Our patch of earth

[Reice]

Thought I'd start a journal to show how far we've come to calm my anxiousness to be out there already.

The hubby and I have been together over 2 years, married just over a year. Both of us have each a grown child between us, so it's just us now. Not long after we were together I mentioned to him my dream of some day owning our own land, owning the house outright, and being more self sufficient. Wouldn't you know it, hubby mentioned he is inheriting 5 acres from his late mother that is near his grandmother's place. Wait, what?! You mean you've got LAND? This is what started us on our current path and what we have been working on about 2 years now.

Five acres, raw, at the backend of grandma's land. Grandma was very excited when we asked if we could start getting a place there now, she's getting up there in age and this helps all of us. Yay! What the land had going for it was it had well water already piped to the place our house would sit. But that is about it.

I should pre-face this by saying we are doing this in cash on a single income, so it is slow going. We are doing this on the cheap, pretty much.

The place is about 5 miles from where we are currently living, so we get out there often. Too often sometimes, haha, cause every time I'm out there I don't want to leave. We've had to rent equipment for dirt work about 5 weekends thus far to get roads done and clear a path for a home.

A home. Yeah, it didn't have one. For a year we considered all of our options: build it ourselves, RV, pole barn, storage sheds, even threatened to tent it. Literally, a home fell into our lap. Hubby works at a hardware store (yeah, I know.. HANDY!! and discounts, woot!!), and mentioned to a guy he knew that we had some land and was trying to figure out a home to put there when the guy said he had 2 mobile homes he needed off hit lot he'd give us, for free!!, if we moved it. We looked both over and chose the smaller one, it had the greatest potential. 14x60, zero leaks, great layout. It took us a while to get the pad prepped, the home prepped, and the funds to get it moved, but move it we did. The move was hairy on a single laned dirt road with some sand, but an ulcer later it was in our spot. We got it moved last September and have been slowly working on it since. Yeah, it needed some work and beautification, but it was there. The move from town the 6 miles cost $800, not bad, but hubby did all of the prep work himself to cut expenses.

The roads have been giving us some pain with all the rain that's been going on here the last few months, but it will be sorted out eventually. As of now, it's still accessible.

More to come.

 

[Reice]

Hijack away! All good I like hearing stories.

Holy Moly the heat!!! Makes for a wee bit of slower going.

Of COURSE unexpected things have popped up and some things cost more than we had planned. So, some things are not getting done before the move and we will just live in it not complete and fix it as we go.

One of the unexpected but should have been expected expense is some flat tires. Two on the hubby's truck a day apart, one could be patched, the other could not. And naturally he has weird sized wide tires that were hard to find used. So instead he found 2 skinnier used tires and put them both on the front. Purchasing those and getting them mounted means less cash to do some things. And then there's the electrical wire that cost more than we budgeted due to needing more feet than we thought, 120ft when we thought it was 100ft. That wire is expensive, ouch.

And the money is running out. Yay. Applications are in for other jobs, just waiting to hear on those.

So here's what's not going to be completed before the move and how we'll work around it. Plumbing. Was going to redo all with PEX lines. Until then we have a garden hose outside, will fill gallon jugs. For hot water and shower will use the solar shower bag and paint a few gallon jugs black and set in the sun. Will take dishes outside and wash them in tubs by the water hose. Not too bad. Bucket compost toilet until the septic is dug, already in use and the hubby has actually used it and lived, haha, I've used many times. The hubby has a line on some tanks for the septic and will be hand-digging, but it can wait. Will leave up the wood that covers a few windows until we can install the plexiglass. Well, actually, it will stay covering only one bigger window, the other windows in question will have window AC units going in, so the wood will be cut down to cover the open part. Heck, curtains will be put up covering it anyways, won't bother me none. The floor in the bigger bedroom is finished and will probably just leave it bare wood for now. The kitchen floor will wait. And of course, money ran out to rent the equipment to dig the trench for the electric wire, so hubby is hand-digging it himself. But this heat, oi.

All of it is completely workable. Actually, it was kinda fun for me figuring out how to work around the stuff, lol. Like camping. Grew up camping, so I'm in my element, haha. Step up from a tent, that's for sure!!

That's all for now. Still motoring along.

 

[Reice]

As it is now...

We have our space carved out and a 840sqft home sitting there. Right now we have a garden hose hooked up to a water well until we get the plumbing redone (hubby wants to rework the plumbing with pex I believe it's called). We have a generator for some electrical needs and will have if power goes out. Finally got the funds together to give our hunk to the rural electric people to set some poles for us, now we have to get the funds together to trench and lay the remaining 100ft of electrical wire to hook up to our house. There used to be a septic there many years ago but we were unable to find it after many attempts, so for now there is a composting toilet. Hoping to keep the composting toilet (if hubby will let me) and do a much easier grey water septic system.

I've took all of my camping gear out there, so truth be told we have a solar shower, a single burner butane stove, solar lanterns, and a folding solar panel to charge small usb needs. And don't forget the fire pit, haha. Throw in an ice chest and we're all set, right? haha

We've also carved out a small area and got about 7 veggies started out there. Hubby's grandfather had great success growing things on the soil out there years ago, so hoping to see something similar.

Like I said, the house needed some work. There was one area in the back bigger bedroom that had a bit of sag, so we refloored it. The kitchen had partial hardwood boards that we ripped out and need to finish it, as well. A few of the windows broke with the move, so that's on the list. And we ripped out the sagging kitchen bottom cabinets, sink and all. We did get some free nice wood cabinets to replace them, but will need to cut a hole for a sink. Bought a used stainless steel deep sink for $10. Luckily, the hubby had a stove and fridge in storage from when he was single that we will use.

So far in the house we've ripped up flooring, ripped out carpets, and painted all of the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. This was a 70's model single wide home, so of course there's lots of wood paneling that will eventually get some paint, but just painted over some horrid colors in those places so far. The flooring will be bare with some area rugs in rooms for now. (on the cheap, remember)

The area this place sits is 6 miles from town. It's amongst some tall trees and past a hill so you can't even see our place til you drive up to it. Feels like a hidey-hole back there, haha. We placed the home intentionally to take advantage of passive/solar heating and cooling. The long sides are facing north and south, with the short sides east/west. The front door faces south to block the northside sun in summer. The kitchen is at the end of the east side, so it will get the morning sun and be shielded from the heat on the west side in the evening. The small yard is on the south side with plenty of shade trees. The cool thing is with this Oklahoma wind, the hills block most of the gusts, we just get the gentle cooled breeze.

We've already seen some days in the 90's and am so excited about how it feels there already. Without power, the shade and the breeze is enough. We will be putting in a couple window AC units, running ceiling fans. But already I know we'll be using way less power than in the house we are currently in. The home has only a central heat unit, but we are choosing not to use it, blocking the vents, and heating with propane heaters. Oh yeah, we got a free big propane tank, just haven't been able to move it yet, it's also on the list.

More later, must get coffee...

 

[Reice]

Guess I should add in here the why's of doing this. Basically, financial reasons. I'm not sure why headlines say what they do, but I don't think this economy is good. Feels like things are bad and only getting worse. Prices are going up. Wages are stagnate. Cost of living is ridiculous. Then there's climate change which will affect costs even more. Jobs are no longer steady. I feel like collapse is just around the bend. My thoughts are to get expenses down as low as possible and to be less dependent on this uncertain economy.

We are intentionally single income for a few reasons: I save money doing things around the home I otherwise wouldn't be able to working full time. Old wrist injury prevents me doing many jobs. Hubby likes being the provider and being taken care of. And the biggy: I want to know if anything should happen (injury and illnesses happen) that one of us could work a minimum wage job wherever and we'd be okay. And being more self sufficient ties in with that beautifully.

So we got a smallish garden started and will add to that eventually. Gardening is new to me and I have a lot to learn. How exciting! There's also wild game out there that we could hunt: deer, turkey, quail. Hubby's threatening to put in a fish pond out there, as well. I intend to start with small animals, like chickens, to get my feet wet with animals. Maybe goats later on after we get settled in and get a feel for the area.

There's lots of trees out there so there's plenty of firewood. I have looked in to wood burning stoves, but the stuff I read is iffy on them in a mobile home. It would be nice, free fuel, but for now we'll go with propane.

I did quite a bit of research on solar and would love to include that, but alas, cost prohibited it, for now. Getting electricity out there was cheaper at this point. But maybe some day. Might need to spend a few seasons out there to see how temperate our placement is concerning weather and power needs. We do intend to set up solar for the water well in the near future, though, as the well is tied to grandma's power, we don't want to add to her bill.

Being in Oklahoma we do have tornado concerns. Would like to some day add a root cellar that will double as a tornado shelter. For now, grandma's house is an underground house and not far away, so can run there. Here's what's wild: About a month ago we had some bad storms, tornado watch, high wind gusts. Our current home is also a mobile home, and the house was kinda rocking in the high wind. It sits in a mobile home park without any kind of wind break around it, so yeah, gotta expect it. I decided to see what it was like at the place in the country, so hopped in the car and took off out there. Not only was there no shaking, at all (it's not even tied down yet), but couldn't even hear the wind, just see the trees moving in the distance. Current house had a picture knocked off the wall with a wind gust, future house was quiet as can be. Very, very happy about this.

Back to financials. Anyone else get excited seeing just how low you can get your expenses? I do. I make a game of it. You better believe I've got pads and pens out there and my fun times are seeing what I can work on to reduce expense, see just how low we can go. Housing eats up a huge amount for most people. It's one of the major expenses and one of the biggest ways to save. I know a mobile home isn't for everybody, but.. no mortgage, no rent. We also drive older paid cars that hubby works on with liability ins only. Cut the cable years ago. I do a ton of money saving strategies, too many to list, and always looking for more. I read constantly trying to learn ways of doing things that might save a buck or two. The hubby is realizing just what kind of weirdo he married, haha. This stuff is fun for me. Would love to some day not be dependent on wage-slave income. We are trying to come up with side job ideas that would provide enough, get it going so it could someday be a real job instead of punching a clock. Lots of ideas on that.

I am 48 and have seen many up's and down's. Had the big new fancy house with big income years ago and then the late husband was diagnosed with cancer. You never know what the future holds. And it seems scarier every day. Current hubby is 37 (I know, cradle robber!) and has already had both hips replaced. Working like a slave for someone else just to have a place to sleep at night hoping your job is there tomorrow just so you can buy the next new thing is no way to live. We want our freedom back. We want choice. And from where I sit living more self sufficiently with minimal expenses gives you way more choices.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

In addition to advice by @baymule , keep your eyes open for good buys at yard sales and such.

You will find that a lot of folks get the notion to "homestead" but don't put their hearts into it. So... they then sell or give away their equipment. I've heard of folks buying a pressure canner, then never even taking it out of the box b/c they are "afraid" to use it.

Same with live stock and equipment. Folks enamored with the idea of owning a back yard flock. Free eggs... gotta love that. Then, they find out that they have to tend those animals... EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And those cute little chicks don't stay cute and little. Then... when they experience their first experience with mites, predator attack, or when their chickens start cannibalizing each other b/c that cute little doll house coop they bought is not big enough for the flock, they are looking to dump the birds and all the supplies on the cheap!

I actually do some of my best shopping at my town dump. (affectionately dubbed "my town" mall.) I pick up free building materials, sewing materials, canning jars and other kitchen ware, doors, windows, all sorts of compost and mulching materials, even free plants. Brought home a solid maple night stand that had been tossed on the burn pile. It was Moosehead. The only thing wrong with it was a tiny cigarette burn on the top. It sanded down nicely, and was re-painted to match a bedroom remodel.

 

[Reice]

Not a whole lot going on lately. We did get a bad storm the other night with some major winds. TV was reporting 70mph, my brother-in-law said there were 125mph gusts. Lots of trees out at the new place, so it had me worried. Sure enough, one of the tall trees on the north side of the house kind of leaned over and was resting against the house. No damage, thank goodness, but it's been cut and wrestled off, and all is well.

Hubby is off tomorrow, yay, so we are getting to hook up some temporary power out there. That will sure help tons getting some things finished out there.

Oh yeah, and we may have a buyer lined up for current house. Neighbor a few houses down is really tired of dad living there, haha, and said he dad would sure pay what we are asking. (Not sure if 'dad' is in on this or not, haha) We'll see how it goes. It'd be fine by me, I'll move out tomorrow, thank you.

Too funny with the chicken-push. Yep, chickens are in the future plans. I'm a novice, so will be asking tons of questions, haha.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Yes, definitely talk to us before you buy your chickens. I spent almost a whole year researching before jumping in with my flock in ?2012. This, after raising multiple flocks during my early granola years. The time spent researching was well worth it. Here's some topics to get you started:

Deep composting litter in coop and run. Coops with soil floors are super beneficial. Composting litter will even cut your feed consumption. Studies have shown that composting litter improves bird gut flora, chick viability increases, and the composting process produces B vitamins. Not to mention all the beneficial insects and worms they will glean from the litter. If you go this route, you will only need to remove spent bedding after it's turned to beautiful black compost which you can use in your gardens. @Beekissed is the queen of deep composting litter.

Check out electronet fencing to aid with predator proofing.

Fermented feed. Both @Beekissed and I have been using FF for years. It improves nutrient uptake in the bird's gut. You will find that your birds utilize their feed better, so your feed costs are decreased. Fermented feed can have increased levels of Vitamins B, C and K, along with increased protein as well! Higher levels of digestible protein can can also help with egg production. The process is as simple as dumping feed and water into a bucket and waiting until the feed gets puffy or bubbles. Much like making a sour dough starter.

And finally, if you start with chicks, get away from the notion that they need a heat lamp... and that they need their brooder at some magic number. (generally stated 90-95 the first week and decreasing 5* every week.) That's not how Mama Broody does it, and the chicks are not benefited by having that much heat. They only need a small footprint of heat to warm up under, with the remainder of the brooder being at what ever the ambient temp is. If you don't have a broody hen, you can mimic her heat supply by using what is affectionately called the "mama heating pad" brooder. There is an article and thread on BYC about this simple and very effective concept. Neither do you need to brood chicks in the house! I start them for the first 24 hours with MHP, then they go straight to the coop with their MHP, even with night time temps down to 20's. They thrive with this system.

 

[Mini Horses]

It is amazing what you CAN do when you have to.

Hope you can update us on occasions -- library has free internet here. It's come around that you will now jump into the fire and get moved. Then get the current home sold.

It will work if you keep the goal in mind and cut all expenses you can. You can do this!

 

[wyoDreamer]

When I moved into this house, I found a really neat "pillar" of magazines and books. The pillars on the 3-season porch that flank the front door are actually just framing and they put a door on it and it is loaded with old magazines.
One of these days I am going to sit on the swing and read old magazines to my hearts content.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Plan it right, Marianne, and your coop cleaning would be minimal. I envision a couple of raised beds. Your coop could sit over one raised bed, predator proofed from digging critters with 1/2" hdw cloth. Open floor. Deep composting litter management. The only bedding maintenance involved: toss in any weeds/yard debris/grass clippings/leaves. Let the chooks turn it into lovely black compost. Once or twice/year, it's a simple matter to rake out that black gold and distribute it where it will do the best good. You could easily keep 4 banties in high style in a 4 x 8 footprint. Now, if your raised beds were of a configuration to match the coop... it would be a simple matter to slide the coop from one bed to the other at the end of a growing season. Then, you wouldn't even need to rake out the black gold, EVER!!! And, you would have a perfect raised bed available for your planting pleasure every spring. You'd never have to amend the soil. Likely, you'd not even have garden insect pests to deal with. Your biggest worry would be this: You must be able to move fast enough to get out of the way when the seeds hit that soil. B/C they will grow with such vigor, that you just might get sucked into the jungle!