Farmers Market Find!!

Whenever I find a good deal at the Farmers market I like to share it! Today I found bartlett pears for 3lbs for $1. So I bought a 40lb box for $14. They taste AMAZING when they are canned and it's a great time of year to be canning, before it gets too hot in the kitchen! If you would like help learning how to can them then let me know and I can help you. They are very simple.

Week 5 72 Hour Kit challenge

Now that you have your food, you will need something to cook it with! So here are a few suggestions for you.....

 

Opening Your Food:

• Sewing Kit
• 12-in-1 Scissors
• 14-in-1 Multi-tool
• Leatherman Style tool and lockback knife
• Deluxe Pocket Knife
• Knife with LED Flashlight
• Crank can opener
• 14-in-1 Multi-tool
• 6-in-1 Survival shovel

Heating Your Food (Oatmeal, Hot cocoa, or soup / entrees etc):

• Stove in a Can
• Wing Stove
• MSR Windpro
• Heat Cell (small, light, just $4 and will burn hot enough to boil water for 4 hour or warm a tent for 8-9 hours…safe to use inside a tent)
• 5 Piece Mess Kit
• Aluminum foil, wrap food in foil and throw it in a fire to cook w/o needing any cookware! Easy, cheap, light and small!

 

Hope this helps!!

 

*Remember to add $1 to everyone's backpacks to ensure that you have money in case your debit/credit cards don't work! *

Week 8 Food Storage Challenge

Here's a nice and easy one to grab at the store, get 8 cans of tuna for every two adults in the family. It's budget friendly and always at the store ;)

Week 4 for 72 hour kits

This week it's time to get your food for your backpacks. So if you signed up or would still like to sign up I will be purchasing all of the items for the food kits this week! They will have three full days worth of food with a menu to help you ration your food. Each kit will cost $9 each and the money is due on Wednesday the 20th!!! Let me know if you're interested!!

If you want other options for your food then here are some more suggestions:

1. MREs, they have a longer shelf life and are lightweight and easy to store however they don't taste as good and you won't get the variety of packing your own foods that you know you will eat.

2. Mountain house pouches. They are just add water pouches and you can get them in many different varieties so you can choose what your family likes to eat. They have a 5 year shelf life and are also easy to store but you will also have to store more water to be able to eat them.


*Don't forget to add $1.00 to everyone's pack for emergencies in case your debit or credit cards don't work you will have money if you need it! Keep the bills small so that you can make change for whatever you need if you need to!*

Week 7 Challenge

Here's another easy grocery store find! This week is 10 pounds of Rice for every 2 adults in the family. If you need it in bulk or need more for your family the cannery has them in #10 cans for $4.00 each and they have 5 pounds in each can. The best part is that it has a 30 year shelf life so you can keep it in your storage for a long time!

Chicken!

If you would like to buy really good chicken in bulk then go to www.zayconfoods.com They currently have their chicken on sale again. It's $1.79lb for 40lbs. It's from farms where they don't add any hormones and the chicken has never been frozen. It's great for canning too!

Week 3 for 72 hour kits More water!

Now that you have your water for your backpacks you may have noticed that you need a lot! I have cases of water in my garage that can easily be grabbed and put in my van if we are leaving by car but if you are having to walk then you'll realize that the backpacks can be quite heavy with just the water alone. So here's another thing to think about adding to your backpacks so that you can have extra access to water. There's many different suggestions and they are all up to you and what you prefer to do.

Suggestion #1 Bleach:

Pros:

• Inexpensive & easy method.
• Available at almost any store.
• Kills most microorganisms.
• Can treat a large amount of water all at once.
• Time-effective

Cons:

• Does not remove contaminants such as heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals.
• Will not remove mud or dirt or make muddy water clear again.
• Will not fix the taste of contaminated water.
• Even clear water treated with bleach will taste funny.

If you choose this method: If you choose this method, you will need to keep bleach in your 72 hour kit (find a small container at a dollar store or in the travel section). Make sure to rotate it every few months! You may also want to consider adding a drink mix to make treated water more palatable. Print out the following instructions from FEMA and keep them with the bleach:

Use only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented bleaches, colorsafe bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. Because the potency of bleach diminishes with time, use bleach from a newly opened or unopened bottle. Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of bleach, discard it and find another source of water.
 

Suggestion #2 Boiling water
Pros:

• Very effective at treating microorganisms in water, and used in conjunction with distillation, it will also remove heavy metals, salts and chemicals.
• It will make your water clear to drink and make it taste relatively normal.
• It is also relatively inexpensive if you already have a pot and heat source.

Cons:

• You will need a LARGE pot, lid, and small stove in your 72 hour kit. These items will take up some space.
• You will need to use fuel, which will be precious in an emergency, just to get drinkable water. You may prefer to save your fuel for other things.
• You can only distill so much water at a time.
• This method is not time-effective.

If you choose this method: Add a large pot with a handled lid (see illustration below), a small cup, string, and a small stove (with fuel) to your 72 hr kit. Print these instructions from FEMA and keep them with your pot:

Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back to water. The condensed vapor will not include salt or most other impurities. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water), and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled. (see illustration)

Suggestion #3: Water Purification Tablets / Treatment solutions

Pros:

• Inexpensive: a bit more expensive than bleach, though not by much.
• Take up very little space.
• Usually taste better than bleach
• Will kill most microorganisms.
• Can treat a large amount of water all at once.
• Time-effective.

Cons:

• Will not remove other contaminants such as heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals.
• Will not remove mud or dirt or make muddy water clear again.
• Will not fix the taste of contaminated water.

If you choose this method: Make sure that the option you purchase includes directions and be sure to include them in your kit.

Suggestion #4 Water filtration bottle
Pros:

• Relatively inexpensive (when compared to other water filters).
• Convenient.
• Filter water just as you need it.
• Treats microorganisms and filters heavy metals and chemicals as well as sand, mud, silt, etc.
• Can have one for each family member.
• Filtered water is easily portable.
• Filtered water will be clear and taste normal.

Cons:

• Will need to replace filter periodically (usually after filtering about 30 gallons).
• Sometimes difficult to push water through the filter: you can’t suck it out. You will need to push it through the filter into a glass or cup.
• Filter has a shelf life. Even if you only use it once, you will need to replace it after 6 months.

Suggestion #5 A Steripen
Pros:

• Very quick! Water is ready in just seconds.
• Convenient. Small & Light. Fits almost anywhere  Pros:
  
  • Effective against microorganisms and heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals as well as sand, mud etc .
  • Typically lightweight.
  • Can usually pump and filter at the same time.
  • Most can filter and incredible amount of water: some up to 13,000 gallons.
  • Some can be attached to your faucet and used if you were to shelter in place and still had running water, but were unsure of its safety.
  Cons:
  
  • Expensive
  • You will have to replace the filter after you filter so many gallons.
  • Filter has a shelf life. Even if you only use it once, you will need to replace it after 6 months
  If you choose this method: Purchase one (or more) water filters and add it to your kit
• Fits into almost any water bottle or cup.
• Very effective against all microorganisms.
• Can have one for each family member.

Cons:

• Relatively expensive: especially if you buy one for everyone in your family.
• Does not filter heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals or sand, mud etc.
• Will not fix the taste of contaminated water.

Suggestion #6 A Water Filter
Pros:

• Effective against microorganisms and heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals as well as sand, mud etc .
• Typically lightweight.
• Can usually pump and filter at the same time.
• Most can filter and incredible amount of water: some up to 13,000 gallons.
• Some can be attached to your faucet and used if you were to shelter in place and still had running water, but were unsure of its safety.

Cons:

•  They are expensive.
• You will have to replace the filter after you filter so many gallons.
• Filter has a shelf life. Even if you only use it once, you will need to replace it after 6 months

If you choose this method: Purchase one (or more) water filters and add it to your kit

Week 6 Challenge

Here's a nice and easy one to get! 6 pounds of macaroni for every 2 adults in the family. This is easy to get if  you are at the cannery, you would only need to buy 2 cans and you'd have enough.

Week 5 Challenge

Here's a larger one to get this week. Get 50 pounds of wheat for every two adults in the family. The cannery sells them pre packaged with 6 #10 cans in each box. They are $21 and they have Hard red wheat and white wheat. Remember if you follow these weekly tips then you will have a year's supply in 52 weeks.