Sustainable Organization for Things

Check out this video to see how we are using some items that we have around the house to organize all of those little "things" you collect in a shop. I think I have about 1 million screws, nails, staples, bolts, nuts, washers, fittings, wire nuts, wire, and other random items in my shop that dont really have a home. They tend to sit in a bucket here, a bin there, or a toolbox. One of the most frustrating things that seems to happen to me too often is not being able to find what I need while in the midst of a project. It seems that I wonder around looking for my tools, fittings, screws, and nails for about just as much time as it takes to complete the whole project in the first place!


Many years ago we rented a house from an older gentleman and in the garage he had all of these glass jars hanging from the ceiling. Each jar was filled with a type of screw, nail, nut, bolt, or other item and it was very easy to find what was needed. I wanted to mimic this here on the suburban homestead and use this idea to organize some of my random "things". I also have been sing some old plastic coffee containers to store some of my larger items for awhile and this has also been working very well. I just need to make them look a little bit more like organizers and less like old coffee cans! As I try to get a proper shop setup here in my corner of the garage I have two main goals, make things easy to find and get that reassuring ok from my wife when it comes to aesthetics:) So it is time to turn these old coffee containers into something that looks a little bit nicer and functions better as well.

 

 

I am using the plastic coffee containers from Folgers coffee that were purchased at Walmart. If you purchase this brand at Sams Club you will get an even larger container but I found the Walmart size fits nicely here. The jars that I am using for the smaller items are some pickle jars and some salsa jars. You can use whatever type you normally purchase, just start saving them each week until you have enough to get started. It took us a couple of months to get the jars I am using here and probably about a year to save the coffee containers. If you dont drink coffee ask a friend or family to save them or look for other options in your home.


This was a very easy project and I am very happy with the result. The larger containers are very easy to label and re-label as needed and hold a perfect amount of small fittings, tools, or other "stuff". The glass jars will take me a bit to fill as I still have a pile of "things" to sort, but they are a perfect way to be able to see those items and easily grab a jar and get what you need.

 

 

 

Grab your chalkboard paint here.

 

 

 

 

This post has been shared at:  The Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Homestead Barn Hop, Homestead Blog Hop, The HomeAcre Christmas Hop, Front Porch Fridays

 

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Keeping things warm

I hate working outside in the cold.

Unfortunately, I didnt get my two heating solutions finished before cold set in. With work, family, and short days, Ive not had the time Id hoped to finish things off.

Another concern Ive had is getting things too warm. Since my greenhouse is so tiny, I had visions of scalding water and melted plastic. So I wanted to measure temperatures with the rocket mass heater without it being connected to the greenhouse.

This past week I finally got the rust stripped off and painted the drum and lid (from a second-hand 22.5" Weber grill) with high temperature paint. The high temperature paint is supposed to be able to go to 800 degrees Fahrenheit without out-gassing or burning off.

Ive got a video here showing how I assembled the innards. I want to be able to disassemble the rocket mass heater, so making the components of cob isnt my first choice. If I had a chance to do this over, I would cut two 8 inch holes into the base plate or "lid" of the barrel.



Ive found that its a bit tricky getting these heaters to start. The method that ended up working for me is to start off with crumpled newspaper and a wax & eggcarton fire starter. Then feeding in small diameter sticks with the occasional piece of junk mail works great.

In my initial burn, I found that the top of the barrel (inside the domed lid) got to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The sides of the barrel warmed my hands when held about an inch away, and the top of the domed lid provided a similar level of diffuse heat.

If I had a greenhouse that was taller and could make a second version of this, I would consider having the heater inside the greenhouse. My greenhouse is short, however, so the roof plastic would only be a few inches above the domed lid. And this first version has the big rough rectangular hole for the exhaust, so I would be concerned about the exhaust fumes leaking in the enclosed space.

My next step will be constructing a nicer base out of bricks and connecting the exhaust to the duct work and structure inside my greenhouse.

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Aquaponics Videos at PlanetStewards com

The Planet Stewards website went live a few days ago. And the free teaser (32 minutes worth) is the video they shot of me and my daughter, Tara Phillips, at the September 2011 Aquaponics Association Conference.

I remember being very happy and very tired that night. But its fun remembering that weekend. I explain a bit why I started designing my own system (because I couldnt bear to pay for shipping for the systems then available) and some plumbing improvements I either discovered or imported.

Other videos from the conference are available for $20 apiece, if I recall correctly. Considering the price of air fare, hotel, and conference registration, thats a good deal (not to mention the fact that time travel to a past event would be prohibitive).

Visit PlanetStewards.com or click here to just watch the interview.

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