Continuing from here.
The last two posts from the old thread:
Jefinerat 21:36 Eccles:
all rightey, then! :-D There is a Cabelas opening here in Phoenix soon, so we will be getting one of *those*!
and I have held 100 watts on a bicycle using the Tune/Powertap system to measure power output. I durn near passed out, and didnt feel much better when I heard about Armstrongs average power output.
---mere human here---
Janeat 21:51
Enough Already, did you open the machine and look at and smell the filter(s)? Maybe you should get new filters before you use it.
Really the last post from the old thread:
SIPCT at 00:45 \\ Thordawggy at 14:15
Pumps - try West Marine for a 12v boat bilge pump - I think there are several sizes.
Pat in AZ - try McMaster-Carr Supply Company for silica gel - they sell a gallon paint can full of hundreds of little packets. They sell most everything else, too.
Bronco Bill, thanks for the lead on silica gel. It was beginning to look like a lot of work for not saving a lot of money.
Whoa, a real thunderboomer with hail, the first real rain since last November! I got out a tarp anchored on bags of bark chips & stepping stones in the back yard, but it flapped around too much to capture much water. I did get 6 samples spaced out over the shower as the water poured off my roof (of course got soaked in the process). My garbage can ended up 2 blocks away, blown by the wind & carried by the runoff.
I took the top part of each bucket as the final sample so debris from the roof won’t be soaking in the water. I suspect that after the dirt etc was washed off the roof there wasn’t enough dwell time for the rainwater to get contaminated by the asphalt in the shingles. I’ll see how much the heavy metal & organics tests cost to see how many samples I’ll get tested. It might make sense to go through the water treatment steps (sedimentation, filter through cloth, add chlorox) for each sample before I send it in - I’ll ask the testing lab what they think.
Mari at 23:10 Good for you! The time to practice collecting (and treating) rainwater is now while you can still go pick up what you find out that you need. For those that wouldn’t enjoy standing out in the pouring rain switching buckets, I suggest you look into purchasing a big tub from a farm supply store, or at least a 50 gallon washtub.
I went to a local Pepsi bottling company and asked (VERY politely!) if I could get a few of the 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels that they get their syrup in. YES!
A word of advice, don’t try to drive a pickup filled to overflowing with 18 empty 55 gal barrels in a thunderstorm on an expressway. Not only do you look like the Beverly Hillbillies, but you end up being blown over both lanes and the shoulders from the wind gusts.
About 55 gallon barrels. I looked on the web and saw they were about $50/each with $50 in shipping. But…I bought mine from Bergen Barrel in Kearny, NJ for ~$50 and picked them up myself. Very nice people. These are new, FDA ok for potable water with 2 bung holes. Perfect for storing water in the basement. The key is to find them locally to avoid shipping. So if you are in NY or Eastern Pa. look at them. I have no relationship with them, just a customer. Don’t forget to but a pump - need to get that elsewhere though.
When I checked the water in the tarp this morning, what little was there was full of leaves, bark, and dirt blown by the wind. The tarp idea would work a lot better if you have a big yard and can position the tarp away from the roof, trees, and source of dust. It also would work better if the rain is a quiet one, not a downpour with 50 mph winds.
Mari at 12:38
If you suspend the tarp using metal fence posts, you can angle it so that water collects and runs into a washtub or water trough. I agree that a storm is not the best scenario, but the method I am talking about will handle a hard rain.
Mari at 12:38 --- Using HBB’s method above, you can also purchase aluminum window-screen material and place it over the top of the catch-tub you’re using. It won’t keep the dirt and dust out, but will keep leaves and bugs (and ‘skeeters) out of it…as well as thirsty animals.
I would like to do this test also—but it requires rain and we are in the middle of a drought and we have not had rain for 42 day at my house and we are on water restrictions. Everytime I hear about you guys getting rain up there it makes me cry!
LoveTexas,
We’d love to send you some of ours. We’re expecting another 3 inches on top of the foot we’ve had since the weekend.:−9
LoveTexas at 15:35
I wish I could give you most of the rain we have been getting.
Nevertheless, get everything you need ready for when it does rain.
Melanie and HBB---I know what you mean in Texas we never get rain we get storms really—and we get a lot of wind on a regular basis. I know when we do get rain it will be like 10 inches and we will have floods. I just hope it is in the near future. August could be 110 to 114 in the shade if this keeps up. If the flu hit and no power in Aug I think I will die!!!!!
I’m hoping that a downpour off my roof won’t have time to leach much from my asphalt shingles. Will call the testing lab tomorrow to find out cost.
The only place I have in the back to use a tarp is over a concrete slab that the former owners put in for an above-ground pool (the slab is larger than a large tarp). Metal fence posts wouldn’t work well for my situation. I might try hooks along the roof line to attach the tarp grommets on one end and thread ropes through the grommets on the two sides, then tie the topes at the bottom to a tree. That might work if I got a fairly wide, heavy container to empty into.
I don’t remember seeing this. Sorry if it is a repeat but everyone needs to get a tetenus shot! Doing all the outside work you are bound to cut or scrape yourself. They are only good for 5 years if you are prone to cuts and scrapes. We have all heard the story about a woman contracting Tetenus from a rose thorn. Pity to survive BF and die from tetenus.
PBQ, great thought about the tetanus shot, had mine last year after whacking my head falling out of bed! Lost power for about two hours last night, luckily just as the microwave finished baking the potato and all the veggies and salmon burgers from Trader Joes were done.
I did get to use my new LED lantern, worked fine but very bright if it shines directly into your eyes. My hand cranked LED lights with rechargeable batteries which I wound when I bought them six months ago still were bright. An hour after power loss, used the LED lights to get my butane single burner stove out of the dark basement, within 3–4 minutes boiled water to make us a cup of tea, puts out a lot of BTUs in a short period, think I could easily cook on this when the need arises. Nice to know that some of my preps work when I need them. It is a comforting feeling. Now need to overcome that procrastination glitch I have and get the last few items in my list.
During the flood of 93, I was at home with a parilized hubby and two little ones. We had elec, but no running water for weeks. I collected rain from the down spouts into barrels and put in my big bath tub, used for flushing & then ran a hose from the tub down the laundry shoot and was able to do laundry, cold wash and it took a while to fill it up, but it worked. Today I think I would stick it thru the basement window directly on to the back of the washer for laundry.
A tarp would be better if I could stablize the tarp, attach to pvc pipe and lead the water directly to the container for storage so you woudnt have to carry it very far if at all, hmm
You could find a container that has a hose fitting at the bottom and use it in conjunction with a tarp, (or tarps), and use a hose to drain that water into a tank in your house. If there are farm supply stores in your area that would be the place to look.
Phooey, to get one sample tested would be about $350. For the amount of rain we get here, it’s not worth it. I’ll pursue one or more of the tarp options.
Ouch! That’s pretty steep, but then you are asking them to test for more than the usual stuff. You should be able to rig the tarp with ropes.
Well, Ive thought a while about posting this, and after advice from an esteemed member of this community, decided to go ahead.
Ive been watching H5N1 in the news and assorted sources for little over a year now. Done lots of reading up on viruses and related topics. Started my preps sometime this past winter. Problem is, my job ended in January. Theres been barely enough cash to pay the bills, and things have been pretty bleak. Ive got a wife, 3 year old daughter, and a mortgage. No frills like cell phones or cable TV. A bit stressed about it, of course, but not overly so. Theres always been up times and then down times. I have part time work that is getting the basic bills paid, but thats it.
What stresses me is that I see this pandemic as a real probability. I see it as *likely*. But I havent been able to do much about it. Although even with the lack of funds, Ive been able to get together about a months worth of supplies together by keeping an eye on sales and taking advantage of what I can. My wife and I got a 40 dollar gift certificate on our anniversary. Guess what I spent my half on? Meds. It was kinda funny, when we met back up in the aisle at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, she had a nice bath soap and new sponge, and I had my arms full of Advil.
So, Id been trying to think of ways to generate a separate income to fund my preps, and eventually I came up with something. I dont know if its going to lead anywhere, but I weighed the cost versus the benefits and decided to go for it. I opened a CafPress shop.
I know, Ive read good and bad reviews on them. But I like to judge for myself, so Ill see how it goes. Now heres the part that makes it relevant. I gear all my merchandise towards Pandemic Flu awareness. What makes me feel good about it is that I can accomplish TWO things Ive been trying to do, raise money for preps AND increase awareness of an imminent pandemic.
Im trying to walk a fine line in this, a few fine lines really. I dont want to exploit the situation, as some are doing (a while ago someone here posted a link to a place that was actually selling prep lists, which I thought was an amazingly disgusting act of huckstering). And if you do a search for bird flu youll see that -aside from items meant to profit from people who are worried- theres also a fair amount of humorous t-shirts and the like. I think its sorta tasteless, but whats new. Bird Flu joke t-shirts arent as bad as selling prep lists, I guess. Im trying to keep my profit low enough to not be exploitive, but high enough to at least finance a big bag of rice or maybe get my chimney cleaned and some firewood.
I made some designs that are meant to be eye-catching. In my head I imagine (hope for) a scenario where someone who is wearing a shirt or drinking from a mug or using a mousepad (etc) is asked about Pandemic Flu, and a conversation might be sparked. Im aware of how hard it is to bring up as a subject without sounding like an alarmist. I also am trying to incorporate some basic hygiene advice and basic facts about flu into the designs, although thats a little harder to do. Still coming up with stuff.
I ordered one of my mugs and got it today. Its fine. Not as sharp as Id likebut I really dont think that matters. My intention isnt high quality merchandise, its good enough quality that serves a purpose.
Lastly, Ive seen the Flu Wiki T-shirt thread, but have purposely not read it. Dont know what the design looks like, though Im pretty sure it doesnt resemble mine (My main design is based on the dove with an olive branch image, but is a red bird carrying a virus). As far as Im concerned, anyone that has the means to do this type of thing ought to give it a go. It may not be a discussion for this thread, but will hip merchandising increase awareness?
So, Im posting this here in this thread because its an alternative way of raising funds to supply preps. Others that are having a hard time in this area might think about it as a method. I like the self contained aspect of it, using whatever skills you may have to raise awareness of Pandemic Flu and accruing a small profit to help prepare yourself (and others! I always try to put aside a little for the kids in the neighborhood). The site is http://www.cafepress.com/panfludesigns
Thanks for reading my long post.
My prepping is still house cleaning. My Lord … I’ve gotten more stuff to donate to local charities than I thought would have been possible. Toys that all five kids have finally run through but still have plenty of life left in them. <grin> Clothes that the youngest daughter has outgrown and there is no way that the baby boy will wear. LOL! Mismatched glasses, pieces of curriculum that I got free because I reviewed it for a publication, and so on.
I cleaned out a lot more room than I thought I would and still have a few rooms left to go. And I’m painting, cleaning, and reorganizing as I go. Gives me that “feel good” feeling.
Getting more than a couple honey-do projects off the list as well. Tomorrow I’ve got some toilet guts to replace and a couple of new baseboards to attach. Feeling pretty good. Now if I can just find the time to re-lay some of the ceramic tiles that popped up in the utility room.
Today I landed an inexpensive large used upright freezer and somehow, and this is very surprising since I am not known for my charm, managed to talk the kind man having this moving sale into delivering it and helping me get it into the basement. I’m not even sure if I’ll bother plugging it in! May just use it for flour/rice type storage and worry less about critters! I’m feeling a bit proud of myself and wanted to share this silly little piece of progress!
Bump up
Congrats Lisa - I had to get mine new! But I am so glad I did. It doesn’t have as many prep foods in there yet as I would like, but it is also nice to have extra frozen items that my kids seem to hoover through every few days. Who knew a 3yo could eat 3 frozen waffles when in the mood? Over the next month or so I will fill it with more meats, veggies, etc. I’ve made enough chili to feed an army. I’m worried about the kids getting enough protein if tshtf.
Lisa in Southern Maine at 23:50
Excellent score! I don’t have mine plugged in either. I have a good bit of the space full of (nearly full) two liter bottles of water waiting to be frozen. The rest of the space has dry preps like rice mixes, mac-n-cheese dinners, sugar, oatmeal, etc. Freezers are great for protecting your dry foods from bugs and critters.
Yay, my grain mill arrived today! But I can’t even test it yet without having it bolted down — so tomorrow’s task is to get a table to affix it to, and bolts to affix it with.
I’m curious folks. What are your ages? ladies can deduct 10 yrs. ;) I want to know because I have a theory about this.
A theory was presented quite awhile ago by Eccles and verified with the collected data. It turns out that the majority of those prepping are in their 50′s. Boomers if you like that term. There was another spike at a younger age but the exact point escapes me right now, early twenties perhaps.
Not surprised. Also, not surprised at the 20′s somethings only because they pre-dominate the web. Doubt though they will persist is their preps over time. We 50′s somethings will because we have kids to protect in their teens , 20′s & 30′s.
Here’s the FluWiki Survey Summary. Go and take a look at this snapshot of us.
I’m curious now too, glennk, about wjat this train of thought might be…I’m forty. No give or take (as in deduction), just a few crows feet!
I’ve got a suggestion. For a no-cost 5 liter water container, save any empty wine box containers that you can scrounge. I have actually taken the silver bag out and pried the little spigot open and filled it with water for my husband. I imagine it would be best to wash them out as you get them so the water wouldn’t taste winey. It’s free and I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. They should stack easily, too. Of course if your RWFK has to be the expensive kind you are out of luck (unless you have some cheapo friends like me).
bump
It’s time to rename these threads with the dates on which they are created, and put them to sleep after they are done.
bump
I think my prep for today is NOT to do anything too constructive. <grin> I may do some reformatting on my prep inventory form, but that’s probably about it. Too tired to do much else. I’ve been “overly productive” for the last week and me body is telling me so. LOL!
Does anyone have any good ideas for keeping track of where you store preps? I have a running inventory, so that’s covered. But when it comes time to fix a meal, I don’t want to have to search all over the house for ingredients!
This is what I’m currently doing:
Kitchen cabinets- cereals, crackers, spices, smaller containers of staples, items that I use daily now.
Pantry-mostly canned items-meats, soup, veg & fruits, jars (a shelf for each) Its at maximum capacity now and I figure there is enough food in there for one month.
That is the organised section. LOL
then in milk crates in the utility room, more canned items, condiments, dried food. A large plastic crate of flours, sugar, rice etc. A back closet in the house full of water, more cans, rice, flour, etc etc.
In DS closet, flu related items-masks, gloves, meds, more water, water containers. Garage-water containers, fuel type items.
I really don’t want to store food in the bedrooms because of rodent problems. But I am running out of space elsewhere. Currently we have 3 months worth of food but I think I want to get more. Also, can you keep canned items in the garage? (not temp-controlled) I know this is kind of confusing but any ideas would be appreciated. My closet- TP & paper towels.
TP and paper towels take up a lot of space. Perhaps those items could be moved to the garage, leaving room for canned goods in your closet? Canned food shouldn’t attract rodents as there is no odor and no way for the rodents to get into the cans.
Rodents can’t get into cans, BUT they can (and do) eat the labels off. When we moved into our farmhouse we diligently put many cans of vege’s etc in the cupboards. Three weeks later we were eating mystery meals as all of the labels had been eaten away. Came up with some interesting (but not appetizing) combinations that way.
Solved the problem by putting a few cats in the cupboards at night. In the morning we would have fat, happy cats.
Also taught our Shepherd and Newfoundland to mouse. Quite a sight to see a 150 pound dog that looks like a black bear leap two feet in the air and pounce on a mouse. It was a shame about my wifes sofa though, mouse under cushions in framework, shepherd “dug” him out. Wife NOT happy!
lohrewok - at 09:58
I’ve reached the point of having to store some food in bedrooms. I’m storing canned items and vacuum-sealed rice, beans, etc. in large plastic Rubbermaid-type containers(not the see-thru kind). Not really a plus for the decor, but keeps it out of sight because I just don’t want to see food items everywhere I look.
Not sure if this has already been included in any “what to prep lists”, if not, some of you may be interested. I have included on my list, a couple of bags of ‘cement’ (I already have plenty of sand/shingle) I feel this could be very useful in making repairs/modifications if the SHTF.
I have this old cat ernie, he is 22. He quit mousing and boy did the mice figure it out and it wasnt long before I had a herd of mice, yes a herd. ( I could hear them in the attic as they played)
They must have told every mouse in town that the cat was sleeping. I went to the animal rescue league and got a cute little female kitty, she learned how to mouse real fast. She would catch it and go running off with it to the bathtub and play with it but she wouldnt kill it, they ended up snuggling up together and sleeping,So I had to get another cat, she is an awesome hunter, mean little sucker. she takes the mice that the other one brings to the tub and well its kinda icky. Tecnically now the mice problem is gone but then I went to the same pet store for supplies and there was this aboulutely beautiful male kitten, he is so BEAUTIFUL that I couldnt resist,you would have to see him to believe him,long haired grey and white his markings are perfect. He should be a model. Have no idea what kind of a hunter he is since the mice are gone, but he loves to play fetch.
I have been stocking up on lots of pet supplies and meds for them just is case. They don’t go outside and that helps prevent a lot of illnesses.
Hi Everyone, I thought I might mention that if you plan to use your fireplace or wood stove this upcoming winter, and haven’t used it much or at all in the past, there are some things to think about. Get it cleaned, the chimney, and have it looked over if it’s a wood burning stove. Also, the air becomes very dry when using it on a daily basis, so prep with plenty of lotion, and especially saline solution for your nasal passages, and a whole bunch of chapstick and lip ointment. You will need it!!!
Thanks everyone for the storage ideas. Looks like I’m going to be spending the week shuffling things around.
Also, can canned goods be stored in an unheated/un a/c space. Like the garage?
lohrewok -
JMO, but I would think no. That’s why my preps are overflowing into the bedrooms ;)
bump
Yay! My canner jiggled and I have 13 quarts of beans cooling on the counter. I have another batch in and am waiting to see if I can do this again!
I picked blackberries for five hours and canned six quarts of pie filling and 4 pints of jelly. Ummm!!! They better love these pies! Those thorns are deadly and it was 98 degrees! Why do I do these dumb things?! Geeze!!
Tomorrow…Gonna try the bean thing again and also yellow squash!
If you store canned goods in a non-temperature controlled garage, it will affect their shelf life. Per Del Monte a 15-degree change reduces expected shelf life by 50% (ideal temp is 65; if stored at 80, then shelf life is reduced by 50%).
From here: http://www.a1usa.net/gary/expire.html
My prep for the day is re-reading MFK Fisher’s “The Art of Eating, in particular her chapters on dealing with hardships and rationing.
This is spectacular writing and elevates survival to an art.
LoveTexas at 15:35 June 27
I’ve felt that we could benefit from a national water grid similar to the power grid. It would supply peak usage points from points that have an abundance.
It would be enormously expensive, but a great achievment like the Panama Canal, or Moon Landing.
The environmentals would probably oppose it.
Oremus-at 12.24
What a great idea!! I would have never thought of it. Boy do we need it here, think about this Texas only has one natural lake the rest are man made??? Hope it rains this weekend it is cloudy but no rain. I would imagine the people or states that have plenty of water would oppose it also. It would be a great achievment.
mom11 - at 02:22
You remind me of my mom many years ago. She worked WAY too hard. PLEASE take care of you :)
Melanie at 05:16
“My prep for the day is re-reading MFK Fishers The Art of Eating, in particular her chapters on dealing with hardships and rationing.
This is spectacular writing and elevates survival to an art.”
Thanks Melanie! Great great idea! I have loved her writing but it’s been awhile. I’ll dust it off and reread it too! Now if I can only remember where I put it… :-(
Melanie-at 5:16
Yes that is a great book—I need to find it myself!
Hi Okbirdwatcher! We all work hard, just do different things!
I think I have the hang of this canner. My neighbor came over tonight and set up my Presto canner. I was too tired to even read the instruction book. Still 98 degrees here and stupid me…canning away! I canned 10 quarts of squash and 20 quarts of benas. I think I will be dreaming about beans tonight! Baby Madonna tried out the new pasta maker and we had homemade fettuchini with Alfredo sauce. I made some Artisan bread. I want to ask my Amish friends how they dry and keep their pasta.
Tomorrow I want start planting more beans and carrots. I hope i don’t trip on ore beans while I am out there. I am getting nothing esle done though except laundrey, food and kids. this house is trashed!
Thanks, Melanie, for your mention of MFK Fisher’s books.She sounds so interesting that I have ordered three of her books from Half.com. Your mention of the coverage of rationing made me think. You know, it’s entirely possible rationing could happen again. I was born in December, 1941, so I just barely remember what ration books looked like. I do remember what a treat chocolate candy was when I was small.
I found a fascinating web site about rationing in Great Britain during World War II:
Food Rationing in World War II
Clothes Rationing in World War II
Absolutely gripping details are included that I hadn’t read about even though I have read a good many fiction books on the period. For instance:
“Many things that were in short supply people could do without. The one thing that was a necessity rather than a luxury was medicine But, just as in the First World War, drugs and bandages were in short supply. Committees were set up around the country - known as ‘Herb Committees’ and women would go out into the country with their children to gather the much needed recourses for the chemists. Items such as nettles, foxgloves, Coltsfoot, Deadly nightshade and other herbs were gathered and dried. The older women would make drying racks from net curtains nailed onto wooden trays to dry the herbs. Bandages were made from sheets and anything else that was available.”
I was at my in-laws for the 4th and we talked some about general preparedness. My FIL bought a really neat water storage tank and has it in his garage. It is 2 D, 4 W and 6 H, and holds 485 gallons. Because of the dimensions, you can get it into practically anywhere and it takes up very little floorspace. He is storing rainwater in it as they already have a good source of drinking water. He needed to know how much Clorox to add to keep it safe and I was glad to provide that info.
HBB, is that measurement in feet, or some Vulcan measurement? :)
jane at 15:45
Actually thats Appalachian shorthand for ‘bout this here wide, this here tall and nearly this here deep.
Sorry, should be two feet deep, four feet wide and 6 feet tall.
I’m thinking of joining either Costco or Sam’s Club to buy both preps and routine stuff. Any opinions as to which store is better? I’m thinking in terms of both price and range of merchandise. Is there much variation between different locations of the same chain? (The closest Costco and Sam’s Club for me are both in Gaithersburg, MD.) Thanks!
Anonymoose,
I’d like to hear the answers to that question, too.
Anonymoose: I can’t speak to what is available and/or pricing, etc. at Costco because we don’t have them where I live. I am a member at Sam’s Club, and I can recommend it for buying cheap preps. I have bought a lot of my bulk preps from Honeyville, but certain things are much more affordable at Sam’s.
Examples: 50# white rice for $11, 25# sugar for $9, 25# flour for $5.75.
Canned meats, fruits, and veggies are often really good deals at Sam’s. Sam’s also sells restaurant pack condiments (the single-serve type). Lots of good bulk hygiene items, too (soaps, shampoos, etc.) and meds. For example, 1,000 ibuprofen tablets for $9.
Selection does vary by location. I know that if you go to Sam’s Web site, you can find bulk beans, for example, but they aren’t sold in our local store for some reason.
Also, on Sam’s Web site, there is a much broader selection of medical supplies than what is available in the store. Gloves, masks, etc. can be ordered online and shipped direct to your home.
It would be nice if you could compare prices, etc. between Costco and Sam’s online, but Costco’s online presence is pretty lame—at least the last time I checked. You might want to peek at it again just to make sure.
One place I personally wouldn’t recommend joining is BJ’s. Compared to Sam’s, it’s just not worth the membership fee.
I shop at Sam’s the membership is a little cheaper. I tried both and I just think that Sam’s has more food and Costco has more stuff. I don’t need the stuff and I am in it for the food. So I shop at Sam’s. I have shopped there for years.
We had a short discussion about costco vs. sams, it may be of some help:
[[http://www.fluwikie2.com/pmwiki.php?n=Forum.COSTCO|costco discussion]
I have a membership to both, for different reasons. You just need to keep a notebook or something because their prices are different on the same things - sometimes they are packaged differently. Good luck!
so sorry, i forgot the other bracket -thankfully, it wasn’t too long!
Does anyone know how best to purify swimming pool water? Could a forced air furnace be run for a short time with an inverter from a car battery? Ken
Thanks, Preppiechick!
(Though after all this, I might end up choosing Costco simply because I dislike the Wal-Mart corporation.)
KenCalif---There was a thread on that subject and it is probably in the index—check it out
KenCalif at 19:26
You need to be reading here.
A short answer is maybe, and for a VERY limited time. There are better ways.
My prep for today is moving some of the more appetizing preps higher and out of sight so that my ever more clever and ingenious 2 year old won’t get into them.
Warning: A 2 year old bent on getting into something can do a lot of damage even with a baby fork. <sigh> Mostly salvageable … but nothing like walking into the pantry to find popcorn all over the floor … most of it pointy end up. <rolling eyes>
Anonymoose,
I found that prices vary from one Costco store to another, on the same item. (I don’t have a membership but was considering, and decided against it because it would take me too long to make back the $50 membership fee.)
Hi friends! I haven’t read about this yet anywhere on a thread; excuse the redundancy if so. I’m getting myself a jar opener! You know, that metal gripger that makes it easy to open any tightly-lidded jar. I’m pretty strong but every once in a while I come across a jar that just absolutely defeats me! And the last jar that I tried to open one by tapping with a heavy tool on the side of the lid just burst in my hand- amazing no cuts considering the jar just disintegrated. Think about how difficult it may be for older family members, children or even someone who may be sick and has little or no strength.
Kathy in Fla, you just crack me up! I have always enjoyed your postings- even when you breath fire. Thanks so much for taking much care in posting your recipes and sharing youe family life. All the best to everyone.
BTW, I’ve read about the need to temporarily freeze rice to kill potential bugs. We’re dedicated macaroni eaters- whole wheat and millet are favorite; we now have +40 packs prepped. Would any one suggest we freeze them also? Mucho thanks for any and all advice given.
I went to Lowes on my lunch hour to get ground wire for my inverter. I almost ran off the road when I saw a bulletin board that said:
PANDEMIC FLU Are You Ready?
It was sponsored by the county EMS and had phone numbers to call for more information.
It helps me to grip bottletops and jar lids to put a wide rubber band over them. And jars I pry with a bottle opener first, gently so I don’t pierce the lid and make sharp points come out-ouch. Good point about the weakened state of sick people though. Maybe some adjustable pliers should go in the sickroom, as well as rubber bands. And scissors to poke through foil or plastic applesauce lids and such.
Went to thrift store and picked up 3 used popcorn tins - the large round ones people use for xmas gifts - for 25 cents each. I’m collecting them so I can store non-canned items in my attic and shed.
Melanie - my favorite thing to give someone special for xmas is MFK Fisher, The Art of Eating. The piece on the tangerine sections drying on the radiator in a Paris winter has to be one of my all-time favorite passages anywhere.
Melanie- Thanks for the heads up. I got a great price on amazon @ 5, with shipping, and am looking forward to getting it. I’m a semi-foodie, so it should be great reading without the bonus of rationing, etc. I have also gotten some old cookbooks, camping cookbooks, some ethnic cookbooks, and one called the settlemnt cookbook.
My great find today at sams:
BIG tin of christmas type (@5 lb of butter cookies) cookies for @3.00. Best part, HUGE tin that those stupid mice shouldn’t be able to get into. Worth the price alone. Kids love the cookies, and they last a long time. Back to get some more!
Prep for the day: Last night I ordered N95 masks and a BP cuff for the first aid kit. We’re planning to pick up generator that’s enough to power the fridge, too.
In a case of “we’ve been together for so long we think alike sometimes”, the husband ordered N95 face masks today while he was ordering my home canning supplies. We will definitely have enough masks.
I almost forgot: Half-Price books is a good place to look for oddball books on various topics that offer knowledge that might be useful. I found a classic book on preserving foods, gardening in small spaces, and a wilderness medicine book for just a few bucks each and I’m on the lookout for any book I think might be useful, like herbal medicines and how to identify or grow herbs(I’m not a gardener but I could become one if my survival depended on being able to grow my own food).
Hillbilly Bill at 12:53 How amazing! Have you called the number?
Hillbilly Bill at 12:53 How amazing! Have you called the number?
let me ask a few more times, just to be sure … :)
went to the salvation army today and bought tins too. Bought books at the camping store the other day about food storage and they recommend dry ice to fumigate wheat, rice… for long term storage. Google to get the info but both books said to make sure you wait for ice to dissipate before putting lid on other wise you will have an explosion. They also mentioned sulfur and salt as other ways to store food long time.
I already bought a breadmaker but I saw about 5 of them there for sale at about $10 a piece. lots of battery radios, pots and pans, loaf pans, blankets and confortars galore, toys, books and games too. Bargain prepper dream store.
blackbird at 16:53
No I didn’t get the number, too amazed at seeing the bulletin board. I will follow up to see what kind of information they are providing. I thought I was hallucinating for a little bit.
Hillbilly Bill at 15:01 I don’t blame you a bit for thinking that. It’ll be interesting to learn what they say.
Finally got my pneumonia vaccine today, plus got a Tetnus booster (ouch!). I went to an urgent care clinic run by a local hospital and had no trouble. They didn’t even ask me why I was getting it, but it took them some time to figure out if they even had any. This time of year is probably a good time to get it before the season hits.
A $300 trip to Wal-Mart (ouch!).
For you folks who are going to be using a woodstove for heat, and have never done it before, one piece of advice.
Put a pot of water on the top. I used to use a 3 pound coffee can.Keep it filled, and it will really help keep some moisture in the air.
Getting to the point that I’d like to bump up our preps with a few more ultra convenient food items. I making a list and put at the top those self-contained casserole type meals that Banquet and Betty Crocker put out. All you do is add water. They don’t taste half-bad either. They would feed a family of 4 with no problem. I have to stretch them for our family of seven but it is fairly easy to do by throwing an extra can of gravy in as well as one or two extra cans of veggies. On sale I can find them for about $3.50 (US) per box. Not cheap, but certainly less expensive that a lot of convenience stuff out there.
Dollar General store around here doesn’t seem to have any more canned hams. I hope they order more. What they did get in were small cans of sliced beef and gravy. I would hate to survive on them … loaded with sodium … but would go over rice or egg noodles fairly well. But again, at $2 (US) per can, its not cheap.
I need to make another run for large bulk items to SAMs. I finally have enough empty containers to hold another 50 lb. bag of rice. I also want to pick up a couple of large bags of flour, but again, need something to put it in after I buy it. Not to mention a place to put it in the house. <grin>
But … at least I’ve found a few more hidey holes for smaller things.
Walgreens has 10″ battery operated indoor/outdoor fans on sale this week for $17.95. I believe tomorrow is last day of the sale. They advertise 72 hours battery life, can be placed on a table with the stand or they have a hook attached to the handle so you can hang them and an ac adapter is included. I purchased two for my patio with the thought that they certainly will come in handy if the power goes out.
I don’t know how to start a thread, but in case anyone is interested, there is a program on TV right now about BF on Sci Fi channel. Sorry, to post this here. It was the top thread and I thought it would be the best thread to post on. It’s showing patients who have died.
Kathy, and all, I keep about 70 of the Hormel/Dinty Moore shelf-stable individual serving meals on hand at all times — there are about 10–12 varieties, and all you have to do is poke one hole in the THICK thite plastic covering (not flimsy film), nuke it for 90 seconds & you have a hot meal that will fill you up for $1.48 at WalMart. My husband is addicted to them! If the power is out, you can drop the container down into a pot of boiling water to heat, then use tongs to get it out of the hot water (so you don’t waste the water pouring it out), peel off the white covering & eat! Cheap, easy, versatile, & GOOD!! Chicken, beef & vegetarian meals.
I’m-workin’,
I’ve never seen those, do you have a link?
hormel.com/brands/brandlist.asp
HORMEL Microwave Trays
Gatorade containers (the big ones you can get at wallyworld for $3.77) make good water containers. But since I don’t have the space to store a bunch of empty containers, I wash and dry them well, then fill ‘em with pinto beans (I get them in big bags also at walmart - I think they’re like $2.17 for 3 lbs). If tshtf, I’ll empty the beans and store them in a canvas bag, then fill up the bottles with water.
I played around with my Camp Chef propane stove in the backyard today and cooked pancakes and bacon on the accessory griddle (mixed the pancakes with a hand mixer). Worked pretty well. Meanwhile, I had some leftover beans that didn’t fit into the last Gatorade bottle, so I soaked them overnight and cooked them in a 6 quart pressure cooker on the second Camp Chef burner. Brought the pressure up (10 lbs), let the weight jiggle about 3 minutes, then shut if off and let it sit over an hour, with weight gauge still on. They were cooked when I took off the cover. Didn’t take much gas at all to cook ‘em! Just have to be patient and let them sit. Sort of the same principle as the thermos cooking.
It’s been a long time since I’ve used my old dehydrator so I ordered a new excalibur (I have an old harvest maid). Looking forward to using it to dry frozen veggies like peas and carrots from the restaurant store. I used to make veggie soups by processing dehydrated veggies and herbs in the food processor to make a powder base, then adding whole dry veggies to the mix.
I’m going to the farmers market in the morning and then plan on dehydrating when I get home. Hopefuly it won’t rain and I wont have to dehydrate myself hehe.
I’m still canning. Today I canned 8 quarts of peach pie filling, 4 quarts of blueberry pie filling, 8 pints of peach preserves, and 9 pints of blueberries canned for baking. As soon as I ran out of fruit, I loaded the chicks in the van and headed to the Amish to buy more blueberries and 3 boxes of white peaches. Tomorrow…more canning! Nothing else getting done, except kid stuff, laundrey, food…Somehow I need to get caught up around here.
Hi mom11!
I guess we are just going to have to meet and get quick updates on different threads now! How did things go with the court?
To open a jar you just need to break the seal and get a little air under the lid. To do this with very little work-and without havingto grip and turn which may be difficult for some people-jiggle a bottle opener-pointy end up-between the jar and the can. Then gently push bottle opener toward jar. By wedging the bottle opener under the lid you will be able to break the seal and can should open easily.
We prefer Costco because of the attitude they have towards their workers, better wages and better benefits. The Founder of Costco believes his employees should be able to make enough money to buy a house in their community and he pays himself less than $700,000 a year. What a concept a CEO who doesn’t drain the company coffers. Thay also seem to stock alot of organic foods.
I have never been to a Sams club
katherine,
For people with arthritis, that isn’t so easy.
OK, it’s not a food item, but today I got myself an accoustic guitar - I haven’t played guitar for about 10 years. At least we can have a singalong whilst we dutch-oven cook food over the fire!
Aziraphale at 04:09
Food for the soul is as important as food for the stomach!
My prep for this past week has been watching season 3 of 24. The show with Keifer Sutherland. This season is about a terrorist threat of a virus with a 90% fatality rate. It is interesting (and chilling) to watch the president’s reactions when the virus does get released, and how swiftly it spreads and kills. If you need to take a rest and put your feet up for awhile…give it a looksee. We got it from netflix.
Just gulped hard and ordered the following: (7) 15 watt solar panels with wire interconnects, a charge controller for the panels, a barrel pump, several boxes of catalytic heat packs, a 12 million candlepower spotlight and a grease gun.
Actually went to and obtained permission from DW before placing order. No whining and pleading needed. What’s up with that?
Eccles at 10:48…..What’s up with that?….reverse psychology?
Eccles, trust is wonderful. :)
I’m looking through the Amazon Grocery items. There’s an offer of $10 off on an order of $49 until 8/31, so I’m checking out all the baking items-they have lots of gluten-free flours, even a pasta flour and a falafel mix. Also “gluten substitute” that mimics the protein in wheat gluten, which I’ve never seen before. glutenfreeAmazon There are about 70 Jello choices, too, flan, devil’s food, banana cream, coconut, white chocolate, and cheesecake puddings, Double Chocolate Silk or pumpkin pie style dessert (no bake), and more. On other pages there are breakfast bars, but none of the write-ups tell the protein content. Only some of them list the ingredients. This ordering is going to take a while.
btw, the gluten-free link above has almond and hazelnut flours, wheat germ, and flaxseed meal, too.
Eccles at 10:48
I need at least half of your order and would like to have the rest, but I will probably have to wait until my birthday or something like that.
Eccles gotta ask. Why such small pannels?
Anonymous- There are three interlocking reasons. First, they are currently on sale at Northern Tool for $66 each and free shipping, which is about the best price I have encountered anywhere the achieve the 100 watt level. Second, By using multiple panels instead of one or two larger ones, any failure of a panel is not a catastrophe. Rather, it permits a graceful degradation of the system, just as we would design it into a spacecraft. Finally, this also permit assembling 2 or 3 smaller arrays to provide power on site or recharge capability awat from the main house without taking the entire solar capability off-line at the house.
I know, this is typical over-the-top engineering planning, and it will probably never be implemented, but I wanted those capabilities. Hence, a single or two larger panels would not provide the same flexibility.
And I just couldn’t resist the price.
2beans, I love MFK Fisher too, and yes that part about the tangerine really stuck with me too. I love the part where she stumbles into a country restaurant and is the only patron and is attended to by the waitress who becomes overinvested in each of the dishes that are presented. And the blue fish curling in agony as it dies. And how about the part where she lives with a family who makes an annual tradition of hunting snails when they are just SO and how the quiet of the nights were punctuated by the snails who were fainting from hunger and falling from the ceiling of a glass box.
Oh, and Melanie and Love Texas - just read higher and saw that there were others reading her books.
bump
I have a big test prep … or should that be prep test … coming up. I’ve formulated our family’s entire month’s menu from my prep recipes. That means that I’m going to use only items that I would have available to me from our prep stock … canned, dried, powdered, etc.
I’ve been testing recipes for months now … but this is the first time that I will have 100% of all 90 meals strictly from the preps. That means no eating out, no buying junk food because someone has a craving, etc. And no candies or sweets that don’t come out of our preps.
I will continue to use refrigeration and my stove and other cooking apparatus … I’m not that big a sucker for self-punishment. <grin> I don’t think the family will notice too much except for the oldest who helps me in the kitchen a lot. We’ll be using mostly homecanned meats.
The other exception that I am making to this rule is that I’ll be using fresh eggs and fresh milk and water from the tap. 1) Those powdered eggs are too expensive for me to “try them out” for a whole month. I’ve used them before so I know they work. That’s not the point of my exercise. 2) I’ll be mixing the fresh milk half and half with powdered … with the 2 year old I’ll let him have fresh milk as long as possible and slowly wean him off to using powdered and canned milk. 3) I want to save our bottled water for a true emergency … that stuff doesn’t come cheap; but, I will be tracking any unusual water usage due to “from scratch” cooking.
Really I’m checking to see if we are going to suffer from food fatigue and whether I’ve alloted enough time in my daily routine for “from scratch” cooking.
I’m nearly 100% confident … but a good test never hurts. And what I think I can do may be totally different from the family’s reaction. It will also be a way for me to test out how I’ve done with balancing the diet/menu. Do I have too much meat or too little? Just how tired of rice and beans are they? Are the fruit portions … and what they are in … sufficient to meet their tastes and needs?
I’m also thinking about trying one week on and one week off the multi-vitamins to see if this makes a noticeable difference in the short term.
My other thing has been to get the kids and hubby involved the further into the month we go with family activities such as popping popcorn the old-fashioned way, taffy pulling, etc.
I’ll keep everyone updated as we go.
Hi Kathy! When does the test begin? I’ll be interested to know how it goes. One thing I’m pretty sure your family doesn’t have to worry about will be food fatigue! Good luck!
I’ll start it this Friday after a big monthly and prep shopping trip. I found a few gaps that I want to fill in the pantry … found out the kids and hubby had eaten all the saltine crackers, a few of my herbs and spices were kinda dead, that sort of thing.
I also want to see what a full month of food preps looks like in a grocery trip. I know it will be like 2 or 3 carts … but I want to see it not just visualize it. <grin>
And, I want to compare the total $$$ of a prep-only monthly grocery bill to a regular month’s grocery bill.
Yes Kathy please le tus know how it goes. I’m sure you’ll learn tons of things we had never thought of.
This buying club I belong too (you pay an upfront membership and get to buy furniture, appliances, etc. at wholesale prices) has “prep” stuff in their summer catalog. Maybe they carried this stuff before but they’ve never featured it in a catalog before: standby and gas gennies, water filters. Funny. Their price on a gravity water filter was quite reasonable so I may spring for one of those. We have a pond at our neighbors we could tap into if we have no electricity for our well.
bump for BB.
Found an interesting old book on cooking with eggs: Many Ways for Cooking Eggs
Lots of recipes, etc. Figure I might need them with all the powdered eggs I’ve got stored. I found this part particularly interesting:
Where large quantities of the yolks are used, the whites may be evaporated and kept in glass bottles or jars. Spread them out on a stoneware or granite plate and allow them to evaporate at the mouth of a cool oven. When the mixture is perfectly dry, put it away. This powder is capable of taking up the same amount of water that has been evaporated from it, and may then be used the same as fresh whites.
I might try this in my dehydrator.
Sea Urchin at 02:27
There’s another one that I’m going to have to check out. Did you see the one that KimT found? Some of those old/older cookbooks have some very inventive recipes or ones that are easily adjusted to preparation type cooking.
How to dry egg whites and egg yolks with a dehydrator:
Question, Haven’t stocked up on masks yet, have a few but not near enough, not sure what enough would be but what do you all think of these
Alpha Pro Tech N95 Respirator Special - 6 boxes of 35 $ 167.79 USD
Melanie-
“For people with arthritis, that isnt so easy.”
I imagine for people with arthritis the action of gripping and twisting at the same time is what if difficult The only action of this is pushing down. But perhaps it depends on what movement is restricted. Anyhoo for those of us without arthritis with a weak grip or a large lid which is difficult to grab or an oily lid this method great.
Speaking of powdered egg whites, I hope y’all don’t mind my asking here, but is there a trick to reconstituting them? I tried them for the first time this morning and just got a lumpy, sticky, frothy mess. I added them to the muffin batter and it turned out fine, but I’m wondering if there’s a trick to making them mix up smooth.
Was at Costco today and asked the bakery if I could have any food grade 5 gallon buckets. They said Sure just call a day or two in advance. Guy says they throw them away otherwise. YeeHaw It’s Christmas in July!! Thanks to everyone for the idea.
Our family starts our big food prep test … test prep? … tomorrow. I’ve still got one more grocery run to make for cleaning supplies and a few other odds and ends and then I’m finished shopping for food for the month except for stuff taht will go into the preps, but not into the food rotation yet.
I picked up 25 lbs. of flour and a 6 pound box of Bisquick today at SAMs, I’m using my opened 25 pound bag of sugar through the month (I HOPE we don’t go through that much sugar in a month!) and I bought another 50 lb. bag of rice just to see exactly how much we are going through as a family in a “normal” month of cooking. I’ve included plenty of “salads” (e.g., jello type salads) for desserts and for fruits, I’ll be cooking most … but not all … of my own bread (loaf, flat, cornbread, tortilla, etc.), and I plan to use some of the veggies that I’ve been dehydrating in the soups and stews that are on the menu.
We homeschool so I generally fix 3 meals per day for the whole family, all 7 days of the week. With a family of 7 we don’t eat out much at all and I make hubby’s lunch even though we own our own business … he gets tired of fast food, not to mention it is terrible for him.
I’m going to try … but that will probably get away from me … to track how much water of the estimated 49 gallons that is recommended for storage we actually use. I want to see if it is significantly more or less. With my husband still working outside I’m not going to include the extra gallon of water I send with him to work every day as in an SIP situation, hopefully he would be limiting his time away from hom.
Lots of little things are likely to come up that I’ll have to address in our prep purchases. Like I KNOW I’ll probably need to get more powdered eggs in the long run … I’ve just been holding off hoping to find them locally, really meaning cheaper. I have three #10 cans right now and I know that isn’t really reasonable to expect that amount to carry us really long term.
Will keep everyone updated.
Well, I juast got finished dragging in what the UPS guy dropped off. A total of 8 heavy boxes containing 7 solar panels, a charge controller, a barrel pump, a 12 million candlepower spotlight and assorted other junk.
Each panel came packed in its own shipping box, and even though I knew how large they would be, it’s another thing to drag the whole mess into your house and realize just how much junk you’ve just acquired.
Now I just have to check them out and start setting up some mounts for them to live on when needed.
Eccles, sounds like Christmas-hope you’re enjoying it! :)
Our dryer broke, and this afternoon we’re waiting for delivery of the new one. To prepare, we had to clean a lot of clutter. So now 1/4 of the basement looks pretty good, and empty. Our refrigerator is 27 years old and making puddles on the shelves, so we’re replacing it too. The old one we’re going to put in the basement in an empty spot we made. Yea! And I’m trying out the 5-day cooler with the contents of the freezer, while we switch fridges. There are 3 2-liters and a 1-liter bottle of solid ice in it now.
I picked 4 qts of blackberries today. More jam for the shelves.
Have spent this week canning. Guess the mideast situation has me especially tense. 20 quarts of black beans 14 quarts of nacho bean/meat mixture 13 quarts of spaghetti sauce with meat 6 quarts of Meatball Ragout 7 quarts of ground beef in broth
Not even close to being finished, but the long processing times mean I can only get two batches done a day, but I am running two large canners at the same time. Just for reference, 12 pounds of ground chuck equaled 7 quarts of cooked meat. I have tons of empty canning jars left. Still hoping to can stew, chili, chicken breasts, pork loin and beef tips next week. Also thinking of trying some split pea soup. Has anyone ever canned lentils? I can’t find any info on lentils. I think they are too soft, and don’t hold up to the processing. But Progresso sells lentil soup so I wasn’t sure.
I bought my first 55 gallon water barrel yesterday. Thanks for the Costco tip, I’ll try Sams. I’m going to try potatos in them, and storage. Spent a couple of hours today pulling three foot high weeds that grew while I was out of town. Even my fingernails are sore, but it looks better and now I can see where to put the new garden beds.
I also vacuum sealed my latest 50 pound purchase of rice. As I was doing that I kept thinking about my mother. I got the impression a lot of that will go to her. My sister bought them a Costco pack of food for one person for $100, it’s suppose to last a month or was it three? I know Mom, she won’t eat “weird” food. I’m adding stuff to help her.
I have a 25 lb. bag of flour I want to store safely, and prevent bugs. Has anybody vacuumed sealed flour into smaller portions? How do you avoid a flour cloud? Will it keep bug free in Florida if I just pour it into a 5 gallon food grade bucket?
It would be best if you can freeze it first to kill any eggs that are already in the flour (ewwww!)then put it into the food grade bucket. Or put it in the bucket first, if you have the room in your freezer to accomodate it. Three days in the freezer should do it!
Kathy in FL at 12:12
Good Luck tomorrow Kathy! Your family is so lucky to have you. You are a good good Mom and a great great person for us wikians. Take care and have fun doing it! All the best…
Orlando Preppie, I think someone said she bagged the flour in a ziplock baggie first, before the FoodSaver bag, or the flour would get in the way and it wouldn’t seal. After freezing? I don’t know.
Flour worked okay for me in the Seal-a-Meal if I had a long enough bag that I could have the flour all in the bottom of it and then make a sort of hill — almost fold the bag — between the flour and the sealer — so the flour that got pulled up would have to go over the hill … does that make sense? Some of the flour did pull up but didn’t make it all the way to the seal.
I always take notice of the vinegar during my prep trips to Sams. I keep wondering if I need any, we use small amounts now, but have no idea if it would be a good SIP item to have and for what uses. Currently have 8 months of food/supplies, should I add a couple of gallons of vinegar to the stocks?
EastTN: vinegar can be mixed with other items to make great household cleaners - natural and cheap. Google on line for recipes.
Thanks Laura. Also remember now that I looked on the jug and containers of the vinegar and could not find an expiration date. Anyone know what the shelve life of vinegar is? I would prefer to get some now, but if it has a short shelve life I will put it on my last minute prep list.
Good Luck Kathy FL. Hope you won’t be shutting off your computer for the duration.
We are moving in a month and not wanting to pay to move all of our food we are trying to live on preps-supplemented with some fresh. Some observations…no one likes the dried milk unless it is with granola. I used the suggestion of adding a can of evaporated milk but no go. (any suggestions of good dried milk, we are using Saco from Costco) Some of the food I bought is too spicy for the kiddos-and me too. Everyone hates the bread I made-back to the drawing board. I have finally gotton the kids to eat canned peaches and pears but had to mix them with cottage cheese. Also I was wrong about having 25lbs of oatmeal. I read the box wrong. It doesn’t say 2.4 lbs per box It says 2 4.5lb bags per box!! We are eating lots of granola this month.
Orlandopreppie at 18:46
Now I say this I usually rotate through my bulk grains and flours at least once in a while … couple of times a year anyway so what I do has proven full-proof for me, but you may need to tweak it a bit for you.
I decant my bulk items into large, screw lid type containers … I have a few glass gallon and half-gallon jars but I actually prefer the acrylic ones that are less likely to shatter if they get knocked over. Then I add a few bay leaves to each container. If it is a larger container then I put a layer of flour in and then 1 or 2 bay leaves … another layer of flour and another couple of bay leaves, etc. For a 2 or 3 gallon size container I usually wind up with 3 or 4 “layers”.
I also put my pastas into plastic containers and through in a couple of bay leaves.
For those in Florida, Badia is a brand of inexpensive seasonings and they have a spice container stuff FULL of bay leaves for about a dollar. McCormick and the other spice companies cost an arm and a leg and I like the quality and variety of Badia as well, if not better.
Now, I use bay leaves … its a traditional pest repellent for a lot of critters … but I’m told that any strongly aromatic spice/herb works. But since I’ve never used anything else I can’t say whether that is correct or not.
And this may just be coincidental, but based on the “strong smell/aromatic oils prinicple” I started using aromatic oils and/or those super room deoderizers in my pantry and I haven’t had any bug problems since … not even Palmetto bugs that compete with the mosquito to be Florida’s state bird.
Just my experience.
EastTN at 08:23
Cider vinegar makes a good pioneer lemonade and is good for you as well.
Vinegars also make great natural cleaning products. There is a site call RecipeGoldmine that has a section on homemade cleaners and homemade gardening items that you could probably find numerous recipes using vinegar.
I’ve had bottles of both white and cider vinegar get “lost” in the cupboard for YEARS and it still was fine to use. Not sure, but vinegar is probably at the end of the chemical cycle and can’t go “bad”.
Palmetto bug=Florida State Bird :-D!!! I remember those things—they are prehistoric!
Any chance of starting a sequel thread—this one is getting kinda long.
Day 1 of our Prep Test:
Today’s menu:
Major prep chores for the day:
So far today …
Breakfast was no problem, we eat otmeal a couple times a week normally. The homemade soup will only need to feed three of us … me, 16 year old, and 2 year old … 13 year old son doesn’t come in until this evening (he has been gone 3 weeks) and hubby took the 10 and 7 year old girls to work with him. Its a 15 prep to table type recipe so will not be a problem. Dinner will be out of the freezer … homemade lasagna that I fixed last week. I don’t expect the power to go off right away and we will be using as much stuff out of the freezer first as is feasible.
This is one of the most popular threads on the Forum. Number IX here is getting long, so we’re going to close this thread and open a new one called simply Flu Prep X