Get A Rain Barrel

This is such a great idea, that i think that every single home should be required to have one. I love having a rain barrel. It saves me a ton on watering my garden, flowers, etc. Also it is just good to have one hand.
This whole next week it is going to be raining here. So I am going to set up another rain barrel up at another corner of my house.

Why should I use a rain barrel?
Lawn and garden water makes up approximately 40% of total household water use in the summer. A rain barrel can save you money in the summer by lowering your water bill by reducing irrigation water usage.
Collected rainwater is better for plants because it isn't chlorinated like your tap water is.
Reduce water pollution by reducing stormwater runoff which can contain pollutants.
Storing rainwater for lawn and garden use helps recharge the groundwater which feeds local rivers.

There are some great videos on YouTube about making rain barrels and tons of info on Google.




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Tip For The day!

Save all of your empty milk jugs !!
One great use for them is to get HOT WATER: In the summer, fill a few and let them heat up outside in the sun. You can use the water to hand-wash dishes and wash your hands.

Dry Milk Continued

Since I made that post yesterday, I have been really interested in if there are any recipes out there that are made just for using dry milk. So I went to Google and did some searching. Here are some great links that I found for using dry milk:

Using Powdered Milk In Cooking

Recipes

Storing Dry Milk

Using Dry Milk

Saving Money Using Powdered Milk

Very Best Baking Recipes From Carnation

Potato bread recipe using instant potatoes and dry milk!

Make Dry Milk Taste Like Fresh Milk

Dry Milk

Recipes Using Dry Milk

The Fab Four
How to survive on wheat,
dry milk, honey and salt

I am so sorry for all of the links. There is just a ton of info online about using dry milk. I could list even more. I just wanted to share all of them.


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Dry Milk

I am finding in the last few weeks , that if I did not have any dry milk I would not be able to cook a lot of things. Milk has gotten so expensive that I just have been able to buy a half gallon of it and using it only for cereal. I then make a jug of dry milk to use for cooking and baking. It has been a life saver. It has saved us a lot of money and it is very good for you. My little one is almost 3 and he actually loves to drink dry milk more then whole milk.
It does not make a difference in cooking. Everything I use it is cooks and bakes just like if I used whole milk.

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Trying To Survive

Since January , my family has been going through a very tight and trying time. My husband is still laid-off. I have been sewing some cloth towels and diapers. Trying to sell what I can to make extra money. Unemployment is not a lot of money. But , we are actually making it. All of our bills are paid and nothing is behind. This has been such a learning experience and we have found out some things that we need to do and some things that we have actually done right.

More postings later about what we have been doing!! I have been getting my veggies all ready to plant.

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My stockpile room!

I totally forgot to take a photo when it was empty. I already have my freezer in there and I have a small shelf in there. My husband is getting me a really tall one later in the week from helping someone move. I knew my utility room was small , but even without the washer and dryer in it , it is VERY SMALL!! I was hoping I could also make this room into a safe room, but there is no way. It could be a safe room for weather related things, like if there is a tornado, but for any length of time It would not work at all!!

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A Safe Room

A safe room is a room in your house that would be the safest place in your home where you can go to quickly and take shelter. It is great to have one in case of a tornado, bomb attack, hurricane, or any other disaster.
Choose a place in your basement, garage, or a room in your house that has no windows and where you can seal off the door way with plastic and duct tape if you need to.
When you are preparing your safe room think of everything. Think about food, water, warmth, communication, sanitation, ventilation, medical supplies, and even ways to keep everyone entertained.
Have you safe room equipped with enough stuff to sustain you and your family for up to 2 weeks. Make sure that you have a lot of canned food that can be eaten right out of the can cold. You most likely will not be able to cook in your safe room.
Have a radio on hand with plenty of batteries or have a hand crank powered radio. I have a few of them and they are life savers. Plus I do not have to worry about batteries and use the money that I might use on batteries on other items that I want to stockpile, like food!! But, you have to have a good radio in your safe room. It might be your only way to know what is going on in the outside world , if you are in your safe room for any length of time.
Your safe room would also be a great place to store your items that you have been stockpiling. This way of there is an emergency you can go into your safe room and be able to stay safe. (Don't forget weapons, too!)

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A Stockpile Room -- Finally!!

I have a utility room that is much too small right now with my washer and dryer in it, but this weekend our washer and dryer will be gone so I will now have a room to be just for my stockpile!! I cannot wait. My husband is going to have to make us some shelves or I will buy some cheap ones and it will be just for me to stock full of food and any other item that we want to stockpile. I will take photos as soon as it is empty and then as I fill it. I will miss my washer and dryer , but since we are in a small house, I will love having the space for a bigger stockpile.


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Build A Greenhouse

I have been wanting one of these for a long time. I always thought that I would need a lot of money or space to have one though. So I was looking around online to see some ideas and I came across this video that shows how to make one for less than $25.00 and it is small enough to fit in my small yard, but big enough to be able to hold what I want to grow.


Build an Easy 5 x 5 Home Greenhouse for under $25 - More DIY How To Projects


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Become A Work At Home Mom

There are a ton of free ways to start making money at home and online. You can get some great ideas for making money on this blog , Working at Home Mom Blog. There are thousands of ideas for starting a home based business on this blog.

This is a great way to become more self-sufficient.


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