This past couple of weeks we geared up for a trial run “just in case”…and found some areas we needed to shore up.
After my first husband passed, a friend who quilts, took all of his dress shirts and made me a beautiful biscuit quilt and then two small throw quilts. When MrWE2 and I took our 11 day Thanksgiving trip to the Texas coast and back, we seldom used the furnace in the travel trailer, just wore our insulated underwear and climbed under a thermal blanket with the quilt on top and was warm as toast!
My sis also made us a beautiful “wedding” quilt with pillow shams…no stuffing, just stitched in various patterns. Thin but very heavy :-) You can also crochet/knit blankets and place them between a fleece blanket etc., and they are extremely warming.
Finished getting blankets and fleece throws washed up last night & folded. Wanted to have them ready if we need them to keep warmer than what we are. May need to turn down the temp if heating bills get too high with a colder winter being forecast :-)
Also noticed we could use more vinegar so I need to pick up more (I buy the small bottles because once it’s opened it may lose some of its strength.
Also noticed with all this gearing up, that we could use more liquid bleach. I have some of the bleach tablets stored but want more of the liquid. For the liquid I also buy the smaller jugs of the concentrated strength Clorox for storage. The liquid has a shorter shelf life and perhaps the smaller jugs of the concentrated strength will prevent me from losing a gallon if one should go bad. I buy the gallon jugs for daily use now.
Gearing up for “trial runs” is good…lets me test the soundness of not only the pantry but other areas also. Also want to pick up a few more rolls of the silver insulated bubble wrap and some of the 4×8 sheets of foam board. MrWE2 wants to be able to build a “warm room” inside our bedroom and the pantry room at the Roost if we needed to have a warm place. The 4×8 sheets would allow him to quickly put it together with tape etc., and still be easily taken down and not damaged too much.
You’ve probably read it here or somewhere, and I’m sure we’re not the only ones to make use of them, but at your local Dollar Tree stores you can buy the tall religious (?) candles that burn for many hours for $1. We stocked up on them big time. Not long ago our power went out and we were able to give a couple to our neighbors who had a small boy who was afraid because of all the darkness.
We also bought lots and lots of T-lights and votive candles (and still do) every time we catch them on sale. You can put one in the bottom of a canning jar and they give off a pretty good light, and not nearly as hazardous for dripping wax. On the votive type candles, when they burn down I just pull out the wick, set the jar aside to cool, and then place the next candle right on top. Why? Never know when I might need some wax to seal something :-)
We also stocked up on a lot of LED lights including the solar stick-in lights.
We have a small amount of meats from Honeyville that I used some to make up my meals in a bag. We don’t store MRE type foods from other manufacturers. Last year I canned up quit a bit of my own meats when I caught them on sale. They taste soooo much better!
As for the bacon, Yoder’s is WAY too expensive for us. I follow the method of just sticking my raw bacon into my canning jars and canning it according to altitude etc., and when I need it, open the jar, put it in a skillet and fry it myself :-) I can buy lots of bacon for what I’d pay for one small tin of Yoder’s :-)
The one thing I do always keep an eye open for is shelf stable milk when it’s on sale. I also store canned evaporated milk. May not tase like “store bought gallons” but if in a crisis, you’ll be mighty glad to have not only lots of Nido powdered milk, Sanalac powdered milk, but some shelf stable that’s already got the water added.
Anything I can store that I DO NOT have to add water to is a good deal for us. Water is a life saver as is our fuel sources, and I don’t want to have to use it up trying to cook (especially rice & beans) … not to mention the length of time I have to use my fuel source.
Even though we do have a lot of bulk rice, oats, corn, wheat stored, we also stock a lot of instant rice. Perhaps not nutritious by itself but quick to cook. Stick it in a canning jar add some dehydrated veggies, some boiling water, put the lid on and set it aside for a later meal. Same with oats, corn mush, ground wheat etc. I have a solar oven and it’s wonderful too, but you’d be surprised how quickly the sun can heat up a canning jar with food inside it :-)
Just wanted to share some of the things we found we wanted to shore up on, when gearing up :)
Originally posted by the WE2’s