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Urban Homestead Facts
LOCATION
Pasadena, CA
(Northwest Pasadena, one mile from downtown Pasadena)
PROPERTY SIZE
1/5 acre (66' x 132' / 8,712 sq.ft.)
GARDEN SIZE
~ 1/10 acre (3,900 sq.ft. / ~ 66' x 66')
GARDEN DIVERSITY
Over 350 different vegetables, herbs, fruits, berries
FOOD PRODUCED
6,000 lbs annually
challenging for 10,000 lbs in 2008 (read more)
URBAN HOMESTEAD SUPPORTS
4 full-time adults, volunteers, and many clients
ENERGY USAGE
6.5 kwh day (and going down!)
SOLAR POWER PRODUCED
9000 kwh ( as of 10/20/08)
GALLONS OF BIODIESEL MADE (since 2003)
1,500 gallons (as of 2/12/08)
"EARTH IMPACT FOOTPRINT" 5.2 acres per person
Tally Ho 2008
PRODUCE
4,340 lbs (9/31/08)
EGGS
Chicken 921 & Duck 1028 (10/22/08)
HONEY
25 lbs (10/20/08)
Steps Taken
Everyday Steps
Growing 99 % of produce
- 6,000lbs on 1/10 acre
Food Preservation/Storage:
- canning
- drying
- freezing
In the Kitchen:
- baking/cooking from
scratch
- yogurtmaking
- breadmaking
- cheesemaking
- sprouting
- cast iron cookware
- no dishwasher or
microwave
Food Choices:
- buying in bulk
- organic
- local
- eating seasonaly
- reducing "food miles"
- fair trade
- vegetarian(over 17 years)
Raising Small Farmstock:
- chickens (eggs/manure)
- ducks (eggs/manure)
- dwarf rabbits (manure)
- dwarf/pygmy goats
(milk/manure)
Composting Methods:
- making/using EM Bokashi
- vermicomposting
- composting food, garden
and green waste
Fuel:
- homebrewing biodiesel
- running diesel car on
biodiesel(~4,000 miles a yr)
Energy Conservation:
- "powering down"
- cut daily energy use in 1/2
12 kwh to 6 kwh a day
- 12 solar panels
- "green" power
- rechargeable batteries
- line drying clothes
Energy Efficient Appliances:
- washing machine
- refridgerator
- water heater(gas)
Energy Efficient Electronics:
- computer/printer/copier
- TV(no cable)/VCR/ DVD
Energy Efficient Lighting:
- compact fluorescent bulbs
- olive oil lamps
- oil lamps filled with
biodiesel
- homemade soy & beeswax
candles
- daylighting
- solar tube
Non-electrical Appliances /
Hand-powered
- blender
- toaster
- grinder(s)
- popcorn popper
- solar oven(s)
- hand washer/wringer
- pedal powered grain mill
- straight razor
- handcranked radio
- mortar & pestle
Natural beauty/no makeup
Homemade Non-toxic
Beauty Care Products
- toothpaste
- deoderant
Biodegrable/Non-toxic
Cleaning Products:
- vinegar
- baking soda
- lemon juice
Natural Health Practices:
- homeopathy
- herbal remedies
- prevention
Water Conservation Efforts:
- low flush toilets
- toilet lid sink
- reusing laundry water
- limit toilet flushings
- limit baths/showers
- mulching
- handwatering
- clay pot irrigation
- solar outdoor shower
- front load washer
- food not lawns
Hand powered garden tools:
- push mower
- broom, rake
- trowel, shovel
- hand clippers
Self-employed
Working at home:
- honey business
- produce/flower business
- craft business
Crafts & Skills:
- winemaking
- survival skills
- edible landscaping
- sewing
- leatherwork
- fiber arts
- animal husbandry
- holistic care
- tinctures
- carpentry
- plumbing
- building
- haircutting
- bicycle repairs
- soapmaking
- candlemaking
- herbs
- urban farming
- website design
- photography
- self publishing
- video & graphics
Living Simply:
- making use or do without
- bartering
- monthly shopping trips
- reduce, reuse & recycle
- second hand clothes
- salvage/thrift store
- consume less
Passive Cooling:
- no AC
- wood floors
- blinds
- windows
- screen doors
- edible forest
- "living" screens
- solar attic fan
Heating:
- no central heat
- woodstove that uses
scrap wood
- dress in layers
Walking the old paths:
- tithing
- day of rest
- stewardship
Saving seeds
Unschooling
Beekeeping
DIY Projects:
- solar oven
- cob oven
- solar outdoor shower
- depaved driveway/patio
- installed solar panels
- roofing
- sheds, etc
- animal enclosure, etc
- this website
- urban homesteading
Using canvas bags on
shopping trips / no plastic
Transportation:
- biodiesel "veggie" vehicle
- 4 "car free" days a week
- walk
- bike
- carpool
- mass transit
- cross country train trips
- 2 airplane trips in 25 years
"Green" Home Upgrades:
- metal roof
Outreach/helping others
along the path
CURRENT TRAILS
Growing 10k on 1/10
Rainwater
Waste water recovery
Support
We Support
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November 7, 2008
It’s so human nature for folks to be curious. Ever use someone’s bathroom and curious as to what’s in their medicine cabinet?
Well, what we try to over here at Little Homestead in the City is let you take a peek into our lives through musing and photos (lots of photos!) By writing and showing first hand accounts we feel that we are “keeping it real” and not just filling up cyberspace talking about green or sustainable living.
You can determine a lot from people by what’s not seen. We can talk green but do we actually live green -each and every day? Sure there are setbacks but when it comes down to it “what’s in your closet, drawers, cabinet, refrigerator” says a lot about you as a person, where you but your values and money.
We are definitely far from perfect, heck, it’s a daily, hourly struggle. Besides, if we were perfect it would take all the fun out of being a human. We are just striving to do what we can, with what we have, right now.
When we urban homesteaders say we make meals from scratch, try to eat local ( in season) and stay away from too much packaged and process foods we are doing just that. Here’s a look at our fridge, cabinets and pantry.
The pantry. Bulk supplies from the food cooperative.
Kitchen cabinets full of homegrown, home preservation
The fridge (energy star rated and energy efficient!). A few dairy products , eggs and produce (no store bought - from the urban homestead) and wine (leftover from a gathering) Why is the fridge so empty? Well, mostly it’s used for business. A cool place to store our produce, after we pick and pack it, until we deliver it to our clients.
Freezer full of homegrown produce. Yes I know look at those Ziplocks. Gasp - plastic. Sheesh, didn’t I say we aren’t perfect. 
We constantly strive for our “insides” to reflect our outsides. Sure, the journey if full of setbacks, failures but it’s the journey that counts not the destination.
Open up your life, care to say ahhhhhh?
Tags:
Homestead Life,
little homestead in the city,
low impact,
nature
Topics: Back to Basics, Homestead, Kitchen, Low Impact Living, Posts by Anais | Tags: Homestead Life, little homestead in the city, low impact, nature
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November 7th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
What I marvel at more than anything is how organized you folks are. Everything always looks so tidy and well designed. Maybe sometimes you can write a post about how you keep all the balls in the air and get so much accomplished without having the place look like it’s been hit by a hurricane (as mine so often does!).
November 7th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hi Folks!
If we start the journey thinking we ‘know’ ourselves,then the challenges along the way soon make us realise that we ‘know’ very little about our strengths,weaknesses and sharing abilities.Through the ever expanding portal of PTF we are learning so much along our journey there is sometimes little time to reflect as to when we started out.One thing is for sure,there aint no ‘going back’!
thanx for a brilliant post!
gerry mx
November 7th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Thank You. I’m one of those nosey people that want to know what your kitchen looks like…I have no ideal how you organize it so well…I second the article on your tips!
November 8th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Hi there! What a cool blog. Love your ducks (I used to have a few in our prior home) and the lifestyle you’re espousing, and most of all, your gorgeously orderly pantry….
will keep checking in to say hi…
November 9th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
We too use ziplocks, and though we’re far, far, far from perfect in sustainability, we do reuse the outer ziplock bags (it’s good to double bag to keep fresh longer). And really, is there a sustainable way to freeze?
You’d cringe at our fridge. It’s so disorganized that left overs get tossed when the mold. *gasp*
Well done folks! I second the organizational tips entries suggestion. How you do it all I’ll never know.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:41 am
*gasp* An empty fridge! Don’t you know what an energy drain that is?
I fill my fridge or freezer with water bottles when it’s near empty. Cold items inside help keep the fridge temp down so it doesn’t have to kick on as much.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Tara, there is a little logic behind what you’re saying (filling up the airspace in the fridge reduces the amount of cold air lost each time you open the door), but if you keep adding and removing the water bottles you’re actually using more energy than just leaving the fridge empty.
Every time you add a water bottle, the fridge has to work hard to reduce its temperature from room temp to fridge temp - and that’s probably using more energy than you’re saving by reducing the air volume in the fridge.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I liked this so much I did it myself.
My pictures are not nearly so interesting as yours but I think I will do this every year after harvest is over to show the sort of progress we make from year-to-year.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:01 am
I love how tidy and organized everything is! Where did you get the jars for your bulk dry goods?
January 4th, 2009 at 5:28 am
[...] Here on the urban homestead, not only did we feed ourselves, produce our own electricity and fuel, some of the highlights this year were harvesting 25 lbs of honey and filling all our kitchen pantry with homegrown, home preserved canned goods. [...]
January 6th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
[...] So I have really enjoyed looking around blogs and peering in people’s cupboards, fridges, and freezers. Meadowlark played What’s in Your Fridge? and before that Anais of Path to Freedom fame posted a fun look into her kitchen’s private places. [...]