Truth Time

The last day of the month and how did we do on our grocery spending?

Let me start out by saying( because it will make me feel better, ‘mkay?) when a lot of blogs have a Boost Your Pantry Month/Week or a No Spend Month/Week they tend to stock up before hand. Just this past month one blogger in particular stated that she was stocking up in December so as not to go over her hundred dollar limit in January. I maintain that this is cheating. Some say it is good planning but I digress….

We didn’t stock up ahead because we didn’t know we were going to try to do the twenty dollar limit. We just decided and headed out.

So of course we ran out of stuff along the way.

Plus I always check the weekly sale paper for good stock up prices and they had several this month.

I’m not going to pass those up especially when it’s stuff we need now.

Well the first week of the month we went and spent $21.96 On potatoes , oil (on sale) and eggs and sinus meds and coffee. (all these things we were out of)

Pretty good.

Then we ran out of fiber. So $12.88 was the next week. (outrageous but needed)

We decided to go back and pick up more eggs since the store had them on sale 3 dozen for $4.00.

We also picked up a few other things to get us on through the month. Our total was $10.01

Charlie got sick with a sinus infection so he picked up orange juice and Epsom salts. $4.76

We ran out of dry dog food. I use it to supplement the rice and bread for much needed nutrients. The bill was $8.23.

The store ran a sale on corn meal which we were completely out of. We picked up four bags for $8.66 total.

On the way to help Dad move we stopped and bought disposable bowls for the lunch that I packed. I know PAPER! But I didn’t have enough of my own bowls to serve everyone. So sometimes you have to make exceptions. But I will be adding a few extra ceramic bowls to my collection as I find them cheap. So next time I’ll be prepared and no more buying disposables! Cost $3.99.

The last week of the month we ran out of shortening and margarine. Charlie stopped on the way home and bought those plus bananas for $12.97.

The local store also put canned green beans back on sale 3 for $1.00. We bought three flats last time they ran it for that price and still had two whole flats plus three cans from the third. But that is a great price for around here and we can’t buy the seeds and the lids for the jars to can our own that cheap so we purchased four flats on Friday for $20.26.

Which means we went way over but like I said it wasn’t set in stone. Plus a lot of it was stock up sale items and just things we ran out of but needed.

Our total including the initial shopping trip at the first of the month was $103.72.

We’ll see if we can’t beat it this next month.

***********************

On another note, we received our utilities this past weekend. Our gas bill this time last year ran us a little over a hundred dollars. This year with the wood stove and limiting our use of the bedroom gas heater our bill was 11.42! Yay!

By unplugging our energy drainers like the coffee pot, tv, cell charger, etc., we lowered our electric as well. Last month our bill was 173.45 on 29 days. This month our bill was 150.54 on 32 days-more days on the meter and it was less! Amazing how just remembering to unplug something that isn’t being used and turning out a light when you leave the room makes such a difference!

We will continue to see how low we can get it this next month since Charlie adjusted the temperature on the refrigerator. Curious to see what impact that will have on the bill. I love my side by side but it is by far the biggest energy eater we have. And yes, it is an energy efficient appliance; purchased in 2010. But the difference in the bill between it and our old not-suppose-to-be-energy-efficient-because-of-it’s-age model is astounding! The old one is still running and being used in the shop to hold water. Our bill out there for the month was 32.96. That’s the frig and two chest deep freezers. Doesn’t sound too bad to me.

Anyway, we will see and I’ll let you know!

Good luck to you if you are trying to lower your utilities too!

Have a great day!

Until next time……Kristi.

Whistle While You Work

There seems to have been a sudden shift in the subject matter on here. That’s because there has been a sudden shift in us.

I talk a lot about saving money now , saving on electricity, going off-grid(on some things, not everything!) J

I’m going to repeat myself here and say we were well on our way to being debt free by the time Charlie turned 35. Then the business derailed us, or rather, we allowed ( taking ownership here), the business to distract us from that goal. Along with making wants into needs, placing them on credit cards for instant gratification. This didn’t happen yesterday. It happened several years ago and we’ve been coasting ever since. In denial I suppose or disappointed in ourselves for being so close to the finish line and then detouring and never crossing it.

We know the tricks of tightwadding. It isn’t something we have to relearn. Once you’ve done it you will always have the know-how. What we lacked was motivation.

Slowly over the past few months, seeds were planted in our minds. We did not make resolutions , although we did sit down together as a family and discussed goals we would like to accomplish this year. The change just happened to coincide with the beginning of the new year. A large part, truth be told, probably being that the first two months are always constant bills. Everything falls due at once. Those once-a-year costs attack January and February with a vengeance. .

For us it is the following:

Property taxes
Membership for insurance
Safety deposit box fee
Life insurance premium
Auto insurance premium
House insurance premium
Annual vaccinations for the critters
Termite station inspections
Income tax prep fee
Along with hospital bills still pending from Charlie’s allergic reaction
Lab fees associated with it as well.
Plus the regular monthly bills, mortgage, utilities, cell phone bill, etc.

They say fear is a great motivator, well I’m here to say that so is disgust. Disgust is what I’m feeling. I’m tired of paying “the man“. Granted that some of those bills will never waiver. We can’t eliminate them all. But if we paid off our house and credit card bills, then that money could be saved. We are lucky to have paid off our shop. Both our vehicles are paid for as is the boat. But there is still work to be done. And a nest egg to build. We are tired of working for the money and ready to make the money work for us! We have gotten serious about it once more.

A few things that we are doing to work toward our goal:

We are burning wood instead of using the gas wall heater. We do use the one back in our bedroom to knock the chill off before bed on the coldest of nights and then turning it back down before hopping in bed. A warm comforter helps as does a snuggle buddy. J Zach’s room is upstairs so all the heat naturally goes up there. We actually have to worry about his room getting too warm. Luckily he is cold natured. J

I’m making everything form scratch that I possibly can. Chuck provides the meat for the freezer. And we buy lots of beans and rice. Stocking up when things are on sale helps too. Drinking water or kool-aid at supper. (We have given up tea. Charlie can only have the decaffeinated and it’s three dollars a box and for some reason decaf never goes on sale. If I can find it at the discount store I buy it but otherwise it’s water at supper.)

Not using paper products in the kitchen keeps expenses down too. And it isn’t any more work. I’m washing dishtowels anyway, might as well toss in cloth napkins.

I only wash when I have a full load now. I line dry all the clothes. Having the wood stove helps with this. I can wash and dry four loads of clothes in one day. The wood heat draws the moisture right out. In the winter this allows me to put them away the same day just like those using electric dryers. In the summer time they go on the outside lines.

I have been using a rain barrel to help fill up my washing machine on the initial fill up. The rinse comes directly from the meter as always.

Turning off lights during the day. I only turn on the lights when we are in school or I need one while cooking. I also unplug anything that isn’t being used and has a light. For instance the coffee pot and my cell charger. I also unplug the tv and dvd player. Anything that has a remote is never truly off, it’s on standby and drawing energy. Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

I’ve started making half of the dog and cat food. I still buy dry food but I use dried out bread, corn bread, and/or biscuits, then a layer of dry food, then I drizzle homemade water and flour gravy, seasoned with beef bouillon and liquid smoke, over the top of it all. The gravy tastes great! I’m using up the beef bouillon instead of tossing it, Charlie can’t have it anymore due to his allergy to beef. Big Dog, Bowie, loves this concoction. He even eats the new dry food I bought that he didn’t like. The cat prefers her dry food plain and her gravy on the side. Buddy is a little more picky. He gets a light sprinkle of cheese on his( he loves cheese and it adds extra calcium although this might be a problem in older dogs as they sometimes become lactose intolerant and should limit milk products. At any age dogs should have limited milk products. It’s hard on their digestive tracts- as told to me by our vet.)

We will once again be having a garden this year. ( I missed it last year. I missed a lot of things last year.) We will also be firing up the boat to restock our fish in the freezer. Once our blackberry bushes start bearing we will have homemade jelly.

We’ve implemented a “twenty dollar a month for groceries act” as a guideline. It isn’t set in stone so don’t freak out on me. We are mainly able to do this because we have food storage to supplement, plus his harvesting our meat during the season.

The twenty dollars a month puts things into perspective. For example, I’m willing to drink water at supper as opposed to $3-a-box tea so I can buy our $3-a-pack toilet paper. Priorities are a wonderful things, am I right about it? Ha!

It’s quality time together cutting wood. It’s playing board games instead of being scattered about the house playing on computers or watching tv alone. It’s eating stove popped popcorn that tastes better than microwave popcorn.

I’m not going to lie, it isn’t always fun. It means more work for all of us, but not so much that it isn’t worth it.

And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. 2 Chron. 31:21

"God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be employed; and that employment is truly our Father’s business’. He chooses work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough, for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy ourselves."- J. Ruskin

Have a great day!

Motivated and moving forward in 2012!

Kristi.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

What paper towel holder?

I'm ready for this challenge!

Bring it!

Ready, Set, Go!

I’m not much on resolutions. I don’t stick to them. Usually they are too broad when I make them that I don’t keep it up.

But I do love a challenge and this year I thought I’d challenge myself instead of making unrealistic resolutions.

I wanted to do something small but significant.

I wanted to do something that we are interested in. That step is important. You know, why say you’ll take up oil painting if you don’t even like to draw or you hate the smell of paint. Just saying……

So since we are trying to be more self reliant and we are trying to purchase less non necessity items, plus generating less garbage to pack our landfills, I challenge myself to be paper towel free in 2012.

I know that doesn’t sound like much.

We are already using cloth napkins and I use cloth cleaning rags, plus I use homemade cloth pads. But we still keep paper towels around for really dirty cleanups or to catch grease when frying.

I’m thinking that I can cut up old t-shirts and use those plus keep a bucket under the kitchen sink and use Dawn dish liquid to cut the grease and launder on laundry day. I’m hoping that works and I’m certainly going to give it a try. Considering the last package of paper towels I purchased cost $16.87, I’m willing to give it a big try. (Yep, you read that right. I wouldn’t have paid that but I didn’t notice until I looked at the receipt when we got home )

I’ll keep you posted on my progress; succeed or fail I’ll document it here.

I think after a good try at it, say three months. I’ll try adding another challenge or if the first one was a fail I’ll retry it for another quarter or replace it altogether with a new one.

So make a list of challenges for yourself ,they don’t have to be the same as mine, and lets try them together this new year.

Ready, set, GO!!!!!!!

　

Edited to add:

I signed up for the 23 Day Frugal Living Challenge at Frugally Sustainable. I’m number 473. It all begins on January 6, 2012. I don’t know what to expect from it but I’m excited!

Update

Hope everyone had a great Christmas weekend.
　

Last week leading up to Christmas was a bit hectic. The week started off with a power failure. The power was off for about an hour and a half. Seems there was trouble with a transformer in the area. Due to that most of the digital projects I had in mind to accomplish got tabled instead. It was just as well though, for I stayed behind all day. I just couldn’t seem to catch up no matter how hard I worked. I stayed busy and the day passed faster than I would have liked.

Monday evening we brought out the grinder and ground most of the deer he got over the weekend.

Tuesday was spent making fudge and pecan logs for Charlie to take to work.

I got up at three on Wednesday morning to make cinnamon rolls and sausage balls for Charlie to take to the guys at work. Fifteen minutes in and elbow deep in rolling sausage balls the power goes off. We lit the coal oil lamps and two eyes on the stove and I went ahead with making the dough. The sausage balls went into the frig to wait until the power came back on. I can use the eyes on the gas range if I light them with a match but the oven works strictly off of power.

The power finally came back on at 5:30 just in time to pop the rolls in the oven. I was thirty minutes later than I had planned but the rolls made it and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

If we had a wood cook stove complete with an oven I wouldn’t have been late at all. Just goes to show how dependant we are. There’sa something to be said for those living off grid.

After we dropped the food off at hubby’s work, Zach and I went for a mother-son breakfast and had a great time. We then went shopping for a few odds and ends. I enjoy his company so much. I know I’m partial but he IS a great kid. We get along more like friends most of the time whether that’s good or bad is yet to be seen. But the lady that waited on us at breakfast did remark on how well mannered and polite he was. Made me proud. I preened like an old mother hen!

Thursday was a miserable rainy day but also a perfect opportunity to finish up a few things around the house before the holiday dinners and guests.

Friday I went to visit Mama and take her presents to her. The throws turned out better than I thought they would. Now to see how well they hold up to being laundered in industrial washers and dryers. Doesn’t matter though, they were a joy to make.

When Charlie got home on Friday he worked on the wood shed. 

First he took off the back tin. 

Then used it make a lean-to roof.  Then we stacked the wood from the side under the new lean- to.

The neighbor's horse came over to see what we were doing and beg for a nose scratch. 



I had to work on cheese logs for the dinner at his mom’s on Saturday and then sat back and waited on Christmas to arrive after that.

Christmas was very good to us this year. I received insulated bibs and jacket for working outside this winter. Zach got a set too. The guys got me a night gown (I needed that) and dishtowels ( needed those too), and for my birthday, a coffee percolator to use on the wood stove. ( now I can have coffee even if the power goes off this winter - love that!)

Me in my new bibs moving wood from one pile to another.  Love this pic because Buddy is climbing on the wood pile.

Zach got lots of goodies. An air soft gun and target, he’d been eyeing them for a while, a new style nerf gun, a new radio charger for his iPhone and a new cover for his iPhone. Plus a new XBOX game. One that he can play with his dad.

Zach opening a present with Buddy opening one at his feet

For Charlie we got a book by his favorite author and a 54 disc set of a favorite tv show of his.

Plus he picked up new gloves and new pants last week all that counts for Christmas. And we put lots of chocolate in his stocking.

The cat got treats, the big dog, Bowie, got bones and a toy, and Buddy got a toy and chew bones and thought every other present was his too. For the rest of the day when you rattled paper he came running to see what he got this time.

It was a very nice Christmas. A beautiful day with the sun shinning.

This week is going to be busy. Chuck took the week off and we are wanting to knock out a lot of things that need doing around here.

Tuesday is my birthday but we will celebrate it on Wednesday since I have a doctors appt then. They’ll take me out to eat afterwards.

Daddy is giving us his wood stove. So we have to go pick it up this week. And possibly get it installed into the shop.

There is a shed to extend and more wood to chop and a wall to finish in the mudroom. Plus having to trim out the door into the stove room. I’m sure Charlie will want to work on tanning that deer hide and hewing out his boards in there some where.

I'll try to post when I can this week. 

Hope everyone has a great week and a safe New Year. 

Until next time.......Kristi.

Things Off the List

I spent last week working on things I’d been putting off. It wasn’t the most pleasant week ever but I got a lot of things completed that had been bugging me.

Price list updated
Contact list updated
Pictures sorted
Plastic bags made into plarn ( don’t worry I’ll explain later)
A few new recipes completed
Craft patterns printed out and filed
Christmas food grocery list completed and purchased
Autumn decorations put back in storage
Leaves put in compost
Outdoor rug started
Food storage list inventoried and updated

Charlie completed things off his list as well

Made kindling box
Moved last stack of firewood to side of shed and tarped
Top shelf in mud room installed
Rain barrel top cut off
Brought home more meat for the freezer
Got started on tanning a hide
Started hewing boards for misc. projects

Hope to have pics up later this week.

Counting down the days until Christmas!

Have a great day…Kristi.

Recent Projects Completed

I finally got Mama's flannel lap throw finished, all snipped, and edges frayed. One side is yellow and the other is pink.

The guys got the new handles on the wheel barrow. One of the old ones broke.  They replaced both to be safe.

The doggie door is in place.  Who knew the most difficult part of the whole project would be getting the dog to actually use it.  (He's doing better now)

Charlie installing a block and tackle like he fixed for the woods.  This one will be handy for afternoon hunting.  If it's getting dark in the woods, he can bring it home and process in the shop.  Just spread some plastic on the floor and you're ready to go.  They actually got to try it out over the weekend.  A friend gifted Charlie's dad a deer and Charlie helped his dad process in our shop. 

One other project I completed was that I got my Christmas gifts wrapped.  I didn't do in my traditional manner with the Christmas movie playing in the background.  I did however do it in the bedroom floor behind a locked door and a nervous disposition.  But they are wrapped that's the important thing.  Now about that movie....................

Until next time....Kristi.

Last Week

Some notes from last week:

Charlie saves his hinged lid Altoid mint cans and gives them to a friend at work. His son uses them to store his little collections of interesting things. This past week Charlie, Chuck to everyone else, received this thank you note.

So cute!  

And talented. Notice the Angry Birds character on the right?

Love it!

It is currently on display located on the frig.

*******************

Also had to cut more wood while we had nice weather. But it is deer season around here and tromping through the woods can be a health hazard if not careful. Too bad we forgot to drag out the flare orange. Luckily Charlie had a vest and a boggin in his truck and his chainsaw is orange. It was a very mild day and wearing the boggin got hot very quickly. So Zach took the vest and I ,with the help of a scrunchie and clips, attached the boggin to my bun and it worked out well.

 

I tried to take a pic but it’s difficult to see my trend setting hair switch! ;)

It was a beautiful day.  Hard work but beautiful.

Until next time.....Kristi.

Mud Room

Lots of things going on around here lately and the blog has suffered. It was one of the first things to be put on the back burner and I apologize. Hopefully things will settle down once we get this mud room finished. 

Here are some pics of the progress.

(Not only will this be a mud room but it also houses the wood stove.)

I'll post pics of the inside after we get the shelves  up and things in their proper places. 

Have a great day!!

Sustainable Laundry Thoughts

I have been contemplating alternatives to the washing machine lately.  We've been kidding about getting a wringer washer.  Only kidding because finding one that is in decent shape is next to impossible.  I noticed an article on a bicycle powered washing machine and that piqued my interest more than a little bit.  Exercising while getting your clothes clean?  I mean that is multitasking at it's greatest!

We had a front loading washer and it used very little water but used more electricity.  We then went back to the top loader and immediately the change was noted on the water bill.  They do take less time and electricity to run but waste more water. 

I thought maybe if I had a rain barrel I could use buckets of it to start the wash cycle then it would fill up to rinse off the meter as normal.  That would at least cut my city water usage in half. 

Just tossing ideas around right now but I happened upon the article below that I thought was interesting.  I had heard of using the plunger method before but never had anyone give the results of such a process.  It will be nice to see how well this works and what problems they come up against and the solutions they find to solve them. 

To read the article click below:
Going Sustainable With Laundry

Again just thinking of ways to be more self sustaining in the event I have to be.  Don't get me wrong I love convenience but I don't want to get to the point that I rely on it and panic without it.

 Oh well, there is always the stump and laundry paddle to fall back on.  One man stated that there wasn't a stain anywhere that could stand up to his grandma and her paddle! 

Until next time......Kristi.

Good Morning, Freedom!

We've tried our hand at different ventures over the years. We have called ourselves many things. Tightwads, frugalists, former spend thrifts but one thing we have never uttered....self sufficient.


Enter Mr King.

Our first small, yet major, step toward self suffiency.

Isn't Mr. King stunning?

He certainly feels freeing.

Good Morning, Freedom!

Full Circle

A lot happened last week and over last weekend. We sold Mama's trailer and got it moved out. Now the spot looks empty, like it's waiting on something to take it's place. I'll be glad when we can get the dirt work done on it and make it mowable in the places where it isn't and make it more mower friendly in the places that need it. Below are pics of the whole moving process.

Front and back of trailer before we started getting it ready for travel.

First, the back porch and ramp had to be taken off.

The deck minus the roof being moved.

Part of the ramp waiting at the side of the driveway.

Underpenning off and axles and wheels put on. 

Starting to move.

Headed up the slope and onto the road.

Waiting on the highway.  You can see the empty spot in this picture.

Starting down the road to it's new home.  We wish them well.

Thanks to all that helped to get it on it's way.  My father-in-law, for the use of his equipment and expertise.  My mother-in-law, for the company.  B and B Movers, for the great job they did getting it out without a scratch.  And to the new owner, Brandi, and her dad, Mr. Jones, for the hours they spent over here as well. 

To new beginnings.........Kristi.

November Update Part 1

Lots of things in updates this week so I divided it into two parts. So not to bore you to tears in double time this time! :) First up I made two loaves of bread this week. It was so good! I have always chickened out on making bread. It used to be that I was intimidated by using yeast. But through the years I started making things that took yeast, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, and pizza crust, and had success on them. But white bread was still my Mt. Everest. I couldn't have asked for a better first batch. I'm not bragging, don't mistake what I'm saying. I'm saying it with excitement, disbelief and a little awe. This week I'm thinking that I'll only make one loaf and make rolls out of the rest. I'll let you know if it works.

Zach's birthday was Thursday.  I made him a cake, a sheet cake, I know I'm a terrible mother, it isn't even fancy or decorated and he had to put the candles on the cake himself.  But it's what he asked for.  He wanted white on white so he could share with the dog since we would be celebrating his birthday also. 

While fixing the batter, I decided to make the dog his own cake instead of giving him a slice of Zach's.  So I saved out a little batter and put in my smallest cast iron skillet.(  about 6 inches in diameter.)  Then we put icing on it and for candles we cut a Pup a Roni dog treat in half and stuck in the top. 

Yes, I know, the dog's cake looks fancier than my sons.  Like I said I'm a terrible mother, but I make up for it by being a good dog owner.  (smile)

One of his gifts.  A nerf water blaster.  He also bought a new scooter with some of his bday money.  Plus we took him out to eat at his restaurant of choice....O'Charley's.  He came away with a new video game as well.  We had a lot of fun shopping in town together.

Zach trying his hand at splitting wood. 

We had toyed with the idea of heating with wood.  It was going to mean adding on to the house and purchasing a stove. So the idea got scrapped until his father started talking about adding on to their house and making a wood stove.  That set Charlie to thinking and now it appears we are going to start our addition pretty soon.  We have decided to go ahead with the room because it will serve as a mud room (something I have always wanted).  Then we can add the stove later as we find a used one or Charlie can find the time to build us one.  In the meantime, we came across free wood and took advantage of it.  A tree had fallen across his uncle's field road and we offered to help him move it, so he gave us the wood.  Yay!  Remember the rule:  cheap is good, free is better. 

This isn't all of it, but this is what we had at the end of the first day.  One whole row and almost half of a second. 
This kind of stuff is exciting to me.  It reminds me of my childhood, going to the woods with mama and daddy to chop wood for home.  Good thing I married a man that enjoys it too!  ( since he had to split it all)

Hope you have a nice week...........Kristi.


Tomorrow, update number two-moving the trailer.

Food Storage

Over the weekend I noticed a trend in the blogging world. Blog upon blog that I read was talking about emergency food supplies. I’m thinking the earthquake in Turkey probably sparked it. And it is a good thing to invest in for several reasons.

I have briefly mentioned in a few previous posts that we do ‘food storage’. I haven’t went into too much detail about it and debated this post mainly because I don’t want people to look at us like we go around wearing tin foil on our heads in an effort to repel alien radar scans. (smile) We are not storing up for religious reasons because we are not an LDS family, though I admire their storage abilities and tips for storing, and we are not storing up for the apocalypse. ( BTW I did watch the 2012 movie and the only thing I came away with was that in an emergency all you need is a limo- that tank of a vehicle will outrun anything, takes a lickin‘ and keeps on tickin‘)

Mainly we do it for less hassle in case of an emergency. We live in the country and our local grocery store sells out of bread and peanut butter when the weather man mentions flurries. So imagine the shelves in the actual event of an earthquake or such. We store so we will already have it here. And not only for emergency but due to sickness or job loss. A few months ago it seemed like doctor bills and insurance hit all at once on top of the mound of monthly bills and the food storage got us through the pinch. Now I’m having to restock it slowly so not to stress the budget too much.

I was very excited to find that our local grocery store this past week was carrying their regular size peanut butter (normally $1.89) for $1.28. That’s a great price so we bought 12 for food storage and I went back today and bought 6 more just for the pantry. We eat a lot of peanut butter and with the holidays approaching I’ll be using quite a bit for candy and desserts. It’s shelf stable and would be great to throw in a backpack for camping. It provides quick energy and is lasting. Meaning it doesn’t take much to fill you up and it sticks with you allowing you to go longer in the day before needing to eat again. That makes it a perfect emergency food.

I keep our supply in storage containers in our cloak room. A large hall closet.  At one time we kept it under the stairs but it was such a hassle to get at. And you do have to keep it rotated so ease of use is a necessity for me.

I use storage containers in hopes that if rain got in say, heaven forbid, a tornado takes the roof, then the beans and rice would stay dry. And if things got blown around hopefully some of the lids would still be intact. There seems to be more of a chance to keep it safe that way then just on the shelf. Or maybe I just feel more secure with it in there. :)

Each tote has a number or letter and it’s contents is listed in a binder along with the size, quantity, and expiration date.

I try to store things sustaining like beans and rice. Staples like flour and shortening, milk powder and baking powder. Along with sweeteners like sugar and honey. Canned vegetables and fruits for necessary vitamins. It is also suggested to store up a few comfort foods especially for children to keep up morale. Possibly fruit snacks or granola bars. I remember reading in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book, The Long Winter, they survived on bread and potatoes for so long that they didn’t even taste them anymore. They only ate to survive and the only thing that broke the monotony was the supply of tea they laid in right before the seven months of blizzards started. So a little variety stored up is probably a wise decision.

Water is the main thing to store. You need water to drink, to cook with, and to clean with. There are water calculators on the web to help you figure out what amounts would be best for your family.

Infant needs or special medications for certain family members are things to consider. As is first aid supplies. Don’t forget about the pets too. Having a plan in place to supplement their needs as well will reduce stress in an already stressful situation.

Every one's food storage will vary from one family to the next. We all have different likes and dislikes and different situations and allergies. Being prepared isn’t such a bad idea and it doesn’t have to be a big production either. Just add a few extra items to your shopping cart each time you shop and it will add up. With a little organization you can keep it streamlined and see what you have and what you need, what needs to be rotated and what needs to be used up.

In any case it’s a lot like insurance, it’s a comfort to know you have it but you pray you’ll never have to use it.

Until next time…….Kristi.

Clothesline Edition: News That Leaves You Hanging

Saturday the guys put up a new clothesline across the deck.  This will keep me from wading mud and wet grass during the coming months of less than premium hanging weather. 

He used galvanized conduit so they wouldn't rust.  And the post holders he made out of aluminum and turned those out in the shop himself. 

The clothes line can be taken down and put back up in a matter of minutes.  So it won't be in the way come next summer when the pool is in use once again.  The poles can also be taken down since he fixed them to sit down over the aluminum holders.

You can see the clotheslines in the background are full so I had to use my new one right away! 

Until next time.......Kristi. 

Update in Pics

These are pics from last week that I didn't get to post due to internet problems.  Lots of projects needing done before the temps drop later on this week. 

Touches of fall.

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Now that's a big tater!

My what big eyes you have!

New bed for Bud in the office.

Stake of granny squares for mom. 

Kyler trying out the field on Chuck's bike. 

   Chuck managed to fix a leaky faucet this weekend in between riding and working on the field.   We also did a little stock up shopping to replenish the food storage.

Lots to be accomplished this week but busy hands are happy hands!

(Y'all tired of me saying that yet?)

Have a great day!