ARE YOU PREPARED FOR DISASTER?

tula

LIVING SIMPLE:

SELF-SUSTAINING, FRUGAL, GREEN, BOHEMIAN, and having EMERGENCY BACK-UP PLANS.

I am not talking about the big A.

Your disaster could be a financial setback. It could be a temporary black-out, a storm, a flood, family moving in with you, water shortages, etc. Or maybe you have just been considering a more simple life-style or a way to get out of debt.

We know there are changes on the horizon. With the increasing prices of gas, every industry is affected.

Lets share solutions for living simple, how to save money, ideas to make extra money on your own, how to live as self-sustaining as possible, useful things you can make to recycle stuff, anything you do to cut costs, make a necessity become more earth friendly, and how to use items on hand for emergency plans.

I will start with outdoor cooking. Here's a way to build a simple oven out of a terra cot pot.

You will need:

24” X 24” Concrete paving block
Large terra cotta flower pot (about 16” diameter, 15” depth, with thick walls and a hole in the bottom)
2” X 4” X 8’, cut in half
Electric saber saw with a tile blade

Mark the placement of the oven door opening on the terra cotta pot with chalk. The opening should be at least six inches wide at the lip of the pot and at least six inches tall to allow for the height and width of the hoe and a loaf of bread.

Cut out the opening using the saber saw. Go slowly as to not crack the pot.

Place the two halves of the 2” X 4” about 2 feet apart and place the paving block on top of them.

Place the oven top down on the paving block. YOU’VE MADE YOUR OVEN!

Remove the oven from the “hearth stone” (the paving block) and place about 50 charcoal briquets in the center of the block.

Carefully apply charcoal lighter and light the fire

Allow the fire to burn until no flames are present and the briquets begin to turn gray (about 15 minutes).

Carefully place the oven over top of the briquets

Insert the oven thermometer through the hole in the top of the oven (what was the bottom of the pot).

Preheat the oven to at least 375°F, preferably to 400°F. THIS IS THE TRICKIEST PART. The oven temperature will depend on the outside air temperature, the wind, the amount of charcoal, and the draft moving through the oven.

The draft is controlled by placing the 8” X 8” tile over the opening as a door and by closing down the hole in the top using the small piece of wood. Too much draft and all you heat escapes out of the top. Too little draft and the fire goes out. To get the most heat out of your fire, watch the temperature and adjust the draft. If the oven is closed up and the temperature is dropping, you have too little draft. Try opening the hole in the top, if it continues to drop try opening the door. If the temperature begins to rise, you had too little draft. If it is a cool or windy day you may need to insulate the oven (try using an old blanket or coat).

To get the draft just right you may need to add spacers below the door. This allows just enough air to be drawn into the oven at the level of the coals where it is needed.

Here's a grill made from a terra cotta pot:

Although more expensive than a tabletop-sized grill, it's less than the cost of two small grills, which is where we would be if the 1st grew legs and took off. This also could be jimmy-rigged to be a rotisserie, with our ice cream machine's motor as the power behind the rotisserie. That will be a project for later this summer.

Here's an oven that can be built in an hour:

http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/%7Edac/BrickOven/Instant_BrickOven.html

This is a good one I call the disaster version. It looks like it was built from scavenger hunt items.

and for those of you with unlimited income, here's one for $2000.

But I really like homemade better. I like enjoy the creative process and being able to say "I made this".

Handcrafted Terra Cotta Oven ($2,000). This European wood-fired oven makes use of hard- and fruit-woods to heat up and cook all of your favorite meats, pizzas and vegetables.

MY STORY: During the summer months I cook outside as much as possible. It saves money on my air conditioning bill because I do not have to heat up the house by using oven. It also saves money on electric by not using an indoor oven. I like to bake bread and that means usually running the oven for an hour. Before I had my outdoor oven, I limited my bread baking mostly to the winter months. I am still experimenting with the bake times in the pot oven. This winter I will put a windbreaker (probably tin) to the north side of it to keep it from chilling and cooling off too quick. The area will hopefully, as it progresses, become the "gathering spot" and to warm my hands when I am outdoors.

snowbird

All right, then, Tula.

Sylvia

changeling

You crack me up tula!

Have you taken the test at humanmetrics.com?

changeling

stillajwexelder

yes -apart from a store of fresh water

mkr32208

I've got some duct tape does that count?

tula

changeling...I am just letting you know in advance what to expect when you come to visit me.

Dinner might be late....depends on the weather and if the kindling holds out!!!

changeling

Just so you know, I don't "rough it" well.

Why don't I take you out instead?

changeling

tula

Y'all are one spoiled bunch of kids!

Wait till you see how I save on hot water!

I have 100 foot of hose under my compost pile (which is about 10 ft high) and another 100 feet to connect it to my outdoor shower which is being built right now.

I am connecting a grey water system (very simple--trench and pvc) for the outdoor shower and washing machine. So that will help keep the flower beds watered.

By the way, a 100 foot hose delivers 10 gallons of water.

I also have rain barrels which I use for gardening water.

kerj2leev

Is this for real?

journey-on

I bet you're a subscriber to the "MOTHER EARTH NEWS".

I used to read that mag religiously myself. My heart was there but I never could

completely embrace the lifestyle and philosophy. This was interesting though.

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR DISASTER?

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