5 Inexpensive Nonfood Items To Add To Your Preps - Part 2

 

Did you see part 1 of this series yet?  If not, click here to go back and read it.  For now I will talk more about some nonfood items to add to the prepper pantry.

 

Sewing Kit 

I made my sewing kit for free simply by going through my stash and pulling items together.  I already had a vintage sewing box that I had bought off eBay and decided to use that to keep it all together, but a plastic shoebox from the dollar store or a cardboard shoebox will work just fine.  An assortment of pins, sewing needles, thread, button and snaps plus a pair of scissors is pretty much all you need to mend clothing.  Patches are nice too.  You can make a patch out of pretty much anything such as an old pair of jeans or khaki pants.

 

Moisturizers 

It is important to keep your skin healthy and if good condition.  It provides a barrier of protection for our body.  Lotions, body creams or butters and lip balms are a good thing to add to the prepper pantry.  Vaseline and baby oil are another good option too.  If you are prone to cracking feet or hands consider adding some salves that are made specifically for this purpose.

 

Office Supplies 

It may not seem like something you should stock up on, but having a nice selection of paper, envelopes, pens and pencils, tape and scissors, a stapler with staples and some paper clips is a good idea.  Consider adding some stamps too.  These are convenience items that are inexpensive and will make life a bit nicer should there be shortages or weather constraints the might prevent you from getting these things otherwise.

 

Books 

Consider keeping a nice selection of cookbooks, DIY books, a first aid book, as well as some pleasure reading on hand.  Crossword, Sudoku and word search books are nice too.  If you have children or grandchildren add some coloring and activity books as well as a box of crayons.  I keep a couple adult coloring books with a box of colored pencils.  You never know when the internet might go down and having a reference or source of entertainment may require a trip to the bookshelf rather than logging on or scrolling your phone.

 

Paper Products 

Toilet paper is a no brainer, but what about other things like paper plates and cups?  Paper towels and napkins too?  If water is scarce this may be a much better option than trying to wash dishes.  During an extended power outage you may have water, but no hot water.  A stack of cheap paper plates may make a huge difference.  I keep extra tissues on hand as well.

 

Have you done any low cost nonfood prepping yet?  If so, what did you get?

 

Small Home Improvement Project - The 2nd Bedroom - Demo!

 

I got the bulk of the landscaping project completed just in time for the triple digit heat to hit.  Not to worry because I had another project in mind for when that happened and everything lined up perfectly as my daughter moved out leaving her old bedroom was desperately in need of some love and attention.

 

If you have been following me along you know I've been going through my entire home room by room over the past few years updating and refreshing those spaces.  So far I have completely redone done our living room, dining room, kitchen, the entry way, the hallway and our stairs and landing as well as our downstairs bedroom.  Upstairs I redid the master bedroom, main bathroom, linen closet and the upstairs hallway.  I even did the garage.  My daughter has had zero interest in redoing her room so I have been patiently waiting and a week after she moved out I got busy, with her blessing too.

 

I plan to redo this room much the same as I did the other two bedrooms so the first thing I did was remove the old worn out carpeting, all of the padding as well as the tack strips along the edge of the floor.  Next I removed the trim from the perimeter of the walls.  After pulling out all of the staples left from the carpet pad I used my scraper and scraped the entire floor to remove the loads of splattered drywall mud left behind by the contractors.  I really do not like that they leave this stuff behind like that.  I then used my hammer to reset any nails that had popped and were sticking up.  Once I gave the room a good sweeping and vacuuming it was ready for what I planned to do next.

 

A shower and clean clothes was the next order of business as it was a very dusty job and then I went out to the garage to see what home improvement supplies I still had out there.  I gathered those up and took them upstairs to the bedroom.  Then I sat down with my laptop and placed orders with Lowes and Home Depot for the rest of the things I needed.  I am super excited to get to work on this project and show you the transformation.  On a tight budget too.  Stay tuned!

 

 

More FREE Gravel… Or Was It?

 

A few weeks ago, over 4th of July weekend, another huge pile of gravel came up for FREE on Facebook Marketplace.  I knew it was enough to finish up what I needed for the front yard so the girl and I headed off with our shovels to the town next to us and picked up a load.  However, on the way home I got pulled over by a sheriff's deputy because someone had reported a concern that we were stealing this gravel.  Once I showed him on my phone the conversation with the owner of said gravel he was totally fine.  Super nice and I told him I was just impressed somebody cared.  When I got home I contacted the lady I was getting the gravel from and we had a good laugh.  I told her I'd contact her for bail money when I went for the next load.  She said she had my back!

 

Before

After!

Super funny situation, really nice deputy (cute too!) and it gave me an opportunity to thank him for his service to our community.  Being a cop is tough work.  It also opened up a great dialog with my daughter on how to properly behave when you are pulled over by the police.  Just be nice to them, cooperate and you're good to go!  Don't act like a jerk.  Be respectful.  I think I did a good job setting the proper example too.

 

I know gravel isn't to everyone's liking, but for me this is the perfect solution

My goal was to unload the gravel under where I have the clotheslines so when I drop stuff, which I do (a lot), it wouldn't get all muddy and dirty.  I was also able to connect to the gravel and pavers in front of our deck steps.  I started spreading it fairly thick and made it all the way to the pond.  I was super happy with how it looks too.

 

Thanks in no small part to my feline supervisor things look great!

The next day I went and picked up another load with no incidents this time.  I finished up around the pond and filled in all the way to where the grass ends, officially finishing the front yard landscaping project!  Whoo hooooo! And since I didn't have to post bail or anything, yes, this gravel was FREE.  

 

Hmmm.  What do you suppose is going on here?

But wait, there's more.  Of course there is more.  Right here next to the front porch I have plans.  However, you're going to wait to see what those plans are.  I'm just wicked, aren't I?!  No worries.  I promise you won't have to wait too long. 😉

 

 

5 Inexpensive Nonfood Items To Add To Your Preps - Part 1

 

Along with food and water we need to consider some nonfood essentials to add to the prepper pantry.  I thought I'd go over some inexpensive and very affordable options, some of which you may already have around the house, in your garage or can acquire for not much money at all.  A nice thought given the current rate of inflation.

 

Soap 

Bar soap stores well and is very usable not just for washing our hands or bathing, but it can also be shaved and used for laundry and washing dishes.  Bars of soap can be purchased quite inexpensively.  Along with that consider watching the sales and looking for coupons in order to purchase other soap options as well.  I often am able to get dish soap or laundry detergent on sale with a digital coupon or even a paper one I print online.  Lately, however, I've gone back to making my own homemade laundry detergent.  Every once in a while I pick up an extra ingredient to add to my prepper pantry so when I run out I have plenty of supplies on hand to make more.  It lasts a good long time and my current recipes seems to work really well.

 

Oral Care 

Toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss or flossers, even mouthwash go on sale frequently as loss leaders.  I will use this opportunity to stock up on oral care items whenever they go on sale.  Adding a coupon shaves even more off the final cost of these items and there are a lot of paper coupons for oral care in the Sunday paper as well as online.  Look for multi packs of toothbrushes as this is typically a much less expensive option over buying singles.

 

Wipes/Sanitizer 

Watch the sales for baby or sanitizing wipes as well as sanitizer.  I will often find these on clearance and pick them up for pennies.  Wipes and hand sanitizer are great options to have on hand whenever water isn't available such as in the car or if the municipal water or your private well goes down.

 

Coffee Filters 

If you stocked up on coffee did you make sure you have filters?  After price comparing I picked up coffee filters at the dollar store, but I've also found them in clearance bins as well.  When they are on sale however, they are often less expensive than the dollar store, especially now that the dollar store is no longer just a dollar.  Save even more by making a one time investment in a reusable filter that you can dump and rinse out with a little water.  A coffee cone is a good option too for making your coffee when the power goes out.  Additionally, disposable coffee filters can also be used as filters for more than just coffee.

 

Foil/Food Storage Bags 

Having extra boxes of aluminum foil and various sizes of the zipper style food storage bags is a really good idea.  Aluminum foil of course can be used for cooking and wrapping food.  You can even make a makeshift pan out of it or line a pan in order to reduce clean up.  Zipper bags can be used to store food, divide up larger packages of food as well as storing many non food items.  I use zipper bags to put extra socks in to keep them dry on camping and hiking trips.  Matches and lighters too.  They also are very helpful for organizing items I want to keep together.

 

This is just a start to what should be kept in our prepper pantry along with food.  I'll be back soon with part two of this little series.  In the meantime watch the sales, search for coupons and check the dollar stores and clearance shelves to see what you can come up with.  And then let me know.  I really want to hear about what you find and how little it costs.

 

 

Inflation/Recession = Consume Less

 

I'm combating this crazy inflation simply by being less of a consumer.  Spending less money on non essentials enables me to better afford the higher rates on my utilities, increases in taxes and, in general, the things I truly need like groceries.

 

Bartering, trading and accepting items offered for free is another way I'm acquiring non essential items as well as using gift cards and asking for certain things I'd like to have as gifts on special occasions.  My girls have given me gift cards and bestowed me with plants and shrubs quite a bit this year in order for me to finally have the yard of my dreams.  My next door neighbor shared some of her sedums with me and I've acquired rocks and gravel from people who were only too happy to have someone haul them off for them.

 

Gravel for FREE off of Facebook Marketplace

I'm rationing a lot of our essential items, in particular food and fuel.  Don't worry, I'm getting plenty to eat, but overeating is not something I'm keen on right now.  I'm paying attention to portion sizes, cooking simple basic meals and doing what I can to make my food supply last as long as possible.  We even planted a small garden.

 

Vegetable Lo Mein
We only eat two meals a day with meat in just one of those meals 

I'm also strictly sticking to my $100 a month grocery budget (I am still feeding two people on a regular basis) and if I can spend less each month, so much the better.  I have a $25 gasoline budget and even though that doesn't get much at the moment it's working for me right now.  I'm careful with how many trips in the car or truck I take and I make each trip count so I'm efficient with my fuel consumption.  If I can walk or ride my bike instead of driving I do it.

 

I keep my grocery shopping pretty minimal

Right now I don't go shopping (except for food and landscaping project supplies), eat out very little and don't pay for entertainment.  If something breaks I try to fix it.  I try to use what I already have so I don't have to buy extra things unnecessarily.  I watch whatever is offered free  on online streaming, I listen to music and watch DVDs I already have.  A monthly trip to the library provides me with additional media as well as books at no charge.  If I get bored I go outside, work in my yard or take a walk.  I'm just keeping it really simple.  What are some things you are doing to combat inflation?

 

Depression Era Recipe - My Version Of The Poor Man's Meal

 

This is a simple meal you can put together quickly using just a few inexpensive ingredients.  I happened to have a couple leftover hotdogs in the refrigerator one day so I decided to make the depression era "poor man's meal".  I simply scrubbed up a couple potatoes and diced them along with a little bit of onion I had.  I also had a little bit of carrot so I diced it up and added it to the mix.  I fried the potatoes, carrot and onion in a skillet with some rendered bacon fat I had in the refrigerator until they were tender and beginning to crisp up.  Then I thinly sliced the two hotdogs and added them to the pan.  Once those were beginning to crisp up I added salt and pepper to taste.  It made enough for two to three people and it was quite good.  Smoked or polish sausage would be nice in this as well.  I would definitely make this again.

 

The Landscape Project Update & $$

 

I can honestly tell you I've never really had much of a yard here as long as I've owned this house.  The first few years we transformed it from a tangled, overplanted jungle to a lawn with a few flowers.  Over the years other projects and life in general took precedent as I watched the sod I had installed many years ago wither and die off due to poor soil and lack of sunlight.  With limited funds, knowledge and time our yard took the hit.  Last year I was determined to change all that and finally make the outside of my home match the inside.  In early spring of 2021 I began the demo and then as many of you know life threw me a curveball.  But that's okay, because it allowed me more time to plot, plan and research this project.  And save up some more money too.

 

Fast forward to early spring 2022 and we got rain.  Lots of it!  Which was good because we needed it, but it sure did put a damper on my plans.  So I waited.  Some more.  And in mid May I was able to get outside and get started on this long awaited landscape project.  I worked on my yard in between wind, rain, hail, thunder and lightning storms throughout the month of May and progress was made.  I even resurrected the old raised beds at the very back of our yard and my daughter and I planted a garden.

 

I devoted the entire month of June to this project and by the end of the month I had made it from the curb at the street all the way into the backyard to the end of our upper deck.  Right now the lower deck is housing my project woodpile and the rest of the yard is the garden and chicken coop area.  I have grand plans for that once the garden is harvested this fall, but for now my main focus is the rest of the yard and the upper deck.

 

It amazes me the transformation I have been able to make in just six weeks.  From a barren wasteland to my dream landscape.  We now have a weed free gravel parking area with a beautiful little flowerbed and a darling little fence and gate that opens into our front yard.  We have a lawn with more flowerbeds filled with plants and shrubs.  Our pond is up and running and surrounded by a lovely flowerbed that runs the length of our house wrapping around to the backyard deck.

 

We have a lovely seating area in front of the pond where we can sit and enjoy the shade in the canopy of our trees and the sound of the water from the spitting frog.  From where you sit you can see the entire yard, front to back.

 

I added another flowerbed underneath the pear tree with plans for blueberries and strawberries next spring.  All of our flowerbeds are edged with rocks we already had in our yard until I got to this one and had to acquire more rocks.  I picked up a truckload of FREE rocks thru Facebook Marketplace and continued on.  All of our soil has been amended with our own homemade compost and our new plants are thriving.  I've never seen so many earthworms in our soil as I do now.

 

Our deck was sanded and stained in 2020 and we added a pergola.  A year later it suffered a wardrobe malfunction with the lattice top, but this year I was able to get it repaired and finally added the lights I had set aside from our Christmas décor to the perimeter.  Our deck is now a lovely outdoor space we get to really enjoy and we have been.  We have a nice seating area plus a table with stools for eating along with our barbecue.

 

Originally, I had set aside a $1000 budget for this project.  This year, due to inflation and the rising cost of just about everything, I saved an extra $500 to add to my budget and figured I'd go as far as I could with that and see where I ended up.  I had been saving Home Depot gift cards for over a year and had several of those to add to the pot as well.  So are you dying to see how much I spent on my landscape project so far?  Did I budget enough?

 

Well, since you asked, I have spent $557.96, just over a third of my budget so far.  The bulk of that was for the faux grass which we absolutely love.  By reusing a lot of things I already had and acquiring expensive items like rock and gravel for FREE off of Facebook Marketplace, plus doing all of the work myself it save me a ton of money.  My girls also bought me some of the plants and shrubs as gifts for Mother's Day and Father's Day which was a big help too.

 

I'm not done.  I still need to bring in more gravel, I have plans for a front porch update, I want to do something around the hose bib area and I've got big plans for making a beautiful vegetable garden area in the backyard.  Plus there are a lot of other little tinkering projects I want to work on around the outside of our home.  Plenty to keep me busy.  So what do you think so far?

 

The Economy Of Potatoes

  

I live in Idaho where we grow a lot of potatoes.  In fact, it is one of our chief crops and is a vital part of our economy.  It's even on our license plates.  To live in Idaho and not like potatoes I'm sure is a sin of some sort.  Ha!  Fortunately I do like potatoes.  They are not only delicious but also full of good nutrients.  Did you know they are a good source of vitamin C?

 

Potatoes are also very economical, although like everything else right now, they are going up in price.  Even still a bag of potatoes is very affordable and quite versatile too.  You can make so many things with potatoes.  Baked potatoes can actually be your main course, not just a side.  We like to top them with homemade chili and a little grated cheese or steamed veggies and a cheese sauce is very good too.  Taco meat, black beans, cheese and salsa make for a nice nacho stuffed baked potato too.  And who doesn't love a loaded baked potato with cheese, sour cream, green onions and some bacon?

 

Mashed potatoes topped with gravy and bits of meat was a way my mother would use up leftovers.  She would make hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes quite a bit too.  Mashed potatoes are the topping for shepards pie and of course they are a big part of a turkey or roast beef dinner.  You can make your own hash browns, steak fries and home fries.  Scalloped potatoes are a great side dish, but if you add in some diced ham (another one of my mom's go-to meals) it becomes the main course.  Potato soup is another option.  Potato salad!

 

I use potatoes to make a very economical breakfast hash that is also good for supper.  Leftover boiled or mashed potatoes can be made into potato pancakes simply by adding an egg and a little flour.  Fried in oil and topped with sour cream - oh my goodness!  There are so many possibilities!

 

Mashed potatoes freeze well and I recently canned a bunch of them for my long term food storage.  For mere pennies a single potato can make a meal or transform one.  Check for sales, even digital coupons at your store and see if you can get yourself a good deal on some spuds.  By making potatoes a part of your diet you can add a lot without spending a fortune.

 

Independence Day

 

  Happy Birthday America!