My Sewing For The New Year!!

i am going to be so busy this year with sewing! I have patterns for aprons, bonnets, clothing, stuffed bears and toys, and more!
I have been buying them on ebay and at thrift stores! I want to get them all sewn up and have some new clothes and aprons. I have 3 more patterns coming in the mail for some pants and shirts for my little one and some vintage aprons. I am going to have "sew" much fun. I even have gotten my 2 sewing machines all fixed and both working great!!
Now I just have to decide what I am going to sew first!!

The New Year Resolutions

This time of year is when everyone is talking about how they are going to change things and quit stuff etc. I usually do not make any resolutions. But this year I am. My new year resolutions this year are very practical. I Think!
I want to spend less on material things, sew more, and make sure that anything I do buy is very useful and can help us in case of an emergency. We are also going to cut off our cable television. We hardly watch it anyway. I am wanting to save more money and really think before I buy anything.

Cloth Diapers Blowing In The Wind!!!!!!!!!

It is such freaky weather here! We are in southern Indiana and it is currently 70 degrees and so darn windy. Such weird weather. Just 2 days ago we were under a freeze advisory!! I decided to take advantage of it and do a load of diapers and I hung them out to dry. Well as you can see by the photo the wind had them spinning. I thought they were going to take off. My son said it looked like a helicopter. I just had to take some photos of it going wild. They did dry VERY fast!!

Merry Christmas!

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StockPile For Christmas

This time of year my favorite thing to stockpile and keep plenty on hand of - COOKIES!! I make sugar cookies and decorate them, I make peanut butter cookies, M&M cookies, oatmeal cookies, and more!! I do a ton of baking this time of year! All of it from my stockpile. I do not have to run out to any stores at the last minute. For the whole months of October and November I make sure I stockpile a ton of the ingredients that I will need to make all of my cookies. I have bags and bags of sugar, flour, brown sugar, and tons of the other items that I will need. I want to make sure that I can make plenty of cookies!

Kitchen Tools You Will Need

The tools in the photo are just an example of some of the type of kitchen tools that you will need if you have no power! You will not be able to use your mixer or electric can opener without power , so make sure that you have hand powered ones on hand. I have several can openers so I never have to worry about losing any. The hand powered mixer can come in real handy if you need to mix something really well and better than just stirring can do.
Watch yard sales and thrift stores for these type of kitchen tools. The red and white hand mixer I got at Goodwill for a whole 50 cents!!

Great Cocoa Recipe

When it gets cold outside there is nothing better than curling up with a good book or to watch a good movie and have a cup of hot cocoa. I use this cheapo recipe for my own hot cocoa mix.

1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
7 cups dry milk

Mix them all together in a big bowl and I then put it into quart jars.
Put 4 tablespoons of the mix into a cup and pour boiling water over it. Stir and sip!!

The great thing about this recipes is that it is made from my stockpile!!

Solar Powered Lights

This is such a simple idea. 

You can get a pack Solar Powered Outdoor Lights . You can buy them just about any where. Walmart has them. 

You set them outside during the day , facing the sun so they charge up, and then bring them in at night!! I have a huge flower pot by my back door that I stick mine in and then bring them in at night and stick them in my indoor flower pots, I have flowers in every room! These are safe and put out quite a bit of light. They also last most of the night with a full charge. These are great for kid's rooms where you do not want to have candles and oil lamps lit. This is also good for keeping your power bill low. Use these lights instead of turning on lights! Also a good idea to have on hand in case the power ever goes out. Safer than candles.

Thrift Stores Are A Great Place For Survivalist!!

My last trip to the local Thrift Store was AWESOME!! I could not believe what all I got and I only spent $8.00 and some odd cents!! I actually got some great stuff that is all needed and usable for survival.
First thing I seen right away when I walked into the store was a pretty oil lamp. It is a big one and actually matches my living room decor. I got it home and it had a new wick in it too. I already have oil in it and lit it last night.


The next thing I noticed was a bunch of unopened puzzles!! UNOPENED!! Usually all they ever have is ones that are opened and most likely have lost pieces. Those are a great thing to have on hand when you are stuck in a house when it is too cold to get out!! These also might be a couple of Christmas gifts!


I headed to the housewares and right off seen and grabbed a Corning Ware percolator coffee pot. A big one. I have only had a small 4 cup one for the longest time , now I have one that will make a big pot of coffee! Plus - all of the parts are with it!


Then I was just about ready to leave when I noticed this weird looking thing over by a chair. So I went to see what it was. Well it is a shelf that has the accordian style clothed dryer that comes out from under!! $4.00 for this! They are a lot more at Lehman's! Now I just have to find a place to hang it up!


Now I cannot wait until my next trip to the thrift store!! This trip was like a dream. Thrift stores are awesome for anyone trying to get prepared on a low budget.

Making Water Safe To Drink

I am so glad that I came upon this Article! I was always taught to boil water for a while before it would be safe to drink, and I was always wondering about how to boil it that long and use the less fuel! Which is impossible. It would use up any fuel that I had just to boil water. So when I read this article I felt a lot better! Now I am going to be able to make sure , if I have to, that we have plenty of drinkable water when the time comes. We have a running stream behind our house. So I knew we would have plenty of water, but how was I going to make it drinkable? Now I know that we will be all right. I also have been saving some money back to be able to get a real nice water filter. Water is the most important thing we will need. So to be able to have water that we can actually drink will truly be a life saver.

Wash Day

Am I really Weird??

My mom thinks that I am weird because I stock up on stuff, use cloth diapers and wipes, know how to use a gun, try to be very frugal, and more. Why is that weird to want to take care of your family?? I just want to be prepared for anything. I have kids to worry about. I do not want them going hungry if something happens. I have the thought that if I am prepared for anything than maybe we will survive and not have to follow along with everyone else.
I want my family to be safe also and if me having to learn how to use a gun is weird , than I guess I am weird. I have also taught my kids how to handle weapons. I have always thought that is how to be safe. If they know how to handle one and how a gun works than they will most likely not have an accident with one.
I guess I am very weird , but I do not care what others think!! I just think of my family and how I can take care of them in the best possible way and if I save money while I am doing it - even better!!

For When The Kiddos Get Bored!

Ingredients

3 Cups cold water
1 Cup cornstarch
food colouring
1 TBS glycerin (optional...will make paint shinier)

Directions

1. Dissolve cornstarch in some of the cold water.
2. Bring remainder of water to a boil in a saucepan.
3. Add dissolved cornstarch to boiling water, a little at a time, stirring constantly.
4. Continue over medium heat till thickened. (just a minute or so)
Remove from heat, divide into separate containers for different colors.


Butcher paper, paperbags, junk mail, or any other scratch paper is a great surface to play with. This is a great thing for when it is too cold to go out!

Cooking From Food Storage

I found this link yesterday that has a ton of great information on how to store food , what to store, and then how to cook from it all. Food Storage tips and recipes. You will find it helpful too. Has tips on solar cooking, $5.00 a week food storage plan , and more.