to any newbie..

mamita · #1 03/01/11, 09:32 AM

that may read and think we are all just a bit crazy for prepping...please start! this has been said over and over, but you just don't know what lies ahead. if you lurk, take heed. if you don't believe in a major crisis, then just plan for unexpected life. my hub had no work alllll winter. he is self-employed, so there was no cushion of income. we planned..putting monies aside for our couple bills. (no mortgage..no car payments..no credit card debt here) and we stocked that pantry! it's March, and just now am I able to move things from the big freezer (to the smaller one) to defrost. BUT...still have plenty of meat, and my pantry still rocks. he is working this week, so we'll restock a few items. that way........hey, if he doesn't work much this summer.....it's almost a bonus! prepping is ALWAYS a GOOD thing.

Horsefly · #2 03/01/11, 09:53 AM

Very well said, Mamita

I completely agree. I found HT about 3 years ago & thank god I did. It all started with our brand of dog food rising. I've always been a penny pincher but when prices started rising, I got more involved. DH & I have the attitude if we don't know how to do something, we will learn. Why pay some one else to do it for us. We also started bartering a little bit with other family members & that comes in handy. Every year the garden has gotten a little bigger, same with the orchard. Last year I bought the Excalibur & I love it. Hoping to use it more this year. Lots of empty canning jars in the basement, waiting to be filled again. Starting to plan for an herb garden this year. And DH is almost done with the chicken coop! Yay! I can't wait.
And to all the newbies, you don't have to do it all over night. Just take baby steps. If you have a few extra bucks, buy a couple of extra cans of whatever you know you'll eat. And reading this forum is a HUGE help.

Best of Luck to everyone
Horsefly

NickieL · #3 03/01/11, 10:29 AM

I've started adjusting my shopping lists...when I plan to make something, I am planning on just picking up an extra ingredient or two. Like this week, I plan on making egg noodles so i will pick up and extra bag of them for the pantry.

Pouncer · #4 03/01/11, 10:33 AM

Twice in the last seven years, my hub has been laid off for one reason or another. Both times, we weathered the four or five months fairly well, by having a well stocked pantry. I only needed fresh stuff like milk, salad fixings and so on.

In addition, I have helped others who were literally out of groceries (again, various reasons) and I was able to provide some basics without denting my own supply deeply.

Because of uncertain times ahead, I have been ramping up the supplies as much as possible....who knows what the future will bring?

jbowyer01 · #5 03/01/11, 11:06 AM

When my DH became disabled and was unable to work I found this wonderful site while looking for ways to make ends meet! It has helped me more than I can ever express. I now have a small pantry (which will be expanded this year)filled with homemade jellies, pickles, salsa and soups and have paid off my mortgage, and the few credit cards that I had. I'm now working on paying off my student loans and some property that DH and I have purchased for our future homestead.

mamita · #6 03/01/11, 11:28 AM

have to also say once again......love that woodstove! heated with wood all winter, so the oil tank is still full. whew...since I saw on the news heating oil is going to be ultra high very soon.

SCORE! just got a call that someone has a few cases of canning jars to give me. woot!

Trixters_muse · #7 03/01/11, 01:05 PM

My grandma always kept a full pantry and passed that way of living down to me. My late DH had a job that would flourish and provide overtime during certain months and would drop to a crawl and provide less than 30 hours a week during other months. We made it a habit to always buy more when we had the money so we would have plenty when the slow weeks came. I lost him suddenly to cancer and found myself alone with no job, two kids and luckily a little in the bank and a full pantry so we were ok, given the circumstances.

Over the last three years as times in the world outside looked scarier, I kept building my preps and learned more about self sufficiency, gardening and home repair. Even though my grown kids and I do not work "regular" jobs we live good and want for nothing important. That is a GOOD feeling in this economy and it's a feeling everyone should have

Start small, hang out here for ideas and help and never let worry overtake you. Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't worry if your friends or family think you are nuts. Believe me, once you get started and can look at that full pantry and that stash of knowledge you will have a wonderful feeling of peace.

Billie in MO · #8 03/01/11, 03:28 PM

I prep for everyday living, job losses or storms, or no electricity, etc.........if I didn't there have been times that I know we would have not made it. When we finally made the decision to move from CO back to my home state and help take care of family I brought everything with me, including a fully stocked freezer!!! Bill was without a job for almost a year. We still had a mortgage in CO (house was rented) plus rent here and utilities and insurance. It still didn't cover it all. We had no cable, no phone, no trash pick-up, no "blank" whatever, it was bare bones. We made it because of what I had already. No question about it.

That was 2 1/2 years ago and there are things I am still using that we brought with us. With prices rising everyday I am continuing to look for the best prices to stock certain areas up. My recent cleaning of the pantry because of 'meeses' helped as I realized I had things I had forgot about. Have a list going at the moment of what I need to stock up on and will work on it.

That's my prepping story!! (oh and I been thru tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, ice storms......what else is there?? Some we weathered better than others based on what we had and what we lost) I will continue to prep no matter what because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Rainy · #9 03/01/11, 06:03 PM

I think i found this place by trying to locate a forum for being prepared... I wanted to hear other folks ideas, and just really learn what i should do, what i shouldn't. I had been working on my stuff since the Y2K thing, and even though it didn't happen, i loved the fact that i had all this extra stuff on hand. Still do...
Love coming here and to all the other parts of this board.. I love learning, and once in awhile i try and post something that might help someone else... Usually i just read though.