~ from my home to yours ... ~
I love our little home, it's perfect for us! There's warmth and love within its walls and yes, mason jars, home preserved foods, herbs, books, WIP projects, lots of snuggly quilts, a swing on the front porch and a rocking chair nearby! We call it home and we call ourselves blessed. We give God the glory for He has had and continues to have His hand in it all!

Friday, September 5, 2025

From My Home to Yours: 9/5/25

  From My Home to Yours


9/5/25

~  ~Preparing my home and pantry for winter ~

This time of the year I get the itch to make sure my pantry is in order for the coming winter and that's where my focus is this week.

As you will all know my pantry consists of more than food.  It includes fabric and sewing supplies, meds, herbs, cleaning supplies, stationary needs, clothing, food and so much more.  In short, it includes everything it takes to get my family through each season.  Since we're quickly approaching the fall and winter season in our area, that's where my focus will be for several weeks.  I'll be ...

checking our winter clothing, do either of us need anything? ...

inventorying our over-the-counter medications, herbs and essential oils, do we have enough on hand to keep us from having to go out in a sickened state to get needed medications, etc ...

asking, is my pantry stocked enough to get us through the winter months if weather or life events were to slow us down or keep us inside for the better part of the winter, would our pantry see us through?  Growing up as a small child, I vividly remember being taught in word and deed that making sure our pantry was full by winter was a priority.  As a grandma now and having weathered several life's storms, I see the wisdom ... my mama and grandma and grannie were really wise women!  They worked hard, sometimes really hard and while it might not have been the best in the world's eyes, they lived with the satisfaction of knowing their families had what they needed ... plus a little more!

taking a peek at what's in my gift trunk along with inventorying our holiday supplies, do I have gifts for giving, ingredients/supplies for making any gifts we'll be giving, or a plan in place for gift giving?

These are a few of the things I'll be checking/inventorying, restocking and replacing as I prepare my home and pantry for winter.  You know ladies, it takes planning and preparing to accomplish our goals and if preparing your home and pantry for winter is on your radar, then it's time to get busy!

These thoughts are the seeds and motivation behind my desire to finish out the #everybitcountschallenge.  I want to be ready to enjoy a time of slowing down, cozying up and settling in over the winter months.  I want it to be my choice of whether to venture out or stay in when cold weather or sickness comes calling.  Having a prepared home/well-stocked pantry will give me that option as well as a bit of added security.

Making it all happen brings me back to my #everybitcountschallenge, here's what this week looked like ...

On the 9th day of the 31-day challenge, I made pepper relish while hubby cut up about a bushel of okra.   I also bagged up some flash frozen bell pepper slices for the freezer (not shown) and refilled the trays with a different variety of peppers and put them back in the freezer for flash freezing.


On day 10, I made sweet pickle relish and started a 3-day process of making sweet pickle slices for canning (Day 1 was soaking the cucumber slices in a lime solution) and then I packaged-vacuum sealed the okra from day 9.


On day 11, I completed day 2 of the pickle making process (rinse, soak in ice cold water, drain and make sweet solution to soak pickles in overnight in the refrigerator).


On day 12, I completed the process for making the sweet pickles.  Once that was done, I pulled out the ingredients and made some elderberry syrup for the medicinal part of my pantry.  I already made and added a batch of cider fire to the medicinal part of my pantry for winter and now it's time for the elderberry syrup to be made and added as well.


Here is info on the methods and recipes I used ...

pepper relish
okra
sweet pickle relish ... I used the instructions from the back of a package of Mrs. Wages sweet pickle relish seasonings.
sweet pickles ... Mrs. Wages to the rescue again!  I had a package of sweet pickle seasoning as well and followed the instruction found on the back.

Our winter pantry got quite a boost this week!  Still on the list to get done asap are ...
grapes and more peppers

I still have potatoes, garlic and onions to work on, but they are not urgent, I just need to get them culled through and in storage.

I know this post has been all about preparing our homes and pantries for winter and not about much of anything else ...

How are we doing on our big financial goal?
Am I sewing or making anything?
When's the next ladies Bible study going to be made available?
What about my fall garden?

We have lots to talk about and get caught up on and we will, but for now just bear with me.  We traveled as part of my hubby's work for 2 of the 3 weeks I was on break, and this week has been about taking care of the absolute necessities while getting back in the swing of things here at home.

That's all for this week! 

Before I go, here are a couple of posts from the archives you might enjoy reading:



I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ the purpose of my pantry:  to take care of my family and bless others as well ~

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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