Reducing our spending/ Improving our lives

It's been 3 months since moving to our little piece of paradise in the Kootenays. My husband and I have never felt so close to Mother Earth as we do right now. I made a promise that when we moved, we would not just talk the talk but we would walk the walk and make a huge difference on our footprint on this beautiful planet.

First thing we did was sell a vehicle. We realized that 2 was too many and the costs of fuel and maintenance on one was enough.

Second thing we did was rent a home! We knew that the housing and financial markets were in a massive bubble so we chose to keep our condo as a rental income and step into another person's house for a very reduced monthly bill.

As soon as we moved in, we decided to build a large garden that will supply us all winter with fundamental foods like potatoes, carrots, peas and a few items for canning.

I like to spend time at the local markets and this year, I will be concentrating on buying cases of plums and apples for preserving. I am already baking 3-5 loaves of bread each week and I think I will have a big baking day to make a few dozen for the freezer.

The third thing that we have been doing to benefit our lives as well as other lives is to slow down our consumption of meats. We have switched to completely local, wild and organic meat and are feeling tremendous positive benefits. We consume at least 5 times the veggies and fruits we ate before and I am always finding new recipes that include legumes, garbanzo beans, black beans, quinoa etc...

The fourth big change, this one has made a huge impact on our health and finances, is no more processed foods unless they fit into our guidelines....a) is it organic or locally made? b) is it low in salt and sugar? c)does it benefit our bodies d) does it support a greater cause? I am so aware of my surroundings now that it is almost difficult to veer off of our new plans without taking everything into consideration.

We just made a trip to the cedar lumber yard,about 45 minutes and a ferry ride away, to pick up free slab wood. What a fantastic find! We dug through the pile for an hour picking out the most desirable pieces of cedar for posts, wood siding and even building lumber. Our first project was an enormous win!

Check out the ol' recycled bike wheel gate that we built for my beautiful garden.

We had our first encounter with the local black bear....he likes chewing things. The collateral so far is 1 garbage can, 1 deep freeze (completely overturned three times already), my worm farm, and every bird feeder. Because we are new to the area, we will give this bear the deserved space he needs....we are on his property! We take many precautions now like not storing anything tasty outside....garbage stays indoors now!

So, our fifth and not final upgrade to make is the building of the chicken coop! This has been such a rewarding build. We used materials from around the yard and scraps from the landlords' unlimited pile of everything. Not only does it look fantastic, but it only cost us $45 in 2x4's so we could square it up correctly. Just the door and that's it!





I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of the farm. Check back to see the new door on the coop and the other cool buildings we are planning to make.
Namaste friends. Have a wonderful day!