This is your challenge for the week of March 31 through April 6.
Week 14
This week, make a copy of your health insurance policy, and place the copy behind the insurance policies divider tab.
Food Storage
While shopping this week, buy extra powdered milk. You can purchase instant nonfat, flavored nonfat, dry whole milk, or dry buttermilk for your food storage.
Milk has a short storage life (once it has been opened), so you should buy container (or store your milk in containers) that are appropriate for your family size. If you purchase milk in a large container, consider breaking it down and repackaging it into smaller containers.
My favorite brand of instant nonfat powdered milk is made by Country Cream. I purchase it from Macey's (a Utah food store). I don't drink milk (we drink soymilk by Silk), but I use powered milk all the time to cook with. This milk, when mixed, doesn't taste like powered milk. It has a rich, creamy taste.
I know a lot of people also like the Morning Moos brand. Morning Moos has chocolate, strawberry and orange flavored milk, as well as regular milk. Orange flavored milk sounds so disgusting to me. Maybe it is good? I have no idea.
Good luck with the challenge, and let me know how you are doing.
Preparedness Challenge: Week 13
This is your challenge for the week of March 23 through March 29.
Week 13
We're moving to a new divider tab. For the next five weeks, we'll be working on making copies for our Insurance Policies divider tab.
This week, make a copy of your Homeowners policy. If you rent, make a copy of your rental policy.
Food Storage
This week, work on your 72 Hour Kit. Start it, update it, or complete it. Just do something. If you have a kit that contains clothing items, be sure to check the sizes to make sure they still work for your family in case of an emergency.
There are a lot of websites that offer suggestions for 72 hour kits. Take some time to view them, then implement them in your home.
Good luck with the challenge this week!
Week 13
We're moving to a new divider tab. For the next five weeks, we'll be working on making copies for our Insurance Policies divider tab.
This week, make a copy of your Homeowners policy. If you rent, make a copy of your rental policy.
Food Storage
This week, work on your 72 Hour Kit. Start it, update it, or complete it. Just do something. If you have a kit that contains clothing items, be sure to check the sizes to make sure they still work for your family in case of an emergency.
There are a lot of websites that offer suggestions for 72 hour kits. Take some time to view them, then implement them in your home.
Good luck with the challenge this week!
Preparedness Challenge: Week 12
This is your challenge for the week of March 16 through March 22.
The entire challenge can be found here.
Week 12:
Our last important document to file under the Property Records divider tab is a copy of purchased cemetery lots. I know, morbid, huh? If this is some property that you haven't purchased, I seriously urge you to consider it. If you can say assuredly and categorically where you would want to be buried if you died today, then go and buy a plot there. This is one task your loved ones will thank you for taking care of before you pass on to the next life. Believe me. I recently purchased a plot for a dear one, and it is one memory- one task- that I could have done without.
If you already own a plot, good for you. Now make a copy of the record and get it filed in your GAG notebook.
Food storage:
When shopping this week, buy extra rice and dried beans/legumes. Include the types of rice and beans you already eat, but also try to introduce a new bean to your diet. I want to encourage you to change your diet to include more of this food category. If you only eat white rice, purchase a bag of brown rice and give it a try. If you consistently consume black and pinto beans, give kidney, lima and navy beans a try.
I make a batch of beans in my crockpot every once and a while. I soak the beans overnight in a bowl. In the morning, I drain the soak water, and transfer the beans to a crockpot. I add fresh water, and cook the beans on low all day. After the beans are cooked, I will add seasoning to taste, and portion out the beans. I put part of the pot in the fridge, and the majority of the beans in the freezer.
Canned beans are very convenient, but have a lot of extra preservatives and salt in them. It is important to learn how to cook beans from scratch so you can incorporate them into your diet.
With that said, does anyone have a favorite bean recipe to share with me? I would really like to know how to cook my beans to taste like the beans at Cafe Rio. Anyone have that recipe?
The entire challenge can be found here.
Week 12:
Our last important document to file under the Property Records divider tab is a copy of purchased cemetery lots. I know, morbid, huh? If this is some property that you haven't purchased, I seriously urge you to consider it. If you can say assuredly and categorically where you would want to be buried if you died today, then go and buy a plot there. This is one task your loved ones will thank you for taking care of before you pass on to the next life. Believe me. I recently purchased a plot for a dear one, and it is one memory- one task- that I could have done without.
If you already own a plot, good for you. Now make a copy of the record and get it filed in your GAG notebook.
Food storage:
When shopping this week, buy extra rice and dried beans/legumes. Include the types of rice and beans you already eat, but also try to introduce a new bean to your diet. I want to encourage you to change your diet to include more of this food category. If you only eat white rice, purchase a bag of brown rice and give it a try. If you consistently consume black and pinto beans, give kidney, lima and navy beans a try.
I make a batch of beans in my crockpot every once and a while. I soak the beans overnight in a bowl. In the morning, I drain the soak water, and transfer the beans to a crockpot. I add fresh water, and cook the beans on low all day. After the beans are cooked, I will add seasoning to taste, and portion out the beans. I put part of the pot in the fridge, and the majority of the beans in the freezer.
Canned beans are very convenient, but have a lot of extra preservatives and salt in them. It is important to learn how to cook beans from scratch so you can incorporate them into your diet.
With that said, does anyone have a favorite bean recipe to share with me? I would really like to know how to cook my beans to taste like the beans at Cafe Rio. Anyone have that recipe?
Preparedness Challenge: Week 11
This is your challenge for the week of March 9 to March 15.
You can view the entire challenge under the Preparedness Challenge Label. If you are new to the challenge, you can start from week one and catch up, or you can begin with week eleven and tack weeks one through ten onto the next year. We will have a new goal set each Sunday to work on for the week.
Week 11:
This week, our goal is to make a copy of your Automobile Title(s). Place your copy behind your Property Records divider, and update as needed.
We only have one more document to add to this section, then we will be moving on to Insurance Policies.
Food Storage
This week, buy extra spices for your food storage. Include pepper, salt, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, taco seasonings, chili powder, rosemary, poultry seasoning, allspice, smoked paprika, dill, cumin, thyme, etc...
I also enjoy making my own spices, and have included a link to my homemade taco seasoning.
Taco Seasoning
I also want to include a recipe, courtesy of Karen at FamilyStyle Food.
Spice Rub
Enjoy the week, and good luck with the challenge!
You can view the entire challenge under the Preparedness Challenge Label. If you are new to the challenge, you can start from week one and catch up, or you can begin with week eleven and tack weeks one through ten onto the next year. We will have a new goal set each Sunday to work on for the week.
Week 11:
This week, our goal is to make a copy of your Automobile Title(s). Place your copy behind your Property Records divider, and update as needed.
We only have one more document to add to this section, then we will be moving on to Insurance Policies.
Food Storage
This week, buy extra spices for your food storage. Include pepper, salt, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, taco seasonings, chili powder, rosemary, poultry seasoning, allspice, smoked paprika, dill, cumin, thyme, etc...
I also enjoy making my own spices, and have included a link to my homemade taco seasoning.
Taco Seasoning
I also want to include a recipe, courtesy of Karen at FamilyStyle Food.
Spice Rub
Enjoy the week, and good luck with the challenge!
GAG Binder Cover
I made a binder cover for my Grab and Go Emergency Notebook, and thought I would share the cover with you if you want to use it.The first link will take you to a JPEG image hosted on my Google Page Creator account. If you want to print from it, simply right-click the image, save to disk, then open and print from the program you commonly use.
Binder Cover
The zipped file works similar to a PDF (which I tried to create, but couldn't. Believe me, I tried. If anyone knows how to covert a JPEG file in the GIMP to a PDF file, please share the details with me. I figured out how to do it, but it would make the PDF so much bigger than the JPEG file, and I didn't want to burden people with a slow download speed.)
Anyway, click on the zip file, save to disk, then use the program you would normally print from.
Zipped Binder Cover
If you have any problems with the print quality, leave me a comment or email me. I didn't take the time to print from these links because I already used a lot of ink trying to make my own for my binder.
Preparedness Challenge: Week 10
This is your challenge for the week of March 2 through March 8.
You know the drill, if you need any information about this challenge you'll find it under the Preparedness Challenge Label.
Week 10:
We are still making copies to be placed behind our Property Records divider. This week, make copies of any appraisals you have of jewelry or other valuables. I have nothing valuable enough that requires an appraisal, so this will be an easy week for me! Yay!
When shopping, buy extra mixes for your storage. Cake, pancake, muffin, Bisquick, cookie, etc.. (Or, you can make your own, which is what I'll be doing.) If you buy your items, don't forget to date them. This is imperative when rotating your storage.
The other day I saw a Make-A-Mix cookbook at the D.I. that I thought about buying. This cookbook has a lot of recipes in it for dry mixes that you can make from scratch, in advance of when you'll need them. I didn't buy the book, though, because I thought I still had my mom's copy at home. Turns out I don't, so, I'll be stopping there Monday.
This week's storage challenge will be difficult for me, because I don't like to purchase packaged foods. I like to cook from scratch, and further, when I use flour, I like to grind my flour right when I need it. I'm a flour snob that way. I don't want to lose the nutrients by letting it sit until I need it. However, I don't own a hand crank wheat mill, yet, so I would be better off having some mixes made for emergencies. Especially if I didn't have electricity. I'm sure being well-fed during an emergency is more important than being a flour snob.
I'm working on a sheet that you can print and slip into the front of your binder. I thought I would have it ready for this post, but I don't. So, if you still need a cover sheet, I'll have one soon. Until then....good luck with week 10 of the challenge.
You know the drill, if you need any information about this challenge you'll find it under the Preparedness Challenge Label.
Week 10:
We are still making copies to be placed behind our Property Records divider. This week, make copies of any appraisals you have of jewelry or other valuables. I have nothing valuable enough that requires an appraisal, so this will be an easy week for me! Yay!
When shopping, buy extra mixes for your storage. Cake, pancake, muffin, Bisquick, cookie, etc.. (Or, you can make your own, which is what I'll be doing.) If you buy your items, don't forget to date them. This is imperative when rotating your storage.
The other day I saw a Make-A-Mix cookbook at the D.I. that I thought about buying. This cookbook has a lot of recipes in it for dry mixes that you can make from scratch, in advance of when you'll need them. I didn't buy the book, though, because I thought I still had my mom's copy at home. Turns out I don't, so, I'll be stopping there Monday.
This week's storage challenge will be difficult for me, because I don't like to purchase packaged foods. I like to cook from scratch, and further, when I use flour, I like to grind my flour right when I need it. I'm a flour snob that way. I don't want to lose the nutrients by letting it sit until I need it. However, I don't own a hand crank wheat mill, yet, so I would be better off having some mixes made for emergencies. Especially if I didn't have electricity. I'm sure being well-fed during an emergency is more important than being a flour snob.
I'm working on a sheet that you can print and slip into the front of your binder. I thought I would have it ready for this post, but I don't. So, if you still need a cover sheet, I'll have one soon. Until then....good luck with week 10 of the challenge.
