Rainy Days- Knitting and Melting Beeswax

Under our kitchen window sit six additional pepper plants waiting for a home in our garden. The past few days have been too wet and rainy to any additional planting. We still have another garden plot to prepare, but it will have to wait until the end of the week when the sun is rumored to be in town for a two-day performance.

Personally, I love rainy days. More accurately, I love rainy days when I have no obligations outside the home. Rainy days are perfect for knitting, curling up with a hot cup of herbal tea, and baking... well, anything!

Yesterday (Monday) was one of those days. I'm making a beautiful aran sweater, with cables upon cables out of chocolate brown fisherman's wool for my husband. It will most likely take until October before it is done, but it will be ready for the cold weather. I caught him, out of the corner of my eye, watching me knit. He looked so proud, or perhaps touched, that his wife was making something that takes such time and care to create, and doing so just for him.

This sweater is a great example of self-reliance. Making your own clothing allows you to control every factor- style, color, quality, and every other aspect that contributes to its uniqueness. While I did not spin this yarn myself (though spinning is a skill I'm working hard to improve), it was purchased from a small, local shop. With a little effort, a warm work of art is crafted. All it will require is a little time, effort, and moderate skill.

No money went to support a large retailer with a history of mistreating employees. No money went to a corporation that employs foreign workers at slave wages. Some money did get paid in sales tax, which is one of the reasons I'm honing my own spinning skills, but the bulk of the purchase price went to support a local, small business.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, (Tuesday) I had a little time after work to clean out the uncapping tank and melt the beeswax cappings that have been waiting on me to have some free time for over a week. A solar wax melter is in the works, but probably won't be finished for a few weeks. However, it will remove any need for further fossil fuels, and therefore any grid connection, to process our bees' beautiful wax.

Always be very careful melting wax. Melt wax in a double-boiler, preventing the container of wax from touching the heat source. Beeswax is highly flammable, so please take all reasonable precautions.

I pour the melted wax into old liquid egg and milk cartons that have the tops cut off. When the wax cools, the clean wax floats to the top, and the sludge sinks to the bottom. After it cools, the sludge is cut off, and the process begins again and is repeated until the wax comes perfectly clean. At that point, the melted wax is poured into pretty, one-ounce cakes with a honeycomb and queen bee design, ready for easy measuring for future use or sale. Do not refrigerate the wax to cool it. It will not make a good candle if you cool it too quickly.

Beeswax just smells absolutely delicious! It requires no toxic artificial fragrances to scent a room. Beeswax is used in candles, lotions, soaps, and furniture polish, just to name a few uses. We used our own beeswax to make the taper candles that lit our home last winter. Beeswax is more valuable pound for pound compared to honey.

When you get the chance, read up on candle making, and then locate a local beekeeper in your area. Every county has a beekeeping association, and you should be able to find their contact information (and probably web site) on line easily enough. Make an inquiry asking if any of the beekeepers have wax for sale, and you should have yourself a local source of beautiful beeswax for all your crafting needs.

Live better, a little every day.

Reducing Electric Grid Dependency When Renting

Most of the people we know live in apartments. Whether that is a function of the location where we live, the economy and sluggish housing market, or some other factor, I do not know. One of the first arguments our friends and aquaintances make when we talk about our plans to move up North and establish an off-grid homestead is, "I'd love to go off of the grid, but I can't do that where we live. We live in an apartment, and the landlord wouldn't allow us to rewire it."


We, too, rent an apartment. We, too, have no say in how the building is wired. We do not have a say in what major appliances are installed. But, we do have a say in how much electricity we use. You do have a say in whether you use a lot of electricity or not. Here are ten ways to reduce your dependence on grid-based electricity:

1. Turn the tv off. There is precious little of real value on it anyway, and you don't really need it on for background noise.
2. Unplug items when not in use. Leaving appliances and tools plugged in creates a "ghost" charge (a charge for power you never knew you were using). When we started unplugging appliances when not in use, we saved about $15 off each month on the electric bill.
3. Change all the light bulbs in the home to flourecents. Doing this took about $5 off our monthly bill. We replaced all the bulbs at once. However, you could just replace old bulbs with flourecents when the old bulbs burned out.
4. Build a solar oven. If you have an electric oven, and a balcony, you can shut the down on the oven and bake, roast, and cook in your oven on the balcony. Free plans are easily searchable on line.
5. Investigate older technologies. Many appliances have non-electric versions that preceeded them.
6. Candles... while any flame poses an increased risk of a house fire, with a little extra care, candles can be a great source of light. We placed several candle sconces on the walls, away from draperies and ceilings. We even found some metal tea light sconces with mirrored backings that reflect a lot of light into the room. It really creates a beautiful, calm atmosphere. After going all winter lighting the apartment with candles in the evening, we wouldn't go back to electric lights.
7. This one's for the ladies... revamp your hairstyle. Rather than waste electricity on hairdryers, flat irons, curling irons, etc., why not find a style that looks neat and is flattering, but that doesn't require all the fuss? Not only will you save energy, but you'll save a lot of time as well.
8. As much as possible, get up with the sun and go to bed with the sun. Obviously, those of us who work outside the home may not have this option. The idea is that if you are getting your business done during daylight hours, you will not need much artificial lighting.
9. During the summer months, use fans rather than air conditioners. They use much less power and are less expensive to purchase.
10. Dry you clothes on a line or a rack. If you have a balcony, you can set up your line or drying rack there. If not, you could set up a rack in the bathroom.

Live better, a little every day.

Why Are We Going Off The Grid?

The weather is not coorperating with my plans to get my peppers into my garden, so I figured I'd write a bit about reducing dependence on electricity.

When we talk to people about going off the grid, some people think we're crazy. No, we are not crazy. What we do think is crazy, however, is incurring an unecessary bill each and every month for the rest of your life.

Others people we talk to have thought about it, but think it is out of their reach. Here are some of the things we've heard:

1. I can't afford it
2. I can't do it where I live right now
3. It's too complicated
4. My kids could never go without their video games

To this, I say that going off the grid:

1. Doesn't have to cost a small fortune
2. Isn't something you have to do all at once
3. Is easier than you think
4. Gives your kids new things to enjoy... don't sell them short

I'm not against electricity. It can do some amazing things and can make life much more comfortable. But let's be honest. As a culture, we waste a lot of electricity. Since most electricity is created from generators that run on petroleum products, when we waste electricity we are wasting oil. Last I checked, Americans complain about the rising cost of gasoline to anyone who will listen, and our media spends a lot of time reporting on the cost of oil. The cost to produce electricity, however, isn't brought up nearly as often. While we stomp our feet about the price at the pump, we only grumble softly about the rising cost of electricity.

There are several good reasons to cut back on oil consumption. For some people, saving the environment is the motivating factor. Electricity from an oil-based (or coal-based) source will add polutants to the environment. I don't care if you believe in Climate Change or not. Adding more polutants into the environment isn't a smart idea for long term sustainability. So, if there is a chance that we are effecting the planet in a harmful way, it is in our best long-term interests to stop.

For others, like us, going off the grid is more financially motivated. The freedom of never having to pay another electric bill is reason enough. Not owing this money every month allows you to save the extra money, put it toward other obligations, or simply not have to spend as much time working to pay for it.

Another financial point to consider is that on each and every utility bill, there are taxes. There are the taxes you see, and the taxes you do not see. Each bill has taxes itemized, and typically, it's just a few bucks. Multiply that by the millions of people in this country who are paying those few bucks, and you have a significant source of tax-based revenue. Add to that the hidden tax...the utility company is also taxed (just like every other business) on the sale of their product. This expense is factored into the price of the utility and passed along to customers.

Why is this an issue? Well, consider this: are you happy with how the government (any level, local, state, or federal) has spent your tax dollars? If the answer is no, then why pay them any money you do not absolutely have to? If you purchase power through a utility company, you are paying more taxes than you have to. Our system of government is broken, and it cannot be fixed through voting with ballots. We can, however, change things by voting with our dollars and spending habits.

There is, however, a trade off in going off the grid. Many tasks will have to be done manually, and that may also mean purchasing non-electric versions of appliances and tools. Some electricity can be generated through small solar and wind set ups that do not cost a small fortune. That means, however, whatever appliances or equipment being used must be the most energy-efficient models available.

Obviously, thanks to electricity, I'm able to post to this blog. One of the reasons that I got this laptop is because it takes less power to charge than my desktop. (Eventually, we will be retiring the desktop.) A laptop is one of the only electronically powered items that I can justify keeping after we move to the property in Maine. This provides, news, communication, and provides entertainment (Hulu, DVD player, etc.).

Going off the grid does not mean spending $100,000 on solar panels, though one could go that route. It also doesn't mean turning your back on all technology either, though there is nothing wrong with that if that's the kind of life you want. There is a lot of middle ground.

In my next post, I'll address how to reduce your dependence on electricity while still living in a rented apartment.

Live better, a little every day.

Getting Started

Over the past two years, my husband (Eddie) and I have been through a variety of circumstances that have led us in one direction: Self-Reliance. We have had to cope with one personal emergency after another: back injuries, pregnancy-related complications, surgery, a layoff, difficulty paying bills, and a loss of health insurance. We had contributed to the system through our taxes, but when our tough times hit, there was no assistance to be found.


What we did find was a lot of red tape and loop holes to exempt us from any kind of relief. We did eventually qualify for health insurance through the state, which we would lose the moment we tried to increase our income. Our initial reaction was, "We've busted out butts, we've contributed to the system, and we deserve better than this!" Well, that was partly true. We had worked hard. We did contribute to the system. Where we failed was not having recognized sooner that the system is broken.

Due to the economy, Eddie had been laid off. I could not work due to a high-risk pregnancy. We could not afford COBRA payments at almost $1000/month, and the Department of Unemployment Assistance was jerking us around on benefits for which Eddie was eligible. We weren't looking for a permanent public assistance funded lifestyle. It is not that we ever thought, "Oh, if we fall on hard times, we'll just let the state take care of us." That mindset has always been abhorrent to us.

The reality was that we hadn't thought about falling on hard times at all. We never thought about emergencies. Looking back, that seems very naive. So, from that perspective, we got exactly what we deserved.

Should we have known better? Probably. We learned a lot, however, from having been through this. It probably required such drastic circumstances to bring us to the point we are now. It was as if life grabbed us by the shoulders and shook us until we woke up. Looking at it this way, I'm glad things played out the way they did. We learned hard lessons and are making changes because of them.

We seek to live a life with as much freedom as is possible in the United States. That may sound strange as the USA is often referred to as the "land of the free". When we sat down and discussed how to prepare our family for emergencies, however, it became plain to us that we are anything but free. To us, freedom means:

1. Living 100% debt free
2. Owning land
3. Achieving water independence
4. Achieving food independence
5. Achieving energy independence
6. Health Care, not Sick Care
7. Having the ability and means to defend ourselves
8. Minimizing any tax liability
9. Achieving clothing independence
10. Helping others do the same

Put into practice, our expression of freedom includes establishing a homestead where we can produce most of our own needs, and do business locally for the things we cannot produce ouselves. We have made a committment to do something every day that brings us closer to reaching these goals. Every day is a day closer to self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and our vision of freedom.

This blog is to record our journey. It doesn't matter how little money you have, or how big your debts may be. If we can do this, anyone can. I hope that this will inspire someone reading it to say, "Enough... I demand better for myself."

Live better, a little every day.