Bread Machines For Preparedness

Here is a very interesting article from The Backyard Pioneer about the usefulness of bread machines during emergencies.  I would like to add one thing to it.  Many emergencies in America are accompanied by power outages so far.  This is because we live in a fairly peaceful country so almost all disasters are due to natural causes such as hurricanes, winter storms, tornadoes, etc..  But if you look around the world terrorist attacks, wars, civil strife, government shutdowns, and pandemics are the more common emergency.  During those times you will likely still have electricity but for safety reasons cannot go outside or be forced by the government to stay in your home.  A visit to the grocery store is potentially deadly at these times so having the ability to make the most basic food staple with little or no supervision (as you might be doing much more important things) is a great asset.  I just pop the ingredients in, and a few hours later have a great loaf of bread.

My personal recommendation for the best bread machine on the market is the Zojirushi brand.  I have been disappointed in the bread other machines turn out and this is where spending a little more pays off.  Not only does the Zojirushi brand bake all kinds of breads, it also is one of the few on the market that can make good 100% wheat bread.  It also can crack grains, make jam, cakes, and quick breads.  I have two now, both bought used and love them!  Click the Pics below to check them out!

Note: I was no way compensated for this post by the Zojirushi company.  I just like their products and would like to share my experiences!

 

 

Affiliate Disclosure: I enjoy bringing you content free of charge, to help me along in this please note that when you click links and purchase items I may receive a small commission.  Your support helps keep my blog rolling!

Adventure Medical Kits Suture Syringe Kit Review/Giveaway!

 

Do you prepare for emergencies?  I have to admit as a mommy of 4 very active children who live in the country I always keep a large supply of first aid materials on hand at all times.  I also keep first aid kits in my vehicles and a small one in my purse.  Experience has taught me the wisdom of such planning.  My preps for emergencies has always lacked one essential however, and that is a good suture/syringe kit.

Now this is not for your usual minor first aid emergencies I will admit.  This is for when you are in a REAL emergency and medical help is not within reach.  Some situations where this would apply is in backpacking or river rafting far from civilization, traveling to third world countries as missionaries,  when natural disasters strike, or outbreaks of war/civil unrest.  I would also advise that along with this kit you add detailed instructions on how to suture and when it is advisable and even take advances medical training and practice!


Adventure Medical Kits is a company that supplies all levels of emergency medical preparedness from simple throw it in the car kits to professional grade kits that contain everything you could need in a medical emergency.  The prices range from $7.00 up to $400.00 depending on how advanced the kit is.  They also carry insect products, foot care, hygiene, QuikClot, and more.  Adventure Medical Kits sent me the Suture Syringe Kit for the purpose of this review.

The Suture Syringe Kit  is a true field surgical kit for trained medical personnel. For use in locations where sterile supplies may not be available, this kit contains the supplies you will need to establish a sterile environment (including a sterile towel drape and sterile surgical gloves), multiple antiseptics, and hospital quality tools including a stainless steel needle holder and mouse-tooth forceps. Other components include an assortment of sterile needles, syringes, sutures, and catheters.

This kits comes with everything you need to close wounds in a tough, compact carrying case.  This would fit very easy in the smallest of bags or even a good sized purse!  Everything is packaged very well and the medical tools come in their own separate nylon holder.  I am convinced this would be an essential for those who want to be prepared for any emergency or do extreme sports in wilderness situations.

Connect with Adventure Medical Kits

 

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The Giveaway!

 

Adventure Medical Kits has been amazing by offering to give one lucky Thrifty Housewife reader their very own Suture Kit!  That's an $80.00 value!  Use the rafflecopter form to enter, all entries are optional, all winning entries will be verified for completion. USA only. Good Luck!

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33ddb9153/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The Thrifty Housewife was not compensated for this post, I did receive a sample product(s) for the purposes of review. This did not influence my review or my opinions. My views are 100% my own. This giveaway is not affiliated with facebook, pinterest, twitter, or any other social media website.  The winner will be chosen through the rafflecopter form which uses Random.org.  Winner will be notified by email within 48 hours of contest end.  Winner has 24 hours to respond to the  email.  Failure to respond will result in a new winner being chosen.  Open to US only.  All Entries are verified.  I am not a doctor or medical provider.  The results I saw using this product may be different for other people.

 

 

How to prepare for doing laundry during a power outage (or dryer outage) in winter!

Power outages can happen to anyone.  Especially in winter when winter storms frequently take down the grid.  Having a plan on how to heat your house, cook your food, and have water is essential.  But if the outage lasts more than a few days your going to realize how essential electricity is to your everyday life.  Without electricity your debit/credit card wont work, fuel stations cant pump gas, grocery stores can't sell their food, water systems can't pump water to your home,  etc..  But it is often the more mundane things that stand out.  Such as how are you going to clean and dry your clothes?  Having redundant ways to heat your home, cook food, get water, and clean things will make life a whole lot more endurable during an extended power outage. 

First off this post will focus on drying your clothes, washing will be another day and another post.


Drying clothes outside on a line is easy in summer.  I have a great umbrella clothes line that I love and use to dry our typical three loads per day wash.  But winter clothes drying is harder.  First you cant dry outside very effectively.  It is often windy (blowing clothes off the line), snowing/raining, and too cold for the clothes to dry.  So having an inside way to dry your clothes is the best option.




First off having a non electric heat source is important.  You can dry clothes in an unheated winter room, but it takes days!  Space heaters work only if the electricity is up, and propane/natural gas stoves are dangerous and deadly.  The best way of course is to have a wood stove or fireplace,  wood stoves being the most efficient.  We have a wood cook stove with an oven and burners to cook on.  Its 100 years old but still heats our home very nicely when we open the oven door.  I got it at a yard sale for $100.00 and it is a Lang Jr. The entire unit radiates heat and when the oven door is open it pumps out lots of heat!  The wood stove is an ultimate multi-tasking device.  We can cook on it, bake in it, heat our home, and dry our clothing.


Most importantly you need something to hang the clothes on.  I have an Indoor Folding Clothes Line ($50.00) that you could use to lay flat things like sweaters but also can be used for hanging up to four full loads of clothing if you have clothes pins!  It works very well and folds up flat for easy storage in our closet. 

Our dryer just bit the dust so out came the folding clothes line. My husband lost his job right before Thanksgiving so we have absolutely NO money to spend down at a laundry mat.  And with the size of our family we would be spending a ton of money just to dry our clothes.  Until we can afford the part to fix the dryer I will be going old fashioned.  Prepping for disaster isn't just about things like ice storms or hurricanes, it also means being prepared for job loss or major illness that cuts your income.  Being prepared is just plain smart in my opinion.  My preps in food and other things have saved us many a time when times have been lean.



There are several other types of units you can buy for drying clothes inside.  HERE is one that is just one line but would work well for a small family and is highly affordable at $10.00 and is kind of cool and retro looking.








And HERE is a 5 line mini indoor dryer that I would be great in emergencies or even in a laundry room for a family.  Very affordable at $8.69.





For the ultimate off grid laundry drying for emergencies, prepping, or just homesteading check out THIS IDEA over at Paratus Familia, it is called a drying horse that hangs ABOVE the wood stove.  This is much more efficient because of course heat rises.  The clothes dry faster and it keeps them out of the way.  This is for true prepping or living off grid/more sustainably.


Now that I have seen how efficient our indoor clothes line is I am seriously thinking about using it instead of our dryer.  Our dryer is one of the biggest energy hogs in the house and not using it ususally cuts our electric bill by a good $20.00 per month or more.


Note/disclamer:  This post does contain affiliate links, if you buy or click I may get a small commission that does not affect your price, but would help me buy a new belt for our dryer. I was not solicited to do this post but wrote it up in reaction to our dryer going out and wanting to share how I deal with problems like that.  As always I only share links to items that are, in my opinion, good deals and practical.

Organizing Clothing for Large Families and Prepping for Future Use and Ways to Save Money

Lots of people tell me we have a "large" family because we have 4 children.  I don't really see it that way because to me "large" is six children and over.  In any case the more children you have the more fun life can be, but challenging too!  Especially if you live on a very tight budget like we do.  Handing clothes down to the next child is absolutely essential.  And finding good deals on clothes and shoes is one of my major quests in motherdom.

So I'll give everyone a tip.  Every February Walmart does a huge clearance sale on all its fall and winter clothes.  Things are 50% off or more so you can get amazing deals on coats, jeans, boots, long sleeved shirts and night outfits.  This also happens to fall in tax return season so if you have a little extra money its a good time to stock up for next fall for your family.

Because clothing prices are going up and I'm never certain of our money supply at school shopping time I always stock up in preparation for next winter. I do this in three main ways.  First is yard sales where you can find the best deals, second is thrift stores that are generally a bit more expensive than yard sales but still way cheaper than new at the store, and third at clearance sales. This is also a good prepping tip because what happens if TSHTF and you don't have any clothes for those kids.

So while we were at walmart the other day I got some amazing deals on shirts, pants, shoes, and coats.  I also bought the next size up in socks and underwear for all the kids for next fall.

Next I organized them into totes.  I have separate totes for seasons spring and fall for each child, and into them go the appropriate clothing and accessories.  Then on the side of the tote is a sheet with what it contains and how many of each item so I know if I need to be on the lookout for more of a particular item.  Every time I put a handmedown shirt in I just make another mark under shirts etc.

This system takes all the guess work out of stocking clothes for my family and eliminates duplicates and waste.  It also keeps the clothes neat and clean until they are needed.

Drying Laundry in Winter Without Electricity

Yesterday our dryer suddenly stopped drying.  For those of us who like to prep this may be an interesting dry run on what life without electricity would be like until we can get it fixed.  In the summer this would present much less of a problem because I have my nice laundry line I use anyways.

But in winter you usually cant hang clothes outside to dry because they either just freeze or don't dry.

So I practiced hanging the wet clothes on all available surfaces in front of the wood stove.  It takes roughly half a day this way to dry all the way for jeans.  Plus I have to watch the clothes carefully to make sure nothing hanging over starts a fire.

Obviously I need to rig up some type of drying racks for when the electricity goes out.  Those on the east coast are experiencing what this must be like right now.  I'm so thankful we have a nice big wood stove!

Lights Out! A power outage and what I learned from it

Well for those of you who don't know it we are getting hit hard by snow storm after storm.  On Monday morning we were all preparing to get ready for the day and the power flickered, faded, and then went out!  Not knowing how long this outage would be for I immediately rallied the troops (Eldest Daughter and Myself) and started preparing for a day without power.  As it was still pitch black outside it was also pitch black inside so I reached on top of the fridge where we always keep one flashlight and matches.  I had already prepositioned oil lamps and candles around our house so I went around lighting them while my second in command filled the bathtub and large pots with water for drinking, cleaning, and flushing toilets.  With 4 small children it is impossible to make them remember not to flush every time! 

I also brought our cheap cord phone up from storage as our cordless will not work without electricity.  As I was calling the parents I babysit for and the school, second in command filled buckets of water for the animals and hauled in more wood for the wood stove which was already going anyways and I started the small fireplace in the parlor.  The younger children gathered at the kitchen table to color and play play doe by the light of the oil lamp and life pretty much went on as usual.  The power was off over our whole town, even the school had no power, but of course they still were going to have school because too many kids were on the buses and couldn't be taken back to empty homes with no heat.

One after another my babysit kids showed up, their parents telling me that my home was the best place to go because we had light and heat.  It was in the low 20's and most homes would turn into ice boxes if the power didn't come back on before nightfall.  All the kids gathered in front of the warm golden glow of our wood stove and colored or played games.  And I watched the snow falling outside.

Assessing my home I instantly saw that we had few clothes clean.  I hadn't done the laundry in a few days and everyone was going through socks and pants at an alarming rate from playing in the snow.  I also knew that if the power outage lasted more than a day water would be a huge issue.  Our town is on a well and after 1 day the tower would be out of water and unable to maintain pressure. I have about 3 days worth of water in the basement but still. Warmth we had plenty of.  We have at least a years worth of wood stored.   The grocery store was closed due to no lights but that didn't bother me as my basement and freezers are always kept full.

For dinner I prepared a pot roast with veggies and set it on the wood stove to cook slowly, but I could have used my gas stove because although the automatic lighter wasn't working I could light it with a match.  However since I was going to be keeping the stove stoked all day why waste the money?

Right before school was set to start the power came back on.  All the children filed out to school and I started laundry just in case.  All throughout the morning the lights went off and on.

The Things I Learned:

Most people had no way to heat their homes, they are dependant on their furnace or have little wood for the fireplace that puts out hardly any heat.  Pellet stoves wouldn't work either with out the fan and the automatic feeder.  After one day most homes would become iceboxes.

Most people had no way to light their home except for a few candles.  Within a day or so most people would have no light and houses are really dark with no light!  Our oil lamps were a lifesaver.  I buy all mine at yard sales and always get antiques because they are built for constant use, not just for occasional mood lighting.

Most people have no way to communicate from their home.  Once the cell phones batteries give out they are done.

Keeping up on laundry is a good idea because you never know when TSHTF.

If your grocery store has no power they wont let you shop.  Insurance issue.

Most people have only 4 to 5 days of food available to their family.  So if we were snowed in and it interrupted shipping or they couldn't get to the store that's it.

The upstairs of our house will stay very cold due to no heat, and even with the woodstove and fireplace going it would be freezing at night.  Having stockpiled extra comforters, flannel sheets, and blankets was going to be a very good thing.

Although I was able to cook a very good meal on our woodstove it kept the pot roast at too high of a boil.  My wood cook stove would have more control over heat but we haven't hooked it up yet.

Pretty much our little power outage showed me that my preps actually paid off, but that most other people are very unprepared.  If this event had been  prolonged many people would have been hurting.