SoyBean's Self Sufficient Life

[Soybean]

Ok, so I'm far from self sufficient and you'd laugh if you saw what I'm trying to turn into a self sufficient home. My name is Jay and I am 21 years old. I live in a two bedroom townhouse in Virginia with my husband, Zachary. We share our home with 3 cats, 1 dachshund, 12 snakes, a rat colony, mice, gerbils, 3 ferrets, and a crested gecko. Oh and a sugar glider. Am I missing anyone? Ok, so we.....I am wanting to become as self sufficient as possible. My husband is not as enthusiastic about it, but he's willing to put up with it.

Our "to be garden" is about 16' x 10'....maybe, but I'm not sure of the exact dimensions. I'll take some pictures of it. I want to be as self sufficient as possible in this little townhouse, at least until we get a house with some land, then we can be self sufficient.

My steps will be baby steps. I got a drying rack so that I don't have to use the clothes dryer as much. We have to use a community laundry room and it costs us $3-6 a week to do laundry. We are hoping to reduce that by using the dryer rack. We haven't tried it yet.

We plan on starting our garden in the Spring. We want to grow mostly vegetables but if we can get some kinds of fruit in there, that would be great.

I'm trying to switch my carnivorous animals over to a raw/whole prey diet. This will let me stop buying expensive and unhealthy dog/cat/ferret foods. The cats and ferrets are well on their way to eating a raw/whole prey diet. I am trying to breed my own feeder animals for them. I currently breed rats and will start a mouse colony and gerbil colony soon. Once we have a house I will venture into hamsters, rabbits, fish, button quail, chickens, ect.

I am currently a vegetarian and will eventually switch to vegan, but I want to get my life in order before making any huge lifestyle changes like that. People think its weird that I'm willing to kill a feeder animal for my pets but I won't eat them myself. *shrug* I do what I can for my babies. (My animals are like my children) I am going to have to deal with having to learn to kill and skin larger prey items such as rabbits, chickens, and button quail though. Not looking forward to that.

I will track my progress here, add pictures, ect. Here is a list of things I want to learn to do.

- Make Candles (for use in lighting the home so that I don't use as much electricity)
- Washing/Drying clothes the old fashioned way (so that I don't spend over $100 a year just washing and drying my clothes)
- Start growing my own food (I know I won't be able to grow 100% of my own food, but I can try and put a dent in my grocery bill)
- Sew/Mend my own clothes
- Crochet/Knit

I want to learn so much more than that, but that is a start.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Hi Jay! Welcome to SS!

That is a good starting list!

I admire you feeding raw/whole prey diet to your pets. I have ferrets, too, and I have been trying to cut down on their feeds costs, but not willing to go raw/whole prey just yet!

 

[Soybean]

01. Name? Jay
02. Gender? Female
03. Disneyworld or Disneyland? Disney World
04. What is your favorite color? Black
05. What is your favorite kind of gum? I don't chew gum much.
06. How much do you weigh? 190lbs (about 60 overweight)
07. How tall are you? 5'1"
08. Can you swim? Yes
09. Do you like to swim? Yes
10. Living arrangement? Live with husband and a bunch of animals in a two bedroom townhouse.
11. What's on your mouse pad? I'm on a laptop.
12. Favorite board game? Monopoly
13. Favorite magazine? Don't have one.
14. Favorite Actor? Don't have one.
15. Favorite Actress? Don't have one.
16. Do you have an accent? Not to me, but you might think I do.
17. Favorite smells? Cinnamon, Vanilla, Chai, Horses, puppy breath, baby lotion.
18. Least favorite smells? Dog farts, okra, that green hot sauce, peppers.
19. Favorite sound? ferret dooking.
20. Do you prefer pools or oceans? Oceans, but I don't really swim in the ocean.
21. Do you watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer? No
22. Pencil or pen? Pen
23. Who's better - boys or girls? Girls, duh!
24. Would you like to own a motorcycle? Maybe one day.
25. Do you sing in the shower? Yes, poorly.
26. Who's the best looking Disney character? Not sure.
27. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? What are the ferrets going to eat this morning.
28. How many rings before you answer the phone? 1-2, but only if I recognize the number.
29. How do you want to die? At an old age, in my bed, asleep.
30. Have you ever called a 900 number? No
31. Gold or silver? Silver
32. Would you ever go bungee-jumping? No
33. Do you like dressing up? No
34. Would you rather be short or tall? I like my height, but sometimes I can't reach the glasses on the top shelf.
35. Do you enjoy reading? All the time.
36. What book are you reading now? Just finished Skinny Bi**h, now I'm looking for another book.
37. Favorite books? Redwall Series, Dragonriders of Pern.
38. What was the last movie you saw? Can't remember.
39. Favorite movies? The Crow, Nightmare Before Christmas.
40. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? I did, two years ago.
41. What is your sign? Taurus
42. What are your personality traits? Stubborn, Independant, Rebellious, ect.
43. What's your biggest fear? Loosing loved ones/ Deep Water.
44. Would you ever have cosmetic surgery? No
45. Future child's name? Bryce
46. Favorite foods? Dots candy.
47. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla
48. Do you like to drive fast? No
49. Storms - cool or scary? Cool, but not if they turn into tornados.
50. Do you like to dance? Not really.
51. Do you do drugs? Nope
52. Do you smoke? Nope
53. What do you think of people who smoke? To each their own, just don't do it close to me or my family.
54. Do you drink? An occasional beer or glass of wine. I'm not big on alcohol. Both my parents are alcoholics.
55. Favorite drink? As far as alcoholic drink, Bailey's Irish Cream.
56. Do you think men and women could ever be just friends without wanting each other? Yes
57. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? No, I give it to my rats.
58. If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be? Professional Reptile Breeder/ Exotic Veterinarian.
59. What's your "type"? Not really sure.
60. Do you bite your nails? Yes, but not as a nervous habit.
61. Any siblings? Brother and Sister, both younger.
62. What movies have you cried in? None
63. Do you believe in God? I believe in something but it is not the Christian God.
64. Did you ever cry over a guy/girl? Yes
65. Have you ever stolen anything? A marching band color guard flag from my highschool.
66. Do you procrastinate? Yes, a lot.
67. Do you believe in fate? Mostly I belief you make your own fate.
68. Who's your favorite Sesame Street character? Cookie Monster.
69. Do you organize your CD's? I don't but they need to be.
70. What is your favorite kind of music? Rock, but I listen to a mixture of things.
71. What are your favorite bands/artists? Metallica, Evanescence, Seether, Savage Garden.
72. What was the last CD you got? A mix that my husband made for me.
73. MTV or VH1? Neither, they both suck.
74. Who do you admire the most? My husband.
75. Internet Boyfriends and Girlfriends? Some work out some don't.
76. Are you single? Got married on Tuesday.
77. Favorite TV show? Farscape, but they took it off the air.
78. Blondes, Brunettes, or Redheads? Doesn't really matter, but I'm not much into blonde.
79. Glasses or contacts? Contacts.
80. What color are your eyes? Green
81. What is your natural hair color? Light brown
82. But what color is it now? Light brown
83. Have you ever been in love? I'm in love now.
84. Any pets? 3 cats, 3 ferrets, 1 dachshund, 13 snakes, rats, mice, gerbils, crested gecko, betta fish, and a sugar glider.
85. Good, decent, or poor grades? Decent up until college
86. Is the glass half empty or half full? Pour it into a smaller glass, now its full.
87. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? Yes
88. What's under your bed? Carpet.
89. What is your favorite number? Don't have one.
90. Favorite sport to watch? Winter Guard

 

[punkin]

Hey, Jay! ha, that rhymes

We all start with small steps and I am still making small steps. I hear ya on the dryer thing. I have used my clothesline for about 6 years now, all year long.

I also have 2 1/2 dachshunds. (1 is half minnie & half terror, I mean terrier)

I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian. How long have you been one? I just like my meat along with the potatoes.

Welcome to SS!!

 

[Soybean]

If you can go raw/whole prey, do it. Its the best thing you'll ever do for them. This forum is a great source of information. I am fuzzymom. They can answer any questions you have.

http://holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi

Kibble is a horrible thing for your ferrets. I was feeding what was thought to be a good kibble for them, but they had really runny stools so I switched them to raw and their digestive system is back on track and they are much more active. Not to mention, buying meat/whole prey is less expensive than kibble. I paid $30 every 2 weeks-3 weeks for a bag of kibble for them. I pay less than that for meat/whole prey. My little girl, Twitch loves to hunt mice.

 

[punkin]

Just saw your long list - Congrats on just getting married :bouquet

 

[Soybean]

Thanks. We got married on our 5 year anniversary. We are high school sweethearts. Now he says the next step is kids. He wants 5+

 

[Soybean]

I've been vegetarian for a little over a year now. I went vegan for about 3 months last year, but I didn't know how to cook anything and ended up not eating much. I didn't think I could go vegetarian/vegan either. (I love ribs!) but I did it and I don't think I could ever go back. Meat smells disgusting to me now. But I still have to cut it up and hand feed it to my cats and ferrets. And as I said before, I breed my own feeder animals. People still are not sure how I can watch my ferret kill and devour a mouse right before my eyes and I don't think anything of it.

 

[TanksHill]

Welcome, congrats on the marriage. Small steps are the best way to go. One little thing at a time and soon you know you will have accomplished amazing things.

Whats a sugar glider?

Your garden will be amazing. Just plant anything you can get your hands on, some will work some wont. It's a learning process. Maybe try paito size fruit trees. Lemon in a half barrel is very common. Then when you move you can take them with you.

Gina

 

[Soybean]

A sugar glider is a marsupial from Australia. I have a picture of mine somewhere but I'd have to go digging for it. Just go to google and type in sugar glider and click images. You should get a ton of pictures of them. They are a very popular pet, but very hard to take care of.