Splitzville Farm

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                  We have moved to the farm!! It has taken two month to integrate all of our stuff into the house, but now we are pretty much settled in and getting on with life. There have been a few teething issues, the cat did a runner and lived rough at -20 for two weeks. But it's back now and a much nicer (and slimmer) animal to be around! The dog is very happy, and slimmer as well, but Ruby is happy to be able to finally act like a dog!

Alternative Energy 

People need to change their habits, for the sake of the planet, their families and their pocketbook. Leaving the light on in the bathroom overnight is getting more and more expensive everyday.

But lets look at the problem from the other end, if you switch to a solar or wind power generation system, then you can stop paying your electric bill, your power never goes out, and it never spikes causing damage to electronic devices 

Alternative energy is not cheap, but it is a component system, so once you have the core of the system in place, you can expand your generation, and your storage capabilities as need be.Home Gardening

Our garden is a bit large compared to a city one, but still it is only about 20 x 50, we figure that with just the "bounty" from the garden we will be able to reduce out grocery bills by fifty percent!

Household performance

This is where you can save the most money, by caulking all your windows and doors, switching to compact florescent bulbs, and foaming in the holes between the joists in your basement, you can save a great deal on your heating bill. Take it one step further and replace your water heater, and your toilets with new low flush models. You can get  money back from the government for doing this. 

Personal Transport

If you keep your car tuned and healthy but use your bicycle for inner city trips, and walk to the stores with a bundle buggy you'll save money on gas and live longer! When you drive keep to the speed limit, and you will find that you can shave about a third off your gas bills!

Pocketbook Power

Especially now, in a time when politicians no longer listen to Canadians, government money is being sent to the military and corporations, instead of the arts and the people you can vote every time you open your wallet to spend. And with the internet you can now make your spending habits a part of a larger protest. Use your imagination!

Recycling

If everything we made on this planet was just used twice, we would have a much smaller waste problem. And in a lot of cases second hand is cheaper as well. Habitat for Humanity sells second hand building supplies, Value Village has good second hand clothes, "The V V Boutique" to the learned few.  When your at the supermarket,get your groceries to go in a box instead of bags, and feel free to leave the excess packaging right there. You didn't buy the box, you bought the contents Right.

And take a bit of care when separating the recycling, wet garbage and compost, and you'll find that you put a quarter of the garbage out at the curb every week. 

Move to the Country

With the high housing values in the city at the moment, you may find that you've had enough, sell up and head out. I bought my five acres in 1990 for $8500, there are all kinds of properties out there just waiting for you to start a new life in, a new more responsible and financially ethical life!

And if you do "check out" keep in touch, we'll give you as much advise as you can take!