Northeastern Region

I’ll be on radio tonight talking about food and home preparedness supplies.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/shtfm

Feel free to listen, join chat or call in!

These days, we are all looking for buys. Buying wholesale and in bulk is most generally the way to go if you possibly can. If you would never in your life use a pound of some seasoning, split the order with a friend or give little packets of spices as a holiday gift to friends.

If you go to the grocery store for your seasonings, you are paying through the nose for them. A little bottle is generally about $3.95 ! In the old (old, old) days, the spice trade was big business! Explorers went all over the world finding seasonings and spices to bring back home and sell. Many were worth their weight in gold. WHY? Because they were hard to get!
In todays unstable world, we can no longer be sure that our supply of anything will be able to continue. What if we run out of fuel…no one travels by caravan and horse 2000 miles any more. What if prices go through the roof and we can’t afford seasonings and spices? A good prep pantry will contain a nice selection of seasonings to make plain food palitable and to make something special once in a while.
How long will these things last? Again, in the old (old, old) days, women had a “spice chest” that held all the valuable spices and was kept locked. Often, that chest and the spices were passed on to the daughters in the family. Since the spice trader sailed on ships or traveled thousands of miles to get these spices, chances were that they weren’t refreshed even once a year. I’ve had store bought seasonings for 5 years or more and my grandmother used seasonings she’d had for 10 or more years. Yes, yes…it’s much better to use fresh! But what I’m saying is that “fresh” might not be possible at some point.
What to stock up on:
Mainly, you want to stock up on 1) what you use and 2)what you can’t grow yourself.

Salt: sea salt has the most minerals and uses.
Cinnamon
Cloves
Allspice
Bay leaf
Nutmeg
Ginger
Cumin
Curry
As well as any other you feel are important to your home.

One of my favorite companies to get bulk seasonings from is:
http://www.atlanticspice.com/ (East)
http://www.sfherb.com/ (West)
Both will sell to you no matter where you live but you get quicker delivery by ordering from the one nearest to you.
Most items are sold in 1 pound packages, but if you buy larger amounts, you can get discounts.

I’ve heard from several people on various forums that new-to-stocking up folks may need a quick tip sheet on how to preserve what they are stocking up. It never hurts for us “oldies” to have a refresher course either. I also figure that as people chime in on this we may get some tips that are new to us all.
When packaging your food preps for longer term storage, you need to know that the enemies of your preps are : AIR, MOISTURE, and PESTS (insect and rodent). A bagged item may be fine, but moving it around can poke small holes in them letting in air, leaving them exposed to insects and wafting the aroma of YOUR food to the local rodent population. You may think they are safe on that shelf, but stacking bags on top of bags leaves a slippery slope and accidents happen. My preference is to package all my foods myself and then place them in buckets or in Rubbermaid style tubs. I try not to let these sit directly on the floor/cement because rumor has it that the chemicals in the cement can leach into the bucket/bag/tub.
In the interest of fairness; what I do is probably over kill. Many people keep wheat in buckets with no fancy packaging, (in fact in real old times, granaries kept the bulk of grains and many Kings kept 10 years worth in the granary for emergencies,) and it is fine…I prefer not to take that chance with my hard earned money (food).
Why keep food for that long? Personally I don’t want to, but I know that I may not be able to get certain products if the worst happens and we have an event that cuts power for a long time (EMP/CME). I also know that I may not get around to using some products sometimes or they get shuffled out of the way and I don’t find them for a long time (how’s that box of stuffing you found in the back of the cupboard from years ago?) The PREFERABLE food storage method is to store what you eat and eat what you store so that items are constantly rotated in and out, however stuff happens and there are some items that you will need in an emergency that you may not use during regular times.

Equipment Needed:
Buckets w/ lids: These will be heavy plastic with a #2 on the bottom, indicating they are food safe. They can be found at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Tractor Supply. The lids for these should have a rubber gasket in them. You can (sometimes/some places) find these FREE in bakeries and deli departments at local stores and other outlets like Dunkin Doughnuts, Sam’s Club, grocers. They may need to be cleaned out, but since food product came in them, you can be sure they are food safe. If you purchase your bucket, they may cost about $5 for the bucket and the lid (sold separately).
Bucket Liner: You can find food grade plastic liners for buckets, but most people use a product called Mylar. Mylar is a great product, tough and able to handle sharper foods like pasta, water proof and the seals last for the life of the package as long as it isn’t punctured. It keeps out air, insects and rodents (due to it’s odor proof metal outer covering). It can be sealed with a regular household iron or an “impulse sealer”. They are not commonly available in most locations so they should be ordered over the internet. They come in a variety of sizes (and can be cut). Do not bother with the “zip lock” type for long term food storage, though these can be heat sealed around the zip lock part.
They are fairly expensive, but they also can be reused. A bucket sized Mylar bag is about $2. I keep some of my mylar bagged stuff in a big Rubbermaid tub instead of a bucket, especially stuff I want to get to often.
Oxygen Absorbers: It’s important to get the air out of what ever you pack, however you pack it. Oxygen absorbers take the air out (without vacuum sealing) of even Mylar. You can find these with the Mylar for sale on line. I believe a 100cc o2 costs about 4-8 cents. It takes about 1500cc-2000cc to take the air out of a 5 gallon bucket with the Mylar bag. I use 100cc in a pint jar, just so you have an idea of how much you will need. Once the package is opened, the absorbers start working, so you’ll need a jar with a lid or a bag clip to put them in while you are working. The jar is where mine all go and they seal the jar for you and keep nice and ready to use next time you need them.

For reference, a 5 gallon bucket will hold somewhere around 25 pounds of wheat or sugar. Unfortunetely, it’s not an exact science when done at home!

Other Equipment that will come in handy:
Various measuring cups, wide mouth funnel, household iron, small board to provide a hard surface to seal mylar.

Vacuum Sealer & Bags: I have always used vacuum sealers, and still find them to be a good all around item for both regular storage and freezer storage. With a vacuum sealer, you keep out most of the air and moisture, and protect items for storage in tubs and buckets. A vacuum sealer can also be used on jars to lengthen the storage of smaller items and even fridge items like salsa and pickles. The draw back of vacuum bags is that sharp stuff like pasta and dried potatoes can poke through the bag, and over time, many seals weaken and air gets in. Again, stacking these bags is a “slippery slope” so I generally toss them into a bucket or tub.
A vacuum sealer and the bags can be found all over the web but also locally at Wally World for well under $100. dg
Glass jars: This is more for canning, but I have a wide variety of jars I’ve picked up at various places that I store odds and ends in like spices, or small amounts left over from packing bulk foods. I’ll do a segment on canning at a later date. Glass jars with a lid are an excellent place to keep your left over oxygen absorbers!

Okay… Ready to go and make sure your food stays fresh!

Many folks choose to pack food in one of two ways…in meal sized portions or in bulk in buckets. For items that I am afraid might not get used up quick enough, I pack in meal sized portions. This includes pasta, rice, beans, and dehydrated veggies. For wheat, cornmeal and sugar, I pack in bulk in 5 gallon buckets.
Ex: I know that I’ll use 2 cups of rice for a meal, so I take a food saver (vacuum bag) and pour the rice in, vacuum it and write the amount and date on it and toss it in a tub. Same thing for pasta and beans. When it comes to repackaging mixes, dehydrated stuff and mac & cheese, I cut off the directions and toss it in the bag with what I’m packaging. IF an item might crush if I vacuum seal it, I only partially vacuum it and then seal it.

Note: repackaging mixes and other boxed items… certain insects love the glue used in boxes. It’s sweet food for them but when done, they will quickly turn to the food in the package. If you plan to keep a packaged item for more than 3 months, or store it in a damp area or where a rodent might find it, I would repackage it. (just my opinion)

To pack in Mylar; fill bag with food item, add oxygen absorbers, press out as much air as you can and apply a hot iron to the edge of the myler bag on a firm surface…I leave a gap at one end and squish out the remaining air and then finish sealing. Label the bag and toss in a bucket or tub.

Dry goods packaged in this manner will have at least triple the shelf life, but most often be good for 10 years or more.

Shelf life: there is lots on this all over the internet, so I’ll just touch on it here with a general rule of thumb.
-Most items without any oils or egg, such as wheat, sugar, oats, corn meal, rice and beans will last for 20 years. They really do not have an “expiration” date.
-Well dried veggies and pasta can last for 10 years if packed right.
-Items that have oils, like processed flour and seasoning packets can last 5 years if packed properly (maybe more).

This year, I tried something different. I took a leap and asked a person if I could pick apples from their trees and they said yes! Score: FREE food.
A friend posted an ad in FreeCycle asking if any one had fruit she could pick and got a reply, now she has some grapes to make jelly with! Score:FREE food!
All you have to do is ask! Today, we heard the the “reccession is over!”, well, if you believe that, then you haven’t been reading what’s really going on in the country! We are heading for higher food prices, higher utility prices, no good news with the employment situation and sadly, 1 out of every 5-6 people are on Food Stamps. Protect your family by learning how to make the most of your food budget, and if that includes finding “free” food, then great!

Coming soon, will be the traditional baking time, when people make family dinners and holiday goodies. This is a great time to stock up on baking supplies as they are usually on sale this time of year. Also, look for deals on different meats. If you haven’t got one, a great investment is the Ball Blue Book of Canning. It can help you make special gift items, make jams, jellies and pickles and help you learn to can some of those deals you pick up.

I’m finishing up with the garden harvest this week, but that means a lot of work! I’m over loaded with tomatoes, but I’m not really complaining, since last year we had a blight and we had NONE. I had to buy salsa all year at a cost of about $3 a jar. It doesn’t seem like much, but if I use 3 jars a month, that’s $110 a year. I started my own tomato seeds, pepper seeds and onions. The cost for that was about $5. A nice savings! As you browse the web, consider checking out some garden seed catalogs on line. Take a paper and plan out a garden for next year…it’s very worthwhile for us! You can grow a lot of veggies in a small space and these days, every little bit helps!

Today was going to be a “Me” Day. Though when I woke up I thought of my Son, it was going to be the second day his daughter went to Kindergarten, the first day is easy, I remember, the second day I remember being the hardest, the quiet is deafening. The third you’re use to it.

So I threw my jacket on and to my surprise found a $5 bill and some change in it. Thought I could put that to good use. I called my Son and told him I would pick him up on his walk home from dropping the kids off at school, he also has an 8 year old boy.

When I picked him up we went to a small local diner both of us wondered about whenever we drove by. We were able to order 2 breakfasts which included 2 eggs, 2 pieces of toast, coffee and home fries (The real ones) of $3.49 each.

We sat and talked and discussed everything under the sun and then some. we hadn’t had a Mommy/Son alone day in years. After breakfast I handed the keys to my car over to him and said, lets go to Timbuktu. Thatwas our way with the kids to say we were going somewhere, just not telling you right now.

He decided to drive up to the next town where his SO works and say hi to her, I hadn’t seen her in over a month and it was wonderful to spend her break from work together.

Next we stopped at Sam’s Club, I had been wanting to get up there for quit awhile but hadn’t, mainly because I had no idea how I would toss 50 pound bags around by myself. Problem solved with him along. We bough 2 - 50lb bags of popcorn, they were $16.97 each, I had promised my granddaughter popcorn for her birthday, that was in April, bet she will be surprised when she sees the amount of popcorn that is in the house now. Our main reason for buying it was because it can be ground into corn meal and will last 30 years if properly stored. the popcorn popping is just a nice add-on.

We also picked up a 50lb bag of rice for $13.67, we debated on buying another but decided we should stay under $50 on purchases. so we picked up a 2lb bag of yeast for $3.47, unfortunately we did go over the $50 with a few cents, but not bad. My son loaded the trunk in no time flat and we were back on the road again. Both of us knew it was time to call it a day and go do our daily chores but we were both so happy to have a whole morning to spend together.

We talked about calculating the right amount to store for 6 people, how to store it where to store it, building shelves, keeping an up-to-date spreadsheet. We made plans to build shelves and re-organize his basement for optimum storage use. We also talked about Fall outdoor clean up and how we could prep the yard some more for a bigger garden next year.

It is so nice and really a fulfilling feeling to have someone follow in your footsteps and also to really show that they are now a prepper themselves. I was absolutely glowing with pride. We even talked about teaching his young ones how to appreciate an empty field, that there is medicine, food and even tea out there on it.  The thought was to introduce the young ones to one “weed” at a time.

I pray all could have such a wonderful day, may you all take a “ME Day” soon.

Does anyone remember the days when canning was affordable, economical, down right thrifty. It seems the industry has now made it trendy, a green thing to do. In doing that they have made it almost unaffordable, expensive, lets just say rediculous.

I wanted to get some canning jars this year, so looking at the sales in my area I come up with $8.97 to $10.97 on sale, fo a case of jars, lids anywhere from $2.98 to $5.98. huh! they call this “A Sale!”.  Now if you multiplied the number of years you can reuse a canning jar by the cost of a case today, it doesn’t seem like much. I have canning jars that are over 30 years old. But if you are just beginning or trying to restock or build your stock the initial outlay is great.

My grocery store had wide mouth 1/2 gallon jars on sale for $10.97, I really wanted some. I am planning on drying sumac and golden rod blossoms. The jars would be great for storage of both. But spending that much just didn’t seem right to me. So I prayed that morning as I was going out to maybe, just find a few canning jars to satisfy my “need”.

I picked my Son up with his 2 children and off to the local thrift store we went. Faith blessed me. You know how things just happen. I found 6 of the 1/2 gallon canning jars, with lids and bands on them, brand new. But I also found 11 quilted 12 ounce jelly jars with all lids and bands. Then before I was done looking I found 6 regular mouth quart canning jars and 3 wide mouth quart canning jars and 1 lonely wide mouth pint jar.  Now the great part was they were only 15 cents each, so for a total of $3.05, can’t beat that, when I was willing to go out and send $10.97 for just the 6 1/2 gallon jars. So now the next thing on my list is for my dear son to go out and clip the wild sumac with me and all of the golden rod, so we will have hot or cold sumac tea and golden rod tea.

I was also fortunate enough to find 4 skeins of tan yarn for 69 cents each that day to add to our yarn stash. Nothing like home made slippers in the winter.

I love to can because it is one way I know what is in the food I feed my family, another is that it is affordable and it is a nice way to prep for times when we might worry about how to put a meal on the table, may it be from an economic family downturn, a storm or if and when TSHTF.

Keep your eyes out at local thrift stores for canning jars and canning supplies. I picked up our water bath canner at the Salvation Army thrift store for $5.00 and inside was 3 boxes of lids with bands and the jar lifter. I would have spent more then the $5 for just the lifter at a retail store.

Part of prepping is being frugal, so that you can put more towards needs and your stockpile. My eyes do light up everytime I find a canning jar that I pay less then retail for.

OK, in my infinite wisdom I typed up a whole blog on my plum experience, then deleted the whole thing with the touch of one tiny button. Yeapper, that’s me, with no way to retrieve it. So I will try this all over again.

I have this very pretty ornamental purple leaf plum tree out in the corner of my yard, it is a sight to see when it is in full bloom. Now the only way I could have it was if it didn’t bear fruit, according to my DH, he didn’t want to have to pick anything up off the ground.

OK, the first year it flowered and no fruit, second year it produced 12 pounds of this ping pong size burgundy plum, a tad bit bitter to eat by itself but made a wonderful jelly. I’m not one to let anything go to waste. Hubby at this point wasn’t happy it produced, so asked if I would trim it, well of course I would. No problem there, I cut it back to the main branches, giving it a “good” haircut. His comment when he came home was, “I think you killed it.” I did tell him to relax that it will grow again next year.

This Spring came and there was a bounty of wonderful white blossoms among the purple leaves. So pretty, I forgot to take a picture. Now remember I even have one of those little phones with a camera in it and I forget to use it.

Summer starts and hubby notices that we are getting plums again, he asks if i would make him a batch of jam this year with the “crop”. Well we watch, we wait, then one day he mentions that he thinks they are ready, of course my comment was, “I just checked them yesterday, they aren’t ready”. OK, summer in the Northeast has been HOT!! Everything is 2 weeks ahead of schedule, so to appease my hubby I walk out while he is mowing the lawn to re-check the tree. One of those “Yes dear things”.

To my surprise they were ready to pick, they were ripe! Now thinking about the year before I ran into the house and came out with 3 baskets in my arms and grabbed the ladder out of the garage. I got that look from hubby, you all know the one, that, “I told you so” look. So as he finishes the lawn I am filling baskets, I filled all 3, so I was thinking OK, have a few pounds there, now nothing to use to pick, hubby was done with the mowing and came over, he presented me with 3 boxes, the ones printer paper comes in, I gave him one of those looks, “like we are going to fill those”.

After I filled one 1/2 way and the cover to the box overflowing I was tired, so he took over picking while I went in to get us each a glass of ice cold water. He of course picks faster then I do, by the time I get out he has another box 1/2 full and there are still more on the tree. We were out picking a total of 1 1/2 hours. I had plums in everything I could put them in trying not to put more then 4 deep, maybe 5 deep, so as not to crust them.

So I have a ton of these burgundy plums sitting in my laundry room, covering 12 feet of counter space. what am I going to do with them, was all I could think. Hubby again said, hey, make some jelly. So after discovering I have no more small jars to use for jelly, I go to the store for 12 oz jars, 2 cases and pectin, I bought 4 boxes of pectin and another 10 pounds of sugar, just to be safe.

OK, I’m thinking, this is going to be a breeze, a few jars of jelly and I am done. Each batch of jelly filled 6 of the 12 ounce jars, I made 12 jars of straight Plum Jelly, then for a change in pace I tossed a vanilla bean into the syrupy mix while it cooked, oh the house smelled so good. So another 12 jars of Vanilla Plum Jelly. Now this took one day and it doesn’t look like I put a dent in the plum supply, i was dead tired by the time i was finished with the jelly that I called it a night and barely made it through cooking dinner, of course i still had to wipe the jars, label the jars and take them to the basement. Sorry, I just looked at them and said good night.

Now I had weighed all of the plums before using them, any of them, I ended up with 52.8 pounds of plums off a tree that wasn’t suppose to give me one plum. So standing in the doorway looking at probably 45 pounds or more left to deal with my mind started to work, think that cup of coffee helped some.

I went down to the basement and found 12 pint jars, I thought about the times during the holidays we had pickled crab apples, so why can’t you make pickled plums. Got my old stand-by Ball Blue Book out and a couple of other books. Cooked up a nice brime with vinegar, sugar and a few spices, cleaned and filled the jars with plums that would fit but were pretty. After all were processed I stood there looking at the little jewels in the jars, knowing I had to wait at least 2 weeks before i could even get a hint of how they tasted.

Did I mention, there is still a mountain of plums in the laundry room, staring at me. OK, back to the basement to check out jars, I came up with 24 jars that some store bought sauce had come in, my kids don’t make home made but do remember to save the jars for me. Well, what to do now? I was really getting tired of them staring at me, so I washed them all up and gave them homes in every large pot I could find, a 12 qt, 10 qt, 8 qt and a 5 qt pot were filled and there were still more of those little guys filling my sinks. How dare they!

I turned the burner on under each pot after adding a little water into them. A couple hours later, I had some soft broken down plums, oh boy, now what? Hey! people eat applesauce, so why not plum sauce. so after going through my sieve I ended up with 24 – 26oz jars of sweetened plum sauce. The most beautiful color of burgundy. Now you can either eat it plain like apple sauce, use it in breads, cakes, cookies or as an add on to BBQ sauce, Chinese plum sauce, oh the variety of uses is endless, but it seemed so were my plums and I was getting tired of those little jewels.

Now my laundry room counter is shared between canning jars and plums. Had to come up with something else to do with them. Then it struck me, Juice!! So I cooked them down and made 14 quarts of juice, I did not add any sweetener to it at all, I should add, never but never try to taste unsweetened plum juice, well not this variety. Can we say bitter to no end, eww! But 14 qts of processed juice is great, at anytime I can turn a qt into a batch of jelly, or just sweeten it for juice, or sweeten and freeze into a sorbet. Never but never think that there is ever only one use for what you can, bottle, dry.

After all jars where cleaned, i sat down at the computer and made some generic labels for them all to wear. carried them all down to the basement for a new home, they still sit there waiting for a shelf to be re-organized for them to fit on. But that is a different story.

Now I am eyeing an apple tree in the neighbors yard, the house is in foreclosure and going on the auction block, think anyone would mind if I just picked a few of those apples before they littered the yard?

Plus there are a few sumac growing in the park near me, just about time to pick and dry. I love free grocery shopping, plus no un-known additives. I hope my next report is of me surrounded by apples.

Even if you don’t have a garden, you can take advantage of harvest time. There are lots of farmer’s markets and even some produce auctions. Another way to take advantage of harvest time is by “gleaning”. If you see an apple tree that hasn’t been picked, ask the owner if they will let you pick in exchange for an apple pie, or if it’s a wild tree, grab a box and start picking! Many people don’t have the time, health or desire to pick from a tree that came with their house, so simply asking if they mind if you pick does no harm, even if they say no.
Friends who garden, may be inundated with extra produce at this time, so let them know you’ll be happy to take excess off their hands!

What do you do with all that produce? Preserve it of course! A great book to have in the house is “The Ball Blue Book of Canning”. If will show you how to can, dehydrate or freeze any produce you can get your hands on. I also reccommend that you invest in some tools for preserving. I have a dehydrator, a Food Saver and canning equipment. This allows me to take advantage of any find I come accross. A wonderful site to check out is:
http://www.dehydrate2store.com/ Here you can find videos on dehdrating. A bag of frozen produce will last a year or so in the freezer. A jar of canned produce will reliably last for two years on your shelf, but dehydrated produce stored properly, will last for 10 years!

Check the sales, check the farmer’s markets, talks with friends and if you see that nice looking apple tree, stop and see if you can pick some! Can’t beat free or inexpensive food for your pantry!

I mentioned in the last post that now is the time to start your lists on what you need to do for winter and what you need to get for winter. I’d like to expand on the list of what to get today. One reason for this is that we have hit a strech of inflation and prices seem to be rising rapidly. I plan to get what I need as soon as possible to try and prevent paying more.

Winter Prep Purchases
Rock Salt/Sand/Ice Melt - though we live in a very rural area and have a snow blower, we still find a need for some salt. Too much salt and chemicals are not good for your land, but a little shouldn’t hurt. I prefer sand when possible, but the salt is a great thing for when there is ice on your steps. Remember to pick up a bag of sand that you will keep in the trunk of your car! My daughter has found this can get you out of situations that would normally have you walking to call a tow truck!
Gas/Diesel – I will be filling up all of my extra fuel cans. In a storm, this could help you clear away the snow, run your generator and get to the store.
Batteries – It’s a good thing to have plenty on hand for all of your flashlights. Winter is when we have the most of our power outaged.
Water - I have been saving my 2 liter soda bottles, cleaning them and filling them with water. Water is so important, and each person needs about a gallon a day to live. We are subject to frozen pipes, loss of electricity and such in New England, so having an emergency water supply is vital. You don’t need to get fancy and spend a lot of money, and they can be stored almost anywhere, even under beds!
Food – This time of the year, baking supplies go on sale. It’s a good time to stock up! I also look for deals on winter comfort food, such as soups and hot chocolate and popcorn. I’ll check my prep cupboard and make sure I have several weeks to several months of ready to eat food. I’d also like to point out that this is the time of the year when farmer’s markets, farm stands, and orchards are having the bulk of their harvesting. This may mean deals for you and chances to pick your own. Consider getting in extra and starting to can, freezing some extra for the winter. I found an apple orchard that a gentleman is trying to bring back to life and he doesn’t plan to pick for himself, so I asked if he minded if I pick. It will give me enough apples to make jam for the family and for gift giving, pies for the winter and apple sauce to can. This is a great time to look along back roads for wild apples and in back yards to see if people have fruit trees they don’t harvest.

With a little planning, you can easily be prepared for the winter ahead!

I’m planning to do several posts on winter preparedness over the next few months.

I know it’s only early August, but it’s time to start making plans for the winter here in the Northeast! At this point, one of the things I do is to make a list.
Lists are handy things and can be kept on the computer or in the purse or wallet and beadded to as you are doing mundane things like sitting in traffic, waiting at the doctors office, waiting for the kids to get out of practice etc…

The list for winter preps includes some scheduling of certain valuable chores. I plan time to go through the house and make sure emergency items are where I can find them; things like flashlights and batteries. I check the batteries to see if they need to be replaced, check the battery stockpile to see if I need to get more, make sure the emergency radio is working. I also get out the lanterns and make sure they are in working order and I have plenty of oil for them. I schedule a full house battery rotation for the same weekend we turn the clocks back. This includes a check of the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well.

Since I am out in the yard a lot with garden harvesting, I keep the list in my garden tote and make note of anything in the yard I see that needs to be taken care of…hose care, shovel repair or sharpening, repairs to the gutters etc. . Keeping pathways clear and obsticles picked up can save many mishaps during a bad weather day.

I also put on the list things that are handy to have in the winter…like plenty of rock salt/ice melt, extension cords, shovels and car cleaning brushes. Since I have a working list of planned purchases, I can pick these things up as I see them come on sale. I also take an inventory of my food preps. Anything that is low, goes on the list for the next time I can get it at a good price. I also note my water situation and plan to recycle the water storage I have. I’ve been without water in the winter and it’s not fun!

We also put the generator on the list for a full going over, repair and fuel check. I check the fuel cans to make sure that I have plenty. Being out of fuel for the snow blower isn’t handy in the middle of a snow storm! Last year, we had little regular snow but many big storms, and a couple of those storms took more than one can of diesel to get through. If I start the season with two full cans, I will be ahead of the game.

Keep in mind, this is just the list. By making a list, you are consciously thinking about what you need to do, it makes you aware and you have a better chance of actually being prepared if or when you need it!