SasEz! Simple & Sustainable Living…

Thorn Bush in Arizona

Not sure what this is yet but I’m thinking about using it as a natural fence. It’s very thorny and gets tiny red berries on it.

Solar Power Kits, Quirks and DIY Challenges

Solar powered living is both simple and complicated simultaneously. Several years ago we bought a simple starter kit, hooked it up to a battery and experienced immediate gratification. It was …

Esperanza Bush

Also known as a Texas Yellow Bell, or Tacoma Sans.

(this post is a test to see what needs work)

Acacia Tree

This was my mothers day present this past May…

An acacia willow

Waffle Garden Beds

I will eventually Write about these in more detail. This picture shows one of my waffle garden beds. A waffle garden is a sunken area that’s divided into squares. When viewed from above, it looks like a waffle.

The next …

Sustainable Canning Jars

I got a pressure canner for Christmas 2010 and for the last 9 months I’ve been canning meat almost weekly. Sometimes I’ll do 3 batches in one day so I’ll have a month’s …

Rainwater Harvesting

The center area of our land is fairly flat and clear. We’ve decided a section of this will be our primary homestead area in the next year or two.

We’re not moving the camper over there until we’ve got a well, so that we can have …

Bulk Food Storage Tips and Ideas

So today is a small grocery shopping day and I organized my pantry, then got to thinking about food storage, rotation and various other related things.

The above picture is what I think of as my “back pantry.” It holds primarily bulk goods and extras — flour, …

Pallet Garden Fence

As part of my ongoing struggle to protect my food gardens from critters, I decided to try building a pallet garden. Technically it’s a pallet garden fence and while it’s too soon to tell how the plants will fare inside of it, I like it …

Protecting Tomato Plants from Critters

In one of my earlier writings, I mentioned several challenges we’ve had with trying to grow food in the desert. One of the most frustrating in our first year here has been the critters. We have bunny rabbits that run around, I’ve seen at least one jack rabbit, and …

Canning Meat

Photo 1: Regular cooked ground beef

Photo 2: Making Meatballs for the second try.

Photo 3: Left to Right: Chicken (raw packed), Ground Turkey Meatballs, Ground Beef Meatballs

I don’t use refrigeration or freezing for my food, so one of …

Canning Dry Beans

My parents in law got me a pressure canner for Christmas and yesterday I canned beans. I have to say I am now hopelessly hooked and in love!

I’ve never seen anyone use a pressure canner before and never used one myself either, but I’ve been studying …

Bottled Butter: My First Try

And it was successful!

Some people call it canning butter but I call it bottling because I’m putting it up in canning jars — glass bottles — to be kept in the pantry.

Butter hasn’t ben on sale lately so I finally broke down and bought …

Beginner Emergency Food Storage

If you’ve been thinking about starting your own grocery stockpile, you probably wonder where to start. The answer varies based on you, your family, and your goals. Many survivalists, preppers and mormons feel the best approach to building up a solid supply of …

Eggs In The Pantry

When you live without refrigeration, you start looking for alternate ways to keep certain types of food. I’ve always been a little confused when people talk about eggs, butter and various fruits or veggies as perishable foods because in my experience that’s not …