I Have a Confession...

Okay, I will admit it.  I have found a new love.  It's an unexpected love.  The kind of love that has always been there and you just never noticed.  It stays in the background hoping that you will turn around and notice it.  Well I did.  Just last week I noticed what had been staring at me in the face for as many years as I can remember and I just never understood the joy it would bring me.

It may be wrong but.... I. LOVE. VINEGAR.!!

About $2.00 for this gallon of plain ole vinegar.  Very inexpensive.

Now before you rush to judge me let me tell you our tale. It's not the typical tale but it is one full of new understandings, forgotten truths, and respect.  Vinegar is in fact the most versatile and useful thing you can have in your home.  After you hear and learn all that I have about this completely amazing product you will love it to, that's okay I will share ;).

It all started with a Google search as these things often do.  I was looking for cleaning products that were a little more on the natural side and was looking for ways to cut costs so we could save a little more money for a piece of real estate we can someday call our own.  I am very fussy about my kitchen, I usually disinfect with bleach 2 or 3 times a week.  I clean it every day but a couple times a week I spray everything down with bleach and let it sit for 30mins or so before I wash it off.  I have a thing about germs, I can't help it I just do LOL.  My husband on the other hand can not stand the smell of bleach and will complain for hours after he gets home.  I don't know why he can't just appreciate the germ free environment I provide for him but as a good wife I decided to see what else I could do.

After reading a million posts and blog articles on how vinegar makes a spiffy disinfectant I didn't just want to fall for some old wives tale so I dug a little more.  Well, according to science, vinegar is very high in acid so it is pretty low on the pH scale at 3.1. Most germs can not live in that type of environment and will die off before they can infest an unsuspecting host.  I sprayed my counters down with a full dose of vinegar for the initial kill off of germs,  and let it set for 20 to 30 minutes before I wiped it down with soap and water and then I mixed up a batch of 'everyday' cleaner, 1 part vinegar to 1 part water.  I use it every day when I clean the kitchen now and intend to do a once a week full strength dose.  Apparently, vinegar can be hard for some surfaces so do a test area first.

Combine equal parts vinegar and water in spray bottle for a kick butt counter cleaner.

It's a disinfectant so what?  So skeptical you all are.  Pay attention there is still more to this story.  Go get a cup of coffee...it's okay I will wait.

I recently decided to try to make my own laundry soap as I live in a house with 3 sensitive men.  Well 3 men with skin sensitivities anyway.  It was a smashing success.  No itchies, my sons acne on his back is improving and  we all love it!  Except one small thing.  It makes the clothes a little rough and stiff.  So back to Google I go and what do you suppose comes up as an all powerful and great fabric softener??  You got it babe, its VINEGAR!  I was skeptical at first I'll be honest.  While I was pretty impressed that it could clean my counters to my satisfaction I wasn't quite ready with the thought that  I could put in my laundry (apparently people all across the land knows this!).  But I really didn't find anything else to be helpful so I decided to do a test run.  Loaded a load of the kids laundry (I wasn't going to use my clothes, I'm not crazy) put in my 1 Tbsp of laundry soap and a quarter cup of vinegar to my rinse cycle and said a quick prayer that the kids don't start school smelling like deviled eggs. Lo and Behold, let me tell you that those close look and feel really good AND they don't smell like deviled eggs!

Mix equal parts olive oil and vinegar with a few drops of citrus oil for a great furniture polish.  Shake well before using. You can use juice from the fruit but you must keep it refrigerated..

'Wow' you say!  That is impressive, it disinfects and softens clothes!?! That is amazing.  But wait!!  There is more.

We just recently made a big move where we sold everything and moved halfway across the nation and had to repurchase most things.  After a lot of thought we decided we were going to shop for quality and not for price.  The kids are older and the dogs no longer have the strength to jump on the furniture so why the heck not!  Oh our furniture is all wood, beautiful and truly the nicest thing I have ever had.  I polish it up to a shine once a week and baby it for the rest of the time.  I needed a decent furniture polish that cleaned and polished at the same time.  I mean I do have a life and all this cleaning is really a buzz kill.  So, well you know back to Google I went and found a magnificent recipe for homemade furniture polish.  You guessed it! Vinegar!  Mix it with olive oil and few drops of citrus oil, shake it up and WHAM!  Shiny and clean wood and I didn't have to spend a fortune on cleaning supplies.

It is unbelievable what vinegar can do.  I have heard little rumors here and there about how great it does on windows and that it can kill weeds but truly, I never knew.  Check here for more uses:  http://www.rd.com/home/150-household-uses-for-vinegar/.

Vinegar is so inexpensive, I paid less than $2.00 for a gallon of the stuff.  I will be doing a cost breakdown between vinegar recipes as opposed to the store bought cleaners but I really think it is a much better bargain.

I should also mention that the smell does not linger, your house will not smell like you have been decorating eggs all day.

Also, because of the acidic nature of vinegar I use gloves as it can be a bit harsh straight on your skin.

Hope you learn to love vinegar as much as I do.  It is less harsh than cleansers you have around the house, safer to have around children and pets and way less expensive.  I will never buy another cleaner again.  This is the bee's knees!

DIY Laundry Soap For Sensitive Skin

Look how lovely it looks.

My husband and two sons have super sensitive skin to most laundry detergents and my oldest son even breaks out in hives if I use something on the 'no no' list.  We had been using All Free and Clear and it worked for a few years but they are complaining again of itchy and dry skin. So instead of spending a bunch of money trying a new variety of detergents to figure out what we could use next I decided to hit Google and see what I could find.

I ran across this blog post http://thethriftycouple.com/2012/01/26/homemade-laundry-detergent-powder-recipe-like-ivory-snow-and-dreft-soap/ that a very informative woman wrote. I chatted with her for a few days, ran our situation by her and decided to go ahead and  give it a try.  

After 3 days of them wearing clothes washed in it the itchy complaints have stopped.    Of course this was a blind study because I think sometimes they just get an idea in their heads and run with it LOL.   I do want to point out that I chose baking soda over the washing soda because it is less caustic.  I don't have little kids anymore so the clothes don't get that dirty.

It was so inexpensive and super easy to make anyone could do it.  $4.99 for the Borax, $1.00 for the Ivory soap and $2.99 for the Baking Soda.  That is a lot less than the cost of the All Detergent.  Plus it is even less when you separate it out into how many batches I can make.  With the 3 pack soap we know I can at least make 3 batches.  I think though that it would make at least 5 if I had bought a 5 pack of Ivory rather than the smaller package.

I was also surprised at how little I have use.  I use 1 to 2 tablespoons depending on what I am washing and it gets them sparkly clean and there is no detergent odor left on the clothes.  

Just one more tiny step in my quest of self sufficiency and prepping for the anything that might come up.

Please post any questions you might have and I will do my best to answer them or at least point you in the right direction to get it answered.

Step by Step Solar Oven

SOLAR OVEN FUN!!!

Having a solar oven is one of the things I always wanted to try.  I have friends who have built some and love them.  Another friend told me I could build an super easy one out of cardboard and a few other things I had laying around the house.  So Google and I spent the afternoon together searching the web for a fairly simple one.  Stay tuned tomorrow because I will be trying it out with a meal.

I started with a medium moving box because we just moved and I had a ton of them.  My box is 18 inches or so squared which made it much simpler to do as far as measurements went.  

Other Supplies

-Cotton batting (the directions I used actually called 

for insulation but that seemed a bit much for me.  I used cotton batting, like the kind you use for making quilts. It was a bit more expensive than I would have liked but I didn't think fiberglass would be good either.   $20.00

-Elmer's Glue-non toxic.  I went through 2 4oz bottles.  $0.50 each

-black spray paint-flat, the kind you use for BBQs-non-toxic $3

-Reynolds' cooking bag $1

-aluminium foil- maybe about $1 worth

-scissors, measuring tape and duct tape, which I already had.

 Tape the flaps to the outside of the box.
I also reinforced the bottom of the box with a bit of duct tape as well.  This is obviously not a forever model.  Remember it's just a test model.  So far the building of the solar oven is pretty easy LOL.






Now the directions told me to cut out the insulation. I need 5 pieces each 18 inches or so squared to fit the bottom of my box as well as all four sides.









 I used cotton batting and as it is pretty thin I actually used 10 pieces total.  2 pieces glued together for each side.

Aluminium foil is next.  You want to cover the entire cotton with it.  Shiny side out.  I glued  it straight to the cotton.  

It should look something like this when it is done.  After I made five of them I took them outside to spray paint them black.  Again I used non-toxic flat black spray paint-the kind they use on BBQers.

While those are drying make the cover.

^ for the lid you want a bit of a bigger box that the one you used for the oven.  I fortunately have lot's of those as well.  I cut my lid 20in X 20in  and measured in 1 inch on all four sides and cut the middle out.

Cut the bottom and up one side of the turkey bag and spread it out. 

Glue the turkey bag to the frame and cut the excess edge off.

I also duck taped it around the edge just to give it some more stability.  I am thinking a two inch frame would have been better for that.  But we live and we learn.

Okay the insulation covered with aluminium foil and painted black is now dry.   I started with the bottom of the box and glued it down.  Do that to all four of the sides as well.  

Because the insulation caused the insides to be different dimensions (which I totally did not account for DUH!)  I had some sticking out of the top of the box.  You could trim it down, I just used duct tape and taped it to the outside of the box.  Really is there anything duct tape can't do?  Love it!

After words you place your turkey bag frame over the top and voila!  You are supposed to be able to take it out and cook.  I decided it needed a bit more.

Reflectors!  Duh!  I just cut some more card board and glued aluminium foil shiny side up to them.  

It's a bit late in my day to try and cook anything today so tomorrow will be the big test.  Hope it works.

  

A solar oven usually doesn't get over about 250 degrees so it will work more like a crock pot.  You will need to make sure you have plenty of time and sun available.  Because of how long it takes you may have to   turn it every so often so you get max sun.  

As always feel free to comment and please go check out my Facebook page and give it a like at 

https://www.facebook.com/ThePreppingPrincess

To give credit where credit is due I printed off directions to make this oven at:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-make-a-solar-oven.html

8 easy steps for folding a napkin

Having the in-laws over for dinner or just want to fancy up a dinner for two.  Just  follow these easy steps.

1. Lay napkin down seamed side up.

2. Pull up one corner and bring it diagonally to its opposite corner.  It may not line up exactly but it should still work.  It should look like a triangle at this point.  Pretty easy so far huh?  

3.  Pull up left corner to middle corner and crease by just running your hand along the seams.  

4.  Pull up right corner to middle corner and crease.  Your napkin should now look like a diamond with a line up the middle.

5. Flip entire napkin up side down. Still looks like a diamond.  Are you still with me?  Trust me, do this a couple times and you will never forget how.  

6.  Pull up the bottom part of the diamond and bring it to it's opposite end and crease down the middle. Looks like a triangle again.  So easy!  See that little gap right there?  That's going to be the fancy part of this whole folding thing.

7. Fold napkin in half along that little gap.  Be sure you fold it so the gap is facing out.  Now it looks like an even smaller triangle.  Don't give up,  you are almost there!

8.  Now just set it up like this.  First photo is how it should look from the front.  Second photo is how it looks from the behind.

Told you it was disgustingly easy to do.  

Kindle Touch 99$

I promise that I won't keep bombarding  you with ads but seriously what a bargain!  I absolutely love love love my Kindle.  This is not the fancy Fire one but if you are just looking for something you can read a book on and don't need all the bells and whistles that the Fire has this is the one right here!  Plus because it's not color and it doesn't have all those nifty apps the battery lasts a very long time.  I seriously charge mine maybe 2 times a month and I use it a lot!  If you have been thinking of getting one. Do it!

Likely Scenarios Part 1

LIKELY SCENARIOS

This took on a life of its own and has almost turned into a mini book.  With that being the case I decided to turn this into a 3 part series.  Bear with me, It’s been a lot of years since I have had to write and it’s taking me bit to get warmed back up.

  

I am often asked exactly what am I preparing my family for.  A total global economic collapse? An earthquake? Nuclear war? A Depression? Zombie apocalypse? How about the Mayan predictions or maybe the mother ship is coming to take me home?  My answer is: Absolutely!  Obviously some things are not very likely to happen but many are very real possibilities and those are the scenarios that I am preparing for.

Figuring out where to start is always the hardest part of any endeavor one takes on and it is no different with prepping. I had so many scenarios dancing in my head I finally had to break everything into groups that I found most could fit under.  I am sure there are a lot more you can think of and I would love to hear about it so leave a comment when you are done reading.

1. Group one would be things that are most likely to happen. Someone you know, maybe it’s even happened to you, has probably experienced them. These are the little disasters that are hitting US citizens every single day.  You see these scenarios every day around 5pm when you turn on the news.  You should already be prepared for these situations, if you’re not then start your focus here.

2. Group two will still be scenarios that are likely to happen maybe not tomorrow or next spring but most probably within the next 10 to 15years.  Some of these are situations your grand parents can give you firsthand accounts of and some of them you have seen yourself in your lifetime or have heard of it happening in another country.  

3. The third group will be those that are least likely to happen and yet are in no way so far out of the realm of possibility that I should forego thinking about them.

Let’s talk jobs.  How secure is your job?  Are you thinking pretty secure?  Are you sure? Well finding a job isn't as easy as it used to be.  As of July 2012 the national unemployment rate in the US was 8.3% with Nevada and California leading the ranks at 13.8% and 11.9% respectively.  That means of every 100 people in Nevada almost 14 are unemployed.  Do me a favor now. Go outside and take a walk.  Walk 2 square blocks and look around, 8 of those neighbors are looking for work right now.  That’s a lot of people without a paycheck to pay their bills, to feed their families and to keep a roof over their children’s heads.  What are they going to do? 

If they made just a couple basic preparations they will have given themselves a bit of breathing room.  Maybe when they went grocery shopping they picked up extra of canned goods when they were on sale? Maybe they bought flour, rice and sugar in bulk because they use a lot of it.  Maybe they have a small garden in the back yard. According to data I got from the USDA the average family of 4 spends about $182.70 a week on groceries.  That is $730.80 a month that family was able to save while they looked for a new job.  That’s quite a bit of relief off their shoulders. Let’s take it one step forward.

This is a family who probably also lived frugally, meaning they didn’t spend more than they made.  Maybe they gave up movie night or got rid of cable, whatever saves them a couple bucks and they were able to sock some away and pay ahead on their mortgage and car payments.  One thing that I hear about that I love is paying extra on your mortgage.  The best advice is when you have the extra money-instead of wasting it on stuff you don’t really need-pay a month in advance. What a load off to know you will still have a roof over your head for a month or more.  Depending on where you are that can save a family up to let’s say $1500 a month.  So between the groceries they saved and paying ahead on their mortgage they are looking at not having to worry about coming up with a bit more than $2200 for a month at least but hopefully 3 months.  

That is a pretty local scenario.  It is pretty much your house, your family and your problem. Not completely the end of the world as we know it but definitely hard times.

Let’s expand from there.  Almost every part of the Earth is affected by some sort of natural disaster. Hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, flooding and drought are all happening right now somewhere in the world. These are the scenarios that you know are going to happen this year or next year.  You probably talk about getting a kit together maybe putting away a gallon or two of water just in case a storm knocks out your power but life gets in the way.  I know that.  It’s certainly happened to me more than once, but I had to make prepping a priority.  You can only talk about it and research it so long before you finally just have to do it

On August 28, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the coast of Louisiana.  Because of the ferocity of the hurricane and an out dated levy system New Orleans became like a third world country over night.  Because of some ‘misunderstanding’ between the Governor of Louisiana and the former FEMA chief, Michael Brown, the southern parishes in Louisiana did not get put on the list that President G.W. Bush used to declare states of emergency the day before.  FEMA showed up late for that one. You can’t always depend on the government to come and rescue your butt with government aid.

By August 30^th looting had started.  Just two days after a hurricane New Orleans society was collapsing. The rioting and looting stretched the search and rescue teams so thin that there were victims still waiting for rescue on rooftops days later because the law officials and rescue teams were trying to keep control. A police officer was quoted as saying “Go to hell it’s every man for himself”. That’s pretty scary. In 48 hours it started becoming an everyman for himself scenario.  I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they don’t think most people would behave that way after all we are civilized even knowing what they know happened after Katrina. You think so? 

Catastrophic things happen all over.  Tsunamis devastate coastlines, tornados tear up homes, heck I lived in Cordell, Oklahoma back in 2001/2002 and went through a tornado in Oct. 2001 and in February of 2002 there was an ice storm that left us without electricity for a week or so.  Had we not always carried at least 3 months worth of food and water in our house and had a generator we might have got through as well had and been able to offer assistance to another family of five whose home was all electric. 

Our country right now is having one of the worst droughts we have seen in a very long time. Because of this 51% of the corn crop was described by the USDA as being “poor/very poor” according to an article businessinsider http://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-threat-of-a-global-food-crisis-means-for-world-markets-2012-8#ixzz23vJ7lNOv.  Consider a food shortage on top of a drought piled on top of an economy that is shaky at best and that is piled high on top of a population that is increasingly agitated with a government that seems to care more about big business making money that it does the rest of us.  I can see that going to very scary places and I would like to be prepared for that.  Unless we get rain soon this will be a real problem real soon affecting not just us but a lot of the world.  The United States is the world’s largest exporter of corn.

These are a few of the most likely scenarios that could disrupt our lives.  I am hoping you can look at those and thing to yourself that you can prepare for those with no problems.  When you go to the grocery store just pick up a couple extra cans of what you eat and put it away.  Don’t buy things your family doesn’t eat though.  If you have a scenario where you are having to use your supply it’s already going to be hard don’t make it worse by trying to cram cans of  spam down your families throats if they don’t like it.  Store what you eat and eat what you store. Just make sure you use the stuff that will expire first.

And as always feel free to leave comments on both the blog and my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ThePreppingPrincess .

Book Review: Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse by James Wesley Rawles

A work of fiction that is so well written you would think he had lived through something.  It is a story set in a the not so distant future during a time of hyper-inflation and economic collapse.  He is a Christian writer and you will pick that up in his work but it is not forced nor is it the main focus of the story.  He does get pretty involved with his descriptions and novice preppers may get a bit lost with the terminology but I guarantee you will walk away a new sense of purpose.

From the back cover:
America faces a full-scale socioeconomic collapse in the near future. The stock market plummets, hyperinflation cripples commerce and the mounting crisis passes the tipping point. Practically overnight, the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure fall, and wholesale rioting and looting grip every major city

As hordes of refugees and looters pour out of the cities, a small group of friends living in the Midwest desperately tries to make their way to a safe-haven ranch in northern Idaho. The journey requires all their skill and training since communication, commerce, transportation and law enforcement have all disappeared. Once at the ranch, the group fends off vicious attacks from outsiders and then looks to join other groups that are trying to restore true Constitutional law to the country.

Patriots is a thrilling narrative depicting fictional characters using authentic survivalist techniques to endure the collapse of the American civilization. Reading this compelling, fast-paced novel could one day mean the difference between life and death.

Amazon has new and used prices but I bought it on my Kindle in both the book form and in an audible form.  In the audible book the man reading it does an excellent job, he has a very nice voice.  I had no problem keeping up.  If you want to read a good story that stresses the importance of prepping then grab this one.  You won't regret it.

You should know that this in not a novel on self-sufficiency, although it does talk about stockpiling food and water and using heirloom seeds.  It is still a fantastic read.

If you decide to purchase this book I respectfully ask that you use my link.  I do get a few cents if you purchase and every little penny helps me prep and convince my husband that this whole blog is a good idea.

Brandy

And as always feel free to leave comments on both the blog and my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ThePreppingPrincess .