My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

Because my water comes from a well I need inline water filters. They are usually around £20 per filter. DH made a bulk purchase and negotiated a huge discount - I am very proud of him. 

I've been thinking about other stuff we might need and there are a few things I'm planning to buy. I think the economic outlook is pretty poor, so I'm going to buy the few things we need now. There is nothing really expensive on my list, just small things - but they add up.

AnimalTribe

It's been a stunning day here so I've been planting seeds, DH has been mowing the grass and the dogs have been running around after us. 

Lots of electricity is being generated and that's always good.

Tonight I'm just going to read my book and DH is going to watch a film.

AnimalTribe

The weather's not been great today so no outside work. I hung a load of washing indoors with a dehumidifier so it is now dry and ready to put away. 

DH had some stuff to do in town so he's done the shopping. He managed to find some semi-skimmed oat milk which has been in short supply in the shops recently so I now have a decent stock. Although I'm vegetarian I'm not vegan. I don't eat dairy at home but I'll eat it when I'm out if it's the only decent choice on the menu. I have a sweet tooth so I eat cakes that have eggs in them. I used to have hens and ducks as pets - they provided lots of eggs - but when the last one died I didn't replace them. It was lovely to see them wandering around the garden, and I still miss them sometimes, they were friendly and the hens were so cheekily clever, but they do take a lot more work than people realise and there are no kennels for poultry so holidays were out. 

AnimalTribe

It's been a glorious 2 days weather wise. On Thursday DH and I went out for the day, a bit of a wander around the area, a trip to the charity shop and a nice lunch. The charity shop was great I got a pair of ankle boots (with the tag still on) for £3 - you can't do better than that.

Today has been a bit of a gardening day - weeding and planting seeds. I was determined not to buy any more plants, but I have succumbed and order some bushes to make an edible hedge: sea buckthorn, crab apple, hazel, blackthorn and hawthorn. I'm hoping they will all grow in the wind exposed garden. I have other edible bushes that I can plant amongst them.

Dinner tonight is going to be super easy, a bought garlic flatbread that I found in the freezer, spread with some tomato concentrate that needs to be used up, green pepper, tomatoes and sprinkled with cheese. DH will have some ham on his half. Together with a salad it should be good.

teapot2

Excellent bargain with the boots 🥾🥾

AnimalTribe

Thanks teapot2 I am so very pleased.

It's been a day of two halves. This morning, I tried to fix a problem with my Etsy account and spent about an hour going round and round in circles trying to sort it out. DH tried to navigate the site too, but he had no better luck. All I want to do is send them an e-mail. We both finally gave up. I'll try again tomorrow, but it was so frustrating and so time consuming.

This afternoon DH helped me clear out an old shed. It had become a dumping ground of all things gardening that I was too lazy to sort out. So now it is very tidy, it has been swept out, the pots are all neatly stacked, and all the rubbish has been either binned or put aside for recycling. That was very satisfying. 

There has been plenty of sunshine so lots of electricity generated. DH has gone out for a bike ride and I'm going to read a book.

AnimalTribe

I finally managed to get a workable Etsy e-mail, whether or not I get my query answered is another matter. Lots of herb seeds planted yesterday and more planted today. Herbs do well here, I think it’s because they are low growing and so aren’t as affected by the winds I get here. I’m trying to get as many different herbs and their varieties as I can.

The dog knocked a battery charger off the table and it broke, but DH is great at fixing nearly anything and managed to take it apart and fix it. I have a place to put things that need to be fixed and DH sorts them when he’s in the mood, so he also fixed a couple of folding baskets, and a jewellery box where the veneer had begun to separate. One of the main skills you need when living off-grid and especially when you live remotely is to be able to sort things out yourself. It’s expensive to get a call out with travelling time added, or costs a lot in petrol to go into the town, or you just plain can’t get people to come out this far. DH has more skills under his belt than I do, but I still add to the mix of skills we have.

Although I said I wasn’t going to buy any more plants this year. I’ve bought 3 lots of edible bushes. I’m so excited for them to be delivered and I can start planting them - it's probably sad to be so excited, but I don't care. It will be years I think before they give any fruit.

teapot2

Luckily I suspect you are in a community who do indeed get excited about plants whether buying or growing from seed ☘🌵🌸🌻🌼🌳🌲

foxgloves

Nothing wrong with getting madly excited about plants!

AnimalTribe

teapot2 and foxgloves it's nice that other people understand. The plants haven't been delivered yet, but the rabbit guards I ordered have. I love to see the rabbits but they are very destructive. This morning there was a flock of partridges in the garden. They come by fairly often - they just peck at the grass though, I haven't seen them damage any plants.

It's been very windy today so lots of electricity generated again. 

DH and I went out for the day and stopped at a cafe. We both had a nice meal. I couldn't finish mine so asked for a doggie bag. A recent article I read said that doggie bags were going out of fashion, but I hate to see waste. IMHO the amount of time and energy spent sowing, growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting and turning ingredients into meals means that wasting food is just so ungreen.