Living Off The Land

LOUDOUN CO., Va. (WUSA) -- In an age when food prices are up, and gas prices are soaring, one family in our area isn't complaining. They've figured out how to live efficiently and save money.

William Stewart says, "It does take quite a bit of work to make a dent in the grocery bill." But he's more than willing, starting with his vegetable garden. "There's many years we've just been kind of overflowing with produce. Sometimes it might be pumpkins for example. So all winter long, we might be having pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread," he says.

His 10 acre farm near Leesburg is designed so his family of four can literally live off the fruits of their labor. They have 45 fruit and nut trees, including apples, asian pears and plums. It often ends up being canned and enjoyed throughout the year. The Stewarts also make their own flour. "We can buy a 50 pound sack of wheat for 8 dollars and then make 50 loaves of bread from that."

Because they installed solar panels on their roof and energy efficient windows and appliances, their utility bill is next to nothing. "Right now a lot of times we pay close to what the connection fee is and that's about it," Stewart says. That connection fee is an enviable 19 bucks a month. By driving a hybrid, his gas bill is usually less than 40 dollars a month because he telecommutes 2 times a week and bikes everywhere he can. He says it's all about living consciously. He says, "we kind of plan out where we're going, how many stops to make and is this trip really necessary?" He added, "I kind of feel like I don't need a certain life-style where I have to expend a lot of money on energy or goods or things like that."

The Stewarts 2 children embrace their energy efficient life-style. They spend a lot of time playing sports and helping care for their farm animals. And once all of their fruit and nut trees mature, they plan to make extra money by selling what they can't eat at the farmer's market.