Month Nine in Review and Month Ten Prepping Plan

It's been a very productive month here at the Harried Homemaker Acres. I'm very pleased with what Hubby Dear and I have accomplished.

In Month Nine....

1. I got a FoodSaver and used it to vacuum seal dry goods like nuts and chocolate as well as meat for the freezer. I'm very happy with my purchase and I'll keep you posted about just how long it extends the shelf life of my stored foods.
2. I made a first aid stockpile plan and purchased quite a few items on the list.
3. I'm learning how to sew using the antique sewing machine that was gifted to us. My first sewing project - cloth pads - is coming along very slowly. I definitely am an inept seamstress, but I'll keep plugging away at it. I'll let you know how my handcrafted feminine items work after they get put through their paces.
4. I bought some more food storage items, including dry milk, snack foods (Nutella!), and miscellaneous canned goods. I also canned more ground beef and chicken.
5. Hubby Dear and I did some work outside in the garden in preparation for the spring planting season. We made our seed and berry orders and we'll be ready to go next month. I hope. We still have a lot of Mel's Mix to prepare and garden boxes to fill and we're going to get blasted with up to 6" of snow.



Most of our seeds and some new garden goodies arrived today

6. I finally got a shelf for the top of my Shelf Reliance Harvest 72" can organizer. One of my fabulous readers pointed out to me that Shelf Reliance actually does sell a top shelf (separately) for their food storage systems. I decided not to add to Hubby Dear's workload by having him make one and just ordered it. It cost $26.48 (ordered through a consultant, including shipping) and it will support up to 150 lbs.

The gray metal grid on top is the new shelf. It is sturdy and will be very useful.

In Month Ten:

1. I'm going to add to my EDC, which stands for Everyday Carry. These are survival items you carry with you everywhere. I'm going to add some things to my keychain and purse to help me be prepared for a wide variety of situations.
2. The majority of my prepping budget is going to be spent on food storage. In fact, the news articles about the looming food shortage/inflation problem that I've shown Hubby Dear have convinced him that we need to build our food storage more quickly. He thinks we should double our monthly prepping budget for next month and spend it all on food storage. Is he becoming a prepper or is he just trying to shut me up? ;0) I'm thinking our purchases through carefully so that I spend this money wisely. I'll definitely keep you all know what I end up buying.
3. We need to finish putting soil into our garden beds and begin planting at the end of the month. Our strawberry plants should arrive in late March and we'll also plant peas, potatoes, and lettuce around that time.
4. Hopefully, I'll finish my cloth pad project.

What have you done to prepare recently? What preps do you have in store for the next month?

Month Eight in Review and Month Nine Prepping Plans

What I accomplished this month:

1. We bought and assembled a Shelf Reliance Harvest 72”. It looks maaah-velous and works great. I never did get around to getting a wooden board for the top. Hopefully next month.  
2. I bought a Brother P-Touch Labeler. I love it! I can't believe we've gone so long without one of these things. Label makers might be old news to many of you, but I'm like a little kid with a new toy. 

 You simply type in your wording:

And it prints out a cute little label:

Et Voila!

Organization!

Now there's no excuse for confusing the salt with baking soda. I'm looking at you, Hubby Dear....

 



3.   I continued to build up our food storage. This month I mostly bought canned goods to work on filling  up my Shelf Reliance unit. I planned to buy a lot more food storage, but I came to the end of the month and found that I had spent all my budget on regular groceries. This is because of item #4. All that fresh produce is expensive in the boonies!  

4.   Diet and exercise. Hubby Dear is competing in a "Biggest Loser"-type activity at his work and has shed nearly 15 pounds since he started on January 7th. I hate the male metabolism. I started before he did but have only lost somewhere between 5-8 lb. It's all about getting healthy anyway, right?

5.  I scored a few freebies like dental floss and OTC meds due to couponing. 

6.   My family was subjected to several rounds of canned meat taste tests (here, here, and here). I think I finally have the whole canned meat thing figured out now! ;)



What does Month Nine have in store?





Piece of junk?


1. I want to get a vacuum sealer like a FoodSaver. I mainly want to use it for vacuum sealing mason jars of nuts, chocolate chips, etc. I'm having a hard time figuring out which model to get, though, since the reviews of the most popular infomercial one aren't great. Do y'all have any recommendations for me?          
2. Stock up on first aid items - bandages, OTC meds, and more. One of my goals this year is to broaden and deepen our medical preps. 
3. Buy more items for food storage. I'm not sure what exactly, since it kind of depends on what goes on sale.   
4. Firm up our plans and buy our seeds for the upcoming garden season. Hubby Dear needs to finish rounding up the material for our Square Foot Garden soil mix.
5. Continue to diet and exercise. Oh the Joy.
6. Make a wooden board to fit across the top of my Shelf Reliance unit.