Category: Preparedness Stuff

Tip Time

♥ It’s Tip Time! ♥

These tips fall under the categories:  I’m so glad I saved _____ ;  and the category:  Ooooo… saved myself a whole bunch of time and energy by planning for future needs! Yay!

Continually in the mindset of thinking efficiently,  make a conscious effort to consider the needs of others–your husband, family, etc., etc.  ♦ A kitchen log and/or a journal will help you put it down and out of your mind = eliminate worry.  Pray the Lord will guide you as you plan, pray He will give you insight for what you need or what you will need.

♦ Planning for daily meals = eliminate mealtime shortfalls and stress; ♦ planning for events = more smoothly transitioning from whatever point a to be, etc.; ♦ planning for future needs/seasonal needs = not fearing for the snow for your household; and rainy days.  Sorry, rainy days will come and you’ll necessarily face those with the Lord, on your knees and waiting on Him — maybe in tears, but as you set your days in His hands, you will find solace there.

So… tip time:

♦ Jar lids—-if a store-bought item has a flip lid and fits on a mason jar, save that lid!  Consider, some plastic containers for parmesan cheese have flip-top lids that fit regular mason jars — Truvia jars, too… some salad dressings and some tomato/pasta sauce jars, too, just to name a few.

♦ Pumps for soaps/lotions/shampoo — some of these fit other bottles that you might want a pump for.  Now, this is just friend to friend advice, as I’m sure there are purists who wouldn’t think of reusing a soap or conditioner pump for any food item–all the leeching etc., etc. = anathema!   So, cover your ears and don’t listen to this.   I use pumps or reuse pumps all the time———makes so many things easier!  From the kitchen sink to the pantry to the bath!  As an example, I use the pump from a (costco size) bottle of Pantene conditioner—thoroughly-thoroughly-thoroughly washed, soaked, rinsed, washed and rinsed again—for some bottles of oils I use in cooking.  They fit perfectly and not a drop is wasted.  I reuse pumps on bottles of shampoo, etc., and put them on bottles that didn’t originally come with a pump.  Saves money from going down the drain in the family’s shower.   Sometimes I use the pumps I’ve purchased for coffee syrups—I use them on the syrup bottle, but when the syrup’s gone, sometimes I use the bottle fitted with a pump for sauces, salad dressings, etc., etc.  This has been simple for me since I was able to purchase a quantity of pumps for a low price.  So, all this to say, if you purchase pumps or whatever other time/food-saver you purchase, be sure you save those items to reuse in the future.

♦ Flip lids to toothpaste or lotion or whatever—these are another saver!  Flip lids from spice jars—some come without a flip lid/shaker and so I always save assorted jar lids that have a shaker/ flip top so I can replace the lid with the better/more effecient lid.  Saving these sorts of lids, helps so much bcz there are so many uses for them.  I save assorted sized bread ties and bags, too — along with other things that ♦ make food storage easier.  Saving unique jars and bottles with lids is also a great way to plan for food storage — gallon jars with lids make organizing and storing foods in the pantry so much easier.  You can also save bottles with lids for juice, syrups, gravy, salad dressings, etc., etc. In this way, you’ll be glad you planned ahead for future needs!!   Instead of giant hodge-podge  mess bin of “tupperware” or whatever-ware, you can reuse items your food came in in the first place and reuse them for other foods or left overs or whatever until the containers wear out. Or get lost.  Or become a hodge-podge mess.  Don’t be afraid to recycle.  As in, throw away.

The big deal is that you continually learn (and re-tune/refine) to plan ahead and know when to be, and be determined to be, ♦ content with the amount of stash you have—too much and you’ll have oodles of chaos instead of contentment  and all your planning will backfire as an unintended consequence.   Too little planning and/or stash and you’ll have discontent and waste time and money over last-minute spending instead enjoying the contentment you originally longed for. ♦ Balance.  That’s the big deal. Balance.

A Well Stocked Pantry and a PPP List

You might consider taking a good look into your pantry… what you’ve got on hand, what do you use most often and what’s lacking?

Then, if you have them, take a look at your most recent grocery receipts – most stores give enough description for you to cipher what’s on the receipt.   This is probably the easiest way to start a food pantry shopping/stock list.   A well stocked pantry is invaluable for many reasons — not only does it save you a great deal on so many levels,  you also have many more options for mealtimes, unplanned extra dinner guests and a “rainy day” stash.    So, stocking a pantry really makes ¢ents bcz good planning really will save you time and money.   Now, you may already do this, and if so, you know what I mean.  But, on the other hand, but if you haven’t done this, or don’t have much experience or incentive to do so, maybe I can encourage you a little bit, prod you along a little bit — it’s really easy to get started and to build little by little here and there  — you’ll be pleasantly surprised how easy this is (and how glad you’ll be to have it underway).  It’s sort of like another idea I’ve shared from time to time regarding building a freezer meal reserve (by occasionally doubling or tripling recipes: serving one and freezing one or two).  As you’re able, whenever you grocery shop, buy an additional item or a few additional items.  With this in mind each time, you’ll be shopping more wisely as you’ll be more apt to shop from a prepared list.  Occasionally you might plan to buy two of each item: storing one, using one.

Now, the quantities of the foods in your pantry will be entirely up to you and to your family’s needs.  Stored in large glass jars or Food-Saver bags or Seal-a-Meal bags and/or other food storage containers (of course, commercially packaged or canned goods will have a longer shelf life, for the most part).  Any or all on the following list (use it as a springboard to make your own!) — depending on your family food preferences and other dietary needs and what you/they really do like and really will eat.  It’s foolish to simply stock up on what lasts longest or stores best if you/your family will not actually like or eat it… and you’ll regret it. This is not a TEOTWAWKI (the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it) list — it’s a “consider the ant” list, it’s a prepared mother’s prudently planned pantry list.  Thus, when you shop, think: PPP :o)

  • Water
  • Rice, Quinoa, Couscous, Assorted dry beans (navy, pinto, kidney, black, red, pink, garbanzo), Lentils, Assorted noodles – pasta (think of a variety your family likes)
  • Tomatoes (sauce, whole, stewed, pureed, diced)
  • Chicken, Vegetable, Beef, Tomato stock (home canned or purchased)
  • Canned meat – tuna, salmon, beef, chicken chili, turkey (home canned or purchased)
  • Canned sauce (home-canned or grocery) Spaghetti, hollandaise, marinara, flavoured oils
  • Canned vegetables, pumpkin, peas, navy beans, chili beans, black beans, pintos (I don’t store too many canned beans since we have all these in dry form — saves space, etc).
  • Additional canned items such as olives, water chestnuts, artichoke hearts, capers, peppers, chiles, etc.
  • Canned fruits (home-canned or grocery) peaches, pears, plums, applesauce, pineapple, etc.
  • Seasonings, Sea salt, Pepper, Assorted spices — (consider what you most commonly use in your recipes) cinnamon, cayenne, curry, garlic salt, dehydrated onion and garlic, etc., etc.
  • Sauces, hot sauce, salsa, ketchup, mustard, pickles, mayonnaise
  • Vanilla, Almond, Peppermint, Lemon, Maple extracts
  • Honey, Agave nectar
  • Olive Oil, Vegetable Oil, Coconut oil, Shortening,  Balsamic Vinegar, White Vinegar
  • Powdered milk, buttermilk, evaporated milk
  • Jelly and Jam — so easy to make
  • Cereals (package well for freshness) oatmeal, farina, rice
  • Dried fruits, fruit leather, raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, Jell-o, pudding mix
  • Baking Cupboard supplies:  Wheat berries (if you have a grinder — highly recommended), flour, cornmeal (rotate often), sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, condensed milk, raw sugar, golden and dark brown sugar, powdered sugar, condensed milk (sweetened and unsweetened), molasses, sorghum, corn syrup, gelatin, tapioca
  • Peanut butter, Almond butter, Nutella (be sure to rotate these often)
  • Nuts and seeds — also rotate frequently as these tend to spoil more rapidly due to the oil content.
  • Coffee, teas, hot-chocolate mix
  • Paper products, towels, napkins, plastic bags, wraps, foil, etc.

    • Keep the shelves wiped down, the jars and containers clean so that you don’t attract pests (and this gives you an opportunity to examine your ‘stock’ from time to time.

    Then… be sure to have some very basic items on hand:

  • Well stocked first aid kit:  Aspirin, tylenol, Grapefruit-seed extract, Garlic extract, Alcohol, Hydrogen peroxide, swabs, gauze, bandaids, teatree oil, soap, tweezers, cotton, bandages — this list could include many more items, tinctures, etc.
  • Prescriptions, baking soda, apple-cider vinegar
  • Personal toiletries, toothpaste, deodorant, etc., toilet paper, fem products as needed, essential oils.
  • Basic cleaning: Soap, Vinegar, Baking Soda, Ammonia, Bleach, scrub-brush bucket
  • Matches, Kerosene for Oil Lamps (remember wicks), Flashlights/batteries, candles, lightbulbs
  • firewood, kettle, water, propane (if you have a campstove)
  • blankets/tent

Write It All Down Before You Forget

If you spend time with me… you know it won’t be very long before you notice me writing something down.  I write lots of notes — I even write notes about notes.

Well, tonight in this “write it all down before you forget” blog entry, I actually want to encourage you to add more to your kitchen counter journal  or your kitchen log.  If you don’t have one, may I encourage you do get a notebook — preferably an inexpensive, but thick, “half sheet size” spiral notebook that you can keep in your kitchen to record your daily chores and activities, calls, appointments, lists, etc.  I know this might seem archaic to women who think palm-pilots are old relics and who don’t even use a PC anymore  — but seriously, there’s something about pen and paper — the visual and tangible.

So, what you might want to do is write down on a few different pages: lists.  You might have a “from now till year’s end” list and you might have a garden list and you might have a basic home maintenance and repair list.  These lists are sort of running lists that you’ll add to and cross off (you might reserve a section of pages at the beginning of your notebook for such lists).  Things might remain on your list for a long time — years even — these aren’t like shopping lists or activity to do lists — these are more permanent/ongoing lists.  Don’t fret over what you don’t have — just work to appreciate what you do have and take care of it.  If you cannot replace/improve it, learn to appreciate it.  Cultivate a thankful heart.  Write down “thankfulness” verses from the Bible.  That might be a page of your kitchen counter notebook.

Write it down… before you forget.

I’m suggesting this tonight because this is sort of the lull of autumn (at least here in the States) and, like the month of March, is a great time to get some things done… before the next big push.  The last big push — around here, anyway, was to get outdoors: gardening, planting, outside repairs, and then the next big push was the food preservation – jams, jellies, canning and freezing – all the “putting up” for winter.  Well, now it’s the other side… now it’s time to put everything away outside, get ready for the colder days and longer nights… it’s time to do the indoor repairs, a well stocked pantry, setting in the wood, candles, flashlights & batteries, lamp oil and other preparations and necessities.  All the things you might want to do before the next big push… celebrations and family times.  You may want to use this time for a really good deep cleaning of your home — every room, top to bottom, inside out.  Wash and iron the curtains, wash walls, ceilings, touch up paint and whatever else you might consider needing to do.

Write it down… before you forget.

And, before you forget… maybe one more list:
What were you glad you did this past year?  Write down what you’d like to repeat next year.
What were you glad you planted in the garden and yard?
What sort of garden did you envision and what really happened?
Now… write down the plans you want to hold onto for next year’s garden, next spring, next summer…

There’s a phrase and, sadly,  I know it to be so true: Fail to plan = plan to fail.
But I like this better:  Make a plan… Make a good plan… and follow through.  This is my encouragement; again, I know it to be true:  Your plans will work if you will work your plans.

Look up and write down verses on industriousness and slothfulness, hard work and laziness… these are great motivators for all of us… as we help our husbands and families.

The cool thing about notebooks is that you can still read and write in them when the power goes out or when the batteries are dead or when the phone lines are down. ;o) ♥

 

 

TEOTWAWKI – and a fun activity

teacuppamela.pngI always get a little nervous when my husband smiles a certain smile and says he has a fun family activity.

On Sunday night we were talking with friends about all the amazing things going on in our nation, in the government, the political climate and in the financial institutions in our nation and around the world — read: end times; and Wes said he thought he might like for our family to try this fun activity.  I knew where this was going — not bcz I had seen the covers of different books Wes has recently been reading and not bcz I saw a couple of websites he was reading.  No… no, I knew we were in for some real family fun when I heard him speak and saw the sparkle in his eye.  He shared with the friends what we might do.  Hmmmm… I thought; and then I wondered if that would be a weekend where our home would be the ‘host home’ for our house-church?  Would that be a weekend where I had a retreat planned?  O, I’m kidding. ;o)   My mind raced about what we might do and how we might carry out this fun activity.  But it wouldn’t be a game if it was for real – if it was for real, all this joking aside, we’d be pretty astonished.

So, a teotwawki survival weekend is survival or disaster practice.  Now, doesn’t that sound like fun?  Now, not being a conspiracy theorist or a survial anything afficianado, the idea of gathering all the family together some friday afternoon and telling them we’re going to intentionally turn off all electricity (and/or other power sources) *and* water and see how much fun we can have for the weekend doesn’t seem all that great to me and I don’t even want to do it — but as these last couple of days have passed, I’m rethinking that… and am wondering if it might not be that bad of an idea after all — and that we actually should do it.   O, and TEOTWAWKI, translated is: the end of the world as we know it.

So, curious, I deceded to take a look at a few sites when we got home Sunday night.  This is my year for adventure, so I’m thinking we might try this — now, mind you, we did nothing for “Y2K” preparedness – well, save the fact that we didn’t have a large savings in the bank. O, but that wasn’t intentional.  So, I guess we didn’t do anything to prepare for the “unknown” except stay up and live through the passing of minutes before and after 12:00 midnight 12/31 – 1/1/00… I guess we clapped and then yawned and went to bed.   I’m not a hiker (well, not seriously – though, as you know, I *did* climb Mt. Pilchuck) and we’re not “campers” — though we have been camping; and I’m not one for “roughing it” — though we have roughed it.  a lot. sometimes.  We’ve only done so out of necessity – not intentionally.  So, this “weekend experiment…” I wonder if Wes will want to try this fun activity before or after the list of lists is printed and (some?) items gathered?  Sort of “cold turkey” or after a trip to Starbucks the grocery store.

The only preparation I have for surviving teotwawki is – uh, one thing — and it’s not tangible, but it’s for real — it’s none other than oil in my lamp.  Oil in my lamp is my only hope…

“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
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