The Versatility of Things
Frank ran across a very interesting article today at the Urban Survival Site called 32 Foods That Aren't Just for Eating. This is a very interesting list in and of itself. Better yet, each item in the list is a link to another site with more uses for that particular food. Take garlic for instance, it is linked to a site that has 20 unusual uses for garlic. It's a great article with lots of valuable resources.
When I came to baking soda on the list I had to smile. It reminded me of our choice to use only baking soda for toothpaste. I also quit using the popular scrubbing liquids for cleaning and now use a small amount of baking soda, a drop of Dawn dish washing liquid and a wet rag. It works great.
More than anything this list is an exercise in creatively thinking about how to extend the use of not only foods, but just about any item that comes in the door. Frank and I look at many empty containers and wonder what they can be used for instead of being thrown away. The scraps of lumber from building projects are kept for use in other projects that require smaller pieces of wood, or are put in the kindling pile. We use stock panels to stake our tomatoes on instead of cages. At the end of the season, we take down the panels so we can till the garden. The panels and t-posts are stacked nearby for use again the next year.
As prices get higher and higher, and in some instances, the availability of some things come into question, it's a good mental exercise to determine what we really need, not just want, but really need to perform our daily tasks, regardless of where we live. I was talking to a friend of ours yesterday about things we may need in the coming days, weeks and months. She said she used to buy things like shoes or clothes with her extra money, but now she buys things she knows she will need in her garden, for canning her food or for her chickens. Times have changed and our purchasing habits have definitely changed.
Not long ago we had a comment in which the person spoke of her family and friends and their purchasing choices. They told her they knew they needed to prepare, but didn't know how or where to start, so they just kept living like nothing was wrong or was going to happen. All the while this person has been scrimping and saving to obtain the things she will need should a disaster or collapse occur. There are many of us that have changed the way we look at the world and the value we place on a given item. There are many of us that no longer look at dust catchers as things we want to acquire. The appearance of things no longer determines it's value, the usefulness or functionality of the item is what puts it higher on our list of things to consider.
An example. Right now I am more interested in getting my outdoor kitchen constructed and in working order than I am in having a dishwasher. I have drawn out a preliminary plan for Frank to ponder. You see, I have many ideas that turn out to be unrealistic in the category of feasibility. But if I can explain or draw it out well enough and give it to Frank to think about, he can adjust it to the point that it will work. It might not even be close to the particular idea I started out with, but it still meets the need I had in the first place. To build this outdoor kitchen there aren't many things we will need to get because we have already obtained many of the items to complete it. Some of them we have had for a quite a while, not knowing exactly what we were going to do with them, but at the same time, knowing they would be useful should the SHTF. They have worked very well into this plan.
Versatility. That is what the Urban Survival Site reminded me of. Not only things, but many food items are versatile as well. Use your creativity and imagination, analyze your situation, your supplies and your needs, not necessarily wants, but needs. What are the things or food items you need to acquire before things get dicey or inflation gets worse or the dollar is devalued? What can you do right now to make your family more secure in their preparations?
Frank and I spend much of our time thinking just like this now days. We continue to hear and read many things that indicate the hour glass is quickly running out of sand. When that last grain falls with a resounding crash, will you be ready?
Until next time - Fern
Excellent post, Fern. As a people we are so conditioned to think we need to get all the specific, individual things for whatever. Thinking outside the box doesn't seem to come naturally for most folks.
ReplyDeleteDan and I talk about our outdoor kitchen from time to time but it doesn't seem to have reached the top of the to-do list yet. Current discussion is about a smoker for hams!
We would like to know how to cure bacon, Leigh, and I have looked at a bunch of recipes, YouTubes and sites. I would like to be able to use only salt and smoke, but no sugar. I think we'll have a supply of salt and smoke much longer than sugar. I will definitely look for a post on your blog on how you smoke hams. That will be very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFern
martha stewart long ago did a program about her smokehouse, which her brother built for her.
Deletethere is also some sort of beetle that attacks meat in smokehouses, i've read. also long ago so don't remember.
frugal gourmet made a smoker out of a metal garbage can.
Good post. Like you, I tend to look at things with an inquisitive eye as to how ELSE they could be used. These habits we are all developing will be good ones to have, even if the S doesn't HTF.
ReplyDeleteI draw pictures for Hubs, too. He likes to say, "It won't work" when I try to tell him about something I'd like to build. So it falls on me to prove that it will before he even will consider bothering with it. I think this habit of his is tantamount to sheer avoidance sometimes, but it does make me think about what I want and exactly how I want it.
My canning kitchen is in our attached garage, which is not heated or cooled. Gets a little hot in there, but it's a lot better than heating up the whole house and wasting electricity to cool it down again. I'd like to have my freezer out there but the heat makes it have to work harder so I have it in my office. Yeah, it's in the way, but I haven't been able to think of a better option.
I have seen pictures of your canning kitchen, Ilene, and that's a great idea. We don't have anything else set up to can or cook on besides the stove in the kitchen at this time. We're working on it, though, and time will tell. Our freezers are out in the un-airconditoned and unheated garage. That's the only place that has enough room. Things aren't always ideal, but we do what we can, right? Thank you for sharing.
DeleteFern
Hi Fern,
ReplyDeleteFunny that you should mention an outdoor kitchen as your goal. Me too! We upgraded to a larger All-American pressure canner, got the propane cooker set up outside, a table and tarp (windbreak) and that did us for canning salmon a few days ago.
But it sure would be nice to have something more permanent set up.
I think the conditions of the world are making a lot of us think about how we can do the same things differently. Looks like you have at least figured out a temporary solution with dreams of something more permanent. Remember dreams really do come true, they just usually involve a lot of work to get there.
DeleteAh, canning salmon, boy does that bring back wonderful memories. I canned almost 100 pints of salmon a couple of summers in a row when we lived in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska. That was my very first canning experience, and resulted in some really good food. Thanks for the comment and the memory.
Fern
Hi Frank...I would try to hook up with you on facebook, but you don't seem to have a last name as best I can tell. It was a nice article about bracing for impact and I agree with it. There are a number of things that could trigger it, including default on the national debt as well as the things you mentioned. The military has technology most people are not aware of and some of it most people would not believe to be possible. That is not a guess, it is a fact. They can control the weather, including initiating major earthquakes, they can create and steer hurricanes to a target and--don't ask me where they got this tech because I don't know, but I have personally seen it in operation and know it exists--they have tech which allows them to travel through time, in both directions, and it is not hard for them to do. He who controls your past also controls your future. Yes, as you said it is too late to stop what is coming and the form it will take is anybody's guess. But they are not running Jade Helm for no reason nor did they build that massive network of underground cities and bunkers for nothing. DHS did not purchase around a billion rounds of hollow point ammo for nothing--they don't even need ammo, they aren't cops or military. The only possible targets for all that ammo is us. The government knows something about the future that we don't know and it's nothing good. We are all in big trouble and when it hits it will hit big and last a long time.
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with HARRP, it used to be a popular underworld topic. They do have a research facility at Galena, Alaska, or they did. HARRP is an interesting topic.
DeleteI'm not familiar with the time travel subject. I've heard absolutely nothing and know absolutely nothing about it. But you are right, the military does have technology that most are not aware of.
I also agree, there is more to Jade Helm than what we know. Even if it is just an exercise, they have military bases that they can do stuff like that on, or multiple military bases at the same time. Jade Helm is something sinister, we just don't know what yet.
It's not just DHS that's stock piling ammo, almost all of the alphabet soup agencies have purchased excessive ammo. It's kind of like Jade Helm, we might not ever know why, but I'm sure it's not for reasons of good. Our government is up to something.
Let's see, military exercises and excessive ammunition, I don't think they're trying to come up with a new cake recipe, do you? Maybe some type of yellow cake, maybe. Our very near future could be very interesting. My free advice? Prepare for the worst, accept whatever we get, and never get on the bus.
Frank
I don't milk goats, but do have arthritis in my hands that restrict the amount of manual labor I can do. Drinking apple cider vinegar has helped more than anything.
ReplyDeleteI drank apple cider vinegar for years until it started bothering my teeth. I may just have to try it again. Thanks!
DeleteFern
I'm not sure if this is the right section in which to post this, but what is a good small, portable solar panel and all of the extras to be able to use it? I want to be able to power my new gas stove, (It turns out it needs electrical power to work, even though before I special ordered it I was told it didn't.) mini-refrigerator, and deep freezers. I do not need to power them all at the same time; I'll take turns with them.
ReplyDeleteYou're going to need to do some research. Do you want a 12 volt system or a 24 volt system? Are your appliances 110 or 12 volt?
DeleteHere's the basic scheme. You need to figure up the watts used and your solar panels need to produce more watts than the watts used. You're obviously going to need a charge controller. Next you'll need batteries to store the energy coming from the solar panels, going through the charge controller and stored in the batteries. Now you've got your power.
Here is where it's important whether your appliances are 12 volt or 110. If your appliances are 110V you will need an inverter, and you'll need the appropriate size fuse to go between your batteries and your inverter.
Now you need to plan on cloudy days. You'll need some way to keep your batteries charged when the sun is not cooperating. In an emergency, you could use your car. Most choose to use a small generator. You also need to use the appropriate size cable connecting all the gizmos I just mentioned.
You're going to need to do some research. I'm sorry there is not an easy answer. There is a big difference between the power needed for a 21 cubic foot freezer and a 3 cubic foot freezer. There is running watt usage and starting watt usage.
Good luck.
Frank