reduce, reuse, recycle.

i'm standing in the kitchen, cooking dinner and i realize i never touched on the subject of PAPER PRODUCTS :)

one way to live providently and be prepared at the same time is to stop relying on paper products. We keep them in the house, but we use cloth as much as we can. We use dish towels, cloth napkins, and large washclothes, as rags, in the kitchen and for dusting and cleaning. We use cloth diapers 99% of the time. And, the girls tend to use cloth wipes in the bathroom. The kitchen towels and rags get washed with the regular laundry. We run a load of diapers and cloth wipes separately at least twice per week.

Since we pay for the cloth product one time, we end up saving money over the long run. Paper towels and toilet paper last us a long time in this house, disposable wipes and diapers do too.

Living this way not only saves you money, and trips to the store, but it also reduces the amount of trash you create. :)

If you don't have a working washer and dryer, you can wash by hand in your sink or tub and then line dry. Line drying in the sunshine is an excellant way to remove stains from items too! Squirt a little lemon juice on there and you have an instant stain treatment.

One more step in reducing, reusing and recycling is to use old sheets, pillow cases, blankets and towels to make these items yourself in your home.

Thanks for reading!

Goals and Organization

Some things i have realized recently is that goals and organization are good! I have started a binder that has Goals and Organizational stuff in it, and i leave it on the desk in the kitchen. I look at it frequently throughout the day, and cross stuff off as i go.

in the front pocket i keep things like coupons, invitations to parties, and letters that i need to mail out.

inside i have a yellow legal pad that has personal and house goals on it. personal goals for 1 yr, 5 yrs, and 10 yrs. house goals for 1 yr, 2 yr, up to 5yrs ( we are pretty sure we'll move at 5 yrs). then every year i come back to the lists and i cross stuff off that i have completed, or i change my goals if situations have changed.

after that i have plastic sleeves that contain:
-food storage inventory list
-relief society names, numbers and addresses
-calendar for preschool
-exercises/ diets of people that i admire
-daily/ weekly/ monthly chores lists
-budget/ expense list
-projects for The Cushie Tushie, personal projects for the kids or friends, and Fluff Factory Auction projects

i have pens and dry erase markers as well as a calculator.

By typing it all out, having it all in one place I believe it makes life easier. We have a calendar on the wall that has important dates highlighted- like appts, after school activities, birthdays, and more. but, by having the binder i can check stuff off as i complete it. i can record purchases made, i can keep myself on track with goals and finances. i can see what we have in food storage, and what we need and how much we need to reach our goal.

Here are some of my household organizational tools, incase anyone is interested :)
Laundry-
Each person in the house has a laundry day. Mon- Sat. I do their clothes, sheets, and towels on their day. We use cloth diapers and therefore i have to add those loads in as well, but for the most part i end up doing 2 loads of laundry per day with NO laundry on Sundays. It works out really well. Each of the kids has their own hamper and then Steve and I have our own as well. By doing it this way, i find that i am able to wash, dry, fold and put away 2 baskets of items in one day, instead of letting it all pile up......

Cleaning-
Each day of the week is dedicated to a part of the house.
Monday= kitchen. i do the floors, cabinets, counters, cook top, microwave, windows, and organize the fridge/ freezer, pantry and more.
Tuesday= the girls rooms and their bathroom. i tidy up, clean their bathroom, vacuum their rooms, the stairs and the upstairs hallway. i also do their windows, and dust.
Wednesday= downstairs. I sweep/ vacuum/ mop the first floor. i do the windows in the family room, living room, dining room, and playroom. i dust, wash curtains, vacuum furniture, and tidy up.
Thursday= cleaning the car and the hall bath on the first floor
Friday= master bath and master bed.
Saturday= the basement. the kids area where their toys are, the storage room where our boxes and food storage is, and the office where we currently pile up junk and still have unpacked boxes, hahaha.
Sunday= day off :)

What i have realized by doing this schedule is that i don't have to freak out over addressing the whole house all at one time. i can do it room by room, and get the house in order that way. then it doesn't seem so overwhelming and i find it easier to get what i have to get done, done. i can break my day up into 20 min intervals, and do what i have to do for the day and then move on to bigger and better things. this also leaves ample room for scripture study, time with the kids, and church related evening activties.

Food for Thought :)

had some thoughts while making the kids lunch.

1. if you have a chance, join a CSA ( community supported agriculture). they were recently featured in one of our local papers. there are several in our area, with great country farms being the most known and talked about. www.greatcountryfarms.com

if you can afford to pay for your share upfront, do so. you save money off the total price. plus, if you garden and have a membership with a CSA, you can actually save money over the spring/ summer and fall months. if you aren't having to run to the grocery store and farmers market all summer you can put that money away each week. also, if you were to buy a share of a CSA and pay in full, and then in May lose part or most of your income, you will still be able to eat veggies all summer long!!!! i don't know about you, but i find fresh fruit and veggies to be the most expensive part of my grocery bill. it might be hard to find the money upfront, but if we were to lose a part or most of our income after march of this year, i KNOW that fresh fruits and veggies would be the first items i would be worried about buying and providing for my family, and with the CSA share i wouldn't have to worry :)

2. once the Upick farms open up, GO!!!!! hit up the strawberries when and where you can. then can can can! this is the cheapest way to have jam/ jelly, and sauce. several farms do peaches and other berries as well. in the summer and fall do apples and can those as well. if you can find someone or someplace to buy GOBS of tomatoes during the summer as well, and again, get to canning! this really is provident living as well as preparing for an emergency.


3. START your garden NOW! that's right ladies. you can get the little peat pellet greenhouses and start your tomatoes, peppers, and more. if you start now they will be ready for transplanting right after the last frost date for our area, which is end of April/ beginning of May. i know i'm going to order all of my stuff, or pick it up locally, this week!!!

alright, gotta run! thanks for reading :)

A place to start

We've all been counseled to obtain a years worth of food/ money. We have also been told to have at least 3 mo of food/ money put away, 72 hour emergency kits, and to live providently.

http://www.providentliving.org/


Rhonda asked me to help with Emergency Preparedness, and more specifically get an example of food storage menus put together, and a list of items we can get from the cannery. I told her about some of the information I found on the internet from members of the church and we though perhaps a blog was the way to go. That way you can see what I have been doing, and you can offer ideas and suggestions, and ask questions. PLUS, you can check it anytime you like!!

Here is an example of 1 week of our food storage menu, if we can cook, and it's NOT summertime.
MON
Bfast- cereal w/ aseptic or dry milk
snack- granola bar
Lunch- mac and cheese, canned fruit
snack- chips
Dinner- homemade cheese pizza, canned veggies

TUES
Bfast- oatmeal ( instant)
snack- canned fruit
Lunch- left over pizza
snack- jello
Dinner- brown rice pasta w/ sauce, canned veggies

WED
Bfast- cereal w/ aseptic or dry milk
snack- dried fruit
Lunch- pb/ jelly sandwich on homemade bread
snack- nuts
Dinner- chili- ours doesn't have meat in it. we use dry beans, canned corn, canned tomatoes with brown rice

THURS
Bfast- oatmeal/ quick or regular or steel cut
snack- granola/ breakfast bar
Lunch- left over chili, and fruit cup
snack- pudding make with aseptic or dry milk
Dinner- tuna salad sandwich, with canned tuna and on homemade bread, canned veggies

FRI
Bfast- brown rice with sugar/ honey
snack- dried fruit
Lunch- pancakes, using powered eggs/ aspectic or dry milk and jam/ jelly
snack- trail mix/ GORP
Dinner- mashed potatoes, canned corn, shredded cheese from our freezer, corn bread

SAT
Bfast- toast with homemade bread/ pb, jelly/ jam, canned fruit
snack- pretzels
Lunch- leftovers from FRI
snack- pudding
Dinner- red beans and rice, canned veggies

SUN
Bfast- homemade biscuits, powedered eggs, shredded cheese from frezzer
snack- nuts
Lunch- canned fruit, instant oatmeal
snack- trail mix/ GORP
Dinner- lasagna w/ frozen ground beef, frozen shredded cheese, canned beans

If it is summertime we have our garden, so we eat a TON of fresh veggies with lunch and dinner and usually hit up the grape tomatoes and raspberries as snacks :)

If we cannot cook, for some reason then our menu is pretty dull right now. We would live on canned fruit, canned veggies, brown rice pasta, pb, cereal, aseptic/ dry milk, breakfast bars, pop tarts, granola bars, GORP, nuts, dried fruit, and snacky type stuff.

For beverages, we would pretty much live on water. The girls drink rice milk ( aseptic for us) and we use it for cooking and cereal) but otherwise there aren't that many beverages in our home.


Goals for MARCH

1. assess status of 72 hr kits. everyone in your family should have ONE.

2. create a one week food storage menu, if you have started your food storage

3. call a sister that you normally don't talk to on the phone, or go visit someone you have never visited before

4. get at least 10 min of physical activity every day. try going up and down your stairs, up, down, up, down, up=5.

** If you have not startd your food storage, start this week :). Spend an extra $5.00-10.00 at your next shopping trip, start with something easy like sugar :) **

Let's get the party started!

I am starting this blog for the RS sisters of Hamilton Ward! We can encourage one another to " Be Prepared." I will post ideas as well as ask for comments, suggestions, and solutions so that each one of us can be on our way..................................

I have to get the girls from school, but I will be back later to get things rolling and to send this link to Carrie so that she can get you all on board!

Thanks,
Dana