When was the last time you donated to Goodwill or another charitable donation site? Did you see the piles of donated items? Brand new Items, some with tags, some in the packaging. I always think why? Why are things so disposable? Don’t we work for 40+ hours a week to buy those items? That stuff?

We currently live in a highly materialistic, throw away society. And I’m as guilty as anyone else. Just think of all the things you take for granted, things that you have so much of you can’t find a use for: rubber bands, twist ties, cardboard boxes, plastic containers, slightly worn clothes, etc., and the list goes on ( I just read Little Heathens- a book about growing up in the depression).

We’re trained to buy new for everything, every new craft, hobby, activity, let’s buy something new, it’s practically required. Now I’m not saying you can’t buy new, I’m not a purist, we buy a very large amount of 2×4’s and plywood at our house, some things can’t be replaced easily.

With homesteading the name of the game is simplicity, sometimes going cheaper, buying for the longterm, upcycling, and using what you have. My reason for homesteading is to take a step back from mainstream society. To try a minimalistic lifestyle, stop buying things with no purpose or usefulness. My sister Jessica just wrote an article about ‘Saving Money on the Homestead’, this is part of the same philosophy. Use, less, use what you have, and think outside the box.

My goal here is not to guilt-trip you but to try and make you think before you buy. Always ask the question, “Is there something I already own, that I can use for ….”?  Sometimes I spend a week pondering at the back of my mind that very question, and the answer will suddenly come to me. But asking this question and thinking before I buy has saved me a lot of money, and saved me a lot of time running from store to store buying….stuff.  You’ll have to rewire your brain for function over form to be able to think before you buy. So I’m going to give you a little inspiration to get you started.

 

Some things you can make around your homestead from upcycled materials.

1. Raised Garden Beds: black spruce logs and old straw to fill in the cracks
2. Compost Bins: black spruce logs, pallets, and/or bunk bed frames from the landfill
3. Flower Pots: they are free everywhere, or use old sour cream, salsa, and yogurt containers
4. Hay Feeders: poultry netting pieces
5. Rabbit Tractors: old dog kennels, 2x2s, hardware cloth, an old tarp
6. Animal Feed Bowls: garage sale is all I’m saying
7. Nest Boxes for Rabbits and Chickens: wood scraps, they do not have to be fancy, just functional, your animals don’t care
8. Chicken Houses: Again form over function, your chickens don’t care and you can always paint it
9. Berry Picking Containers: 36oz yogurt containers and some twine
10. Fencing Posts: for animal structures and fencing most of our posts are made from local trees on our property
11. Incubator: salvaged computer parts, old cooler, some 2×2’s and a few light bulbs

Now I’m not telling you to hoard everything, because that can quickly become scary when you start saving things, “Just in case you need them”. But here’s a list of things I’ve found very useful to save for future projects and when trying to save money.

1. Twine from Bales of Hay: used to stake up plants and flowers
2. Scraps of Fencing and Poultry Netting: used to patch holes in fencing, make hay feeders
3. Scrap Lumber: everything, nest boxes, roosts for chickens, rabbit traps, shims for everything, garden stakes, campfire wood, latches for hutches, latches for gates
4. Pallets: compost bins, stacking firewood on, building fences, storing winter tires on, stacking lumber piles on, stacking hay on, pretty much anything you want to be stacked off the ground.  My husband and I argue over pallets and what they’re used for and who gets them. They are always in demand
5. Any trees you cut down on the property, delimbed: raised garden beds, garden posts, cage posts, laundry line posts, support beams for outbuildings
6. Any free animal cages found: rabbit or chicken tractors, transporting animals, for quarantining sick animals, or for an overflow pen when you have too many rabbits
7. Scrap roofing material (metal, plastic, shingles): roofing for rabbit tractors, dog houses, chicken tractors, wind blockers on cages, or temporary housing for animals.

And here are some resources for finding free or discounted things.

1. Your local landfill or transfer station
2. Craigslist
3. Garage, Estate, and Yard Sales
4. Facebook Groups
5. Your like-minded friends
6. Flea Markets
7. Thrift stores

 

I know there are more upcycle items you can make out there. Currently, I’m looking for uses for my feedbags since Fairbanks does not recycle them, and am thinking of using them for potting soil, storing wood chips for my chicken house, and maybe making a picnic tablecloth out of them. I’ll let you know how that goes. In the meantime, let me know what you use all the time around your place or some creative way to obtain free stuff for your homestead.

Little Heathen by Mildred Armstrong Kalish is a charming story about a woman’s recollections growing up during the Great Depression in a much simpler time. A highly enjoyable read about making do and finding joy with what you have.