Friday, July 15, 2011

USING YOUR FOOD STORAGE FROM USU EXTENSION

If you've ever been to the USU Extension food storage classes, you know they are wonderful! Lots of fun recipes, good information on storing your staples, and taste testing! If not, I have the next best thing. We have been trying to find an easy way to get their handouts to you, and we found the link online, yay! Because these were developed using public funds, they are free to the public, so download, print, and enjoy! (Includes wheat, rice, milk, beans, oatmeal, and homemade bread)

http://extension.usu.edu/cache/files/uploads/Cooking%20with%20Food%20Storage%20Ingredients%206-07.pdf

Monday, July 4, 2011

JULY PREPAREDNESS CHALLENGE

Happy summer! It's here and I'm really enjoying it. The living is easy...or at least, it's supposed to be, but we've found ourselves running around too crazy for easy living. So this month we are hoping to slow down a little and maybe enjoy some (lazy!) summer days.

Having said that, I still feel very compelled to keep a steady effort with my preparedness. I have been doing a lot of pondering and praying about it lately. I feel I have some new direction in the form of several categories that I need to focus on. I will list them at the end of this post if you are interested. Here are my goals for this month:

1) Stash of cash. I'll be getting my monthly preparedness budget out in cash, in smaller bills, to put aside somewhere very accessible. I have heard from several people in emergency situations that cash on hand is super important; doesn't help to have all your money tied up in the bank if you can't use your debit card, if the power is down, if banks are closed, etc.

2) Plug away at the garden. Confession: my garden is an absolute mess. Always. Every year the weeds get away from me and I finally just throw in the towel. This year I have found a way to co-exist with them. They get to live in between the rows but the actual rows of plants are MINE. It's the only way I'm going to keep my sanity. And, you know what? Vegetables can still grow and produce well in a weedy garden! I'm resigning myself to this situation until I have the money to build garden boxes...maybe next year.

Here are the categories I am working on. You can see I am working on a different one each month, I am planned through January. I have gotten some good ideas (inspiration) about what to have for each category. I am confident they will continue to come as I try to be consistent.
  • HEAT
  • LIGHT
  • COMMUNICATION
  • CLOTHING/BLANKETS
  • FUEL/POWER
  • BABY NEEDS (August)
  • GARDENING SUPPLIES (Sept)
  • CASH (July
  • HYGIENE
  • SPIRITUAL/MENTAL PREPARATION (Always!)
  • LONG TERM FOOD STORAGE
  • SHORT TERM FOOD STORAGE (Nov)
  • EXTRA COOKING SUPPLIES/PAPERWARE (Dec)
  • WATER
  • ANIMAL NEEDS
  • MEDICINE (Oct)
  • EMERGENCY DOCUMENTS (Jan)
  • 72 HOUR KITS