Survival Kits.

Yes, yes I know this doesn't seem to be related to basic homemaking skills, but let me assure you it does. In your home you are the one who makes sure everyone and thing is ready for the day or anything. You and your spouse ( if you have one) are the ones who protect and assist the family and each-other. You, the homemaker is the writer of lists, the shopper, the organizer, the get it done homemaker and you are the one who is most likely going to get these kits done because you KIND OF have the time to do it, while your spouse works. Now, if you work a job you NEED to take a few minutes a day ( fifteen) and spend it on this kit project, if your job is to stay at home then take 30 or more minutes a day to do this kit, along with your other duties. Get it, got it, good lets go.

Have you ever been in your car and came upon an accident? Of course you have and sometimes it goes fairly fast and sometimes you are stick for 30 minutes or more in your car on the road. Well, these are the times when someone (kids, spouses, yourself) gets hungry, thirsty, has to go to the bathroom or is bored out of our gourd. Do you have a survival kit in your car? What is a survival kit? How do I put one together? Here and over the next few weeks we will answer all these questions. I will be writing my own thoughts on this and will be posting information from blogs, and web sites that I think are good sources all located on the bottom of this posting.

First: You need to decide what kind of survival kit do you want to make? Pick one to begin with.  I will be doing a car kit followed or piggy backed with my own style of 72 hour and first aid kit rolled into one. The car kit is the first priority on my end because my husbands work is 2 hours away from home and over a pass that has a multitude of accidents and weather closures (during the winter) at a moments notice and I need to restock his kit and exchange things out for the winter season in the next week or so.
         Car Kit - things you may need if you are stuck in the car.
           72 hour kit - things you need if you have to evacuate your home for under 72 hours.
           Emergency kit - stuff in your car ( cables, tire stuff etc)
           First Aid kit - stuff for you car in you need medical stuff, or get a BOOBOO :)

Second: You need to find a container you like for your kit. I have changed mine 3 times, the first time I used my daughters old diaper bag back pack, then I went to an Army surplus store and found a pack I liked.

The brown pack is an Alice bag with a dark green medical bag.           This is the back see how its adjustable. The brown pack has three outside bags and one inside bag.


Finally I was at the swap meet and got an army bag with back brace for ten dollars in perfect condition. My bags tend to be large with back pack straps or braces because I tend to carry a lot of stuff because I want to be really really prepared for anything that comes our way. I also take this bag hiking because I know I have everything I and my family may need. I am an overachiever here, so as I post what I put into my kits, you will need to take in account your family needs, budget, what you already have and how much you are willing to carry. So get your bag, and come back and see what is the next step. :)

 This pack is twice the size as the above bag. It has a center pouch with a divider and three outside bags.


http://www.preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com
 http://www.foodstoragemadeeasy.com
http://www.yourownhomestore.com/2011/09/survival-kit-series-week-one.html

Laundry Soap

                                    This picture from....realmudgarden.blogspot.com, isn't it pretty.
One of the first things I did when I was trying to get back to homemaking skills was look for a good old fashioned laundry soap recepi. I found a great one from a great lady, Laurie from Proverbs-3-women on facebook. I have been using this soap for over a year and it works great. So here it is for those of you who want to try it out and start your way into homemaking skills. I use Fels-Naptha for my families clothes and other things, I use Zote soap ( Walmart carries it in white or pint and each bar is equivalent to 3 Fels-Naptha bars). These ingredients can be found at a few places, all depending on where yo live in the country or world. I found them here in Central/Southern California. Walmart has just begun to carry there in their laundry isle on the bottom shelves, so far they are the cheapest. Floyd's carries them also but is a little more expensive, but if it's the only place you can find it get them.Winco and Foods Co, also carry them.




Each batch yields 16 ounces.  I made four batches of this recipe and store it in an old #10 can. You could also store the detergent in large yogurt containers.

1 bar of  Fels-Naptha
1/2 cup of borax
1/2 cup of washing soda

Use a knife to chop Fels-Naptha into small chunks. Add some of the washing soda and Fels-Naptha chunks into your food processor or blender. If using a blender, use the pulse button. Mix all ingredients and thoroughly stir together for 5 minutes and enjoy the results!  For normal loads use 1 TBSP (yields 64 loads) and for heavily soiled loads use 2 TBSP (yields 32 loads).

Hello and Welcome

 I just had a few minutes to say hello and welcome to my new followers. Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I am doing. I will be trying to post something 2 time a week or more. So keep your eyes out and start asking questions, give me ideas on what you are hoping I post on, and maybe you and I can learn new things to help our families or ourselves.

Canning

Water canner with jar holder, lid lifter and funnel.

This post will be on canning. Let's begin with why we would want to can. Not only is it fun but it provides food for your family that DOESN'T take up freezer or refrigerator room. Last year was my first year canning ever, so I was very worried, but I was able to have help. My mother in law has canned before and was excited to teach me. Now the thing about my mother in law is she is the one who also taught me how to sew ( more on this later) and now she is teaching me how to can, what a great thing! My mother and law and I have noticed that we work very well together and really enjoy the company. This year we were unable to can peaches ( cinnamona and nutmeg) due to the tree needing to be trimmed to avoid branch damages from the prior year. However, a Brother ( church friend) from my mother in laws church told her that he had planted too many tomatoes and was wondering if she wanted to pick some. Of course my mother in law told him yes and that we would love to can them. We are grateful for free tomatoes, well almost free, we had to take time to pick them, clean and blanch them before canning. If you wish to begin canning start with the water bath, then follow with a pressure cooker. There are plenty of books out there on water bath cookers, the only thing you need to remember is you want to keep the costs down.  First, buying the water bath canner can be about 60.00, plus add in a jar picker upper, a lid picker upper ( magenet on a stick) about 20.00 or less. Then yo need cans and they run 7.00 and up depending on the size you want. So to begin it can get expensive, but once you start it gets cheaper. I find cans at yard sales and especially estate sales. I always look at the rims of the jars for cracks or chips, and I always buy jars that are kerr or ball. I NEVER buy jars that are not kerr or ball, I am talking about regular glass jars, spaghetti, mayo etc. Know you can buy canning jars made by better home and gardens at walmart and they are fine to use. Just make sure the jars you get at sales are kerr or ball.  Now once you have these items, the next thing you want to do is begin to can, This will begin on the next post, so GO GET yor canning supplies and come back to see what is next.....