Resourcefulness

Our current consumptive culture is creating a generation of people that are conditioned to buy versus creatively and resourcefully make what they need and want.  Money seems to rule all and the rampant (rabid?) retail frenzy is in full swing.   All around us, we see the "ideal life" pictured ~ a big new house, 2 cars, lots of "toys" (for the adults, too), tropical holidays in winter, never ending electronic upgrades, frequent meals out, fashionable clothing, spa treatments, gym memberships, daily drive-through special coffees...     I read a great article on Verge Permaculture's blog that explains exactly what I'm talking about ~ do read it.

There's a quiet uprising brewing.  In my permaculture class (taught by Rob Avis of Verge Permaculture), the overwhelming majority of my 20 some classmates were applying for (or had just been granted) a reduced work week in order to carve out more time for worthwhile activities such as gardening, preserving, cooking from scratch, working on eco retrofits to their home and landscape, recreation and simply, time to rest and relax with their families.  In our own family, my husband recently switched to a 4 day work week which has dramatically improved our lifestyle.  With a 3 day weekend, there's now enough time to work on projects that we've been wanting to try, not to mention, time at last for the creative juices to flow which fuels our resourcefulness.

Oh, the stories my Grandma tells about the Depression era and the resourceful frugality that reigned at that time.  People who were resourceful and creative made it through that wretched decade and I dare say that the general populous could use a healthy dose of resourcefulness in this day and age.

Over the last few years, we've been working hard at cultivating our sense of resourcefulness and creativity in order to develop our property.  Not only is that good for our finances, but also, it's good for the environment (by re-directing materials that might other wise end up in the landfill).   I'm a huge fan of freecycle and lately, we've been fortunate to receive a lot of really useful things through this network of generosity and goodwill....

Two adirondack chairs for our deck, fence boards for our planned hen run and food forest expansion, perennials, building materials, etc.  Between freecycle, kijiji (online classifieds) and bartering, we have managed to progress pretty far into our development plan without spending much money.

Here's the fence boards (100 - 1x6" 6 footers):

My son and I hammered all the nails through and pulled every last one. 

We stacked them all on a dolly so that it's easier for Kelly to cut off the last few inches that are rotten. Trimmed and painted, they'll be like new!  

Here's one of the 2 adirondack chairs.  They were in SAD need of a paint job - lots of peeling paint was falling off but they were sound with not a speck of rot!  

Kelly took them both apart and Reece sanded every piece down with a mouse sander.   Paige primed them and we are all taking turns painting them with outdoor white trim paint leftover from our renovation.

Kelly is building a shed right now and so far, it's made nearly entirely of recycled/repurposed materials.   He's only had to buy a few joist hangars - although not many as most were found in a bin in the garage when we moved in.   As you can see the first sheet of 3/4" plywood for the floor has gone down - and yes, it's got paint all over it, but it's being repurposed from another project.  This weekend will be all about getting the walls up and (fingers crossed) the trusses (which were leftover materials bought by Kelly  for just a few dollars each on an old job site).

The concrete sidewalk blocks were also on site when we moved in.  Bonus!

Stay tuned for our progress - Kelly has a 4 day long weekend starting Friday, so we really hope to get this shed finished and I'd like to finish painting those chairs so we can lounge in them on the deck!

How have YOU used resourceful solutions to meet your needs?  Do share :)