From My Home to Yours: 1/10/25

From My Home to Yours

1/10/25

Brrrrrr … it is cold here!   We have been about 10 - 20 degrees colder this week than what is normal for our area this time of the year.  This second massive snow and ice storm that is currently moving across the U.S. is coming close to us, but not close enough as we're forecast to get just rain.  It is a rare occurrence for us to get snow.

Looking back at this week, I am already beginning to see and feel the effects of my choice to pull back and focus more on my home … and it feels very good.

I continued with my 5 a day decluttering challenge ... that feels good too!

I spent some time working on closing out our 2024 financial year and started working on setting up 2025.  It’s good to look back at the previous year as a whole.  You get a better understanding of where your money went and what you were able to accomplish … in other words, you get the big picture.  It’s a big help in making financial plans for the new year.

I finished making t-shirt string balls from hand me down men’s t-shirts that didn’t work for anyone in our home.  When hubby saw the finished t-shirt balls, he immediately made the following statement … ‘you didn’t use the t-shirts I got for Christmas to make those, did you?’  I chuckled and said ‘no.’  Your T-shirts are safe and reminded him that these were from the bags of clothing given to him that we went through earlier this month.  My dear hubby is very protective and particular about the style of t-shirts that he wears!!  That’s okay, I have my favorite styles of clothing too!

I finished up two drawstring bags.  I have made several drawstring bags over the years, but I keep coming back to this one as my favorite.  I think it’s because of the handle on the side.  It just makes reaching for it so easy and as a bonus, it can be used to hang the bag in an out-of-the-way place as well.  These bags can be made pretty enough to be displayed as part of your home decoration too! Here's a link to the video instructions.

I continued to work on deconstructing more men’s dress shirts that hubby was given that didn’t work for him.  I still have a few more to go!

I created an online vision board for 2025 of things I want to make either for myself, as gifts or for my home.  It’s simply a folder of pictures along with a tutorial link if applicable, that I add to or delete once an item is made, tucked away in an easy to access place on my PC.  When I finish one project or need inspiration for another, this is the first place I go.

I kicked off my intent to read from my home library this year by starting with reading the Little House on the Prairie series.  I’ve never read the series all the way through from start to finish because I didn’t have the complete set.  Now, I do so I pulled them from the shelf and started with book 1.  Reading about their cold winters fits in with our current one!!  I think I made a good choice. 

The Little House on the Prairie series is my ‘bathroom’ reading choice … I think that’s pretty self-explanatory!!! This next week I’ll be deciding upon a non ‘Little House on the Prairie’ series book, again from my home library, for my evening reading.  Do you have more than one place that you read?  The evening reading book will be kept in a basket beside my chair.  My bathroom reading book will be kept in a specified place in the bathroom.  Both will be easy to reach for, pick up and start reading!

As mentioned earlier, it’s been really cold this week and we’ve been enjoying the warmth of our woodstove. I'm thankful for the decision we made years ago to purchase and install one.  It was a financial sacrifice, but we found a way to do it, and we have never regretted it.  It pays off every year when our power bills come in during the winter.  We have some of our lowest of the year power bills during a time when many others are having to choose between staying warm and finding monies to pay the higher power bills.

For several months I have been focusing on my gut health by learning how to make milk kifer and in turn learning how to use it to make a tasty, delicious smoothie that I drink as part of my breakfast.  I've got this routine down and yes; I can tell a difference in my gut health.  After mastering milk kifer, I moved onto kombucha.  I really like kombucha, but as you will know if you've ever purchased any, it is quite pricey.  I don't buy it very often because of that, it is definitely a treat.   In December, I ordered a kombucha scooby and have been learning how to make my own.  I'm learning how to flavor it and am having fun trying flavor combinations.  Kombucha is supposed to be a probiotic that is good for your gut and some say liver health.

Hubby made a blackberry cobbler this week.  It looked really good, it smelled really good, but I declined to help him eat it as I had quite a bit of sugar filled treats over the holidays.  It's time to get back to my normal way of eating, which means sugar treats are just that, treats and they don't happen weekly.

We've started our ladies Bible class on Rahab over on 'From This Heart of Mine.'  Lessons 1 and 2 have been posted.

One more thing, and it'll be your turn to share about your week ... I'm beginning to get the gardening itch again ... anybody else getting eager to get their hands in the dirt again?

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

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

You might be interested in my other blogs ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine 

Circling the Wagons: Level 3, Week 1, part 2

Circling the Wagons …. in uncertain times and emergency situations

(Level 3, Week 1, part 2)

by mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

Wagon clipart link … https://clipart-library.com/clipart/713877.htm

(Reminder: in our imaginary scenario what you have is what you're working with and whatever your weather is, is the weather in the scenario.

One more thing, for those just popping in, this is an imaginary scenario that's part of a class we are doing and not real life.) 

Today’s entry is meant to light a fire in you, so be warned! 

It’s day 74 or 75 in our scenario depending on what part of the world you live in, that’s 2 months and approximately 2 weeks, we’ll just call it 2 ½ months and already I’m sensing an attitude of I’m done with, we would be in trouble, write me off.  While in a make-believe scenario that would be no problem.  You could just detach yourself from the scenario and go on with life. 

But what if there were ever a time in your life when the scenario was real life.  You know, 2 ½ months is not long at all and I can think of all kinds of natural disasters that could put us in the position we’ve had in our scenario.  Are you going to give up and check out in real life … I’m not, I might get discouraged and tired, but the survival instinct would kick in and I would be doing everything I could to make sure my family and I survived.

After 2 ½ months in a grid down situation …

How would I cook and provide food for my family?

How would my family and I stay cool or warm, depending on the season?

How would I keep the laundry done and everyone in clean clothes?

How would I discern the weather and prepare accordingly?

When I can’t buy bread, can I make it?

When I can’t go to the grocery store and buy groceries, can I grow them or barter with someone who does?

Do I know how to preserve a garden without a freezer?

Do I know enough about first aid and or alternative health methods to help my family through a grid down situation?

These are the type of things I want to know how to do!  These are the type of skills I am making effort to learn and or improve upon now. 

No, it wouldn’t be an easy life, but could I do it, or would I just give up and leave those I love to fend for themselves?

I hope I’m never faced with a real-life situation where the grid is down for an extended period of time, but if I do, you can bet that I’m going to be as prepared as possible. 

I am making every effort for my home library to be filled with books that would help me figure out what I don’t know.

I am making every effort for my pantries to be filled with basics because I can take those basics and do a lot with them if I have the skills and the know-how.

It’s easy to give up and check out in an imaginary scenario, but not so much in real life.  As the women of our homes, everyone in the family would be looking to us to hold the family together mentally, spiritually and physically.  Let that sink in as we go back to our imaginary scenario …

You’ve had a reflective kind of day allowing yourself to remember how things were before compared to how they are now ... sigh!  As soon as it gets dark everyone goes to bed as has become the norm … off to bed at dark and up at dawn in the morning is the routine the family has settled into.

You fall asleep thanking God for another day as you think about the things that you need to get done tomorrow.  In what seems like minutes to your tired weary body you awaken with another day’s agenda to get through.

But wait a minute, something’s not right … instead of morning light streaming into your bedroom window, the whole room is bright with light!  You wonder what’s going on now, are you dreaming?  You’ve certainly dreamed that dream enough times over the last 75 days.  Then you notice something else … noise … the sound of appliances running.  You jump out of bed and run all over the house checking everything.  Yes, everything is running, you have power again.  You are so excited!  You promptly wake everyone up as you want to take advantage of another ‘hour of power’ if that’s what this is … maybe this time the power will stay on longer than an hour.

You start barking out orders and urging everyone to hurry, hurry, hurry before the power goes back off.  Then you notice that your clock is ticking and that it says 2 a.m., your mind registers that that must have been close to the time the power went out 75 days ago or is it the current time?

You're confused and quite perplexed and decide that you must still be dreaming.  In your confused state of mind, you send everyone back to bed and go back to bed as well … you come to the conclusion that indeed, you must be dreaming.  You fall back asleep and when you wake up again, you notice the same things, every light in the house is on and all the appliances are running.

Are you dreaming?  Have the past 75 days been just a dream or are you dreaming now?  You, dear reader, get to decide!

Let’s close out this Circling the Wagons series with the following …

What would your off-the-grid self tell your on-the-grid self to do to prepare for off grid living should it ever be necessary?

I know this was a crazy way to end this series, but I hope it grabbed your attention and that it makes you think hard about living prepared!

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing and teaching this series.  It has helped me shore up my living prepared preparations and mindset as I hope it has done for you.

May you take what you've learned in this series and live more prepared!

May God be glorified in all that we do!

 mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

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

You might be interested in my other blogs ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine ... 

From This Heart of Mine (ladies, we've started a new study on Rahab, you're invited to join in!)

Circling the Wagons: Level 3, Week 1

Circling the Wagons …. in uncertain times and emergency situations

By mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

Wagon clipart link … https://clipart-library.com/clipart/713877.htm

(Reminder: in our imaginary scenario what you have is what you're working with and whatever your weather is, is the weather in the scenario.

One more thing, for those just popping in, this is an imaginary scenario that's part of a class we are doing and not real life.) 

Hello everyone!  It’s time and here we go …

It is now day 72 in our imaginary scenario, and everything has changed, yet nothing has changed!  The way we do things has changed but the fact that those things still have to get done hasn’t.  By this time the society we once knew no longer exists; no jobs, no paychecks, banks closed, no pensions, no phones, no grocery stores and no Internet.  Bartering is a way of life!  Our continued survival depends on how well we can adapt to ‘pioneer’ style living in its basic form.  Do we have that kind of knowledge or info readily available to help us? 

Let’s step back into our scenario starting with the basics and find out … how are you preparing meals for your family?

Do you still have food to prepare?  

Do you have fuel (wood, propane, gas, etc) to cook/prepare food?     

As you’re collecting your thoughts on food preparation and getting another meal on the table, you realize the sky doesn’t look right, something is afoot in nature?   What’s it trying to tell you?  Without the TV or Internet to warn you of upcoming weather hazards you’re learning how to read the sky and nature for signs of upcoming weather events.  What’s the sky telling you now, there’s a storm of some sort brewing for sure, but what kind and how severe?

Okay, over to you, how are you feeding your family and what about that foreboding looking sky?

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

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

You might be interested in my other blogs ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine ... 

From This Heart of Mine (ladies, we've started a new study on Rahab, you're invited to join in!)

From My Home to Yours: 1/3/25

This week as I transitioned my home from holiday decor back to my normal decor, I took my time and did some decluttering along the way.

I packed up our children's childhood Christmas ornaments and will give them to each when we see them next.  It was a bit bittersweet, but it's time.  Decluttering is a big item on my goals list for this year ... I mean deep decluttering.  The things we've been holding on to, that no longer work with the season of life we're in, need to be rehomed, donated, sold or maybe even trashed.  To help me stay on track and not rush through the process wearing myself out, I've set a goal of dealing with at least 5 items per day for the month of January.  At the end of January, I'll reassess and determine if I need to continue on into February.  So far, I'm on target and have successfully met my goal for the first 3 days of January.

I also did some repurposing this week.  My hubby was given 9 huge black bags of clothing.  Every single piece was in good or great condition, but alas it was more than he needed or could use so we went through every piece, kept about 30 items and passed the rest onto another family to do the same.

We kept this shirt, not because my husband could wear it but because I wanted the fabric from it ...

Here it is deconstructed!  I kept the folded fabric and buttons and trashed the pile of scraps.  We kept 5 other shirts to do the same with ...

We also kept several t-shirts, hubby couldn't wear them, but I knew what I could do with them ...

I took each t-shirt and cut it into 1-inch strips ...

I started rolling them into string balls for the purpose of tying plants to trellis' and or cages during gardening seasoning ...

I have 4 more piles, each pile represents a t-shirt, to wrap into a ball.

I love repurposing something we can't use into something we can.  Another one of my goals for this year is to be more mindful of repurposing opportunities.

Every little thing that we can do and every way we can save will help bring us closer to our 'hunkering down' financial goals for 2025.  We had a good Christmas so we're going into 2025 feeling ready to 'hunker down' again for the second year in a row.  What will that look like for 2025?  We'll follow the same plan as we did in 2024, stay within or below our budget and use any unused or extra monies to apply towards our remaining debt.

I have two more goals to share that I've set for myself for 2025, and it has to do with two things that are near and dear to my heart ... reading and sewing.

My reading goal is to make it a priority to read from my home library.  I have so many good books in my library that I've collected over the years with the intention of reading them someday, 2025 is that 'someday!'

My sewing goal is to stay out of the fabric stores as much as possible and use from my stash.    Exception:  there are a couple of times a year when I go to a fabric store, but this is planned, purposed and saved for ... other than those planned trips, any fabric added to my stash will come from repurposing, like the above-mentioned shirts.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about some of my 2025 goals, I have a few more that I'll share as we go along.

As the quiet from the end of day settles in around us tonight, I find myself ready to bring this post to a close as I want to make another 'string' ball from the above-mentioned t-shirts.  The wind is blowing steady outside, and I can hear our windchime singing.  Working with my hands and listening to the music of our windchime is a really good combination to unwind from a busy day.

I'll be back next Friday with another from my home to yours post.  Other than our Circling the Wagons class, and as another way to focus more on my home and less on the world, I'll be posting only once a week.   I know you'll understand, it does no good to say 'I'm going to focus more on my home' if I don't take steps to make that happen.

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5 NKJV

Are you setting goals and then breaking those goals down into action steps in order to achieve them?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on my 'ramblings' today!

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

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

You might be interested in my other blogs ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine ... we're starting a new study on Rahab ... ladies, you're invited to come join us!

Circling the Wagons: Level Three Kick-Off

Circling the Wagons …. in uncertain times and emergency situations

By mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

Wagon clipart link … https://clipart-library.com/clipart/713877.htm

(Reminder: in our imaginary scenario what you have is what you're working with and whatever your weather is, is the weather in the scenario.

One more thing, for those just popping in, this is an imaginary scenario that's part of a class we are doing and not real life.) 

Hello everyone!  I hope the holidays were good to you, that they brought joy into your life and that you’re now ready to get back to the business of life.

The business of life for us here on A Working Pantry and The Tuesday Afternoon Club over on Facebook is to pick back up with our third and final level in our Circling the Wagons … in uncertain times and emergency situations class.

Before we delve into level three though, we need to go back and do a quick review of levels one and two.  This will help us get our mindset back in our imaginary situation.

Please take the weekend and read back over the classes we’ve done thus far; I’ve included the links below.

Pre-Class Post    

Level 1, Week 1

Disaster Guidebook

Checking In

Pop Up Surprise

Level 1, Week 2

Level 1, Week 2, part 2

Level 1, Week 3

Level 1, Week 3, part 2

Level 2, Week 1

Level 2, Week 1, part 2

Level 2, Week 2

Level 2, Week 2, part 2

These are the main posts, I didn't list the summaries, etc but these will get us back in our scenario mindset.  

And now, this is one of many reasons why we need to live prepared and why I'm doing this class ...

For those of you here in the United States that are in the path of this monster storm moving across the country, your preparedness may be about to be tested in real life.  I hope you’re prepared for what could be a several days grid down situation coupled with hazardous weather conditions.  Please know that I've been praying for everyone in its path and will continue to do so.

Okay, you've got lots of homework to do, please don't skip doing it, it really will help you as we transition to level three on Monday, which by the way is a much deeper level in our scenario.

Let's get those comments going again, you have no idea how much they help us learn to live prepared!

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

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

You might be interested in my other blogs ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine ... 

From This Heart of Mine

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