How My Backyard Is Saving Me Money
Most people view their backyard as a place to relax on the weekends. At our house, the backyard is one of the many resources we use to save money.
Having a yard gives us the space and the raw materials we need to become more self sufficient. It also provides us with place for the kids to play, the animals to forage, and the wood needed to heat our home. Here's some other ways that having a home with a yard has saved us money.
A place to grow food crops. One of the changes we've made to our yard these past few years was to put more of the lawn into growing food crops. We tripled the size of our vegetable garden, planted eight fruit trees, erected trellises for berry vines and pole beans, and planted a strawberry bed. We also converted an unused, vacated driveway into a 20 x 100 bed for growing wheat and corn. Growing your own produce is one of the most basic ways of saving money.
A place for parties. Instead of renting several lanes at a bowling alley or reserving a pricey room at gaming center, all of our children's birthday parties have been held in our back yard. A backyard is a safe and secure place to hold a party for kids with plenty of room for yard games, water balloon fights, or even a bonfire.
A source for making gardening supplements. Nothing in my yard goes to waste. Grass clippings, prunings, and even chicken manure are all composted to use in the garden beds. Twigs and small branches are turned into mulch to prevent water evaporation. A yard gives us the raw materials needed to make our own potting mix, garden fertilizer, mulch, and other additives that keep flower beds, container veggies, and potted plants healthy.
A place to string a clothesline. Line drying clothes not only brightens and disinfects clothes naturally, it can lower your power bill by $20 a month or more.
A source of raw materials for crafting. Both my daughter and I enjoy making natural decor using materials grown in the yard. Mushrooms, Virginia creeper, pinecones, and dried yarrow are just a few of the raw materials that we cultivate in our yard for dried arrangements to be given away at Christmas.
A means to cool your home. Properly planted trees can reduce air temperature by 20% and interior temperatures by 15 degrees. The trees in my yard make it possible for us to breeze through the dog days of summer without having to turn on the air conditioning.
A space for raising chickens. Many communities have eased back the restrictions on having chickens in city limits. A yard makes it possible to raise chickens for a steady supply of organic eggs.
As costs continue to rise, becoming more self sufficient is the key to living well on less income. Making the most out of what a backyard has to offer is a good place to start.
More by this contributor:
How to save money without changing your lifestyle.
10 ways to cut food expenses and increase your savings.
Thrifty ways to save money on your vacation.
Having a yard gives us the space and the raw materials we need to become more self sufficient. It also provides us with place for the kids to play, the animals to forage, and the wood needed to heat our home. Here's some other ways that having a home with a yard has saved us money.
A place to grow food crops. One of the changes we've made to our yard these past few years was to put more of the lawn into growing food crops. We tripled the size of our vegetable garden, planted eight fruit trees, erected trellises for berry vines and pole beans, and planted a strawberry bed. We also converted an unused, vacated driveway into a 20 x 100 bed for growing wheat and corn. Growing your own produce is one of the most basic ways of saving money.
A place for parties. Instead of renting several lanes at a bowling alley or reserving a pricey room at gaming center, all of our children's birthday parties have been held in our back yard. A backyard is a safe and secure place to hold a party for kids with plenty of room for yard games, water balloon fights, or even a bonfire.
A source for making gardening supplements. Nothing in my yard goes to waste. Grass clippings, prunings, and even chicken manure are all composted to use in the garden beds. Twigs and small branches are turned into mulch to prevent water evaporation. A yard gives us the raw materials needed to make our own potting mix, garden fertilizer, mulch, and other additives that keep flower beds, container veggies, and potted plants healthy.
A place to string a clothesline. Line drying clothes not only brightens and disinfects clothes naturally, it can lower your power bill by $20 a month or more.
A source of raw materials for crafting. Both my daughter and I enjoy making natural decor using materials grown in the yard. Mushrooms, Virginia creeper, pinecones, and dried yarrow are just a few of the raw materials that we cultivate in our yard for dried arrangements to be given away at Christmas.
A means to cool your home. Properly planted trees can reduce air temperature by 20% and interior temperatures by 15 degrees. The trees in my yard make it possible for us to breeze through the dog days of summer without having to turn on the air conditioning.
A space for raising chickens. Many communities have eased back the restrictions on having chickens in city limits. A yard makes it possible to raise chickens for a steady supply of organic eggs.
As costs continue to rise, becoming more self sufficient is the key to living well on less income. Making the most out of what a backyard has to offer is a good place to start.
More by this contributor:
How to save money without changing your lifestyle.
10 ways to cut food expenses and increase your savings.
Thrifty ways to save money on your vacation.
Published by C. Jeanne Heida - Featured Contributor in Business & Finance and Lifestyle
Jeanne is a small business owner with 25 years experience in the real estate industry. A consistent Y!CN Top 100 writer, her articles can be found at Y!Finance, Shine, Your Wisdom, DEX, and the Scripps Net... View profile
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22 Comments
Post a CommentGreat tips. Awesome article...
A commendable, ingenious and frugal way, of staging functions.
Excellent points! I enjoyed reading your ideas.
I find it cheaper to grow vegetables than going to the store and buying them is that the story will pay more for them and that's where people get ripped off when you can grow them at home cheaper all you need is a green thumb to grow them
After losing my job in 2011, and a prolonged illness, I decided it was time to get back to basics, I have gardened off and on for years, made jelly, tomato sauce etc. I have just under an acre so after having the extension office come and help me decide where fruit trees needed to be planted (some need to be moved) and what citrus and where to plant since they don't like the cold, I started making plans. I have figs, mayhaws, peach,plum, blueberry, blackberry, grapes, satsuma orange tree and strawberries. Pecans x 12trees. I have a garden area fenced off, which I plant green beans (pole on fence), corn some for me and some for chickens. potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce,(leaf) squash summer and zuccini. peanuts peppers etc. I raise chickens for eggs (sell,and eat) and for meat. I raise rabbits for meat and both give me fertilizer. Looking into raising small amount of Talapia fish, my goals are to learn to can, and add a milk goat for milk, cheese and meat. I'm working on saving rain water and using grey water. Want to build go solar and wind power eventually. I'm home as I watch 2 grandchildren so have the time to work on all this, but trading and bartering for supplies can be hard sometimes. For the one who has all the wild life issues, all are edible except maybe the chipmunk, jerky is good! LOL!
here in texas we can a couple of hens & one rooster in town if you have a garden you have to get it in early last year I only got 6 tomatoes off of 4 plants the hot winds 110 temperatures just burned every thing every up water is so high plus you can only water 2 days a week plus you can not water after ten o clock then after 6 you can water some more on your day a lot of things died animals to no water but i will try again wish me luck
We are a small rural city here in NW Kansas and yet we have laws that prevent farm animals in city limits. There's not much chance that our city commissioners will ever relax them, either. Which is a shame for many folks who want to be a little more self sufficient than relying on our only grocery store at Mal-Wart.
We've been adding many fruit trees over the years and started turning allot of our ground into food gardens. We are trying to teach our children the importance of self-reliance. SO far we've planted everything from onion, garlic, asparagus, Swiss chard, brussle sprouts, strawberries, pumpkin, yellow squash, tomatoes, Anasazi beans, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and a whole lot more.
I'm really eager to try growing some seeds that I've been trading or have been given this year. Many that I've never tried growing in our region before, like mango, oranges, Rainier cherry and many others too.
Thank you very much for this article.
most towns have comuunity gardens. check with your city hall.
I live in a condo. it faces north east so I only get the morning so. Any suggestions for growing a pot of tomatoes. on my balcony.or inside. Elizabeth
All these tips are wonderful!!!!! The way the world is changing, young people, and older who are able, need to listen up. There is more than one way to skin a cat! Gardening has so much to offer. The rewards are overwhelming. Canning or freezing all your fruits of labor. Baking breads and rolls, once a week and freezing. I've done it all raising 4 sons. Of course, I was younger and I was able. Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes,green beans, all rooted veggies, lettuce, radishes, cukes,green onions,cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and etc. Canned everything,corn, made dill, sweet pickles, hot peppers, sauerkraut, whole tomatoes, tom..juice and sauce, made a potatoe bin for in the cellar. Canned grn beans, made applesauce. Went in the fields for Hickory nuts, Walnuts and picked mushrooms (I was taught young, good from bad), blackberries, raspberries and eldeberries, crab apples and any other sorts. We bought a half side of beef for a large freezer. I bought my pork cuts. Bought lunchmeat, cheeses off the Dutchmen, milk from the dairy farmer up the street. Also canned pears and a variety of fruits. Yep!! we stored our nuts for the winter....;~) Harvest time was beautiful to see all those quart jars filled and on shelves in the basement. My little own grocery store! Good luck to anyone just beginning. It was not a chore, it was fun and some of the better times of my life. Not to mention last, but not least if you fish, hunt turkey, venison, rabbit and pheasant. It is ALL delicious and a good, wholesome way of life.