Green Ideas - Freecycle USA

4 years ago DIY DIY Projects Freecycling Green Ideas Green Life Living Off Grid 10 Min Read

How To Add Ambiance In Your Patio: 10 Ideas for Patio Lights

Image Source: Unsplash‍

Today’s outdoor spaces are more than just a place to store lawn chairs and plants. They’re multifunctional areas that allow homeowners to enjoy the outdoors even when the sun goes down. In other words, your patio needs to double as both a daytime retreat and an evening hangout spot—all while maintaining its functionality as a space for entertaining guests or simply enjoying time with family. To help you achieve this goal, we’ve rounded up some of the best tips on how to add ambiance to your patio. Let’s face it: nothing worse than coming home after a long day at work and having no place to relax outdoors. Thankfully, all you need is an area outfitted with the right features for creating an amazing space that anyone would want to spend time in again tomorrow night. These ten ideas will help you make your patio more comfortable—and much more relaxing…

Add a Fire Pit

Nothing beats a fire pit when it comes to creating an outdoor space that’s ideal for entertaining. Fire pits come in all shapes, sizes, and styles, with some having a more modern appearance and others being more traditional. Fire pits are also a great way to create a more intimate environment outside. There’s nothing that says, “let’s cuddle up outside,” quite like a roaring fire. Fire pits are a great addition to any patio, backyard, or deck area. Fire pits are also a great addition if you have kids or pets who enjoy spending time outdoors. With a fire pit, you don’t have to worry about them getting too close to the flames or leaving a mess behind. If you want to add a fire pit to your patio or outdoor area, you can purchase a ready-made one or create your DIY fire pit. You can also purchase a gas fire pit to avoid the extra maintenance of wood-burning fire pits.

Install some Outdoor Lighting

When it comes to patio lighting, there are quite a few options to choose from. The best type of lighting will depend on the patio space itself, as well as your taste. You can choose from string lights, wall lights, lanterns, or chandeliers. Even solar-powered options won’t require any wiring, making them a great choice for patios that aren’t easily accessible by conventional wiring. Whether you go for string lights, wall lights, or lanterns, you’ll want to make sure you have enough light to thoroughly illuminate the patio. Low-level lighting is best for creating a nice ambiance, but it can get tricky when it comes to safety. Ensure you have enough lights to prevent falls or other accidents that could occur without enough light.

Add some Plants

Another great way to enhance your patio is by adding some plants. Patio plants such as ferns, palms, and bromeliads are the perfect choice for patio areas since they’re not only great at cleaning the air but also add some natural greenery and vibrancy to your space. When choosing plants for your patio, keep in mind that some plant species thrive in the hot, dry environment found on a patio. You can also choose to add potted plants or hanging plants to your patio to add both color and texture to your space. If you have the room to add additional plant pots and planters, you can also add some edible plants to your patio space, which is a thoughtful touch for outdoor entertaining.

Install a hammock

If you have the room on your patio, why not install a hammock? Not only will hammocks be a great place to relax and unwind after a long day, but they’re also a perfect place to invite friends and family to hang out. If you want to take your hammock to the next level, you can also choose to add some decorative pillows or even a canopy to provide some additional shade and privacy for your patio hammock. Hammocks are a great addition to any patio area, especially if you have a large patio space that can accommodate one. Hammocks provide a fun and creative way to transform your patio from a utilitarian outdoor space into a multi-functional area that is great for relaxing and entertaining. If you have the room, a hammock is one of the best additions you can make to your patio.

Add some pillows and blankets

Pillows and Blanets — Pillows and Blankets – Adobe Stock

Sometimes, you just want to kick back with a beer or a glass of wine and enjoy the outdoors. The best way to do this is by adding some pillows and blankets to your patio. You can choose between outdoor pillows, outdoor blankets, or both. If you want to add some color to your patio space, outdoor pillows are an easy and inexpensive way to do so. You can also add throw blankets to your patio, which is another great way to spruce up your patio space with extra color and texture. If you want your patio to be the most inviting and comfortable outdoor space, adding pillows and blankets is a must.

Hang out-furniture

Instead of opting for traditional patio furniture, try some creative seating options that transform your patio from a typical outdoor space into a creative hangout spot. You can choose from outdoor swings, hammocks, chairs with built-in seats, and more. Indoor furniture is often bulky and difficult to maneuver on a patio, which is why outdoor furniture can be a great alternative. Outdoor furniture such as hammocks, swings, and chairs with built-in seats are easy to move around your patio and are designed to withstand the outdoor elements.

Include a dining area

If you spend a lot of time entertaining outdoors or just like to have family dinners outside, you can create a dining area on your patio. You can choose from a variety of materials when it comes to creating a dining area in your patio, including wood, fabric, or even a synthetic grass patio. Dining areas on your patio are a great way to create an outdoor space for all guests. If you’re hosting a large gathering, it’s a great way to ensure everyone has enough space and feels comfortable while still enjoying the outside.

Add some couches or rocking chairs

While dining areas are a great way to transform your patio into a dining space, if you prefer to relax with some outdoor lounging, you can add couches or rocking chairs to your patio space. If you’re looking for a comfortable outdoor space that is ideal for relaxing, couches and rocking chairs are a great addition to your patio. They provide a relaxing space that is perfect for reading a book, sipping on a drink, or even just watching the sunset.

Conclusion

When adding ambiance to your patio, there are endless possibilities to consider. From installing lighting to adding plants, there are many ways to transform your patio into a great space for relaxing and entertaining. Whether you choose to add a dining area or lounging furniture, these additions are sure to make your patio the most inviting area in your home.

READ MORE!

Green Life Living Homesteading Urban Farming

4 years ago Green Life Living Homesteading Urban Farming 10 Min Read

The Off-Grid Garden: A Complete Guide to Creating a Sustainable Garden for the Home

Image Source: Unsplash‍

You might think of a garden as having little to do with being off-grid, but the opposite is true. In fact, an off-grid garden will be invaluable in making your home more self-sufficient and independent, reducing your reliance on outside resources for water and food. A traditional on-grid garden is far from self-sufficient and independent. Rather than simply grow potatoes in your backyard or plant a few herbs on your windowsill, an off-grid garden is fully integrated with the needs of the home to ensure that nothing is wasted. Instead of throwing away excess compost or buying soil every year, you’ll have a small ecosystem that utilizes everything and produces what you need.

What is an Off-Grid Garden?

An off-grid garden is one that is not connected to the city’s water or power grid. Instead, it’s designed to rely solely on its own resources for water and power. If you’re planning to go off-grid, you’ll need to choose plants that are low-maintenance and can survive without artificial irrigation or electricity. If you’re going off-grid, you might find that having a garden can be even more important than usual. That’s because you won’t have access to store-bought produce, so you’ll need to grow your own to ensure that you’re getting enough vitamins and minerals in your diet. That’s why an off-grid garden is a great idea if you want to be as self-sufficient as possible.

The Importance of Producing Your Own Food and Water

There are plenty of reasons to grow your own food and collect water from your roof instead of buying it from a store. For one, it will save you a lot of money. Producing your own food and water will also reduce your carbon footprint by cutting down on the amount of energy you use and the amount of pollution you create. It can even help you prepare for the future since it will make it easier to live through an emergency situation or natural disaster. When you grow your own food, you can choose exactly which vegetables to plant and how much of each one to grow. That means no pesticides, chemicals, genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. You’ll also be able to eat healthier because you can control what goes into your food. With water, you can collect rainwater or run water from your roof through a filtration system to remove impurities. That way, you won’t have to rely on store-bought water that might be contaminated.

The Key Benefits of an Off-Grid Garden

– Improved food security – If you have an off-grid garden, you won’t have to worry about a lack of food as long as you’ve done your job properly. You’ll have plenty to eat even if there’s a disaster or you lose power. – Increased productivity – An off-grid garden can produce more food than a traditional on-grid garden because it can take better advantage of natural resources, like the sun and rain. – Reduced reliance on pesticides – When you grow your own vegetables, you don’t have to use pesticides. – More nutritious food – In addition to not using pesticides, you’ll also be able to grow heirloom and organic vegetables, which are healthier than their genetically modified counterparts. – Self-reliance – Growing your own food and water on an off-grid scale will help you be self-reliant.

Identifying the Space for Your Off-Grid Garden

Before you start designing an off-grid garden, you’ll need to find the ideal space for it. The first thing you’ll want to do is assess the amount of space you have. You’ll need a large plot of land for an off-grid garden since food production will require a lot of open space. Your garden should be located as close to your house as possible, since carrying vegetables from further away will be time-consuming. You’ll also want to pay attention to your soil quality. Ideally, your off-grid garden should be located in soil that is rich in nutrients, like compost or manure. You can test your soil to see if it has the right pH level, which will indicate if it has enough minerals and nutrients. If not, you can add compost to enrich it.

Creating an Off-Grid Plan for Your Garden

Once you’ve chosen a plot of land, you’ll need to design your off-grid garden. Start by drawing a diagram of your garden and noting which plants will be located in which spots. Be sure to account for pathways, fencing, and any other structures that will be in your garden. Next, decide where you’ll be collecting water and how it will be stored. You may want to collect rainwater from your roof and run it through a filtration system, or you might want to use a water storage tank. Finally, determine what type of soil you’ll be working with. You can collect soil samples from different parts of your plot to test them for pH levels. Once you know what kind of soil you have, you can use it to determine which plants will grow best there.

Selecting Plants for Your Off-Grid Garden

Now that you’ve determined where your garden will be located and how it will be designed, you can start selecting plants. Start by choosing vegetables that are easy to grow. Vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, and beans are good beginner choices since they don’t have special growing requirements. You’ll also want to select vegetables that are best suited to your growing conditions. For example, if you have a lot of rain, you might want to plant vegetables that thrive in moist environments, like broccoli and lettuce. When you’re choosing the best vegetables for your off-grid garden, you should also consider the amount of space each one requires. For example, watermelons need a lot of space to grow, so you may want to avoid planting them if you’re growing in a small area.

Conclusion

An off-grid garden is a great way to create a self-sufficient home. It can produce enough food for your family and water for your household, so you can be as independent as possible. An off-grid garden can also help you save money, improve your health, and prepare for future emergencies. To create an effective off-grid garden, you’ll need to find the right plot of land and design a garden plan that includes the right plants.

Check out this great book on Homestead Gardening

If you are a beginning gardener this book is a must-have resource. It is well organized and contains easy-to-understand graphics. Plus the color pictures are inspirational as well as informative. I love having all of the information about different plants and how to care for them in one easy-to-read place. In the digital age that we live in, it is so easy to rely on the internet for advice but I love that I don’t have to search through videos or articles to find the answers I need. I couldn’t wait for this book to be released. I watch Gary from the Rusted Garden on YouTube and find his videos to be extremely helpful. His video series guided me to start a garden from seed. I have never had a successful garden until this year and when I look back and think I started it from seed…I am in awe.

Check out this great book on Homestead Gardening

READ MORE!

Chickens Green Life Living How to Build Off Grid

6 years ago Chickens Green Life Living How to Build Off Grid 5 Min Read

Chicken Coop Guide: What Size Chicken Coop Do I Need?

Building a Chicken Coop can be fun, but there are five key details you need to understand that will help you decide what size coop to build.

Required Space: Determining how much space you need to build the chicken coop plays an important design objective. Some people have large farms with many acres available to build, and others can have just a small backyard behind their homes to raise them. With backyard chicken coops becoming increasingly popular, here are the size requirements you should consider for each chicken you plan to have.

Each chicken will need a minimum of 3 to 4 square feet of space in the chicken coop and 10 square feet in the run area of the coop.

To free-range your chickens, each chicken will require approximately 250 square feet of area to roam.

County or City Ordinances: Is it legal to have chickens on your property? Make sure you check with the city and or county laws and regulations because they may have certain restrictions or limitations specific to your area. You may find restrictions like the number of chickens permitted, roster regulations due to noise, distance limits to your neighbor’s property, height, or size limitations of the chicken coop. Some cities may not allow you to raise chickens, so please check before building.

Number of Chickens: We have determined that our city does allow us to raise chickens. Now that we know the space requirements per chicken, we can determine how many birds we can have. It is recommended that you raise at least three chickens. So we have decided we want four chickens. Most backyard owners have between 4 to 10 chickens. Always remember that the number you start with tends to get larger rather than smaller. The majority of people that have backyard Chickens enjoy the experience. So if you set everything up correctly initially, you should have the same positive experience.

Size of the Coop: Our chicken coop should be at least 12 to 16 square feet. The run should be 40 square feet. This would be a total of 52 to 56 square feet for four chickens. This would require an area of approximately 6′ X 10′. If you want more chickens, consider the space you have available and determine your size accordingly. If you are going to allow the chickens to be open range during the day, space will be a factor if you have backyard chickens.

Safety: Is your chicken coop run free from predators? Dogs, Raccoons, and other animals will dig under the fence to get to your chickens. You need to consider building the fence into the ground to avoid burrowing by predators. You could consider pouring a concrete foundation under the fence line. You will want at least 2 1/2 feet of clearance between the bottom of your coop and the ground. This has many advantages and can provide shade for your chickens during hot days.

Chicken coops come in all styles and sizes. You can build a simple square box-type house or have a stylish house with a fabulous architectural design. You also might want to consider a “Kit” instead of cutting your lumber.

If you are considering less than 4 to 6 chickens, a “kit” could be a reasonable option. To learn more about different Coop plans, click the link below.

Article Source

READ MORE!

Green Life Living

6 years ago Green Life Living 0 Min Read

Wild Outdoor Edibles- Homemade Wild Apple Cider- Easy to make!

I used wild apples to make Hot Apple Cider ~AND~ Apple Syrup! Let me show you how easy it is to do.

Nothing compares to the warm, spicy flavor of freshly-pressed, homemade wild apple cider. This unique and traditional drink has been a favorite of people worldwide for centuries. Its rich history and unmistakable flavor make it easy to understand why wild apple cider is so widely enjoyed. Whether you’re a cider connoisseur or simply looking for a new way to enjoy apples, homemade wild apple cider is a delicious and rewarding beverage. It’s easy to make and can be enjoyed any time of the year. So, get ready to explore the world of wild apple cider and experience the unique flavor of this traditional drink.

source

READ MORE!