Survival Saturday

I plan on taking a trip to Sam's Club at the end of the month to do some stocking up on items.  With six of us at the house, we take advantage of the prices and the amount of goods that they sell.

This week, I will be stocking up some rice, peanut butter, and toothpaste.  An odd combination but I realized that I don't have extras in those areas so I'm getting those done first.  

I also wanted to discuss some inexpensive and great cleaners that you can make and use:


Window cleaner:
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water


Disinfectant spray:
1 cup peroxide
1 cup water


Everyday cleaner:
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup rubbing alcohol
several drops of your favorite dish detergent


I switched to these cleaners months ago and love them.  Its nice to have some great cleaners on hand and ones that don't cost a bundle.  I have stocked up on ingredients and can make them in a moments notice.  Its nice not to worry about toxic chemicals polluting my home.

It has finally warmed up here.  We're expecting snow now today because its above 0.  Also, keep the midwest in your prayers.  For those of us that heat with propane, we have been hit hard with high prices.  I just paid over $600 for 200 gallons of propane, which will last 20 days or so.  

Be blessed and have a wonderful week!

Survival Saturday-laundry soap

I've been working diligently on stocking up for three months.  Because I already have a stock for about three weeks, it wasn't too hard to see what I would need for three months and add onto that.  I decided to take advantage of the low prices on canned beans (I will also be adding dried beans) and stocked up that shelf.  I also needed just another two bags of powdered sugar and brown sugar, giving me one bag for each month.  Overly generous, but sometimes its nice to have on hand.  

I've been making my own laundry soap for a while and I LOVE it!!  So much cheaper and it works great.

1 box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (abt $3.50)
1 box Borax (also about $3.50)
1 Bar of Fels Naptha soap

*Note that you will need a bar of Fels Naptha with each batch.  I am still using the same boxes of Arm and Hammer and Borax and I'm on my fourth batch. 

Grate the bar of Fels Naptha and put it on the stove in a large pot.  Add one gallon of water.  Boil until the pieces are melted.  And 1 1/2 cup each of Borax and Arm and Hammer.  Dump the pot into a large rubbermaid container (I have a friend who uses two five gallon buckets and then just divides it in half).  Add nine gallons of water.  Mix and let sit overnight.  It will be a gel-like liquid.  I then divide it up into ten one gallon water jugs.  We don't have a sink in the basement and I'm not lugging two five gallon buckets up and down the stairs so I do it this way.

Use one cup for each load-equals 160 loads total.  

When I discussed this with my mom, she stated that she loved Fels Naptha because it was a great stain remover.  You just rub the bar on the clothes.  It makes you wonder why woman changed to all these expensive laundry detergents, softeners, and stain removers.  The cheap stuff works just as well!
For fabric softener, I use a few tablespoons of vinegar.  I made up two jars and add sandalwood essential oil to one and lavender essential oil to the other so it cuts through the vinegar smell.  My clothes are clean and bright and I love it!

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Survival Saturday

This week has me focusing on my garden.  Yes, we just go through a polar vortex with -25 degree temps and -50 degree wind chills but its never to earn to plan out.

I went to raised beds last year after moving in for two reasons.  The first was that without Kevin here, I quite frankly did not want to put in the power to rototill up a garden.  Second, I found out that the previous owner had dumped sand over the entire property.  I was glad I made that choice.  I grew cucumbers and pumpkins in their "garden" area and didn't get squat.  Literally, I had about 10 half pints of pickles and that's it.  The pumpkins didn't grow big or well at all either.  It was sad.

I also know that this year I needed to double the size of my garden and add on some extra veggies.  I'm adding beets, broccoli, and green beans.  I'm doubling the size of the carrot and tomato beds and making others larger too.  I'm hoping to really get a lot out of our garden this year and I'm looking forward to stocking up my shelves with canned goods.

Last year I planted three small blueberry plants, six raspberry plants, and 25 strawberry plants.  This year I'm adding a large blueberry bush, 2 blackberry plants and another 25 strawberry plants.

In the tree department, I planted three plum trees (semi-dwarf) and one cherry tree.  I was going to add more but we had crazy rain for three months.  To be honest, I'm surprised I got anything out of the garden last year.  I will be adding two pear trees, three peach trees, and hopefully 4 dwarf apple trees.  We have three full size apple trees on our property but they have never been pruned.....like ever.  The fruit last year was super small, although we did get a lot of it.  I worked on pruning a little last year and will be continuing to do so for the next few years until its where it should be.  I don't want to do it all at once or the poor trees will probably die of shock!  I will also be weeding out fruit this year to get less but larger apples. 

As far as our emergency stock pile, I have a new plan this year.  Last year I wanted to have a two month supply and ended up with a three week supply, but that's okay.  I now have enough stock that if I run out of something I don't have to run to the store, which is great because it is a drive to get somewhere.  This year I will be stalking  surveying the ads to follow the sales and then will be stocking up on only one or two items to build up my supply faster.  I have made a list of priority items such as rice, beans, veggies, canned fruit, etc and hope to get a nice stock going.

Also on my agenda today is to complete my emergency binder.  I have printed out all the pages and have filled in important information and names and addresses.  I will be just transferring that information and adding social security cards, birth certificates, etc to complete the binder.  We've always had everything in one expandable file that we have carried from one duty station to another that we amply named "life".  "Life" will have a new home and be totally organized.  Wonderful!!

So what are you doing or stocking up on?

Saturday Survival Plan

This year I'm starting a new emergency prep system.  I have posted before on my emergency preps and I did pretty well last year.  I have enough food to last about three weeks.  My goal was two months so I didn't quite make my goal.  I had to use some of my stock several times this year due to unexpected expenses coming up.  I hope to build up this year to a three month supply of food items.


This time I am going to focus on shopping on one item each week by scouring the ads for sales.  I'm going to determine how much our family needs for a three month supply and work on achieving that goal.  Our garden did well this year but I need to double the size of it to get us through the year with canned goods.  I'm also planting more fruit trees and bushes.  They will not produce for a few years, but at least I have all of that to look forward too.

Last year I planted three plums trees, 25 strawberry plants, 6 raspberry plants, three blueberry bushes, and one cherry tree.  This year I hope to add, 25 more strawberry plants, three peach trees, three pear trees, six apple trees (these are dwarf trees that only reach about 6 feet.  We have three large apple trees on the property already but they have never been pruned and we didn't get a lot of large fruit off of them.), 2 more blueberry bushes, three blackberry bushes, one more cherry tree, and two cranberry plants.  I've also redesigned our raised beds to make room for many more plants.  I'm hoping that I will be able to get enough canned this year to use the entire year next year. 

We will also be getting a half of beef this spring and half a pig.  We're hoping to raise a pig for ourselves and get a beef calf this spring.  The pig will be ready by the time we run out of pork but the cow will take a while.  We hope to get another calf every six months so that we will always have beef when we want it.  We are going to split the cow with a friend of ours so neither of us have to try to find freezer space for an entire cow. 

One thing I determined is that I need more storage space.  Although the basement is fine for canned goods; sugar, flour, and pasta cannot be stored down there because its too moist in the summer months.  I am in the process of reorganizing my kitchen to help make room for items.

This payday had some extra expenses so I'm not able to work on saving for prepping items.  I am working on my emergency binder however.  I believe that this binder will aid me in the future.  Each child and adult will have a section and will also include important phone numbers and addresses.

We are gearing up for a cold, cold weekend.  Our highs on Monday are -12 and that's without the wind chill.  Overnight we're supposed to hit temps of -25.  The governor of MN has announced that all schools will be closed on Monday.  We will still be homeschooling but at least we won't have to leave to go to Boy Scouts that night.  I will be hunkered down in front of the fire with my quilting projects and enjoying some hot tea!

Stay warm and safe!!