Preparations Update

[hiwall]

Are the essential oils just for smell or they an essential part of the recipe?

Just for smell.

 

[angie_nrs]

Made a bunch of bottles of hand sanitizer for everyone in the family...aloe and 70% rubbing alcohol. I'll let everyone pick which essential oil they want in theirs.

That's smart. If the kids have some sort of say in the mixture, they are more likely to consider it 'theirs' and use it. Clearly you know kids.

I've also heard you can add some Vitamin D or E oil to the mixture to help with the drying properties of the alcohol. I've never made my own, so I don't know for sure, although I see no reason that wouldn't work. I got a couple cases on deep clearance a couple years ago when a big box store near us went out of business.

 

[Sentry18]

Turns out we have everything we need to make some hand sanitizer, including the essential oils. Told the Mrs. about it today and see is going to make a couple bottles just for the fun of it. Thanks @Amish Heart

 

[joel]

Made a bunch of bottles of hand sanitizer for everyone in the family...aloe and 70% rubbing alcohol. I'll let everyone pick which essential oil they want in theirs.

Do you make your essential or do you buy all of them?
If you make them do you raise any of the plants your self or buy them?

 

[The Lazy L]

Upgrading our communication VH, UH and HF equipment.

 

[LadyLocust]

Do you make your essential or do you buy all of them?
If you make them do you raise any of the plants your self or buy them?

Hey there Joel, I know this was for AH, but I infuse several oils that I use for soap etc. Cedar, pine, lavender are a couple that come to mind that I have in there from our own plants/trees. Others I buy.

I've been trying to increase our water stores. After being without water for 4 days last summer, I'm pretty aware of how much we have on hand. We have a house filter so am trying to see that all jugs and containers are full.
You know it's really a bummer if you actually want TP right now. We have plenty. I got quite a bit last time, but it's the kind hubby likes. I prefer a different kind and guess when I realized that we only have hubby's kind. Maybe all this hoopla is just that the TP gods are playing a joke on me

 

[LadyLocust]

LadyLocust,
You are just a kid! I was 29 forty years ago. Yes, I saw the smiley but I am not sure whether you are 29 and holding or still young in years.
I thought you were more mature than a 29 year old has the ability to be.

So are you accusing me of not acting my age I might have celebrated the anniversary of my 29th multiple times. It's working so far so I might have to again this year - heehee

 

[Amish Heart]

Nope. Sadly I just buy my essential oils.
LL is forever 29. I'll vouch for that.

 

[Amish Heart]

Noticed that $Tree alcohol is only 50%. Make sure you use 70% for the sanitizer. Got some at Big Lots for $2 a bottle. Probably have the 70% at most other stores. Was thinking about thickening it a little with some glycerin. That's easy and cheap to find, too. It works for homemade bubbles as a thickener, so why not? Son came home very sick from work half day. Called me and confined himself to the trailer. I brought over masks, sanitizer, and a thermometer to the trailer steps. If he needs to come in to shower later, he will wear a mask. Is stuffy, achy, and fever of 101. Brought him a soup and bread dinner tray and knocked. Also left a couple of jugs of juice. Hope he sleeps it off.

 

[Weedygarden]

Noticed that $Tree alcohol is only 50%. Make sure you use 70% for the sanitizer. Got some at Big Lots for $2 a bottle. Probably have the 70% at most other stores. Was thinking about thickening it a little with some glycerin. That's easy and cheap to find, too. It works for homemade bubbles as a thickener, so why not? Son came home very sick from work half day. Called me and confined himself to the trailer. I brought over masks, sanitizer, and a thermometer to the trailer steps. If he needs to come in to shower later, he will wear a mask. Is stuffy, achy, and fever of 101. Brought him a soup and bread dinner tray and knocked. Also left a couple of jugs of juice. Hope he sleeps it off.

Hope it is nothing serious and that he recovers quickly. It is good that you are being cautious.

 

[Amish Heart]

Even if it's the flu, it can send husband for a loop. I don't want him in the hospital.

 

[Sentry18]

So my boss walks into my office and hands me a smallish red backpack that says "Ready America" on it. Apparently they are survival packs used for hurricanes/tornadoes and the like that emergency management was handing out at some COVID-19 meeting he was at. They apparently had a lot of them so he grabbed a few to hand out around the office. I will probably tear it apart for the components. Tag on it said "10/2018" so it still has a few years left in it.

 

[jimLE]

to bad he don't have a few for me lol

 

[Sentry18]

to bad he don't have a few for me lol

You just want the surgical masks and hand sanitizer wipes.

 

[jimLE]

mask yes.wipes no.I'm gonna go around in big chain stores.cover my mouth n cough.then wipe hands on someone..then go shopping.lol..

 

[WVDragonlady]

Finally got all my supplies to try easy hydroponics

And I came across a video yesterday where you don't need rockwool and you start the plants off as micro-greens

This whole thing is very interesting to me

 

[Morgan101]

So my boss walks into my office and hands me a smallish red backpack that says "Ready America" on it. Apparently they are survival packs used for hurricanes/tornadoes and the like that emergency management was handing out at some COVID-19 meeting he was at. They apparently had a lot of them so he grabbed a few to hand out around the office. I will probably tear it apart for the components. Tag on it said "10/2018" so it still has a few years left in it.



View attachment 36598

Looks like a decent enough kit, and you can't beat FREE. Save it for barter. Other than what looks like food bars, the rest doesn't have an expiration date.

 

[joel]

we have two comfimed case of COVID-19h in S.C. & I am staying in as much as I can, also drinking pickle vingar, eating right.

 

[CountryGuy]

This Corona crap is nothing but fake news and a way for the big one world order types to test run how far they can panic the sheep. Think its a bit of a dry run. Also if I put my tin foil hat on, the only thing that remotely screw up Trump getting re-elected is if the economy were to implode. Seems to me that they keep playing it up to help push the markets down maybe towards that exact goal. OK tin foil hat off and back to my regularly scheduled programming.

 

[CountryGuy]

Wonder how long until we hear people are stealing TP from restaurant and store bathrooms.

My oldest son had a Cub Scout meeting and one of the other leaders that works at the hospital siad they put out a notice to the employees that they know someone took a case of N95 masks from one of their offices and they are investigating. We were like yep, someone is selling them on amazon or something making some cash for their kids college fund or maybe just their Friday night beer tab

 

[Sentry18]

Last night I ordered some new rolls of plastic for my FoodSaver and a few more items for my "new" 72+ hour survival packs (that I have been working on for about 6 months now). To further my progress I added a molle based collapsible baton holder to both bags and the batons themselves, then I added a molle based flashlight holder, and I started opening the dozen or so packages of stuff I purchased before for them but never did anything with. I am hoping to have them completely finished sometime in May as they are going to replace my warm weather bug out bags.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

I drive a school bus. With March break started, we were just informed that schools will remain closed until April 6th. We went out yesterday to get preps for this and a good chunk of summer.

A bundle of 2 x 4"s
A bundle of 16' decking
50 lbs each, of screws 1"- 4" and all sizes between; we are almost through the last lot.
Cement
Ordered a load of cement gravel
Ordered a load of sand
Bought all the grout and mastic needed to finish the bathrooms and kitchen.
Will make a trip next week to get some rough cut lumber from a mill

New blade for my meat band saw in case I need to do some butchering
Extra roll of butcher paper
Ordered spare gears for the meat grinder which I had forgotten to do
More potatoe starch to make pucks for my little Bradley smoker

 

[Sentry18]

So now I have a quandary. My wife says my cousin called to say he was going to butcher a cow soon and wanted to know if we were interested in a 1/4 or a 1/2. Then I go to work and one of my Sgt's said his dad is going to be butchering some hogs and has a few 1/4's available. Our main freezer only holds so much and it might just have enough space for one or the other. So beef or pork. Hmmmmm? Funny thing is right now our freezers are full of chickens, chicken breasts, turkeys, and hams so we could really use both. Will probably go with the pork however.

 

[Bacpacker]

Get another freezer.

 

[angie_nrs]

Sentry - Decisions....decisions. Personally, I'd opt for the cow. Mmmmmmm....good!

My preps were in high gear last week. I ordered a couple of cases of paper towel for the wall dispensers we have in the barns. Not b/c of the hysteria going on now, but b/c the price dropped significantly. They were delivered this weekend. Thank goodness for my mail lady! I also got more distilled water to make CS, even though I've yet to make any. I hope to soon since I'm now giving it to my dog. I got a big supply of spirits b/c it was on sale and everyone else was ignoring it. I figured I'd get it while the gettin' was good. We also filled any empty fuel containers this weekend. Now I need to get some things organized and some paperwork done at home. Our income taxes are now filed. Although, I won't lie.....it's kinda hard to concentrate right now and to stay off the internet and phone.

 

[joel]

I say buy a bigger freezer. I have one of the chest type, that they hide bodies in in the movies, I had a hog, two deer & some vegetables in it at the same time.

 

[Morgan101]

Sentry: I too would go with the cow. I have always preferred beef to pork. We have an upright freezer. I don't know how much meat we could get in it. It is full of my son's frozen pizzas.

 

[LadyLocust]

We have 3 freezers - try to keep it down to two, but seems like each fall we get into the situation that Sentry's in. I'm working on getting older things out, used, eaten. #3 isn't always on but usually have 2 going.
There is an old rhyme that I can't remember that says you should still have half your stores at Groundhog's Day (Candlemass Day???) I looked in our pantry etc. and I'd say that's a good call. It will be a while before harvest and canning start back up. Do you know how much of each thing your household uses in a year? I've tried to track, but many things are a moving target. I do have an idea on most things though. It took a few years, but it's comforting to know when you are low or have more than enough.

 

[Amish Heart]

I would get another freezer, too. When you eat a lot of it down, you can unplug one. There really hasn't been any chicken or hamburger at our stores here. I got lucky with hamburger today, but had to get 60 lbs. Our daughter says there hasn't been any in Seattle.

 

[Sentry18]

If I bought another freezer it would have to go in my bedroom or living room. We already have two chest freezers and one upright freezer. Two are full of meat, the other upright one is full of soups, bones broths, and vacuum sealed frozen veggies. We could buy another one but that's a LOT of meat. If I had the time I would cube, cook, and can the meat but with all the stuff going on I am surely going to be working more and not less. Instead I have asked a few friends if they want some of it. I figure I could make room for about 50-60% of each 1/4. Especially if I smoke a turkey or two this weekend.