Apartment Homesteader - 5 Things I Did

1. I tried to cook steak!

Yeah, tried. I mean I didn't catch it on fire or have it explode or anything, but it certainly wasn't great.

2. A no driving challenge!

Whaaaat? I shouldn't really count it, because it didn't last long. I spent Wednesday not driving (I walked to work instead!), and Thursday I walked to my am job, but drove to my pm job. I drove in the pm because the four boxes of donation items were finally loaded into my car and I wanted them GONE. So after work I took them up to the thrift shop, which is outside of walking distance. (The four boxes were also large and HEAVY, so I couldn't have carried them all if I tried.) It seemed like a better use of my time than to walk to work, walk home, then drive the items up. If it wasn't so snowy and slippery out, I would have ridden my bike to work instead.

I know this all probably sounds pretty insignificant, but I have never not had a car of my own (since I was 16 anyway). The tiny place I live in is characterized by several small towns separated by miles of desolate road. It hasn't been until I moved into the actual town last year that walking/biking has even been a remote possibility. It's awesome!

Why did I choose the depths of winter to start this?

Apartment Homesteader - 5 Things I Did

I thought I'd document 5 little (or big) things that I did in the past week to bring myself closer to self-sufficiency and my homestead dream. I plan on making it a weekly event. Some weeks may be the same, but most weeks I don't think they will be! Besides being a potential resource for others, this will help me stay on track (personal accountability, yo), and encourage me to think of new ways toward self reliance.

1. I composted/recycled (almost) everything!

Composting // I don't have a compost heap at the apartment and since I'm only here for a year, I didn't want to start one when it won't be cared for after I leave. So currently I am saving food scraps in a gallon sized bag in the freezer. When it gets full I take it to mom's house and throw it in the compost. I try not to make them in the first place though 'cause a gallon bag doesn't hold a lot and I have to take it when it's full, since I'd rather have stuff in the freezer that I'll eat instead of egg shells and orange peels. Upside: freezing the future compost makes for no funky smells! I'm thinking of starting a small worm composter in my apartment - a friend has them in hers, but I'm not too sure if I want them. She has a lot of fruit fly problems but she also freely admits to over-feeding them... I'm still mulling.
Recycling // I had to upgrade to a bigger container for the recycling 'cause the small one gets too ful too fast, but the new container was also one I don't need and was going to otherwise get rid of, so two birds with one stone! I try to recycle everything I can. The things I end up throwing away are mostly foam meat packages (working on it!), and anything else I can't recycle.

Soul Deep

This woman is me:

"Modern society has achieved an almost total divorce from the production of one's own food. An abiding affinity for sentient beings which you fully intend to murder, dissect, and ingest, seems horrifying to present-day sensibilities, which have divided the domestic animal world into cherished pets and plastic-wrapped boneless chicken breasts. But this horror is a luxury, based on the assumption that as long as we put enough distance between ourselves and how our food comes to us, any suffering inflicted can safely be ignored. And, it presupposes that eating someone is the worst thing that one can do to them. The first is obviously not true, the second is surprisingly ambiguous." - From the author of the Working Dog Diary, Chapter 9.

"I couldn't imagine a more fulfilling life than living in an Airstream with my dog, spending every day doing nothing but hanging out with ruminants.

Apparently this dream isn't shared by very many people in the United States.

Mini Apartment Tour

The week of classes beginning for the fall semester, I moved into my own apartment. It has been awhile since I've had a place of my own. I have college students for neighbors, but I live on the second floor and it is mostly peaceful. I have Sawyer and Nova (my cat!) here with me as well as my betta fish named Amos. Honestly I couldn't be happier. A move to town was just what I needed. Even though I can't really plant a garden or carry on with some of my homesteading hobbies, I can carry on with most! I still compost, but I save everything in a bag in the freezer and bring it with me when I go to mom's. I don't have to use my car as much because I can walk nearly everywhere.

Sawyer and I have taken to late night walking and usually travel an hour or more along the well-lit sidewalks. My hometown is very small and I know most everyone here (perks of working at the grocers). My very best college friends only live one house down from mine, so we take turns having movie night and dinner. I love it! I'm getting to practice (and show off) my cooking skills.

I love my little apartment, so enjoy the highlights!

Dashing for Summer

These long beautiful days make me feel as if good weather will last forever. It also makes me keenly aware than winter is looming closer with each day that passes me by. I am always meaning to do something soon, but before I know it, the whole season has zipped on by. I distinctly remember as a child these days seeming long and as if having three months off in summer was surely just as long as being in school. Not so anymore. Days just run by at a frantic pace.

I look at the clock: 1:15pm

I look down at whatever I'm doing.

I look at the clock a few minutes later: 3:45pm!

This makes me slightly concerned that there is a mischievous elf in the house, but all the other clocks say 3:45pm too! Poo.

I have a lot of issues with time. I spend a lot of time thinking about time. I am keenly aware that any moment may be my last. I am sure of where I am going, but I read once that fear, any fear, is fear of being hurt. Hurt emotionally or physically, it doesn't matter. I think that's true. Most of the fear of death stems from "Will it hurt?", and an equal amount of fear for the anticipation of sadness that we will leave behind us when we go. I hate the idea that I will cause someone the great sadness that is the loss of a loved one. ...but I digress.

Time is a concept thought up by our big ol' brains that somebody thought was an excellent idea, and now we all follow it. Sure a day always passes with more or less the same number of hours regardless, but when we add actual hours in numbers to the mix, we start anticipating.

"If I don't have to leave until 4:15, then I can wait until 3:30 to shower which means I have five hours until I have to do that. I need fours hours to make bread so I can start that in an hour and be fine..."

Ugh. I hate this. Constant clock watching jangles my nerves and makes me keenly aware that I have to go to work... in five hours.

I would love to (and one day hope to) run on my own time. Not have to constantly anticipate the time and thinking of what to do next.

Did I tell you I want a farm? Not just any type of farm, but a family type place where we produce our own food. Where I don't have to punch in and punch out on a clock. Where I don't have electricity bills to pay (well, not as much as I have now). That kind of a place. Peaceful, fulfilling, a true home.

Today I am grateful for all the beautiful spring flowers that all come one right after another, never leaving my windowsill empty of fresh wildflowers. Right now Hawkweed is blooming!