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Monday, April 15, 2013

Cleaning Up The Place- Free and Naturally

We have been working hard around here to clean everything up.  In the house there is endless work, with the animals there is plenty to do and around the yard there is never ending cleaning needed.  Our property is just under 5 acres.  While the majority of it is woods, the house and yard sit on maybe an acre and a half.  In the yard there are an unusual amount of stumps from where the previous owners took down trees.  These stumps were on our "someday when we have time and money" list.  Meaning that they don't really bother us so they are not a big priority.  We have a farmer for a neighbor who uses our access lane to get to his property.  He generously brought us a burn barrel to take care of our "stump problem".  Not wanting to seem ungrateful, we decided we might as well start working on the stumps while we can.  Nightly we have been burning out our stump (the former tree was huge!) and it is incredibly relaxing to sit in front of a fire after work.  Luckily, our property has an abundance of branches, twigs, leaves and other burnable items.  Not only are we burning the stump, but we are cleaning up the surrounding area as well.  I am always a fan of doing something naturally and free.  We are only burning branches and leaves so we don't need to be concerned about harming the ozone layer. We also don't need to rent a stump grinder to get rid of the stumps.  And if all that wasn't enough, we can throw the ash on the compost pile!  A win all around in my book. 
  Speaking of doing things naturally and free, I thought I would share our lawn mower with you.  We have one of the push reel mowers and man oh man is mowing our lawn a workout!  Before we had a riding mower, which we sold when I moved.  Not having the funds to buy another one, nor wanting to have yet another machine dependent on gas, we bought this used mower.  It works great, except on the hilly portion of our lawn.  Hopefully I will get used to it and mowing wont be so much of a workout.  On the other hand, I can always use a workout...
  Another way we clean naturally and free, is by hanging clothes on our line.  When we bought the house in 2010, we sold our dryer and haven't bought a new one.  We do have a washer but at least we can save on the drying costs.  I love hanging clothes out to dry.  There is something so very simple about hanging wet clothes, and later they are dry.  No electricity used. 
  Not only do we save money by burning yard waste, mowing with a reel mower, and line drying clothes, but we can feel good about our choices environmentally.  So you have time, or if you can make time, I would encourage you to find a way that you too can clean up for free.  These are just three of the ways we personally do.  What do you do to clean?  What could you do to cut out costs in cleaning?  I would love to hear about it!






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2 comments:

  1. we air of the flat every day at least once a day. We simply turn off the heat and open all the windows (we have 3 total, yeah it is a small place.) This secures good air quality, no mold or dampness.
    Speaking of heat we keep it low. on most days I wont turn it on or maybe just have it on for a few hours. Unless we have -15c outside. Then we really need it ; )

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    1. We have out windows open too (unless it's too cold) I would rather have fresh cold and wear layers than be warm and stuffy. And it's always nice to snuggle under a quilt with knitting and a fresh breeze!

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