Preparations Update

[Tsrwivey]

We bought two more Dexters, a mom and a calf, for a total of four now. They’re all very tame and the momma is a good milker and A2A2.
I purchased a bit more preps than the budget allowed last month so I’ve been busy buying stuff at garage sales and selling it online. I‘m teaching the boy how to do too. The hoarding gene is strong with him but he bought a Gameboy for $5 and just sold it for $100 so I think he’s hooked.
Our oldest daughter has been dumpster diving. She’s been making out pretty good. We are now the proud owner of 400 1lb bags of pinto beans in sealed boxes that I’ve got to figure out what to do with. We really didn’t need anymore but here they are. Might try planting a bag or two as a green manure in the garden this fall and see what happens.
Tractor Supply had their baby chicks on sale for $1 each yesterday. We definitely didn’t need anymore chickens but we have another 18 RIR, Australorps, and Barred Rocks. Luckily the daughter and SIL have been finding a ton of produce in the dumpsters we’ve been feeding to the chickens. It has really cut down on the amount of feed they’re consuming. They’re eating good! Fresh avocados, nuts, eggs we scrambled for them, sweet and regular potatoes we cooked for them, and a wide variety raw fruits and veggies.

 

[Peanut]

Is that a Malinois?

Nope, he's registered GSD but from working dog blood lines. So he doesn't look like show dog GSD's. He's got a funny ear also, doesn't stand up correctly. But he's working dog smart and high energy, not as high energy as a Malinois thankfully.

 

[jazzy]

i know this may seem silly but a really important thing to grab a couple bags of
tootsie pops, blow pops.

you never know the power of something simple like a tootsie pop can do to lift some kids spirits. i got a bunch of grandkids, im stacking tootsie pops.

 

[Caribou]

i know this may seem silly but a really important thing to grab a couple bags of
tootsie pops, blow pops.

you never know the power of something simple like a tootsie pop can do to lift some kids spirits. i got a bunch of grandkids, im stacking tootsie pops.

A few years back, the wife and I were taking a road trip. the hotels we were staying in kept bowls of tootsie pops on the front desk and I was in a habit of taking one when we checked in. We stopped at an Indian restaurant run by the grandparents of two very quiet and well mannered young ladies. I asked the grandparents and then gave the girls each a couple of the suckers. I believe this made the grandparents happier than the girls. We got some great service.

Thanks for bringing back that memory.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Today I picked up cooking oil(s). I had plenty but I wanted to top off with fresh oil before it becomes short supply. I plan to use used and expired oil in standing water in the garden area as a way to kill mosquitoes.

 

[Tacitus]

Just some extra personal hygiene items (e.g., mouthwash, deodorant, etc.).

 

[Tacitus]

Oh...also read an article about Putin possibly going nuclear, which caused me to up my physical cash stack. Not sure how to prep for market effects of Russia going nuclear on Ukraine (or worse), but I figured converting some digital cash into physical cash couldn't be a bad thing. Maybe I will convert it into silver, even though silver is high...but physical cash is more easily usable, and not a bad thing to have sitting around in the short term.

 

[Amish Heart]

Customer appreciation day in our little town, so I stocked up on dry goods at the amish grocery. 10 % off of it all today. Quick Grits, the big boxes were 99 cents. Those store well. Freebies at the hardware and feed store were kitchen spatula, hot pad holders, coffee mugs, cow stick (I'll use it for the geese). Found four yds of cheesecloth at the thrift store.

 

[Tacitus]

Oh, and I did receive a shipment of a couple tins of this...just the tobacco. I don't smoke often (every few weeks at best), but when I do, this is one of my favorites. I had a smoke of this the other night, and I was down to the bottom of the jar, and I decided that I didn't want to run out. (Store your pipe tobacco in a canning jar, and it will last forever.)

 

[LadyLocust]

Oh, and I did receive a shipment of a couple tins of this...just the tobacco. I don't smoke often (every few weeks at best), but when I do, this is one of my favorites. I had a smoke of this the other night, and I was down to the bottom of the jar, and I decided that I didn't want to run out. (Store your pipe tobacco in a canning jar, and it will last forever.)

My Gpa used to smoke a pipe. I remember being out in the tack shed and knew he was near when I smelled the tobacco - loved it!

 

[Hooch]

I recently picked a broken down chest freezer from the dump . If the weather is nice tomorrow I'm going to set it up in the shop and keep extra chicken food in it.
The body of it is in great shape so now I have another storage container for the girls feed.
I also use steel garbage cans for feed storage. They can hold 150 pounds of grains. If they are stored outside you have to calk the lid handle so rain n snow dont leak in.
I buy garbage cans new for that purpose tho..but a old freezer was free..score!
I need to spring clean n organize so I can do a proper rotation n inventory of stuff.

 

[Cascadian]

We have been using metal trash cans with lids to keep the mice out also.

 

[angie_nrs]

I did a little bit in the name of getting ready for.....whatever.

Got 4 packages of mouse traps (4 per pack) at a yard sale - $1
Grabbed another 6 cans of coffee on sale
Got some seeds for the garden
Got some tomato plants
Got some shelving units
Got some pint and half pint jars (on sale) that I noticed I was getting low on.
Grabbed some clearanced bath products
Got a water bath canner - I needed a new rack so I just bought the whole thing - it was the last one on the shelf.

At the store I bought the coffee from, I noticed that there used to be coffee lined up on the shelf at least 1/3 of the way down the isle. This time I noticed that there was only a (maybe) 8 foot wide section of coffee in the tub. That included the store brands, decaf, and name brands. I was suprised to see that. That's the reason I actually picked up a half dozen of them.....b/c I've never seen the coffee isle so empty of tubs of coffee.

I'm waiting for the Memorial Day sale on charcoal. I need to restock our supply on that and the best sales on charcoal are just around the corner. I see the 2 packs are already sitting out without a price on them. Usually it's just under $10 for a double pack of 18 pounds. We'll see what the 'sale' price is this year......I'm sure it will be higher than that.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Last fall charcoal was 15.98 a bag. I got an end of season pallet load for 6.00 a bag. Now, it's 23.00 a bag.

 

[LadyLocust]

Last fall charcoal was 15.98 a bag. I got an end of season pallet load for 6.00 a bag. Now, it's 23.00 a bag.

Not sure what kind & size of bag you get, but we get a couple different types. I have learned that it is "harvested" seasonally so it's not quite available yet. Towards the end of this month it should be (usually about Memorial Day.) We ran out of regular lump charcoal about a month ago, and I think it was about $50 for two bags. We get anthracite coal by the pallet & have to time it right - June is typically a good month for this.

 

[LadyLocust]

Oh something on the prepping front: I've purchased a couple bags of salt - the big bags of good salt for water softeners. It's still pretty inexpensive and is good for preserving meat if need be. Also needed for brine prior to cold smoking. Not something many folks think about. I think it was @elkhound or @Biggkidd (one of you) made a thread about cold smoking or smoke houses. Hubby's dreamin' up a plan for one. I say less dreamin' and more bacon!

 

[Biggkidd]

Think it was Elk

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

I have 600 lbs of salt and don't consider it enough. Salt is extremely important. Prague powder 1 & 2 is right up there as well; more so, since they are talking about restricting it's sale to us peons.

 

[hiwall]

Salt has been a popular trade item for centuries.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

I don't prep for trade. I prep for making due with what I have, for food preservation and for making the basics of what I know is needed for basic creature comfort . The rest is window dressing

 

[Amish Heart]

I don't prep for trade, either. But I know if I have too much of something, like eggs or chicks, I'll trade for something.

 

[UrbanHunter]

The son came to visit this weekend, he brought the wife a gallon of peanut oil. It seems that she has been telling him we didn't have any oil.... But on April 30 I picked up about 8 bottles of oil... He put his oil away and didn't say a word about all the other bottles sitting there on the shelf....

 

[Amish Heart]

The more, the merrier then! It's nice he's contributing to your stockpile!

 

[LadyLocust]

The son came to visit this weekend, he brought the wife a gallon of peanut oil. It seems that she has been telling him we didn't have any oil.... But on April 30 I picked up about 8 bottles of oil... He put his oil away and didn't say a word about all the other bottles sitting there on the shelf....

At least it shows he was listening to his mom. Good job son.

 

[Tank-Girl]

I just brought a 8 foot wheelchair ramp for my front steps so I can move all the old furniture and white goods out of the house without tripping down the stairs.
Next is a tri-wheel removalist trolley.

I figure the only way I'm getting the 3 seat sofa out the front door is to break it down with a sawzall or a chain saw after I remove the cushions and head rests off it.
If that works out well I might attack the 2 arm chairs and the entertainment unit the same way.
Hack them down to manageable pieces that I can carry and get through a standard doorway on my own.

Just as well I'm not ripping up the old tattered fitted carpet until I'm finished removing furniture and painting because if it wasn't ruined already it sure as heck will be once I'm done.

 

[LadyLocust]

I just brought a 8 foot wheelchair ramp for my front steps so I can move all the old furniture and white goods out of the house without tripping down the stairs.
Next is a tri-wheel removalist trolley.

I figure the only way I'm getting the 3 seat sofa out the front door is to break it down with a sawzall or a chain saw after I remove the cushions and head rests off it.
If that works out well I might attack the 2 arm chairs and the entertainment unit the same way.
Hack them down to manageable pieces that I can carry and get through a standard doorway on my own.

Just as well I'm not ripping up the old tattered fitted carpet until I'm finished removing furniture and painting because if it wasn't ruined already it sure as heck will be once I'm done.

So good you have a plan, but please don't over do it

 

[Amish Heart]

Yep, don't overdue it, Tank. Geesh, I never thought about sawing things apart in the house.
We have two ramps, once for the front, and one on the back deck that goes into our bedroom. Husband uses a scooter when he is outside, a walker inside, so we use them. I have to say they come in handy for all kinds of things. When I unload groceries, I load them in a wagon, pull it up the ramp, and all the way into the house. I can get lots of grocery bags in at a time, or 3 or more flats of canned food with it. I am sure you'll find lots of uses for the ramp

 

[Pearl]

YOU GO GIRL!!

 

[Neb]

I have been thinking where to post this...

I was jaw dropping shocked when The Princess told me she is done stocking up on long term storage.



She started in earnest 12 years ago with a monthly installment.

She has shifted to deal mode to augment her stash. i still have to install more shelves...

Ben

 

[Amish Heart]

You always have to install more shelves. I was at the point where I was just looking for sales, but now with inflation, sales are hard to find. So I just keep my same grocery budget for the week and get anything I deem as fair price and just keep stacking food