Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Christmas Gift Idea No. 4 - Food Storage - Meals in a Jar! (or a Bag)

0 comments Posted by Mom, Prepared at 6:31 AM

Ok, so I'm back to food storage!

So, so many of our friends & family are simply not yet ready to start working on their own preparedness... or, sadly, even see a need for it. Our gentlest urgings toward doing something as small as buying a bag of beans & rice can easily be met with a cold shoulder... amirite?

I know this has been the case for me. I am one to care more about getting my loved ones prepared, than whether or not I'm bugging them (shocker!).. and believe me: If I had the money, I'd buy everyone a case of freeze dried food for Christmas! :D

But, I don't have that kind of money. Few of us do.

Despite this, there is still a way that we can add to others' food storage in a sneaky (or maybe, not-so-sneaky) way:




Meals in a Jar (or a Bag)

Probably, most of us have seen or received some version of this, or other, over the course of our lifetime. Often, people will make these delightful gifts with some 'sweet' recipe - cookies, cake, brownies, what-have-ya.

But you may or may not have seen regular ol' meals in them. I hadn't until a couple of years ago!

This is a brilliant (and way cute!) way to make sure others have SOMETHING in their 'storage'. Some may know, right off, that this is your agenda ;-) which may or may not matter to you. But a lotta folks won't. Especially if you're already the type to give handmade gifts, anyway.




A Beautiful Gift; A Hearty Meal


These can also be stored (and given!) in mylar bags, prettied up in similar fashion, altho, if you don't already have the bags & such, it might not be as economical to do it that way. Indeed, you'd have to invest in the jars, too, if you don't already have those. But canning jars are pretty easy to find this time of year, generally. You can often find them at Walmart, even.

Now, if you have the time or inclination, you are likely to find various recipes for these 'jarrable' types of meals online. Even allrecipes.com has a small selection of these types of soups/stews.

Or you could buy a book or two, filled with several recipes. This was my route of choice, because I wanted to have options. Amazon has several great books on this.. just be sure to read the reviews before you purchase. :D

Here's a little recipe to either getcha started, or get your creative juices flowin'. I found this recipe at http://mawhats4dinner.com/

She actually has a blog here that looks pretty neat, so I think I'm going to check it out further, myself. But anyway, it's at her website that I found the following recipe.




I thought of copying and pasting the recipe for you into this post, but its worth it if you just click the link. She's added pics of the whole process for you, which is neat. Besides, you might find yourself traipsing around her site, and find a new recipe you love! I can't wait to do that, myself!


Merry Christmas and Happy Full Tummies!





 


 

Monday, November 28, 2011

Christmas Gift Idea No. 3 - Sanitation Prep - Mobile Washer (Hand Operated Washing Machine)

0 comments Posted by Mom, Prepared at 6:53 AM



(Disclaimer: You'll soon see that Emergency Essentials is one of my favorite 'go-to' resources for all things preparedness. No, I don't work for the company, and I'm not being re-imbursed by them. I just really like 'em a lot.)

Ok, fellow Moms... you KNOW you need this.

Now, I agree, I agree completely: This is not a 'fun' Christmas gift to receive, or to use ;-) But, we are Moms, and Moms seeking to be Prepared, and as such... yeah. We need a way to wash our family's clothes.

Now, there are plenty of powerless clothes-washing options for you to choose from out there, but all of them that I have seen WILL require some degree of work on your part. (Sigh.. yes. I know. I love my washing machine, too).

I've looked at the options over the last few months, but I might ask for this one for Christmas. Normally $14.95, it's on sale thru November for $12.99.

And the reviews on this item are pretty awesome! (.. and I like awesome reviews!)

This item *will* require the use of a bucket (5 gal., for example), but can also be used in a tub or a sink. You'd also use this to thoroughly rinse the clothes, after your 'wash cycle' - simply dump your wash water and replace with clean water to rinse.

An extremely affordable option for clothes washing.







 

Friday, November 25, 2011

I'm a little late, but... Just... Happy Tanksgiving!

0 comments Posted by Mom, Prepared at 10:32 AM



I'm sorry it's late, but like the rest of you "Moms, Prepared", I was busy preparing our Thanksgiving meal. I know the day can be harried for us, but I sure hope we all were able to find several moments to reflect on all the many blessings we are thankful for... and be assured, those can be found in the leanest of circumstances. My personal Facebook status mentions that I, myself, am thankful for just about every little thing in my life... that, tho 'everything' is not 'perfect', I have all of God's very best blessings. I hope you were able to peer past any stresses (because the holiday can surely bring those along, at times), and into all the goodness that your life is filled with!

On the funny side, I MUST post this video. Please humor me, because I find Madea funny as all get out! If you'd like to pass on this, please feel free to do so, but it just makes me burst into giggles just to listen to 'her'. :)

So, here's wishing you (better late than never, I suppose) a "Happy Tanksgivin!"

 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Christmas Gift Idea No. 2 - Emergency Prep - 3-Day Emergency Kit

0 comments Posted by Mom, Prepared at 11:50 AM

Bug-Out Bags. Go Bags. Get The Heck Outta Dodge Bags. Or, whatever else ya might happen to fancy callin' 'em...




3 Day Emergency Kit





Disclaimer: You'll soon see that Emergency Essentials is one of my favorite 'go-to' resources for all things preparedness. No, I don't work for the company, and I'm not being re-imbursed by them. I just really like 'em a lot.

One way that this "Mom, Prepared" has (sheepishly) not become prepared yet is our 'Go Bags', also known as "Bug-Out Bags". My bestie, one of my kindred spirits, & fellow "Mom, Prepared" is Counter Culture Mama.

She & her husband, in all their awesomeness, already have one giant bag (it's, like, 6 feet long?) of supplies, AND individual bags for themselves & each of their 3 children. I should probably enlist her aid in this, just so I can get it done... even if that aid is only in stayin' on my fanny to get it done :)

In addition to needing to compile those, I also need something that my husband can keep in his truck. His job requires him to be out and about in a very large city, every day, and its always in the back of my mind: "If something major were to happen, and he couldn't get home with the truck, how will he get home to us?" I brazenly admit, I dislike the thought of this very much. But, if it ever is a necessity, we are unprepared for him to have to hoof it home.

Enter the 3 Day Emergency Kit.
Price - $54.95 (they have bigger and smaller kits, also)

This kit has a lotta stuff in it. Their description reads:

"The 3-day emergency kit is a compact emergency kit with a daypack that includes basic emergency items for three days, providing items for shelter, water, food, first aid, warmth, light, communication, and more. The food, water, and other items in this 3-day emergency kit store well in a range of normal temperatures, making it a great automobile kit. The 3-day emergency kit is a great way to start preparing each person of a family, office, school, or workplace unit."

There are some things that I would add to it, like hand sanitizer. The larger kits contain these, but I have that in my stores, so that's an easy addition. But this kit has many of  the essentials that would be required for a 3 day trek home (or a 3 day trek somewhere).

I am seriously considering getting my husband one of these for Christmas. Maybe I should buy each of us one, and say Santa is a prepper, too ;-)

 

Friday, November 18, 2011

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" Author, Robert Kiyosaki: I'm Preparing for Economic Collapse, Stocking Up On Food, Guns, Precious Metals

0 comments Posted by Mom, Prepared at 7:10 AM


Robert Kiyosaki, Author
Rich Dad, Poor Dad


As I try to share with others about the absolute NEED to insure ourselves in the event of economic collapse, I have found that many, many people just WON'T listen. They are dancing away at the ball, gorging themselves on 'Eat, Drink & Be Merry' - on smart phones and smart pads and smart everything else new and thrilling that hits the market. All the while, being decidedly NOT smart about the future, and what it appears, more and more each day, that future may hold.

I am no financial genius. I can't analyze the markets. I can understand a lot more financial stuff than I can then turn around and explain to another. Fortunately, I don't need to understand, or explain, it all. There are plenty of folks a lot smarter than I am who understand financial stuff, so I prefer to let them do the talking.

And this is the best thing for me to do, when speaking with someone who 'needs' more proof - send them to those who can explain it a whole lot better than I can. It never hurts when 'those' have credentials that I lack - credentials that a lot of people aren't so likely to dismiss.

Lest you think I diss technology as a whole and as a matter of course, do know that one of my favorite things is the internet. It is such a helpful tool, & in ways multitudinal. I love that when my little asks a question that I don't know the answer to, I can go find it as soon as I get a minute on the computer. Who sang that song? Google it!

Additionally, I have found it an immensely helpful tool on my journey of preparedness. Not only for learning what I need, why I need it, and how to do it - I also find it helpful to seek out articles and videos of those people smarter than I am to explain just WHY this is something that we ALL need to be doing.

Below is a video of the 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' guy - Robert Kiyosaki. Smart, smart man.
And I dunno 'bout you... but I definitely wanna do what he's doin'.

 

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Remember! You CAN Build Your Stockpile Using Coupons!

0 comments Posted by Mom, Prepared at 7:40 AM

Another fine example of how to use coupons to cushion the blow of building your stockpile.

This shopping trip also illustrates how, because you've used coupons, you can now afford items that you may lack a coupon for. In this example, it would be a box of pop tarts (which we usually don't buy without coupons), but was a special request by our dear daughter.

The other item shown that we rarely find coupons for is the milk.Yes, you are seeing organic milk. No, we aren't 'those' kinda people... our food stores, and sometimes, our meals, often feature at least one processed food. But we *do* try to eat/drink better when and where we can. But on milk, we simply do not compromise. I won't use this post to champion why; the info is available out there, if you're inclined to seek it out.

But aside from the 'it's-better-for-you!' -- friends, it just plain TASTES better. The first time I had it, I was FLOODED with memories of being a child and having milk then. It's been so altered over the years, we have forgotten what milk is supposed to taste like.

At any rate, this milk is much pricier. And, we couldn't afford to drink better milk.. and so we didn't. But once we started couponing, the savings we earned freed up the funds to go ahead and buy that expensive (and so much better for you) milk. Just one of the wonderful benefits of couponing!    :)



NO coupons: (1) half-gallon of Organic Milk & (1) box of Pop Tarts

Coupons:
(7) Maxwell House Coffee
(2) Emerald Trail Mix
(16) cans of Campbell's Soup, mostly 'Cream-Of-s', but a couple of Tomato
(8) cans of Progressive Soup (these are hearty, folks!)
(8) boxes of Progessive Chicken Broth

SPENT:
$48.38

SAVED:
$55.11

Woohoo!! Over half!!

 

What Couponing Can Do For Your Stockpile

0 comments Posted by Mom, Prepared at 7:16 AM

As promised, I'm going to be posting some pics from individual shopping trips, just to give you an idea of just how much bang you can get for your buck, when you use coupons to assist in building and maintaining your stores.

We like to shop at Publix. Publix is not known for it's low prices; however, they will do instore specials regularly, which will often bring a 'too much' price down to reasonable or better range, and when you couple that with manufacturer's coupons, the savings add up. Add further still Publix coupons, and yay! Add in competitor's coupons, if you have them, and, CHA-CHING.

But, I digress... apologies.

Here, there wasn't a big CHA-CHING - just reasonable savings. This trip, we spent $62.95. Not a small amount, no. But our savings were $57.18.

Almost half, friends. That's significant to me.

Note, tho: Not pictured, and sans a coupon, was a $5.49 24pk of bottled water.





A fine example of how to stretch your dollar, period... but certainly to build your family's prep stores.

 

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