My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

It’s been windy today so lots of electricity has been generated by the wind turbine so that’s a dog bed washed and drying inside. It also snowed today. It’s not bad so far, but time will tell.

I’ve cleared and cleaned 3 bathroom cabinets. Some out of date stuff has been binned, but there are a few lovely glass bottles that I think the charity shop might take. The bathroom has been given a thorough clean too. DH has 2 small DIY projects to finish in the bathroom. He has the items he needs for one fix, but the other will need to wait until he does a city trip to buy the components. Hopefully, he will get around to them soon.

Being off grid and pumping our own water means that we are very aware of water usage. The toilet and the sink are gravity fed ie low pressure, but when we have a shower, we turn on an electric pump to give us mains pressure. We do try to save water by collecting the first water from the shower while it runs cold and using that to flush the toilet or water plants. We also do the ‘if it’s yellow let it mellow’ routine.

DH has made his first eBay sale of the year. It's only £2.84 profit but it kicks off the DIY fund.

AnimalTribe

There’s about an inch of snow here now and more to come. DH and I are well set for winter though and have everything we need should the snow get really bad and we get snowed in.

Today I’ve split my time between doing crafts and tending to my plant walls. As there are so many plants it takes a fair amount of time if I have to do them all at once. Fortunately, it’s not often I have to tend them all in one go. However, I’ve been neglecting them so I needed to do some work. Some of the plants I’ve bought at garden centres, or at a reduced price. Some I’ve got from village fetes and others I’ve got off Freecycle. The vast majority though are from cuttings that I’ve taken.

Tonight, I’m just relaxing and reading a book. Tomorrow I’ll start on the decluttering again. DH has sold something else on eBay so that’s another £3.76 profit. Added to the previous £2.84 it means I’ve hit the first £5.

AnimalTribe

Today I’ve tidied out a couple of cupboards. I’ve managed to get rid of some secateurs, some gardening gloves and loads of plastic bags. I’ve also done some jewellery crafting.

My plant wall is doing well at the moment. This is a small section of Christmas cacti. All the cacti came from cuttings.

Rhyddid2026

How do you take your christmas cactus cuttings? I have two, one the same colour as yours and a red one, that belonged to my grandmother. I really worry that they might die and I've tried to take cuttings as a precaution but they've never worked. Any tips?

AnimalTribe

Rhyddid2026 I snap off a leaf, or a couple of leaves, where the leaves join, leave it on a bench for a couple of days and stick the bottom part in some soil. If a leaf falls off I just stick it in the soil. There are always some failures but mostly they grow. I don't water them often, don't use rooting powder (although it would probably help) and I don't cover them with a plastic bag. They do take some time to establish roots though - weeks or even months. I have rooted them sucessfully in water in the past and at least there you can see the roots growing, but I've had most success in soil. It can't do any harm to try the soil and the water method. The key is to let them dry out for a couple of days first and don't water often.

There’s 3 inches of snow here and more to come. Still DH and I are well prepared.

I needed a rest today from cleaning so I’ve been photographing stuff for eBay and Etsy. My photography still needs some work though.

Rhyddid2026

Thanks, I have tried a couple of ways, but I'm thinking maybe I'm using pieces that are too big. I'll try smaller bits. 

AnimalTribe

It's cold here, no sun, no wind, so the generator has been on. Still DH and I are cosy and warm inside (except for dog walking).
I've started to declutter a spare room, but I know it will take me ages. It's full of stuff (mostly DH's) and there is lots of paperwork to go through. I'll be taking my time, but as long as I do some each day I think I'll manage to sort it. I'm going to put DH's stuff on a table in small batches so that he can't avoid sorting through it. He has many great qualities but he has procrastination down to a fine art.

I'm also going to try to work my way through the food in the freezer, as it too, is stuffed. Not being able to get to the shops because of the snow, and not being able to get deliveries should help.

AnimalTribe

There's been more snow today and it's been very windy so at least the batteries are full. 

DH was due to go for a dental checkup tomorrow, but he has had to re-arrange it because the road condition makes it too risky to travel unless absolutely necessary.

I've managed to clear a couple of boxes from the spare room, done some mending, and cut out some felt elephants. So overall not a bad day.

I have some vegetables that need using up so I'll probably make a batch of soup tomorrow. The base soup I usually make is very easy. I finely dice onion and vegetables, put them in a pan and add a vegetable stock cube. I throw in some red lentils and some tomato paste. The whole lot is covered in water and I put the lid on a cook for 20 to 30 minutes and the soup is done. I use all kinds of vegetables except the cabbage family and I'll maybe add herbs or spices (black pepper is my favourite). Some times I'll blend it, but mostly I'll just leave it chunky.

AnimalTribe

It's been a still, dark day here so the generator has been on. It's very icy and the road is still impassable.

I made chilli parsnip soup, just the right kind of thing for a cold winter’s day.

The only extra I’ve done today is to make some felt hen egg cosies for Easter for my Etsy shop. I also want to make some rabbits, but I’ll have to come up with a pattern first.

joedenise

There's a few patterns online - how about this one (looks quite cute to me!):  https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com/post/make-simple-bunny-egg-cosy