Book picks similar to
Sustainable Jewellery by Julia Manheim
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Compost City: Practical Composting Know-How for Small-Space Living
Rebecca Louie - 2015
Along with backyard chickeners, balcony beekeepers, rooftop farmers, and community gardeners, urban composters are part of a bumper crop of pioneers who are redefining the green space of crowded towns and cities. You may think you need a big yard to compost. Think again. Compost City teaches you how to easily choose and care for a compost system that fits perfectly into your (tiny) space, (busy) schedule, and (multifaceted) lifestyle.Whether you live in a cramped apartment or a sprawling town house, or you dream of composting in a shared space with a group of friends or colleagues, Compost City provides simple and effective indoor and outdoor composting options. Packed with research, expert testimonies, and a healthy dose of humor, Compost City will help you:• compost your food scraps and yard waste with ease• ease your fears of backbreaking labor, obnoxious odors, big messes, and creepy crawlies (hint: you can compost successfully without any of the above!)• convince compost-wary family, friends, neighbors, and community leaders to green-light your compost dreams Compost City serves all eco-curious citizens from casual hobbyists to staunch activists.Put your compost cap on. Whether you compost one tea bag or whole honking barrelfuls of scraps at a time, you’re about to have a whole lot of fun.
Woodcraft
Elmer H. Kreps - 1919
Kreps gives detailed instructions on every aspect of surviving comfortably in the wilderness, including how to build a log cabin, stove, accessories and cabin furniture; what kind and how much food to take along; how to start a fire and build it properly for cooking or warmth; how to make a rabbit skin blanket that will keep you warm in -40 degree weather; the best ax for a woodsman and how to use it; different styles of snowshoes, how to make them and how to use them; finding your way in the woods by using the sun, stars, compass or watch; and how to pack all your gear properly on a horse or mule, plus much more.This digital reproduction contains all of the text of the original book, including the 33 illustrations drawn by the author.NOTE: This eBook, along thousands of other public domain books, is available for free download at Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org), and the scanned image of the original work may be viewed at Internet Archive (archive.org). It is being offered here by the individual who transcribed the original work as a Project Gutenberg volunteer, at the lowest price allowed.
This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader
Joan Dye Gussow - 2001
She lives in a home not unlike the average home in a neighborhood that is, more or less, typically suburban. What sets her apart from the rest of us is that she thinks more deeply - and in more eloquent detail- about food. In sharing her ponderings, she sets a delightful example for those of us who seek the healthiest, most pleasurable lifestyle within an environment determined to propel us in the opposite direct. Joan is a suburbanite with a green thumb, but also a feisty, defiant spirit with a relentlessly positive outlook.This Organic Life begins with Joan and her husband Alan's trials and tribulations growing vegetables for their own table while coping with careers and a sprawling Victorian house in Congers, New York. Motivated to go "off -the-grid" of the global food system in their later years, the Gussows find and fall in love with a dilapidated Odd Fellows Hall on the banks of the Hudson River. Joan's often hilarious accounts of the "renovation" of the "dream" (some would say "nightmare") house and the creation of their new gardens are spiced by extracts from her own journal, and over thirty wonderful recipes using fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables.There is also an occasion pontification about a food distribution system run amok! At the heart of This Organic Life is the premise that locally grown food eaten in season makes sense economically, ecologically, and gastronomically. Transporting produce to New York from California -- not to mention Central and South America, Australia, or Europe -- consumes more energy in transit than it yields in calories. (It costs 435 fossil fuel calories to fly a 5-calorie strawberry from California to New York.) Add in the deleterious effects of agribusiness, such as the endless cycle of pesticide, herbicide, and chemical fertilizers; the loss of topsoil from erosion of over-tilled croplands; depleted aquifers and soil salinization from over-irrigation; and the arguments in favor of "this organic life" become overwhelmingly convincing.
Raising Chickens for Dummies
Kimberly Willis - 2009
And Raising Chickens For Dummies provides an up-to-date, thorough introduction to all aspects of caring for chickens, including choosing and purchasing chickens, constructing housing, and proper feeding. Raising Chickens For Dummies provides authoritative, detailed information to make raising chickens for eggs, meat, or backyard entertainment that much easier.
The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading: An Encyclopedia of Independent Living
Nicole Faires - 2011
All the information meets these criteria: It is something that anyone can do, without special training. It can be done with relatively few supplies or with stuff you can make yourself. It has been tried and tested—either by the author, the military, doctors, or other homesteaders.
Keep Chickens!: Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces
Barbara Kilarski - 2003
Barbara Kilarski shares her passion for poultry as she fills this guide with tips and techniques for successfully raising chickens in small spaces. Spotlighting the self-sufficient pleasures of tending your own flock, Kilarski offers detailed information on everything from choosing breeds that thrive in tight quarters and building coops to providing medical care for sick animals. You’ll have fun as you keep happy and productive chickens.
Organic Housekeeping: In Which the Nontoxic Avenger Shows You How to Improve Your Health and That of Your Family, While You Save Time, Money, And, Perhaps, Your Sanity
Ellen Sandbeck - 2006
You regularly handle the filthiest object in your home -- the kitchen sponge -- and put the same chemicals on your face that are used in brake fluid and antifreeze. The cleaning agents and personal care products commonly marketed to and used in American homes contain not only some very dangerous, toxic chemicals, but they also create an "overly clean," chemically bombed-out house that compromises immune systems. And with more than fifty million Americans suffering from allergies and other autoimmune diseases -- not to mention the developing and fragile immune systems of children and seniors -- large numbers of people are actually being made sicker and sicker by their homes.Learn to live a clean, healthy, more economical way with Ellen Sandbeck, the nontoxic avenger. In this must-have book for the twenty-first- century home, this passionate, witty advocate of all things organic will teach you how to maintain every part of the home -- from living room to septic tank, kitchen floor to bathroom sink -- using safe, simple cleansers and quick preventative measures as well as the most effective organic products on the market to get the job done.Learn time-saving, preventative housekeeping, such as taking thirty seconds to clean the shower while you shower. Take care of bathroom stains with baking soda and vinegar rather than commercial, toxic bathroom "bombs" peddled to you with such force by manufacturers. Need whiter whites? There is no bleaching power on earth stronger than the sun. Snow clean your fine rugs. Choose fruits and vegetables from the relatively pesticide residue-free list. Clean felt-tipped pen stains with vodka. Make furniture shine with olive oil and lemon. Your house will also smell as great as it looks.
40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead: A Hands-on, Step-by-Step Sustainable-Living Guide
David Toht - 2013
Even if they are only moderately handy, they’ll discover the tools and techniques for building their own feeders, fences, and structures. In the process, they’ll save money and have the satisfaction of doing it themselves.
Bullet Journaling: Hacks for Getting Important Tasks Done
Kerry Sanford - 2018
This book will show you how to organise your life, so you are able to get important work done. It will guide you on how to customise different layouts, so the Bullet Journal works for you! The tools you will learn are: Step-by-step process of filling in your journal Setting SMART goals Vision and goal-setting pages Future logs Calendars Collections and trackers Reflections of the day Maintaining a bullet journal doesn’t need to take a lot of your time. Start your new organised life. Click the BUY button NOW!
Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web
Jeff Lowenfels - 2006
Healthy soil is teeming with life — not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web — the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.
The Complete Modern Blacksmith
Alexander G. Weygers - 1997
An essential volume in any serious craftperson's library, this book covers setting up a smithy (anvil, forge, hammer, tongs, and all), and manufacturing everything from stone-carving chisels to decorative wall hooks.
David Suzuki's Green Guide
David Suzuki - 2008
With this indispensable guide, readers will learn to consume fewer resources and become part of the solution as stewards of the planet. This book recommends actions for individuals to be more green in the homes where we live, the way we travel, the food we eat, and the things we buy. It also describes how all of us can ensure that governments support sustainable lifestyles. Suzuki and Boyd provide vital tips for readers to:create a healthy indoor environmentdecrease energy and water usechoose eco-friendly transportationmake simple diet changes to eat fresher, healthier foodPublished in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation.
Homemade: How-to Make Hundreds of Everyday Products Fast, Fresh, and More Naturally
Reader's Digest Association - 1965
Save a fortune making your own everyday cooking, cleaning, and toiletry products! At the same time, you’ll fill your cabinets with fresh, super high-quality products at work or taste great—without all the chemicals and preservatives of store-bought versions. Plus, ‘think green”—you will greatly reduce the amount of useless, environment-damaging waste and garbage—spray bottles, jars, and cans. For cleaning, laundering, and polishing, the compounds are much gentler and less damaging to drains, sewage, and septic systems. The ingredients in most brand-name products account for only pennies of the purchaser’s dollar and rest of what you spend covers advertising, packaging, shipping, and the retailer’s overhead.Try these easy to make recipes:Food Staples: mayonnaise, peanut butter, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, soups, pickles, and jellies—save 50% on homemade salsa Beauty and Health Supplies: moisturizers, facials, lip balm, aftershave, decongestant, foot powder, and PMS tea—save 90% on aftershave Household Compounds: glues, wood stains, ant traps, and houseplant food Cleaning Supplies and Polishes: carpet fresheners, cleaners, mildew remover, dishwasher detergent, and fabric softener—save 95% on homemade bathroom cleaner Pet Supplies: liver snaps, dog shampoo, flea dip, cat litter, pet bird honey treats, and hamster fruit cup—save 73% on cat treats Garden Products: fertilizer, soil conditioners, weed killer, deer repellents, and snail traps And much more Making low-cost, more natural versions of your favorite name brand grocery items is simple when you know the secrets.
Homemade
is your guide to saving a small fortune by making everyday household items yourself.
Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money By Wasting Less Food
Dana Gunders - 2015
This handbook—packed with engaging checklists, simple recipes, practical strategies, and educational infographics—is the ultimate tool for reducing food waste. From a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council come these everyday techniques that call for minimal adjustments of habit, from shopping, portioning, and using a refrigerator properly to simple preservation methods including freezing, pickling, and cellaring. At once a good read and a go-to reference, this handy guide is chock-full of helpful facts and tips, including 20 "use-it-up" recipes and a substantial directory of common foods.
Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System
Mary Appelhof - 1982
Small-scale, self-contained worm bins can be kept indoors, in a basement or even under the kitchen sink in an apartment — making vermicomposting a great option for city dwellers and anyone who doesn’t want or can’t have an outdoor compost pile. The fully revised 35th anniversary edition features the original’s same friendly tone, with up-to-date information on the entire process, from building or purchasing a bin (readily available at garden supply stores), maintaining the worms, and harvesting the finished compost.