Posts belonging to Category 'hints and tips'
September 3, 2010 | Posted by Mark Z
If you don’t already compost household scraps, you should start now! Most homes I know have a compost bucket handy, somewhere near the trash and/or garbage bins. Recently, we had a “Doh!” moment when we heard a suggestion to improve home composting that should be glaringly obvious, but isn’t. A friend told us that he [...]
Categories: hints and tips | 
Tags: composting, easy composting, how to make compost, self reliance | 
1 Comment »
August 29, 2010 | Posted by Mark Z
The most often used boat on our homestead is our Coleman Ram X Scanoe, a flat-sterned freighting canoe. It has two paddling stations, one in the stern, one in the bow. While it’s possible to kneel amidships and paddle solo, this can be awkward and tiring. If one of us uses the canoe alone, we [...]
Categories: hints and tips | Tags: proper canoe trim, self reliance, weight distribution in a canoe | No Comments »
August 24, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
One of the tips for staying cool and conserving energy is to limit air conditioning to a single room by using a window unit. This is what our family did when I was a kid, and I’ve done this a few times over the last 20 years. Ever since I moved to my better insulated [...]
Categories: energy conservation, hints and tips | Tags: beat the heat, keeping cool, self reliance, tips for staying cool, window air conditioner | No Comments »
August 21, 2010 | Posted by DDFD
Here is another DIY Quick Tip: Use a nailset tool for a professional looking finish. What is a nailset? It is a hardened metal punch tool that is used to recess nails, mainly in carpentry. You simply use a hammer and the nailset to push the nail down about 1/8 of an inch. What if [...]
Categories: DIY, hints and tips | Tags: DIY quick tip, do it yourself, hints and tips, nailsets, self reliance | No Comments »
August 8, 2010 | Posted by Mark Z
Our cabin has two large, beautiful picture windows that unfortunately present a hazard to our local birds. One window, in particular, seems to be a problem. Most of our bird strikes hit that window rather than the others. This week we took steps to solve the problem by making and hanging hawk silhouettes for that [...]
Categories: hints and tips | Tags: avoid bird strikes, hawk silhouettes, self reliance | 4 Comments »
August 3, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
With the dog days of summer upon us, we can use all the tips for staying cool that we can think of. I used to work landscaping when I was going to school, so let me pull out a trick or two from those days to share with you. We stayed cool by carefully selecting [...]
Categories: hints and tips | Tags: beat the heat, outside work, self reliance, tips for staying cool, working outdoors | 1 Comment »
August 1, 2010 | Posted by Annie Jean
Family Cloths are a private way to save money at home and if handled right, no one will be the wiser. By using cloth to wipe yourself after using the bathroom you can avoid purchasing toilet paper and stay cleaner as well because you will no longer focus on how much paper you are using—if [...]
Categories: frugal living, hints and tips | Tags: family cloth, frugal living, personal hygiene, saving money, self reliance | No Comments »
July 27, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
How about some counter intuitive tips for staying cool? Here’s one; drink hot liquids like coffee and tea when it’s hot outside. The idea is the hot beverage inside you will make you feel cooler on the outside. It’s a simple matter of your mind making a comparison to the heat inside, and arriving at [...]
Categories: hints and tips | Tags: beat the heat, self reliance, tips for staying cool | 3 Comments »
July 24, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
This might not be the most desirable nor practicable of the tips for staying cool, but it certainly is very effective – hop into a cold shower to cool off. Okay, perhaps only a cool shower, but you get the idea – when your entire body is drenched in cool water, you can’t help but [...]
Categories: energy conservation, hints and tips | Tags: outdoor shower, self reliance, solar shower, tips for staying cool | No Comments »
July 22, 2010 | Posted by Clair Schwan
Just a quick tip for those who like cooking on the grill – the barbecue sauce goes on last. The reason being, the sauce will burn onto the meat you’re trying to cook if you apply it to the meat when you first start cooking it. I’ve seen inexperienced people around the grill baste the [...]
Categories: cooking and recipes, hints and tips | Tags: BBQ sauce, cooking on the grill, grilling, self reliance | No Comments »
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