Clean Your Chimney!

Creosote Sucks!  Below is a pic of all of the crap that came out of my chimney this year!

I can't say it enough.   Wood heating is awesome... But if you have a Wood Stove it is important that you clean your chimney every year!

I cracked open my pipes this year and was truly amazed at the amount of build up in my horizontal flue pipe and in the vertical chimney pipes.  My horizontal flue pipe was 50% full of crap.  And when I pulled the cap off at the bottom of my chimney a 5 inch plug of soot and debris fell out of the chimney.

This stuff is no joke.  Creosote buildup can cause some pretty nasty fires.   Suggestions:

• When in doubt clean it.  You don't want to risk a chimney fire.
• Use chimney cleaner products throughout your burn season.
• Get yourself a good chimney brush and flex extensions so you can clean your system at least once a year.
• If you are building a new system make sure you have clean-outs positioned well in your system so that you can clean easily.
• Burn dry seasoned wood.  Wet \ Green wood will cause more buildup in your pipes.
• Burn your fires hot.

Cheers and Holiday Greetings to All!

Save Big Money on Detergents, Soaps, and Cleaners

I recently became irate over the monthly cost of soaps and detergents my household was using.  "Surely there is a better way."  I thought to myself.   I began to read articles people have written on the topic, and decided to do some real world experimentation.  The recipes below have worked for my household.  We are saving a good deal each month, and I hope that you will find these useful...

Dishwasher Detergent Recipe:

1 Tablespoon 20 Mule Team Borax

1 Tablespoon Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 Tablespoon of "LemiShine"

Put it in the dishwasher and run like you normally would.

(You can mix larger batches and store in a dry place.  I mix 2 cups of each ingredient and store in a plastic container.)

Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe:

1 Bar of Ivory Soap

1 Cup 20 Mule Team Borax

1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

5 Gallons of Water

Instructions for Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe:

1. Shred the Ivory Soap (or equivalent no-name brand) into fine shreds with a cheese grater.
2. Warm up, but do not boil, a pot of water.  
3. Drop in the shredded soap.  
4. Stir slowly until soap fully dissolves.
5. Put about a gallon of cool water in a 5 gallon bucket.
6. Dump pot of hot soap water into the 5 gallon bucket.
7. Add 1 Cup of 20 Mule Team Borax and 1 Cup of Arm & Hammer SUper Washing Soda into the bucket.
8. Stir until slowly until all is dissolved.
9. Fill the bucket the rest of the way up with warm water.  Stir throughly.
10. Allow mixture to cool.  
11. Store in gallon jugs, soda bottles, etc.

(Use approximately 4 ounces per load of laundry.  This recipe should be enough for over 100 loads of laundry!)

Fabric Softener:

Add 1/4 cup of White Vinegar to the load.

Liquid Hand Soap:

Heat up but do not boil 1 gallon a water.

Grate 1/2 bar of Ivory Soap or equivalent no-name brand.

Stir the grated soap into the gallon of hot water.

Once fully desolved add 2 more gallons of water to the mix.

Stir well, and allow to cool.

Store in jugs.  Refill your dispensers as needed.
That's 3 gallons of hand soap for under $1.00!!

The Off-Grid Mindset

When the going gets tough the tough disconnect from the "grids" in their life. There are many grids we connect to aside from electricity. I view a "grid" as anything that you are dependent on that gives you a rewarding feeling but costs you somehow. These things that find their way into our lives become a dependency and we end up paying for them every day, month, and year.

The typical consumer is "hooked up" without even realizing it. Everyone has their vices. I readily admit that I was once connected to the "coffee grid". I would stop on the way to work each day and buy a cup. In time it became an almost default morning action. It became mundane. One day I did the math and realized that I was paying a lot of money for something that wasn't really rewarding. I then realized that there were many things that I was connected to that were draining me in more ways than one... and I realized that I wasn't alone.

It turns out I was connected to the electric, cable TV, telephone, cell phone, internet, gasoline, ipod, coffee, donut, lunch, dinner, employment, gym membership, car payment, mortgage, and insurance grids too! Oh the horror! All of these things were draining me of not only money, but also my time and life force!! To make matters worse I was also connected to the "my job sucks grid". LOL! So there you have it... A corporate slave was born. (*insert whip crack here* OUCH!!!*) The things I owned and subscribed to were owning me while I spent my time working for them.

Consider all of the things you do each day. Do they make you happy? Do they cost you money or time? Do you loathe paying the price associated with these things but fear the change of disconnecting from them?

Well I have good news!! You were born with everything you need to survive. You can do without. In fact, you might just enjoy your life more without these things. If you disconnect from your desire to be comfortable... If you learn to entertain yourself... If you learn to believe in yourself... If you open yourself to change and envision you being untangled and free you can be much happier. The tie that binds is never meant to free you. Cut it!

Don't look at it as "doing without". Think about it as being more efficient. Think about it as doing much more with what is truly yours. You can do it your way. You can take baby steps and disconnect only a few things -OR- you can turn it all off at once. The choice is yours! The key is to do what you like and do it your way! Trust me, you will be happier when you take back some of your time and freedom. Don't let them fool you... FREEDOM IS FREE! ITS THE SLAVERY THAT COSTS.

Put some money in your pocket for a change. Spend some time in your back yard. You don't need movie theaters and restaurants. Call friends over for hot dogs. Burn a camp fire. Grow a garden. Have fun while you reduce your dependency on the corporate world. Who knows... You might even decide to take it to the next level and build a wind turbine or install something that can reduce or eliminate your dependency on utilities. You don't have to go completely off-grid to be an off grid thinker.

I have done much to change my life around. Its paying off. In time I might elaborate... but that is another story! ; )

Conservation Works! Your wallet will thank you!

This post is testimony to the fact that conservation works. What is conservation you ask? Simply put, it is doing what you can to reduce how much you use devices that use electricity, gas, water, etc. My focus has been on conserving electricity.

The picture above is from my most recent electricity bill. One year ago I used 1650 KWH on my electric bill. This year... 770 KWH. YES!!! I reduced my usage by more than half!!!

I've told a lot of my friends about this, and they each had a resounding question... "How did you do it?" The answer is... I did a lot. Read on...

For starters, I became mindful of what was being used in my home. There's a lot more you can do to reduce your electric demand. Here are some of the things I did:

• Purchased a Kill-A-Watt and audited all devices in my house. This helped me identify which devices carry "phantom loads". (Devices that constantly consume electricity even if they are turned OFF.)
• I compiled a spreadsheet that calclulated the monthly \ yearly cost to run each device.
• I used a couple of methods to deal with "phantom loads". I put devices on power strips that I could turn OFF when not in use. For some devices I used a timer to drastically reduce the amount time the device could be powered on. (For instance, I saved myself approx $6 dollars a month by simply putting the pump for my Koi pond on a timer... It now runs for 4 hours throughout the day instead of 24.)
• Switched all light bulbs over to CFL or LED. You can drastically reduce your wattage by doing this.
• We turn the lights off when not in use.
• I turned my heat pumps OFF! My philosophy professor once said that dependency on climate controls is a weakness. You do not need heat \ air conditioning to survive. I am doing quite well running two box fans in my windows.
• I installed a Propane Gas Tankless Water Heater. The gas lasts a long time, and no more electric demand.
• I put my swimming pool pump and salt system on a timer. After I read the specs on these devices I determined that they were energy hogs. I now run these for 4 hours each day.
• I turned my hot tub OFF. This thing was an energy sucking demon.
• I installed a clothesline. We run the clothes dryer only when necessary. A clothes dryer is by far the worst offender. Sunshine is free.
• I also rigged up an off-grid solar circuit for my downstair lighting. So far its a huge success. Each night I light my house with solar power.

So, my electric bill has been cut in half. My wallet is loving it. 770 KWH for a household of five is something to be proud of.

You can do it too. The trick is to get everyone in your household on board. If you can work as a team you can all share in the joy of saving money and having fun together. A hundred bucks per month in savings would afford you a nice vacation somewhere. :) I'm lucky in that my household works together as a team and believes in living frugally. Frugal isn't cheap... Frugal is wise.

Simple Solar Setup - Harbor Freight Solar Kit

This is my solar setup. I bought two Harbor Freight 45 Watt Solar Kits. These panels generate enough electricity to run the lamps in my home all night. I also run the pump for my Koi pond on it. I hooked my panels up to two 12 Volt DC Deep Cycle Marine Batteries and a 400 Watt Inverter. I also have a Grid Tie Inverter that I hook up when the batteries are fully charged.

I am doing everything I can now to reduce my dependency on the grid. So far I am doing so without noticing much difference in lifestyle. You can actually live very well off grid... Its actually kind of fun! :)

I would recommend the Harbor Freight kits to anyone who wants to give solar a try. They are easy to get up and running, and help to give a basic understanding of how solar works.

DIY 55 Gallon Drum Incinerator

I got tired of paying for trash pickup. In these times hard times in which we live one has to come up with ways to reduce expenses in order to survive. I had an old 55 gallon drum that was just collecting dust. I decided to make an incinerator that I could burn my paper & cardboard in. I know... I know... Its probably not the greenest solution in the world, but hey... its saving me 30 bucks a month in trash removal. :)

We actually recycle our plastics. The nasty food stuff goes into a compost pile. The rest gets burned. Saves $360 a year. Works for me. So far everything that I have fed into this burner has burned completely and has been reduced to ashes. For my next trick I might try to harness the heat from something like this for home heating in the winter months. Imagine heating your house with trash. :)

Parts used:

1 55 Gallon Drum

1 Toggle bolt (for door handle)

2 Galvanized Hinges

1 4" x 5' Galvanized duct pipe

1 4" Duct Rain Cap

Tools used:

Dewalt Hand Grinder

120 VAC Arc Welder (This thing is worth its weight in gold!)

Drill with 1-1/2" Hole Saw attachment (For holes in bottom of barrel for air.)