First an update: My daughter and family have decided to stick it out in Florida for the time being. I wish them well and hope it works but we always have here as a plan B. Thank you so much for all of the good thoughts and ideas. I sent her a big box of meat and I’m on the lookout for cloth diapers. I also sent her a book on growing food in small spaces.
I need to go shopping. Not for gifts but for some of “gotta have it” preps that have been getting used up. Here’s the list.
wooden matches, steel wool, flashlights (the cheap ones have not held up), batteries, soap (laundry and dish), razors, OTC medications, toothpaste, shampoo, sanitary supplies, vitamins and socks
I need some food items as well
mustard, mayonnaise, taco sauce, salsa (I forgot to make any this year!!!), peanut butter, cinnamon, pasta, pineapple, dried cranberries, raisins, juice
It is always a surprise how quickly I go through some things. I use a lot of spices and cinnamon goes especially fast. I don’t think you have too much pasta or peanut butter. I lost a lot of my canned pineapple and I need to replace that as it’s one of the only commercially canned fruits my kids will eat. I’m sure this list will get a lot longer as I check my pantry today.
I have not mentioned my new pantry much. I repurposed a very small bedroom to be my food storage room. It isn’t big enough to hold everything but it did make a big difference. I now have an actual bedroom for my son and DIL. Up until now, they have had to share a room with all of the six gallon buckets, toiletries and the things like pasta that can not be stored in the basement. I covet some of those shelf-reliant shelves that feed from the back. Of course I will never purchase them but I have put them on DH’s “to do” list.
We have had a major rain event here. My basement has standing water in it. That rarely happens and makes me really glad that is Bruce built raised platforms for everything from the freezer to his power tools. More and more, the need for another building is apparent. I realize that we are not good at making big decisions like this. We are very aware that we have to stretch our resources and would rather be slow than sorry.
December 13, 2010 at 9:54 am
Wet in the basement here too!
I find the road to expansion (new buildings, build outs etc) moves very slowly around here too! Money, choices and time get in the way.
December 13, 2010 at 9:58 am
I don’t comment very often, but I read your blog religiously and always get something out of it. My comment is about vinegar. I purchase my vinegar at
my Costco which sells two gallons of distilled white vinegar for $3 and change. I buy around 8 gallons a month, and more in canning season. I use it for cleaning just about everything from windows to my dishwasher, in my washer as a fabric softener, for setting dyes when my partner tie-dyes, and as I said during canning season. It comes in these great heavy plastic bottles that I reuse to store water. I even use the boxes the vinegar comes in for storing and toting things. They have handy slots on the sides for carrying. Vinegar has so many uses, it is quite amazing. And very cheap–even if you don’t have a Costco near by. My feeling is you can’t store too much.
Thank you so much for making me feel connected to the kind of life I am working toward living. I am 67, so it may seem sort of a waste of effort to some, but not to me. What little I have built may help someone and in turn they help someone else. Baby steps. I am taking them so I can help others in some small way. We seem to have forgotten that civilizations pass knowledge from the old to the young in most cases and I want to be part of that process. Besides, no point in getting old before your time if you can help it. What’s that saying: “ninety percent of anything is just showing up.” I firmly believe that.
December 13, 2010 at 10:29 am
We wish your daughter all the best and hope it works out for their family. In Minnesota we are in the midst of the aftermath of a major snow storm amounting to blizzard conditions in some places. Schools are closed today because the snowplows couldn’t get through to the side streets. There is a weather advisory which means that it is below zero and the wind chill is around minus 21F! I have used the time to make lists too – everyone needs thermal underwear for example, to shovel the drifts and not freeze. Also additional gloves, mittens etc. I ran out of rice! Somehow thought I had an extra five pound bag. I will make lists and will shop for additional supplies. Weekends like this one are a good time to do inventory.
Sorry to hear about your wet basement. Good you were smart enough to take precautions.
December 13, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Yikes, sorry to hear about your standing water!
Wouldn’t it be truly weird one day to wake up to empty store shelves and nothing to buy? I mean really, we all prep and store stuff, but what if what we had was IT? Forever?
December 13, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Living in Florida, now in just an HOA neighborhood, but formerly in a gated community, I know how hard it can be to have a garden. Our solution was containers.
Be sure to have your daughter check the local County Extension Service – I’ve found them to be very good with ideas and especially, specific named crops for containers. There is even a cherry tomato, Micro Tom, that only grows 8 inches high and is prolific – 5 plants in a 12″ diameter pot gives you more than enough.
December 13, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Thanks for telling us about your daughter and her family. It helps to know what other people have as problems these days and what they are doing to solve them.
As a boardmember of our small HOA and having herbs and lettuces in containers under my front window, I can tell you that containers are a good way to grow edible plants. I did something similar last year.
There are probably some garden crops that would look wierd in landscaping but I’ve seen a lot that look just fine.
Keep warm you all back in the cold Midwest and East, peace, shamba
December 14, 2010 at 6:51 pm
Hi Kathy,
I have read your blog for quite a while and have not only learned a lot but have thoroughly enjoyed your writing! I live in South Fl where my daughter, her husband and my husband, have been working on our-very small- backyard garden for over a year now-with some fun and rewarding results as well as frustrations (trying to control the unwanted critters without pesticides etc)while at the same time, enjoying experimenting with such things as companion planting, composting and being enthralled by the beauty and simplicity of lady bugs and butterflies!
My husband I are parents of six (five of whom are married)and I totally understand your love for family and the desire to help them. We have had different ones come home for periods of time for different reasons and always love it when they are here and it’s always hard when they are not! The times we live in makes us want to have them all nearby and we are continually trying to prepare for tough, unexpected times while encouraging them to do the same. Living in S Fl has taught us the necessity of being prepared!
I would love to be able to connect with you and possibly help/encourage your daughter and son in law if they live nearby. Feel free to e-mail me anytime.
Thanks for the time you invest in your blog-believe me, it is well appreciated:)