When you are preparing for anything that may come your way that leaves a really big area to cover. Well for me I want to make sure my family has all household items needed for day to day, food, hygiene items, first aid, survival gear (if ever needed), and tons of other items. So, honestly I cannot give you an exact on what to stock up on. I do the food, home/house items. My husband does the survival gear and other items.
Now we live very close to the mountains and well in the case as people say if the shit hits the fan type event we would take to the woods. Our favorite place to be anyways. So as of now he has been gathering items like water purification items (tablets, filters, straws), fire starting items, different types of fuels needed, ropes, outdoor gear, tools, etc. He has bug out bags for all family members ready with items to help anyone of us on our own if needed. He is the one who decides what weapons are needed and what needs to be stocked up on those. I don't have a problem with this, since whether or not something happens we will still use these items anyways.
I read today on a blog somewhere I cannot seem to remember exactly where it was. But anyways I read that she could not understand this whole prepping idea that to her it seemed as if these people (me included I guess) just seem to have an endless amount of money and space to devote to our prepping. Which took me by surprise. Honestly I have never looked at it that way. Nor have I met anyone who does. Prepping doesn't happen over night, stockpiles don't build up in just a week. This is lots of time and effort put into this. From taking only $50-100 or if you have more then wonderful if not it is okay to devote to your stockpiles. You watch for sales on stuff that you want to add. Well that is what I do. Say like Dawn dish soap is on sale that week I will buy some for normal household use and buy an extra 4 or so for my stockpile. Then next time it is on sale I add more to that and keep adding. I rotate when I need more. So like when I bought one for the house I would actually put that one in the stockpile and pull an older one from the shelf. If I use from my stockpile I constantly replace because if I did not what would be the point of stocking up and preparing for something if I keep using up my items. I do the same for food items if the item has a long shelf life I for sure get more of it. If it is a fresh veggie or fruit and I can can it, I grab a case or so of it. You just never know so why not grab it when you can.
Now as far as space well I run into that problem and I am still trying to fix this. Right now I have lots of shelves in my laundry room area that serves as storage and such also where our main door we use is. Then there is a storage building out back that we have and the top area of a garage which I am in the process of clearing out to put items like toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Now my main problem I run into is we rent our home so I cannot really redo the house to what I want and what works for me. We are presently looking to find a mobile way to store our items in the case we might have to move. Probably will end up being a cargo/utility trailer that we will insulate, build shelves etc.
So no not all of us have tons of money and space, we just choose to do without other items at times to add to our prepping. Like for me I don't need the new trend of clothes all the time. I am very happy with my jeans, carpi's, t-shirts, sweatshirts and Keens (yeah love my Keens). But still that saves us a lot of money. I buy clothes when we need them not when we want them. I am happy with gently used clothes from thrift stores it doesn't bother me one bit. Nor does it bother my kids or husband. We also don't always have to have new vehicles we care content with the ones we have and don't need new ones just because we want it. I guess it is all about what you need vs want. We still get wants but our needs over weigh most of them.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A few thought I have on canning
I just started canning foods for my family the year before last and I was hooked after my first batch of salsa I canned. Every part of the process was like second nature to me and I had a sudden relax feel come over me. The thought that I was making something for my family at a fraction of the price and knowing what was in the end product that did not contain ingredients that I could not pronounce was one of the best feelings for me. I am always on the look out to go back to basics with our food items. Canning is one way that I am able to do this. Also a wonderful way to get my stock piles of items up quickly at a low cost to me.
As of now I have only water bath canned items. This year I am venturing in the pressure canning area. I already have a 23 quart pressure caner that was given to me. It is in awesome condition and works great as a pressure cooker too. Anyways, this year I plan on canning corn, green beans, carrots, potatoes, beets, tomatoes (sauce, paste, stewed, plain tomatoes, spaghetti sauce), soup starters that contain turkey and chicken, salsa, jellies, jams, fruits, and anything else that happens to come to mind. So, for the price of seeds and water to take care of my garden and few jars (I already have a nice pile waiting to be used) I will be able to can and stock up our cupboards with fresh vegetables from our backyard garden. I am super excited!
There is nothing like in the middle of winter cracking open a jar of fresh garden salsa to make you smile. The smells and taste are just as fresh as the day I sealed the jar. Yummy! Same goes for fresh pears or anything else you can can. The taste is way better than the cans you buy at the store that is for sure. Also the whole process of doing it yourself is reward enough and wow does it make your home smell wonderful!
Now one thing I do is I do follow the guidelines on safe canning very closely. The health of my family is at stake here and no corners are cut. It is just not worth it to me.
As of now I have only water bath canned items. This year I am venturing in the pressure canning area. I already have a 23 quart pressure caner that was given to me. It is in awesome condition and works great as a pressure cooker too. Anyways, this year I plan on canning corn, green beans, carrots, potatoes, beets, tomatoes (sauce, paste, stewed, plain tomatoes, spaghetti sauce), soup starters that contain turkey and chicken, salsa, jellies, jams, fruits, and anything else that happens to come to mind. So, for the price of seeds and water to take care of my garden and few jars (I already have a nice pile waiting to be used) I will be able to can and stock up our cupboards with fresh vegetables from our backyard garden. I am super excited!
There is nothing like in the middle of winter cracking open a jar of fresh garden salsa to make you smile. The smells and taste are just as fresh as the day I sealed the jar. Yummy! Same goes for fresh pears or anything else you can can. The taste is way better than the cans you buy at the store that is for sure. Also the whole process of doing it yourself is reward enough and wow does it make your home smell wonderful!
Now one thing I do is I do follow the guidelines on safe canning very closely. The health of my family is at stake here and no corners are cut. It is just not worth it to me.
Not all Preppers are crazy like you might think
I admit I do watch Domesday Preppers, but I don't take to heart all that they say. In that I am not one who thinks the word is going to end. Yes I do believe life has many up and down moments and I like to be prepared for those moments as much as I can. Do I tend to go over board sometimes, well yes but who doesn't. But lately all these preppers you read about paint a picture to make everyone that is a prepper out to be a nut case who eats bugs, stock piles food in bathroom doors, or makes their homes into a bunker. Not all of us are like this or go to this extreme of prepping. I believe you can prep for all types of events that my come your way. For my family we prep for all kinds of reason. Unemployment is at the top of my list. I hate the feeling we cannot pay a bill or I have to figure out if buying milk or shampoo is more important. So, I prepare my home for these type of events so I don't have to make decisions like that.
So I stock pile what I can so we can make it when we need to. I am not saying I have 200 cans of corn or anything, but I do have a few that will for sure make sure that my family is well fed in any event that might come our way. I love to can food for my family. This way I know what they are eating, what is in our food, how much of an item is in it an so forth. We grow a garden every year to add to our assortment of items we already have. Now don't get me wrong I do buy canned items from the store still and if it is cheaper to do it that way I do, but not all things are worth that cut in price to me. Making our own bread is something I do regularly, why because we love the taste much more than store bought and for use it is a huge savings.
I also believe that keeping life simple helps. If my family is so wrapped around electronics and all things that come with them then when we cannot afford them they won't know what to do. So we try not to rely on the Internet for everything, we go to the local library often. We learn things by good old fashion trial and error instead of taking what the answer I got from googling something as fact.
One of our goals right now is to get a small piece of land so we can have a few laying hens and such for fresh eggs. Right now we live in town limits so we cannot have any type of farm animal. We wish and try for a simple life, like going back to basics with a modern twist.
So to some I may seem crazy, but to me not all of us preppers are crazy. We are not all preparing for the end, but a lot of us are preparing for what we cannot control at times. Like unemployment, loss of savings, inflation etc. Because those types of events we cannot control, but we can control how prepared we are in our homes to make us through those times.
So I stock pile what I can so we can make it when we need to. I am not saying I have 200 cans of corn or anything, but I do have a few that will for sure make sure that my family is well fed in any event that might come our way. I love to can food for my family. This way I know what they are eating, what is in our food, how much of an item is in it an so forth. We grow a garden every year to add to our assortment of items we already have. Now don't get me wrong I do buy canned items from the store still and if it is cheaper to do it that way I do, but not all things are worth that cut in price to me. Making our own bread is something I do regularly, why because we love the taste much more than store bought and for use it is a huge savings.
I also believe that keeping life simple helps. If my family is so wrapped around electronics and all things that come with them then when we cannot afford them they won't know what to do. So we try not to rely on the Internet for everything, we go to the local library often. We learn things by good old fashion trial and error instead of taking what the answer I got from googling something as fact.
One of our goals right now is to get a small piece of land so we can have a few laying hens and such for fresh eggs. Right now we live in town limits so we cannot have any type of farm animal. We wish and try for a simple life, like going back to basics with a modern twist.
So to some I may seem crazy, but to me not all of us preppers are crazy. We are not all preparing for the end, but a lot of us are preparing for what we cannot control at times. Like unemployment, loss of savings, inflation etc. Because those types of events we cannot control, but we can control how prepared we are in our homes to make us through those times.
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