# What are the alternatives?



## CQB (Mar 19, 2020)

So the idea of this is to be a repository for ideas that can find ways around the everyday problems we’ll be facing in the near term. Be creative & if you have any real life examples of ‘beating the system’ let us know. This was sparked by the mince Vs. pesto post on another thread. This is global, so let’s have some ideas on how we can all get through the crisis.


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## CQB (Mar 19, 2020)

So I’ll kick it off; weekly meetings at a medical facility, attendees have to drive to a location, meet & then disperse. With social distancing they’re Skyping instead & realised that they should have been doing this all along. No driving, no wasted time, no shit! 
No mince, try marinara betcha there plenty.


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## BloodStripe (Mar 19, 2020)

If you are feeling lonely, go online and request pricing for automobiles from several different car lots. They will call you multiple times a day to check in on you


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## Dame (Mar 19, 2020)

Me day 1: Oh boy, the house will be so clean!
Me day 4: Yeah, I'll get to it.


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## Dame (Mar 19, 2020)

OK, a serious alternative.
I'm actually looking at chicken coops. If the association balks I'm willing to name the stupid birds and call them pets.


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## RackMaster (Mar 19, 2020)

Dame said:


> OK, a serious alternative.
> I'm actually looking at chicken coops. If the association balks I'm willing to name the stupid birds and call them pets.



I've been wanting some chickens and pygmy goat's to keep the lawn in check.  The wife vetoed the idea but this might get her on board.


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## Airbud (Mar 19, 2020)

My gym is closed for the next several weeks so I’m trying out sandbag workouts as a substitute for free weights.
Still experimenting with different duffels/containers for said sandbags with mixed results.


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## Johca (Mar 19, 2020)

Having had a Chicken coop with fifty more or less chickens plus a rooster or two (as a kid) , I don't think people realize the work to keep the coop clean and the chickens fed.  Free Ranging the chickens requires some acreage otherwise there is a feed cost to keep them from starving and keeping them laying them there eggs.  My parents believed kids were slave laborers and if I wasn't at school they kept me busy gardening and caring for chickens, two cows and a horse.


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## Brill (Mar 19, 2020)

Dame said:


> OK, a serious alternative.
> I'm actually looking at chicken coops. If the association balks I'm willing to name the stupid birds and call them pets.



Emotional support animal. Use the their own HOA “rules” against them!


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## Devildoc (Mar 19, 2020)

Our department will be taking a hard look and deep dive when this is over.  How we've responded?  It won't happen again.  We are killing some sacred cows up in this bitch.


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## Dame (Mar 19, 2020)

Johca said:


> Having had a Chicken coop with fifty more or less chickens plus a rooster or two (as a kid) , I don't think people realize the work to keep the coop clean and the chickens fed.  Free Ranging the chickens requires some acreage otherwise there is a feed cost to keep them from starving and keeping them laying them there eggs.  My parents believed kids were slave laborers and if I wasn't at school they kept me busy gardening and caring for chickens, two cows and a horse.


Yeah, I'm talking 2-4 birds. Midnight feeds gonna happen from out my office window.


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## RackMaster (Mar 19, 2020)

Johca said:


> Having had a Chicken coop with fifty more or less chickens plus a rooster or two (as a kid) , I don't think people realize the work to keep the coop clean and the chickens fed.  Free Ranging the chickens requires some acreage otherwise there is a feed cost to keep them from starving and keeping them laying them there eggs.  My parents believed kids were slave laborers and if I wasn't at school they kept me busy gardening and caring for chickens, two cows and a horse.



I'm a farm kid myself.  Lived on the farm until 8, then summers and harvest seasons after.  We kept 30-40 mixed birds, chicken, ducks and a couple geese.  Plus 10 hogs plus piglets off and on.  And 4 dairy cows.


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## R.Caerbannog (Mar 19, 2020)

Starting seedlings for a garden and/or prepping gardening area may be a good idea based on where one lives. I live in a college apt, but have a balcony. Last year I made planters out of 5 gallon buckets and planted tomatoes. This year I'm starting seedlings early and prepping the planters before the last frost in April.

Another thing for those that live in dry counties or areas where liquor and alcohol sales are being affected. It might be a good idea to start making your own booze. Mead is relatively easy to make with the right yeast and minimal equipment, there are plenty of recipes online as well. I use two 5 gallon buckets, one as the primary fermenter and the second as a clarifying/settling bucket.

Wine is also pretty simple to make, I currently have a 5 gallon batch of strawberry wine bubbling away in the kitchen. I use the same 5 gallon bucket method. When making any sort of wine/mead at home it's important to keep everything clean, from kitchen area to tools & containers, everything needs to be washed and sanitzed. Meads are more forgiving for 1st time brewers, but can be higher cost depending on honey prices. Fruit wines can be made cheaper if you use more sugar instead of fruit to reach the specific gravity you desire.

Most brewing supplies and clarifying agents such as airlocks, StarSan, clarifiying agents, potassium metabisulfite, potassium sorbate etc, can be found online or at the brewing section of your hardware stores. (A little goes a long way).

Lastly, fermenting is great if you want to have freshish veggies and not have to go out everyday. I'm a fan of DIY sauerkraut with carrots and garlic, (smells like death when it ferments though). I did my kraut in a 5 gallon bucket, with a dinner plate and two double sealed gallon freezer bags filled with 3/4ths water as a fermenter weight.

(Forewarning any bucket/container you use for saurkraut must be segregated from other buckets as the smell permeates the plastic.)


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## R.Caerbannog (Mar 19, 2020)

For those that are used to going to the gym and don't want to give up their routine, a bowflex, indoor rowing machine, or stationary bike might be helpful. Instead of a couch my living room is pretty much a gym. 

Stall mats for barn animals also make great pads for putting said gym equipment on. Before laying the mat down I cut a piece of 4 mil plastic sheeting and place it under the mat to act as a moisture barrier, so as to not damage the flooring. Foam pads are also used on the legs of the rowing machine and stationary bike.

For sitting and lounging, squatting or collapsible camp chairs with floor pads make for an acceptable couch alternative. Since the living room is basically a gym...


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## R.Caerbannog (Mar 19, 2020)

Plastic containers and plastic freezer bags are really good to have, especially if you bought a bunch of rice, flour, beans, sugar. etc. Problem with bulk grains and ingredients is storage space and the inevitable attraction of insects and other pests. Plastic containers help keep mice and bugs out of your non-canned food supplies. (don't let your food supplies become pest food)

Bulk items like rice and flour can be stored in lidded 5 gallon buckets or smaller gallon sized buckets. For those of you who lift and buy protein powder, save those tubs! I store smaller batches of beans, brown rice, lentils, etc in old protein powder tubs. Dollar Tree also has some really decent round gallon and smaller sized large mouth screw top containers for a buck.

If you can, start looking at diy shelving and containers to reduce clutter and open up storage space. Preferably somewhere that's dark and/or maintains a stable ambient temperature year round. Stackable square or rectangular clear containers are great for reducing clutter and storing things like small batteries, cables, tape, etc.

With things going the way they are, people are going to start feeling an economic pinch. While it sounds silly, try looking at what you throw away more carefully and if you can reuse it. Manufacturing goods are liable to get more costly as factories shift outta china so try to keep what you have in good repair, because replacing something may not be viable.

Another thing is to start budgeting. Luxuries that would go toward things like booze, tobacco, etc, might be better put in savings or can go toward getting a brew kit set up. If you do drink, save your bottles. Bottles can be sterilized and recapped if you go the brewing route.

These next few months are going to suck for alot of people, but if we play things smartly it won't be so bad.


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## Dame (Mar 19, 2020)

OK, so maybe I did organize my patterns. Shoe boxes from my current favorite brand with labels added.


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## Bambi (Mar 19, 2020)

The world is your gym. Make use of it.


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## Steve1839 (Mar 19, 2020)

lindy said:


> Emotional support animal.


because eggs are a comfort food....


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## Kaldak (Mar 19, 2020)

I love eggs


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## racing_kitty (Mar 19, 2020)

They go great with bacon.


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## SpongeBob*24 (Mar 19, 2020)

For me, I want to turn to eating, because that's what us fattkiddds do when we are under stress.  But I know if I eat more, I will poop more, and we are currently having to sign out Bath Tissue from the J4 (wife).  I've thought about trying to grow stuff but other then weeds I'm not really good at it.  I think it takes skill, something I don't have.

So I'll just drink...that is the one thing I'm good at and the one thing consistently on the shelves at any store I've been too.


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## ThunderHorse (Mar 19, 2020)

Kaldak said:


> I love eggs


Me too!


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## RackMaster (Mar 20, 2020)

Kaldak said:


> I love eggs



Eggs are a great side dish with a good meal of bacon.


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## Dame (Mar 20, 2020)

Started a list of people with chickens. Should score some eggs today.


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## R.Caerbannog (Mar 20, 2020)

Dame said:


> Started a list of people with chickens. Should score some eggs today.


If you go the chicken route, it's way cheaper to buy feed from a grain lot or feed distributor than at a tractor supply store. Price markup is at least 50% to 70% if you get it anywhere else. Down side is the bags from the lot are 40-50 lbs and up.

Edit: Whoops my bad, thought for a second you and @Steve1839 were going to start chicken hatchlings.


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## Dame (Mar 20, 2020)

R.Caerbannog said:


> If you go the chicken route, it's way cheaper to buy feed from a grain lot or feed distributor than at a tractor supply store. Price markup is at least 50% to 70% if you get it anywhere else. Down side is the bags from the lot are 40-50 lbs and up.
> 
> Edit: Whoops my bad, thought for a second you and @Steve1839 were going to start chicken hatchlings.


I wish it were that simple. I'm still stuck here and he's stuck there. Unca Sugar has us tied to the AOs we work in so we can't even occupy the same state right now.

ETA: Yes, I'm whinging. Only took me four days away from him.


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## R.Caerbannog (Mar 20, 2020)

Dame said:


> I wish it were that simple. I'm still stuck here and he's stuck there. Unca Sugar has us tied to the AOs we work in so we can't even occupy the same state right now.
> 
> ETA: Yes, I'm whinging. Only took me four days away from him.


That sucks, I'm sorry guys. It'll get better.


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