Self-Sufficiency

I am seriously considering moving to a more self-sufficient lifestyle.  I would be lying if I didn't say the show Doomsday Preppers didn't have anything to do with it.  While I do think a few of the people are off the wall, they do make some good points.  Enough that it got me thinking.

When I went to fill the minivan, it costs almost as much as it used to when I filled up our 15 passenger van.  That was when the gas prices really hit me.  We have 4 cars: the minivan, the 15, DH's car which is very good on gas, and the kids car which is also good on gas.  I fully plan on getting rid of the 15 passenger.  We don't use it anymore, and it needs repair each time it's inspected, because it isn't getting driven.

That is still 3 cars.  That is still a lot of gas.  Even just filling up every two weeks would be about $200.  The reality is that we fill at least two of them up every week.   So each payday we are spending closer to $300 or more, since we're paid every 2 weeks.  I'm not sure what to do about that, because we need the minivan.  The other two cars get great gas mileage.  DH's car gets 35-40 mpg, because he mainly drives the highway to work an hour away.  Right now, the "kid car" (named that because the kids are the main drivers) gets about 30 mpg city.

My problem is I need a car with worse gas mileage.  Our van is our tow vehicle.  We do tow things.  We also live in a high snow area.  DH used to own a 4 wheel drive truck.  It was great in snow storms if we needed to get somewhere and couldn't wait.  We can't do that now, and we live on a hill.  We've had tow companies, UPS, and others refuse to come up our hill in winter.  That's how bad it is.

If I get rid of the big van, I need to change the minivan for an SUV.  I could keep the big van just for towing, but the gas savings would be countered by the repairs for not driving it more.  Someone told me there is a 7 passenger SUV that gets comparable gas mileage to a minivan, but I can't remember who told me or what the make was.

I have to really think about this.  I actually love my big van because the seats are so comfortable for long trips.  I hate the minivans on trips.  I love that I can carry a lot of stuff in the big van and tow big things.  I can't do that in the minivan.  However, the minivan is much easier to park.  The 15 is a pain in the backside to park.   I could get the SUV, then use the kid car as much as possible.  Since two kids work the SUV would still get a work out.  I am really back and forth on this issue.

We live in an area where power outages are common.  It isn't strange to hear about people being without power for over 2 weeks. It is the main reason I bought a dual fuel stove.  The range top is propane.  The double ovens are electric.  I can cook on the top in power outages. However, I've frequently wished I could bake when the power was out.  I never knew about solar ovens until I saw that show Doomsday Preppers.  Now it's on my list of things to buy.  

It also made me think hard about how I'd heat the house in winter.  We have portable heaters, but they're only good for small spaces.  They use the small camping propane bottles.  The pipes freezing is a huge concern.  We have a portable K-1 heater for the basement.  However, again, K-1 costs are high and the fumes are nasty.  I do have to say it heats very well.  It can actually keep the floor of the living room semi-warm, because it is right under it. Thankfully, we've never been without power for more than 3 days.  However, the possibility of it being longer does exist.

 The first and second floors are heated by electricity.  The basement is heated by K-1.  K-1 is getting extremely expensive.  It's predicted to be over $4.00 a gallon by next winter.  Estimates put it closer to $5.00 a gallon. We have a 250 gallon tank.  It's already taken me over $1500 for this winter, and this was a very mild winter compared to our normal ones.  I'm out of money for it, and the tank is almost empty.  The nights are still down in the 20s-30s. I can't afford to use K-1 unless I keep the temperature very low.

There is one problem with that: my desk is down here.  Basically, all my craft stuff, computers, TV, etc. are down here.  I have a "mom cave".  It wasn't planned.  It's just the only place my computer fit, so I could get it out of the kitchen.  It just grew from there.  In order to move it out of here, I'd need to get the rest of the house done.  That would cost a lot more than installing a wood stove.

The house is set up for a wood stove.  It has vents in walls where the chimney goes up.  It has air return vents in floors (which is a pain sometimes because things fall down into the basement). I am seriously considering  having the chimney checked, repaired and getting one.   We are surrounded by trees.  In an emergency, we can start cutting down the dead trees for immediate use.   We can cut the others down to cure.

Another problem is that food costs are getting so high it's ridiculous.   I have an extremely short growing season, so I'm not sure how to go about that.  I've ordered a few books about the subjects of urban gardening, self-sufficiency on small amounts of land, and general self-sufficiency.  One possibility is a greenhouse.

Now enter the other main problems: divorce (thereby possibly losing the house) and money.  It will all cost money to do/fix/buy.  Some might think me nuts for adding this to my list of stuff to deal with, but I really don't have a choice.  Food, mortgage and gas are eating up the paychecks.  I have to get the costs down.  It will also be good practice for when I'm on my own.   I will be going from high monthly income to very low monthly income.

If anyone reads this and has any suggestions, I am more than open to listening.  :)