# January 2010 Prep Journal



## Guest (Jan 2, 2010)

Well, here it is past 11:30 and I just realized I haven't put up the new prep journal so I'll keep this short and sweet. We're predicted to go below freezing here in my part of Florida the next five nights running which is at the least highly unusual if not unprecedented (so far as I know). But the greenhouse is all buttoned up and everything is squared away leaving me nothing to do but grumble over the heating bill.

Prep wise has been pretty minimal due to the holidays, but now that January is here we've got some restocking to do. 

I've been caught up in a major decluttering in my workshop and in the house resulting in five truck loads to the dump already and another one tomorrow. Found some equipment that I haven't been able to lay hands on for these last couple of years. It's hell to be a disorganized survivalist...

How's the prep month looking for you folks?

.....Alan.


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## ejagno (Jan 2, 2008)

Alan I feel your pain on the disorganization. I too have been decluttering. My biggest issue is the boys have all moved out in the past two years and they simply leave what they don't want or think it's okay to use us as a storage facility so their places can stay nice and clutter free. WRONG! I've got my SUV loaded to the top now for delivery to my youngest son's apartment tomorrow.

As for prep progress I am so proud to announce that my summer kitchen is 99% complete. We took the old garage apartment and turned it into a vintage summer kitchen and storage room. It's right next to my gardens. It has a very nice deep 3 compartment sink, commercial 6 burner propane stove and a huge commercial double door fridge or freezer with adjustable or removable metal shelves that is capable of being set down to sub zero if needed. This is every canners dream. It has the solid wood floors, lap siding walls wainscoted with the corrugated aluminum at the bottom and corrugated aluminum ceiling with mason jar ceiling fixtures and a really cool vintage looking metal ceiling fan with the blade guard that oscillates. The only thing left to complete is hooking up the plumbing in the bathroom. The bathroom includes a shower for those really muddy days. DH is an executive Chef so talking him into this renovation was the easy part. He can use this for all of his catering equipment as well.

Tomorrow we get to go pick up our seed potatoes. Hopefully by the end of the month they'll have nice eyes and be ready to go in the ground. I shattered my kneecap the day after Thanksgiving and had surgery where they basically puttied it back together. I've been going through physical therapy and I'm praying that by the end of this month I'll be able to squat and bend enough to work in the garden. I just know that once I can get down there to get my hands in the dirt I'll heal much quicker. LOL


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I'm working a budget for 2010. One of the most important preps is to have your finances in order and that requires a budget. So unpleasant as it is that's what I've been working on and have another few hours to get it finalized.

I also shredded a lot of papers today and saved the shredded paper to use as mulch in the garden. I have 10 or so seed catalogs that I need to take a look at soon. Since its -25Âº and we have 20" of snow on the ground its a little hard to get in the gardening mood, but I need to try!


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I organized my seeds and placed seed orders. Thats the fun part. Today we work on our own clutter issues. Its easier to lay hands on what you need if you dont have a bunch of useless stuff in the way.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

I have freecycled tons of stuff and donated to Amvets as I declutter. It's saves me gas and energy! It's so nice to get rid of stuff and I've found useful stuff as well!

I got a canner and will be learning to can meat this month. Doing a pantry restocking and buying other supplies, like candles, small canisters of propane and hba items.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I organized my seeds and have written out my seed orders. I am currently working on cleaning out my craft room (aka junk room) so that I can determine how much fabric and yarn I have. One prep that I have neglected in prior years is ensuring that I have enough fabric and supplies put away to make quilts, etc...


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## FrontPorch (Mar 27, 2008)

I've been doing a major overhaul of the paperwork around here. Tossing old stuff into the burn pile and getting my financial ducks in a row. Sitting down to work on the old budget tonight. Tightening the belt in some areas so I can spend more in others.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Ah, nothing like the start of a new year to get all of us into the paperwork organization and decluttering mode! It's on my mission list for this month, as well. I agree with *Ann* that being financially prepared is part of overall prepping. I have been working on my budget, too, looking for areas I can downsize and shift $$ to paying off debt (mortgage and HEL) and build cash savings. I also want to continue to build our pantry, plant more fruit trees, and get my seed germination testing done this month, so I know what I need to buy this year. And I want to get all my long handled tools and chain saw blades repaired, sharpened, or whatever else is needed to make them fully functional and to preserve them for years to come.

Yesterday, I took steps to work on a few of these things. I stopped at Lowe's and bought the proper file for my Husqvarna saw chain, as well as replacement handles for my splitting maul and extra double bit ax. I also bought myself a new single bit ax - too expensive by my standards, but it does swing well for me. I sharpened chains for all the saws, and I started working on removing the old handle from the head of the maul, but haven't managed to get it drilled out yet - got to work on that when I get off of here. I did grind the rust off it.  Both it and the double bit head were stored in the pumphouse and got wet/rusted when we had a problem years ago - hadn't realized they were in a bucket that held the water. My fault for not being more organized and paying attention to stuff like that. I am grinding them smooth and coating them with a little oil to prevent it happening again - and they'll be stored in the house with the other tools when not in use. <really need a garage/workshop for my tools>

I also stocked up on the summer sausages I tried and liked last month. They are Armour 1877 Brand, 24oz (1.5lb), for 3.69 at Winco right now. I bought a case of 16, plus another 5 - 20 to storage, 1 for now. I'm working on eating through some of our older foods this month, so am going to try to limit my grocery shopping to primarily produce and dairy this month, with some additional money put toward prep foods, seeds, and fruit trees.

I'm planning to make a Costco run tomorrow, if all works out, and will check to see if they have their bare root fruit trees in stock yet. They usually carry wonderful, big trees for about $12 or so, and ones that will do well in my area. I'm going to have to do a better job of building cages over them, though, as I lose more young trees to my own goats, than I do to anything else.

I got last month's PUD bill and was somewhat disheartened to see that our useage hadn't fallen from last year's comparison...then I remembered that we'd had absolutely wicked weather last month, with heat lamps and electric heater in the pumphouse, where we had mostly milder weather for the same time frame last year. If I hadn't started using the wood stove, the bill would have been MUCH higher this time around. Looking forward to seeing what the next month's bill shows. We had major snow and cold last year for this time of year, and not as much so far this time around. I should see a drop in Kw Hrs.

*ejagno*, I'm wiping the drool off my chin - your summer kitchen sounds so much better than my *ONLY* kitchen! Congrats on a wonderful setup.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

I used almost all my flour and white sugar for Christmas baking, so need to re-stock those. 

My freezer has just a little meat in it, so I'd like to stock up on some.

But, it's a good time to try my home canned meats.

I'm almost all out of home-grown potatoes. But what a delight to have had them at all!

There are still a couple pounds of home-grown onions. Again, not much if you have a big garden, but they lasted much longer than I hoped for.

My jar of yeast has gone flat, so I need to get fresh.

Also need to stock up on detergents (laundry and dish), tp, hygenic products.

December was *not* a frugal month. Not complaining...just stating a fact.

I'm so glad I invested in a new pressure canner last year.
This year I hope to get a dehydrator.

stef


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

This must be the month to get organized, seems like a lot of us have been working on it. 

I've been organizing the storage room. Dug out some things that need to be rotated. I found things I forgot I have, somehow they missed getting put on the spreadsheet. I'll be doing inventory this month to be sure everything is dated and counted.


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## michelleIL (Aug 29, 2004)

I think we actually feel like we have time to mess with it.


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## patience (Dec 29, 2005)

Did my major rotation yesterday. Went through my long term larder, did inventory and moved any canned goods that expire this coming year to the kitchen pantry. Made a list of what I'm running low on. Made mental notes of the products we are not eating much of anymore, how our eating habits have changed this past year etc.


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## margo (May 29, 2002)

We bought a hand grain mill in December and took a trip to Amish country to buy wheat berries. Now we have 75 lbs stored.

I am planning to integrate it into our diet a bit at a time, experimenting first with bread baking. Looking forward to the flavor especially.

Later, for long term and as a prep, will add to the stock on hand, as we have several family members who would be here if things get really rocky.

A bit at a time, we are building skills, knowledge, and materials to help maintain comfort and health for whatever is around the bend.
Margo


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

DH and DS got 2 cords of wood cut. I got trash bags, BIGIF, on sale, 6 boxes total for 60 cents each to add to stores. DH is going to find us a burn barrel, so I will begin to burn all trash except cans, and we don't use many of those. That should greatly reduce our trash for the year and then I can add the ashes to the garden. I also got some mayonnaise for $1.50 each. I only bought 4 as they expire in July. I got the rechargeagle batteries, charger, and case to keep them organized in ordered. It should be here next week. I also got the fruit bush and tree, almond tree, and olive tree order ready. I will get the seed order in over the next week or two. The pain stimulator is helping, so I hope to be able to get outside this month and get the raised beds ready for planting and get grass out of the blueberry bush area and the daylilly beds. I plan to do one area each day that I am able by sitting on my garden wagon on a pillow, pulling the grass and weeds, then put down cardboard I scrounge from the bin at the sr center and the fire dept, and then cover this with pine straw. This should help with weeds and grass for next year, I hope. Today is cold, but the sun is shining. I am doing laundry and DH is helping by getting it hung on the line. It is very windy, so I hope they dry today.


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## FrontPorch (Mar 27, 2008)

Fired up the new Vitalmill grain mill I received for Christmas and baked a loaf of bread. I'm pleased as punch with it. I also perused the seed catalogs and I'm making a list. I think I'm going to add more hybrids into the mix and expand this year as I've not had great luck with the heirlooms lately.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

We have made a very large pile of items to inventory and then take to Goodwill. A task I really have been putting off....but it make taxes go SO MUCH smothers!! More clutter on it's way out the door so we can better organize that which we use and want. The goal is to de-clutter far enough that we can build a re-loading room in the back of the "junk magnet room". 

Seed order has been placed and a shipping confirmation has been received, so maybe seeds will be here tomorrow??


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

This month is de-clutter month here also, we are also organizing the homeschool room and re-organizing the pantry and kitchen to take inventory. January is also restock the medicine chest and first aid supplies. We are also organizing our seeds and the new greenhouse and ordering seeds and supplies for that and the garden. I am so loving the seed catalogs this year!


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## Getting There (Mar 11, 2007)

We got a couple of kerosene lanterns for Christmas, so that was fun.

The week after Christmas was quiet at work and I was able to listen to many financial shows on-line (while working!) . Gave me a kick in the pants. DH & I discussed it and we're going to throw everything we can at our van loan and should be able to pay it off by 2011 or shortly thereafter (4 years early). I just hate that loan.

My Christmas baking was minimal & flour was majorly on sale in Dec, I'm happy to see many bags of that in the freezer.

Otherwise, organization is high on my list of goals for this month as well. I made a big dent in the filing cabinet; next I venture into the basement...


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

I forgot to add to my previous post that DH brought home 3 spayed cats that a lady was getting rid of due to her inablility to afford to feed them. He put them in the barn to control the mice. We have seen 2 of them still in there, don't know about the third one. They are real fat, we are giving them just a little feed to keep them around, so they must be catching the mice. I think this is an important prep item for us as we were seeing signs of mice a couple weeks ago.


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## NBC3Mom (May 14, 2005)

Not a lot of activity in this thread...with the cold and snow and following the holidays, prepping has been put on hold for a lot of us I guess. We did do a Costco run -- those big boxes filled up a lot of empty space in the pantry. My resolution for this year is to bake as much as possible from scratch and to pay as much as possible on our mortgage. My husband and I went over all of our bills and worked out a budget. Even made an Excel spreadsheet to track spending each month. Since I pay all of the bills and take care of the accounts, he was a little surprised at how much we do spend each month and how little there is to show for it. Now he wants every penny on the mortgage and in filling the pantry. My daughter-in-law was talking about the people who run to the grocery store as soon as there is snow in the forecast. She said that we could get snowed in for 6 months and not have to worry! I better get busy....need at least enough for another 6 months!


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

As most probably have read, DH is the county animal control officer. Today someone called him to pick up two rabbits. They could no longer afford to feed them. So guess what? He is bringing them home. The lady told him they were both does. If so, we will breed them in spring, if not, we will eat them in the coming weeks.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I did manage to dig my old sewing machine out of the craft room. I had forgotten that it was broken and had thread stuck in a place that I was unable to get to. The thread was keeping it all from working. I managed to fix it two nights ago. I am so happy! I will be able to do some sewing that isn't by hand!


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

January has been a slow month for me due to health issues, but some things are getting done regardless of the speed bumps. We got the back doors installed last month and it has made a huge difference on the insulation of this house. Next up is getting the new front door and storm door installed and that will happen as soon as the frigid weather lets up, hopefully by the end of next week. The completion of this will be the final home project needed for insulation and cutting down on outside airflow. I've got all the paper shredding done and all the tax records are ready to file as soon as W2s arrive. No further food preps were needed but DH has been cooking and freezing his usual turkey dressing and spaghetti sauce. We've also been working on a garden plan and decided to start seeds indoors this year so we can have an early garden, which is something we haven't done in about 20 years. Our plan is to start the garden in March and go through to frost/freeze/winter. We already have our seeds for the next 2 years and potting supplies ready. I'm still finding odds and ends while reorganizing closets into available space for holding what preps we already have. It's still too cluttered to make it easy to use and find preps. I've currently got supplies stored in tote bags that are hanging on hooks that are on both sides of all the interior doors. There's an inventory listing on the outside of each bag that tells the contents of that bag. I can store lots of supplies this way, but I haven't yet become efficient at laying my hands quickly on a needed item. DH and I received 2 Woolrich Civil War wool blankets for Christmas and are very happy we have these in this very cold weather. Due to my health problems, we no longer use the woodstove as our primary heat.


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

I've placed my seed order (this is my second attempt at gardening)

I've been researching how to make my own soap.

Found an online school that teaches about herbalism, and will be driving around to local herb stores to see if any will mentor me.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Taking all those 16Â¢/lb sweet potatoes & dehydrating them in the oven, since the apt. we are in includes the gas appliances utilities free, & it helps to warm the place up.

I peeled and then thin sliced the sweet pototoes, placed them on baking sheets, and used spray canola oil to cover them. Lightly salted, and will see how they turn out.


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## SLD Farm (Dec 19, 2007)

Spent a $50 grocery gift card that I got for Christmas plus more on preps. Filled in holes in the canned goods, added TP and shampoo from the $ Store that I was "low" on. Also picked up some whole chickens at $.79/lb.
Last weekend we cut 4 loads of firewood, bringing us to 6 loads at home. That should about do us for the winter. I love not having to kick on the electric furnace and wood heat is SO much better.
Thankfully we survived the "great white death" (snow) that struck here this week. My small carry out received our delivery of bread on Tuesday and by Weds morning it was all gone. Guess sliced bread is the savior is snow storms. ha!
I too have my seed order made out. 2 catalogs are offering $25 off a $50 order so I will be utilizing each to purchase some fruit fertilizer and a sprouting tray set up, since I don't really need many seeds.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

Today DH got the old sewing machine out, and we got it working. I am going to start making some of my clothes and some of the 10 y/o daughters and some for the new grandbabies. I did fix a pair of his work pants that had gotten ripped in the crotch. He also got the drill and started drilling the gourds to get them ready to hand for martins. We look forward to them eating the misquitos for us. The two new rabbits settled in real nicely. They are very tame and pretty two. We need to check them to see if they are indeed girls as the lady told him they were.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Last week I had an order delivered to replace prep supplies we've used so far this winter. DH worked all afternoon getting these unboxed as I added them onto the inventory list, and then we got everything put into storage. We also pulled the Heat Surge Amish Heater out of storage and are now using it to supplement our furnace. The heater has done an amazing job of keeping the temp up to 76 throughout the house and kept the furnace from kicking in. It's nothing like wood heat but it's a similar warm heat with the blower going. We're keeping the wood stove ready to light in case we lose power, but due to my health problems we probably won't light the stove until we have to. DH also started my car and cleared off the massive ice/snow that had built up on it. He also added antifreeze, oil, and gas treatment. Tomorrow he's going to hook it up to the battery charger and check the tires. I haven't driven since back in the fall and need it for doctor appointments this week.


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

I have been following the prep journals for a long time but rarely had time to contribute. 

Anyways, here goes. This month we are adjusting our budget and getting back on track. Trying to decide if we want to buy a case of organic oranges and grapefruit which we would be able to eat and make into marmalades. I haven't made any jam for over a year but we still have plenty of wild grape and thimble berry jam from two years ago. Marmalade sounds nice and I could make enough for a couple of years....
Been canning black beans, pinto and white bean soup with ham, and today am canning split pea soup with ham. My canner is the smallest presto canner so I can only can 6 quart jars or 7 pints at a time. We do what we can, but eventually I'd like to get another canner so I can twice as much in day. I still have tomatoes and lots of pears in the freezer to process from the summer. 
My buyers club dissolved so we are looking for a new one. I don't have nearly enough grains and beans in storage and I need to find another source. I think we have about two months of food on hand. We keep prepping as well as we can. Our bills got bigger this last year so we have to be creative about how we find the money. We have a litter of rabbits outside growing in to fryers, a few chickens who are still laying, and several goats who are bred for late spring kidding so we will have milk next year. 
We keep trying to learn as much as we can. This forum has been invaluable.


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2010)

Never assume any equipment works simply because it is brand new and has never been used. I have an LP portable shop heater that I cannot get to work that's been sitting on the shelf in my shop new in the box. Never got around to firing it up because I already have so much LP equipment. It was only backup to my backups but it's danged annoying and could have been a problem if I'd needed to loan it to a neighbor who was freezing.

How ever much heating fuel (of any sort) that you have on hand all it takes is one prolonged cold snap for you to want to increase it! 

One thing I discovered over these last two weeks is that I don't have enough cold weather gear of the type that I can get wet. Plenty of coats and gloves, but I need gloves that I can work with water in and not get them soaked through while still keeping my hands warm. I'll rectify that as soon as I can.

.....Alan.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Big Lots run roday:
3 2packs of Tom's toothpaste for $5 ea
4 large 26oz organic crushed tomatoes, $1 ea.
6 8 oz sliced peaches at 20Â¢.

Also stopped at the local free clinic to pick up some forms, they had 9 of the Styrofoam boxes that meds come in, complete with freeze brick packs. I only got 4, by they are great in your vehicle, they will moderate the temp of your canned goods you keep in the car.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

Today I printed about 80 pages of recipes and how-to's that I had saved into my documents on the computer, and I will now get them organized into my binders. Picked up a couple jugs of regular bleach for 99 cents Friday night.


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## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

GRAINS! We bought 100 lbs of milo, 100 lbs of wheat bran, and will be buying 1500 pounds of wheat berries by the end of the month. Also got a lot of canned goods (tons of the #10 cans of chili beans) and 100 lbs of salt. Ordering Mylar bags, oxygen and sealers tomorrow for all that wheat. Not sure where to store it after that. Hubby doesn't want to store it all in 5 gallon buckets...hoping for cheap plastic tubs or 55 gallon drums on the cheap (yeah, right).


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Safeway had some good sales today - I spent $38.81 with several manufacturers coupons/ store ad coupons/ and club card (loss leader) savings of $40.56. That included a cart full of marked down meats, some whole wheat flour, oatmeal, peanut butter, some canned goods, and other items..

Bottled drinking water and flashlight batteries were out of stock, for some reason!!!!

I hit the back alleys of some stores in Eureka that were still cleaning up after the Earthquake on Saturday, and found in dumpsters some lumber (2X4's - 2X6's) plus some partial sheets of 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick plywood and MDF (medium denisity fiberboard) particle board. Just follow the commerical glass repair trucks as they replace the broken store windows..

Then I scored some of the cheaper brand booze (alcohol) in the plastic bottles with ruined lables: I know the owner of that mom and pop store, and we are doing a trade for my obtaining some 1/2 pint and pint sized plastic container barter goods.. They sort of survived one earthquake so far.. Just that the labels and tax stamps are wet, and can't be sold as new....

In return they will get several homemade candles, and some range time firing/ weapons training in the future.. They want to get their CCW license, and I will take them thru the process for our County..


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Took the kids out to the range for the first time. They did very well with the .22's and the 410. After 90 min of shooting (and lots of learning/teaching) in 20 degree weather they came home happy and ready to go back for more.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Spent my night at work Saturday talking with 2 of the other nurses that are big into prepping. We compared websites and suppliers, sources for cheap 55 gal plastic drums, etc, and just had fun. It was a quiet night from about midnight on, so we did a lot of talking. I showed them HT and what was available here on the S&EP site, as well as the other forums on the board. Hopefully, they will be joining us! Talked about finding out if the LDS storehouse nearest us will allow non-members to come in without a member, getting together an order for one of the bulk suppliers, and much more. It was a great night!

Been spending the last few days cutting wood. There is a ton of downed wood on the clearcut next to us, and it's been left to rot now that the trees have been replanted. No sense in letting it go to waste now that I have a stove to feed. Between the downed trees on my place, including a lot of trash trees, and all the wood out there that needs to be harvested (fire hazard at this point), I should be set for a good long time. I just need to get it all cut up and stored in the dry so it doesn't continue to rot away. I'm also clearing my property line in the process, so I can eventually put up a fence along the entire line.

Still rehabbing my sick goat in my utility room - she's getting better, bit by bit, but I'm still not entirely convinced she will survive. Goats are lousy patients - it seems like they *look* for ways to die.  She still can't get up on her own, but once up, wobbles around and stays up. She puts herself into the milkstand (which is on the tarp with the legs folded up so it's only a couple inches to step up onto it), to drink out of her water bucket and is chowing down on all the alfalfa pellets she can eat, plus a bit of grain. I just have my fingers crossed as she is one of the few goats I'd like to keep. The rest of the herd is for sale and we've sold some of them. Still have 7 does to sell, which will leave me with a buck and doe, as long as Maggie recovers.

Been filing papers for my flex spend medical account - it's my money, and I need it! Still need to file about another $300 in expenses - I'll do it next time I work. I'm also filling all the prescriptions that I can for my PRN meds (as needed meds), as well as re-filling all the routine meds a few days early each time. That is building a bigger med stash all the time.

It feels so good to be able to sharpen my saw chains and have them cut well for me - that's a skill I really needed to master, and it is not so hard after you do it a few times.  Still need to work on sharpening knives and other tools - I'm getting better at a lot of them, but it takes practice, especially the knives.

Jen, that reminds me - I need to do some target practice with the .22 - I haven't shot much lately and I'm sure I'm rusty. Need to get dd out to practice, too.


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## FrontPorch (Mar 27, 2008)

Packed away my January order from Emergency Essentials. I only buy what's on sale. This month it was number 10 cans of cheese blend, butter powder, mozzarella cheese, broccoli, brown sugar, yellow cornmeal, freeze dried spinach, chopped onions and sweet corn plus some gamma lids. 

Also working on strength training. The holidays and a bout with the flu has left me feeling puny. Can't have that.


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## TheMrs (Jun 11, 2008)

Still trying to get settled into our new property. DH built me some very sturdy wood shelving for our pantry. I no longer have to worry about the canned good being too heavy for the shelves. I no longer have to go out to the garage to get wheat for baking. All my grain buckets neatly fit on the shelving he built for me. 

I did manage to purchase a 5 gallon bucket of virgin coconut oil and a half a beef though. Currently doing research on chickens as we plan to get some in the spring.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Went to the Dollar Tree after work. I was surprised to see that they had the two-packs of Colgate toothbrushes. I grabbed 6 packs for a total of 12 toothbrushes. I also picked up 8 packs of assorted feminine hygiene products.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

found a sale on peroxide today when I dropped in walgreens for some meds so I got a few more bottles for the medicine chest, ordered some more seed and got some plants started in the green house.


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## Guest (Jan 14, 2010)

Cannery run yesterday. Eight cases of this and that. No idea where I'm going to put it, but it's part of the storage now.

.....Alan.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

I got notice today that my Breadbecker's order should arrive next week. 2 buckets of wheat berries, 1 gallon of virgin olive oil, 1 lb each of dough enhancer, gluten, and lecithin. I planted my small white multiplying onions this week and sold enough to pay for them originally. I also have 20 people so far getting the free gourd seeds. I still will have more to give away. I was given the seeds last year, so I am glad that I can share this year. Dh about has the gourds ready to hang for the arrival of the martin scouts. I can't wait. My dad always had martins. They are really neat birds to watch. Well, that's all the prepping news I have for now. Blessings to all, firegirl


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

This month due to an unusual cold snap in Florida I learned important lessons about keeping warm and also found the holes in my cold weather preps, now I am filling them in. Bought another portable heater and am looking at a bigger propane tank since I do have a small propane heater which I plan to also upgrade.

January is always freezer rotation and inventory month for us. We eat up everything in the main freezer and rotate items from the second freezer (small but comes in handy) so it can be defrosted and filled again as I find bargains.

I found a mark down table at the grocery store filled with after holiday specials on spices, canned pumpkin, sweet potatoes, etc and stocked up. They also had cute holiday kitchen towels for 50 cents each so I bought some of those too and I even dug down deep into the pile of stuff and found two packs of canning lids for 50 cents.

Another store had pork butt for 79 cents a pound so I bought four, canned two, froze two. Whole chickens are 79 cents/lb this week so I did the same can two, freeze two.

Since it was so cold I spent a good deal of time at night by the fire which gave me the chance to shell the last of my pecans, over 10 pounds went into the freezer. I found walnuts and mixed nuts in the shell marked down for $1 a bag, shelled those as well and ended up with 3 lbs of walnuts and 1 pound of mixed nuts.

Tomorrow I am going to Walgreens, my cousin works there and she said they have a good deal of mark down items and she can use her employee discount to get me extra savings on top of the markdown price, YAY!


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

We had four days with temps in the teens. The first night, my gas well froze off. Ooops. I'd been thinking I was glad I wasn't one of the folks that only had one source of heat... my homemade wood stove is plumbed for gas. I got up and drove over to the well in my unheated truck... got the gas back on. 

Driving back, realized I didn't have any wood cut for the stove. It's been years since I needed it. Next day I got the saw out, and it wouldn't start. Bad gas. Made new gas. Plug fouled. Have a spare, but couldn't find it... cleaned the old one. Cut enough firewood for two weeks, from a tree limb that'd fell in the back yard (It's been way too wet to get the tractor back there to pull it off).

Next time I was in Tractor Supply, picked up an extra gallon of 2 cycle oil, and some extra spark plugs.

Debating buying an electric space heater.... problem is, the electricity is what usually goes out first.

Got a 50lb bag of salt, after someone last week asked about it. I have 50lbs in different containers, but now that I've got a steady source of buckets, I'll dedicate one bucket for just bulk salt.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Bought a 800 watt 2 stroke generator from Harbor Freight. It was on sale, and I used the 20% off coupon. Paid about $87 for it.

Will run a fridge during a power outage, and or fans.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

That really tall dead tree across the road from our house is finally sitting cut up in several of the woodpiles around here, including ours. I'm thrilled the tree is gone because it posed a threat to our house if it fell during a storm.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Found a new product at Dollar Tree yesterday - they have a knock off of the Debbie Meyers Green Bags. They're called "stor it" Always Fresh Reusable Bags, and contain 5 medium and 5 large bags. I asked the check out clerk if she'd tried them yet, and she told me that she and her hubby are trying them out right now. So far, she said, the lettuce in them is staying fresh longer than it has in regular bags. I guess I'll be running my own tests on them. For $1 a package, or .10 a bag, I figured it was worth trying. Not a totally prep related item, but if I can keep my fresh produce longer, that's money I can save and use on preps.

I also picked up another splitting maul and single bit ax with fiberglass handles at Big Lots for $20 each, half the price I spent on the last ax, and found the right handle for my splitting maul head at Ace - I have 2 handles to return to Lowe's, since they did not match the head. I also picked up a handle protector for the wood handle on my backup double bit ax. I'm working on backing up my backups for wood handling. During the summer, I'll be looking at garage sales for much better bargains, but for now, I'm biting the bullet and buying what I need new, just to make sure I have what I need. I've also been cutting and splitting more wood as often as I can and am slowly building my woodpile, getting ahead of what we are using.

Found Pillsbury brownie mixes at Winco on sale for 78 cents each, so I bought a couple cases of them. We have enough on hand now to make brownies every other week, and I actually like these as well as my homemade brownies. At that price, it pencils out at a very similar cost to homemade, too.

Been continuing to work on my food inventory, looking at the holes and how I can combine what I have into actual meals, to get a better estimate of how long my pantry stores will last. It gets a little mind-numbing after a while - I need a computer program where I can plug in all my recipes, the amounts of each pantry item on hand, and have it just spit out the calculations and how far the food will go!

Found out dd has been into the BOBs again, meaning I need to restock the food items again. She really likes the little pop-top tuna salad, chicken salad, etc - maybe a little too well. Guess I need to put a cheap lock on the bags so they will be ready when they are needed. Grr.

Making progress on cleaning out the barn and spreading it on the area we are expanding the garden this year. I think by spring, we will be able to plant directly into the bedding spread on the new area. It will give us another 16x70(?)' area to grow in. I'm also expanding the strawberry and raspberry plantings, and hoping that the wild and domestic blueberries will give us a good crop this year. I'm still digging holes and planting out the wild blueberries, and I have measured out where I want to plant the next orchard trees. I am ordering dwarfing root stock for apples and stone fruits this winter, and hope to do some successful grafts onto them. I have access to plenty of scions and have the grafting wax and other supplies, but need the hands-on practice.

Rehabbing my sick goat is going well - she is getting up and down on her own and eating everything in sight. She's still very thin, and is missing a lot of hair, so she won't be able to tolerate winter conditions anytime soon. Hopefully, she will be able to go to the barn in a small enclosure with a heat lamp (carefully protected to prevent fire, of course) soon. I really want my utility room back - not to mention, having my house smell like a house instead of a barn again! 

Been continuing to fill water jugs and bottles with filtered water - going without running water for a week in December has made me a little more vigilant about keeping all available containers filled at all times.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

Yesterday, it rained fiercely all day. So DH and I joined another couple in a day in Savannah. We used a Target card my company gave me last year for Christmas for a new set of Bathroom mats and a new metal "Y" connector for the barn since the plastic one we have froze during the cold weather and is leaking now. We also stopped at the Dollar Tree down there where I found Diabetic socks without seams for $1 a pair. We got me 8 pairs and DH got 2 pairs of new sunglasses and I got 1. We went to the big flea market down there where I found 2 wide-mouth jars and 1 regular jar, all quarts with rings, for 50 cents each. We also bought a ceramic jar water dispenser with chicken designs on it for $5. I had one from Lehman's many years ago when I was married the first time and it did keep the water cooler. I forgot to post a couple weeks ago that DH and I went by a CVS and stopped and picked up 2 packages of 10 pairs of socks for $3.99 each. Now, we should have plenty of socks to last for many years.

ETA: A fellow neighbor and firefighter had previously asked us if we would take some chickens his sister had that wanted to get rid of and we said sure. He came by this afternoon and wanted us to go and get them so we did. We ended up with 13. 11 nice, young hens and 2 roosters. 12 of them look like buff orpingtons, but are a little smaller and 1 is a white rooster who will be chicken and dumplings in the near future. We brought them home and clipped their wings and fed them and they seem very happy. That gives us more than 30 hens now. DH already has people asking to buy eggs, so hopefully they start back laying real soon. We hope to sell enough eggs to pay for our feed costs for the year.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

Today was the first nice, sunny, upper 60's day we have had in many weeks. DH and I worked outside pulling grass from around several of the rose bushes and one cherry tree. We put cardboard box parts, newspaper, and pinestraw around them to keep down on the grass problems. We will do the rest of the fruit trees, grape vines, and blueberry plants in the coming weeks. We also put the new mailbox we recieved as a Christmas present up today along with address numbers on the post. The mailbox is painted like our farm with chickens, the barn, and the hay pastures. The freman that gave us the chickens yesterday came back today with 4 dozen quart canning jars. They were filled with green beans, potatoes, and squash from 1997, but the pig really is enjoying them. It seems as though heaven continues to rain blessings of prep items on us. We are truly blessed here on the little chicken ranch.


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## tyusclan (Jan 1, 2005)

Firegirl,
What a HUGE blessing!!!!
tyusclan momma


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

We had a windstorm Sunday night that took down a lot of trees and left me with some leaners. The wind also came more from the east instead of the south, like we usually get. It is not fun to be watching 80' tall trees bending toward your house! 

My neighbors cleaned up the 2 trees that fell across the road, and I cleaned up all the limbs and brought them home for goat feed. In talking with my next door neighbor yesterday, he offered to take down the leaners and the trees across the parking area from my house, and any other trees I'd like felled. AND he offered to bring his logsplitter along to split them all for me! Yay, hurray! I was worried about falling some of the big trees - didn't want to risk dropping them the wrong way and either taking out my house or blocking the road. I'm not really very experienced with felling trees - I've done it a few times, with generally good outcomes, but I'd really rather let someone with more experience do these. As much as I like having the trees to the east of the house (keeps it cooler here on summer mornings), it's time to take out some of the taller ones for safety. We've had multiple "wind events" already this winter, and I'm afraid it's just a matter of time before a freak wind takes a tree down on the house (or the chicken house, the horse trailer, the extra truck that isn't running so I can't move it, etc....

So, I should be well set for firewood for the next few years after we finish with the log splitter. In the meantime, I am learning how to maintain the chainsaw - had trouble keeping it running yesterday, so I went on line and researched it - I think it's either a clogged fuel filter or bad gas. The Husqvarna 445's are supposed to be really picky about fresh gas and mine is about 3 months old or more (yes, I should have Sta-bil'd it as soon as I bought it). Note to self, remember to pick up spare filters, both air and gas, and another chain for it on my next trip to town.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Last night, I added another 20 pack of toilet paper, a couple of big bottles of store brand Listerine for 99cent each, some over the counter meds which were free with a coupon, 2 boxes of teabags and 10 pounds of salmon.


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

Today I picked up 2 24-roll packs of toilet paper, among other things. What I found odd at the store was that 12-roll packs were "on sale" for $4.88 & just across the aisle 24-roll packs were on sale for $4.99. For just 11 cents 1 got another 12 rolls. But people were buying the 12-roll packs! :shrug:


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

I did an online Walgreens sale and that arrived yesterday. They have an automatic free shipping with any order $50 or more, so I bought on sale items and quickly got to the $50 limit. I still ended up with a lot of small items that filled in some missing gaps in the preps. I'm very happy with what I got and may do this deal again when they change their sale items online. They have really good snacks and candy too. They had 6 to 8 oz boxes of dried fruit on sale for a dollar. I got pineapple, cranberries, apricots and dates.


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## NCLee (Aug 4, 2009)

firegirl969 said:


> Today I printed about 80 pages of recipes and how-to's that I had saved into my documents on the computer, and I will now get them organized into my binders.


That's been my main project for the last few days, too. Have a big stack already in sheet protectors to go in binders. Have a few more files that I want to add more info to them, before printing. Being on dial-up can make research a slow project. 

This month I've also stored away 25 lbs of rice, 50 lbs of popcorn, bunches of blackeye peas (can't remember the number of lb bags I bought while they were on sale). Canned up a bunch of whole chickens that were on sale for $.59/lb. Hope that sale repeats soon. 

Need to clean out a hall closet and turn it into a pantry. I'm running out of room to store "good" stuff. 

Lee


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## cowboy joe (Sep 14, 2003)

Varmit got into the chicken coop and wiped out all but two of the hens. Quail must have heard about this as two of the roos and a hen dropped dead for no apparent reason. That leaves me roo challenged with only one quail roo (and one runt not worth breeding) and none to service the chickens. Luckily had a new set of quail eggs headed for the incubator anyway. Fingers crossed all goes well and knocking on wood that there are no power outages.

Aside from that, spending more time under the jeep than in it. Muffler, starter already replaced now one of the front bearings or u-joints is starting to complain. Snapped the emergency brake cable the other day too. Wondering out loud why these things never happen in the summer instead of when it's cold and snowing.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Another grocery run last night... We added 12 boxes of pasta, 3 boxes of rice-a-roni. 5 boxes of cereal, 3 boxes of fresh mushrooms for dehydrating, 3 tubes of toothpaste with an attached free travel size tube, 2 bottles of shower gel, 2 bottles of hot sauce & 2 boxes of oatmeal. I also spent some time counting up the number of meals that we have available. I wanted to be sure not to rely on the stuff in the freezer, so I only counted the things stored on shelves. The total was pretty close to 4 months of stock. If I include the freezer then we have closer to 5 months stored. My goal is to get to a one year supply.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

Today I hit grocery sales in town when I picked up DD from school. I got 8 jars of Ragu for $1.38 a large jar, 8 bottles of dawn dish detergent for $1 each, 4 cans of bathroom freshener spray for $1 each, and 3 pkgs of 40 throw-away plates for camping or power outages for $1 each. This replaces the ragu and dawn we have used since last year's stocking up. Glad to see these great prices to stock back up.


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## Junkman (Dec 17, 2005)

Reached for the baking soda and found I was almost out! So I added it to my store list and got several boxes for 2/$1.00. We use it for everything from brushing teeth to unclogging drains. Bought a gallon of vinegar for the coming canning season. Bought more TP. Can't imagine life without it! Jklady


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

A sunny day in the 60's so Pa went out to check the bees. Knew he had a couple of colonies that weren't that strong so ended up feeding them. 9 colonies make him a nice sum of money; he was sold out before Thanksgiving except for my 5 gal. pail for cooking. 

Then we took a walk thru the orchard and decided which trees would benefit from pruning. Didn't see any animal damage. The Lodi was dead from fire blight so it will come down. We planted a dozen new varieties of peach,plum and apple last fall. Acquired a good watchdog who will, hopefully, keep the deer out this year

Lost our Jersey cow...got on the ice of the pond and couldn't get out. Neighbor helped pull her out and carried her in his loader to the barn. Injuried her back legs; nothing apparently broken so we fed and watered her for a week. Trying to get up but no luck so we had to put her down. Have her 6 mos.old heifer calf but lost her unborn calf,too. Husband still kicking himself for letting her out when we were gone away for the day. No telling how long she was down. Life on the farm isn't all roses......DEE


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I got a hand crank bread bucket yesterday at an estate sale. I already had dough rising, so I didnt try it out yet


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

DH and tried out our steam juicer that I got for Christmas. We also found recipes online for blueberry syrup and jelly, so we tried both for the first time. It will be beneficial for the future in that we can now make our own fruit syrups, that will add some flavor to whatever dull meals we could one day be eating. It will give variety!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Bought 2 comforters at Goodwill today for .99 each, along with a "dining canopy", new in the box. Then I stopped at Winco for fruit and dairy, and found double packs of Hamburger Helper for .98. That's less than half the normal price. I know not everyone thinks Hamburger Helper is "real food", but we like it, and it hasn't killed us yet, lol. I bought a couple cases of 18 each, equal to 36 boxes per case or 72 boxes total. With powdered milk or fresh goat's milk, and small amounts of ground meat or TVP, that's enough to give the 2 of us at least 2 meals per week. Don't know if I'd want to eat it that often, and with a good variety of other food on hand, I probably wouldn't have to, but it's nice to know we have that much on hand. I also added another case of Top Ramen (I think my dd would live on that stuff if I let her).  Also bought 8 boxes of dry cereal and 4 pounds of Colby Jack cheese, along with salad vegies, and fruit to test the new "Green Bags".

Also bought 500# of alfalfa pellets at the feed store. More expensive than grass hay, but no waste and easy to store.

Joe, sorry to hear about your poultry losses and Jeep problems, and Dee, so sorry about your cow. That is a big blow...


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## jeff1981 (Dec 31, 2008)

January has been the first month I've really prepped in any meaningful way. Having recently moved, there's been a lot of stuff going to the dump, and it was an eye opener! I had a lot of stuff, but very little that would have been useful in the event of a disaster. With that in mind I've begun prepping with a vengeance (insofar as finances have allowed)

Presently I have the following inventoried:

Food
-enough canned and dry food for 60 days
-enough meat for 30 days
-enough fresh vegetables and cheese for 15 days
-20 gallons of fresh water on hand at all times

Heat
-we burn coal, and have plenty
-a kerosene heater and 20 gallons of fuel 

Survival/Defense/Hunting
-.22 bolt action rifle
- 9mm pistol
-12ga shotgun
-Backpack with hunting gear in it
---2 sharp hunting knives
---KaBar USMC fighting/survival knife
---Various scents, attractants, etc for hunting
---Assorted ammunition, enough for several days hunting
---Maps of the local area, to about 300 miles from here
---A number of food bars, and 2 canteens for water
-I also have an ammunition stock for each of my guns


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## CottageLife (Jul 20, 2009)

New Year, and I've accomplished only a little so far this year. Organized some of what I have, handed out a few items that I had to much of in the home to relatives who will see it isn't wasted, and am working on the budget. 

So much to get done, and yet I sit here on the pc! Maybe this weekend I'll get more accomplished.


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## Hobbes (Apr 1, 2008)

Finally got my 12" Lodge Dutch oven and a good recipe cookbook to go with it. Also picked up a blastmatch, too.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

Day before yesterday, DH and I sent a deposit on a closed-in Amish buggy with lights, windshield, and wipers. Looks brand new, the gent said it has been used 15 times only. He doesn't have time for it like he thought he would. We picked it up for $1000. We are using our tax return. I also traded for an Amish-trained Standardbred yesterday. She is 9 y/o, 14.2 hands high, trained to drive/ride. Her name is Quennie. I can't wait to get her. I already love her just from hearing so much about her. The lady is going through a bad divorce and she and hubby have to sell everything, so she is letting me have the horse for $100 just because I can provide her a good home. (DH is county animal control officer.) DH decided to get these because I can not ride the horses due to my disabilities, so this way, he and I can enjoy riding with the kids. Also, we can put the grandbabies that are arriving this spring into the buggy and ride them with us. We are planning ahead for alternative transportation. We can be to town in about an hour and 15 minutes. We are getting a good chunk of change from the IRS due to this being our last year we can claim all the kids. We are planning to spend all of it on preps. We will get the buggy, horse, build the shelter onto the barn, finish blocking up the root cellar, get the solar batteries, and put new tires on the truck. The only other goals we have this year are to get a pump for the fuel tank we have and put gas in it, so that in the event of an emergency, we will have gas for the truck and gas for the tractor. We also hope to acquire a couple of young heifers so that we can raise our own steer each year and sell a couple of calves to pay the land taxes. BIL keeps his bull here about 4 months a year, so they will be bred naturally. I hope to get a milk cow or dairy goats also. The great thing is that with the tax refund on the way, we are able to get many of our goals accomplished sooner, rather than later, and we know where that money is spent.

ETA: We can't pick up the buggy and horse this weekend due to the snow and ice heading into TN. That is were both are located, and DH said we are not experienced enough driving on ice to take off 400 miles in the ice, so we will wait till the weather turns around.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Nice buy, firegirl! The horse and buggy sound like they will be perfect for you and your family!


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

Yea, I am excited to get to do family things besides camping. I searched and searched for the horse and buggy and these two deals came along, so I believe that it was meant to be for us. Great thing is it came along at the same time as the tax refund.


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## TheMrs (Jun 11, 2008)

Ok, I know some may think this silly and not prep-worthy, but I've been reading "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the kids. My 3yo DD is especially enjoying it and I'm learning really interesting things. I love how she explains in detail how Pa made a smoker and how Ma churned butter. 

I remember in a previous thread, people were discussing the different kinds of preppers: those that simply stockpile and those that learn things. For a while now, DH and I have only been the stockpiling kind of prepper, but now we're venturing into the other variety. Now that we have our homestead, learning new things has become more of a priority.


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## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

I traveled to another town to check out stores that we dont have locally and to pick up stuff at an Army-Navy surplus store. I ran into a Target not expecting too much really-- it seems too trendy. What I found was a section in the back of the store that seemed to cater to preppers/bulk buyers..hmmm, I was excited. There were multi-packs of paper goods/ fem products/and things I've decided to add to the 72 hr bags I've been stocking for each car. My 19 yr old son-who comes off as Mr Cool, was with me. He was paying attention and "getting it". He makes me proud as he's now Mr. Thrifty by shopping at second hand- and overstock-discount dept stores for his stuff. He finds his hip stuff on the cheap. My other 19 yr old son is learning and seeing why frugality is so smart also. Neither boy is above turning in coins for gas money or skipping combo meals for a baked potato and a water to save money and still put something in the belly while out and about. I taught them to not follow the "herd" mentality of pop culture..and it's working!


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I went to Target last night to buy a set of sheets (yes for preps) on sale. After I picked them up I started looking thru sales items and found a light weight quilt for $9 + change so added that to my preps too. My boss gave me a Target gift certificate for Christmas and my mother gave me $100 so I've been using those $'s for preps. This year for linens. I've purchased towels and wash cloths and the sheets & quilt so far.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

In the past, I have obtained some great stuff from Target. About a year ago, I got the crank-style,LED lantern with a radio and cell phone charger. I also got a battery operated pump, which I thought could be used to transfer fluids, etc... They even sell a small wind turbine at target for around $500!


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