Up-Cycling on the Homestead

We are definitely in the throws of our busy season on the homestead. Well, let's face it, with nine of our children still at home, a bustling homestead, and homeschool our life is always busy. But, this time of year it seems like there isn't enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs doing. Regardless, we are still putting one foot in front of the other and making things happen around here. I thought I'd share a little about how our family has been up-cycling and being good stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with. 

Due to the volatile economy and our family's personal employment situation we are making an even more conscientious effort to be as frugal as possible. We are thinking outside the box and being intentional to look for ways to repurpose items around our homestead. Every dollar really counts these days like never before, and I'm grateful we have cultivated a spirit of frugality over the years; because it certainly is coming in handy these days.

The above picture shows one of my new favorite up-cycled items. I prefer my herbs planted in containers as opposed to directly into the ground. On a walk a few weeks ago I found these awesome steps, they were missing one tread, but I knew it would be perfect for an herb box stand. We found some old wood to replace the tread that was missing, and once the garden wraps up, I'll paint the metal part. I love it so much I have everyone I know looking to find me another set of free-standing steps so that I can put the rest of my herb pots on them.

A few weeks ago we had a nasty wind storm which damaged some of our metal roof. While the metal wasn't suitable to remain on our house, we managed to salvage some of the pieces to use on our new chicken coop. I shared all about our new coop in this post.

We acquired this awesome cast iron caldron. We decided to drill some holes in it and use it as a giant herb pot. I can't wait to watch our pretty herbs start growing in this beauty.

It's amazing to watch how God provides for our every need. We have a good many tomato and pepper plants that need baskets to help stake them and prevent them from tipping over. We had purchased some metal fencing to make the baskets with, but it was not going to be enough. One day recently my husband overheard a friend talking about needing to get rid of some hog wire; he quickly told him we'd be glad to take it off his hands. We were able to construct eight baskets with the donated wire.

We are always reusing small food containers for starting plants. The above picture is a small portion of our recycled containers which have been used many times over to hold our tiny little seed starts. 

 We are extremely passionate about making our own natural health care products as well as bath & beauty items. Jars can get costly real quick. Whenever we receive a glass container, whether it be through store-bought vitamins or donated kombucha bottles (thanks to a dear friend who loves their Booch and gladly passes on their empty bottles to us) ~ we clean them up and repurpose them for our tinctures, glycerites, and other homemade body care products.

These containers stem from a funny encounter. My brain is always working overtime, trying to figure out how to do things the most economical way for our family. Well, one day we went to visit a friend and I saw that they had a shelf full of protein powder filled in these awesome containers. Now in a perfect world I'd store all our dry goods in glass jars, but can we say 'children'. Yeah, glass jars for everyday items such as our dry goods is a recipe for disaster, i.e. broken jars and glass everywhere. So when I saw these containers at my friend's house I asked her to save them for me. Thankfully, she was kind enough to donate them to us. I took the label off, washed them, and added a chalkboard decal that I cut from my Silhouette Cameo. These nice little buckets have served us well for many years now.

I believe a lot of people get wrapped up in thinking their homesteads have to look a certain way. To us the heart of homesteading is being as self-sufficient as possible ~ reusing and repurposing as many things as possible to limit our dependency on other people, especially running to the store to buy stuff. While we are 100% dependent on God to meet our needs, He has given us the wherewithal to also be good stewards with all the resources He has provided for us. 

The art of up-cycling is a frame of mind, it's a new way of thinking about everything that comes your way. Just the other day I was driving down the road and saw a pile of pallets on the side of the road. I immediately called my seventeen year old to go and pick them up, because goodness there's so many things we can do with old pallets. We simply placed them nicely on the side of our storage building until we have a need for them. Saving money and building our little homestead has been made possible by transforming our way of thinking, acknowledging that other people's trash really can be turned into someone else's treasures. 

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Preparing for Lean Times

There's no denying it, times are strange and uncertain. Life may or may not ever return to the way it once was. It could be understandably easy to sink into a hole of despair. Or you can do like our family is doing and prepare. Who knows what the future holds. I would like to think one day we will wake up and this insanity called COVID-19 will be a faint memory. But, in all likelihood, there's a good chance, this global shutdown is going to last a while longer and have dire consequences for years to come.

Our family has decided to be proactive and focused on creating solutions to our current concerns than wallowing in self-pity. I'm not going to lie, it's hard for me to keep on keepin' on. Some nights I lie awake sick, thinking about how horrible this world has become, and that I have ten children who have to figure out how to survive in it. But, I know that God is going to use all of this for the good of His people. I also know it would be a major disservice to the Lord, my family, and myself if I remained in a depressed state of mind. Instead, I'm hoping to be an example to my children on how to adjust, pivot, and roll with the punches. We don't have to succumb to this craziness, we can rise above it, and become better people as a whole.

Our family is making some consorted efforts to create practical solutions to help us thrive during this time. We want our children to feel safe and know they do not have to worry how their needs will be met. We want to shelter them from the raging storm whirling around outside our four walls. They deserve it, and my husband and I will do whatever it takes to make sure our children are well protected. The following is a more detailed synopsis of exactly what we are implementing within our family dynamics to help us survive the dire circumstances we currently find ourselves in. 

Preparing For Lean Times

1. Reevaluating Needs vs. Wants:
• Now is not the time for frivolously spending. We are praying through each and every purchase whether food, clothing, or any other item to determine if it is a necessity. 
• We are making purchases which help to reduce our over all spending, such as our new clothe line. 
• We are limiting our shopping in person as well as online, making sure every purchase is an essential item that our family truly needs.
2. Intentional Sustainability:
• We have increased the size of our garden with plants and fruit bearing trees/bushes. We are also pursuing meat chickens and other sources for food supply; such as inquiring of neighbors and friends if they know of outlets where we can find fruit trees to pick from. So far we have found a new free source for crab apples and someone who is getting rid of their canning jars.
• As cliche as it may sound, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is at the core of our daily life. We are reusing everything that we possible can ~ just the other day I salvaged a set of stand alone stairs to use as a planter station for my herbs. ALL leftovers are being eaten. Of course cloth for as many things as possible including diapers and napkins. We are trying to become a no waste family. 
• After a month of searching we were able to place our yearly co-op order. While this does not sustain us indefinitely it will meet our dry goods needs for the next year, reducing our need to purchase these items from stores or online. We've also managed to place our yearly order for maple syrup which we cook with and we're working on our yearly order for honey. All of these bulk purchases safe us money in the long run.
3. Immune Health:
• We are focusing on eating clean. Whole foods to promote a healthy immune system which can ward of disease and infection as well as give us the energy to pursue our many avenues of self-sufficiency.
• We are removing as many toxic substances as possible from our home from cleaning products to beauty products. There was a time we had minimal of these items, but I guess you could say I became negligent. I feel now is just as good as any time to get back on that band-wagon, it's really not that hard and it's certainly more affordable.
• We are making sure we have a decent stock of herbs, essential oils and vitamins to help combat ailments. We have always done this, but I guess you could say we are upping our game. We haven't been to the doctor for sickness in so many years I couldn't even tell you exactly the last time. But, the key on this one is to be proactive with necessary supplies so that when there's a need to treat a health situation, you are prepared.

Ultimately, God is in control. But, we can be used by God to fulfill His will. Having a plan and being intentional to work towards those goals is a much more positive way to use our time these days; rather than just hiding inside worrying. It is my deepest desire that throughout these crazy times our family would uphold God's word, look for the Lord's wisdom and knowledge, and not be wasteful with our time here on Earth. We are alive for a reason. None of *this* has caught God off guard. He is still in the business of providing for His people and He will continue to do so until the end of time.

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer