winter emergency preparedness

The ice storm recently missed us by only about 25 miles.   We were on the northern edge of the storm.  However, watching the reports of all the people near us who are without power and really struggling did inspire some thoughts about being better prepared in case we are not so lucky next time.

I did the usual recommended stockpiling, we have a kerosene heater, four gallons of kerosene, plenty of candles, batteries and a three day supply of water.  As seen in Kentucky and SE Missouri, three days is not enough.  Some areas will not see power restored for weeks. 

One idea that came back to me from my Girl Scout days is the “buddy burner”.  That’s my project for this week.   Me, do with out coffee?  Not likely!  I also have two cans of sterno in the emergency supply kit.   Buddy burner can’t be used indoors but it will be a comfort to have one just in case things get bad.

http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/stoveoven.htm

The kerosene heater will support lightweight pans and can be used as a source for cooking in a pinch as well.   The big problem in the areas where power is out is fuel is not always available.   The fuel pumps require electricity and some stations don’t have power.  The other problem is not every station sells kerosene and getting trucks in to refill the stations kerosene tank is difficult.  We also live on a rural route and therefore will be the last to see plows.

I’m also making space out in the garage for several gallon jugs of water.  If another round of bad winter weather hits, that water will freeze into big blocks suitable for keeping food cold if the power goes out. 

The other project is to grab a plastic tote, label it for emergency supplies and get it loaded.   Candles, first aid kit, other necessities.   The last thing I would want to do is go to a warming center since pets are not allowed.  Having emergency supplies all in one place is never a bad idea.

goal, eliminate disposable products

I read a few frugal living blogs today and one product discussed were microfiber cleaning clothes, Swiffer dusters and other disposable products. 

Another blog had a poll asking the audience about what they were willing to give up to adopt a greener or more frugal lifestyle.   I have some ideas off hand but whether or not I’ll get cooperation on the issue, that’s yet to be seen.

Disposable products designed for conveniences seems to be a good starting point.   Why do we pay about ten cents for a garbage bag that is going to end up in the trash, for instance?  Even more puzzling, why does my SO insist on double lining the trash can?  Yes, a bag can leak but he could also carry the trash can outside closer to the disposal barrel so if a bag breaks, it doesn’t leave a trail of mess inside the house. 

The microfiber, store bought cleaning rag discussion, I’ve been doing something thriftier and better for the environment for years, learned from my granny and mother.  Repurpose old clothing and household linens and make cleaning rags out of them. 

I had a couple of polar fleece items, a robe and a shirt that had just seen better days.   The robe in particular, cost me less than a buck since it was part of a $1 a bag thrift store score.  Then I spilled some greasy French onion soup on my lap while wearing it and couldn’t get the stain out.  Too far gone to feel right about donating it to a thrift store and still a lot of unstained fabric that could be repurposed.                  

I took some pinking shears and cut that robe into squares that just so happen to fit the Swiffer mop head found in the neighbor’s trash.  A couple of safety pins keep the polor fleece square secure on the mop head.  A spritz of water and voila, a reusable alternative to a commercial product. 

I also found a flannel sheet that had seen better days and created cleaning cloths out of it.  A flannel duvet cover, ditto.   I’m well set for cleaning rags for a long time to come.  Mom, during one of her recent illnesses got bored and hemmed these flannel scraps, making some of them four-ply rags. 

The flannel cleans well, launders well, dries fast. 

Yes, a little more labor intensive that going to a store and buying some nicely packaged cleaning cloth but if it works, why not try it?

I also already converted to cloth napkin use a long time ago.  I also have a stack of cloth diapers on hand found at a thrift store for cleaning windows.

Paper towels, breaking that habit is going to be a little more difficult as long as we have our elderly dog around.  She has congestive heart failure and renal failure right now and not much control over her bladder and bowels.   For cleaning up fecal matter, a disposable product is more sanitary.   However, other uses for paper towels, going to be limiting their use.

Other green bloggers were discussing using reusable wipes as a replacement for toilet paper.  That I know will not fly in this house.   I’m also not quite ready to embrace the idea of hankercheifs as an alternative to facial tissues during allergy and cold season.   The disposable product seems superior from a sanitation standpoint.  

I do think these other bloggers are raising a good question and forcing people to look at want v. need.   I’m going to continue to ponder the question and see what else I buy that is not really needed.   Now that I am not reporting to an office every day, I also have the time to inventory what’s on hand to eliminate some purchases that just get tossed in the cart out of habit.  I can bet there are several bottles of shampoo, lotion and other items in the bathroom storage closet that once organized will mean not purchasing more for months to come.

Use it up, wear it out or do without, right? 

Also during this jobless period, I think it’s a good time to inventory other items on hand and decide what doesn’t need to be replaced for awhile.

neat quiz found on another blog

http://www.blogthings.com/couldyousurviveanothergreatdepressionquiz/

 

I took it and there is massive room for improvement.   The best thing I can focus on now is getting that savings cushion in the savings account.  And honing my tightwad black belt skills.

Decided on the Sam’s Club membership after all

I found a coupon online that expired yesterday that offered a $25 gift card for a membership, reducing the price of membership to $15 for the year.  How much this will reap in savings in the next year, not quite sure yet but I also didn’t spend a lot of time wandering around the club yesterday tracking prices. 

I’m also going to be checking in with friends and family to see who is interested in splitting some of these jumbo economy sized products to save money. 

I bought olive oil, a huge canned of crushed tomatoes for my next pasta sauce making session, bulk yeast, and shelf-stable gnocchi.  Not as good as the homemade gnocchi but they’ll do.  Making a huge batch of homemade pasta when it’s just the two of us, a lot of work involved.

The beauty of the beauty school

I didn’t feel like housework yesterday and decided today would be better for that anyway since the forecast is for a high of 55 degrees.   I decided to stop by the local beauty college and get a cut and a brow wax.  Spent a total of $10. 

I’ve been going to this school for years and have never had a bad cut.  The student is well-supervised, I learned the hair cutting terminology so I can tell him or her what I expect and the instructor is very familiar with what I like and don’t like. 

Last salon visit I made because I didn’t time things well, the same cut and brow wax plus tip put $35 on the credit card.  I ended up coming h0me and grabbing the tweezers since the brow wax left a lot of stray hair behind too. 

I’m a pretty low maintence kind of woman so this idea might not work for everyone.  The beauty school menu also had $10 facials and cheap manicures and pedicures.  It might not be the same pampering atmosphere as a spa but then again, a spa charges $50 for a facial too.

ideas to encourage recycling?

My housemate thinks it’s too much work and won’t even try.   I could use some good ideas to make recycling as hassle-free as possible.  Yes, it’s true our trash hauler does not require recycled materials to be separated from the regular trash and it’s just a whole lot easier to not recycle, I’d like to see my household recycling.  Yes, the trash hauler wants cans rinsed out for recycling and that is a little extra work.  I just don’t think with the environmental concerns today, being lazy on this issue can be justified.

I don’t have room in the kitchen for a trash can and a recycling bin.  I do have room in the garage for recycling bins but for some people, it’s just too much work to take the plastics, cans and glass material out to the garage.   The last few times I tried to get recycling bins going in this house, Mr. Fussy bagged up what I set aside and put it in the regular trash.  ARGH! 

If anyone converted someone who is against recycling into someone who is willing to recycle, I could use your ideas.

Another habit I want to see broken is plastic bottles of water.   A case of water takes up a ton of space in the frig, we have plenty of glasses in the cabinet and most of this bottled water is tap water anyway.  I suggested a pitcher of water in the frig and no luck.   I also think it is unsanitary to refill these bottles and reuse them after saliva has been introduced to the container.

Today’s cheapskate laundry ideas

I’ve been blogging a lot this morning but I’ve also been thinking of this blog idea for a long time.  After some writing, I decided to get some work done and that lead to a new topic:  cheap laundry ideas.

Since it has been so cold the last week or so, laundry has piled up.  I’ve been piling on the layers during the week while Mr. Fussy is at work so I can lower the thermostat.  The dog in renal failure has also soiled several tattered old quilts we put on the floor for her to sleep on.  The dog can’t help it.  

All the dogs and the cats shed like crazy.  The worst offender also sleeps in my bed, but that’s a good thing.   Butch is a big dog and no need for an electric blanket when he snuggles close, usually under the comforter with me.   One thing that I found that really helps remove lint from laundry is a really old tip I found in a Heloise Helpful Hint book from the 1960’s.   A few yards of nylon net tossed in the dryer with the offending fur-covered items and tumbled with no heat for about ten minutes strips off all that fuzz fast.   Doesn’t harm the fabric either.   After I defuzz, I’m hanging that item up to air dry with the added bonus of humidity added to the air in this house. 

The furnace running as much as it is really dries out the air.  The net is also good to use to get one more wear out of an item of clothing that really isn’t dirty, just fur covered.  The net also works without the dryer, just wad it up and brush it over the fabric.  I just used it on the couch slip cover and what a difference.   Maybe I burned a few calories in the process. 

One popular topic on frugal living blogs is homemade laundry detergent.  I priced the ingredients for the standard recipe and decided to forego this economizing idea for awhile, at least until I use the store bought laundry detergent and fabric softeners on hand.   I can get a bucket of powered laundry detergent for ten bucks at the discount grocery and make that bucket last for four months.   I already invested in a front loading washer that uses less water since we are on a septic system.  Front loaders use about half the recommended amount of detergent and fabric softener.  They also remove more water from the laundry during the spin cycle so clothes dry faster.

I did pick up a bar of Fels Naptha while out shopping the other day and it bought back very pleasant memories of my grandma using her washboard and I think that soap smells pretty good.   The futon cover had some pretty stubborn stains so I used the Fels Naptha soap on those spots.  They came right 0ut after other expensive laundry products failed to get it clean.   I also suds up a scrubber sponge with the Fels Naptha and it did a great job getting some greasy pans clean. 

I still have granny’s washboard but even me on my quest to be a cheapskate has limits.  I don’t think with my fibromyalgia that I could handle the scrubbing, wringing and weight trying to do laundry granny’s way and the front loader I have it much more efficient.  Allows more time for other penny-pinching ideas to use the machine. 

While I’m in the futility room this afternoon taking inventory, the cleaning supply cabinet is going to be included.   It’s stuffed with products and the goal is to eventually use these all up and stick with a few multi-purpose cleaning products instead.   My granny didn’t have a cleaner for everything and her house was spotless all the time.  Maybe the old girl has ideas to offer her granddaughter.

This week’s planned spending

I’m still looking up recipes and taking inventory of what’s on hand so I can plan the month’s menus.   I forgot to save a copy of Angel Food Ministries January menu but I think I saw it on someone’s blog yesterday.  I’m pretty well stocked on pantry items with the exception of canned tomato products. 

Once I figure out what ingredients are missing, I’m headed to a local discount grocery to get everything I need for the month, with the exception of fresh produce, bread and dairy.   That includes dog and cat food.   If I could skip the once a week trip to Mom’s and avoid all this cold, I would do it in a heart beat.  I’m too responsible for that but Mom and I talked about it and she is working hard at getting organized so I can make less trips over. 

I did pick up some yeast for bread baking.  I’m going to talk to my little bro who owns a restaurant and see if I can buy some of his bulk yeast since these little packets at the grocery store are pricey.   I know Sam’s club sells the yeast in bulk but it’s not worth the membership fee to save on just a few staple items.   The nearest Sam’s club is also twenty miles away.  Yikes! 

Mr. Fussy, he’ll eat some home baked breads with a meal but he insists on store bought sliced bread for his PBJ habit.   Drives me nuts to see him eating Wonder after I spend an afternoon baking. 

 My hope is now that I have all this free time not earning a paycheck, I can get more organized.   The cost of disorganization and the benefit and additional money from good planning is certainly an incentive.    If we stash the money saved on restaurant meals, purchased fast food lunches and convenience foods, that will help me meet the goal of an fatter emergency fund on one income. 

 The other thing on my wish list is a sheet of furniture grade plywood so I can make a larger desk top that will also double as a sewing center.   I have the desk base cabinets that I scored for $10 at a thrift store.  I just haven’t had time to finish this project.   Working full time (and a lot of overtime at that), taking the time to sew just wasn’t possible.   As mentioned, I plan to make some lined drapes for the living room using on sale fleece blankets.  Mom will have to give me some instructions since this is an advanced project for someone who didn’t take home ec in high school. 

Eventually, I also want to inventory my huge stash of yarn that is stored in 24 laundry baskets and plan some projects.   I would love to find some experienced knitters so I can learn to knit shaped projects like socks and slippers and do more than flat pieces like scarfs and shawls.  I taught myself to knit from websites and illustrations.  I’d also like to learn to crochet. 

 I bought a pair of fingerless mitts this fall, Mom immediately nabbed them for herself and I bought a second pair.  We both love the mitts!  I want more. 

Going from working over 40 hours a week to Susie Homemaker is going to be tough.

Price books, worth it or not?

It’s a project often suggested on frugal living sites and the price book I did in the past prior to having the internet was a good way to track bargains.  However, with store ads available online, maybe it is an outdated idea.    St0res like Aldi’s and another local discount groceries, I don’t see a lot of fluctuation in price from week to week. 

 I do think I am going to restart the master grocery list idea I used before and maintain a well-stocked pantry as suggested in the Tightwad Gazette books.

 I also was big on using manufacturer coupons in the past but I think the days of stores offering triple coupon days are long gone in this area.   I haven’t even seen a double coupon offer in the store ads lately.  I also wasn’t too crazy that most of the coupons offered were for highly processed convenience foods or cleaning supplies.   I’m weighing whether or not using coupons is going to be worth it.  Perhaps the coupons for toiletries will be.   Generic and natural cleaning supplies seem to be cheaper to me right now.   More cost comparison will be possible now that my job has ended and I have more time and this cold snap ends. 

 I have fibromyalgia and I am very sensitive to cold weather.  As a result,  my choice is to be a hermit during the winter and fall months.   Get out as little as possible.   I also have to consider the cold weather and how that effects taking my mom out doing errands since cold creates pain for her as well.   My Mom, it’s also a forty mile round trip to take her out and go over there to help her so planning it in advance pays off. 

 While on the subject of grocery shopping,  any good suggestions on convincing Mr. Fussy to use the cloth shopping bags and quit hauling home all these plastic grocery bags?  Rumor is that these bags are not getting recycled by the stores around here and storing them all is a nuisance. 

I put several cloth bags in hubby’s vehicle and asked Mr. Fussy to use them but he keeps saying “I forgot”.   I’m guilty too but last trip to the store, I did run back out to my truck to grab my cloth bags even though it was bitter cold out there.   I admit, I prefer the cloth bags now that I have been using them for several months now.  I also scored two insulated fabric can coolers at a yard sale and use that for refrigerated and frozen items.   I also found several cloth bags at the thrift store that I can use for groceries for a quarter a bag.   My mom also sewed some bags.  The beauty of using all these various bags is I can tell at a glance when I take Mom shopping which bags have her groceries and which have mine.   Makes the chore a whole lot easier.

What annoys me is when I go to Kroger, unless my cloth bag has the Kroger logo on it, they won’t provide the 4 cent discount.   My thrift store bags that don’t have logos on them should not matter if the idea is to save the environment, the cost of providing that plastic shoppping bag.  I think the discount from Kroger’s POV is to encourage customer loyalty and the other values don’t matter that much. 

I know, a lot of griping over four pennies but it’s the principle of the issue, right?

Last week’s bargains

Mom spent the morning in out patient surgery to have a scope of her esophogus done and evaluate her reflux problems.  Because I was concerned about her new vegan diet not providing enough protein, I researched soy products beforehand.  Mom wasn’t doing too bad after the anesthesia so we went to a local produce store and saved a lot of money over the usual prices at Kroger.  We also stopped by a health food store and bought texturized soy protein granules.  Mom made a pot of chili that day and liked how the TSP resembled meat so I think I sold her on the product. 

 We also both bought a package of tofu to experiment with.  I’m going to stir fry mine.  Mom is going to use it to augment her juicing diet and put it in smoothies.  We’ll compare notes later.

The TSP, which costs $2 a bag dry, when reconstituted seems to be the equivilent of three pounds of hamburger, which is close to $2.25 a pound when it goes on sale.  Ground turkey, easily found frozen for a buck a pound.  I think that to make the TSP work as a meat substitute that Mr. Fussy will eat, I’ll need to put it in highly spiced recipies since it is pretty bland stuff. 

 M0m is also juicing veggies daily and it seems a shame to just toss all that pulp in the trash.  I don’t have a compost pile set up yet and even composting it when I have three dogs that gladly eat veggies seems wasteful.   The presenting problem is to figure out how to save all that veggie pulp, incorporate it into recipes and not let it go to waste.  The second problem is Mom’s cottage has a very small frig so where to store it between my weekly trips over there to take care of her?

 My TSP chili experiment, I already blogged that Mr. Fussy didn’t notice it was meatless at all.   Later today, I need to take that big pot he just stuck in the frig to avoid dishwashing out, portion the chili in smaller meal sized portions and get some of it in the freezer.  Ditto for the big roasting pan of chicken leg quarters I roasted with butternut squash, zucchini, onions, garlic, red potatoes, carrots, celery and mushrooms.   A separate baking dish of chicken was roasted for the special diet dog sans salt and other seasoning which Mr. Fussy did debone and portion into individual dog meals so go figure!   The doggie baking dish was left to soak in the sink and I faced the unpleasant prospect of sticking my hand in icy cold, greasy dish water to get it cleaned. 

 During after dinner clean up, I want to get into the habit of portioning leftovers into containers for weekday lunches.   Hubby can take his lunch to work and save a bundle.   I can toss food in the microwave mid-day and get a hot meal. 

 Good Eats also had an episode on edamame this week which I taped.  My mother, never was a big veggie eater until she started this diet and she has never heard of edamame, much less tried it.  I think the dip Alton Brown dem0nstrated might suit very well.  

Mom also felt well enough to go to a thrift store near her house.   Our mission was to find wool sweaters so we can lower the thermostat and I scored several name brand sweaters with high wool content, a very nice brand new wool hat and glove set, a pair of brown wool dress pants.  Mom scored some sweaters for herself plus a couple of cotton dresses she intends to cut apart for quilt squares.    Between the two of us, spend less than $20. 

 This weekend, I saw an ad in a local free newspaper advertising a natural food store that sell bulk items.   I checked out the local food coop a few weeks ago and their prices were outrageous plus they want a $100 membership fee to shop there.   I also checked out Sam’s Club to see if there were any real savings to be had and decided that the membership fee wasn’t worth it. 

 Another thrift store is advertising that all red tag items are a buck.   Might go check that out on errand day this week.

 Chicken leg quarters are about 49 cents per pound when purchased in ten pound bulk bags at Walmart.   Since the dog has to have human food to keep her kidneys functioning, it’s a cheap option.   I’ve also been buying beef liver at 99 cents a pound for this sick dog.   Right now, the dog won’t touch her meals if I add veggies or rice so this is going to get expensive fast.   

 Brainstorms, anyone? 

 My first idea was muffins.  Second idea is mixing the pulp into dog food somehow.  Third idea is veggie broth.