Monday, April 24, 2017

Monday Message



President J. Reuben Clark (Church News, 1953) –
“When we really get into hard times, where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep warm, and you cannot wear it.  You can’t eat money, but you can eat your three-month supply of food – IF YOU HAVE IT AND KNOW HOW TO USE IT."

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0dF5lU5boc1Y1U3Zld1UWViems/view - food storage info

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Crafty+Gemini+Pillowcase&&view=detail&mid=8BD0F65B86D12CA5F9328BD0F65B86D12CA5F932&FORM=VRDGAR - this is my favorite way to do pillowcases, easy to make. Wouldn’t it be fun to make on b-days for a birthday child with their favorite character? Also, think Christmas gifts.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0dF5lU5boc1WF8wVlJTanNQeVE/view - inventory sheets that will help you keep track.

http://prepared-housewives.com/create-a-food-storage-binder/ - keeping track. I have a working food storage cookbook with our favorite recipes.

http://prepared-housewives.com/food-storage-inventory-sheets-lists/ - inventory sheets

http://prepared-housewives.com/november-get-your-basics/ - food storage

http://prepared-housewives.com/canning-beef/ - this shows you how to can beef. Check the extenstion office in your area for your times and pressure. If you live in Iowa or Minnesota, you can call 1-800-262-3804 during a week day.

I have canned hamburger raw. To use, I take it out and, in a pan, I heat and brown it.

I can roast and chicken, even some pork for bbq. Chicken and roast is also very yummy and easy to use.

http://prepared-housewives.com/creative-storage-solutions/ - great ideas and solutions.

http://prepared-housewives.com/favorite-food-storage-distributors/ - not advertising, just letting you know please don’t rule out the home storage units. We use the one in Omaha the most. Also, Kansas City. Just depends where you are. You can look it up which one is closest to you.

http://prepared-housewives.com/cooked-jam/ - this is always a good way to get your feet wet with canning.

Did you know you can buy fruit juice and make jelly with it? Yep, done that. If you have no excess produce to use, you can have juice to make jelly.

http://prepared-housewives.com/how-to-build-a-rocket-stove-and-impress-the-boys/ - making a rocket stove

http://prepared-housewives.com/easy-country-biscuits-from-scratch/ - country biscuits

http://prepared-housewives.com/food-storage-restaurant-style-tortillas/ - making your own is lots cheaper and kids could help.

http://craftygemini.com/2014/04/how-to-build-raised-garden-bed-for.html - here is how to build raised bed garden for fifteen dollars.

It is time to be thinking garden. In central Iowa you are not to plant till after May 15. But start thinking what you will do. If you cannot have a garden, do container gardening.

http://craftygemini.com/2012/05/diy-sewing-pattern-weights-tutorial.html - how to make pattern weights.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2012/01/sewing-pattern-weights_11.html - hear is another option.



https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Food+Storage+Pantry&&view=detail&mid=CEEF23CC0DFB1308314BCEEF23CC0DFB1308314B&FORM=VRDGAR - this shows one lady cleaning her storage. What I wanted to point out are the bungee cords. It would not hurt us to come up with a similar set up for earthquakes. One couple took it a step further and put rubber bands around jars to keep them from hitting each other. I know you are thinking... but we don’t get them here. But we have felt them and it would be better safe than sorry. Those who have funds can get those plastic containers that keep jars separate.

Just keep plugging away!

Monday, April 17, 2017

Guest Monday Message!

This Monday Message is a guest blog post from the wonderful Coupon Sahm I Am. Thanks for taking the time to inspire us to build up food storage and lead a more provident life!

Hello, I am known as Coupon Sahm I Am and I love to save money… Ok not really, what I do love is to save money so I can buy other things like art supplies for my Art addiction but I do sleep better at night knowing that I have a nice savings account for those rainy days, and for art.

If you are new to my blog come check me out at www.couponSahmIAm.blogspot.com I am here as guest post because I have successfully got a good 6 month food storage from a normal month’s budget. (it started with a $300 food budget) with a family of three, now I spend about $600 a month on a family of 5- 3 growing kids. Did I mention the GROWING KIDS part?



When you have a budget and to live within your means, means no extra money spent and you have $300 to spend on the month… you figure out what you want to spend your money on very quickly. I was at that time staying at home with our 9 month old daughter, and “needed” a hobby that saved us money.

While saving money and spending all my energy on what I could spend our grocery money on.  I realized that although couponing can be a great way to “save” money there is a system to saving money. It came unexpectedly and I found that having a year's supply of food storage to be the way to save money Let me explain:


I know that every year in August peanut butter is at it’s rock bottom price, it will not be that cheap until next august. So a portion of my grocery budget for the month of August goes to PB. I decided that we go through about 1 jar a week (we love PB) so I buy about 45 jars of PB every August. I know it’s a good baking day when I go through 2 jars of PB. Since I can justify spending just a $1 on pb I don’t mind using it for lots of baking recipes.

Sale Cycles are what helps me save the most and helps me work on my food storage!  Go here if you want see the Grocery Cycle that I have came up with to save you money on basic pantry items that each month there should be a significant savings by buying groceries at their rock bottom prices. When it comes to groceries there is a season for everything!



Once you get what a I call a stock-pile (food storage) because the deals are out there once you use the Grocery Sale Cycle. Use what you got:

I know that if I have a food storage (stockpile) I am less tempted to go “out to eat” because we have so much food at home… Using what you have usually means that you try new ways of baking, or cooking chicken or for me I am always looking for those frugal recipes ( you know the ones in the old church and community cookbooks) to see what works for your family. I use what I got, sometimes items so basic can be used for multiple uses, for example one of my favorite things to stock up is Spaghetti Sauce.



Here is a blog post that has great ideas to do with Pasta Sauce When it’s on sale at it’s cheapest (march) I know that I can do so much more with it… I could simmer it down and make it into a pizza sauce, or my favorite thing to do is to make a tomato soup with it. Same thing with cake mixes, there are even cookbooks that are devoted to cake mixes and what you can do with it. Instant pudding and cereal are some other ones… lots of ideas and way to use up some basic pantry items that fit your family’s taste.  

Still not sure if this is the way you want to try to get a food storage started or to keep up, I have also integrated this system, that can work out well: I call it my top 10 recipe stockpile:
It’s as simple as listing your favorite 10 recipes that your family loves… You know the ones they could eat every other day if needed. Once you get that list, you list out your ingredients you need to have on hand and you get 4x that much, so you now have 40 meals ready to go…
It’s about a month worth of food storage right? You get the idea!



My top 5 recipes: Chilli,  cheese burger mac and cheese, spaghetti or lasagna, Chicken pot pie/ or something like that, and pork roast and veggies. I love to bake, I always have ingredients to make a chocolate cake, and scotcharoos. I love this way of food storage because it can be as individual and you can switch up meals along the way… If chili isn’t working any more substitute that for a new dish you made that was easy and economic right? I also go by seasons for this, and if it’s too expensive I wait until the ingredients go on sale. I know a lot of people like this method because it’s not so intense!

One last thing: take full advantage of when your grocer discounts meat… Yes, what seems like tuesday morning our local Hy-Vee always has meat for ¼ of the cost because the sell by date is about up.I just got some nice Salmon for ¼ of the cost!  I either cook it and freeze it or get it ready to cook and freeze it (seasoning it and getting it ready for the oven or crock pot or my Sous Vide.) I go specifically to the grocery store on any given tuesday Morning hoping to find some good discount on meat and do the dirty work of getting the meat prepped for 4-8 dinners that I can freeze. (does that make sense?)

I would love to know what other skills you use to help build a food storage within a budget, leave a comment or come visit my blog and leave me a comment on one of my many posts about how I have saved money! (don’t be surprised if there is artwork on my blog, that is my driving force to saving money!)

Thank you for letting me have this opportunity to post on Frugal Measures, enjoy the savings and building up your food storage!

Monday, April 10, 2017

Monday Message

I'm working on learning to knit socks without a pattern.

"We encourage you to follow this counsel with the assurance that a people prepared through obedience to the commandments of God need not fear." (First Presidency letter, 24 June 1988)

http://www.foodstoragemoms.com/2017/03/store-food-storage/ - this is helpful for those who want to store in small places.

http://www.foodstoragemoms.com/2017/03/how-to-store-as-much-water-as-possible/ - storing water is very important. Those of you who were here in '93 know something about life with no tap water due to floods.

http://storethisnotthat.com/menu-plan-freezer-meals-cut-kitchen-time-half/ - helpful to us all, I love these gals.

I am trying to build one of my skills. I have made socks before but always with a pattern. Since I have been sick so long I am learning different heels. My goal is to be able to make socks anywhere anytime without a pattern. I know you are saying, my goodness she is going batty! I am :p If I don’t get well soon I will be completely bonkers but at least I'm working on one goal. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrfSQNgROpM - this shows how to get stared with double pointed needles.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=dining+on+a+dime+getting+out+of+debt+youtube&view=detail&mid=109821F40AE03A793A7D109821F40AE03A793A7D&FORM=VIRE - getting out of a debt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIYEJ1Q757k&feature=em-uploademail - easy sewing project with your budget in mind, no more paper towels!

https://providentlivingpreps.com/ - lots of helpful things, scroll down to see great ideas on how to store what you need. Keep scrolling to see what will happen if you run out of toilet paper. See why you want to stock up on that? But also using your sewing skills can be helpful in this situation. I hope to never have to do that but good to have sewing skills.

https://providentliving.lds.org/?lang=eng - for more info.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/560276009867676036/ - this is still my favorite.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0dF5lU5boc1cFQyay1xZDR5bkU/view - a cookbook worth looking at.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0dF5lU5boc1M0E5eV9wZTBjOVE/view - three month supply.

Keep working on your skill building. If you already know your skill, build on it.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Crafty+Gemini+Pot+Holder&&view=detail&mid=FEEB9F5CDC15186DCFCDFEEB9F5CDC15186DCFCD&FORM=VRDGAR - great to know how to do, plus they also make good gifts.

So keep building your skills. As you can see, I am working on mine. Actually I am working on two things at once: learning a new heel in new sock and trying to get well, two things at same time. Keep working on your storage and on helpful skills. Do the best you can.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Monday Message


“As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities. . . . I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With the events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness. . . . Create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan . . . 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.” (L. Tom Perry, in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 47; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 36).

I find this quote is very direct with information we should pay attention to. I find it interesting that it doesn’t say when convenient or when you get around to it.

I think with famine in one country and people having trouble getting food in others, these things would stand out to us. We do not know what things will come or affect our neck of the woods. 

What I think is you don’t want to be in that situation and have to be worrying how you will feed or help your family.  If you find you are prepared you will be able to help others. And help will be needed.

I know life in our time has stores everywhere wanting your money, selling everything one could want.

How are you coming on the checklist as it just isn’t about food?

Can you mend any part of you or your families clothes?

Can you bake bread?

Do you have supplies on hand to do the bread? Flour, wheat, grinder, salt, sugar or honey, yeast needed in storage? If you store wheat and do not want wheat bricks you could sand a boat with, be sure to store vital wheat gluten. Have you learned to make bread your children will eat??? If not, get practicing. On this note, it takes time… are you too busy to find time? I had a doctor say to me after I told her I make our bread, she said, good if people would do this we would have a lot less mental illness.

Do you have bread pans? I have had friends who needed to save the money to bake bread but did not have pans.

Pans - do you have muffin tins, bread pans, cookie sheets, cake pans, pie tins, sauce pans, frying pans, any other you may need? If you don't then start hitting thrift stores till you get them. 

I have a friend and in the area she lived many did not own one pan because they ate out for their meals and when hard times came, and they did, they had not what they needed. My friend helped them get used pans but then she had to teach them how to use them and there were many who were in that same situation.

Have you collected the basic needed items? Sewing machine, iron and ironing board. A water bath canner, pressure canner, dehydrator,vac sealer with canister, wheat grinder plus a hand grinder, canning jars, new lids, used or new rings, etc.

There are many things you can get used you just have to haunt thrift stores and yard sales. You can ask for needed items on freecycle. Ask relatives if they are done canning.

I know you cannot get everything all at once but make a list and keep it with you. Also, say a prayer to have help in getting these.

Same with working on your food storage, pray for help to build your storage.

If you only make freezer jam, learn to make regular jam too - this is a great skill.

Concentrate on getting in groceries and the basics and supplies. You will be blessed as you work on it.

Go back over the blogs, see if there is something you would like me to cover.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2015/05/monday-message.html - a huge skill is learning to can meat.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2012/06/easy-striped-dishcloth.html - skill of knitting.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2016/07/monday-message_18.html - skill of gathering supplies, these are all used. Sewing is a skill on our list too.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/141780720@N04/26309817461/ - skill of dehydrating.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2016/10/monday-message_31.html - skill of gathering supplies.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2016/01/monday-message_11.html - skill of preparedness.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2015/07/monday-message_27.html - skill of storage.

I WANT you to watch these YouTube clips of Wendy's seminar. I painfully got them in order just so you can see them in order. Food storage with chocolate in it? Whaaaaat? Yep! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGaTlwYs-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUaFMEyLXOM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4woLOnURFiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Drrd2wt8k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE5WVOqLp2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33bovjbt8nk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vigcycRhWs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0XWoeWRDdI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoYHLW8HR7Y

Skill building - watch all these clips then ask yourself, what are you waiting for?

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2015/08/monday-message_17.html - skill of canning.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2015/07/monday-message_20.html - skill of jam making.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2015/07/monday-message_13.html - skill of DIY scratch cooking. This has a recipe for maid-rites like eating out but you saved lots.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2016/03/monday-message_14.html - skill of frugality.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2013/07/monday-message_29.html - skill of making bread.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2017/01/monday-message.html - skill of budgeting and organizing.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2014/03/monday-message_24.html - skill of making yogurt.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2014/03/mixes-for-easy-kitchen-prep.html - skill to make mixes.

We have covered a lot on storage and skill building over the years, please get your family ready.

Do the best you can.
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