The Urban Homestead

I recently read The Urban Homestead (by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen), a book by a couple living in LA in a small home on a small plot (1/10th of an acre, IIRC) and living as self-sufficiently as possible.  I've been interested in learning about living more self-sufficiently for a while, though I've probably done more reading than doing.  This is one of my favourite books on the subject so far.  Lots of simple projects, presented clearly and plainly, so that I felt like I could jump in and actually do these things.  I have been wanting a compost pile for years, but it wasn't until reading their description of a simple compost bin made from a garbage can that I felt like I could actually do it.  And I did, the compost bin is in place and starting to fill up.

Since the authors are working with a small space in the city, their ideas and advice are better suited to my little back yard than the self-sufficiency books I've read for people living on a 5 acre farm.  They live in LA, so the climate they're working with is very different from mine, but I found this wasn't too much of an issue.  Most of the gardening books they read when they started out assumed the reader was living in a more temperate climate, and they said they had to do a lot of work to figure out how to garden in their climate, so I think they're sensitive to that kind of issue in their writing.

I really like the section on cleaning and natural alternatives.  I've read lots of ideas about using things like baking soda and vinegar, but the way they cover it in their book was, again, clear and concise; after reading through it, I felt like I could go out, get the items they listed, and know what to use for which type of cleaning.  Their "big three" products are baking soda, vinegar, and liquid castille soap.  They explain how to use them and when.  This really clarified things for me, especially how to use the soap.  I've been using baking soda and vinegar for a while, but castille soap was beyond me.  No longer!

In some (most) of the self-sufficiency books I've read, there is a bit of an "all or nothing" vibe.  Even though the authors encourage you to do what you can and start off slowly, I definitely get the impression that my goal should be to live completely self-sufficiently.  And that's overwhelming.  I don't get this vibe from The Urban Homestead.  It feels more like "do what you can/what works for you."  I find that attitude much more likely to inspire me to gradually change my habits, which leads to lasting change instead of feeling overwhelmed.

Coyne and Knutzen have a blog, Root Simple, which is also a very interesting and enlightening read.