I have been on a mission lately to change my life, this is how things are going.

It is very hard for me to find work for various reason, I am home mostly and I am trying to figure out ways that I can improve our life (mine, my GF, and her daughter) without spending any money since I do not have allot. As well as improve the quality of life by eating healthier which I have been trying to do for a while now and I am getting better at it.

So I am daily on the free section of craigslist and I am on the lookout for anything and everything that could be used for building, gardening, and other interests of mine that I can fit into my SUV (wish I had a hitch and trailer, we are saving for that)

I don't have allot of room and I doubt that I could become completely free from the grocery store, but I am going to try my best! Recently I have hit the jackpot on many items and I have gotten started on my chicken coop and I have the materials for my rabbit hutch which I will start on next.

My goals:

Chicken pen with 3-4 chickens for laying eggs (started on coop, pics below)

Build a fireplace bbq pit on the porch (started collecting free bricks have about 50)

Collect wood (I get free wood all the time mostly cedar, I burn them in my chimineas but want to build the big firepit bbq on the porch)

Rabbits (have materials for hutch, plan to breed for meat and fertilizer)

Hanging tomatoes and peppers (got free buckets, ordered organic seeds for cheap)

Start planting dwarf trees like lemon/lime, banana, other fruit (I got like 200 free planters of different size, I have ordered some seeds but the dwarf trees I will have to get over time and I am on the lookout for any free ones)

Aquaponics/hydroponics (This might take a while since the parts are harder to come by free so I will have to buy things here and there)

Making my own soap (I am about to start experimenting with this since I burn wood and have ash I can use it to make lye)

I also plan to plant sunflowers for sunflower seeds because I love them lol I already ordered some.

I spend about $10 and got a great variety of heirloom non GMO seeds from ebay they should be in this week.

Pics so far of my chicken coop:








IDK why its not posting the pics on here its giving a link instead pics usually work fine for me idk.

Everything on the coop was gotten for free using maybe $15 in gas over the last few days plus stuff I already had from other projects or free stuff.

I am going to be probably finishing it tomorrow or mostly finishing it so I will add more pics on here tomorrow.

LOL I keep editing but I also wanted to say. You can do anything you put your mind to, its not really that hard and all the info you need out there is free, google is your friend! Even if you don't have allot of money you can always get thing for free and it never hurts to ask if you see something that you could use, all they can say is no.

I also have sourced free soil that is great from guy down the road, and all the horse poop I want free. Now I live around farms and stuff so other people that live more in the city this might be harder for you but call around, most people are willing to give the poop for free because they have no use for it. I will be starting composting with the horse poo until I get my rabbits going.

This is impressive. Look how creative you are and how well you are providing for your family. They must be very proud of you.

As 7 of 9 from Voyager would say, you are a very efficient drone.

You seem to be on the right track for more independence.
Have you looked into grape vines? They take little room if grown on an arch in the yard. Good for wine, and of course grapes.

Rabbits are more hassle than they're worth I've heard.

The chicken coop might do well. Keep looking for helpful YT videos on them.

Regardless of where you are at right now, you are on the right path for what you want IMHO.
I was the same with my gf and her kids. Little money, lots of ideas.

Keep on keeping on, Brah.

Nice job and I commend you for your efforts and resourcefulness! It's empowering to develop these skills.

If you haven't already you should look into cloning clippings from plants and trees. That should help on some cost. You can use 'real' honey as rooting compound and dip the clippings from a plant or tree in it, re-plant in soil and grow new roots. The honey feeds the plant sugars and in the meantime you have to water the leaves so the plant can get nourishment until the roots form. I've never done a tree but plants are usually easy to clone so I don't imagine trees would be anymore difficult.

for example:


Also I like your chicken coop. Are you planning to put a roof on it because they can get out? It only takes one to show the others and you won't be able to keep them in. Plus you don't want anything else getting in. A Raccoon wiped out half of my flock so beware of those. Not a pleasant sight either.

I'm planning to do Aquaponics this year. I've been thinking about putting a hot tub circulation pump and heater that I have onto a water container and regulating the temperature of the water to grow fish year round. 80 degrees is the lowest setting on a hot tub thermostat which is the perfect temperature for spawning Tilipia. Now I just need a water container big enough. I'm planning on buying a used IBC tote but for now I don't have an extra 80 bucks sitting around.

Good luck on your endeavors.

reply to post by TheLieWeLive


You.....

You're alright.
I'm liking your ideas and what you're saying.

I didn't know trimming with honey worked that well, makes sense, and I will be trying it.

***Clap Clap***

Thanks for all the comments! I have lots of plans, slowly but surely!

And yes I will have a top on it and finish the sides and front gate in pvc then put the wire over it like the rest.. I already have all the wire I need, the back of the coop gets shorted because I dont plan on walking in that areas its just more area for them to move around. The front part is 3in taller then me so I can walk around in it.

I plan to put the roosting boxes on top of that piece of wood coming off the porch, I am going to remove a few of those planks on the porch and I will have doors on the porch side so I can open the door and collect eggs without having to walk downstairs

I am going to put a little roost house or something for them to hang out at the end of the run also.

Its not beautiful but its free for the most part and very sturdy, we do have some animals around but the way I am building it they will have to try pretty hard to get in there. I am going to get some stuff from lowes tomorrow that I need to be able to finish it up, I will have to buy a little piping to finish the door since I don't have much of the 1" pipe only the smaller stuff.

FYI what I am using to connect the fencing to things is in the craft section at walmart its the flexible metal rods that you use to make flower arrangements its $1 for a big bag of them, I used 5 bags so far and I made it super sturdy I probably could have used less. They are very strong and flexible and good for lots of things.