Comments on: This Inner Struggle: Finding Balance http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2009/07/this-inner-struggle-finding-balance/ Our Family's Journey To Self Sufficiency Mon, 21 May 2012 13:35:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: christine http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2009/07/this-inner-struggle-finding-balance/comment-page-1/#comment-4925 christine Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:45:13 +0000 http://newlifeonahomestead.com/?p=1571#comment-4925 I love your blog and find my self admiring all yoru talks with adellia and trying to learn as much as i can from everyone around me too! I love your style and i am often finding myself at odds with that inner struggle, too...what would i like other people to think...whats important is what would the Lord think...I have found a couple things out though...as I live certaom "natural laws" i am blessed beyond messure. When I first started recycling and going green and organic, the law of "recycling" and caring for the things the lord provided boutifully on this earth came back to me! It started small just with carboard and cans and newspaper and milk jugs, but as i looked around our home contruction project i was just in awe of how much we were "throwing" away. We adding on and thus had taken out a wall and stripped siding and shingles and windows. We have a neighbor who uses a wood burning stove to heat their entire house and when we asked him if hed like the wood (i wasnt sure if he could use it bc it was treated, but he can!) he was so grateful. he asked us about the siding and we said we were just getting rid of it and he said he could use it for his shed! GREAT! there was another man in town who said that some of his windows were leaking air and asked if we were going to use ours (they were still in good condition but old) so we gave them to him. As a result what we ended up having to take to the dump cost us soooo much less! As we were taking a bunch of stuff from a reconstruction project to the dump they have a section that you can "sort" the recycalables, such as wood, rubber, etc. I went over to recylce some stuff and found a man getting rid of a bunch of outdoor play stuff. his wife had owned a daycare and had these awesome rubber mats to put the toys on. he also had a little tikes cube set and some picnic tables (kid size). as i takled with him he asked if i could use any of it as he would have to pay for what he couldnt recycle and felt bad for throwing it away since most was new! So of course i said sure! the mats were exacly what i was wanting for our basement (since we hav ea concrete floor) and since floods happen i didnt want to install carpet but wanted soemting softer then tile for the kdis to play on! These worked out so great1 I found out later that they would have cost me 750$!!! and the kids got thse great hand made picnic tables and playset too! All for obeying the laws of nature! Ive noticed other things too like the law of giving...when we give, service, or goods, they come back to us with what we need! The Lord is aware of us and our needs! He knows how to bless us! He also knows that there is more than enough in this owrld to go around to not only meet our needs but the desires of our hearts,too!! God is sooo good! Anyway, the reason i am really commenting on your blog is this...I recently plantign potatoes in tires and got too many! there is a reason they are given away free! because they cost to dispose of! Looking back, ifyou can find a planter for the 2.50 or so that the tire costs to dispose of it might be worth just buying the fancy pplanter on clearance in teh fall...what i use though, and i think it is a great idea...is recycled 5 gallon buckets. they come in sizes 2 gallon to 5, i get them for free a tthe local grocery stores bakery dept. (frosting comes in them, i just clean them out). My husband drills a few holes in the bottom so they drain. They are perfect planters. they have handles so i can hang them, ive done upside down tomatoes in them, salads, oranges, lemons, blueberries everything! And im doing herbs too. You can paint them or make them look "country". Best of all when you dont want them anymore, you just recycle them, for free! plus the size is just right for so many things! :) anyway, just a thought! Thanks for blogging and God bless you and your beautiful family! thanks for the inspiration! I love your blog and find my self admiring all yoru talks with adellia and trying to learn as much as i can from everyone around me too! I love your style and i am often finding myself at odds with that inner struggle, too…what would i like other people to think…whats important is what would the Lord think…I have found a couple things out though…as I live certaom “natural laws” i am blessed beyond messure. When I first started recycling and going green and organic, the law of “recycling” and caring for the things the lord provided boutifully on this earth came back to me! It started small just with carboard and cans and newspaper and milk jugs, but as i looked around our home contruction project i was just in awe of how much we were “throwing” away. We adding on and thus had taken out a wall and stripped siding and shingles and windows. We have a neighbor who uses a wood burning stove to heat their entire house and when we asked him if hed like the wood (i wasnt sure if he could use it bc it was treated, but he can!) he was so grateful. he asked us about the siding and we said we were just getting rid of it and he said he could use it for his shed! GREAT! there was another man in town who said that some of his windows were leaking air and asked if we were going to use ours (they were still in good condition but old) so we gave them to him. As a result what we ended up having to take to the dump cost us soooo much less! As we were taking a bunch of stuff from a reconstruction project to the dump they have a section that you can “sort” the recycalables, such as wood, rubber, etc. I went over to recylce some stuff and found a man getting rid of a bunch of outdoor play stuff. his wife had owned a daycare and had these awesome rubber mats to put the toys on. he also had a little tikes cube set and some picnic tables (kid size). as i takled with him he asked if i could use any of it as he would have to pay for what he couldnt recycle and felt bad for throwing it away since most was new! So of course i said sure! the mats were exacly what i was wanting for our basement (since we hav ea concrete floor) and since floods happen i didnt want to install carpet but wanted soemting softer then tile for the kdis to play on! These worked out so great1 I found out later that they would have cost me 750$!!! and the kids got thse great hand made picnic tables and playset too! All for obeying the laws of nature! Ive noticed other things too like the law of giving…when we give, service, or goods, they come back to us with what we need! The Lord is aware of us and our needs! He knows how to bless us! He also knows that there is more than enough in this owrld to go around to not only meet our needs but the desires of our hearts,too!! God is sooo good!

Anyway, the reason i am really commenting on your blog is this…I recently plantign potatoes in tires and got too many! there is a reason they are given away free! because they cost to dispose of! Looking back, ifyou can find a planter for the 2.50 or so that the tire costs to dispose of it might be worth just buying the fancy pplanter on clearance in teh fall…what i use though, and i think it is a great idea…is recycled 5 gallon buckets. they come in sizes 2 gallon to 5, i get them for free a tthe local grocery stores bakery dept. (frosting comes in them, i just clean them out).

My husband drills a few holes in the bottom so they drain. They are perfect planters. they have handles so i can hang them, ive done upside down tomatoes in them, salads, oranges, lemons, blueberries everything! And im doing herbs too. You can paint them or make them look “country”. Best of all when you dont want them anymore, you just recycle them, for free! plus the size is just right for so many things! :)

anyway, just a thought! Thanks for blogging and God bless you and your beautiful family! thanks for the inspiration!

]]> By: Pam B http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2009/07/this-inner-struggle-finding-balance/comment-page-1/#comment-3842 Pam B Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:44:47 +0000 http://newlifeonahomestead.com/?p=1571#comment-3842 I am fairly new to your site and have never posted, but I do often read it. I understand how you feel. My husband and I live in the suburbs, and we homestead to a degree (veggie garden, clothesline - not as much as I would like!) and we live extremely frugally. Over the past 10 years we have decorated our home very nicely, probably spending 1/10 of what anyone else would. We did it by garage saling, flea markets, Craigslist, and Freecycle. Oh, and finding things on the curb! We have 2 large oil paintings in our living room - one my husband found at the curb, another was $5 at a garage sale. We have a nice couch, loveseat, and 2 chairs - 2 of them were free from the curb and we paid $15 for one antique chair at a garage sale. Most of our area rugs (we have about 10 wool oriental style) have come from Craigslist or freecycle. I think the most we've paid for one is $20. My coffee table came from Freecycle. Most of my other decorations - candles & holders, lamps, throw pillows, floral arrangements, are from garage sales, $2 or $3 usually. My floor-length silk drapes & rod came from a garage sale. It takes time and patience, but $10 here and there over a few years really can give you a lovely, unique home. Most people who come to our house tell me it is very Martha Stewart or Pottery Barn, so I think my bargain hunting has paid off! My advice is to start looking at the Pottery Barn catalogs or their website, & really *looking* at the pictures, not just what they are selling. Many times they use old or "found" objects that you can easily copy for a really nice look. I am fairly new to your site and have never posted, but I do often read it. I understand how you feel. My husband and I live in the suburbs, and we homestead to a degree (veggie garden, clothesline – not as much as I would like!) and we live extremely frugally. Over the past 10 years we have decorated our home very nicely, probably spending 1/10 of what anyone else would. We did it by garage saling, flea markets, Craigslist, and Freecycle. Oh, and finding things on the curb! We have 2 large oil paintings in our living room – one my husband found at the curb, another was $5 at a garage sale. We have a nice couch, loveseat, and 2 chairs – 2 of them were free from the curb and we paid $15 for one antique chair at a garage sale. Most of our area rugs (we have about 10 wool oriental style) have come from Craigslist or freecycle. I think the most we’ve paid for one is $20. My coffee table came from Freecycle. Most of my other decorations – candles & holders, lamps, throw pillows, floral arrangements, are from garage sales, $2 or $3 usually. My floor-length silk drapes & rod came from a garage sale. It takes time and patience, but $10 here and there over a few years really can give you a lovely, unique home. Most people who come to our house tell me it is very Martha Stewart or Pottery Barn, so I think my bargain hunting has paid off! My advice is to start looking at the Pottery Barn catalogs or their website, & really *looking* at the pictures, not just what they are selling. Many times they use old or “found” objects that you can easily copy for a really nice look.

]]> By: Bridgett http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2009/07/this-inner-struggle-finding-balance/comment-page-1/#comment-3780 Bridgett Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:12:03 +0000 http://newlifeonahomestead.com/?p=1571#comment-3780 It is hard to be content when the world is constantly advertising to us! We have to renew our minds daily of our vision & why we are choosing to live this way or do that or this - fill it in. But all it takes is a few straight stiches and you could turn those sheets into curtains and buy the dollar rodes @ walmart. I've seen in country magazines where they have plants growing in tires! Shine those babies up and arrange them cute! You can do it!! It is hard to be content when the world is constantly advertising to us! We have to renew our minds daily of our vision & why we are choosing to live this way or do that or this – fill it in. But all it takes is a few straight stiches and you could turn those sheets into curtains and buy the dollar rodes @ walmart. I’ve seen in country magazines where they have plants growing in tires! Shine those babies up and arrange them cute! You can do it!!

]]> By: Deanna http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2009/07/this-inner-struggle-finding-balance/comment-page-1/#comment-3740 Deanna Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:00:27 +0000 http://newlifeonahomestead.com/?p=1571#comment-3740 Many craft stores... in my area Joanns... offer a monthly coupon. You must sign up for this at the store or maybe their website. They offer 50% off any one item that is not on sale. This takes a little work but I bought all the fabric for my curtains with this. Any one cut is 50% off. Once I got 25 yards for around $70! I just did it a little at a time. When it was done I was do proud! Much more so than if I had just went out and bought them. Sewing curtains are easy (ok measuring such large pieces is a little tricky). Also for plants I had a friend divide her daylillies and give me some and her irises also. I helped her do this and we both had a great time. This makes the plant bloom better. Also I ask for things for my birthday and Christmas. I make a wish list for my family. They would rather get things that I need. My dad always gives me a little bit of money for these occasions. I spend in on something that just I want. I am so proud of all the little things I have bought with this. It is amazing when you take the time to research something before you buy and then have to wait for it how much more you appreciate it. When I get bummed out about something being ugly but functional, I remind myself that poverty and care of resources is commanded by God. I know that someday Heaven will be more beautiful than I can imagine! Many craft stores… in my area Joanns… offer a monthly coupon. You must sign up for this at the store or maybe their website. They offer 50% off any one item that is not on sale. This takes a little work but I bought all the fabric for my curtains with this. Any one cut is 50% off. Once I got 25 yards for around $70! I just did it a little at a time. When it was done I was do proud! Much more so than if I had just went out and bought them. Sewing curtains are easy (ok measuring such large pieces is a little tricky).
Also for plants I had a friend divide her daylillies and give me some and her irises also. I helped her do this and we both had a great time. This makes the plant bloom better.
Also I ask for things for my birthday and Christmas. I make a wish list for my family. They would rather get things that I need.
My dad always gives me a little bit of money for these occasions. I spend in on something that just I want. I am so proud of all the little things I have bought with this. It is amazing when you take the time to research something before you buy and then have to wait for it how much more you appreciate it.
When I get bummed out about something being ugly but functional, I remind myself that poverty and care of resources is commanded by God. I know that someday Heaven will be more beautiful than I can imagine!

]]> By: Michelle http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2009/07/this-inner-struggle-finding-balance/comment-page-1/#comment-3723 Michelle Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:22:23 +0000 http://newlifeonahomestead.com/?p=1571#comment-3723 I love your site and have found so much useful information. I had no interest in sewing until my DH and I had our first apartment. I wanted it to be pretty but had no money. So I bought a used sewing maching and cheap fabric and got busy. My MIL taught me that you can get a lot of mileage out of sheets. Frugality and simplicity doesn't have to mean ugly and undecorated. I love your site and have found so much useful information. I had no interest in sewing until my DH and I had our first apartment. I wanted it to be pretty but had no money. So I bought a used sewing maching and cheap fabric and got busy. My MIL taught me that you can get a lot of mileage out of sheets. Frugality and simplicity doesn’t have to mean ugly and undecorated.

]]> By: Heather (a different one) http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2009/07/this-inner-struggle-finding-balance/comment-page-1/#comment-3682 Heather (a different one) Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:45:04 +0000 http://newlifeonahomestead.com/?p=1571#comment-3682 I too struggle with this. It is a huge battle. It seems especially hard to me when you are not surrounded by like-minded people (or if there are few to none). I work at a school where many of my co-workers make quite a bit more than I do. It seems to me that they are functioning at a level of comfort that I am not at. While we are slowly making it into the black (for now) we still need to be very frugal if we are to buy a house in the next few years and then get it paid off as soon as possible. Thanks so much for your thoughts. It really helps to stave off the green eyed monster when you know that you are not alone:) !! I too struggle with this. It is a huge battle. It seems especially hard to me when you are not surrounded by like-minded people (or if there are few to none). I work at a school where many of my co-workers make quite a bit more than I do. It seems to me that they are functioning at a level of comfort that I am not at. While we are slowly making it into the black (for now) we still need to be very frugal if we are to buy a house in the next few years and then get it paid off as soon as possible. Thanks so much for your thoughts. It really helps to stave off the green eyed monster when you know that you are not alone:) !!

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