DIY Projects for the Self-Sufficient Homeowner : : 25 Ways to Build a Self-Reliant Lifestyle

Locations
Call Number: 643.7 Ma, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Home & Garden / General / Symanietz, Bets
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	643.7 Ma	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Home & Garden / General / Symanietz, Bets	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Home & Garden / General / Symanietz, Bets	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Home & Garden / General / Symanietz, Bets	4-week checkout	Due 05-18-2024

Includes index.
Collecting rainwater -- Collecting gray water -- Composting -- Raised beds -- Container gardening -- Building a cold frame -- Starting & transplanting seedlings -- Building a greenhouse -- Building a hoophouse -- Preserving your bounty -- Setting up a root cellar -- Raising animals -- Building a chicken ark -- Building a beehive -- Solar electricity -- Solar security light circuit -- Solar heat.
Even if you live on a small urban lot, you can take steps to gain a little more control over the things you consume. Start some tomato plants from seed and grow them in a container on your balcony. Build a chicken ark and harvest enough fresh eggs to feed a family of four all year long from one pair of laying hens. Learn to make productive use of clean household wastewater. This book includes plans and information on 25 projects to become a more self-sufficient homeowner including building a movable chicken ark, creating a raised vegetable garden, making a root cellar in any corner of any basement, raising bees for honey and wax, and crafting a solar hotbox that can help heat your home.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Very Helpful submitted by sara on June 18, 2015, 12:48pm The book reviews basic green living- composting, reusing water, etc, but it also gives plans for some cleaver designs. One is a rain barrel you can make yourself out of a plastic garbage can. (Looks easy, but I haven't actually tried it yet!). Another I liked is a top-bar beehive, which is easier to use than the traditional kind. And, I was very excited by the diy hot air solar panel you can add to your house. I appreciated that the book shows women using power tools to build these projects.

Useful. submitted by crankycrack on June 27, 2015, 8:09pm Projects presented in an understandable fashion that can feasibly be constructed and completed.

Cool Ideas submitted by Beth Manuel on August 21, 2018, 8:05pm This book had some great ideas for making your home more green and making things on your own to do so, like a rain barrel or solar oven.

Best for Residents of Standalone Houses submitted by Meginator on June 12, 2021, 12:47pm This DIY book presents and provides instructions for a range of conservation-minded and self-sufficiency projects, from making a rain barrel to raising chickens and preparing your house for solar panels. The instructions are fairly clear and accompanied by a lot of full-color photographs, making them easy to follow even if the scope of some of these projects can be a bit daunting. I’d recommend this as a place for homeowners (only a couple of these projects would translate to apartment-dwellers, alas) to start when thinking about ways to make their homes more efficient and eco-friendly.