Are you one of the masses of people who don’t reduce reuse and recycle because figuring it all out is just too discouraging. Which bin is for what? How do you know what’s recyclable and what’s not?

Does your city or town have a recycling program? Click here to search for recycling centers.  If your locality has a center you can slso look for their website or call them up (they’ll be in your phone book’s blue section, the government pages). Ask them to send you information on recycling in your area. They probably have some sort of mailer already set up for just such an inquiry. Most of the time, this mailer includes a creatively designed chart (often color-coded) that makes it easy for you to know what items to recycle and how – whether by memory or by posting the chart up on the refrigerator for quick reference.

Of course, that’s the easy answer – ask the city, they’ll tell ya. So here are some basics that apply in almost every city:

• Paper: All white paper, colored paper, newspaper, and cardboard is recyclable so long as it doesn’t have a coating on it. Some cities recycle milk cartons and T.V. dinner boxes and other paper products with wax coatings, but you’ll have to inquire to find out if yours is one.
• Plastic: Most recyclable plastic bottles have a recycling emblem – a triangle made of three arrows – on the bottom.  Almost all recycling programs acceptt #1 and #2 plastic bottles with small necks.  Many programs accept other types of plastic too.
• Aluminum: Aluminum cans also have an emblem, usually on the side somewhere (near the bottom). All aluminum soda cans and beer cans and all tuna fish containers and the like are recyclable. Just do everyone a favor and rinse them out well.
• Glass: All glass is recyclable, including colored glass, with the exception of some mixed-colored glass, broken glass, windows and mirrors, glass tableware (like drinking glasses), Pyrex, and light bulbs. Ceramic is also non-recyclable.

Place your recycling bins in whatever areas they’ll be used on a regular basis. And if you’re required to separate your recyclables in your area, then have separate bins in your kitchen, office, etc. from the get-go, because separating it later could become a chore you’d sooner avoid. You should make recycling as convenient as possible for yourself, otherwise you may not realistically stick with it. Make recycling as easy and second-nature as throwing out trash, and preserving the earth will become a lifelong habit.

You know the old saying – “You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”

If you’re a country girl (or boy) at heart but find yourself doing time in the city, don’t despair. There are plenty of things you can do to make yourself feel more at home.

One of my favorite urban homesteading activities is windowsill gardening. If you have a sunny window (south is great but east or west light will work fine, too) you, too can have at least a taste of home-grown goodness. (And windowsill gardening isn’t just for urban homesteaders – even those with big gardens often keep a few indoor pots going for fresh salad during the winter.)

All you need to start are some seeds and a few pots or trays you can fill with soil. If you’re lucky enough to have a sliding glass door you can even set up a tiered wire shelf unit in front of it for a multi-level indoor window garden. (Or try hanging pots of cascading plants – they save space and are pretty, too.)

Here are some suggestions for plants to grow in your windowsill garden:

• Any kind of herb. Herbs are ideal windowsill plants because most grow well in pots, and having them close at hand is a boon to the hurried chef. Try chives, basil, thyme, mint, parsley, lavender, rosemary and scented geranium.
• Baby greens. You can grow baby greens in pots or in trays. Try to find trays that are 3-4” deep. Lettuce, arugula, corn salad, dandelion, and sunflower and buckwheat greens should all grow well in your windowsill garden.
• For hanging plants, try Alpine strawberries or determinate cherry tomatoes. (Look for tomato varieties bred for container gardening.)
• If you’re really ambitious and have the room, you can get some great big pots and try growing tropical fruit trees. Check your gardening catalogs for citrus, banana and fig varieties that do well as container plants.
• Tend your windowsill garden just as you would any houseplants. Don’t forget to feed them at least every two weeks. (For a free and very effective nitrogen-rich fertilizer, just drain the liquid from your meat packaging and add it to the water when you water your plants. Sounds gross but your windowsill plants will reward you for it!)

For just a little effort your windowsill garden will provide you with home-grown flavor throughout the year, even in the city.

Anne Michelsen is co-founder of Marathon Renewable Energy, Inc., specializing in solar hot water systems. You can read more of her work at YourGreenLifestyle.blogspot.com

Are you interested in adding solar energy to your home? You can spend thousands of dollars on solar panels, thin film, inverters, batteries, water heaters, etc.

But solar doesn’t have to be expensive.

If you’re building a new home, or remodeling an existing one, you needn’t spend a great deal of extra money to take advantage of the power of the sun. Incorporating the principles of passive solar design will make your home easier to heat and cool, and keep you more in touch with the natural cycles of the day and year.

Passive solar heating is older than humanity. Just watch your dog or cat seek out the sunniest spot in the room – or a shady place under the fence when the day gets hot. He knows instinctively how to keep himself comfortable using the sun.

A passive solar home uses smart design rather than mechanics to stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. If you’d like to incorporate passive solar into your home, keep in mind the five elements of passive solar design:

1. Orientation – In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun tracks from east to west across the southern part of the sky in the winter. Position the house so the longest side faces the sun to take full advantage of passive solar heat.

2. Windows – Large windows on the southern side of your home allow sunlight in to help warm the building. When you’re aiming for passive solar heat, keep north windows to a minimum. They don’t let in much direct sunlight anyway, and that way you’ll also be avoiding drafts from the coldest winds. In very hot climates you might want to keep sun-side windows small and open up the shady side to keep the building cooler. Many passive solar homes feature angled glass on the sunny side to capture a greater portion of the sun’s heat.

3. Shading – Even in cool climates you’ll have some hot days. And you’d be surprised how warm a passive solar living room can get on a bright sub-zero day. Window shades, curtains and awnings keep the sunlight from overheating your passive solar home on sunny days. With the sun higher in the sky in the summer, awnings and roof over-hangs alone can often effectively cut the solar heat in the summer.

4. Insulation – In passive solar design, you want to let the sun’s heat in through windows, and then keep it from escaping. It’s essential to have plenty of insulation wherever you don’t have windows – especially in the roof. It’s also a good idea to have insulated shades or curtains to help prevent heat loss at night.

5. Thermal mass – the biggest problem with passive solar heat is that you only get it when the sun is shining. It’s important to include heat-retaining material in your home’s passive solar design. Materials like stone or concrete soak up the heat when it’s plentiful and help keep the home from overheating when it’s warm. They also act as a heat “battery,” slowly releasing heat as the building cools. It’s especially good to locate these materials where the sun will hit them, like in the floor.

Cultures around the world have used passive solar design for thousands of years to keep their buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer. You can, too! It’s a smart way to build energy-efficiency right into the structure of your home.

Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak!

Chopping wood is time-honored tradition on many homesteads. You’d think there would be more complaining about the intense work involved. But if you ask seasoned wood choppers, most will shrug, and smile a little as they admit, “I like to chop wood.”

Take a few minutes to watch one of these masters at work. There’s a ritual involved that’s as inspiring in its way as watching a martial artist bow onto the mat and perform his routine.

He selects a log, placing it almost reverently upon the block. Then, hefting his axe in both hands, he takes a deep breath in and in one fluid motion hoists it up over his head and down upon the very center of the log. Steel hits wood, and the two halves fall neatly apart to hit the dirt with a satisfying thud.

Not every log is so easy to split. Sometimes a knot in the wood, or a particularly tough or fibrous piece, puts up resistance. But by now your master has entered the zone. Using wedges and a sledge, he patiently works away until the wood, almost sighing, submits to his will.

Time seems to stand still. After a while all that matters is sweat, breath, the wood and the steel. The rhythm of placing, chopping, stacking. An entire morning or afternoon falls away as effortlessly as the pieces of split wood tumbling from the block.

At the end of his wood chopping session the master leans on his axe and smiles with satisfaction at his newly-stacked pile of sweet-smelling firewood. A job well done.

Could he have chopped more wood in half the time with a diesel-powered hydraulic wood splitter? Sure. But that’s not the point. There’s a time and a place for technology. But not today. Sometimes speed needs to take a back seat to spirit. Today, losing himself in the rhythm of the axe, our wood chopper touched upon infinity. And smiled.

In cities we spend huge amounts of human and fossil energy raking, blowing and carting them off – not to mention the thousands of plastic bags used to hold them.

In the country we tend to simply let them fall and ignore them.

But the millions of leaves that fall from our broadleaf trees each year represent a bounteous harvest far too few people ever realize.  How about you?

Dead Leaves for Feed and Bedding

Do you have sheep, goats or small animals?  Do you pay good money for hay and bedding material?  And do you have hardwood trees on your property?  If so, you may have overlooked a plentiful and inexpensive source of bedding and winter feed.

Aspen and other leaves have been used to bed down animals for centuries.  While not as absorbent as straw or shavings, the price is right and collection is usually a snap.  The leaves are also easily composted along with manure for a highly nutritious additive to your garden soil.

Dry leaves can also be used like hay as a winter staple for certain animals, such as sheep and rabbits.  Just be sure to exercise proper caution:  certain species, like black walnut and cherry, contain toxins in their leaves.  Be sure to check with a veterinarian to be sure your tree species are compatible with your animals.

Digging Dry Leaves

Dead leaves are also great for your garden.  Dig them into the soil in fall or spring to enrich your garden and make your soil loose and friable.  And a layer of leaves (shredded or whole) makes great mulch.  Again, be careful of the species you use, especially walnut or anything aromatic.   For a good lazy man’s mulch for garden beds, just blow the leaves off your yard and onto the beds.

You can also use dry leaves as a carbon-rich element in your compost pile.  They’re especially great for urban gardeners to layer in with kitchen scraps.  And if you’re into worm composting, shredded leaves make excellent bedding for the wriggly little critters!  If you also have grass clippings, mix them in with the leaves for a nitrogen boost.

Next time you’re faced with the prospect of raking up a bunch of leaves, don’t just sigh and resign yourself to the work.  Think of it as a bonus, and enjoy the harvest!

“I’m bored!”

Kids on the homestead are less likely than most to voice this familiar complaint, because there’s usually plenty for them to do. But every once in a while it happens. When it does, it’s nice to have some projects up your sleeve.
Here are some fun toys you can make with the stuff you probably already have lying around. Depending on the ages of your children, you can either make these toys yourself, or with your kids – or put an older one in charge of making them for the younger set.

• Dolls: You can make dolls out of nearly anything. They can be as simple as an acorn head with a tiny scrap of fabric wrapped around it for a hood and dress, to very elaborate, like a jointed wooden jumping jack. Rag dolls are a perennial favorite. You can make hair from bits of rovings or scraps of yarn, and clothes from your daughter’s favorite outgrown dresses.
• Rope swing: All you’ll need is a length of sturdy rope and an old tire or short piece of board. Tie the rope to the tire, or drill a hole in the middle of the board, thread the rope through and knot securely on the bottom. Then tie the other end to a strong tree branch. This will keep kids occupied for hours, and is a great activity for kids of mixed ages, as the older ones can push the younger ones on the swing.
• Soda bottle truck: You’ll need a clean plastic bottle, four bottle caps or jar lids, two pieces of stiff wire and a string. Poke holes in the bottle off-center near the top and bottom, and thread the wire through to make axles. Drill holes through the middle of the lids and slip them onto the ends of the axles. Bend the ends of the wires over to keep them on. These are your wheels. Cut a section out of the top part of the truck so it can carry stuff. Fill it with sand, little pebbles, blocks or the like. Tie the string around the bottle neck and let your little guy tug his new truck around!
• Puppet theater: Set a large cardboard box on its side. Cut out the back and cut a rectangular hole in the front. Let your kids decorate it with paints, markers or glitter. Use a couple of old napkins or fabric scraps for curtains. Make puppets out of construction paper and popsicle sticks, or old socks and buttons, or whatever else you have lying around. Then sit back and enjoy the show!

This list is only the beginning. Use your imagination, and you’re sure to come up with a whole toy store’s worth of ideas. Or maybe you already have? We’d love to hear about it – feel free to share your ideas here!

What do you do with your favorite clothes when they get too ratty to pass down? You know the ones – the sweatshirt with the dingy cuffs, the shirt with the ketchup stain on the front, the jeans with gaping holes where the knees used to be.

Sure, you can turn them into rags. But how many rags can you use in a year? And besides, a lot of that fabric is still perfectly good. It seems a shame to throw it away.
Women have been solving the very problem you face by turning old clothes and quilts into scraps for generations. Why not you?

Starting Your Recycled Quilt

All you need to make a quilt besides your fabric is a pair of scissors, needle and thread and some imagination. The simplest quilts are simply large squares of different fabrics sewn together. The squares can be any size, but the bigger they are the less sewing you’ll have to do. Or you can sew smaller pieces together to make larger squares.

Figure out in advance how many squares you’ll need to make the size quilt you want. Make sure you cut your squares 1/4” larger on each side for seam allowance. Then sew them together with a simple running stitch. The easiest way is to sew a bunch of squares together end to end until you’ve completed a row. Then sew another strip, and sew the two rows together. Make sure you pin the strips before sewing so the seams come out even. Continue until your quilt top is done.

Layering and Finishing Your Recycled Quilt

You can buy batting, but if you want to be frugal and recycle, use an old blanket or comforter. You can also use a blanket for the back, or piece together the back just like you did the front. Sandwich the layers together – it helps to tape the backing to the floor at this point – and pin them together. Now you’re ready to quilt them together.

You can use a wide running stitch to sew the layers together. But if this is your first quilt I’d recommend tying it, which is much quicker and gives it a homey touch. Just take some yarn, start at the top and take one stitch through all the layers. Come back through the top and cut it so both ends are about 3” long. Finish it off with a square knot. Tie your quilt every 6” or so, hem or bind the edges and you’re done!
Congratulations! You now have a cheery recycled quilt you can keep or give to a friend – and you’ve given new life to a load of old clothes!

Wheeeee!

Remember sledding when you were a kid? That hill back of the school, or behind the barn, or at the end of your street? The long trudge up and the thrilling reward when you finally reached the top and pushed off, speeding down that hill so fast the wind whipped tears from your eyes?

Where’s that old sled now? Gathering cobwebs in your shed? Well, if you live where there’s snow it’s time to dust it off and polish up the runners. Because I have good news for you. Sledding isn’t just for kids. In fact, if you want to save gas and your back, your old Flexible Flyer could turn into one of your most useful wintertime homestead tools.

How many times have you fired up the four wheeler in order to carry a load that was just a little too heavy or awkward to haul around in your arms? A sled lets you pull a surprisingly large load with little effort, without the use of fossil fuel. It’s great for bales of hay and straw, hauling firewood, and of course for that little spruce tree you cut for Christmas, or for hauling home that prize buck.

Nearly any kind of sled will work. Runner sleds are great for hauling along packed roads or trails. The plastic toboggan type is better for bushwhacking or deep snow. Look in sporting goods stores for heavy-duty ones made for carrying a load.

Of course, once you have your sled, it never hurts to indulge your inner child. No one’s looking. I dare you. Go to the top of that hill behind the barn and push off hard.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

Looking for a special, budget-busting way to introduce a little holiday cheer?  Try making your own holiday wreaths!

Nearly every homestead has abundant raw material to create striking and unique holiday decorations. Of course the old standbys of evergreen boughs and grapevine spring to mind, but if those are scare at your place don’t despair.  Just look around.  Twigs and small branches, straw and dead weeds all make great wreath-making material.  Or use your imagination and raid your junk pile for inspiration.  Have fun! How about a wreath crafted from scraps of electrical wire and decorated with spark plugs to grace your machine shop door?

Start your wreath with several lengths of sturdy material like grapevine or twigs.  Twist them together, then bend into a circle and secure with binding wire.  Use this as a frame to attach other material like pine branches or weeds.  Weave them in securely or use more binding wire to attach.

Top it all off with decorative elements gleaned from your homestead.  Try pine cones, bittersweet or holly berries or crab apples.  Use wire or needle and thread to secure them onto the wreath.  Or raid the sewing bench for ribbons, bows and notions.  Long strips of brightly-colored calico make delightful use of scraps that might otherwise go to waste.

Once you’re done making one or a few for yourself, you might find the process addicting.  Home made wreaths make great gifts, or sell them at holiday craft fairs or bazaars for a little extra Christmas money.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to include your holiday spirit.  Make it a family project with the kids, or invite friends and neighbors for a pot-luck wreath-making party.  You might just find you’ve started a new holiday tradition!