( )I wash and reuse (most) of my sandwich bags. Hot soapywash water and a bit of Bleach in the rinse water works well for me. I even make a rack from a refrigerator shelf to hang them on to dry, near the wood burner. (cut one side off of the shelf and added hinges, then attached it to the wall).
( )I try to use jars instead of sandwich bags because the jars last longer. (I’ve got enough to start my own glass recycling company).
( )When the sandwich bags are no longer worthy of being reused for food, they go to the garage for other stuff.
( )When I go to a restaurant or hospital, I always make sure to take extra napkins or paper towels home with me. It saves on the amount of paper towels I have to buy.
( )I have city water, but I try to use water from my well to wash laundry. Water isn’t an issue. Although the Well has a 1/3 hp Sump Pump sitting in it that runs off of 110 volts, I have a Deep Cycle Marine Battery and a 2000 watt Power Invertor that has been tried (and works) and will get me water. I also have a brand new “back up” Sump Pump sitting on a shelf, in a box.
( )When my clothes wear out, I cut them into rags.
( )When the rags are no longer useable, I use them to help start a fire in the woodburner.
( )The wood that keeps my house warm all Winter long is free; I don’t pay a dime for it, other than what it costs me to get it.
( )Since the wood burner is already heating the house, it only makes sense to use the top of it to brew Tea, have heated water for Coffee, heat water for my shower, or sometimes cook Bacon.
( )I use the woodburner ashes along the house foundation, or to fill mole holes.
( )I use solar lights in the house all the time, instead of relying on the utility company.
( )I use 12 volt Ceiling Fans most of the time, but still rely on a 110 volt fan at night, when I sleep by the fan.
( )I use a propane light in my living room in the Winter so I can get light and heat from the same source; and I don’t have to worry about it getting shut off because I didn’t
pay my bill. I adapted a second Propane Light so that it will not only supply Light and Heat, but I can also cook on the top of it.
( )When I see a penny on the ground, I pick it up. I need 99 more of them to make another dollar!
( )I hang all of my clothes on hangers, and hang them on a long pipe over the woodburner. The house needs more humidity during the Winter anyway. I don’t pay forelectricity to run the dryer.
( )I removed the Dryer from the Laundry Room. (Fall of 2016).
( )I rinse out and save my food cans after I open them. I get 6 cents a pound for something that most people throw away, and they don’t go to the landfill.
( )I buy candles at rummage sales rather than pay more at the store for something that does the same job regardless of the price.
( )I save sawdust and candle wax for making homemade fire starters for the wood burner.
( )When I buy stuff at the store, I look for the “scratched & dented” stuff. Then I ask for a 10% or more discount. I’ll end up scratching or denting it sometime in the future anyway.
( )I own a battery operated pencil sharpener. (with a rechargeable battery).
( )I also own a manual pencil sharpener.
( )I recharge my small batteries in my portable solar battery chargers.
( )I flush the toilet with recycled laundry rinse water from the Washing Machine and WELL water, using a 110 volt pump to get the water out of the WELL.
( )Rabbit poop and the remains of butchered rabbits helps to fertilize my large garden.
( )I grow a large garden rather than rely on the store for all of my vegetables.
( )I home-can most of my vegetables. Even tho it’s more work, it’s a skill, and I know where my food came from and how it was handled before I ate it. And it tastes so muchbetter!
( )I keep 450 gallons of water in a tank as a back-up water supply for about 8 months out of the year. Can’t do it in the Winter–garage isn’t heated.
( )I try to buy more clothes than I need every year. Prices will always go up. And if they don’t fill well, I put them away until they do.
( )Rabbits. I raise them as an extra food source. When the Shit Hits The Fan, I’ll have something to barter with. (as long as I can feed them). I stopped raising rabbits afterTen years; 10-2017.
( )I have 2 types of showers set up. One is city water with a water flow-valve inline, the other is a homemade shower container that sits on a shelf above the shower head.
( )I save all of the small bars of Soap; I add them to an old Sock, tie a knot in the Sock, cut off the excess, and I’ve got a way to use up those little bars of Soap! It’s kind of awkward to use, but at least I’m using the soap all the way down to nothing, and the old sock can still be used to start a fire when it’s finished with the soap.
( )I use a curtain rod in the kitchen to hold paper towels.A regular paper towel holder is $8. The curtain rod is $1.00 at walmart and holds three rolls of paper towels.
( )Green Tomatoes. I learned to make Green Tomato Relish, rather than throw them away, at the end of the season.
( )I toss my egg shells on the garden where I plant the Tomato plants. It prevents Blossom End Rot.
( )Sometimes I get extra packets of ketchup, Mustard, etc. Even if I don’t need that extra fork, or spoon, take it for another time. LOAD UP.
( )I always have more Chili than I’ll eat when I fix a 5 quart crockpot of it. So I pressure can the home-made Chili for later.
The other day, I bought cheap Pork meat, and pressure canned it so that I won’t have to pay more money in the longer term. It’ll keep on a shelf for about 3-4 years.
( )I always buy a watermelon that has seeds in it; that way I always have seeds to plant in the garden.
( )I quit using my electric coffee pot. In the Winter I use the wood burner to heat water for instant coffee. Any other time, I use the propane Kitchen stove.
( )Years back, I used to pull the thrown-away oil containers out of the trash cans at the service stations. I’d take them home and drain them into one container. It took a lot of containers and a lot of time, but eventually I’d end up with a quart of oil. The point is though, is that it’s free Oil. And the oil containers are recyclable.
( ) Although I haven’t done it often, I occassionally use my crockpot on top of the wood burner. Since the heat is indirect, it won’t hurt the crock pot. No way to regulatethe heat well, tho.
( )The garage door opener uses electricity. As a precaution, I have already installed the Manual Garage Door Opener.
( ) 05-2018. I had the Utility company shut the natural gas off, since they charge $25 a month for the meter. Now I heat all of my water on the Wood Burner or Propane Stove during the Winter, and I use a Camping Shower Bag during the warm months. Just to keep the authorities away, I keep the Utilities hooked to the house. I don’t have to use them. Just have them attached to the house. Plus, when I do have something shut off, I don’t make it a national issue. No one knows.
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DIY. 12-2018: How about my 2nd attempt to put up my 27′ tall
tv tower with a homemade Wind Generator on top of it, by
myself. I used a Deep Cycle Battery and a 12 volt Winch to
get it into place.
I tried the 1st time of doing it by hand, and had the
bottom of the tower pop up, the top of the tower go down,
and break one of the pvc blades that I made for it. The 12
volt motor is from a $5 Treadmill that I bought 6 months
back, at an auction.
DIY. January 2019: When Spring/Summer comes around, I’ll use
the free/thrown-away Gas Powered Post Hole Digger that I was
given, and fixed, to make a deep hole for the clothes line
pole than is currently holding the Wind Generator in 40-50
mph winds!
DIY. 01-12-2019: I made an extension piece for the Post Hole
Digger, using my Manual Pipe Threading Tool, because I live
20 miles from nowhere and can’t afford to drive that far,
one way, to get specific pipe lengths made, using 1″ pipe.
DIY. Last month, I welded a few pieces of metal to my truck.
I now have two extra 2″ Balls on the truck. One at the
center of the truck bed just behind the Cab, and the other
is located on the front of the truck. A few months back, I
bolted a 3000# 12 volt Winch to a Trailer Hitch, along with
a pair of Jumper Cables. Now I can pull something from the
Front, Center, or Back of the truck, using the battery under
the hood.
DIY. I used a few pieces of 1″ Black Pipe to make a Log Jack
(holds the log off of the ground while cutting), and then
modified it to become a Peavey (straight piece with a hook).
Now I can change the end piece out when I find a pile of
free fire wood, and I need to use that tool.
DIY. I recently made a heavy duty table out of free 4×4’s
and a purchased piece of plywood. It’s mainly used in the
Kitchen. The other day I mounted the Chainsaw Sharpener to
it and watched tv while sharpening the chains in the Living
Room, while using the light from my 12 volt Solar Panel
System.
DIY. January 13, 2019: Made homemade Bread, to go with the
Stew that I made with homecanned Corn, homecanned Green
Beans, and homecanned Carrots. All of which I had put
together before I noticed this challenge contest.
DIY. I do have a #10 can of Powdered Eggs open, and I’m
currently out of real Eggs. I guess I’m not going to the
store for “real” eggs tomorrow. I think the powdered eggs
are okay in this challenge, since I don’t normally use them,
and they do change the way I normally live.
DIY. 01-15-2019: I guess I can always break out some of
those homemade dehydrated sliced Potatoes and make some
Scalloped Potatoes. I haven’t made the homemade sauce for it
yet………
DIY. 01-15-2019: It snowed a few days ago. For the first
time in 2 years, I was able to think about using the free
Snow Blower that someone gave me. The gasoline primer was
broken from the cold weather, and it wouldn’t start after
that. Then I found a chunk of ice attached to the float in
the carburator. It ran after that.
I already have Solar Dryer for drying the clothes (the
outside clothes line), and an inside clothes dryer (a pipe
over the Wood Burner).
I’m going to tell you that you can use this information however you choose. I believe I’d like to be in the contest, but I’m not sure of how much I will be able to participate, because I’ve done almost everything that I need to do to survive. I think. I’ve got enough food and recipes stored up to last me over a year; same goes for toilet paper and other hygene options, etc.