So, I'm working on editing tonight, and what do I come across? The amount of food suggested for a year's supply. Do you know how much dairy is required for one adult for year? Seventy-five pounds! Here I was feeling all smug about my 5 1/2 pounds of shredded cheese. Haha! Yah, right.
Ah well, it's a start, right?
Friday, September 28, 2012
Like a Squirrel...or Maybe a Mouse
Got back from the grocery store. I rocked it!
I have two crockpots and have one chicken in each with one cup of water. When they're done cooking, I cook them until their joints are loose and meat's falling off the bones, I'll let them cool for a bit, take the meat off the bones and put them in freezer bags to use for later.
I also now have five and a half pounds of shredded cheese in the freezer. I bought one 2 lb. block for $2.99 at the store that had the deal and then went and got the same deal at Walmart. I already had cheese in my fridge, so this will be great for later. Also on sale, for $1.25 were 8 oz. packages of Tillamook shredded cheese, so those are in the freezer too.
I'm learning that one of the side-effects of having children, other than never having a clean house for more than about ten minutes, is that your food storage is gone in no time flat. I'm learning that I have to be tricky and maybe even a little bit sneaky about where I put things.
If I didn't shred and freeze that cheese, it would be gone by the middle of next week--all of it. Now that it's safely in the freezer, I think we may be just a bit surer that it will last just a bit longer. I've gotten so I put lunchmeat and yogurts in the lowest drawer in the garage fridge to keep them for another day. I put one package in the kitchen fridge and one in the garage. That way, when the kitchen supply is out, I can refill it. So far, so good. I mean, nobody wants to go out to the garage to get something to snack on at this point.
We have two cases of 24 bottles of water on the shelf that I cleared off yesterday.
I haven't cleaned the garage yet today, but I didn't straighten it a bit as I put groceries away, so that should count, right? I guess if we're going to consider that the frog I must eat today, then I only nibbled on its leg. Once I get my older kids home, I'll go to town on it.
I have two crockpots and have one chicken in each with one cup of water. When they're done cooking, I cook them until their joints are loose and meat's falling off the bones, I'll let them cool for a bit, take the meat off the bones and put them in freezer bags to use for later.
I also now have five and a half pounds of shredded cheese in the freezer. I bought one 2 lb. block for $2.99 at the store that had the deal and then went and got the same deal at Walmart. I already had cheese in my fridge, so this will be great for later. Also on sale, for $1.25 were 8 oz. packages of Tillamook shredded cheese, so those are in the freezer too.
I'm learning that one of the side-effects of having children, other than never having a clean house for more than about ten minutes, is that your food storage is gone in no time flat. I'm learning that I have to be tricky and maybe even a little bit sneaky about where I put things.
If I didn't shred and freeze that cheese, it would be gone by the middle of next week--all of it. Now that it's safely in the freezer, I think we may be just a bit surer that it will last just a bit longer. I've gotten so I put lunchmeat and yogurts in the lowest drawer in the garage fridge to keep them for another day. I put one package in the kitchen fridge and one in the garage. That way, when the kitchen supply is out, I can refill it. So far, so good. I mean, nobody wants to go out to the garage to get something to snack on at this point.
We have two cases of 24 bottles of water on the shelf that I cleared off yesterday.
I haven't cleaned the garage yet today, but I didn't straighten it a bit as I put groceries away, so that should count, right? I guess if we're going to consider that the frog I must eat today, then I only nibbled on its leg. Once I get my older kids home, I'll go to town on it.
Same Frog, Different Day
I went to the post office yesterday. There's a little one inside one of the local grocery stores, so I stopped in to mail my daughter a package--Wow! That seems weird to say.
While I was in the store, I decided to pick up a couple things that I had seen on sale in their ad. I found cereal 4/$6, and I remembered that 2 lbs. of cheese was $2.99! So, that was a no-brainer. I picked some up. I just couldn't understand why there was SO much in the two displays they had set up.
When I got to the check outs, I figured out why--it was a three day sale. The sale starts today. Ugh!
I started to ask my son to run it back for me, but the checker quietly took the cheese, ran it over the scanner and overrode it for the sale price. SO nice of him. He didn't have to do that. I didn't ask him to or anything. Anyway, just a very nice thing.
Today, I'm running to the grocery store. I'm stocking up on water ($1.99 + deposit/24 bottles), tomato sauce (3/$1), canned veggies (.50/can), and a few other items--oh, and cheese, of course. I plan to grate the cheese and freeze it for the future.
I used to run all around town for the deals at the different stores, but last month, my brother and sister-in-law came into town. My sister-in-law taught me all about Walmart (we have a new one that's just a grocery store not far from here) and their ad-matching program. I now write down all the best deals from all of the stores in the area (if you go to the site that I linked to above, choose your area--if it's there--and click on "all in one," it'll do that for you--pretty nice deal), grab my coupons, and head to Walmart. It's wonderful. I save a LOT of money.
The plan is to go out, clean the garage for 15 minutes, gather my coupons, and hit the road.
Oh, by the way, I haven't cleaned out the buckets yet. I had a sink full of dishes and was waiting for those who had that job this week to get it done. Now that the sink is empty, I will get that one tackled today too.
Tonight is the Shelf Reliance party.
While I was in the store, I decided to pick up a couple things that I had seen on sale in their ad. I found cereal 4/$6, and I remembered that 2 lbs. of cheese was $2.99! So, that was a no-brainer. I picked some up. I just couldn't understand why there was SO much in the two displays they had set up.
When I got to the check outs, I figured out why--it was a three day sale. The sale starts today. Ugh!
I started to ask my son to run it back for me, but the checker quietly took the cheese, ran it over the scanner and overrode it for the sale price. SO nice of him. He didn't have to do that. I didn't ask him to or anything. Anyway, just a very nice thing.
Today, I'm running to the grocery store. I'm stocking up on water ($1.99 + deposit/24 bottles), tomato sauce (3/$1), canned veggies (.50/can), and a few other items--oh, and cheese, of course. I plan to grate the cheese and freeze it for the future.
I used to run all around town for the deals at the different stores, but last month, my brother and sister-in-law came into town. My sister-in-law taught me all about Walmart (we have a new one that's just a grocery store not far from here) and their ad-matching program. I now write down all the best deals from all of the stores in the area (if you go to the site that I linked to above, choose your area--if it's there--and click on "all in one," it'll do that for you--pretty nice deal), grab my coupons, and head to Walmart. It's wonderful. I save a LOT of money.
The plan is to go out, clean the garage for 15 minutes, gather my coupons, and hit the road.
Oh, by the way, I haven't cleaned out the buckets yet. I had a sink full of dishes and was waiting for those who had that job this week to get it done. Now that the sink is empty, I will get that one tackled today too.
Tonight is the Shelf Reliance party.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Invited
I do believe timing is everything.
About an hour ago, I received a phone call from my sister-in-law asking if I would be coming to her "Shelf Reliance" party. Oh, yah. There was that email about that when I didn't have access to my calendar, and by the time I did, the email had been pushed down the list. Ugh!
So, the party's tomorrow night. I've never been to one of these. Should be interesting. I wonder how it will affect my view of emergency preparedness.
About an hour ago, I received a phone call from my sister-in-law asking if I would be coming to her "Shelf Reliance" party. Oh, yah. There was that email about that when I didn't have access to my calendar, and by the time I did, the email had been pushed down the list. Ugh!
So, the party's tomorrow night. I've never been to one of these. Should be interesting. I wonder how it will affect my view of emergency preparedness.
Follow Up on Today's Frog
I set my timer for 15 minutes and headed for the garage. Although I originally wasn't going to clean up the other areas, I kind of found myself in the situation where I had to.
I'm shocked at how much area I covered and what I uncovered. In that 15 minutes, I nearly cleared half of the garage. By tomorrow, we should be able to park the little car in there.
I now have three bags of items to be recycled and a box and a bag of things to be tossed. Nice!
I'm debating whether to toss the sewing machine or take it out to be fixed. Not sure how much it will cost to fix--the entire bobbin casing jumped ship, but I know how great it would be to have it for emergency preparation purposes, so sounds like that's a decision I'm going to have to make pretty soon.
Besides the sewing machine, I ran across these useful items:
I'm shocked at how much area I covered and what I uncovered. In that 15 minutes, I nearly cleared half of the garage. By tomorrow, we should be able to park the little car in there.
I now have three bags of items to be recycled and a box and a bag of things to be tossed. Nice!
I'm debating whether to toss the sewing machine or take it out to be fixed. Not sure how much it will cost to fix--the entire bobbin casing jumped ship, but I know how great it would be to have it for emergency preparation purposes, so sounds like that's a decision I'm going to have to make pretty soon.
Besides the sewing machine, I ran across these useful items:
- 2 food-grade large plastic bucket (no lids yet)
- 3 water bottles
- 1 mess kit + a spoon and a knife
I cleared an entire shelf, but I still have quite a bit of garage to clean. I just have to control myself and not fill it up. On the shelves above are plastic containers of water--to which I added two more that I've had sitting on my kitchen counter for the past few days--and above that are #10 cans full of stored food. Above that are boxes of empty Mason jars. Is there any chance I can get through this experience without canning my own food? I know many people do it and love it, but in my mind it's like wearing the clothes I've made for myself--I never can bring myself to do it because I know my own flaws, and I'm afraid the thing'll fall apart. I don't trust the food I can. A couple years ago, I took the apples from the tree in our yard and made applesauce. When I pulled it off of the shelves, I saw all kinds of air bubbles in it, and it made me nervous. Am I just being silly? Terrible not to be able to trust oneself, huh?
Anyway, I wasn't raised by a canner, so I really don't know the first thing about it. I'm happy to freeze things, but canning's just so foreign to me. Maybe, as time goes on, I'll become a bit more brave.
The first thing I found when I stepped into the garage was a long rope. I wound it up and put it in one of the wheeled garbage cans that house our 72-hour kits. I also placed a sleeping bag back where it belongs on the top shelf. I figure that when I'm done, at least I'll know where we can grab things if we ever have to.
Things are coming together. I'm now going to wash out the food-grade buckets and put the water bottles into the dishwasher. I should probably wash the mess kit too. I know it was used this summer, but I wonder whether the last user remembered to wash it for real when he got home with it last.
So, it seems that one big frog leads to a bunch of smaller frogs for me to eat. Who knew frogs reproduced so quickly?
Today's Green Frog: The Garage
I went to a seminar the other evening. The woman asked us, if we knew we were going to have to eat a green frog everyday, would we wait until the end of the day, or would we just, first thing in the morning, gulp the sucker down.
It's 8:30am, and I have green frogs surrounding me. I'm being overtaken by green frogs! I don't even know which one to eat first. This is why I'd better come up with my plan here very soon.
Today, I'm going to start clearing some space in my home. That will be today's green frog, but I know I have to be a little more specific than that. Where to begin? I know that I could really become distracted by all of the spaces in my house that need to be put in order, but here, specifically, I need to focus on those areas that could best be used for emergency preparedness. Here are the areas that can be used for this purpose:
It's 8:30am, and I have green frogs surrounding me. I'm being overtaken by green frogs! I don't even know which one to eat first. This is why I'd better come up with my plan here very soon.
Today, I'm going to start clearing some space in my home. That will be today's green frog, but I know I have to be a little more specific than that. Where to begin? I know that I could really become distracted by all of the spaces in my house that need to be put in order, but here, specifically, I need to focus on those areas that could best be used for emergency preparedness. Here are the areas that can be used for this purpose:
- The entire garage, but particularly the shelves there.
- The laundry room shelves.
- Under beds.
- The pantry - but I put this in order a couple weeks ago.
- Kitchen cupboards and drawers.
- Bathroom cupboards and drawers.
I'm committing right now to pacing myself. Emergency preparedness, just like you should never grocery shop on an empty stomach, should never be approached in panic.
My other goal, here, is, because you never know how much time is on the clock before you have to use this stuff, to pray before I begin. In many ways, I feel like I need to be given super-human powers, so I know who I've got to rely on for my help.
I'm heading to the garage today. I'm giving this 15 minutes. Wish me luck!
...And AWAY We GO!
It seems that every LDS woman alive has an emergency preparedness blog. What can I say? It's what we do.
I'm working here to motivate myself and get my act together. Somehow, this blog-accountability thing works for me. It helps me organize my thoughts and motivates me knowing that maybe somebody's reading along and working alongside me.
I've been editing an emergency preparedness book, and it keeps me feeling guilty on a regular basis. In other words, it's a great blessing to my life.
Let me give you a little bit of recent history about me and emergency preparedness.
First of all, I'm married to a man who doesn't believe in it. Well, he believes, he just doesn't feel motivated in that way, so pretty much, I'm on my own in this.
It's overwhelming to begin with but add that to the mix, and it's well...DAUNTING!
I, until about six months ago, put money aside every month for emergency preparedness. I would set $100-200 set aside in the budget and go across town (about 30 minutes drive) to the dry pack cannery to purchase some of the things our family needed for our food storage.
Within this six months, though, we've had to tighten our belts to the point of that money (yes, even that high priority money) is being sucked away into other portions of the budget. SHAME on me! I know that I need to claim it back, but I'm just not sure how at this point.
I am a firm believer in faith being rewarded, so my plan here is to move forward with faith.
Here are my exercises:
I'm working here to motivate myself and get my act together. Somehow, this blog-accountability thing works for me. It helps me organize my thoughts and motivates me knowing that maybe somebody's reading along and working alongside me.
I've been editing an emergency preparedness book, and it keeps me feeling guilty on a regular basis. In other words, it's a great blessing to my life.
Let me give you a little bit of recent history about me and emergency preparedness.
First of all, I'm married to a man who doesn't believe in it. Well, he believes, he just doesn't feel motivated in that way, so pretty much, I'm on my own in this.
It's overwhelming to begin with but add that to the mix, and it's well...DAUNTING!
I, until about six months ago, put money aside every month for emergency preparedness. I would set $100-200 set aside in the budget and go across town (about 30 minutes drive) to the dry pack cannery to purchase some of the things our family needed for our food storage.
Within this six months, though, we've had to tighten our belts to the point of that money (yes, even that high priority money) is being sucked away into other portions of the budget. SHAME on me! I know that I need to claim it back, but I'm just not sure how at this point.
I am a firm believer in faith being rewarded, so my plan here is to move forward with faith.
Here are my exercises:
- Clear space - I need to streamline my house and maintain it.
- Create a plan - I need to get the big picture of what I'm undertaking.
- Lay out the steps to accomplish the plan - I need baby steps, so I don't feel so overwhelmed.
- Work the plan - I will need to motivate myself and just plain get 'er done.
I will admit that I'm not a pro at this, but I know there are many out there who are. I will link to those individuals as well.
I look forward to the windows of heaven being opened as I take the steps it takes to follow this counsel. I will also share those things here. I hope they will encourage many others to prepare for what is to come.
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