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April prepping

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HoosierMom View Drop Down
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    Posted: April 01 2012 at 5:03am
Spring is here...What's everyone prepping ? I get the general feeling we are all prepping but for a variety of possible events.
 
Continuing to painfully pay down a ton of debt. Had to use credit cards for unseen emergent reasons over the years...now paying them off. I always feel so much guilt and shame for them, but slowly getting them down. We have struggled going from about 40K down to 12k in 2 years...its not been pretty. The goal is to sell some things and get it down to 4k by the end of the year.
 
I have little sprouts of non GMO, heirloom tomatoes popping up. I am now looking into some container gardening maybe for herbs to dry. Went to seeds for harvesting every year, saving about $125 each year. (I am saving everywhere possible in the present and future).
 
Things I had been putting off: House market really is poo..we didnt sell and realtor contract ran out a couple weeks ago,(we were going to buy a cheaper home that would be a "fixer upper" doing the work ourselves with a lower mortgage to pay off quicker)...Time to move forward. Got the go ahead from the hubby for a rain barrel...will try to pick up one @ Sams, around $100 last year...I will use it to water the trees and garden ground, little nervous about dry conditions this summer with all the weird weather.Wood burning stove this summer. I figure with rising heat cost it will pay for itself in 2 years. Also with planting a dwarf pear tree and strawberry patch.  Things I didnt want to invest time/$ for someone else. Will make another LDS run in a few weeks. The whole oats were awesome, so much cheaper also.
 
Next items on the long term list for fall maybe- better wheat grinder and Berkey water filter. I'm actually thinking of trying to talk the hubby into the "big berkey" for the home, when you read about the crud in the city water supply !
 
So many out of work..I want to prepare just in case my husband were to lose his job, he's in manufacturing with a contract running out. So we want to hedge our bets for the future to maintain what we have for our children. I feel so bad for so many losing everything with the loss of jobs. Cry God bless !
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Penham View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Penham Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 01 2012 at 10:07pm
I have been stocking up on grocery items, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant when they are on sale. The cost of food is really starting to rise where I live. Hamburger meat is now $4.99 a pound, which is rediculous, I refuse to pay that, lol. I have been buying alot of marked down meat and putting it in the freezer right away. I can buy marked down steak much cheaper than I can buy regular priced hamburger. Anything that we use that goes on sale I try to stock up on.
 
I am buying alot of items at the Dollar Tree, something I never would have done before, but I have tried some of their things and they are great.  We don't buy huge amounts of snack foods and chips, but I found the things they have are pretty good. I now buy 2 bags of their generic tortilla chips and a jar of salsa for the same price you would buy  a bag of Lays in the grocery store. The salsa is made by the Red Gold company and they make under a different name for the Dollar Tree, but it tastes the same as the Red Gold salsa you buy in the regular grocery store for $3 a jar. Their frozen chicken tenders and popcorn chicken is pretty good, they carry fresh bread, hot dog and hamburger buns and $1.00 is cheaper than the grocery store. They also carry some name brand cereals at different times, their stock changes.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Elver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 02 2012 at 9:02pm
Penham,
 
Stocking up on grocery items will only save you money in the long run because inflation is far greater than any interest you could possibly get in the bank.  Consider buying extra clothes because these are all imported.  As the dollar falls, clothing prices will skyrocket.  Consider buying shoes, socks, underwear, and anything else you might need in the years to come.  If or when we have a financial collapse, then lots of items will be in short supply.
 
We planted a peach tree 3 years ago & just ordered an apple tree for pickup in May. 
 
I don't like scratching in the dirt and can't possibly see how we could grow enough vegetables to sustain us.  The fruit trees will help if things get bad though.  The apple tree is supposed to yield lots of apples.  Our town has sponsored trees every Arbor day & 3 years ago they added fruit trees as well as plants such as raspberries for "sustainability".  At least someone on the city coucil sees the writing on the wall.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Penham Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2012 at 1:52pm
Elver, I agree with you 100%!  I have also been buying clothing when I see marked down/off season items for the next year and doing alot of thrift store shopping. I am thinking the same way you are that clothing is also going to sky rocket and people just won't be able to afford to purchase it. Pretty much anything for the house if I have the cash and it's on sale, I'm getting it now!
 
We currently have 1 peach tree and several mulberry bushes. I had planted a pear tree last year, but we had to have some work done and it had to be taken out, so we will plant another one this year. I think our apple tree has died, it gave off huge amounts of apples every year, but it just looks dead this year and I am wondering if was from the drought or some drilling that was done in our yard that may have damaged the root system. I am trying to plant fruit items that ripen in different months of the summer so we have ongoing fruit throughout the summer.
 
Looking at the thornless bleckberry bushes also and some grape vines. We do plant strawberries in pots every year and will plant tomatoes and green beans, thinking about broccoli for the fall when it's cooler.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2012 at 2:33pm
Ok, you girls have convinced me to get a few more jeans. I have to order them from JCP. I always stock up on turtle necks in the fall at Walmart. They have gone from 5.00 each to 9.00 each now. I always purchase my coldwater creek clothes from the online outlet and wait for the really great sales. Just got 3 pairs of pants for 20.00 each no shipping charges. They were originally 60.00 each!!!

I have already have snow peas planted and will replace with green beans in mid June, doing 8 tomato plants, 4 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, 6 pepper plants, radish for spring replace with bunch onions, Spanish onions, lots of herbs that I dry and use.   

We are having snow yesterday and today so need to wait for warmer weather in May. I have 4 crabapple trees that may lose all blossoms, that just came out, so another year without jelly. I am going for rose hips this year on friends land and in the wild so I can make rose hip jelly. Wonderful to eat and great gifts.

Elver if you live somewhere near the foothills of Denver how do your trees do with the cold? Have you had fruit with all this late freezing the past 2 years? I would do strwaberry jars but I don't like strawberries...LOL...Un-American of me.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Penham Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2012 at 6:52am
Flumom, start looking at Walmart for marked down winter merchandise. A few weeks ago I had picked up a bunch of summer merchandise from last season marked down to $1.00, Starter shorts, shirts, Hello Kitty pj pants, some baby items (stock up for baby showers when I see stuff that cheap). What I saw for $1.00 and did not buy Christmas turtleneck shirts in patterns and solid green, red and white colors, Starter sports shirts (like UnderArmour type). Hubby had a baby shower at work last week and I think I spent about $15 but it "looked" like I spent about $50.
 
Last week when I was in Dollar Tree they had Hanes t-shirts for kids, girls, boys, men's and Just my Size/Style not sure of the exact name, but the plus sizes in all different colors. Everything in the Dollar Tree is only $1.00. You can find some great buys in there if you frequent that store (I am a vendor there, so I am in there every week)
 
In the past I have found sports socks that regularly sell for $10 other places and socks from Footlocker that had prices of $8.00 a pair (nice) packs of 3 Hanes socks for $1.00, packs of 3 Hanes Underwear for $1.00, name brand sunscreen for $1.00. I buy alot of medications there, they have generic Mucinex, Benadryl, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, nasal spray, etc. all made in the US (I don't buy any of their food or meds not made in the US, look at the labels).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2012 at 4:19pm
Great ideas Penham!   Need to go to Dollar Tree and Walmart! I don't get out much...LOL!

My peas got snow so will let you all know how they do in the next week.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Littleraven Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 07 2012 at 5:32pm
Strawberries!  Dehydrating lots of them--1 Gallon is about 1 Quart dried.  They seem to be really good here this year.  Great for cereals--hot and cold, snacks, smoothies, breads and baking etc...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mississippi Mama Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 21 2012 at 9:54am
Hi Everyone, I haven't been on the forum for a while. Some of you might remember that my husband died in 2011. It's just been a long hard
year with so much personal stuff to do. I haven't had a lot of time to prep. I do believe like many of you that the dollar will fall and then
we will really see hyperinflation. The price of everything will probably skyrocket over night, just like it's done in other countries
when their currency collaspe. Any way I did have the health department
come out last week and test my well water. They said it was fine. I still think I probably need to put some kind of filter on it. Hoosier Mom I do understand what you mean about your debt. Just remember the credit cards were there when you really needed them to keep you afloat. You did what you had to do and there is no shame in that. You have done a tremendous job in getting them paid down. Cheers to all


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 21 2012 at 4:17pm
Mississippi Mama... get a Berkey it will work well for you.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SusanT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 26 2012 at 8:46am
I just went through my medical supplies and checked expiration dates to replace old items and bought new Fish Mox. I took your advise Elver and Penham, and just got back from Walmart with a TON of clothes, socks and underwear for my son in the next two sizes that he'll be growing into in the next few years, all on clearance for a couple dollars each! Also bought two sets of thermal underwear for all of us - also on sale for 2 dollars each!

As for grocery items, I'm adding a few canned/boxed goods every trip to the store, but I bought a 25 lb. bag of sugar and 10 lbs of canning salt (for preserving meats) the other day.

I'm trying to convince my husband that we need to spend the money on getting a hand pump for our well, but he doesn't want to put the money into a proper cast iron one installed. Does anyone have any experience with Flojak or EZWater well pumps?

I'm also trying to save some money to buy some silver next month.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HoosierMom Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 26 2012 at 5:09pm
FYI......I was cleaning out some old totes found one with white rice that expired in 2007. This was in unsealed bags, unsealed totes. I did'nt see any bugs, and safe to say that in a pinch it would be delicious. So anything sealed in a better fashion, would last longer than 5 years easy.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Penham Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 26 2012 at 9:25pm
I was at the Dollar Tree today and picked up several bottles of guaffenasin cough syrup and pills (generic Mucinex), also got some Cepacol throat spray, generic benaryl both liquid and pills, and a few packs of batteries AA and AAA.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 26 2012 at 9:54pm
HoosierMom - I found about 30lbs of pasta a few months back that I'd put in a tote in original packaging and completely forgot about. It's been on the ground in the garage so it stayed cool, and the expiration on most of it was 2009-2010. I was about to toss it all and decided to try it first. We've been using a bag with an expiration of 2009, and it's absolutely fine. Like you, I really scrutinized it for bugs and couldn't find a trace. Makes you wonder what the shelf life would be sealed in mylar.

"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HoosierMom Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 28 2012 at 3:48am
Yes Jacksdad,  mine was in a tote on the garage floor as well, original package! I tried it and it was fine, I tossed it because I started over. I did think about keeping it for bartering.  Ermm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 28 2012 at 8:54pm
HoosierMom - that's not a bad idea, especially if you repackaged it Wink

A few days ago, I noticed our local Ralphs was having a sale on various canned vegetables. My preps rely heavily on canned food, and they're three for a dollar - considerably cheaper than our local Food For Less and Walmart - so I've been stocking up. I don't know when the sale ends so I tried to get as many as possible, but unfortunately they have a limit of six per Ralphs card, but I've run into their limits before and have four cards. I bought 24 yesterday, and went in again today to see if the limit was a daily one, and luckily it is so I picked up another 24. For $8 a day, I could double my stock of mixed veggies in a week at a fraction of the price I would normally expect to pay. Maybe I should get another card...?


"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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