Monday Message

"Recent surveys of Church members have shown a serious erosion in the number of families who have a year’s supply of life’s necessities. Most members plan to do it. Too few have begun . . . It is our sacred duty to care for our families, including our extended families." (President Thomas S. Monson)

"Start now to create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan. Watch for best buys that will fit into your year’s supply. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away. The instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of the counsel and prepare for the future." (L. Tom Perry)

Preparing for the future is our goal for sure as we do not know what tomorrow will bring...

I think we need to pay attention to what these quotes are saying. It doesn't take much to see instability everywhere we look.

It is time to build those skills. I know everyone is so busy but knowing how to do things will really be a blessing.  

I keep trying to learn as much as I can as well.

This year with little more effort, I saved the tomato skins from canning and dehydrated them then I ground them into powder in the blender. This was free food for sure.

The smaller jar I did not grind into powder but hand crushed to make bigger flakes that I plan to use in bread. I plan to use the powder to enhance the flavors in soup.

Free food is knowing how to make the most of something like when I told you how to save orange rind part that normally is tossed out like the tomato skins.

Did you know that you can put green onions in a jar with some water and the tops will keep growing? You just cut them as needed. I cut them up with scissors and put them on a plate. In just a few hours they are dry. I then put them in a jar like I do chives.

Again, being frugal and getting free food from what you already have is a good skill to have.

Of course, knowing how to repair our clothing is also huge...

I have a mend job to do on this sweater cardigan. Knowing how to mend has been a real blessing in my life and huge savings.  Knowing just a few things can save a lot. Imagine if you knew even more what you could save.

Along with those skills, start storing supplies to be able to sew and mend. Look at thrift stores or clearance aisles, even a package of needles from a dollar tree type store, it doesn't have to be a huge expense.

Having a sewing machine makes mending faster and easier. Look at thrift stores to find one used, be sure to try it while you are there. Some places give you so many days for if it doesn't work to return it. This machine I got 36 yrs ago. Yep, I did the math and when I got this machine it already was ten years old...wow.

This brings me to the next skill and that is learn to clean and oil and replace parts and this will extend the life of your machine. Proper maintenance is good at saving money if you do it yourself and I have. This machine is my little work horse, I use it a lot.  

It is a lot like doing your own house cleaning, saves you lots of money. The more we learn, the more we can do for ourselves, the more we can save or the less we have to earn. If you do it yourself it cuts down on expenses. This is why I stress learning skills.

I try to do the mending as I go. For instance, the day I discover I need to mend something is the day I actually mend it. It takes very little time as I always have my machine out. Now some mending I will do by hand, same with darning. I can do this hand work while listening to a podcast for example or while skyping with family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmfWu83I0ZI - this is soooooo helpful.

This class is so very helpful, it is a free class so if this is all you learn this week that is good!

Learn your appliances, what else can you learn from their manuals?

My kitchen aide broke, at one point it would no longer hold the bowl up which it had to do to mix. I called the Hobart company and told them what I had and what was happening. They told me what I needed for a part and how to fix it and they were just twenty miles away. So before you toss out things, find out if you can fix it. And learn how to properly maintain it.

Remember to be frugal and build up your storage and be kind.