Things I want but can't afford

[Marianne]

- Actually my number one wish is to have a kitchen... right now we have a sink sitting on plywood with taps coming from pipes in the ceiling and no cabinets... I'd love a countertop, cabinets, real plumbing with hot AND cold water, somewhere other than the stovetop to prep stuff.

Me, too! I have odds and ends of furniture instead of cabinets, a folding table for a countertop...awful. I do have a sink with real plumbing, though (sitting in a piece of plywood).

 

[Beanie]

And , as long as I'm dreaming....

4. The really big ticket item would definitely be this 100 Lb. Stainless Steel/Aluminum Gas Smokehouse .

Oh yeah!!!!!!

 

[Bimpnottin]

Hmmmmm


Hand-crank grain mill
extra storage - my basement is the right temperature, but really damp and who can afford to continuously run a dehumidifier?
another freezer, actually a replacement for the really old one that was given to us, but I'm sure costs a bazillion dollars a year to run
goats
dexter cattle - was all in place until money we thought we were getting, didn't happen
some more fruit trees
bigger garden and the ambition to keep it less weedy

that's enough for now

 

[chipmunk]

I knew I wanted SS when I was a teenager, but life kept throwing curve balls at me. I'm finally starting to get it at 58years *sigh*

That's okay, Britesea! I tell everybody that life begins at 50, because that's about the age where things began to fall into place for me. I've always wanted an SS life, too, although didn't call it that until joining this group. Making things from scratch and using everything to its fullest has always fascinated me. I remember reading in 4th grade about colonial settlers making candles from tallow, and thinking that was SO COOL!

The thing that's nice at this age (I'm almost 54) is looking back and seeing what skills you've added gradually over the years that bring you to this point. You learn what you can as you go along, then suddenly you look back and see how far you've come. This forum is such a great place to get encouragement and instruction from like-minded people. The thread on what we all still want to try is pretty interesting; just goes to show that part of the fun of life is continuing to learn.

 

[Beekissed]

I'd like to afford airfare to places where I can volunteer for disaster relief. Everything else I need, I already have!

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I would love to afford a real hoop house. You know, the kind you see on commercial greenhouse properties, that are 1/4 of an acre?
I will settle for the two small ones we are putting together for next year though

 

[Britesea]

You are so right, Chipmunk! I remember teaching myself how to spin yarn as a teen from the wool undercoat of our Samoyed, first by simply rolling the fibers down my thigh (apparently something the Greeks did before the drop spindle was invented), and then a makeshift spindle. The yarn wasn't very good quality and it sure wasn't an even twist, but it was useable. I also read about making candles from tallow and bayberry, and making soap, but my parents drew the line.

The hardest part was finding a life partner that shared my interest. First husband liked the idea of country acreage and I thought we were on the same page til I found out he wanted to be a 'country squire'. He didn't understand why I wanted a dairy goat, or a big garden-- that was just too much work and made you look like poor people.

 

[moolie]

It may sound hokey but you would not believe how thinking out of a mindset of abundance rather than lack makes a difference in your life...

Not hokey at all.

I've actually found that as I learn to do things I can generally find a way to get the things I want/need. Like canning jars--I can't believe how little I've paid for the nearly 300 jars I've come across on freecycle and kijiji over the past 5 or 6 months. Or like the meat grinder I had been eying at the antique mall--it was $75 for ages, then we went to look at it again Saturday and it was $40. So we bought it, because it is in good shape and is much nicer than the new ones you can get for $60-$80 at Home Hardware.

Of course there are things that I want, or think I need, but they'll come in good time or they weren't ever that important to begin with. Spending my time with my family and friends, doing what I am able to do in order to take care of my family, and trusting in God are all I truly "need". I have more in this life (in the way of possessions) than anyone truly needs, and I've always been miraculously blessed in times of true need when just what was needed has come my way. I have most certainly been blessed with family and true friends throughout my life.

One of the things that I needed (when I looked for, and found it) was this forum and this wonderful community of people who are all trying to go in a similar direction--people who are willing to share and teach and keep old skills alive.

I've recently lost my Oma, the last of my two strong homesteading Grandmothers who both taught me so many things as I was growing up about how to garden and preserve and re-purpose and be frugal with what they had. I can't ask them about home made soap, or plum cake, or rose hips, or baking bread anymore. But I can ask, or read along when others ask, along with each of you. So thank you.