Lessons Learned..

[12vman]

Bee_Pipes inspired this thread.. ;)

I'll have to admit.. When I started my adventure out here, I wasn't the most informed person on all of my options of solar heating/cooling, positioning of my house, (North/South) or anything for that matter. I basically just done what was easy and quick to get things togather and move in. I made a statement on another thread.. (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=ene-otheralt;action=display;num=1198707145) Quote..

"Wish I knew then what I know now when I was building. Things would be different.."

I envy the guys and gals who are just starting their adventures and having the pleasure of finding sites like this one to gather information and do stuff right from the get-go. I didn't have access to a computer untill I was well into the building process..

Yup.. Things woulda been different around here. I woulda built at a different location on the property, I woulda positioned my home in a different direction, I woulda...ect, ect.. But, now it's kinda late.. :-/

Has anyone else ran into this "Kick Yerself in the Butt" feeling? I just shake my head at times.. :P
~Don

[bookwormom]

yea, sort of. I wish would have had access to advice and information instead of just flying by the seat of our pants. we could have done worse though.

[Naughty_Pines]

Necessity is the mother of invention. Git'er done is almost everyones motto. As the German saying goes. "We are too soon old and too late smart."

Mistakes happen. Improve with age.

[Deberosa]

Lots and lots of lessons learned, basically because I just have to figure stuff out for myself. ;-)

1. Invest in the right way to do something from the start! Like a tractor - bought a little one to "save" and ended up getting the one I should have gotten in the first place anyhow!
2. FENCE FENCE FENCE! All of those beasties get out of hand when roaming free - first it was bunnies that the neighbor turned loose. How cute.... Until there were close to 200 of them 6 months later!!!! Same with chickens - destroying everything green in site - camping on the deck (YUK!). Can't have too much fence.
3. Make your gates wider than your tractor. ;D
4. Finish the first 10 projects before you start the next 10 project (maybe I will someday practice what I preach).
5. Get rid of carpet - put in wood/vinyl/laminate or it will drive you crazy!

I am sure I will come up with more!

[Northern_bushrat]

We seem to very slow learners...my partner and I both had properties that we built on before moving out into the bush. He built a "guest cabin" at his place first, planning to build a bigger house later. Never happened. I built two small tourist cabins at my place first, moving into one and planning to build my bigger house later. Then we met, moved out into the bush, and.......built a tourist cabin first that we live in now, planning to build a bigger house for ourselves later! Our motivation of erecting yet another cabin is very low, especially since we manage to get by without cluttering the place up with potentially annoying tourists. But we saved the best building spot on this lot for our future house, so maybe before we're retirement age we'll get to it yet :-/

[Txanne]

Bee_Pipes inspired this thread.. * ;)

I'll have to admit.. When I started my adventure out here, I wasn't the most informed person on all of my options of solar heating/cooling, positioning of my house, (North/South) or anything for that matter. I basically just done what was easy and quick to get things togather and move in. I made a statement on another thread.. (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=ene-otheralt;action=display;num=1198707145) *Quote..

"Wish I knew then what I know now when I was building. Things would be different.."

I envy the guys and gals who are just starting their adventures and having the pleasure of finding sites like this one to gather information and do stuff right from the get-go. I didn't have access to a computer untill I was well into the building process..

Yup.. Things woulda been different around here. I woulda built at a different location on the property, I woulda positioned my home in a different direction, I woulda...ect, ect.. But, now it's kinda late.. * :-/

Has anyone else ran into this "Kick Yerself in the Butt" feeling? I just shake my head at times.. * :P
~Don






Amen!!

Deb--said make your gates wider than your tractor--LOl and dont lose the keys to the lock---and the house and the pickup---I had to have a neighbor torch the lock off for me.

From feb.3 until March the 13th is about as much time as I had to think about my move.

What a shock--no bath-tub-no stove for cooking or heat--[[like to have froze to death]]no sink no cabinets.
And the 80 yr old house was the coldest in the winter and burned me up in the summer.

Had noone but me and a Dream.

Reality is a real eye opener--Plan Plan Plan.

The death of my husband left me little time---and I had a crash course in survival.

With all the problems that besat me--I loved every minute of it.

I learned bugs are bigger and badder in the country--snakes WIll come in the house and scorpians will fall in your bed.

Skunks sleep where they want to--and get very UPSET when awakened by anything---27 times one winter they got upset.

I would do it again in a heartbeat!!

I too didnt have this site too come too---winged it--what an adventure.

Txanne

[WileyCoyote]

1) Hauling water is not fun, is not an adventure, and gets to be a drag in snow. Pipe everything.
2) If you don't have some mechanical/electrical ability, buy books and learn it, or partner with someone who has it. Blind experimentation can be um er shocking :o
3) Expect the unexpected. There I was sitting next to a red-hot stove, writing by kerosene lamp, 3 miles from pavement in the dusk of a winter evening - and a knock at my door introduced me to a rancher who was riding his horse nearby and saw a light where he didn't expect one.
4) Always buy a little more than you think you need.
5) Learn to appreciate the humor in everything, even varmints. One determined rat used to look down at me at night from an open attic door, and push stuff down on me in the bed.
6) Have faith. For months I'd heard about those terrible destructive wild horses - but when I went out the gate and sat on a rock, they eventually came up to me and I could actually pet them.
7) Enjoy what happens. Coyotes yelling at the back gate isn't soothing, but watching them in the moonlight is amazing.

[bee_pipes]

...5. Get rid of carpet - put in wood/vinyl/laminate or it will drive you crazy!...


I was kind of thinking bigger picture stuff, but guess there are a million little things that go into this. Since you aren't moving into a suburban tract housing cracker box where you have to live with someone else's decisions, you get to make choices about something as simple as the width of a doorway, or as fundamental as the site location of the house.

Carpets seem trivial, but I can vouch for the nusiance. If you are moving from town to the country and you have carpets - sell them or give them away before moving. No matter how careful you are, they will get filthy the first time you come back inside. It will drive you nuts and waste energy. We finally surrendered to the inevitable and got rid of the last carpet. We have small rugs by the door and such, but nothing too big for one person to take outside and shake.

There was an excellent article in issue #92 called the "Forever Floor"
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/lee92.html
Can't afford hardwood or laminate? Don't want to screw with linoleum? This is pretty cheap.

Regards,
Pat

[Deberosa]

Yes, I have that article also - but decided with laminate in the main areas and a different kind of tabbed wood grain vinyl in the office. Still have two more rooms of carpet in the back bedrooms for the next stage!

But I have a much longer list of stupid homesteader lessons, that was just the start!

* Thoroughly prepare and mulch the soil before putting in permanent plants like raspberries or you won't find them among the weeds after a year!

* Get the right equipment/supplies up front instead of buying cheapo stuff and then it wears out or breaks or simply doesn't do the job right and you end up getting rid of it and getting what you should have gotten in the first place! For instance my tractor. I got a weed wacker, walk behind tiller, lawn tractor, lawn cart, generator, etc. etc. in order to do what a tractor could do. Now all of those other items are pretty much extra stuff to take care of! Plus - I spent a good five months clearing and burning by hand the quarter acre of thick blackberries that would have been eliminated and turned to mulch in an afternoon with the tractor!!! I could have done much more in that time with all of that effort! Same goes with plant stock and live stock - get the best if it's going to be around for any length of time.

* Write down what you planted where.... :-[

[humbug]

Buy quality tools and equipment. Don't loan it out. Failure to plan on your neighbors part does not involve an emergency on yours.

Fence Fenc Fence...deer may be cute but they will destroy your trees and garden.

Have a long range plan....winging it will end up costing you money.

Finish one project before you start another one (note to self...reread this one)

Make a commitment to your homestead and stick with it.

[oldnndway]

" Has anyone else ran into this "Kick Yerself in the Butt" feeling? I just shake my head at times.. * "

12V, that's the story of my life .... hindsight is indeed 20/20

Should've - Could've - Would've - ...didn't

[leera]

I was sitting here thinking about what an inspration Jackie Clay has been to me towards reaching my goals......thinking I should post something about it,and here 12vman has started one...THANKS! ;D

Jackie Clay has been a big inspiration,reading her articles and columns has shown me me,that even though I was born and raised in the city and know abslolutely nothing about homesteading,it can be learned and can be done.

Lessons learned........where to start.

You can reach your goals no matter how far away and impossible they seem.Even paying off 20K in debt in a reasonable amonut of time........

In the time it has taken to pay off that debt.I have learned basic construction,gardening,preserving,home sewing,and countless other usefull things that I might not have learned without first finding BWH magazine,and then the web forum.

I am glad that I found this site when I did,and there are a few others I belong to or visit regularly.

Without the aid of the interent the learning would be all hands on in the dark,feeling my way along the path.......and I might not have found the right path anyway.

But thanks to technology I can bring up nearly everything I need to know right here on my computer.I can read of the sucesses and failures of others and make sure I do what works rather than what didn't.........

[RangerRick]

Hind sight is indeed 20/20 while foresight is a gift from God. Me, I got plenty hind sight and what little foresight seems to be a bit on the foggy side.

;D

Rick

[flatwater]

Well I could have done all the research , plan for endless hours, grovel over decisions , Change my mind a dozen times , and got all stressed out but hay! whats the fun in that. and besides perfect gets boreing and you don't learn anything that way.
Flatwater

[MadTripper]

Our homestead is still being pieced together however we finished our house in June and have learned quite a bit.

I hate to sound cliche however planning is key. I worked on our house design for 2 years and still made some changes during construction. It really isn't fancy but it is practical and efficient. We have 8 steps to climb every time we come in and the same to go down when we exit. However, washer and dryer are on the same floor as everything else. At 33 it isn't a big deal but as time moves on, I don't want to carry laundry up and down stairs.
Our heating system is about as efficient as you can get save solar options. It is comfortable and uses about 1/4 of the fuel others in my area use while the thermostat stays at 70. We can have two showers and the dishwasher going and not run out of hot water or be affected by someone flushing a toilet.
Tile flooring can be expensive but there are deals out there and not only does it help our heating system, your friends child can vomit chunky milk all over it and you can just laugh cause it wipes right up.
All the leftover ends of building lumber makes great kindling and project wood for other items...like a chicken coop. We built ours free of charge from leftover wood and one gift card.
Put a few outdoor outlets on a switch from inside the house. It is much more convenient to flip a switch to turn Christmas lights off vs. unplugging in rainy or nasty weather. Doesn't really add much cost if you are building.
Cieling fans make a world of difference on a hot, stagnant day.
More isn't always better but in the insulation world, it is. R 53 in our cieling, 21 in the walls and 28 in the floor adds to the comfort and efficincy of our home.
Even if you aren't putting a central vac system in, spend the $50 for the piping and install it along with some cat 5 wire. After you go through 3 or 4 traditional vaccums while you still have the same shop vac, you might want to give it a try and you'll be glad you did.
Figure out where your toilet paper holder is going and put a bunch of cross bracing there. Somehow, your kids will rip it out of the wall if you don't.

I'm sure there are more things to think of but its early in the game for us. I definately agree with purchasing well known equipment as far as tools and so on. Spend the money, take care of it, keep it for a lifetime. Worse case, sell it for half of what you paid in 20 years and buy the same brand again.

Tripper