Homesteader News

A free online newspaper written by homesteaders for homesteaders! Sponsored by
www.simplesolarhomesteading.com
Owner- LaMar Alexander

The Homesteader's Blog

Please join us in our adventure to build a new homestead!

Each week we will post updates on our plans, progress, struggles and successes so bookmark this page!

Who are the homesteaders ?

 
 
      
 
Hi,
We're Patrick & Loretta. After 19 years of dreaming, we're finally moving on to land with a cabin. Because we have to wait until the "great thaw" to hit our neck of the woods, we won't move until some time between March - May but there's plenty to do before then. We have 7 children at home, ages 18, 16, 12, 10, 9, 6 & 2 .. four boys and 3 girls. We home school so we always seem to be busy with one thing or another.
 
As far as homesteading "skills," I'm sure we have some knowledge that will help us in the life we plan. Our goal is to be completely off grid & as self sufficient as possible. We plan to raise animals for food as well as grow our own fruits & veggies. We did have our first garden this past Spring and it was an amazing experience. Sure, we had things that didn't grow but the things that did tasted better than any store bought vegetable we've ever had! Our children each took on a veggie as a project & they took it very seriously.
 
In going off grid and as self sufficient as possible, we not only take back control of our finances but we also have plenty to put in to the things that matter most; our family, our hobbies, traveling, and building our dreams. We won't be paying unspeakable amounts to the electric companies or gas companies. That money can be used to build animal pens, seeds and then add to funding our childrens' futures! We have a few reasons for wanting to go off grid & homestead. Being off grid releases a big chunk of your money. Yes, it costs money to put up a solar power system .. but you don't have to worry about monthly bills and after the first year, you really start to see the savings. Our land is out in the country is about 20 minutes away from a bigger town (the one with the grocery store, hospital and doctors offices) with not many neighbors. Building self sufficiency skills will enable us to survive disasters that shut power companies down .. thus closing grocery stores down due to the inability to work registers. Life is great when you don't have to depend on some one else to provide you with things you can get or do for yourself.
 
We have very little skills as far as building homes, plumbing and solar power but we've got an incredible resource with LaMar Alexander's e-books. He gives step by step examples, diagrams and is always more than willing to answer questions. We have researched the off grid lifestyle for years & not once come up with such useful information that's written so that every one can understand. We look forward to this journey and hope you read as we walk this path.
 
Patrick has worked in the grocery industry for 19 years but has very basic construction knowledge. As a youngster he helped his grandfather build his home and worked on some of the cabinetry. He wouldn't consider himself a "handy man" but knows how to use tools and follow instructions. He also has 19 years of business management under his belt due to the businesses he and Loretta have run through out their marriage. Patrick is also the sound tech that masters all Loretta's recordings in their home studio. Together they run a recording studio, publishing company and record label that is home to Loretta as a recording artist. She writes & records under the name, "Retta."
 
Besides being a recording artist and song writer, Loretta has an entrepreneur heart and has run her own business ventures since childhood. She remembers climbing a tree in her back yard around Christmas time when she was 8 years old. She pulled all the mistletoe out of the tree, bagged it up, tied it with ribbon and walked to the local dime store to sell it all. She wound up with an extra $500.00 in cash that year. That was just one of her many business ventures as a child.
 
Patrick & Loretta build furniture (tables), make jewelry and design/decorate clothing. Their furniture designs are a bit out of the norm, using recycled bowls and adding customized touches for each customer. The jewelry is made out of old records and the clothing is either tie-dyed or hand painted. These business ventures seem to suit them better than any others simply because it allows them to use their creativity.
 
Blessings,
 
Patrick & Loretta Rizzo
 

February 1rst, 2010

In looking over the first floor plan, we realized there were things wrong. Not that they were "wrong" but that they would be more expensive to do. One issue was that the bath room was actually built between the main cabin (already standing) and the addition. So ... we'd have to tear out part of the main wall. Too much expense and hassle as far as we're concerned. This is exactly why we like planning ahead of time. It gives us time to design, look at and change plans if needed. It would be a bummer to realize something like that after building has gotten to the point where a demolition team would be needed. So .. with that being said ... here are a couple other designs.

Cabin3This floor plan calls for 2 - 16 x 20 additions (besides the original 16 x 20 cabin) This would give us a total of 960 sq. ft (not including any of the lofts ... which are not on the floor plans). Not really big but enough for us. We'd probably be able to get by on the next floor plan .. but because a home is a man's castle & the man wants room to roam, we'll most likely go with this design here. There is a closet off to the left, after you enter the house. We may use it as a small pantry.

This floor plan gives us a nice, open "Great Room" where the kitchen, dining room and guest entertaining area are combined. The kitchen is large enough to enjoy all the cooking we do too.

The middle addition includes a small guest room, a bath room (that will also open up to the master bed room), a "library" (a series of bookshelves that will be there to hold up the loft), the school room area & a wood stove.

The last addition will 3 bedrooms, a room for our laundry room/ family closet. Nothing like eliminating the hassle of young children changes clothes 50 times a day by keeping all the dressers out of their rooms! It also has a second bath room for the children to share.

The battery bank house will be built right off the back door ... unless, for some reason we shouldn't build it there.

Any thoughts?

Here's the second design ... Cabin4in this plan we lose the guest room, the school room and the "library" but it still offers plenty of room given that it has 2 lofts for a couple of the older kids. If you'll notice, the laundry/family closet is between to the smaller bed rooms and the bath room is out in the main part of the house. We may switch those 2 rooms around but we haven't really given it much thought. It's doubtful that we'll even use this floor plan any way.  One good thing is the kitchen is still a good size! This floor plan only gives 640 sq. ft (not including lofts) but truthfully, it can be done. Just cutting down on the stuff we own but is not necessary would help!

We didn't add water heaters to this floor plan .. but one will be in between the bath room & kitchen .. then the other will be right off the secondary bath room.

No matter which floor plan we use, there will be a basement built before additions are started. Being that we will be living in a part of the country that is known to have tornadoes, a basement is a priority!

Until next time ...

January 9, 2010

 
 
 
 
 
In the next entry I’ll post pictures of our progress in getting rid of things. For this entry though I wanted to show you our floor plan idea. It will take time to do the additions, especially because we won’t build them until we have cash in hand. We want to do this completely debt free.
 
 

We may change our minds & decide we don’t need “that much” space even though it really isn’t “a lot” for our family size. We want to keep things simple and clutter free. The one room that needs to be big is the kitchen. Our family enjoys cooking, baking, making things from scratch and we need a big area. We’ll be building triple bunks shortly after we move also .. we figure that will free up some floor space in the kids rooms.

As for items we’ll have. I’ll start with clothing per person:

  • 5 pairs of pants
  • 2 pairs overalls
  • 5 t-shirts
  • 5 long sleeve shirts
  • 4 pairs of shoes (1 work/farm boot, 1 dress shoe, 1 flip flops, 1 in town)
  • 2 jackets (1 Winter, 1 light)
  • mittens/gloves
  • Winter cap/beanie
  • 2 pairs long Johns
  • 10 pairs underwear
  • 10 pairs socks

As for linens/towels per person:

  • 2 bath sheets/towels
  • 2 washcloths
  • 2 bed sheet sets
  • 2 blankets/quilts
  • 2 pillow cases
  • 2 guest blankets
  • 2 guest towels

Kitchen items:

  • 4 kitchen towels
  • 2 – 9 qt. cast iron Dutch oven
  • 1 – 4 qt cast iron Dutch oven
  • 1 – 5 qt. cast iron fryer
  • 1 – 3 qt. cast iron fryer
  • 2 – 15 1/4 in. skillet
  • 1 cast iron waffle iron
  • 1 cast iron reversible griddle
  • 2 cast iron muffin pans
  • 1 cast iron corn bread wedge pan
  • 1 cast iron drop biscuit pan
  • 1 set every day use dinnerware (plates, bowls etc)
  • 1 set (service for 15 people) special occasion dinnerware
  • eating utensils for 15 people
  • 1 cup, 1 glass (and 1 coffee mug for adults)
  • 1 set wicker whisks
  • 1 set cooking utensils
  • 1 set (child friendly) salt & pepper shaker
  • 1 butter dish
  • 1 kettle
  • 200 assorted canning jars
  • 1 pressure cooker
  • 1 bath canning set

Am I missing anything so far? LOL

Other things next time!

 
 
Keep rockin,
Retta
 

January 1, 2010

Here it is, "The Maker's Acres." Our cabin is on 7 wooded acres. The cabin is currently a 16x20 shell but that's ok. We'll be adding on two other 16x20 rooms ... which will give us just under 1000 sq ft. Our water will be trucked in & stored in large water tanks (we plan on having 3 - 2000 gallon tanks ... a lot more than what we use as a family but enough to "safe" in case of an emergency). We'll install our own solar power system by following LaMar's instructions and suggestions ... the system will only supply our bare minimum power needs at first but as we save our money & figure out our needs, we'll add on. We'll eventually welcome cattle, maybe mini's .. goats, chickens, some turkey & horses. It's possible a pig or three could make their way to the land as well, so some trees will be cleared to make room for the needed buildings.

 
Besides a barn, another building that will be constructed is a recording studio. As a recording artist, Loretta will need space to work. The studio will be run completely off it's own solar power system.
 
A work shop is also necessary in order to continue manufacturing the furniture the family enjoys building, as well as the retro and recycled clothing and jewelry they sell.
 
A school room may be in the works, depending on the need.
 
There's definitely a lot to do. We've prioritized and are in the process of down sizing. There's no need to drag stuff from one place to another if it's of no use & cluttering your current residence.
 
We'll be sitting down shortly to design the inside floor plan and can't wait to see what ideas we can come up with!
 
We look forward to our new journey & hope to share it with all who read this blog. We'll be sure to post pictures, write about all the steps we're taking and hopefully we'll be posting videos every now and then. Don't worry, we won't post only the good stuff. We plan on sharing the good, bad and the ugly. We'll not fail in our journey. We'll learn from our mistakes & pass the lessons on.

 
Blessings,
 
Patrick & Loretta
_______________________________________________________________________

Comments from LaMar:

The Maker's have graciously allowed us to follow their journey towards self sufficiency. They have many ideas and plans for their new homestead and may also use ideas from my book Simple solar Homesteading.

They will be  documenting their progress with pictures, video and their personal stories just for you. If you have questions, suggestions or would like to thank the Maker's send them to homesteadernews@yahoo.com

The homesteader's are working very hard to provide you with excellent updates and if you enjoy reading about their adventure you may donate here.

 The Homesteader's will receive 100% of the donation and any amount is appreciated!