~ from my home to yours, living the Working Pantry lifestyle ~ surviving today's economy ~ a can-do spirit and attitude ~

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Our Journey to a Mortgage Free Home ... #11

(You can read previous entries in this series HERE.)

STOP ... HIT THE BREAKS!!!!

It's time for an insert ... the kind where you realized you omitted something very important and you have to go back and insert it ...

that's what we're doing in this post ...

inserting something that I should have included before now ...

Remember what the outside looked like from the beginning?


As you can see the outside needed some help.  It was most definitely not 'weatherized' and as you can see had holes in various places. We knew that eventually one day we wanted to put some nice siding or maybe even brick the outside but that was way down on the priority list and in the distant future. But, we did need to put something on the outside for cosmetic reasons and to protect all the work that was going on inside.  So, we opted for this siding ... It's supposed to last for 20 years ... that should give us enough time to be able to put what we really want on it!



The first layer was tar paper and then the siding was put up ... boy oh boy, did we ever work hard on this part ...  (We are so thankful to the friends and neighbors who came and helped!)

Don't you just love our temporary steps!!!  They were unsafe and we took extra precautions when on them ... but it was the only way we could get up into the house unless you used a ladder and we'll just say that I'm not into ladders and leave it at that!  We purposefully built the foundation so that the house would sit up high off the ground to make things like plumbing and any future work or repairs that needed doing under the house easier.


the back of the house ....

The roof looks really bad doesn't it?  But it would have to wait ... we had repaired the hole in it and patched it up so that it was not leaking ... a new roof would have to wait a little longer!  Remember, we were (and are) paying as we go and that meant we had to wait on a new roof!


painting the siding came next ...


... painting all done ... the whole house!

See, this was an important part of the journey that I left out!

In our next entry we'll go back inside and get to work!

Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:

Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

Food Scale

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Building A One Month Preparedness Pantry ... part 3

Part 1 of this series can be found HERE and part 2 can be found HERE.  

The reason I started this series can be found 
HERE.

Part 3 is about disposables ... paper plates, plastic cups, plastic utensils, paper towels, etc. As a general rule the only one of these items we use on a regular basis are paper towels unless we have a power outage!

A power outage for us means we do not have running water and if we do not have running water I'm all about those paper products.  I'm all about using and throwing it all away. Why?  Because it's just easier not to have to heat water to wash dishes in and in a temporary off-grid situation where everything takes longer and is harder to do this little convenience is one I'm going to use if at all possible.

Are they expensive, they can be, but they don't have to be!  I have a collection of holiday paper plates we use that I've gotten by purchasing them for a fraction of their cost after the holidays are over.  Just recently I added the plates in the picture above to my collection about a week after Halloween for $.37 a package.  It doesn't matter to me that they are holiday plates, to me they are our emergency preparedness plates.  So, in a plastic tub they will go along with our plastic cups and plastic utensils.  

Once a year, at Christmas, we purchase red plastic cups in bulk 
to package the fudge in that my husband makes for food gifts (We get the cups at Sam's Club and I think there's either 180  or 200 cups to the package.  The package usually runs around $10.).  Whatever is left of those goes into our emergency paper products preparedness tub. When we travel and have to stay in a hotel, we bring home the unused styrofoam or plastic cups that come with the price of our room. Between the two, we can usually keep enough in our preparedness tub to get us through a power outage. Remember, we're preparing for a 1 month power outage so save accordingly.

We do purchase a box of plastic utensils at Sam's Club, the one's that are individually packaged with a napkin, fork, spoon and possibly a knife, to have in our preparedness tub. One box will last us a long time and it sure does make cleaning up from a meal in a non-electric situation a lot easier.

Being prepared by having disposables on hand will make a difficult situation a little easier to handle!  Trust me on this! 

Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Our Journey to A Mortgage Free Home ... #10

It feels like it has been forever since my last entry in this series, so let’s see where did I leave you …

Oh yes, it was with this …

It would seem like we were ready to move out of the garage we were staying in and into our bedroom and bathroom combination wouldn't it????  Oh my, were we ever ready but there was just one little problem ... and it would take lots of digging, money and another permit!

Are you ready????

We had to have new field line to our septic tank installed!  We were under the impression that since the old field line was not damaged in the fire that this would not be an issue, but before we could hook up the water we had to have the septic system inspected. It was and is the law!


The results … the septic tank was fine but the field lines had to be replaced … which made no sense to us … but we had to do it.  So off we went to pay for another permit and to buy these …



and have them installed ...



and then re-inspected and covered up!

After passing the final inspection on the field lines, we hooked up the water and guess what we did ....

we moved into our one bedroom and bath ...

Oh, what a happy day that was!!!!

I felt like I was living in a palace!!!

So, now that we were in it, what was next???

Well ... you'll just have to wait until next time and see …

Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:

Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

Food Scale

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Building a Basic One Month Preparedness Pantry ... part 2

Part 1 of this series can be found
HERE.  The reason why I started this series can be found HERE.

Part 2 is all about non- electric emergency lighting...

When the power is disrupted in an emergency situation the lights go out as well.  If the power interruption happens in the evening or at night, we are literally left in the dark with no warning.  No one likes stumbling around in the dark looking for a flashlight or a candle to light so part of our basic one-month preparedness pantry is to have our non-electric light sources available and ready for use.

Here are some options:

Flashlight.  This is probably the first thing we all reach for when the lights go out so we need to know where we can find one ASAP.  Pick a location in your house and keep one there at all times when not in use, that way you will know where to go immediately when it’s needed.  Here's an option for a solar powered flashlight too!

Oil lamps.  (make sure you have oil for your lamps as well)  We keep our oil lamps displayed as part of our home décor so that they will be ready to light when needed.  We keep oil for our lamps in a safe place that is easily accessible to us.

Battery operated lamps/lanterns (make sure you have batteries)  Our battery operated lantern is stored on a shelf where all we need to do is reach and get it.  We also have a central location for all our batteries.  We know right where to go when batteries are needed and don’t have to spend time searching for them.  If power has already been lost, you don’t want to be searching around in the dark for batteries so pick one location and keep all your batteries together.

Head lamps.  I can’t say enough good about head lamps.  During our days without power during Hurricane Matthew I used a head lamp quite a bit.  It went with me where ever I went and left my hands free.  You can adjust the light up or down on the ones we have as well as the brightness or dimness.   It sure was handy when doing handwork or reading and of course when up and walking around.

Emergency candles.  Emergency candles are different from regular candles.  Emergency candles are meant to burn longer and put out a bit more light.  Make sure you have a safe way to burn them.   If they are single stand-alone candles make sure you put them in a container that will not allow them to fall over.  You don’t want to have to worry about your house catching on fire while providing light for your home.

Solar powered landscaping lights.  If you have solar powered landscaping lights in your yard, bring them in and use them as a light source.  The next morning take them back outside to let them recharge.  It’s not a huge amount of light but it is better than nothing.

Fragrance candles can be used but they don’t give off as much light and you need to be aware of anyone in your household who might have allergies to the fragrance.

Store these items somewhere in your house so that you can get to them easily when needed, maybe a tub or tote labeled emergency lighting would work.  If you're storing oil lamps make sure they are empty of any oil.   The goal is to know where your emergency lighting supplies are and be able to get to them as soon as possible when needed.

One more thing … store enough for a month!   You’ll be surprised how much you'll use and while no one anticipates being without power for an entire month, having what you think is a month’s supply will ensure that you actually do have enough to get through several days without being left completely in the dark!

Being prepared with non-electric emergency lighting means the difference between sitting in the dark and as one person put it, ‘looking at the four walls and doing nothing’ and being able to function.

Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE

Monday, October 24, 2016

Our Journey to a Mortgage Free Home ... #9

In the last post I left you with this question ... but there's another room that has to be done before we can move in ... can you guess what it is????  If you guessed the bathroom you were right!  We had to have a place to sleep and a bathroom before we could move in, so we set to work ...




Insulation installed, OSB board on the walls and advantech on the floor ... that's part of the shower unit on the left waiting to be installed and of course there's the wiring to be done!




Shower base installed, tile laid (still have to do the grouting) and sheet rock hung.


My husband built the vanity ...


The shower walls installed and trimmed out ...


Window trimmed out, pluming done and base boards installed.  


The finished product except for a few little things like a door knob, a little painting, a commode lid and a good cleaning!

It would seem like we were ready to move out of the garage we were staying in and into our bedroom and bathroom combination wouldn't it????  Oh my, were we ever ready but there was just one little problem ... and it would take lots of digging, money and another permit!

That's what I'll share next week ...

Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:

Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

Food Scale

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Building a Basic One Month Preparedness Pantry ... part 1

Previous posts in this series can be found HERE.

(Photo is of some of the many boxes of food and basic supplies that were distributed to victims of Hurricane Matthew in our area.)

We’ve spent the last week recovering and helping others recover from the devastation of Hurricane Matthew.  In some ways this past week has been surreal.  I’ve seen so much and learned so much and it is the experience of that ‘much’ that I want to draw on and share with you.

I hope you take this series seriously, the information I’ll be sharing and the things I’ll be suggesting you do could very well someday make a big difference in your life.  I want you to be able to take care of your family's needs in an emergency instead of having to stand in long lines for several hours just to get the basic necessities.  

Okay, the first thing you need to do to build a basic one-month preparedness pantry is ….

Assess what your needs would be!  If you had to depend solely on what was in your pantry for one month, without electricity, what would you need to have?

Remember that your pantry is more than just food.   It’s the food and household supplies that keep your home running smoothly readily available when needed.

Everyone is in a different season of life, so our lists are going to look different, but getting prepared starts with assessing and making a list.  Here is what ours looks like …

Medication (over the counter and prescription)
First Aid-Kit
Nourishing food
Comfort food (don’t underestimate how important this is)
Batteries
Non-electric lighting
Paper products (disposable plates, plastic wear, paper towels)
A non-electric way to cook/prepare meals
Drinking water
Household/bathing water

BOB … Bug Out Bag (in case we have to evacuate our home at a moment’s notice), also known as a 72 - hour emergency kit

Remember this is your one-month preparedness pantry; it won’t work for you if it’s not tailored to your specific needs.

So, what does your ‘list’ look like?

Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE

Monday, October 17, 2016

Our Journey to A Mortgage Free Home ... #8

In the last post I shared the sudden dilemma we found ourselves in and left you with this phrase ...

"Next, the rush to get one room ready for us to live in!"

        Well, we actually had to get more than one room ready ... but let's start with the bedroom which was our first 'one room' ...





The floor had some major issues in the big room so we opted to cover it all with hardwood flooring  ... first came tar paper, then we installed advantech board.
  


Next came the insulation ... in the ceiling and walls!



We put OSB board on the walls over the insulation to have something sturdy to nail the drywall boards to.  You can see the advantech board we installed on the floor in this picture.  We also installed the windows which was a gift to us from a couple in the community.



Next came the drywall and lots and lots of sanding!  It's beginning to take shape isn't it????



My husband did the window casings!





And a very dear friend installed our hardwood flooring for us free of charge. (So many people helped us in this journey, especially during the time when we were living in the garage, and we are forever indebted to them.)  We painted the walls and window framing.


We did the ceilings and put up a ceiling fan. (Sorry about the fuzzy picture.)   The strike plates went on over the electrical outlets (not shown)  and the bedroom was complete enough ... but there's another room that has to be done before we can move in ... can you guess what it is????

That's what I'll share about the next time ...

One more thing ... Here's a before and after shot of the bedroom ... what do you think???


Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:

Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

Food Scale

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.