Homesteading Ranch Savings Challenge

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I am starting this up again. Please feel free to add what you were able to do this week to save money.

Here is what I have done the past couple of weeks.

  1. Hung the clothes on the line outside to dry.
  2. Made bread.
  3. Made yogurt.
  4. Made cinnamon rolls.
  5. Made peach cobbler
  6. Started seeds growing for the garden.
  7. Bought 2 pigs for the freezer next fall.
  8. Been averaging about 5eggs a day from my chickens.
  9. Saved the used coffee grounds for the garden.
  10. Cooked all meals from scratch.
  11. Ate the night before leftovers for most lunches.
  12. Staked the goats out to eat the weeds. Saves on hay
  13. Fermented wheat and corn for pig feed.
  14. Hauled dirt in to put in raised beds.
  15.  5 gallons of kombucha started.
  16. Mixing my own pig feed and fermenting it.
  17. Was gifted 5 large Christmas cactus’s
  18. I started 2 celery plants from the ends of celery that were gifted to me.
  19. Joleen gave me a hydro flask for mothers day ( I have been wanting one for a while )

This is about all I can think of right now, will have to start keeping better track in the future.

What were some of your money-saving things this past week?

2 Replies to “Homesteading Ranch Savings Challenge”

  1. Toni (in Niagara)

    You did so much! Here are a few things I was able to do to save money:
    1. Hung laundry on an indoor line when it rained outside.
    2. Washed out freezer ziplock bags, hung them to dry and will reuse.
    3. Picked up about 30 pounds of organic kamut, rye and grouts from Kijiji FREE – the original owner had stopped grinding her own flour: The packaging was torn but I soak it for the chickens (a little every day).
    4. Declared Wednesdays “from the pantry and leftovers” day for supper. (Sundays = roast meat usually, Mondays = soup/salad, Tuesdays = egg dish, Thursdays = pasta, Fridays = fish, Saturdays = creative cookin’ aka Surprise Supper).
    5. Got 4 brand new free t-shirts from an Old ElPasso taco shell promotion.
    6. Had eggs every day for breakfast (we have 10 layers and can’t sell the eggs during Covid)
    7. We took down a dead tree rather than have professionals come.
    8. Learned the basic Japanese embroidery technique for patching clothes “sashiko” and mended my favourite work pants. This saved them from the rag bag and they actually look pretty cool now!
    9. Traded 1 dozen eggs per week, ongoing in exchange for my friend doing my taxes.
    10. Inventoried the freezers and identified food that should be used up soon.
    11. I’ll be using all of my saved and store-bought 2019 seeds, and giving/trading a few with others (no contact of course).
    12. Made yogurt, sour dough, and kombucha.
    13. Hubby made me a 4 x 6 compost cage last week and between yard waste and kitchen scraps, it’s half full already.
    That’s all I can think of now. I plan on expanding my gardens with some hugelkulture beds – we have so much wood from cleaning up an 83 foot maple that fell in October, and a 20 foot tree we took down today. I have great hopes!
    Oh, that reminds me:
    14. Used fresh wood chips on the paths between my raised beds.
    15. Stacked 8 full cords of split wood to sell to campers next year. (Sadly, we do not have a fireplace!)
    Thanks so much for sharing! I look forward to getting more ideas from others who will add comments. We’re never too old to learn new stuff!
    Best wishes!

    1. watkinsranches@yahoo.com Post author

      Toni,
      Wow, you got a lot done. I had never heard of sashiko so I had to go look it up. I may have to try that it looks pretty cool.
      Have a great week and keep it up 🙂
      Connie