Better To Be Safe Then Sorry

Written by Heather of Heather’s Eden

You know, one of the areas that I am lacking (there’s many, but just ONE of them) is in emergency preparedness. I am so totally unprepared. I spend much of my life flying by the seat of my pants, and walking around with all of my fingers and toes crossed, hoping that nothing goes wrong! Right now I’d be lucky if I could find my purse and keys! And that’s especially bad when you live in hurricane country like I do. Even if I don’t have a family to evacuate, I’ve got five cats, a bird and two turtles to pack up along with myself and any belongings that would fit! If I needed to do it last minute, what would I do?

Well, you don’t wait last minute– that’s what you do! It’s time for me to get prepared. There is one blog in particular that I’ve been casually following for awhile now, in hopes that it would inspire me to get my butt in gear. I guess maybe it’s worked, because I think I’m ready!

The blog is Safely Gathered In. Just the name alone makes you feel all safe and secure, doesn’t it? I love that! The blog is a wealth of information, and includes a free printable list of items for a 72-hour kit. This is what I’m going to start with.

There is no need to overwhelm yourself with the idea of trying to get a kit of 50 items together.  Start small. Go through the list and pull together what you already have. Store the items in a backpack or duffel bag or similar item, or in bins that are easy to move and store. Storage cases and bins on wheels are a good choice for emergencies, when you are likely to have your hands full!

Once that is done, you can start working on the rest of the list. If you are under financial limitations and can’t acquire items all at once, do it little by little. Commit to buying one item per week, or one every month. Whatever it takes for you to get prepared. It may take time, and that’s okay. The bigger your family, the harder you will have to work to be prepared. My big challenge will be stockpiling pet food! Yep, that’s right. We can’t forget the pets. It’s easy to do.

Aside from that, you’ll need to think of things like:

• Cash (remember that if power goes down, so do ATM machines)
• Utility knife (I recently bought a beautiful SOG Field Pup for camping that will do nicely for this!)
• Bucket
• Sewing kit
• Mosquito repellent
• Work gloves
• Garbage bags

Safely Gathered In is by no means your only source of information. There is a wealth of information out there regarding emergency preparedness! Here are just a few:

• Ready
• FEMA: Are You Ready?
• BePrepared.com
• The 7 Store
• 72hours.org

And you may think to yourself, “But I don’t live in hurricane country. I don’t need to worry about being prepared.” However you would be wrong. Everyone has some imminent threat hanging over their head. Here are just some of the situations that a 72-hour kit can be useful for:

• Hurricane
• Earthquake
• Snowstorm
• Car breaks down
• Tornado
• Civil unrest or some outside attack

There’s lots of reasons to be prepared.

So, be smart! Be prepared! Be responsible! I’m getting started this weekend on my 72-hour kit, and then we’ll go from there!

grocery store savings

by Stacy of Little Blue Hen

In this economy, frugality has become a buzzword. Many people have been living within their means for years (or decades), but saving money is trendy now that so many people have lost jobs or savings and have never had to live within their means before. Cooking magazines have “budget meals” plastered on their front covers!

I’m pretty confident that most readers of this blog are very aware of seasonal, local produce and how eating seasonally and/or from the farmer’s market can be a huge money-saver. A lot of budgeting tips are for sale items like meat (which I don’t eat) and processed foods (very limited). At this point, for the two of us I don’t think it’s worth it to get a warehouse membership. So what else do you do?

My husband and I moved into our new apartment less than a week ago. We’re still learning the neighborhood and trying to get our home set up (and I’m looking for a job!); the first step was a pantry-stocking grocery run. Within about 4 miles of our new place, there are at least 5 grocery stores, plus some specialty markets that I have only seen from the road.

For the big trip, we went to the store with a good rewards program. We needed everything: flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and peanut butter on up. By signing up for their store loyalty card, we saved almost 20% on the bill. We also got coupons for our next purchase, and earned points towards more savings.

Across the street is a smaller market that sells inexpensive produce which will be my stop for small produce runs. There is also an Asian market for stocking up on rice, soy sauce, and other items for much less than at the normal grocery store. Next I want to find the closest farmer’s market to check out produce.

I’ve never been the type to drive halfway across town to save 2 cents per gallon on gas, however, and the same goes for groceries. So for a while, I will rotate stores for smaller trips, then figure out where to go as I fill in a price book. Here are several more articles on starting your own price book.

Once I have done some tracking, I can plan my shopping trips better (hopefully with the help of a meal plan) to maximize those savings. As a supplement, I also planted a small fall/winter patio garden so I will have a supply of some fresh herbs, some tomatoes, peppers, and greens. And a lime tree. My husband had to have a lime tree.

At least that’s my goal! How do you budget for groceries? Coupons? Sales? Other tips?

Rolling with the stones

by Stephanie of Going Green In So. IL

Having a back up when the homemaker is down is not something I had considered until yesterday.  Thursday morning at about 2 am I was in the throes of passing some kidney stones that I didn’t know I had.   William was at work  as he is back on third shift. However, I was lucky  and was not alone this night.  My new roommate was in the process of getting some stuff brought over and had crashed here. I do have a few friends in the neighboring town (7-10 miles away) but there is no way to be sure if anyone would hear their phone (if it was even on) or be able to come get me.  My closest family is 3 hours away.  William has no family outside of his kids. 

I am also lucky in that there were no children at home that would need taken care of.  I was eventually released 4 hours later from the ER after successfully passing 2 stones but the last time I had stones 2 1/2 years ago I had to be admitted to the hospital because they got stuck.  William can take care of himself and my kitties and the dog. But what if it was something more long term?  Then there was getting me home and taking care of me.  The first part is no problem, the second part…well he tried at least but if it was something where I needed to be watched while he was at work we would have to scramble again. 

So I am seriously looking at an emergency list for the future.  If something should happen it would list who we can call for help. If it were a long term thing or a long distance (they ship out to St. Louis a lot)  who could help with the animals.  Thankfully the only thing affected was the laundry but I have the next two days off and can catch up on that easily.

Overwhelmed by summer

Our very own Kathie posted over on her own blog about how much she’s addicted to “preserving the summer’s bounty.”

Am I the only one who’d enjoy it more if it didn’t need to be done in summer? Be honest now: what would you rather do on a blazing hot summer day: can tomatoes or or anything that doesn’t involve huge vats of boiling water? Faced with the choice over the weekend, I’ll admit I put the tomatoes in the fridge and found someplace cool to read a good book. (I would have preferred the beach, but we had a little hurricane issue going on and our favorite beach was closed for swimming.) Freezing is easier and faster, but if anything has be blanched you end up hovering over the blanching pot because the timing is so quick and precise. That, obviously, is rather sultry.

I love my dehydrator in this insanely hot weather. Dehydrating is something you can set up and ignore for awhile. It does add its share of heat to the kitchen, but it’s not too bad and it’s localized, unlike the steam from a canning kettle or blanching pot.  I’ve seen plans for simple solar dehydrators and may make one next year–anyone have experience with them in humid climates?

Alas, not everything stays tasty when it’s dehydrated. I know we’ll enjoy the dried fruit and the dried tomatoes over the winter, but I remain a little dubious about the leathery green beans. It was an experiment since the dehydrator was already running for tomatoes and I had all these beans…  Will I actually use them? Will they taste good? Check this space next spring to find out!

Luckily the heat wave is breaking in a few days, which should be right around when all the Oregon Spring tomatoes ripen at once. Canning and salsa production should be pleasant when the temperature’s 75, not 95! Though today was hot, this evening cooled off enough that I could blanch a few more pounds of beans in comfort. I still have about three pounds in the fridge, not to mention the two pounds or so that will magically appear overnight on the vines. (Marengo  romano beans are worthy of Jack and the Beanstalk and they’re tasty and I’ll be glad to have them on hand this winter as they’re veggies the Cat-Herder likes. Still, I feel like I’ve been dealing with beans nonstop since the beginning of June. Which is a slight exaggeration–it was the END of June when the great bean explosion of 2009 began.)

I know, I sound like I’m complaining and in a way I am. I feel like I the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, running as hard as I can to stay in one place as I try to keep up with the glut from my garden along with other household chores, two jobs, maintaining said garden, starting fall crops (late!) and, oh, making some time for summer fun instead of work, work and more work.

At the same time, I don’t want to not do the work, to stop preserving food I’ve grown or bought from local farmers. I’m not always a huge fan of the process, at least not when it’s 90 degrees and ridiculously humid. It’s not like baking, which I consistently enjoy for its own sake.The first food-preservation projects of the season are a thrill. I bet when I do the first canning this weekend it will be all over again; I haven’t canned in many years and once it cools off enough I won’t pass out into the canner, it should be fun to try it again, in a kitchen that doesn’t have a huge hole in the floor and a stove younger than I am. (That’s  a story for another post.) The tenth or so batch of beans, on the other hand, provokes an “oh no, not more beans!” response from me.

But I love the product*. Love opening the freezer and seeing it’s full of yummy food I grew myself. Love serving homemade applesauce with pancakes. Love knowing that at least some of the tomatoes we’ll use in the dark months of the year came from…there! See that outline in the snow, about 20 feet from the kitchen window, the long, narrow lump that might just be a raised bed? That’s where they came from.

That’s worth a little sweat.

As long as one gets to the beach as well!

* I feel the same way about sewing. I like having created a garment, but I spend a lot of my sewing time saying rude things to my sewing machine.

Peachy Tomatoes

At the Ward House we have a large garden which contain heirloom variety veggies.  The fruits of this garden are enjoyed off the vine (or stem) and the rest are canned for the winter.

It was smokin’ in my kitchen Saturday.  Our tomatoes did not do well and those that did, fruited some freaky looking tomatoes.  Not something that could be sliced and placed on a sandwich.  This one pictured is actually pretty.  The others were more bulbous and appeared to be unusable.  What does one do with freaky tomatoes?  We make tomato sauce!  I love my Blue Book Canning booklet and Saturday we made basic tomato sauce.

Now, when we can,  we use a wood cook stove and when that stove get’s hot, one takes advantage of the heat.  We canned 8 pints of tomato sauce and 14  half  pints of peach preserves (ran out of sugar) and four quarts of dill pickles.  The stove was still hoppin when I ran out of materials!

While the cook top was full, we also baked bread and granola.  This can be tricky as the stove heats up to about 450-500 so one really needs to pay attention.  Kitchen timers are a life saver.  That and having my daughter help shell beans, cut peaches, mill tomatoes and clean up; keeps me from acting like a faerie dittle.  Poor Ronnie was finishing one of the bedrooms above the kitchen and had his own sauna going on.

All in all, it was a good day.  Katie’s room is almost finished and Ashley and I were able to spend some quality time together.

Minty Money

By Joanna of Keeping Feet

Homemaking isn’t only tending to a garden and a pot on the stove, it’s running a household. As working homemakers, we’re got at least one- and most of the time, two- paychecks coming in to juggle as well, and probably two people spending out of common accounts. Keeping track of all this can be tough.

I use an online tool called Mint to juggle two checking accounts, a savings account, a credit card, Paypal, our mortgage, and investments. I’m a graphs-and-numbers type of person, so having all of this in one place is really cool. When transactions come in, I can tag them as ‘Eating out’ or ‘Grocery’ or ‘Phone bill’ and track our budget categories. This has really helped my husband and I stay on the same page, save for goals, and keep each other accountable for spending. As a bonus, I worry less about money. I know approximately how much is left in each budget category at any given time (with easy-to-read, colorful graphs!) so I don’t overspend or have any surprises.

My spending reflects my values. What I spend (or save) my money for is in direct correlation to what I care about. By actually having all our spending and saving data in one place, I can see what I’m prioritizing. To me, budgeting matters, so that I can have a handle on where my money’s being spent, and plan for margin in the budget, to be spontaneous or save for big goals.

The big goals are what keep us going. We’ve got dreams and plans, and we know that responsibility and frugality now will help us get there later. I’m looking forward to it- and, in the meantime, enjoying myself.

Daily Journal

I have a fairly good memory.  In fact, its pretty darn good and constantly impresses my boss and my husband.  However, I can’t remember everything, so I keep very good notes.  I keep a planner with appointments, phone numbers, meal plans, price book, etc., that has been a sanity saver more than once.

I also keep a journal in my purse with me at all times.  This journal is just my daily happenings.  These notes have come in handy more often than I care to admit and is much easier than trying to rely on my memory of the customer service person I talked too. 

I date each entry and keep track of:

• Dates when I mailed in rebates
• Phone numbers and names when I talk to customer service folks and any issues/resolutions discussed
• Jot done notes from radio ads, book reviews, etc. that I want to check out
• Notes from conversations with friends, co-workers, clients, family that I want to remember and transfer into my planner later, i.e. wedding dates, birthday gift wishes, books to check out, etc.
• Ideas for quilts, gifts, recipes, etc. as they come to me as I’ll inevitably forget them later on

The notebook could be something as simple as a spiral notebook or something as beautiful as a handmade journal.  I use a hardback blank book that I find at the dollar store.  Its compact and fairly pretty but not so pretty that I feel bad scribbling odd things all over it.  I keep a rubber band around it to mark the current page, too, for easy grabbing when we drive by a load of wood for sale that my husband wants to call about.

It’s so much easier for me this way, I can look up things rather than rely on my memory that is most likely clouded with so many other things on the to-do list.