Cooking without a fridge or freezer

[rodentraiser]

Also, you can learn a lot from following some of the van dwelling and RV'ing YouTube videos.

I've been watching them. Some of them are quite informative. Others tend to go, say, in another direction. A lot of the info I've picked up seems to be from people who have a bunker and think the world is going to end. They're a little scary to watch, to put it mildly.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Also, you can learn a lot from following some of the van dwelling and RV'ing YouTube videos.

I agree, lots of great information on YouTube about off-grid living, homesteading, etc...

I'm also curious about the source of electricity. If you have electricity on the street/road you should be able to have the power company install a construction service that would allow you to have a couple of outlets on a pole. The cost in my area is about twice the cost of regular monthly electric service and can be converted once you have a permanent structure. Even with the higher monthly cost, in the beginning, I think that it would give you so many less expensive options for heating, cooling, entertainment, etc...

Such an interesting and exciting project!!!

 

[rodentraiser]

Good for you! Just do it.


I was part of the back to the land movement of the 1970's and loved it. Lived that life until recently.


We built our own composting toilet. From what I have read, it worked much better than the store bought composting toilets. It was a two story structure. Like an outhouse above a cement block holding structure.


https://www.amazon.com/Toilet-Paper...e+toilet+papers&qid=1551586391&s=books&sr=1-5


Good luck!

I'll have to look at that. Thank you! What I could also do is get a large plastic tank and either use that as an above ground septic tank or have it buried. The difference between that and a septic is that a plastic tank isn't as expensive, but I would need to have it pumped probably every year. The tanks run about $5000 and then I would probably pay to have it put in the ground and I have no idea how much that costs. Putting in a septic system would only cost $10,000 and the ground is already perked and a design is on file for that.

Because I'm on a hill, everything here seeps down to the Canal, which is really ocean. If that weren't the case, I'd just dig a hole and put a toilet over it. But I think I'd rather compost. The soil here is on rock and it's going to be labor intensive enough to bring in good soil for a garden. And composting will cut down on the garbage. Unfortunately, with having to eat out of boxes and cans, my garbage is probably going to pile up fast. That's the one thing I noticed when I started cooking instead of buying take out all the time. My garbage went down and my
dishes went up!

 

[roadfix]

Reason I've been following these videos on YouTube is that one of these days I'm getting a used utility cargo van and turn it into a part time camper.

 

[rodentraiser]

I agree, lots of great information on YouTube about off-grid living, homesteading, etc...

I'm also curious about the source of electricity. If you have electricity on the street/road you should be able to have the power company install a construction service that would allow you to have a couple of outlets on a pole. The cost in my area is about twice the cost of regular monthly electric service and can be converted once you have a permanent structure. Even with the higher monthly cost, in the beginning, I think that it would give you so many less expensive options for heating, cooling, entertainment, etc...

Such an interesting and exciting project!!!

Electricity is there, but I need a transformer on the property. It will cost about $5000 to put that in and then however much more it will cost to bring in the electric. I think it's one transformer to every two properties, so I don't know if I'd get refunded $2500 if someone developed the lot next to mine. There aren't any poles here because all the electric is underground.

I used to think that was awesome until I realized it still connects to an above ground power grid and that gets knocked out on a regular basis.

I think I'd feel more excited about it if I weren't so old!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

rr, I've been following this thread since you started it and still haven't decided if you are very brave or a little crazy. : wink: Probably a little bit of each.

I have suggestions for two other websites that might help you. Lehman Hardware has been in OH Amish Country for decades. They are a good resource for non-electric options, whether you buy or just window shop. https://www.lehmans.com

The Mother Earth News magazine has been around longer than I have been around for ages also. Lots of good info on their website if you don't want to subscribe. https://www.motherearthnews.com

Good luck!

 

[rodentraiser]

Reason I've been following these videos on YouTube is that one of these days I'm getting a used utility cargo van and turn it into a part time camper.

An econoline van would be nice. A truck with a camper shell on the back would be nice too, but you need the kind of camper shells that are insulated with a light in them. Not the plastic kind.

I think the smaller the better. Campers are fine, but if you're driving the country, a van is much more unnoticeable and much easier to find parking for. You can park a van in a parking lot under a shade tree and no one will think twice about it.

I lived in my car for about 3 months and if you're interested, I could tell you how I had that set up.

 

[rodentraiser]

rr, I've been following this thread since you started it and still haven't decided if you are very brave or a little crazy. : wink: Probably a little bit of each.

I have suggestions for two other websites that might help you. Lehman Hardware has been in OH Amish Country for decades. They are a good resource for non-electric options, whether you buy or just window shop. https://www.lehmans.com

The Mother Earth News magazine has been around longer than I have been around for ages also. Lots of good info on their website if you don't want to subscribe. https://www.motherearthnews.com

Good luck!

Probably more crazy than brave. I lived out of my truck (camper shell on back) for 6 years back in the 90s in California when rent was going up so fast and I couldn't find a place I could afford (I was working a minimum wage job while I went to school in those years). So I pretty much know what I'm capable of doing. But whether it's feasible at my age - that's the big question. I'm 30 years older now and for all I know, I'm getting senile and maybe that's why I think I can do this.

I like Mother Earth. Our local library carries it and I used to go in there and read it every month. Thank you for the link to the Amish catalog. I'm going to go look at that right now. Where's our thumb's up smiley?

 

[bethzaring]

A website that could be helpful to you is Homesteading Today.

https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/

To get answers for your cooking questions for might try the first forum listed, Homesteading Questions, or a little further down, the Cooking forum. But you would probably have the most luck down in the Specialty Forums, Survival and Emergency Preparedness. This website is not for the faint of heart!

Also, check your library for the magazine "Countryside". It used to be called "Countryside and Small Stock Journal", don't remember when the name changed. It has been published since 1917 and generally has more accurate, practical, and helpful advice than the Mother Earth News. The Mother Earth News is geared more for the wannabes; Countryside is geared for the folks actually doing it.

https://countrysidenetwork.com/magazines/

 

[Linda0818]

You're welcome! I really want a Doberman again, but the breeders here (the good ones) only breed a litter maybe once every year or two and charge $2600 for their pups. But I still can't have a dog till I get the property fenced and who knows when that will be.

I love Dobermans. But wow, that's expensive!

 

[rodentraiser]

A website that could be helpful to you is Homesteading Today.

https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/

To get answers for your cooking questions for might try the first forum listed, Homesteading Questions, or a little further down, the Cooking forum. But you would probably have the most luck down in the Specialty Forums, Survival and Emergency Preparedness. This website is not for the faint of heart!

Also, check your library for the magazine "Countryside". It used to be called "Countryside and Small Stock Journal", don't remember when the name changed. It has been published since 1917 and generally has more accurate, practical, and helpful advice than the Mother Earth News. The Mother Earth News is geared more for the wannabes; Countryside is geared for the folks actually doing it.

https://countrysidenetwork.com/magazines/

I'll be checking that out. Thank you!

I love Dobermans. But wow, that's expensive!

Well, the breeder stands behind her dogs and in her contract, she makes it a requirement that if you can't keep the dog, it goes back to her. She doesn't want her dogs ending up in shelters.

But that makes it worthwhile to me. If something happens to me at my age, I want to know any dog of mine will be taken in and rehomed to the best home possible. It's fine when you have a small, cute dog. A lot of people would want to keep them. But a large Doberman is much harder to place and especially if he's been protection trained. I wouldn't want my dog to end up as a guard dog in a junkyard after he's been used to sleeping on the bed.

 

[Linda0818]

I'll be checking that out. Thank you!



Well, the breeder stands behind her dogs and in her contract, she makes it a requirement that if you can't keep the dog, it goes back to her. She doesn't want her dogs ending up in shelters.

But that makes it worthwhile to me. If something happens to me at my age, I want to know any dog of mine will be taken in and rehomed to the best home possible. It's fine when you have a small, cute dog. A lot of people would want to keep them. But a large Doberman is much harder to place and especially if he's been protection trained. I wouldn't want my dog to end up as a guard dog in a junkyard after he's been used to sleeping on the bed.

That's perfectly understandable and I completely agree. She sounds like a responsible breeder. Someone many other breeders can take a lesson from.

 

[rodentraiser]

WOOHOOHOO - there is a small trailer on my lot now! I had it brought up this morning. It's a 29 ft 5th wheel with a teeny 6 x 8 living room, but it has a nice kitchen and it will have a lot of counter space once I toss the dinette set. It has a closet, some storage, a bathroom with a (little) tub, and even a space for a stackable washer dryer. It came with 2 propane tanks.

The bad news is there is some water damage, I want to replace the kitchen sink and cabinets, toss the toilet, the doors don't have keys, I'm missing a few screens, and I need to find a crank to level it. Floors could use some updating and it also leaks. But if I can fix it up, it will be better than living in my car.

 

[Linda0818]

WOOHOOHOO - there is a small trailer on my lot now! I had it brought up this morning. It's a 29 ft 5th wheel with a teeny 6 x 8 living room, but it has a nice kitchen and it will have a lot of counter space once I toss the dinette set. It has a closet, some storage, a bathroom with a (little) tub, and even a space for a stackable washer dryer. It came with 2 propane tanks.

The bad news is there is some water damage, I want to replace the kitchen sink and cabinets, toss the toilet, the doors don't have keys, I'm missing a few screens, and I need to find a crank to level it. Floors could use some updating and it also leaks. But if I can fix it up, it will be better than living in my car.

Congrats

You'll have to take some pics for us when you get it all fixed up. Or even now would be cool and you can take more as renovations continue on.

 

[Cheryl J]

Congrats, RR. I'm following your adventures with interest. Will you be able to continue making your dollhouses?

 

[pepperhead212]

Good to hear, RR! Good luck getting the leaks fixed quickly - first thing to work on.

 

[Linda0818]

Congrats, RR. I'm following your adventures with interest. Will you be able to continue making your dollhouses?

What??? Dollhouses???

(an obsession of mine since I was a little girl and I made a dollhouse out of window boxes, but I've always wanted a 'real' dollhouse, just could never afford one)

 

[rodentraiser]

Here's a couple pics from the ad. Naturally, I forgot to bring my camera with me when the trailer was delivered. I'm also posting another pic of the road around the corner from me. Yeah, that's still snow and that pic was taken this Monday. I'm going up again either Friday or Sunday and I'll be taking measurements and definitely more pictures.

Well, first things first with the trailer. I need to find a crank that will crank down and level the front. It's already leveled from side to side. Then I need to dump the mattress and sofa that was left in there, plus demolish the dinette set.

I also need to get keys for the doors. One is locked with the deadbolt, but the other isn't. I also don't have keys to the outside compartments, so that means looking for a crank could be a problem.

I would like to get a cable or chain to go across the driveway so someone can't just waltz out with the trailer, although I think that would be sort of harder with a 5th wheel than with a regular trailer.

I'm working on getting someone up there who can examine the trailer and tell me where the leaks are and how to repair them. Meantime, I think I'll throw a tarp over the whole thing, and then after all that, work on the interior walls that have water damage. And I want to tear the sink and sink cabinet out and replace it. I also want to tear out the toilet and replace it with a composting one. Last of all, I'll tear up the floors and replace those and then paint the rest.

So, lotsa work. And most of it I'll have to pay someone to do because I won't be physically able to do it.

I'm going to just sleep on my mattress and since it's a twin, I'll have room for a small table that I can cut the legs down on. I may be able store some of my totes with miniatures in them in that area, too, so I'll have room to work on a dollhouse there.

The good news is my trailer is parked in the sun, so there will be lots of light. The bad news is my trailer is parked in the sun, which means it will be hot in summer. But maybe I can find one of those screened tents and set it up in the shade and work there this summer.

Oh, yes, Linda, dollhouses! They're not cheap, but they don't have to be that expensive, either. I have one that will be over 4ft before I'm done, but I can't work on that in such a little trailer. So I'm working on another Colonial type dollhouse that I got for $20 on eBay. If I can, I'm going to cut it down to a Cape Cod style house with 4 rooms. You'd be so surprised what bargains you can find on Craig's List and eBay sometimes.

 

[Linda0818]

This is so cool. Thanks for the pics and the descriptions. I love this kind of thing. A friend of mine bought a small mobile home that was in a shambles and she fixed it up and is now living in it.

I'll check ebay for dollhouses.

 

[Cheryl J]

Thanks for the pics, RR! I have very fond memories of camping years ago in a very similar trailer.