Prepped Living Blog

In continuation of our budget stretching series, this week we are focusing on healthy DIY cleaning products to help lighten your budget. Making your own cleaning products in one way to save money and be more self-sufficient while decreasing your exposure to toxic chemicals. In addition, these recipes use shelf-stable ingredients that are easy to store, making them perfect for the prepper-minded family as well. Keep these recipes for immediate use to start saving money right away, or stash them away for a time when you aren't able to get your regular products. Laundry Soap Our family has been making our own laundry soap for the past eight years or so. We use this recipe that I shared on our Prepped Living website a while ago. You can make it with or without added essential oils. While it calls for tea tree oil, you can substitute other oils such as lavender or lemongrass to give it a different scent. There are many other recipes you can find online, some of which make a powdered de...

With Father's Day coming soon, we are taking a break from our budget stretching series to focus on gifts for Dad this week. Here are a few options we love. We hope you will love them too!  Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through these links helps support our website and blog at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. OUTDOOR/PREPPER ITEMS FOR DAD Grill/Smoker There are so many options here that it is probably best to consult your guy to get the exact brand and model he wants. Perhaps the most utilitarian is a grill and smoker combination. This keeps you from having to purchase two separate pieces, thus potentially saving both money and storage space. From a preparedness standpoint, it makes sense to get one that does not rely on electricity or propane. Since this really isn’t my area of expertise, I will only share a bit about the two brands I have heard mentioned the most. Traeger Grill/Smoker – A number of guys we know love their Traeger grills. Tra...

This is the second post on budget stretching ideas for clean/healthy personal care products. I want to take the opportunity to point out that while you can find inexpensive commercial products that save you money, these may cost you in the long run by exposing you to toxic ingredients. In our experience, personal care products that are not laden with toxic ingredients tend to cost more. Perhaps your body can handle the more toxic ingredients. With the health issues in our family, we avoid them as much as possible. Thus, we will focus on budget stretching ideas for healthy personal care options. This post could also be called DIY Personal Care Products or Homemade Personal Care Products since it is usually less expensive to make your own products. The last post covered mouthwash, toothpaste, lotion, and lip balm. This week's post will cover deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, and hair detangler. Deodorant Before covering homemade deodorant options, let's talk about why it might be ...

While you can find inexpensive commercial products to shave money off your grocery bill, most of these personal care items contain toxic ingredients that may cost you in the long run by negatively affecting your health. If you choose to shave money off your grocery bill by buying the cheapest products, great. That is definitely an option. We have done this in the past as well. Our family's health issues have steered us toward cleaner products, however, and since Prepped Living aims for a healthier lifestyle, we will be focusing on budget stretching for healthy options. In our experience, personal care products that are not laden with toxic ingredients tend to cost more. Thus, the best way to stretch your budget for healthy personal care products is to make your own. Not only will you be saving yourself money, but you can make cleaner, toxin-free products that won't damage your health. Here are some ideas for making your own beauty and personal products: Mouthwash We make our ow...

As prices rise, people begin to look for ways to stretch their budget. Both my husband and I grew up in homes that for the most part didn't waste much. Stretching the meat and turning leftovers into the next day's meal were a part of everyday life. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about ways to stretch your meat budget. These ideas are certainly nothing new, but sometimes it helps to revisit old ideas to  when trying to eek every bit of nutrition out of a budget that no longer stretches as far as it used to. Use Meat Stretchers When we were children, ground beef was an inexpensive meat option so tacos, hamburgers, and meatloaf were often on the menu. With the rise in beef prices across the board, that is no longer the case. Nevertheless, there are certain dishes we enjoy that feature hamburger. Here are some ways we still enjoy those dishes while lessening the impact of meat costs. Taco meat - We have used both ground beef and leftover roast as the meat basis for tacos...

With Mother’s Day around the corner, we are choosing to focus on gifts for Mom this week. Here are a few options we love. We hope you will love them too! We have grouped them into two categories – beauty-minded and prepper-minded. Cover your bases and pick something from both categories! Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through these links helps support our website and blog at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. FOR THE BEAUTY-MINDED MOM   Lilla Rose Products Lilla Rose has something for every lady on your list! Most of you know how much I love the flexi clips for a quick and easy hairstyle that affords a bit of flair – whether with a classy or fun look. You may not know that Lilla Rose offers other quality products as well. Here are a few fabulous options for Mother’s Day: Organic Geranium Hydrosol #4362 – Can be used as a facial toner and moisture boost. Spray on your hair to keep it shiny, refresh your curls, or use as a no-heat setting spray for y...

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...