Anyone doing a Bootstrap Business?

This is the front. It's 6' wide, 5' deep and 6' tall. I'll cover the wire on the front and end with plastic or plywood when it gets cold. I cut a hole in the fence bottom on the end so they can get to a secure yard. The white nesting box thing was just an old homemade grocery store display cabinet that I got from a little store here. The chickens like it. The gate on the left is so I can get inside the 12' x 10' pen for cleaning. I have a sheet of plywood I keep leaned up against the front for shade in the mornings till I get out there and let them out.

Remember I told you not to laugh....This is the end where the secure yard is. I used chicken wire on top so had to put up the 2 x 4 frame in the center for support for the wire overhead, but they use it for roosting, too. I used some white metal tubes to hold the upper edges in shape until I can get to the lumber yard for some 1" x 2"s. Not very pretty, but functional. I'll paint it all this fall.

It took me four days, but I was figuring out how to do things as I went. It is pretty secure...I got locked in it by accident. :(

Hey...I said no laughing! (*_*)

Hopefully, when I add the boards around the top edge, I can take some of that fence sag out of the top. If I can't, oh well! There's several wild trumpet vines right behind it, that I'm trying to get to grow over it anyway for summer shade.

I built it right up against the side of the little shelters for the goats. Just a precaution, in case my building project couldn't stand on it's own. LOL

Oh my gosh, that is so cute! LOL! It would be adorable painted bright red, with "Robin's Lil' Red Henhouse" on it, heehee!

I was more productive today then I was this weekend. We finally broke down and used to a/c, which I hate to do, but it was so sticky hot inside. We have built-in cabinets in the LR that got cleaned out, the old linens snipped up for rags. It was so hard to clear out my books, but we had so many of them. It's time to pass 'em along. We still have a long way to go, though. thank goodness for Freecycle. =)

The only issue I would have with the rabbits is the selling part. I get so attached to animals if they're under my care, plus my kids would put up a major fuss. I'm seriously looking into keeping some hives, though. =)

Have you thought about sewing or weaving, or anything like that? The equipment needed for weaving is costly, but handwoven tapestries could sell. My husband and I took a drive up to Lake Pymatuning in PA, where they were having a craft festival. I noticed that most of the displays all seemed to look the same. Lots of wooden country things decorated with silk flowers, lots of hand strung jewelry. I'm wondering if something a bit more unique would sell better.

Of course, I can't sew worth a darn, lol. That's another skill on the list. Quilting looks fun, and economical. I DID see these soft cuddly double fleece blankets that were made by simply sewing two blankets together. The colors and patterns were bright... I wonder if more earthy rustic tones would be more appealing?

Eesh, ideas, ideas, ideas.

NCG, Thanks! I was thinking all the pens looked a little shabby right now, but I know some paint will really fix them up! Red would be cute, wouldn't it?

I guess I just don't know anything about bees. I've seen some bee boxes out in fields, but have never seen anyone working with them. Suppose it could actually be kind of peaceful working with them. I'll have to check that out. It may very well be something we can work on here.

My day was a little more productive, too. Did a lot of raking where Al had mowed so that I could put the clippings in the garden. I sure miss my pool! But I handled the heat a little better today, must not have been so humid!

Oooooo! How about old fashioned rag rugs?
Hee!

You're on a roll, girl! So, what else you got?

Are you old enough to remember the tube socks with the colored stripes around the top? I had a husband and 3 boys that wore them. I came up with about 2 large trash bags full of socks that didn't have a match or a mate. I cut them in strips starting at the top and working my way around to the bottom, so that I had one long strip from each, then crocheted them into round area rugs. They looked pretty cool! Have no idea whatever happened to them, but I made 3 or 4.

Had to come in to take a break...temperature is rising rapidly! It's senseless to run a sprinkler in my gardens, as it only waters 1 of 4 sections about 1/4" in 2 hours. Easier just to water each plant and baby trees and bushes individually, but still takes 3 hours!

Oh wow, I slept in today. No other ideas as of yet. Gotta wait until the coffee kicks in, haha.

ragrugs sound so intriguing, and something I can learn how to do. Found a website called the Rugmakers Homestead that has all kinds of info.

The humidity up here was so bad yesterday that it felt like we got transplanted to Southeast Asia. The sweat was just pouring, it was crazy. Not a good thing when you're only showering once a day. We had a few downpours, once early in the morning, once at night. It's apparently monsoon season in Ohio.

Have you signed up for Freecycle? I just joined and it's so cool. =) People just offer things for free, and you can offer things, or post something you're looking for. That's how I'm getting rid of all my excess stuff. Yard sales are a huge bother.

Hopefully, I'll get the kitchen done today. Looks like it going to be another sticky day, too. I'd like to order a book on ragrugs from that website, as well. =) Between that, and the nautical crafts, the organic greens... I might just have some reasonable income next year generated from home! Yippee! Good-bye to crappy jobs!

PS- Kentucky is so pretty. My grandfather grew up there, in Owsley County. He was a true mountaineer, too. Kentuck and WV are my two choices of residence if I ever had to tear myself away from my beloved NE Ohio. ;)

Have a good day, Robin Red, and do try to stay cool. =)

Cool website! That would be a lot of fun, I'd think. I have a "wagon wheel" rag rug that belonged to my Grandmother, then my Mom, and now me. It's done in light turquoise and white. Very pretty and it has held up so well for it's age! You could start small and do placemats and tablerunners, till you got he hang of it.

OMG, it hit 101 yesterday and they're calling for it again today and tomorrow! It had been in the 90's and I was dying then. I can only manage to work outside till 9:30 or 10:00. Then, I'm done for!

You have inspired me about cleaning stuff out. I started working on the kitchen yesterday and will work my way through.

Had to leave in a hurry...Bought a new garden tractor and had it delivered Saturday. Had to call Sunday because it wouldn't start. They brought me a new one today.

Anyway, I had gone through everything back in March and cleared out lots of stuff, now stacked in the camper for a yard sale. Al's Mom passed away in March and we brought some stuff back in May, plus some other stuff we acquired along the way. Have to sort through all this stuff now. Never ending!

Don't know where Owsley county is. My Dad was born and raised in Hazard County, on the southeast edge of Kentucky. It is beautiful here, although we only have rolling hills here and not mountains. I had never been to Kentucky till Al came here for a job a few years ago. I came from Mo and Ne.

I did get signed up for freecylce, but haven't gone into it yet. I keep forgetting about it. Thanks for reminding me, I'll do that now!

Don't work too hard! Robin

G'morning. =)

It was a crazy day yesterday.. had a Freecycle guy get lost on the way to picking up the books, lol. BUT.. the livingroom: DONE!

I also looked up a few wholesale craft supplies.. you need a business license for some of them. The ragrug idea is still intriguing. =) Definitely a winter project to while away our cold NE Ohio months. The cool thing is, is that I know there is no market for homemade rugs around here. Could it be a niche??

The weather finally cooled down a bit, due to some heavy rains yesterday. Thank god, I can breath again.

So.. how're you? LOL. It's so cool we can exchange little progress reports and ideas like this... knowing you're facing a lot of the same challenges I am right now.

NCG...I am SO disappointed in you! It was 104 here yesterday and you didn't send any of that rain this way? Shame on you! :) I was melting here. If a person could lose weight, just by sweating, I'd be so skinny! LOL

I think rag rugs are an excellent idea. There were so many pretty ones on that website. I didn't read a whole lot of it, to see what all was involved, but I think it would be fascinating to watch as they take shape and you can see a design forming. I found a denim rug page and thought of you. I'll post it here for you later. Don't give up on the wreath idea, either. You could do both.

Wonder where renwing is? She found her niche doing baby clothes.

I was working outside this morning and thinking how beautiful it was! Had to laugh...it was 85!

I'm getting really excited again. I cut and started a bunch of clippings off of my flower bushes. Hopefully they will root in time to put them in the ground before winter. I have about 100 already rooted, but I need to get some ground ready, so I can plant them. I ordered a whole bunch of seeds yesterday, but won't start them till early next spring. Should have a good selection next spring.

We got our new garden tractor earlier this week and a new weedeater last night. The weeds had grown up so much since both the push mower and weedeater broke down a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't stand the way this place looked! I could barely find anything in the garden! I like to use the weedeater to clean up the garden paths, then I go back and weed the rows by hand. I've learned how to work wonders with it! We love the garden tractor, we've already cut almost 3 acres with it...looks SO much better!

After I get the garden looking good again, I'll get back to finishing the rabbit hutches. I've got so much stuff (wood, fencing, corrugated metal roofing, etc) stacked up back there, but didn't want to put it away till I was finished building. Then will get some more rabbits, and add a couple of more goats.

So....how's your day going and what steps are you taking toward your dreams?

Robin

What Kinda Rabbitts?

This is a really simple, simple quilt. I didn't look at the whole page when I ran across it, but I'm sure you can find some more elaborate ones for ideas elsewhere. You might, also, click on the "home" button at the bottom of the page. This is a nice little website showing all the stuff they are doing.

http://thefamilyhomestead.com/bluejeanquiltproject.htm

Phicks, beats me! I have to post pictures to find out. I just bought them because I wanted rabbits right then and there!

LOL

Yo!

Haha, there was a offer for free rabbits on Freecycle this morning, plus an outdoor hutch and feed. I wanted to reply so bad, but I had to ask my man if it were okay first. By the time he returned my call, somebody already grabbed them. =(

I put in about 10 job apps today, that's what I did. Started a little on the kitchen, took a nap. =) In that order! LOL! I think I'd like to hunt down some coconut and palm oil today... do a little supply shopping, check out sources for fabric. Maybe scope out cinder blocks for the grabbing. =)

Aw, that blue jean quilt is adorable! And it looks warm. I bet something like that would be great as a window cover for the winter.

Where the heck is Renwing? On the soapmaking site?

Way to go! You have had a busy day!

I've been very productive, myself...did a lot of weed eating. Transplanted a bunch of butterfly bush cuttings to larger pots that had already rooted.

Coconut and palm oil? Sources for fabric? Cinder blocks? Dare I ask?

Second thoughts on rabbits? That was a heck of a deal! I checked out our local freecycle...nothing interesting, very little community participation.

LOl, coconut and palm oil for soap
fabric for rugs
cinderblocks for more gardens. =)

I found coconut oil in a health food store that was ohmygosh so expensive! So we're going to look at our local grocery store. No go on the palm oil. I'm almost ready to say forget the coconut and palm, i'll just see what straight olive oil will be like. We're making soap partly to be cost-efficient... how cost efficient can it be if the ingredients are top dollar? Shee!

Oh, stopped at PetSmart, almost came home with another cat. Heh.

Plain white cotton is $3 a yard... what I'd like to do is grow some dye plants and color the cotton for the rugs right here at home. =)

How's the weedy yard coming along? lol. You're doing a ton of outside work, wow. My front flower bed needs weeded, badly. It's just been too humid for me to spend lots of time outside.

Can you believe they have Christmas stuff out at the craft stores already?

Hey, NCG...Good morning!

I was hoping that was what you wanted the oils for! Reading through the soap making forum and searching on line, I'm sure you can find cheaper sources. I considered making bath and beauty products for sale, but figured I already had too much going on. Sounds kind of fun, though.

Cool idea about dying your own fabric for rugs. Pretty interesting! I think you're onto something....

Weedy yard looking SO GOOD! Garden and flower beds still need more work, which I'm heading out shortly to do. Between the weed eater and a jug of weed and grass killer, I can work wonders in a short amount of time! OMG, the weeds are so bad, they are growing through 4" of new gravel on the driveway. Some areas you can't even see the gravel! Walked the 1,000' drive yesterday spraying W&G killer. Been running the sprinkler in the garden since 4 am, moving it every 1 1/2 hours. Can't remember if I told you, that I am planning on having a "backyard nursery" area with garden art, birdhouses, nature decor items and fountains. Figured it would fit into the scheme of things planned.

Okay, I'm off to the great outdoors to enjoy another beautiful day! Only suppose to get to 92 today...Yippee! Have a wonderful day!

Robin

Hey why not use Crico

Crico?

LOL Crisco

Hey, Phicks! =)

I heard too much Crisco can make a soft squishy soap, but maybe that can be balanced out with olive oil, dunno.

At this point, I'm ready to say forget the coconut and palm and just stick with straight olive oil. It's the one thing we always have in our house, haha! I cook with it, I use it as hair conditioner.. olive oil just plain rocks.

Robin Red, I cannot believe you have the motivation to go and work in that kind of heat..wow. We took the kids to the lake yesterday and stupid me, I didn't use sunscreen, so I'm burnt. Not badly, though.

Today, we're starting on The Creepy Basement. If you guys don't hear from me after today, it's because the monsters ate me. Please say a prayer to protect us from the ghoulies that lurk in the depths of The Creepy Basement!
(I'm not lying, it really is very creepy, lol)

I plan on maybe converting the old coal cellar into a root cellar, but i'm not sure if it gets cool enough.

Bleh, I need some motivation. August sucks the energy right out of me. All we want to do is lay around and eat ice cream. robin, you should bottle up some your energy and send it up here. =) You have tons of it, girl!

Stay cool, don't get overheated, and have a good one!

I'd like to say I was a ball of fire when it comes to energy, but I just take LOTS and LOTS of breaks! I kind of lost interest in everything outside for a few weeks when both the mower and weedeater broke down, because I couldn't keep up with the weeds and it looked so bad! But we bought new ones (I LOVE my DHs new garden tractor!) and now I'm getting caught up...and it's looking SO GOOD!

I'm jealous! You have a possible root cellar? There's lots of info available about root cellars and the temperature requirements. After you get the basement cleaned out, why don't you get a bunch of mix-matched paint (cheap at $2-$3 a gal) and do some fancy painting on the walls? Good project to stay out of the heat.

I've been planning (while on breaks) a version of a hoop greenhouse for our front deck for the winter. Think I got all the details figured out. One side of our trailer faces south and it is soooo hot in the summer, but would get tons of sun in the winter. I'm going to use the cattle panels to make an arch from the top of the trailer to the outer edge of the deck. For winter I'll cover it in heavy plastic. We'll be able to open the front door for lots of extra light and heat. In the spring I'll plant some kind of fast growing vines to cover it for lots of shade.

Might consider making your soaps to sell, as well as some other bath and beauty products. I rarely see those for sell. I've got a bunch of recipes printed out, thought that might be a good winter project for me.

Phicks, where did you see a recipe for soap using Crisco?

Okay, I'm back to work...

Hope Freddys Not in that cellar

Phicks, you are being SOOOOO mean to NCG! LOL

recipe for soap using Crisco was just something i made up LOL

Ha-ha-ha! Thought you knew something we didn't! My mind was spinning, thinking how much cheaper soap would be to make using Crisco intead of oils.

Check out Tony's No Fail soap at this thread:

http://www.homeschoolzone.com/pp/crafts/soap.htm

It uses Crisco! ewwww.

G_M, Great site, thank you!!!!

Phicks, my apologies!!!!!

G'morning. =)

Crap, I'm catching a cold. All the rotten luck. It hit around later afternoon yesterday, I started getting really tired. And ended up going to bed at 8:30! Bleh.

Anyways... what's on your agenda today? I'm going to go ahead and work on the kitchen anyway. I'm trying to get all the inside stuff before the kids start school, lol. The basement has been postponed until this weekend, since the kiddies will be with their dad that then. It'll just be easier.

We're also picking up more cinder blocks this week. =)

Crisco soap: yeah.. I agree with GM, ew. It can be done, but it probably makes a super squishy soft soap. My husband and I have decided to go with the straight olive oil soap. We found out that the specialty oils are not only hard to find, but expensive as all get out. Believe it or not, handcrafted natural beauty products are sold all over the place up here, there's too much of a market for it. Our soaps and stuff will be home use only.

We had a chilly night last night!

Have a good one!
Mer

Goodmorning to you, NCG! Sorry to hear you aren't feeling well!

I got to sleep in this morning. Yippee! Al stayed in Loiusville last night. Finally convinced him to rent a room by the week up there to stay in 3 or 4 nights a week. This job is wearing us both out with the long days!

It was beautiful here yesterday...heavy cloud cover and no sun till about two, so seemed much cooler. Worked in the gardens till then, weeding and watering. Suppose to be the same today, so hopefully might be able to finish the main garden. Finally got all of the landscaped beds weeded and everything around here has been edged, so all looks so much better.

Will work on the outside as long as I can hold up today.

Have a great day!

Oops! I missed this thread - got too busy to notice it but you folks are inspiring :)

Got a couple of hens last month to keep my lonely rooster company. It's nice to have fresh eggs. One lady in a nearby farmer's market asks $5 per dozen (greenish ones, Aracuana or whatever it's called). I'm not paying that unless I hatch them out.

Bees - I got into it 4-5 years ago. Supposedly would expect to make about $400/hive/year after the first year according to the beekeepers class I took at the ag school (4 months long - highly recommend - there is a lot to learn about bees - given by a local bee club). BUT - bees have got MAJOR disease problems right now. In addition to various mites which bother them a lot, now there is something called colony collapse disorder which is wiping out hives. Talk to your local bee club before you invest much into this. Old used hives often have foulbrood and other diseases so it probably isn't a good way to "save" money.

I really need to find more bootstrapping stuff. Life keeps getting in the way. Daughter and babies just moved back in. I quit a decent paying job because of ridiculous hours but still can't find time to do everything!

Good luck on getting your husbands more freedom and more time close by. Very important!
Juli

Thanks, Mayflwrhem. Glad to have your input.

Our plans are on hold again, as we're leaving for New Mexico for a few months of work. But I'll have plenty of time to study while gone.

msrobin, when I had classes for the Master Gardener class in Bowling Green I found out they have an active bee keepers group that meet once a month. They are from surrounding counties. Carol is one agent that you can ask for she if very educated and helpful. Sweet person too. Good Luck

I have turned a hobby into a micro business, selling the increases from my hybrid dayliles. DG ads have helped a great deal with orders.
Teresa

Teresa, I have several things that I could do from home to generate income, but can't do much out here on the road. But every chance we get to be home for a month or two, we get a little more prepared for when we can stay home permanantly.

I'll have to check out selling through DG ads. I'm selling a little bit on EBAY, but had to remove my paintings. Too much trouble to carry them around the country. I did bring paint supplies, so if I paint any others while we're here, I can add those back in.

Robin

So you are an artist? Post a couple of pics, please.

I posted a link to some of my paintings and projects on this thread awhile back.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/750871/

One suggestion for a side business is pumpkins. They are relatively easy to grow. A friend of mine grew them on 1 acre and ended up with a profit of over $5000.