now, as residents here (have I mentioned yet that we basically live in a national forest??) we are allowed 5 cords of wood free.  Beyond that we can purchase 10, I believe, permits for $20 which allow 4 cords, per permit.  We think that the 5 cords will do us fine for the year ... possibly 6.  The great thing is that the cords we cut from the permits can be sold.  $150 per cord is actually a very good price, so I think we'll be doing some lumberjack weekends!  Anyway, most of our heat comes from our fireplace.  The heater goes on for about 10 minutes in the morning while the fire is started to pull the chill from the air.  And, that's about it.  We have small heaters in the four bedrooms we use and the two bathrooms, however, the bedroom heaters really aren't used much and usually bathroom heaters aren't on unless someone is showering.  In fact, when the fireplace goes on around 4:30p, we have to cover half of our loft opening or the upstairs is sweltering!

4. Homemade soap and laundry detergent.  Another item that isn't new to us.  We've been using both for almost two years now.  I forgot my laundry ingredients when we moved early in December and my mother-in-law had run out.  It was a long two weeks until my parents came for Christmas.  The first thing everyone looked for was the homemade detergent.  Our skin was dryer and a couple of people were having skin irritation to the store detergent.  It is amazing how our bodies had changed and no longer wanted anything to do with the chemicals (and my in-laws had only been consistently using my detergent for a couple of months).  And, who would choose store-bought soap when they could use a bar of soap that was handmade?!  I mean, I've had people buy my soap for $4 or more and I've bought a $6 bar of soap a time or two!  It's worth it!  It feels amazing and leaves your skin feeling gooood!  Not to mention just how FUN it is to make soap.  Making detergent isn't all that fun, but soaping .... *sigh* Love it!

What's on the horizon for us? Animals! Fresh food! Our own energy ... one can hope!  Here's the list:

1. I'll start with our newest additions ... almost!  Bunnies!  Why?  Well, two reasons, really.  For me, the primary reason is that rabbits provide absolutely wonderful fertilizer.  Second is that P really loves animals and is proving to be a really wonderful and responsible animal friend.  I think the addition of rabbits will give him even more responsibility than Pagan (our lab) and definitely lots of cuddly fun.

Yup, truly a chicken coop.  A bit beyond us, though!

2. Along similar lines will be chickens.  We can seriously go through a dozen eggs per day. If I could, I'd buy some today, but we'll wait a few months for the weather to warm up and to give us time to build the right coop.  One thought is to build something that will be inside the fenced paddock.  There are some small areas at the gates that might be enough space for a hen to get out, though. And, we have to decide about a rooster.  Personally, I'd say no, because I have been around roosters and am not usually pleased to hear them at sunrise.  And, I'm not sure how our neighbors would feel.  While most of our neighbors are about 3 acres away, we do have one neighbor whose house is almost directly across from our driveway.  But, they have malamutes so we get to enjoy lots of howling (truly, we enjoy it!).  They, and our other neighbors, may not actually mind.

3. Horses.  Like chickens, I'd buy them tonight if I could.  But, we have to be responsible and spend much more time researching the cost to feed them in our area.  We also need to build stalls.  We have a hay barn, so that's set and the menfolk are confident that it won't be a huge cost or hassle to build something that will work AND will be moveable.  In the meantime, we're planning on taking P for a horse ride in a few weeks and also hoping that one of our neighbors will be willing to let us get some practice taking care of their horses (almost all of the neighbors on our street have horses).  Adding a donkey might be a good thought for protecting the chickens as well.  Again, have to figure out that hay cost.  Fortunately, we have an amazing friend who was raised with (not by lol) horses and is not only willing, but insistent that she help us with everything .. now we just need to get her to move in!

This is about exactly my dream.  Possible? Not sure :/

4.  A hoophouse greenhouse to improve our growing season of something insane like 30 days.  This will be one of the first big projects and I'm sure there will be an entire post (or more) detailing the construction.  We'll be doing raised beds inside which will be something new for me.  In fact, tomorrow, B and I will be doing some very serious plans so that we can get a good estimate for the cost.  The goal is to start building it in March, so that we can start planting in April.  We are currently looking at approximately 16' wide by 32' long.  The dimensions will definitely depend on the easiest way to make it.

5.  Some type of wind turbine and solar panels to at least control the well pump and the wind turbine generator.  This part is far over my head, but B's dad seems to have a bit of a grasp on both.  My one concern is that I've heard of neighbors being upset with the look of wind turbines.  Granted we live far in the country, so I'm hoping that it wouldn't be a problem ... we'll see!

I can't think of anything else right now, but that's a good list, I think!

Oh, I found this very cool website.  She's called the Garden Girl and so far it seems like a site for urban gardening.  We, of course, do have much more space than an urban gardener would, but the tips and info translates across whatever space you have.  It's a lot of fun, so check it out!

So, happy homesteading!