Prepped Living Blog

  Here is a reflective piece I wrote on the newsletter a couple of weeks ago. Since it is still early in the new year, it seemed appropriate to share it on the blog as well. Fitting a bit of preparedness into your busy life can seem daunting at first. It may feel like one more activity to add to an already full schedule or one more idea to take up brain space when you are already feeling overloaded. I get this. As I looked back over the blog, however, I realized that preparedness skills have been a part of our everyday lives for years in some way or another. Whether you label the projects we do as homemaking, preparedness, or leaning towards self-sufficiency, we do what we can when we can, even if that just means making one more item for the pantry shelf. It really is that simple. In fact, some of the everyday things you already do may be honing your own preparedness skills. Maybe you know how to keep your house warm in a snowstorm when the electricity has gone out. Perhaps you practic

Apple-pear Sauce Just before Christmas, my mother gifted me with a box each of apples and pears. Shortly after Christmas day, youngest daughter and I got together to can apple-pear sauce. She was looking forward to having some prepped snack options for after baby's birth. I was grateful I had an apple peeler-corer-slicer ( see here for one similar to mine ) as this made peeling and coring several pounds of apples SO much faster than peeling and slicing by hand. These handy instruments typically have two options: a suction cup stabilizer or a clamp stabilizer. I was initially skeptical of the suction cup model, but the year I went to buy one, that was the only model available that I could find to purchase in the area. All the stores I called were out -- except the local hardware store. They had one left that they graciously put on hold for me. I have used it several times and have been quite pleased with how well it grips the counter. After preparing the apples and tossing them in t

With the arrival of Baby S. anticipated soon, it seemed a good time to make a few baby items - some for the girls and something to have on hand at our house. Burp Cloths I made several burp cloths for each of our daughters. This was a quick and easy project to complete and the first one I did this winter. For burp cloths, all you really need to do is sew two large rectangles together. I made a few different sizes and shapes for the girls to try out. I look forward to hearing feedback on which size/shape works best for them. If you want to venture into sewing or even just get back into it, this is a great project to start with. Baby Bibs Youngest daughter was wanting a couple more soft baby bibs to have on hand. It seemed like a simple enough project to try so I offered to make her some. I first made a pattern from the two bib styles she had and then purchased a set of soft receiving blankets in colors she likes from the local second hand children's store. It cost a total of $2.50 f

I purchased this book about a year and a half ago and spent some of last winter perusing it and highlighting sections I wanted to reference for the upcoming spring.  It has been a tremendous help to me for gardening in particular, but it has so much more to it. I have not finished plumbing the depths of the information it provides, but I have already learned so much. Synopsis: The Self-Sufficient Backyard , written by Ron and Johanna Melchiore, is a comprehensive guide on how to start your own homestead--from property selection and building, to growing your own food, to harvesting and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Here is a brief run-down of the pros and cons.  Pros: It covers the essentials of setting up a quarter acre homestead including site selection, road building, water, off-grid power, orchards, gardening, composting, food preservation, chickens, bees, and more. The authors are very practical - most of the ideas presented are adaptable to a variety of properties and situati

Here are some updates on a few projects we started earlier this year: Canned Cranberry Juice We opened a jar of the cranberry juice I canned a few weeks ago. I was curious to see if we like it enough to can more. Everything I read about it was spot on. It is definitely not as strong as commercial cranberry juice, but it does have a lovely light cranberry flavor that is very pleasant. Our eldest son was eager to use it to make a cranberry cocktail for Christmas. When I asked him if the flavor was too light to make a good cocktail, he said that, on the contrary, it works well because you get the flavor of cranberry without it overpowering the other flavors in the drink. Here is a picture of the drink he made. Isn't it pretty? Cranberry Cocktail Photo by Connor Thomas The verdict: This is a project that I definitely want to repeat. I like the idea of having a supply of healthy cranberry juice on the shelf. Rum-Soaked Cherries We also tried our rum-soaked cherries. I thought the cherry