Making It (+ Giveaway!!!)

Residing smack dab at the intersection of "walk" and "talk" are Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen. Creators of the popular DIY and sustainable living blog Root Simple (formerly 'Homegrown Evolution') and the book The Urban Homestead (described by the New York Times as "the contemporary bible on the subject"), Kelly and Erik have, in short, got it goin' on, strong.

By their own description, the couple "grow food, keep chickens, brew, bike, bake, and plot revolution from their 1/2-acre farm in the heart of Los Angeles." I approached them several years ago, while I was working on my book "Keeping Chickens" with a solicitation as potential candidates for profiling (to which they willingly obliged). Truly kind, generous individuals, when I found out they were working on another book, I knew I wanted to promote it as much as possible.

Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World is their newest publication. The book is packed with projects that'll move you from being a consumer to a producer. From building an oil lamp to creating laundry soap, from fermenting to wild foraging, this book contains all you need to know about keeping a sustainable house, from seasoned folks living the life. Perhaps the most genius aspect of the book is that it's arranged by "time spent on a project and how frequently that project is done over the course of one year" (as detailed by its press release). That way, you know from the onset just how much of a time commitment a project requires.

Kelly and Erik's publisher, Rodale, has generously provided me with a copy of Making It for my own use as well as one to give away to a small measure reader. To enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment describing something you currently purchase that you'd love to someday make. For me, it's cat litter. With 5 geriatric cats, we go through a lot of litter (What I wouldn't give to get them to use the 11 acres of forest just beyond the front door! Only one of them currently does this. Sigh). I'd love to learn to make my own biodegradable cat litter. It'll happen. It's only a matter of time.

I'll leave the contest open to U.S. residents through next Monday, May 23rd, midnight EST. Whether or not you win, or even enter the contest, do take a peek at Kelly and Erik's books and blog. They're clever, compassionate, creative folks that you'll want to get to know.