quote:

I have been inventorying my basics as I use them to get an idea how fast we use things. Also plan to learn cheese making and soap making. Of course this presupposes I can get milk for the cheese and lye and veg fats for the soap.

There was a time that I kept a cow and we had lots of milk. Yes, we made cheese, cottage cheese, butter, and ice cream.

We have also made soap. One time we got mink fat from a mink farmer and made soap. All it cost was a can of lye.

All good skills to have I suppose, but the thing I put more stock in is using wheat. Wheat is one thing that can be stored for 20 years and it has excellent food value. I bake bread once a week from whole wheat flour ground fresh that day. The same flour also makes the best pancakes. We also crack some wheat for cereal. I have been doing this long enough to know how much wheat we use in a year and always have a little over a years worth on hand. In this way it gets cycled and none is ever going to be over 2 years old.

In the event that the power and natural gas gets cut off, we can always cook with a Dutch Oven over a wood fire.

Push comes to shove I would rather have something to eat than soap to wash with.

Have a great day!

Thanks to all your comments and ideas I now certainly have food for thought...forgive the pun.

I thought I was getting there but definetly still have a way to go.

We use a wood stove for heat. Have a lake near by as a water source (boiled it's OK to drink). Have access to crown land and personal land for wood, hunting and fishing. Harvesting too. But I need to gain skills...What plants are safe to eat? How to make soap? Home made flour ? I'm impressed. A year's supply of wheat ! WoW! Boy do I have a lot to learn!

I have a large veggie garden. I transform and keep for the winter. Am setting up small orchard this year. Am learning about herbal medecines.

Am no where near solar energy. Would it be better to tag team that with wind energy?

Have plans for a chicken coop and a cow in future (maybe 3 years). How to maintain these animals and use their gifts is yet to be learned.

Liked the idea about getting to know my community and their skills.
Definetly need to work on reimbursing the mortgage and having some cash put away.

Again, thanks to you all for the ideas ans imput. Good luck to you!

quote:

Am no where near solar energy. Would it be better to tag team that with wind energy?

When I say "Passive Solar Design", it means there are no active parts such as solar cells, wires pipes, pumps etc. The plan is made to take advantage of the sun simply by orientation, window placement, shading devices and a few other tricks. It takes nothing to operate and doesn't wear out like active systems. This type of system doesn't generate any electricity, but just uses tested and proven methods to reduce your year round heating and cooling costs. Here is a link if you would like more information about this:CLICK HERE

Setting up a solar system for electricity for your whole house is an expensive venture. Wind is kinda wish-washy in most areas. You need consistent winds of 12 MPH to reap benefits.

quote:

I believe what weedkicker said, "self-sufficiency sucks!". I don't really want to be self-sufficient. What I do want to be is, prepared for some hard times. I have been around long enough to know that hard times do happen.

This is pretty much my thought as well. I hate to say though, that I'm not very prepared for hard times. I've been thru some hard times in my life, but know that it can always be worse. An injury or long illness would be devastating in our household.

I do worry about having to do without electricity for whatever reason. Outages due to ice are not uncommon in this area and our house is all electric. As yet, I have no backup plan and it worries me. We could go down the street to the guy who has a woodstove, but 25 other people would be there as well.

I like the idea of a 72 hr. pack. I used to live in an area that was prone to flooding. After nearly loosing the house in a flash flood once, having to take the kids and get out due to high water twice, I learned how to be prepared.

This has been a very thought provoking topic. It's interesting to read everyone's ideas and thoughts on the subject.

I am confident that I could feed the family, keep us warm, clothed and watered, but if the stuff really hit the fan, I can't reload fast enough to keep the horde from taking it all.

I feel we could weather a major economic disruption or a complete breakdown of the financial system, but if there is collapse of civil order, we are done for.

How many of you use "clothes lines" to dry clothing? How many of you ride a bike to work or whereever? I don't do any of those things.. right this minute. But I used to dry clothing on the backyard line until it broke...
I guess I should put in a new one. All that bending over and hanging up clothing is good exercise!! While this area where I live is very hilly... I have been thinking about the best way out of here to get to work if I would try pedalling a bicycle. My jobs are within 3 miles of my house, so I'm thinking.. maybe I should try to get a bike and build up my stamina.. (I am 50 years old and have arthritis!)

Like I said.. I live in a "hillbilly" area and the longest distance I remember going on a bike was 2 miles.. Just how fast do average people pedal?

James_1, thanks for the link!

At first I thought, Oh Shoot!, we just built our house and believe me when I say I AIN'T doing it again. Building is a lot of work.

But then, as I read on, I realised a lot of the stuff recommended was stuff that we did. We made our own drawing for the house and thus it just seemed normal and logical to plan according to where the sun was and where the North wind blew. I'm happy to have learned that my home is fairly 'passive solar design'.

Another advantage to having done our own thing as apposed to going with was already on the market. A lot of self-sufficiency is in the attitude, I think. If I don't let myself be influenced by all the consumer friendly stuff all those money making companies are trying to sell me and keep on doing my own thing according to what seems logical and normal to me (not to society) then I believe I'm on my way.

Wasrabbity, I like your attitude of what can I DO NOW, to change things for the present and for the future. Happy peddleling!

quote:

Originally posted by ctdahle:
I am confident that I could feed the family, keep us warm, clothed and watered, but if the stuff really hit the fan, I can't reload fast enough to keep the horde from taking it all.

I feel we could weather a major economic disruption or a complete breakdown of the financial system, but if there is collapse of civil order, we are done for.

Go north. Everyone else will be going south.

allenwrench,
Look in the drain cleaner section for lye. The btrand that I found is Roebic at Lowe's hardware. You can also order it online. As for learning how to make soap, ask Loamy. I also found www.millersoap.com to be very helpful.

quote:

French Gardener: What plants are safe to eat?

There are lots of plants that grow wild that are edible. If finding them interests you, I suggest a book or two. You need to make sure that what you are eating is not toxic. Some plants are very toxic and you want to stay away from them.

James_1 or anyone else who knows,

Yes I'm interested in some books but definetly some hands on in the woods as well.

I was at a class for identifying, picking and conserving forest muchrooms last weekend. I've read some books on indigenous plants. I find they are great in theory but when I get right down to it in the woods I want to be really really sure I'm not picking stmg toxic. Some practice classes would be nice...
Any suggestions ?

I don't do mushrooms, because I don't even like them.

The identification of plants is pretty complicated. I did take a taxonomy class in college so I got the basics. I guess you can always do that?

In my area there is over 5000 species of plants, so you can see what you are up against?

I have a "Nature Bound Pocket Field Guide", published by Pacific Press Publishing Association in Boise Idaho. The author is Ron Dawson. This little book lists many edible plants with pictures, descriptions, uses, and history. It also lists many poisonous plants.

Many of our weeds are edible plants. I have a good book on the weeds of Utah, and it helps to identify them. Alas it does not say if they are edible. Some of the more toxic ones are so noted.

Another resource I like is a Petersen Field Guide for the plants of the National Parks in the West. In this he says if they are edible or poisonous.

I just don't know what you may find about your local flora, but would guess there is information available.. If you have a College or university near, check with them.

Try a Google search.

This is a quote from Nature Bound: "If you cannot positively identify a plant, do not consider using it as a food source."

quote:

Originally posted by James_1:

quote:

I have been inventorying my basics as I use them to get an idea how fast we use things. Also plan to learn cheese making and soap making. Of course this presupposes I can get milk for the cheese and lye and veg fats for the soap.

There was a time that I kept a cow and we had lots of milk. Yes, we made cheese, cottage cheese, butter, and ice cream.

We have also made soap. One time we got mink fat from a mink farmer and made soap. All it cost was a can of lye.

All good skills to have I suppose, but the thing I put more stock in is using wheat. Wheat is one thing that can be stored for 20 years and it has excellent food value. I bake bread once a week from whole wheat flour ground fresh that day. The same flour also makes the best pancakes. We also crack some wheat for cereal. I have been doing this long enough to know how much wheat we use in a year and always have a little over a years worth on hand. In this way it gets cycled and none is ever going to be over 2 years old.

In the event that the power and natural gas gets cut off, we can always cook with a Dutch Oven over a wood fire.

Push comes to shove I would rather have something to eat than soap to wash with.

Have a great day!

I never thought about cheese and butter as a way of preserving milk until I read some of the 'Little House' books. I stock some powdered milk. The problem is ALL stock runs out someday unless you are self sufficient in that area.

Amazing how the old timers lived. Between the deer, fungus, disease, insects and fruit tree borers it is a miracle any fruits or veggies survive. Why can fruit and veggies grow like Japanese knotweed? (I guess we would be living in a rotting compost pit of a world if they did)

Wheat?

Yes, great for storage and the staff of life. No one grows it here. They grow lots of corn, but not wheat.

quote:

Originally posted by French Gardener:
Thanks to all your comments and ideas I now certainly have food for thought...forgive the pun.

I thought I was getting there but definetly still have a way to go.

We use a wood stove for heat. Have a lake near by as a water source (boiled it's OK to drink). Have access to crown land and personal land for wood, hunting and fishing. Harvesting too. But I need to gain skills...What plants are safe to eat? How to make soap? Home made flour ? I'm impressed. A year's supply of wheat ! WoW! Boy do I have a lot to learn!

I have a large veggie garden. I transform and keep for the winter. Am setting up small orchard this year. Am learning about herbal medecines.

Am no where near solar energy. Would it be better to tag team that with wind energy?

Have plans for a chicken coop and a cow in future (maybe 3 years). How to maintain these animals and use their gifts is yet to be learned.

Liked the idea about getting to know my community and their skills.
Definetly need to work on reimbursing the mortgage and having some cash put away.

Again, thanks to you all for the ideas ans imput. Good luck to you!

You have some great foundations to build on. Some of the city dwellers are not so fortunate.

I started to learn to grind my wheat a couple of months ago. Have a manual Country Living and an electric Champion grain mill on my juicer. It is tough grinding wheat by hand...good exercise!

Here is a copy of my Master Survival Inventory List. It is tailored to what our family eats. I hope to do my own canning when I get going with the garden. I know how to can, but gave it up in the mid '90 and got rid of all my canning supplies and gear.

Pantry

Drinking Water
Concord Grape Juice
Apple Juice
Pumpkin
Low sodium canned Vegetable
Low sugar or juice packed canned fruits
Cornmeal
AP Flour
WW Flour
Rye Flour
Rye whole
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Yeast
Pancake mix
Salt Iondized
Salt Sea
Salt Canning
Sugar White
Peanuts
Peanut butter
Almonds
Sunflower seeds
Maple Syrup
Rice Basmati
Millet
Buckwheat
Oatmeal
Quick barley
Pearled or hulled barley
Quinoa
Teff
Polenta
Pasta
Sauce cans small metal
Pasta sauce
Parmesan cheese
Ketchup
Mustard
Spring Water 8 oz 16 oz 1 Gallon 5 Gallon
Powder Eggs
Dry Beans mix
Lentils
Dry Peas
Dry Corn
Powdered Milk
Jam
Honey
Molasses
Raisins
Dried figs
Dates
Dried Apples, Pears
Granola Bars
Pop tarts
Cocoa
Carob
Chocolate chips
Beer
Wine
Soda natural
Tea
Tea Herb rose hips, chamomile
Canned Tuna
Sardines
Canned Chicken
Vinegar White gallons
Vinegar Cider
Vinegar Rice
Oil safflower, Corn, Flaxseed
Pam
Dry Cod
Planting seeds
Sprouting seeds
Couscous
Cereal
Tapioca
Kraut
Muffins
Popcorn
Cheesemaking supplies



Spices, Condiments

Arrowroot
Dill cut and sifted
Caraway
Cumin
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Pumpkin pie spice
Cumin
Turmeric
Ginger
Mint
Garlic



Household Staples

Canning Jars
Canning Lids
Canning Bands
Canning Supplies funnel, lift rack, magnet, lid separator
Eyeglasses
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Q- Tips
Shaving cream
Razors
AA Batteries Alk, NIMH
AAA Batteries Alk NIMH
9V Batteries
Ant traps
Yellow writing pads 5 x7 and 8.5 x 11
Newspaper scrap
Plastic bags market
Plastic bags umbrella
Plastic bags zip lock sandwich, larger sizes
F & V produce bags
Tyvek envelopes
Pens blue, Black Red
Markers Sharpies and larger size
Chap stik
Hand cream
Sponge
Spray Cleaner / Windex
SW LW World Radio
Solar and household battery chargers
LED lights
Candles
Sandpaper
Ammo
Reloading supplies, cases, bullets, primers, powder.
Trash bags black, white, small waste cans
H20 Filter
Bleach
Floss
Dental picks
Toothpicks
Nail files
Ivory soap
Shampoo
Baby Powder
Bug Spray
Soap Dishes - Hand and Machine
Laundry Detergent
Bleach
Stain remover sticks
Toilet Paper
Paper towels
Rubbing Alcohol
Iodine
Aspirin
Tylenol
Medicine
3 First Aid Kits Master, Med, Bug out.
Matches
Cig lighters butane, zippo
Vaseline
Staples
String
Laundry Line
Nails
Screws
Light Bulbs
Florescent Tubes
Florescent Light Screw In
Tape Masking - Electrical - Package Sealing
Gray Do All Tape
Rope
Blow Dryer
Soapmaking supplies

Misc. and Health and Vitamins

Vit A & D
Vit D
Vit C
Iron
Brewers Yeast
Potassium (no bananas)
Zinc
Vit E
Iron
Folic Acid
Copper
Kyo Dophilus
Enchinaciea
Golden Seal Root
Whey protein,
Green vibrance
Kyo Green
Whey Protein
Egg and milk protein with vits


Clothes


Hardware and Supplies

Bulk Gas
Cooking Fuel Coleman
Stabil
Motor Oil winter / summer
Either
2 Stroke Oil
Propane Small Tanks
Propane Large Tanks
Paint House and Spray
Tar
Mortar
Grain mill parts
Flaker Parts
Dehydrator parts



Semper Paratus!

quote:

Originally posted by James_1:

quote:

Am no where near solar energy. Would it be better to tag team that with wind energy?

When I say "Passive Solar Design", it means there are no active parts such as solar cells, wires pipes, pumps etc. The plan is made to take advantage of the sun simply by orientation, window placement, shading devices and a few other tricks. It takes nothing to operate and doesn't wear out like active systems. This type of system doesn't generate any electricity, but just uses tested and proven methods to reduce your year round heating and cooling costs. Here is a link if you would like more information about this:CLICK HERE

Setting up a solar system for electricity for your whole house is an expensive venture. Wind is kinda wish-washy in most areas. You need consistent winds of 12 MPH to reap benefits.

I am looking into a solar food dryer. Have an elctric one that works great...as long as its fan and the electric holds up.