Shelter...Staying where you are and Heating with a Wood Stoves

Home Sweet Home

     I know there are a lot of people that are moving to different places thinking that is the beginning of Prepping or Homesteading. Having a safe place off in the woods of Idaho...or any other place on the Redoubt Map. But most of us can't afford to move or want to be close to family that either can't or wouldn't dream of moving. I am, thankfully, on a property that has farmland surrounding it, although not my land. But it isn't in a neighborhood with rules so we are good. Being rural and zoned agricultural, we also don't have any ordinaces against livestock.  We own a little under 1 1/2 Acres. The house is approximately 170 years old, which is charming but let's face it, if you were standing around for 170 years you would have issues and not being the most skilled or gifted in repairs sometimes it is a challenge. BUT...we are staying right here. Not too far from the nearest big town (25 miles) or the biggest city in the state (67 miles) and like most old farmhouses, the house practically sits on the street but we do have freedoms that some do not have, we are in a pretty good place.
      So as just an overview of what we have done since preparing to become as self-sufficient as possible and after spending more money than I care to admit on freeze dried food that we will probably leave to our children in our wills, we started to think about what do we need to do.
     We garden yearly but on a smaller scale than we will this year. I have recently closed my business and can give much more attention to providing for ourselves through gardening and canning this year. Over the past 12 Years that we have lived here though, I have planted various Fruit trees and Berry bushes. (Also need to take care of those better now that I am free) The house came with 2 massive Pecan trees...I have allowed squirrels and crows to help themselves every year as time to gather that stuff was not on the list of my priorities. Things are about to change for them. :) A fig tree that has been harvested by the birds and maybe a few eaten while I have seen one ripe in passing. All to say I have been dabbling with self suffiency but being a business owner sort of hard to have the time to get serious. But I was always planting with a view to a future of doing it the way I have wanted to for a lot of years.
     After the first winter here, with our 10 foot ceilings and over $600 electric bill in October and going up from there, we knew we need to do something. We have 4 coal fireplaces and after inspection was told that the mortar in them was a mess and you couldn't burn anything in there without risking a fire possibly putting in new "sleeves". Yeah thousands of dollars and no quarantees because we had a 'split chimney' (they were back to back fire places on one chimney...one in the living room and the other side was the dining room...the other 2 were between 2 bedrooms, soooo...next idea.  Okay so how about gas logs. If you know anything about coal burning fireplaces you would know how small the opening is, maybe 15 inches total. So when the guy started talking about opening up also known is semi demolition to fit the logs...running lines etc. I knew this was going to be another expensive option and I really didn't want them to pull apart our old fireplaces whether or not they worked, it just seemed wrong. I started to talk about a wood stove. It didn't take much convincing to take the expensive plunge to buy it as when I showed my husband the electric bill his response was, "And we weren't warm even one day." Although a few years to find the money.  We found a company that had a chipped Vermont Castings Encore Stove said to heat a place of 1500 sq feet, most of our down stairs. I could care less if the thing was chipped...I knew me...once I buy something brand spanking new I will be the first one to put a ding or chip in it. We found a local guy with the right credentials for the Homeowner's Insurance to approve this addition and got it installed in an afternoon. He also gave us a name of a few people who were reputable to buy wood from. So, our first winter we tried to go completely without heat and just use wood. HOLY LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE!!! We kept using the electricity and the stove and were really not too content. We realized that the stove's heat was being sucked up by the registers basically cooled off by the trip to the heat pump and then would blow up cooler than it started. The wood stove that was supposed to solve all our problems became an expensive bit of Winter Ambiance. We realized that we basically needed to change our expectation of what winter should feel like while indoors. This was one of the many things that has to change way up in your head before you do anything. Sooo...we turned off the heat and knew that sleeping in the bedrooms was going to be crisp. Mornings in the kitchen also making that pot of coffee. 1500-1800 square feet of wide open space maybe but not an old timey house with a bunch of separate rooms...Foyer, Living room, dining room, 2 bedrooms, hall and kitchen to heat. We had a separate HVAC unit for upstairs and left that working for our kids that slept up there.

     The first winter we knew nothing about controling the heat...didn't know that different woods burn at different temperatures etc. So our kids come over one chilly Thanksgiving day and we have all the doors open with fans because the living room is 87 degrees. Since that time the heat upstairs died and the "kids" (Young adults now) have comforters and come down stairs to hang out, we actually see them quite a lot in the winter.
    We have bought wood from that same man for the years we have had the wood stove but at $160 a full cord and we burn about 7 cords in a average winter we needed to think of something else. So, this year we got a wood harvesting permit for $25 -$30 for 6 months. Unlimited wood as long as it is wood that are off of certain roads and is already down. You can't cut live trees. We bought a Husqvarna Chain saw...fixed up the old jeep and figured we would start harvesting at least once a month, every month to keep the supply up. We have gone exactly one time...but as I said, I am newly "retired" and my work was most weekends. We brought home, that one time, about 10 feet of a giant oak. We couldn't fit it all in the jeep and need to buy a trailer. But...ONE DAY and we put up $80 worth of wood. All we need is one winter and were we are totally self sufficient and we have saved enough to pay for the repairs on the jeep, the permit, gas to get there and the saw. 2nd winter...we are free and clear and saving $1200 a year!!!! I guess the 2nd year we will buy that trailer.
   Another thing we did this year to save money and be more self sufficient,  is to learn how to clean the stove pipe ourselves. We bought the brushes, took the thing apart and cleaned it up. We also replaced all the gaskets that needed replacing. Last year we spent $120 for someone to come do all that. This year, the brush cost $28, the gaskets and glue $15. And the brush won't have to be repurchased. As I have said earlier, we are not very handy but this was a breeze. My fear of the big gigantic mess we were going to make didn't happen at all!!  
    Well I guess that is all for now. I attached the wood heating chart from the forestry dept. They have a lot of information about wood heating so added the link also. Good Luck
https://forestry.usu.edu/htm/forest-products/wood-heating

Species	Weight (lbs./Cord)		Heat per Cord (Million BTUs)	% of Green Ash	Ease of Splitting	Smoke	Sparks	Coals	Fragrance	Overall Quality
	Green	Dry
Apple	4850	3888	27.0	135	Medium	Low	Few	Good	Excellent	Excellent
Ash, Green	4184	2880	20.0	100	Easy	Low	Few	Good	Slight	Excellent
Alder		2540	17.5		Easy		Moderate	Good	Slight
Ash, White	3952	3472	24.2	121	Medium	Low	Few	Good	Slight	Excellent
Aspen, Quaking		2160	18.2		Easy		Few	Good	Slight
Basswood (Linden)	4404	1984	13.8	69	Easy	Medium	Few	Poor	Good	Fair
Beech		3760	27.5		Difficult		Few	Excellent	Good
Birch	4312	2992	20.8	104	Medium	Medium	Few	Good	Slight	Fair
Boxelder	3589	2632	18.3	92	Difficult	Medium	Few	Poor	Slight	Fair
Buckeye, Horsechestnut	4210	1984	13.8	69	Medium	Low	Few	Poor	Slight	Fair
Catalpa	4560	2360	16.4	82	Difficult	Medium	Few	Good	Bad	Fair
Cedar, Red		2060	13.0		Easy	Low	Many	Poor	slight	Fair
Cherry	3696	2928	20.4	102	Easy	Low	Few	Excellent	Excellent	Good
Chestnut			18.0						Good	Good
Coffeetree, Kentucky	3872	3112	21.6	108	Medium	Low	Few	Good	Good	Good
Cottonwood	4640	2272	15.8	79	Easy	Medium	Few	Good	Slight	Fair
Dogwood		4230	High		Difficult		Few	Fair
Douglas-fir	3319	2970	20.7	103	Easy	High	Few	Fair	Slight	Good
Elm, American	4456	2872	20.0	100	Difficult	Medium	Few	Excellent	Good	Fair
Elm, Siberian	3800	3020	20.9	105	Difficult	Medium	Few	Good	Fair	Fair
Fir, White	3585	2104	14.6	73	Easy	Medium	Few	Poor	Slight	Fair
Hackberry	3984	3048	21.2	106	Easy	Low	Few	Good	Slight	Good
Hemlock		2700	19.3		Easy		Many	Poor	Good
Species	Weight (lbs./Cord)		Heat per Cord (Million BTUs)	% of Green Ash	Ease of Splitting	Smoke	Sparks	Coals	Fragrance	Overall Quality
	Green	Dry
Honeylocust	4640	3832	26.7	133	Easy	Low	Few	Excellent	Slight	Excellent
Juniper, Rocky Mountain	3535	3150	21.8	109	Medium	Medium	Many	Poor	Excellent	Fair
Larch (Tamarack)		3330	21.8		Easy-med		Many	fair	Slight	Fair
Locust, Black	4616	4016	27.9	140	Difficult	Low	Few	Excellent	Slight	Excellent
Maple, Other	4685	3680	25.5	128	Easy	Low	Few	Excellent	Good	Excellent
Maple, Silver	3904	2752	19.0	95	Medium	Low	Few	Excellent	Good	Fair
Mulberry	4712	3712	25.8	129	Easy	Medium	Many	Excellent	Good	Excellent
Oak, Bur	4960	3768	26.2	131	Easy	Low	Few	Excellent	Good	Excellent
Oak, Gamble			30.7
Oak, Red	4888	3528	24.6	123	Medium	Low	Few	Excellent	Good	Excellent
Oak, White	5573	4200	29.1	146	Medium	Low	Few	Excellent	Good	Excellent
Osage-orange	5120	4728	32.9	165	Easy	Low	Many	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Pine, Ponderosa	3600	2336	16.2	81	Easy	Medium	Many	Fair	Good	Fair
Pine, Lodgepole		2610	21.1		Easy		Many	Fair	Good	Fair
Pine, White		2250	15.9		Easy		Moderate	poor	Good
Pinyon		3000	27.1		Easy		Many
Poplar		2080	Low		Easy		Many	Fair	Bitter
Redcedar, Eastern	2950	2632	18.2	91	Medium	Medium	Many	Poor	Excellent	Fair
Spruce	2800	2240	15.5	78	Easy	Medium	Many	Poor	Slight	Fair
Spruce, Engleman		2070	15.0	78	Easy		Few	Poor	Slight
Sycamore	5096	2808	19.5	98	Difficult	Medium	Few	Good	Slight	Good
Walnut, Black	4584	3192	22.2	111	Easy	Low	Few	Good	Good	Excellent
Willow	4320	2540	17.6	88	Easy	Low	Few	Poor	Slight	Poor

Whether Homesteading or Prepping the focus is Taking Care of You and Your Family by

being as self sufficient as Possible. Surviving with Less Stress because you are prepared. Whether a Snow Storm, an Unexpected Job Layoff, a Universal Financial Depression or the SHTF.  There is such a number of cross-over blends of how to get there in these two goals that I decided to try to chronicle some of our learning curves! I find the whole homesteading movement to be a throw back from the 70's Hippie Movement and loving the Earth, All Natural, getting back to our Roots etc.  Back in the true Homesteading Days of the Western Expansion and even before that, coming to Wilderness America to Colonize it,  there were a few things that were no brainers to these people that we actually have to think through now.  I am going to list as though we are starting from scratch...We have found our Land where we are settling. Whether you are staying Urban and trying to be as self sufficient in where you are at or are branching out into the unknown Frontier (to  you) buying land and just getting started.

1. Shelter
2. Water
3. Food
4. Protection
5. Clothing
6. Housekeeping
7. Personal Hygiene.Health & Medical

From here We can branch out in particulars for each.
1. Shelter
      a. Our Own Homes
          1. Heat
          2. Furniture
          3. Bedding
          4. Lighting
          5. Bathroom/Privy
      b. Shelter for our animals
      c. Storage for our tools and other supplies or tractors etc.
2. Water
     a. Dig a Well
     b. Rain Barrels or Cistern
     c. Purification Systems
3. Food
    a. Gardening (seasonal)
    b. Perrennial Food Gardening
    c. Permaculture
    d. livestock
    e. Culinary Herbs
    f. Fermentation
    g. Canning/Preserving
    h. drying
    i. Farm to Table Cooking
    j. Cooking From Storage...Store the foods you love
4. Protectioin
    a. Firearms
    b. Fencing
    c. Is a Dog in your future
5. Clothing
   a. Sewing
   b. Knitting and Crocheting
6. Housekeeping
   a. Accumulating and storing Linens
   b. Household Cleaners
   c. Doing Laundry
7. Personal Hygiene & Health/Medical
     a. Soaps, shampoos etc.
     b. Medicinal Herbs/Teas/ Essential Oils

 

Just starting out....

    October 2008 and at Disney World when my phone starts going off. Clients cancelling Christmas Parties because of what was going on outside of the "Happiest Place on Earth" and it was anything but magical. Second time in the decade where we are faced with a different reality...First 9/11/01 and now this. I wasn't in the country for Y2K...but maybe...just maybe that was a dress rehearsal for the years to come.

    Always a fan the Little House books, and loved reading about The Great Depression...surviving what life hands you whether you are the first to move across a land that is not settled yet or losing everything and starting over. I looked at all of this as a challenge to my years of reading these stories of Resilience and creativity. In truth...nothing happened. My business didn't go under...people still got married and still hired caterers although they were a little more careful with how their money was being spent. But I did start thinking about prepping at that point and started to purchased some cans of freeze dried food, rice and beans...I mean isn't that where everyone starts? One Simple Question changed Everything..."What happens when this  food runs out?"
"BOING"   What does happen when this food runs out? I mean...The Great Depression lasted 10+ years...I couldn't possibly store and prepare for that sort of a time period. 
    I have always loved gardening and the last 15years had been producing some of our food. Always Tomatoes. I had canned in the past but never a massive amount. And my pickles always were a fail and likened to be like "Aunt Bea's Turpentine Pickles" from the Andy Griffith Show. 
  Well, we recovered by 2011 and I was working and earning a living, so even though I knew we could not sustain this "recovery" with so many issues in play, I lived like we could. Every once in awhile thinking we should probably move towards being more self sufficient. But I was busy with my business and that wasn't slowing down. Like Scarlett O'hara...I was going to think about it tomorrow.
   Well this past year I have closed my business and "retired"...too young for Social Security but done for the most part with the Rat Race. I started to thinking of the fact that retirement age wasn't in the very far distant and what did I need to do to live successfully during those years where neither I nor my husband was pulling an income. I wish I thought of this earlier...LOL...but paying off our house so we had no mortgage. Hmmm...Living Cheaply...AND...being Self Sufficient. Thus the Journey begins to HomeStead and Prep for the years to come...and I figure I was "HomeStrepping" from here on out.