Winter Preparedness Tiny House Style

This week temps are supposed to be up in the 80's here in Oklahoma, but I am super excited by the prospect of cooler weather. In fact, I am fantasizing about winter cold and snow! Oh yes, many of you may enjoy the sweaty, sticky, bug-filled summer months, but I love the silence of falling snow and the long nights. I know it is only October, but in the spirit of preparedness and living on a tight budget, I have begun making lists and collecting together my winter preps. Let me share with you some of my thoughts and the method to my madness to make sure I am prepared for Winter 2017.

Gloves, Hats, and Scarves:

I have dug out gloves, hats, and scarves along with my sweaters, jackets, and coats. I store these items in a plastic storage tub up in the loft each spring. Each fall I take it down and air the items, check for fit, make repairs, and run them through the wash. I make a list of anything I may need to replace and put it in my purse to keep on hand for when I go shopping. For example, this year I want a good pair of leather gloves.

Back Up Lighting for Power Outages: 

Oklahoma is famous for extended power outages during ice storms. I am checking all my flashlights for batteries, making sure I have emergency candles, and buying a couple of fresh disposable lighters. I am checking over my 3 Aladdin Lamps. I will make sure I have two extra chiminies and two spare wicks as well. I will check over my five Deitz Lanterns and make sure I have an extra globe and spare wick. Since I have 8 oil lamps, I will make sure I have a couple of gallons of lamp oil too.

Back Up Heat: 

I will take my kerosene heaters for a test run. Kerosene doesn't store long term, so I will make sure to burn off any old kerosene and refill my kerosene cans. I have two five gallon kerosene cans right now, but am thinking of buying a couple more. It is always a good thing to have extra fuel in the winter for the unexpected.

Emergency Food: 

Each winter I put aside food that I rotate, but replace immediately. I make sure I keep this food on hand because you never know when an emergency may hit or weather will make getting to the store a chore. Plus, I never want to battle it out at my local market when the newscast calls for a significant storm. You won't catch me fighting crowds and standing in line for a loaf of bread or gallon of milk. I keep on hand 14 cans of soup, 2 flats of bottled water, 7 cans of canned meat, powdered milk or shelf stable milk, frozen bread dough,  lunch meats and cheese, peanut butter, jelly, coffee, and some comfort junk food.

Cooking: 

I fill all three of my propane tanks so I can use my barbecue all winter. Even if the power goes out I can still cook on my barbecue. It is kinda fun on a snowy night to grill burgers!

Sleeping/Staying Warm:

I wash all my extra quilts and blankets that have also been stored away for the summer to be sure they are clean and fresh. I purchase a large box of Hot Hands.

First Aid/Emergency: 

I go through my first aid supplies and replace anything used or expired. I add a fresh bottle of vitamin C and cold/flue medicine.

Car: 

As of November 1st I never allow the tank on my car to get lower than half a tank before refilling it. I get an oil change and fluid check each autumn. I add some extra water, clean blanket, extra gloves and a scarf, along with some granola bars to my trunk. I also add a fresh bag of cat litter and make sure I still have chains.

Animals/Livestock:

I keep 2 large bags of dog food, cat food, chicken feed, and goat feed on hand as well as a full bale of hay. I lay a fresh straw in the chicken coop and in the goat shelter. I am a firm believer in the deep litter method to help keep my critters warm and dry. Additionally, I have two insulated cat shelters built from foam coolers and storage bins in case the cats get locked outside or I can't get home to let them in. My dog has a warm, dry shelter on the porch where he can hunker down as well.  It too get some fresh straw.

Bring on the cooler weather! I am prepared. What do you do to prepare for winter weather?

Earthquake!

If you haven't heard, Oklahoma had a nice size earthquake September 3, 2016. Measuring 5.8 magnitude, it is the strongest in recorded Oklahoma history. I was enjoying the first day of my 3 day Labor Day weekend when at 7:04 am my bed began rocking (more than it has in years. Sorry - I couldn't resist) and I could hear dishes in the kitchen rattling. It took me a moment to realize it was an earthquake, but I lay there debating if I should get up. Ultimately it lasted for 15 seconds and I just enjoyed feeling the earth move as Mother Nature stretched her legs. The earthquake originated about 60 miles north of where I live, but the quake was felt in neighboring states as far away as Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska! Luckily my Tiny House rode out the earthquake with no damage. Nothing fell off shelves, nothing cracked in my structure, and the house stayed on her pillars without issue. Other houses in the state were not as fortunate showing foundation and structure damage.

I jokingly posted the picture of a crooked picture frame with the caption: I will rebuild. I thought it rather entertaining at the time.

But in all seriousness, those of us in states like Oklahoma and California must contend with the threat of earthquakes. So what can you do in your tiny house to make sure your home can ride out an earthquake? In my case I made sure my home was on a solid foundation of blocks, using more than necessary to give it a firm footing. My shelves hold things solidly and are angled back toward the wall so things slide backward instead of forward when subjected to vibration (I have wood floors and things vibrate when I walk across the room.) My furniture is solid and tall furniture is secured to the wall. Places where I sit and sleep having nothing that can fall on me during an earthquake. Other than that, I really don't have too much to worry about as I have no gas or water lines that could be damaged. Wind and ice storms are a bigger threat to my tiny home than earthquakes.

Do you live in an area with earthquakes? Do you have an earthquake plan?

Social Media Sell Out

It was insidious really. Slowly my blogging became erratic and then sporadic and then just ceased. My podcasting listeners began to question if I was blogfading. I can't really explain what happened except to akin it to a type of depression. I had begun comparing my content to other bloggers and I was feeling like the awkward child who ate alone at lunch and was destined to be picked last for team sports.

I couldn't really put my finger on why I was feeling this way, but each time I sat down to spill my creative guts, I just drew a blank or was unable to narrow my topic to something I felt others would like to read or listen to. But, last night I had a strange series of dreams and then the answer just seemed to pop into my head. I am on Social Media overload. You see, I, like so many of my fellow bloggers, have been led to believe that one must be on all popular social media sites in order to reach our target audience. I must have amazing photographs, tons of advertisers, and some product to sell to somehow make my blog and podcast legitimate. I began to feel like a fraud. Self doubt had crept in and whispered things like "Your homestead isn't picture perfect, therefor you are not a real homestead" and "No one really gives two licks about how you now have goats or that you put up fence." It seems the negative self talk came from looking at what other's posted on Social Media in pretty photos and poetic memes. Social Media is an illusion. I mindlessly scroll through thousands of posts and glean very little but the feeling that others done so much more than me. I began disengaging from my blog community and stopped writing altogether.

But the epiphany came when I realized that perhaps those in my reading and listening community could see through the phony perception that one buys a piece of land and the very next month has a photo ready homestead with overflowing gardens and perfection as far as the eye can see. Perhaps others out in the world are exhausted by the images and information because they do, in fact, know the reality of starting from scratch and living on a homestead. They too know the struggles between limited resources and unlimited vision and dreams. Perhaps I had sold my audience short.

Shame on me.

So here is how it is going to go from here on out: I will blog about my homestead and now worry about what others are doing. I will post about the things I take pride in even if others would feel it inconsequential. Why? Because homesteads don't come picture perfect. They are a hell of a lot of work. Building a house by yourself is a challenge and there will always be the hindsight-is-20/20 thinking, but in the long run I take pride in this place. I did this. I accomplished this and I believe others can as well. I think those who are truly looking to do what I do would appreciate the honest and truthful information vs pictures of perfection and hyperbole.

I am not about numbers, followers, or advertisers. I am about honesty and the journey. Why not come along for the ride and join me on my journey.

Tiny House Homestead Podcast #33

Catch up with happenings around the farm. Learn about the newest critters to come live on the farm and 10 things I learned about living on the homestead in the last year. Welcome to Tiny House Homestead. 

Check out this episode!

A Surprise in My Chicken Coop

This Egg Should Hatch Within the Next Week

Mid summer is upon us here and it is hot, hot, hot! Yesterday was 104.4 Fahrenheit and today was 102.3 Fahrenheit. I have thought on more than one occasion this summer maybe I should have chosen a state further north, but alas, summer heat is only a couple of months and the rest of the year is rather pleasant. I will just suck it up and do my best to stay comfortable until October arrives with its promise of more pleasant daytime highs and cool nights. Heat is rough on livestock, so I have been checking the water in the coop twice a day to make sure my chickens can cool off and stay hydrated.

I had always considered chicks a springtime thing, so I have been collecting and enjoying all the eggs my small flock has produced. All the hens are laying daily, so I have a bunch of eggs and never seem to run out. While collecting eggs a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a hen of mine had become broody and was sitting on a few eggs. I decided to let her play momma, after all, I have a ton of eggs right now and I had no idea if my rooster was fertile. For one full week I didn't retrieve any eggs. I have three hens, so that makes for a lot of eggs in the coop.

Broody Betty with her Clutch

This evening when I went to check the water I noticed Broody Betty, as I have taken to calling her, has so many eggs in her clutch she has to keep her wings spread. I figured I should probably try to candle the eggs, cull the ones that are not developing, and mark those that show signs of a potential chick. Broody Betty was not pleased, but I found most of the eggs are in different stages of development!

The ideal temperature for hatching chicken eggs is 99 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 to 55% humidity. Oklahoma is, I have discovered, ideal for this. Days here are warm and humid. Brooding Betty can get up and move about if she chooses and at night it is not too much work to keep the clutch warm and snug.

Early development

So now I wait. I will continue to check the coop twice a day and as the chicks hatch I will remove them for protection from the rest of the flock until they are big enough to fend for themselves. I will need to enlarge my coop a little by next summer to accommodate the new additions, but my egg selling will ramp up next summer and I can expand to pickling and drying the eggs as well.

Farm life never ceases to amaze me!

Sweet Roll French Toast Bake

It's summer and we are at that point where we have all of our hens laying and a plethora of eggs to use. We share our eggs, preserve our eggs, devil our eggs, pickle our eggs, but still we are left with plenty to be used up. We try to come up with creative meals using our delicious, fresh eggs.

Tonight's supper needed to be quick and yummy. I stood in front of the fridge and glanced to the pantry. What could I make that would use up some of the leftovers so nothing would be wasted? I found I had a partial package of King's Hawaiian Rolls left over from a recent barbecue. King's Hawaiian Rolls™ are soft, sweet, and delicious. Contemplating the 4 rolls left in the package, I decided on making a Sweet Roll French Toast Bake.  It was a win-win to marry the rolls and the eggs into a simple and delicious dinner, but I suspect I will be making this again for breakfast or brunch at some point!

Doesn't it look delicious? It is super easy to make:

Ingredients: 

• Left over rolls (in this case I had 4 King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls™, but there are other brands, and, hey, you can buy rolls just for this purpose and even make an entire bag to feed a large family or crowd)
• 6-12 eggs (more rolls = more eggs)
• 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
• Salt & Pepper 
• Maple or Pancake Syrup
• Powdered Sugar
• Cooking Spray
• 8 X 8 Pan (or whatever you have on hand)

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray pan with no stick spray. I used an 8x8x2 pan, but you can use whatever size is convenient for the number of rolls you have left. I had a space in the middle I filled with an unbeaten egg. 
3. Split the rolls horizontally so you have a top piece and a bottom piece. Lay these in the pan forming one layer. 
4. Crack all the eggs into a bowl, add salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Beat with a fork gently. 
5. Pour mixture over the bread. I made sure I had enough eggs to cover the bread. 
6. Use a fork to turn each section of roll over. The ensures the bread is completely covered in egg and absorbs the mixture. 
7. Bake in the oven at 350 until the egg is cooked. (Rolls will still be somewhat soft. Cook a full egg in the middle gives an easy visual of how cooked the bake is. It took 15 minutes for me.)
8. Serve up on plates, add syrup, and lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Needless to say, there were no leftovers after this meal. This would make a great dish for brunch or holiday mornings when feeding a crowd of people as well. Add bacon and a yogurt bar for a quick and easy holiday breakfast. Or, just do like we did and enjoy breakfast for dinner!

Enjoy!

Amazon is Having a Leviton Special

Attention Tiny House builders! Amazon is having a sale on Leviton products through August 31, 2016!  That means you can get good deals on amazing Leviton products. 

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I used Leviton when building my Tiny House. I love the quality and the variety. Here are a few of my favorites that I used in my own Tiny House: 

Humidity Sensor: 

Humidity Sensor

• Automatically detects excess humidity in a room and activates the ventilation fan to lessen condensation which helps reduce mold and mildew, Sensor uses microprocessor and digital sensing technology to continuously monitor and manage humidity levels in a room
• Built-in timer sets the "minimum ON time" for the ventilation fan. The sensor time settings can be custom set to 10, 20, 30 or 45 minute intervals. The sensor will continue to operate the fan for the minimum time set or until there is a reduction in room humidity level
• A sensitivity level adjustment allows users to adjust the sensor's sensitivity to ambient air to prevent false cycling
• Features an Air Cycle mode which automatically turns ON the ventilation fan for a set period of time and repeats the cycle hourly (eg. 20 minutes ON/40 minutes OFF each hour)
• Replaces a single pole switch for control of ventilation fan or a fan/light combination, Fits in a standard wall box and requires a neutral for operation, The device's built-in humidistat control meets CALGREEN requirements for Indoor Air Quality and Exhaust, Five-Year Limited warranty

USB Receptacle: 

USB Receptacle

The Leviton USB Charger/Tamper-Resistant Duplex Receptacle offers two high-powered USB Ports with 3.6A of charging power and two 15A or 20A/125V Tamper-Resistant Receptacles. It has the capability to charge two USB powered electronic devices utilizing its two USB Ports, leaving the two Tamper-Resistant Receptacles free for other uses. The Leviton USB Charger/Tamper-Resistant Duplex Receptacle is designed to charge tablets, smart and mobile phones, gaming devices, e-readers, digital cameras and a host of other electronic devices.

Programmable Timer: 

Programmable Timer

The Vizia + 24-Hour Programmable Indoor Timer with Astronomical Clock helps lower your electrical costs without sacrificing convenience. Replacing standard switches with timer switches can reduce energy consumption, improve security, and save you money. Allowing up to 50 timer event settings per day, this timer switch can be programmed weekdays, weekends, all days or any combination of days. It (Vizia + 24-hour Timer) also meets all applicable UL, CSA, and FCC requirements, and comes with three changeable faceplates in white, ivory, and light almond colors to complement your decor.

• Automated Control of Lights, Fans, Pumps, and More
• Easy Programming with up to 50 Timer Event Settings per Day
• Astronomical Clock for Unbeatable Accuracy

Building your Tiny House takes a lot of thought and careful consideration about every penny spent. Leviton is a top quality product and I swear by them. Yes, you could probably buy cheaper electrical components, but lets face it, who wants to risk substandard electrical fixtures. Spend a little more and get the best you can. This sale may just make those purchases a little more pleasurable!