Saving the fence!

When we moved in, just 8 years ago, we knew there would be maintenance to deal with. Sure, that's part of owning your own home. There have been many changes over those years with some busier than others. I've built complete walls in the garage, storage shelves too....I even built a built-in-robe in our bedroom. Although it hasn't got the doors on it (yet), it's still somewhere to hang our clothes.....and that's something we didn't have at first.

The land in the back yard has been built up, levelled out and paved to the far fence to make the ground not so steep. If your weren't told how deep those back garden beds were, you would never have guessed. There's 12 tonne of road base under those pavers out there, as well as 2 tonne of sand. I'll give you one guess as to who transported it all into the back yard by wheelbarrow (before my bone disease) At the end of Hubby's work day, he would also help with a few barrow fulls, but by then it was time to finish up for the day.

When we were looking for a house, like other first home buyers, we had expectations of what was needed. First priority after affordability and bedrooms etc; was that there had to be room for Mum to build a dwelling in the back yard. After looking at over 50 houses, and losing out on one house, we finally put a bid in for the home we live in today.

I love our home, it's not fancy, there's no style...because I have no sense of the word...(lol), and it's not huge and new like the double story houses that are popping up in the new estates around here. If you go for a drive in a new estate roughly 12 months after the houses are built...You would be amazed at how many of the freshly completed houses are up for sale. Why so quickly? I can't help but think if the young couple bought outside their budget and were living beyond their means.

You MUST live beneath your wage, otherwise there is no true way of earning and saving ANY money.

I see and hear of it all too often around here, people buying a huge house, adding a lovely new car to the mortgage, and while they're at it, adding a pool too. It's like free money when it just gets added on to the end of your mortgage. But it couldn't be further from ideal. It seems there is a reputation of new mortgage couples want it all today. I'm talking of the lovely huge house, the new car, the new swimming pool and possibly a boat if they enjoy fishing. Most of the new houses don't have access to get a boat out the back yard anyway. What about other scenarios like including a huge salary sacrifice if the newly weds become pregnant and one parent has to give up work early. All of these possibilities can spell trouble if you buy above your means.

When it comes to repairs and maintenance on the family home.....
The more you can build, repair, replace, grow and cook....the better off financially you will be. Whenever we find a new breakdown to add to that ever evolving list of household tasks, we try to do the work as soon as possible or as soon as we can afford it. I know we  have saved thousands in work labour alone, having done most of the work ourselves. (Except for when I was really ill, stuck in bed with my Bone Disease ).

This brings me to Repairing the Fence!......
With two fence posts completely rotten at the base...2 whole fence sections have been on a lean that has been  propped up for too long....That has all changed now, and has been corrected. Shopping around at the metal recyclers...We found enough angle iron to repair the side fence. Both my boys helped me with all the work.

*First you need to clear the soil from around the problem post/s....
*Then break up the old concrete from around the post....We hired a Jack Hammer for this job and I took small turns with DS17 and DS20....I was extra proud of my boys and the work they did that day. Although this is a very labour intensive job, it does need to be done, because wet concrete does not stick to dry concrete. (sorry for the bad news)....
*Cut away any dead rotting timber from the base of the posts....
*Measure and cut angle iron to 1 and 1/2 depths of the hole dug....
*Pre-drill the angle iron to the correct size of the bolts chosen....
*Pre-drill the timber posts while holding the angle iron on the post and pulling the fence back into alignment....

*After mixing 'quick mix concrete', pour it into the hole....
*Pull the fence post into alignment and place the angle iron in the future spot that will fit with the timber post. You can judge this by temporarily screwing a few bolts into the post and angle iron. Gently allow the fence to fall back away from the angle iron...it's critical at this time that the angle iron does not move in the wet but setting cement....then allow 24 to 48 hours for the cement to set well....
*Once the cement is well set, pull the fence post into alignment with the angle iron that is set in the concrete....
*While someone is holding the post in place, have someone else put the bolts in. Then screw them in tightly....

And there you have a fence.....all fixed! 

It's much cheaper than replacing the fence...The fence is fine for many years to come...it was just the timber that is in the ground.....when the others go, they will be repaired the same way. I hope you can save some money by doing a fence repair this way.....There's still some life left in the old fence!

Making a basic trolley

Having a trolley for moving heavy pots...or even huge buckets of water...or any other reason can be such an important tool to have around.....I built this one though to make it easier to get under the unit to have access to my mushroom farm.
I wrote yesterday.....
I slowly had to give up looking after my mushroom farm under the house. It's been so cold lately, with cold weather I seem to have more aches and pains....and after crawling around under the unit on my knees...I'm useless for the rest of the day....so I needed to come up with a plan....there must be an easier way to get around under there....so I made myself a scooter or a trolley to get around. 

When I go to garage sales, I like to collect jars of screws, bolts and other bits and pieces...I then bring them home and sort them out....We have many tubs with all sorts of odds and ends....The beauty of this is that I hardly ever need to buy those types of things brand new.....Screws, Nuts and Bolts are all so expensive....
I suppose you could even say that these tubs are part of our stockpile.

The best trolley is made with two swivel wheels in the front for the steer....and two fixed wheels for the back....I already had two swivel wheels (brand new still in plastic from a garage sale)....and yes I did need to go to Bunnings for two fixed wheels. At least I didn't need to buy all four though.

One of about 10 tubs of screws, nuts & bolts...
all sourced second hand

So when deciding which screws to use...there are a few things to check first....

• are they short enough that they wont go straight through the timber?

• If you don't have any screws short enough, but you have heaps of washers.....you could stack the washers to make up the difference in length....It's not pretty, but for a trolley...they are underneath and can't be seen anyway....

• When screwing into timber, it is wise to drill pilot holes first...this helps the thread of the screw bite into the timber without splitting it. For a pilot hole, I always try to go with a drill bit half the size of the screw being used.

•  So you don't have to worry about keeping the wheel base straight while screwing it in place..I always recommend screwing them all in to nearly tight first......then once you have all the screws established.....then line up the base plate and screw it down tightly.

•  Decide on which will be the front and the rear of the trolley...Use swivel wheels for the front steer....if you use swivel on all four...it will be difficult to steer, especially on uneven ground.  

 Ok, so for my purpose, to be able to pull out the trolley from underneath the unit...I added a handle to the back....it turns out that it serves more than one purpose...it is a carry handle too....making it much easier to carry it to another location if needed.

A basic kitchen door handle...sourced second hand.

• Notice the notches in the screws supplied with the door handle....
• Screw the screw into the handle...and line it up with the timber, this will help to know how many notches to remove...

•  Using a pair of pliers, bend the section back and forth until the bit breaks off....check again with the thickness of the timber....When the handle sits flush with the timber...it is the correct length.

• For these, you need to drill a hole all the way through the timber as the screw is being screwed into the handle and not into the timber...the drill bit size is determined by one or two sizes bigger than the screw.

You can follow this for putting this type of handle on almost anything.

• You can make this trolley to any size...this one is huge with heavy duty wheels, but a smaller square one is great for placing a heavy pot on if you move it around regularly.....and I think you can get the smaller wheels for a song at cheap stores too.
• Maybe you would like to make one to sit your solar oven on...making it easier to follow the sun...(if you have one that needs to be moved)

and the finished product is......

Do you have a trolley similar to this? Would you have a go at making your own? What else could you use a trolley like this for?

Op-shopping bargains

In my travels lately I have found a few odds and ends that I couldn't resist....We all enjoy checking out the local op-shops...for sure!....You never know what bargain may be lurking...What item you didn't know you couldn't do without....Here are some I have found recently.......

The large glass lids in the centre.....are Fowlers Vacola lids
for when you open a bottle of preserves...also a plastic one from later on.

My nan had this same cutlery; I couldn't resist....
and at .50cents each, how could I pass up these old pegs.

Above & Below:
These bottles may end up being for vinegar. 

What have you found lately at a second hand store....

If you have blogged about it; leave a link here so we can all have a peek.

Making room in your recycle bin

Every fortnight, hubby makes a batch of beer...this uses two large cans of beer starter....these cans have been very useful over time, using them for utensils, storing food and even as baking tins for my Steamed Date and Nut Rolls....Lately hubby has been selecting brands that the can is lined. I have since learnt that the lined cans are probably not the best of choices; so these are being put in the recycle bin. 

After washing the cans (this is all my cans) I almost remove the base of the can with a can opener, fold it inside the can and also add the removed lid, then squish the can....this way the base and lid is stuck to the inside of the can....

I used to insert smaller cans into larger cans, but this idea is even better.

I've been extra busy today, putting down a batch of Rhubarb Champagne and also lots out in the garden....but you will have to wait a few days for my post on the Rhubarb Champagne...so come back, check in and have a go. It's a lovely fresh fizzy drink to serve friends and family when they come visiting.

RECYCLING STATION IN MY HOME

Since completing the composting/recycling course a few weeks ago, I have made some great changes in the house and the yard.
I have set up a Recycling Station with many smaller sub-stations around the house.....Yep that's what I will call them...the Recycling Station & Sub-Stations.....

Now since I don't have a lot of space, because I haven't de-cluttered since I became sick with my hip....I have had to put the main Station in the hallway for now. Because the new procedures are New.....and we are still getting used to it ....it's actually handy having it in the hallway.

First of all........Just a bit of info I have learnt since the course...Here goes

If I am going to be working in the garden I shred papers and cardboard the night before, so I have it ready to add to the compost bin. I am learning how to manage my compost bins really well now....

Two parts CARBON to one part NITROGEN......Carbon from the brown and dry materials and Nitrogen from the green moist materials.

Examples of Carbon to add to your compost bin are raked up dried leaves, dried or dead twigs and branches cut up into smaller manageable sizes, shredded paper and cardboard etc...

Examples of Nitrogen to add to your compost bin are Fresh Lawn Clippings, Freshly pulled plants that are finished, fresh veg scraps, Bokashi Bin waste, etc.....

I remember them both now by saying in my head: 

"Nitrogen has a G in it, G for Green Waste, 

and Carbon has Car...in it...

Car for Cardboard....

which is dry...

so the dry stuff is Carbon".

And I used to think it was all very complicated.

Now onto My RECYCLING STATION 

The top shelf is just for the purpose of this photo....

• On the top of the shelving, I have added some jars that still need to be put through the dishwasher before being boxed up into their sizes.....
• Next to that are some Fowlers Vacola jars I received off freecycle, but that is another post coming soon...as I want to show you how I store my empty jars......
• The green-circled box belongs in the kitchen and holds recycled papers from anything I buy at the deli...like cold meats, ham hocks etc...I use this paper now instead of Paper Towel....It soaks up oils just fine, and its free. 
• The bucket belongs in the kitchen and is for ALL my food waste..including cooked leftovers, meat, fish, chicken bones, fish bones, food scraps and peelings...stale bread....Once the kitchen bucket is full, it gets transferred to the Bokashi Bucket on the back verandah. 
• Absolutely all my food waste goes into my Bokashi Bucket. 

I even put all my prawn shells in there over Easter...and just yesterday, I put in 5 chicken carcasses from making a Chicken Stock,. You can even put in your wilted flowers, cheese, coffee grinds, tea bags, tissues, cooked and uncooked meats and small bones from chicken, lamb and pork chops

This Bokashi thing is truly amazing!! 

And next weekend I am doing a Bokashi course 

where we learn to make the Bokashi powder....

Even Better!!!

• Beside the shelving is my Paper Shredder tub, which I store papers ready to shred...It's really full at the moment because I sorted out One draw of my filing cabinet...OMG , just one!!

The next shelf shows the following:

• Empty egg cartons and shredded paper for the bokashi bucket or compost bin......
• Trash bags I received at the course for rubbish in your car (made from recycled papers), I have also handed many of these out to friends.
• Fridge magnet memo boards also from the course...displaying "Slim your bin", and "Compost your kitchen scraps at home"....I have one on my fridge and one on mums fridge...I have also handed them out to friends.
• A tub for empty pill bottles, I use these for storing seeds I have collected from the garden, Once my gathered seeds are fully dried, I use these medication containers...some of the lids even have a built in gel thingy to absorb any moisture.
• Clear plastic tubs from bought foods like cheese and strawberries..
• A box for dead batteries....which when full can be taken to Battery World to be disposed of properly.
• A box for corks...which I am yet to use, and may change as we don't drink bought wine.

The next shelf shows the following:

• Heavy cardboard from packaging, I may break this down and make paper seed tape....
• A tub for small cardboard boxes including medication boxes, biscuit boxes, foods that are packaged in small boxes.....
• Margarine containers, meat trays
• Ice-cream tubs, small plastic tubs....
• Mail bags sent to me. I recycle these and use them to send on parcels in the mail...I collect all sizes but the smaller ones I keep here now...I just turned the box on its side so you could see them better.

The bottom shelf shows the following:

• An empty box, I haven't found a use for yet, but it fits....
• A box for things to donate to the local Pre-School like yoghurt tubs, kitchen wrap rolls, any of the tubs above,  and the cardboard rolls from dishcloth cottons....(I am using left-over cottons, so I am gathering a lot of empty rolls.)
• A box for Shopping Bags..I used to have these stuffed everywhere in nooks n crannys...now when the box is jammed full, I take them to the recycle bin at Coles to be recycled.
• Newspapers, we get two free local newspapers every fortnight, and I also order Saturdays's newspaper. These are stored ready to shred either for the worms, the compost bin...I also wrap soft drink bottles of ice...if going on a trip...It makes them stay cold a lot longer. Newspapers are good for wrapping sanitary napkins at that time of the month too...and wrapping broken glass before being put in your normal bin.

Broken Glass has just reminded me to add my sharps bin to this area. My mum is an Insulin Dependant Diabetic, so we have a Sharps Bin in place too.

Substations around the home:

Here is the new area for my compost bins, I still have the soil bins down the back yard, but this is for the good stuff. I am going to build another garden bed here mainly for a Passion Fruit vine....

The green bin is the one I received for free from the course..and the black one is from the tip for $2 with a 4 inch split in one side....So What!!.....I still have to move all the bricks and the huge slab of cement...but I think this will be a good use of this area.

I have posted this photo before, but when we bought the house the back yard was bear, besides this concrete  wall in the middle of the back yard...so I came up with the idea of putting a sink in (from the tip for $5, and its a double sink)...This is where we clean all the fish we catch...Where I rinse out seedling pots...etc...

• I store cut soft drink bottles for protecting young plants. 
• The black bucket is used for my SeaWeed fertiliser which I wrote a tutorial on....
• The dishdrainer is from the tip...and its heavily plastic coated so it will never rust unless it gets cut....
• Seedling trays are gathered from freecycle friends
• The shelf is from the tip....
• The lattice work behind, is from the tip.....Nothing a coat of paint can't fix....
• I even get buckets from the tip.....

• If you have been following my blog, you will know that this is where I bury the Bokashi Waste....but may put it in the compost bins now, to feed the Passion Fruit vine....Oh it will be so happy in all that good soil I am planning and preparing.........

• Here is  a view into my Bokashi bucket at the moment, In it is prawn shells from Easter, leftovers, all my food waste since I completed the course......When you start putting meats and fish and bones in your Bokashi Bucket, you will find you need more of the powder to help break it down...but I recently added the Chicken Carcasses and it still smells fine....Truly Amazing this Bokashi thing!!

•  On the back veranda which separates my house with my mum's granny flat, is where I now store the Bokashi Bucket and my new Worm Farm......I don't need to go down stairs to the shed when I want to fill the Bokashi, and I am not going to COOK my worms, like I did last summer...It seems everywhere in my back yard is a potential killing area for worms....but under the veranda its nice and cool... 

Please, if you like what I am doing, or can share some ideas on how to improve this....I would love to hear from you. 


If you have set up your own Recycling Station, take a photo and put it on your blog, leave a comment linking it back to your blog....so we can all share our ideas.....


If I have inspired you to set up something similar in your home, I would also love to hear about it.

Getting organised & Note Paper

BEFORE

This has been on my mind for some time, it's been gnawing at me every time I use it.....

So; Lets get it organised!

This board is on the kitchen wall, next to the telephone.

What good is a receipt up there for 2 years ago...for bread n milk? 

Or a note for a school camp that's been and gone? 

.....and the list keeps going like that....

I am so glad that I took the time to get this board nice and neat....it is amazing how frustrated one can get when looking through the clutter for something that you know is there....

Now check this out....much better hey? 

AFTER

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WHILE I'M GOING I MAY AS WELL KEEP GOING &

sort out some more papers.....

While sorting out what needs to be filed in the filing cabinet, any papers that can be tossed, have the back checked to see if they are blank. Any with a blank backing, get quartered...and recycled for Note Paper.

I have piles of recycled papers in various areas throughout the house. Next to the phone, is the most obvious place...and I try to keep a check on the pens that are there too. (To make sure they are working). 

Another place to have these is next to the computer, and where I sit. 

The study/library/craftroom also has a pile of Note Paper as well. 

With the amount of papers that come into the house, 

I never need to buy note paper.

Here is the pile I collected today.

I often write quick recipes on these papers, and instead of rewriting them into my small recipe book, I just sticky tape them in....The yellow book gets my day to day recipes....some are cut from magazines, some are printed, and some handwritten. This is the recipe book I take with me when we go visiting family, and the one I take when helping friends with preserving. 

I suggested I give my DS19 a copy of this one when he moves out, and he reckons that he doesn't need it, because if he wants some of 'mum's good cooking', he is just going to come home for tea!

The bottom two folders speak for themselves...and are from everywhere and anywhere. I also have many recipe books in my library, but these folders are for one off recipes or pages.
I thought I had my recipes organised, until I visited Rose the other day...and she has folders like this, but with dividers for soups, baking, dessert etc...Way to go Rose...!!!
I think I will have to get dividers into my larger folders too.
I need to make a folder for my soaps and cleaners too, but for now, they are stored in my Recipes folder.

Are you organised with your recipes?

Tell me what ideas you have come up with.

I would love to hear what works for you.

RENDERING ANIMAL FAT FOR OILS

It has come to my attention, that canola oil is not as healthy as I thought. There are many pesticides and growth hormones being introduced to the plant to provide better production.

I am slowly working towards a healthier future by eliminating as many chemicals out of our diet as I can.

I have seen that people are turning to the old traditions and rendering their own animal fat. I thought I would give it a try.

From 3 1/2 kg Pork Belly Fat I got this amount, although I haven't weighed it yet, I plan to use this lot for making soap.

This is once it has set, I will store this in the freezer until such time as I make my soap.
I am gathering some more animal fat on Friday from two more butchers. So I guess more rendering is in store for me on the weekend.

 In the future I will experiment with using it for frying foods as well.

Bokashi Bucket made at home

Today I made my own bokashi bucket. The two buckets cost me $3. The tap was just under $9 and I had a large rubber ring left over from homebrewing.

YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING..........

• 2 buckets of equal size (one must have a lid)
• water crock tap ( I got mine at Bunnings for just under $10)
• piece of wire mesh (from old flyscreen - I get mine at the tip for .50c)
• drill with small drill bit for drainage holes, and large drill bit to suit tap ( My largest drill bit was not quite big enough, so I just manipulated the drill bit while the drill was running, to stretch the hole)
• Bokashi powder
• kitchen waste

1. Drill drainage holes in bucket that has a lid. This is your top bucket.
2. Trace base of bucket on wire mesh, and cut out slightly smaller. Fit in base of bucket.
3. Drill one large hole equal to tap, slightly off the base of the bottom bucket. Clean up scarfing around hole with a sharp knife.
4. Fit one clear washer on tap, then insert tap into hole.
5. Fit other clear washer on to tap on inside of bucket. Tighten with tap bolt.
6. Check for leaks by putting a bit of water in bucket and turning on tap. Make sure you have no water leaks.
7. Place large rubber ring over opening of top bucket to sit under lip.   this will help make a seal between the two buckets....see the photos....
8. Insert top bucket into bottom bucket.
9. You now have your very own Bokashi bucket to recycle your kitchen scraps...
10. Place layers of kitchen scraps in bucket and sprinkle Bokashi powder on each layer.
11. Remove any liquid from tap as it appears. Once it starts making liquid, empty it daily.
12. When the bucket is full leave closed for another week.
13. Dig a hole in garden to empty contents of Bokashi bucket. Bury contents, making sure it is completely covered...check for compost in about 4 weeks.

I have decided to buy the bokashi grain/powder ( $17 for 5kg) to start with and may look at making my own further down the track. Right now I just need to get some good compost going for my garden.

I asked my local greengrocer if I could have a box of vegetable waste...I received a large box of fruits and vegetable scraps that I spread on the lawn. I then got my husband to run over it all with the lawnmower....It mulched up to just under half the box full.

I have placed the mulch into the bucket in layers while sprinkling the bokashi powder on each layer as I go. Pack down each layer as you go. 

If you would like to  make your own bokashi bucket feel free to look at the photos, it took less than half an hour to make.

I will be posting more photos as the contents breaks down, so check back occasionally to see how its all going.

THINGS FROM THE TIP for my garden

I love recycling. I got a huge bird cage for $5. It would hold a cockatoo quite nicely. I completely pulled it apart and flattened out the tin roof, drilling out the pop vivetts, I used the tin from the roof to make the tank pump cover, I had everything here from garage sales or the tip to make it, so I guess it was ALMOST FREE.


I just wish I had taken a photo of the cage before I dismantled it...

I cut the mesh sides into three strips with an angle grinder and used that for borders for my vege gardens.....not in these photos but if you look through the veges, you can still see the two doors from the cage....

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Here is an old steel bin that I couldn't resist for 50 cents, I got two that day and I have painted one of them green........all the frame work is from the tip as well.

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MY STRAWBERRY PLANTS

Here I have two pieces of galvanised guttering that I have attached to the beams on the fence...

I didn't buy that many strawberry plants, the nursery had punnets with three plants in each....

what I do is look closely at each punnet to see if any have more than the three plants....better value .....I did buy about $30 dollars worth of punnets that day, but I also got 29 FREE PLANTS by looking closer at the punnets.

The plants are now producing runners which I am also planting, eventually it will be full of strawberry plants.....

The cost for guttering $10 I also put down some old coconut fibre I had laying around, then I sprinkled lightly some of those water crystals, then planted the plants, I first used crushed egg shells as a mulch because they were tiny and I didn't want to feed the slugs my new plants..

Notice the organza bag on one of the strawberries, I get an extra chance at NOT feeding the birds my lovely strawberries...it seems if I can hide them, I might get to pick them...

Since building this for my strawberries, we have had some really hot days. Unfortunately many of the strawberry plants on the top row have gotten quite burnt. If I was to do another one of these I would think about putting something else in the top row, or just mounting the guttering on the middle support on the fence. I just hope my strawberry plants survive.

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MY SEEDLING AREA

Here is my set up for growing veges from seeds...I can get bread trays for $1 at the tip.....The flyscreens are also from the tip for $1.00 each....they help to stop the birds eating the nice young shoots.....the furnace bricks are leftover that I got from freecycle...we actually hired a brick saw and cut them into thirds to use as pavers for the back yard....

It is all easily dismantled if I wish as I only used cable ties as hinges and screws.....All my punnets and trays are also from freecycle.....my name tags are made from ice-cream containers cut up, we don't buy icecream, but I put a call out to freecycle whenever I am running low......

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SOME FENCING TO KEEP RUSTY AND CINDY OUT OF THE GARDEN.

Ok, now here in the front of the garden is some fencing, which is actually about 4 meters long....very straight and neat for $5 at the tip.....it was a dog impound for when people take dogs to a show....I think they would be rather expensive for dog owners.....there was no preparation or dismantling with this one, I just bought it home and nailed it onto the front of the garden beds. I now have no more dogs on that garden either...all for $5.

That is just some of the things I have done to recycle in my garden, hope you enjoy.......