I want to share a bit of our prepping journey and to encourage ones to just work at this step by step- doing what you can and not worrying too much.. there needs to be a balance of commitment and hard work without worry or panick!!
I am gonna focus more on food preps today-there also are other elements to everyones preps- the need to protect your family and preps , stealth, water storage, heating and cooling ,health and hygiene and more... today I speak to food preps .
Hubby and I are moving into a new phase of prepping. Besides bugging out to the Western NC Mtns this Fall to an undisclosed location- here in Pittsburgh our normal preps go on till move day!
To do our prepping we are luckily debt free,cut out recreational expenses, we only eat out on very rare occasions -we do get a pizza weekly-we limit driving,we really don't buy clothes (except some hardy work outside types of duds), we are not vacationing and we don't spend money unless we have to spend money.
We started about 18 months ago with the typical buying extra groceries w/ heavy emphasis on beans and rice , putting back a case or 2 of water,getting some flashlights and batteries, getting a kerosene heater and extra kerosene can ,buying a few lanterns and candles, getting a load of firewood,etc.We got a cold pack and a pressure canner and some jars - we still need jars but the 1st year they are pricey-after that free besides jar lids -but up front it is alot of money!!
We then moved on to some serious canned good preps -meats,veggies,fruits ,some juices ,lots of soup ,pasta sauces -also boxed scalloped potatoes,powdered milk, olive oil,other oil,vinegar ,cake mixes,pancake mixes, hamburger helper,pancake syrup,sugar-that sort of thing .,,,coffee is the HARDEST thing for us to get ahead on!
To go w the Hamburger Helper,to put in spaghetti sauce and to make tacoes and the canned sloppy joe mix we got TVP- works great and is a cheap substitute for hamburger.
We then moved into a prepping healthy foods zone with getting dried fruits,nuts,seeds and yeah jerky- but we put an emphasis on health vs just getting food into the house - we do alot more Trader Joes type preps now vs Walmart Food.
I use my freezer for preps too so we have nice organic chicken, wild caught salmon, trader joe frozen vegs- love asparagus, little green beans, baby peas and edamame.. funny thing is the longer you do this the cheaper it gets and you can start adding in quality vs quantity- you gotta start w some bulk though-you gotta get a cleat here 1st.. so we started out typical-BEANS,RICE,BOTTLED WATER,SALT
Should the grid go down more than a week I do have a plan for saving the food- I will dry and can it.. make some wash pot stew out on the fire and then preserve that like our grandparents did-in the jar .. harder to regulate the heat but it CAN be done.. and YES-If we feel the need we can start that canning and making jerky and stuff sooner-right now I just don't have the time and or energy...as an intuitive I get messages from the angels when it is time to step up the progress in plenty of time!
Recently we moved into another level of prepping which is food growing ,preservation and production .Ya know- like our Grandparents did- not really a special thing at all-it is really how people have always done things!
We are growing a garden w emphasis on heirloom seeds and organic growing and seed saving- bad year huh-droughts -hot - deer and groundhogs coming out of the woodwork.. so I am just being grateful for what we have instead of crying over spilt milk.. HOWEVER-WHAT IF THAT FOOD IN THE GARDEN WAS THERE TO SEE US THROUGH AND WE HAD NO OTHER BACK UPS- I would be panicking for sure! just a thought-because I see a time coming we need those gardens dearly and will need to protect them-of course out in the counrty we will have a few dogs outside to chase off critters- and we will simply shoot and process any animal dumb enough to hang around the garden- I hear groundhog tastes like beef!
We can make deer jerky anytime ! Rabbits can be taken out w an air rifle- yah know it would be ALOT easier in a place I could have just taken out the Bambi- sorry... but not really.
I went to Costco today and got bread making supplies and canning supplies, 2 big bags of charcoal for off grid cooking (we know how to make rocket stoves and are gonna get a camping stove/oven.. back up to our backup ya know!
I still grab good deals when I can on the pre-made foods-I still buy cases of bottled water...but would rather focus on really good and nutritious foods that I KNOW are not GMO- shoot-bet the wheat I got today is- dang-I will still use it but am thinking I need to go organic on that ... thinking out loud here!
Once we get moved we will have chickens,milk goats, pigs, meat rabbits, be able to hunt and fish,have a much more extensive garden and do much more wild crafting- we will also have honey bees - we will have a smoke house, a spring house, a spring fed water storage system and more!
So thanks for letting me think out loud.. and one word of encouragement- we all start somewhere.. if you do a little at a time you will be amazed at how fast the time goes and how much you accomplish -Day by Day!
Be blessed and a blessing!
No comments:
Post a Comment