Need some SS ideas

[freemotion]

Washing soda is VERY easy to make yourself! It's chemical name is sodium carbonate, a close relative of sodium bicarbonate - aka baking soda. It's apparently a very easy and painless chemical process we can all do at home to turn baking soda into washing soda - line a cookie sheet with foil, fill with baking soda, and bake in the oven at 250* for an hour!

More info here, complete with a link to a recipe for making your own laundry detergent, and an UBER cheap way to source baking soda: http://www.mysuburbanhomestead.com/...washing-soda-aka-soda-ash-sodium-bicarbonate/

Wow!!! I tried to stock up on washing soda once, and ended up with bricks so hard I could've built a foundation with 'em......but baking soda keeps well in my damp cellar. Gotta find out if the big sacks are available for ordering through any of my local feed stores or co-ops....

 

[Bethanial]

My sis and I use baking soda to clean lots and lots of stuff, and when I told her about the 50-lb sacks of baking soda, we've decided we're gonna go halvsies on a bag - as soon as we can find one

 

[tortoise]

My sis and I use baking soda to clean lots and lots of stuff, and when I told her about the 50-lb sacks of baking soda, we've decided we're gonna go halvsies on a bag - as soon as we can find one

I have a neighbor who would probably split a bag with me. But finding it will be interesting, lol.

 

[Niele da Kine]

How about clock repair? It is a fun hobby that can make a bit of side cash now and then. The antique key wound or weight driven clocks are the kind which folks will pay to have repaired and there aren't that many new clock repair folks out there these days.

For your visible-to-the-neighbors garden, perhaps you could have a bunny cage or a dovecot? Doves/pigeons are really tasty and they usually feed themselves, too, so that's easy meat. Bunnies are nice and quiet and make nice fertilizer for the garden.

Wood working is always a useful skill. Or spinning fibers into yarn, or knitting, or ....

 

[tortoise]

How about clock repair? It is a fun hobby that can make a bit of side cash now and then. The antique key wound or weight driven clocks are the kind which folks will pay to have repaired and there aren't that many new clock repair folks out there these days.

For your visible-to-the-neighbors garden, perhaps you could have a bunny cage or a dovecot? Doves/pigeons are really tasty and they usually feed themselves, too, so that's easy meat. Bunnies are nice and quiet and make nice fertilizer for the garden.

Wood working is always a useful skill. Or spinning fibers into yarn, or knitting, or ....

Never thought of clock repair before. I guess I only know of one place that does that and it's far away. Then again, I don't have a broken clock to fix.

I do have rabbits for wool and meat. I have 2 left to butcher and then I'm down to breeding stock. And I cant #$%& get them to breed! Can't get meaties before MARCH now. out:

But I'm using the free time to work on getting (a lot) better at carding and spinning.

Woodworking... that's something I could work on. TY

 

[tortoise]

Automatic rabbit watering system - DONE! With heat! I was sure I couldn't afford that but recieved gifts of bucket heater, heat tape, and a huge bundle of extension cords at an auction. It is on and working. Will freeze over night... see if it works.

Teaching the rabbits to drink from it is another matter entirely!

Woodworking project next: exterior wood nestboxes. My cages really are too small for 1/2 the cage to be taken up by a nest box. It makes a miserable 6 - 7 weeks for the momma.

Just did some quick math - have saved about $80 this year on learning to cut my own hair. It's still super-cute and no one would ever guess. I cut my son's hair too, but that seems so normal to me that I don't really count it as saving $.

My estimate is the average woman would save over $200/year by learning to cut her own hair.

 

[tamlynn]

yeah, I didn't consider cost when I decided to go really short with my hair. I pay $42 every 4 weeks. That's $546 a year. Holy cow, I had not figured that out before. Dh won't let me learn to cut hair on him. I have to practice on ds. I am proud that there was no blood the last time I gave ds a haircut. Still plenty of hollering though.

 

[lwheelr]

We built cages with nest boxes built in. We slip a board or screen in to close off the nest box when not in use, open it up when needed. Has been great.

You might consider just building them permanently onto the side of the cage (you can make them more secure than if you hang them), and using something to barrier them off when not in use.

We also made double cages - a board slips between two of them. So when Mama is pregnant, we close off everything (she's in the middle). When she's ready to kindle, we open the nest box. When the kits are coming out of the nest, we open the second cage. After they wean, we put either the growout bucks or does into the second cage and close it off again.

Nice system, keeps us with more cage flexibility.

 

[Mattemma]

Keep in mind I live in a city - my ENTIRE yard can be seen by 9 neighbors!! Livestock is not an option.

I live in a fish bowl too! I grow 12 ft corn in strategic spots for privacy while I wait on my bambo,shrubs,and trees to grow up and block out curious eyes. My hens love the corn.

 

[tortoise]

We built cages with nest boxes built in. We slip a board or screen in to close off the nest box when not in use, open it up when needed. Has been great.

You might consider just building them permanently onto the side of the cage (you can make them more secure than if you hang them), and using something to barrier them off when not in use.

We also made double cages - a board slips between two of them. So when Mama is pregnant, we close off everything (she's in the middle). When she's ready to kindle, we open the nest box. When the kits are coming out of the nest, we open the second cage. After they wean, we put either the growout bucks or does into the second cage and close it off again.

Nice system, keeps us with more cage flexibility.

I would love something similar but my cages have to be metal only - I have to burn the wool off them a few times a year. Hutches set up like that would be much lower maintenance and give so much more flexibility! But unfortunately I can't do that here and with angoras.


Penelope's Rabbitry by Penelope's Rabbitry, on Flickr