April Preparedness Tally

What did you do to increase or manage your preparedness in April?  We did a few things, didn't get to a few others.

I made a target for my compound bow with a bale of wood shavings and hand-stitched a burlap cover. Didn't get any practice due to an injured left elbow.  If you haven't looked into a reasonably-priced bow, or made one yourself (saw a video re: making one from PVC pipes -- it was a nice bow), it is a very frugal alternative to some types of firearms.  No, don't keep a bow under your pillow to defend against intruders, but for areas where it isn't safe to use a varmint gun, a bow may work.  Reloading your ammo is a lot faster, too!

We organized and rotated some food storage, checked and reorganized meds in the first aid/med bags, and ended up with some extra firewood when the big tree came down. By the time we need heat, it should be a dry enough. Nice to have a little something back for what the tree work cost!

Also tended the fruit trees -- thinned the apples, fertilized the serviceberries and pulled weeds from the Jerusalem artichoke patch.  Next month is canning time for currant and serviceberry jams, so rotated my pectin to use the older stuff next.

Also got a new tooth after breaking one. Don't forget to keep up with your dental care. Having a bad tooth in an emergency situation can be debilitating. If you need care and can't afford it, check with your dentist to see if they have a sliding scale or do any free work.  There are also websites for free dental care foundations and programs.

Did a few other things that we don't post on the blog, but it was a productive month. 

What did you do in April? Any new frugal tips to share?

Great Product: Orange Drink Beverage Mix

I'm really impressed with the Orange Drink mix (beverage product) from Emergency Essentials.  No, it doesn't taste like fresh orange juice.  It does taste good though -- refreshing without any weird aftertaste.  Better than Tang for sure! You can also make a good gelatin desert with it using plain gelatin and adjusting the strength of the mix and water.  So that's the palatability part of my review.

Here's the best part. The FORTIFIED name on the can means it has lots of nutrients in it.  Take a look at those vitamins and minerals. Many of these are needed in stressful situations or emergencies. If you are using the Food Storage Analyzer and are frustrated with your inability to balance some of the nutrients, add a can of the Orange Drink Mix. You'll be surprised by the changes!

If you still aren't sure that you want to add this to your long-term storage until you try it, or just want a smaller size because you keep only a few days of food storage, try the MY CHOICE size.  One MY CHOICE can holds 28 ounces of beverage powder, which should make 27  8-ounce servings.

Yes, I have some of this in my emergency food supplies.

Two other drink mix flavors are also available, peach and apple.  I tasted the apple drink at one of the Emergency Essentials stores on my trip through Utah and it's also very good.

Frugality versus Deprivation

There is a meaningful difference between frugality and deprivation. Frugality is about having what you need, and some of what you want but may not need, at a cost that is within your means.  Deprivation, especially self-deprivation, is about not allowing yourself to have something that is not harmful to you, that you need or reasonably want even if you can afford it. I am not talking about purposeful spiritual or religious deprivation that serves a developmental role in our spiritual growth, such as fasting or giving up chocolate for Lent.  Frugality is a lifestyle.  Deprivation as a monetary lifestyle could be a form of self-punishment and can become a mental or spiritual illness.

Here's an example of frugality: My Dear Husband likes a particular type of shampoo. I bought a 13.5 ounce bottle of it at Target for just under $11.00 (79 cents per ounce).   Soon after I bought that, which fits well in our shower caddy, I found the 33.8 ounce bottles of the exact same stuff at Marshall's for $9.99 (30 cents per ounce).  My DH doesn't care whether I manage my budget to spend 79 or 30 cents an ounce on the shampoo as long as he has what he prefers.  So I refill the smaller bottle from the less expensive stock and save or re-purpose the other 49 cents an ounce. That's being frugal.

 Same scenario, deprivation might look like substituting a cheaper shampoo (that DH does not like) to save money whether we can afford the green shampoo or not. The rationale may be fear of not being able to afford something else in the future (usually vague not specific), or a notion of some stigma from using a product normally enjoyed by someone of a higher socioeconomic status, or some other idea that I can't even imaging because I try hard not to be crazy. On top of the false economy, I would also invite annoyance from my husband for providing him with a bad substitute for something he specifically asked me to buy for him and can afford, so I would feel bad twice.  This is the area when frugality begins to slide into a mental illness of deprivation.  Specifically, doing something with your money that punishes you for no logical reason. Deprivation can also look like overspending on many small things you don't need (or don't need in a reasonable timeframe), which deprives you of more expensive things you do need.

Where I'm going with this is that frugality can be tricky.  Being prepared can also be tricky.  When preparing starts to take up so much space in your home that you can't live your daily life, it's a problem.  When you have a year's supply of soap and toothpaste and you keep buying it instead of the next item on your list, you may be stuck somehow. When frugality becomes self or family deprivation, it's time for some help. Surprisingly, one of the best sources of help is Debtors Anonymous.  You may respond with "But I'm not in debt!"  You may be in debt to yourself. You may not owe anyone any money, but if you are depriving yourself or your family of the reasonably affordable fullness of life or spiritual peace because of your practices with money -- including how you're earning, saving or spending it, you may want to try a meeting or two.  It may change your life.

Lessons learned about contracting for work

Sincere apologies, but have been out of town waiting for tree-trimmers.  I can share my lessons about frugality and tree trimming!  We had a large nasty tree near our property line.  It is a fast-growing Siberian elm, a species planted by many of the early settlers in the southwest because they grow fast and are drought tolerant.  They are also just plain nasty. They contract bacterial infections and rot internally.  They have elm leaf beetle infestations that literally rain bug poo from the trees. In their defense, they provide lots of shade.

The large elm, about 4 feet in diameter at the base and probably 65 feet tall, was an accident waiting to happen.  The previous trimmers left too much weight up high in the tree (another lesson learned for me).  As a result, it was poised to crash down on my neighbor's home in a high wind, potentially killing them in their sleep. Not good for sooo many reasons, including that they run the only regularly open cafe for a 20 mile radius. For the good of the local economy, I usually would have locals do my tree trimming.  Due to the size and location of the tree, I wanted a licensed, bonded company to do the work.  Better to let them use their insurance if they dropped the tree on the neighbor's house!

I started requesting estimates last November. The town is a smidge remote, but the first guy took 6 weeks and came back with a stunning estimate of $13,000. Having had similar work done before, I knew that was at least 400% too high.  The next guy provided a $1200 estimate for the same work. Probably too low, but if the final bill was twice that, it was still a deal.  SOLD.

Went to the location a few days ahead of their arrival date to prepare the yard for the impending trauma. Got a message that they were having equipment problems and would be a day late.  A day turned into a week, but they finally arrived.  The crew was great.  They worked neatly and efficiently, one man in the air with a chainsaw (bucket truck on a 60 foot boom) and the other 2 hauled the trimmings for a chipper/shredder. They were careful to check with me re: which branches to cut, where I wanted the mulch piles, etc..  The man in the bucket was nice about not dropping chunks of tree on other trees or structure roofs.

 

Overall I was very pleased with the work, despite getting the unplanned extra week of 'vacation.'  There are a few things that I will pass a long:

1. Decide what your potential liabilities are before you make the decision to do it yourself or pay someone else to do work.  The more dangerous the job, the wiser it is to hire experts.
2.  If the problem requiring the work potentially endangers the lives of others, start early to get the problem taken care of. 
3. Where possible, ask for several estimates from different providers at the same time.  The first guy I asked for an estimate knew I wanted the work done in February and dragged his feet thinking I'd accept his insane price because he had me in some time crunch. I really didn't want to wait until April, but wasn't willing to pay a 95% premium to the bum.
4. Hire licensed, bonded companies for dangerous work. If not, YOU are the employer and may end up paying for worker's compensation or the neighbor's house if YOUR employee goofs up. It may cost you an extra few hundred, but it may save you tens of thousands.

Bottom line:  It is always more frugal to pay a bit more to get something done right than to lose everything to save a few bucks.

What a Great Day!

 

 

Near the end of this arrangement is the refrain 'He is worthy.'

 

Let us so live and have faith that we may be worthy, too.

Rainwater Harvesting

Many of you who follow this blog also follow Being Awake, my alter ego. Sometimes a posting fits the parameters for both blogs, so I cross-reference.  This is one of those posts. Your rooftop can provide low-cost (over the life of the project) additional water for your outdoor use. In an emergency, this resource can supplement your domestic use with some 'home treatment.  There are lots of ways to capture your rainwater.  If your home already has gutters and downspouts, you have a lot more options because you can place a larger volume collection tank right under a downspout.

In addition to the types of collectors in the Being Awake post, you can use almost anything that will hold water. A wide opening is best for lots of reasons of you aren't equipped with gutters and downspout.  Before we installed our system in the back of the house, I put a laundry tub under the drip edge of the house.  It collected a fair amount of water, but because it wasn't covered, I had to use it all within 3 days or the mosquitoes started maturing.  If you have some sort of tub to collect, you could go one step beyond what I did in those days -- get an old screen, from a window or door and put it over the top of your open collection tub. Then you can use the water over a longer period.

If you are blessed with regular rainfall, you can have the pieces of this system identified and implement it only during emergencies to supplement stored water. For non-potable uses other than watering fruit and veggie plants, you'll need fabric to strain the water, a bucket to strain into, a bowl or smaller bucket for the transfer and a way to disinfect the water. Boiling the water works and can yield potable water, but takes a lot of fuel.  If your need is for bathing or clothes washing, a little chlorine bleach may do the trick.  Chlorine products tend to dissipate over a relatively short time, so let the water sit an extra hour or two before washing dark clothing or they may not remain dark for long.

Depending on the geometry of your roof, or if you have a flat roof with canales, you may want a rain chain to help direct the water to your catchment. If you do research and decide you really need one, here's a tip: make your own. The commercial ones are lovely, but I sure don't need $200 worth of lovely. There are a lot of DIY designs on the Internet, like this one and this one.  Or you can just use a big rust-resistant chain you already have. It just needs moderately large links to help direct fast flowing water.

I chose a simpler method. To make this kind, you need pre-rolled wire or use a form and roll your own. I used a form (I used a 2 foot section of 2" PVC pipe), a way to cut metal (I used a hacksaw and some tin snips) and some soft metal wire or tubing. You'll be bending it, so nothing stiff or it will be a real ordeal. The process is a lot like this, except I didn't solder the rings together.

Decide how long a chain you need. For a 2" form, you'll get a little over 2 chain links per foot of material. I had a couple of coupons and a gift card from Lowe's, so I went nuts and bought soft copper tubing -- the stuff that's already in a roll. You may want to use a few separate pieces of the wire just to make wrapping easier. 

Wrap the wire around the form so that it forms a single layer, like you are making a big spring. Then use the hacksaw to cut the 'big spring' along a line that cuts each twist of the spring on one place (A single long cut parallel to the long direction of the tube). If the hacksaw can't get through the full diameter of the metal, use the tin snips to finish off each link ( hence using soft metal). You may need to slide the 'spring' off the tube to make the final snip. You should now have a bunch of links.

Loop these together one at a time and bend each link slightly to close the opening as you go.   After a few links, you'll start to see your chain emerge!

So you can use transform your pesky roof runoff into a useful resource with stuff around your home, or go hog wild with a fancy system, depending on your budget and how much you need the resource!

Put on your socks and shoes!

We grew up frugal.  Not to the point of obsession, but to the point of a balanced family budget, including some savings. Dad was career Army and in those days, debt was a career-ender. We always had what we needed, but not always what we wanted, which is fine because kids always want everything.  Growing up was fun. Whether we lived on or off post, there was usually a wooded area or pond nearby where we could learn and play simultaneously.

So what does this have to do with the title? Part of our basic civility training as children was that we did not 'appear' in the morning before we had brushed our hair and teeth, washed our faces (easy to fake!) and put on our socks and shoes. No fancy slippers, just socks and usually Keds. We could still be in our pajamas. Other than flip-flops, if we appeared without socks, we were sent back to our rooms for them.

So what's the big deal about socks? The right socks cushion your feet and absorb perspiration. Not only does this help keep your feet in shape (Dad was infantry), and reduce shoe odor, but can help extend the life of your shoes. Ahhh, here's the frugal part! 

Have you ever thrown out a pair of otherwise OK shoes due to their odor? Do your shoes seem to melt after several wears, to the point you either sideline them or get rid of them? Do you buy cheap shoes because of this problem? Maybe it's not just the shoes.  My feet are shoe-destroyers. If I don't wear socks or stockings the leather seems to wilt. I have a few pairs of shoes that are more than 20 years old.  I can still wear them, especially a really nice pair of Timberline moccasins with vibram soles, in part because I always have worn socks with them.

What's your shoe behavior? Buy cheap and toss or buy better and take care of them? How about socks? My default footwear includes a pair of Smartwool socks and Teva sandals, year round. I purchase both at Sierra Trading Post. Yes, I signed up for the annoying e-mails, but they often include notices of extra savings. I pay about $5 a pair for what are normally $18 socks. I usually buy the Teva sandals when they are $20 or less. I can toss them in the washer (not the dryer!) when they get filthy and they're ready to go after a few hours of air drying.  I wear them out -- literally wear the treads to nubs.

I buy the best boots I can afford from STP. Right now I'm wearing Lowa's that cost me less than $70 on special, but were originally several hundred.  These have lasted 3 years thus far, and will probably outlive me, in part because I wear socks with every use. 

Even good socks are cheap when compared to the cost of quality shoes and boots. You can toss them if they get a hole or wear excessively in one spot. Don't stop wearing socks due to their cost. They'll save you and your feet a bundle in the long run. Pun intended!