Prepped Living Blog

Foraging is not just about collecting plants for herbal remedies. You can forage for fruits and berries that you can turn into delicious jams, jellies, or syrups. Huckleberries are hands down the most popular wild fruit to forage in our area. It is so popular here that each family's favorite foraging spot is a closely guarded secret. Our family likes huckleberry jam, but we enjoy having a variety of flavors to fill the pantry. A few of our favorites from foraged fruits are mixed berry (consisting of whatever blend of berries we happen to have on hand that year), serviceberry, and Oregon grape. Mixed berry jam and lilac jelly Fruits and Berries Here is a list of fruits & berries you might have growing wild in your area that you can forage to make jams, jellies, and syrups. There are many more possibilities, this is just a sampling! Huckleberry Blackberry Wild Raspberry Wild Strawberry Serviceberry Thimbleberry Currant Gooseberry Elderberry Oregon Grape Apples Wild Plum Rose Hi...

A week and a half ago I injured my back and had limited mobility coupled with back pain. This gave me an opportunity to try out some pain relief options. Knowing how to relieve pain and heal quickly is important, especially if you depend on your physical mobility for your livelihood. Here are two topical pain relief options (one commercial and one homemade) we found that work exceptionally well. Balm of Gilead I recently made a batch of this balm using cottonwood bud oil, St. John's wort oil, and an essential oil I had on hand: copaiba. I was very surprised by the pain relief this homemade salve provided. It kept up well with the Relieve muscle rub mentioned above. Click the link above to see how to make this salve. It is recommended that you avoid cottonwood bud products if you have an allergy to aspirin or to bees. Also, St. John's Wort is known to interact with some modern medicines. Be sure to consult your physician before using this if you are taking medication. Relieve Mu...

What do you have going on in your garden this time of year? In our area it is too early to plant anything new in the garden. Nevertheless, there are some perennials and some garlic we planted last fall that are coming up splendidly. Here is a quick look at what we have going on in the Prepped Living growing space: Chives Egyptian Walking Onions Rhubarb Strawberry Tarragon Garlic

Spring is here and with it has come more sunny days. Warm weather and sunshine mean that the local flora has started to bloom. When we first moved to the mountains, I was surprised by the number and variety of flowers that grow here throughout the spring and summer. I feel truly blessed by the abundance of flowers and plants that we find in our local area.  Here are some of the beauties we are currently enjoying or about to enjoy. I hope these pictures brighten your day!       We used to see an abundance of these on the property (with the exception of the sweet pea which grows across the water). Unfortunately, many of these varieties seem to be very tasty to the deer. They have dug up and eaten a large portion of our wildflowers. They seem particularly fond of any white variety, especially the trillium, which they have almost demolished. Nonetheless, we still have quite a few flowers that bloom on the property and I thoroughly enjoy walking the area on sunny days and...

The idea behind Prepped Living does not equate with building a bunker and filling it with MREs. It is meant to be a way of life. It can incorporate aspects of homesteading, homemaking, preparedness, self-sufficiency, gardening, foraging, DIY, and yes, even survival skills. It means doing what you can when you can to develop essential skills and improve your health. It is meant to be woven into your everyday life, not to be an all-consuming burden to your time or resources. In reality, it is nearly impossible to be completely prepared for all potential emergencies. If you would like to read about why we developed an interest in living a bit more prepared, see our " About Us " page on our website. Each family's version of prepped living will look different. You may raise livestock on a large piece of land. You may have a container garden on your apartment balcony. You may have neither, but perhaps you make your meals from scratch and do a bit of sewing. All of these skills ...