Simple Suburban Life: SOLD!

When God moves, He MOVES!  And the SSL family is moving, folks!  We knew it was only a matter of time before we moved our growing little homestead onto more property, we just didn't know exactly how it was all going to work, or where we were going to move to.  There are so many details and things that have to happen when you buy and sell a home, it can be overwhelming just thinking about it.  And raising three kids in the...

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Grow Bed Placement and Design

The next step in the aquaponics renovation - positioning the grow beds and lowering them as low as I can get them. Although this was not an easy process I am so glad it is done! The new height of the grow beds is 41" from the floor to the top of the framing and it is a much more comfortable working height than before. Grow bed dimensions to follow shortly... General Store Please follow us on.... http://www.pinterest...

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Installing Bass in the Family Wagon

The SSL Family Mom wanted a better sound system for her recent birthday, this is what she got.... In this video I go through a very high level overview of the Kicker subwoofer installation. I am using all Kicker brand products here listed below. To see the full video on the project, click here.               &nbs...

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Custom Closet Doors

The next step in the bonus room renovation is to get these closet doors built. In a normal situation you can just run out the big box store and buy a pre-hung door. This would include the frame that just slides into your opening and with minor adjustments you have a door. Well, in the case of this bonus room I have slanted ceilings and shorter than standard opening so I need to make something custom. Here is the process that I used, right or wrong...

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Bonus Room Renovation - Phase One

In the midst of several other projects I have pending I have started yet another project - this bonus room renovation.   We have what is called a "bonus room" in our home above the garage. This is a basic multi-use room that was added during construction but does not have closets and therefore is not considered an actual bedroom. My oldest daughter has been calling this her home for the past five years and it is far past time...

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Chickens Are Jerks

It was a nice day today so we decided to experiment with reintroducing our picked on chick to the flock. We have learned a lot about chickens and one thing is for sure - they are kind of jerks!   It all started when we noticed one of our chickens was getting picked on......very badly, I mean blood bath bad. You can read more about that here. We separated her into a dog crate in the basement where we made her a little chicken "tiny...

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Simple Suburban Life: To Move or Not To Move?

When we bought the house we live in now, I said I would never move again.  Ever.  I said I was going to die here.  Heck, we even have a cemetery behind our property.  I was sure I was going to be buried here.  But that was when we were both working two fuller than full-time jobs.  Back when we ate out at least three times a week and thought Hamburger Helper was a home cooked meal.  Before chickens.  Before...

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Installing a Smart Thermostat to Save Energy

 Another addition to the "smart home" here at the SSL Homestead and we love it! Using a smart thermostat can be a great way to control heating and cooling costs and reduce your monthly energy bills! With our intentions to get off the grid someday and eventually get Wind and solar power for our home I am always looking for ways to reduce our energy costs and save us some money! For years this has been our thermostat, boring, ugly, inefficient,...

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How To Build The Simple Suburban Chicken Coop - Free Printable Plans!

Here at the Simple Suburban Homestead we like to keep things simple! This coop and all of the additions (auto water/feeder/cleanout) are designed for the suburban family with limited time. The coop can comfortably house up to eight laying hens to provide your family with plenty of fresh eggs daily. The design takes into account standard lumber measurements which reduces waste and cost....

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Simple Suburban Life: What It's Like To Be Married To The SSL Family Dad

You know him as the do-it-yourself, gardening, chicken farming, computer geek.  But there are a few things about the SSL Family Dad that you may not know.   He's the man of the house, literally.  He's completely outnumbered by me and our three daughters.  Even our dog, cats and chickens are all girls. He does a great job handling all of us, and he's not above doing a last-minute pony tail, or helping our youngest...

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Aquaponics: Auto-Fill Sump Tanks

Phase one of the aquaponics re-design is completed! The first step of this overhaul was to move and re-design the sump tank system. I wanted to accomplish two goals - Lower the sump tanks to the lowest possible location, and also move them under the grow beds to save space and piping. So, why would I want to spend hours moving a perfectly good sump system? Well there are a couple of flaws with this design that I talked about briefly in the...

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