Urban Homesteading

March 29, 2008 By 6 Comments

I’ve been working hard at stepping towards sustainability. I think I’m just too fed up with feeling disconnected from the Earth, from my food, from Life. It’s hard to remain connected in this city but I figure even if I have to go at it alone, I’m going.

  • I created the blog to share tips with newbies to the green movement.
  • I started catching sink run-off to water outdoor plants.
  • I capture shower water to use in the toilet now (I hate the idea of flushing clean water!).
  • I’ve started home baking our breads.
  • I’ve ditched the dryer and hung up our clothesline (one outdoors and one indoors on a retractable line for things I don’t want the business complex behind me to see).
  • I already keep our A/C at 82 during the summer (Yes, even when it’s 118 outside!).
  • I’m looking into purchasing a solar cooker. Excited for this one!!
  • I’ve planted most of the veggies and herbs we eat so that we can stop purchasing from a grocery store which imports food from out of state.
  • I’ve stopped buying new and opted for used through Freecycle or thrift stores.
  • I’ve learned how to sew and I already crochet.
  • I crochet the stash of old plastic bags into new bags.
  • I only shop with canvas bags and refuse plastic, even if that means carrying what I buy.
  • I’ve started cutting my own bangs and am allowing the rest of my hair to grow.
  • We’re downsizing to one vehicle! (In the market for an SUV?)
  • We’ve stopped using chemical pesticides and cleaners.
  • We power down as often as possible and use rechargeable
  • We combine shopping trips and errands to save gas and walk when possible. I’m even considering learning how to ride a bike. Eek!
  • I’m hoping to emulate Path to Freedom in whatever way I can.
  • I will be switching to a corded phone once these cordless phone batteries finally die.
  • I’ve got my compost pile (finally!) working.
  • I’m looking into rain barrels (for all of four inches of rain a year) and reusing our washer water.
  • We’ve switched to a vegetarian diet (lacto-ovo).
  • I’ve switched from face products to baking soda, apple cider vinegar and olive oil (with great results!!).
  • I’m sewing my own curtains using only natural materials and reclaimed wood and small fallen tree branches for curtain rods!
  • I’ve started a Sustainability group for people in my city.
  • I’ve joined several homesteading/sustainability groups for ideas from other like-minded individuals.
  • I’ve joined the Urban Homesteaders web ring (lower left side) started by Path to Freedom.

What else can I do? I’m open to suggestions!


Our makeshift clothesline and compost in the corner.
Our contained garden (does not include our fruit trees or our soon-to-be planted cherry tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkin or potatoes).


Our grape vine…with a nice shot of the biz complex behind us so you can see just how urban our homestead is.

Filed Under: Organic Living Tagged With: , , , , ,

HeartSchooling

July 24, 2007 By 1 Comment

I am an organizational freak of nature. Credit my mother. I love, love, love to organize, rearrange, label, order and list. Ah, the joys of list-making. I heard a story once – I think it was of Rockefeller – he hired someone to find out the success secrets of the richest men in the country. This hired “spy” came back with two words: Make Lists. Now, I’m not saying my list making will get me into the Fantasy Tower at the Palms but it does make me happy. And so does planning.

I know there are at least some unschoolers who are laughing at me now. Yes, you read it. A ferociously organized and neurotic planner is unschooling her son. Not cuz it’s best for her or because it’s easy but because her son won’t fit inside an educational plan! Dammit! How simple my life would be if I could plan!

But I’ve found ways around it. I’ve made lists. Yup. Lists. I’ve made lists of every concept, idea or “thing” one may think a child needs to know (as well as things I’d like to introduce him to because I find them important). And on occasion I reread them, marking them off if I recognize it as something he knows. Don’t roll your eyes or laugh at me! It’s the only way I can tame the wild beast that is my neurosis while allowing Z to grow in freedom. And it actually helps. I’ve also made lists of what he’s done during a particular day and the “educational value” to it.

But in making a list the other day of what is most important for him to know in life, I stumbled across the truth. His academic level makes not one lick of difference if his heart’s not in the right place. These were the things on the top of the list:

- loving G-d, himself, others
- respect for life, for the world
- patience
- self-confidence
- learning is fun

Really, everything else is a by-product of those five things. Happiness, education, purpose, charity, knowledge. None of those can be achieved fully without possessing those five qualities.

The challenging part for me of course: none of those can be checked off a list. None can be achieved through a misc. number of steps or by a pre-packaged curriculum. There are no guidelines or how-to’s, no predetermined, tried-and-true path to success. Just each and every moment to be the example, to urge and encourage, to live life out loud for the sake of my son.

And let’s face it: If I’m the example, he’s screwed in the patience arena. ;) I guess I need to enroll in HeartSchooling, too.

Filed Under: Organic Learning Tagged With: , ,
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