Monday Message

(President Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference Oct 1980 "Prepare for the Days of Tribulation", now as the prophet offering his own remarks and in addition repeating many quotes from past prophets and apostles) - 

"Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account... We urge you to do this prayerfully and do it now."

“There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the lasts days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own.”

It is coming up on planting time here in central Iowa. It is safe to plant after May 15, so you should make a plan.

How are you being frugal and how are you coming on your skill building?

For me, I am still working on the hat and mittens from taking the craftsy class on their free weekend.

Here is a clever tip - I use this board that was made for lockers that I got used. It holds my patterns with a strip of magnet. I put ribbons on it to make me smile :)

Now, I have lots of ribbon and so on my second board I keep many strips I have made to keep them handy. I got all of them at yard sales over the years. The boards were given to me. The magnetic strips I have in rolls and partial rolls which I laid flat on metal till they stopped wanting to roll.

I have been doing some spinning.

One sleepless night I did some sewing. I was given some dresses a couple of years ago. They had slits and I hate slits. So I matched colors and zigzagged the slits. These are big enough on me that I don’t need the slits to walk or sit.

I also had gotten a flannel dress for free but it was too short for me so I was able to make a shirt out of it instead.

So that was frugal sewing using a skill.

One of the things I want to learn is how to use the many feet, old ones as well as newer ones.

The sewing feet go with my Kenmore. On my list of skills to learn is figuring out how to use each of these feet.

http://www.aldermanfarms.net/sourdough.html - they have a few tech problems but stay with them. I have been following her step by step to do sourdough. I have tried to do sourdough for many years and failed each time so watching this has helped me learn what went wrong. So this is an area that I am trying to learn. I have so far had success in starting the starter and plan to try her bread Friday night and Saturday.  It would be good to learn and have success with this. 

So these are some of the things I have been doing to build skills and be frugal. What have you been doing? Let us know.

http://www.honeybeepantry.com/topics/view/51cbfc92f702fc2ba812dda1/ - I think it would be good if you research her bread information. Look at the items on the left. This lady is fantastic. So what is the window pain test, do you know? She will tell you. If you know the answer you are probably a bread baker.

If you do not know the answer, read here: http://www.honeybeepantry.com/topics/view/51cbfc9bf702fc2ba812f492/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LnmzFxlkpw - this woman shows how to make hamburger buns, has an accident with sesame seeds but it is helpful. She is making her supper so keep watching to the buns.

Both of these ladies sell their baked goods at local farmer’s markets. See how helpful their skills are to their families? Not only do they make things for meals but make income with these skills as well.

We may never need our skills for making income but we can bless our family with them every day.

Before we had kids and we were living in South Dakota, my husband was in the military and we were still very young, the county had a great program where they sent this lady on request. She would come and teach us how to do things. You invited friends and she would come teach and cook. I remembered this one time she told how you could shred and dry carrots. This was wonderful to me but she was also teaching how to make noodles. I was equally excited for it. She fixed a broth and threw them in, I loved it. She let us each taste it.

But before everyone came she asked me what church I belonged to and I told her The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She said I thought so. I thought, how? She said because I loved learning new things and it seemed like everyone she met from the church was wanting to learn. Of course, I am thinking everyone she taught was wanting to learn since her teaching was by invitation but it makes me think we all should never give up learning, there is so much to learn. Yes, I still love learning new things.

Keep building your storage and finding how you can be more frugal. Work on your skills and share with us what your working on.

Monday Message

"I wish to urge again the importance of self-reliance on the part of every individual Church member and family. None of us knows when a catastrophe might strike. Sickness, injury, unemployment may affect any of us. We have a great welfare program with facilities for such things as grain storage in various areas. It is important that we do this. But the best place to have some food set aside is within our homes, together with a little money in savings. The best welfare program is our own welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)

Being frugal is hugely helpful so learn all you can on how to be frugal. It will take effort to read and learn different ways but in the end the skill will be yours. For sure, living on less is a skill worth developing no matter where you are on the income scale.

Some great books to read are….

Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn - she put out three then did a compiled one.

Make-A-Mix Cookery by Aliason, Harward, and Weston - they had two then put out a third kind of compilation.

Bakers Flower by Kate Manning - this is one mix and a whole cookbook using the mix.

These are a few you could try to get through your libraries.

Some helpful sites…

http://theprudenthomemaker.com/blog?view=entry&id=18774 - she has a great site for being frugal.

http://www.miserlymoms.com/default.htm - she also has books Miserly Moms and Miserly Meals are the two I have but are the old versions. I love her granola recipe best and she makes granola bars with this granola too.

https://stretcher.com/stories/970310e.cfm I find their site a bit harder to maneuver so I put this on the saving on your groceries one.

https://www.livingonadime.com/ I love watching their videos…you see the blueberry pancakes. This one you get a baking mix recipe.  Just had those this week - wonderful! The pocket sandwiches were made from this mix too. They have books too - Dining on a Dime. Then they have frugal ebooks too. They are generous to show and post recipes from their book…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWwS0sz7_Ag&feature=youtu.be - great to get food storage at great prices. We use when we can. Our closest is two and a half hours away but I love the powdered milk and potato pearls best but I love all the products I have tried. Love the white wheat and the instant refried beans. Just really good prices for stocking up.

I am sharing these with you as I have found them helpful in my frugal living, not as an ad. See if you can get through your libraries to be more frugal.

If you have frugal books that you like share titles with us all.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2016/03/frugal-kitchen-remodel_2.html - here I show making curtains from a shower curtain. Those are the red ones, the blue ones before were made out of napkins.

https://www.hometalk.com/10113567/5-curtains? Frugal idea. I have done curtains before from sheets and now I use sheets in rugs.

There are ways anyone can be frugal no matter who they are.

One way I was frugal was craftsy had a free weekend you could take classes from them for free on that weekend. One of the classes I took was a hat and mitten class.

This is how far I have gotten. I learned two color cast on and corrugated ribbing. It will have matching mittens. There are caribou waiting to be put on to the hat next.

So look around for things you can learn that will be frugal. Besides this class, I learned spinning techniques, how to dye, how to make baguettes and learned many things. I think they do this a couple times a year.

Gus kitty recommends books that will help you to be frugal. Some of these books I have had before we had a computer in our home. But that being said I feel you should have a library at home made with the old-fashioned way…paper. Yep, hard copies as well as digital. Same with your recipes - hard copies. I am not demeaning the digital age but I like hard copy back-ups…and I love books.

There are always ways to frugalize what we do. Yes, I just made up that word ;)

We should squelch the temptation to just buy all the time. It might take longer but its well worth the journey to learn new skills. Stretch a penny till it screams for mercy :p

Do the best you can! And let us know what frugal things you are up to. We all learn from others.

Monday Message

"Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food . . . and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free." - President Thomas S. Monson

As many of you know president Monson just recently passed away so I thought it would be a good thing to use his quote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTCodG3OOdw - this video shows how to use several food storage items. I love this gal. Tip: use one tsp vital wheat gluten to one cup all purpose flour to make one cup of bread flour, I do this all the time.

I have these apples in storage and also have my own apples that I dried I use them just the same with same results so if you dry apples and haven’t tried them this way you are in for a treat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FijOO3DchSQ&t=9s - this is good info on your storage as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUZpNGuvUQQ - this is a wonderful way to show how to use your canned meat. It is very easy to can meat I love having my canned meat. When I can it I do it exactly as directed for my area and the up to date canning instruction. Isn’t this a wonderful way to fix a meal when you are tired?

http://storethisnotthat.com/recipe/one-pot-spaghetti-skillet/ - here is the recipe she has for the video above. She says under thirty minutes to make. I think after church this would be a good thing to make if you don’t make it on Saturday. I often love leftovers on Sundays.

If you are in Iowa or Minnesota you can call 1-800-262-3804 they will give you any up to date info on canning and actually answer any homemaking questions you might have.

I cannot tell you how nice it is to have canned meat on hand with my chicken. I can just open and make chicken salad sandwiches and also a lot more recipes I have using cooked chicken. Roast? Yes, I have canned cubed roast. My favorite is to use it for making beef gravy for noodles or mashed potatoes or rice. I have hamburger and some pork from uncooked type ham.

Meat is easy to can easier than any other canned item I can. One more thing, my canned meats cost me less than I can get on any sale currently because prices went up since their canning.

http://storethisnotthat.com/everydayfoodstorage/ - here is the recipe page they have. Now looking at these recipes, do you still think food storage is icky food? I should think not.

http://storethisnotthat.com/build-basic-food-storage-10-week/ okay, I know I have a lot of their site on here but really I love these no-nonsense gals. Tap on this chart, this is a helpful chart on how to get in storage every month. Totally doable, don’t you think? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNGgIVh-dik - here is a great recipe and using food storage. She also shows you the link for the LDS home storage centers which is what she shows in the monthly chart in the site before this one.

Now I don’t often buy food storage books but their books are fantastic. If you were wondering if they were good - yes, they are.  I have been following these gals since I started this blog. I suggest you look around their site and go way back.

It is helpful to try the recipes that they share and apply your recipes to a way like they do to use your storage.

If you plan to can your meat (and I highly recommend it), you will need a pressure canner that has a good gauge and have it checked.  

You will need jars. I particularly like pint jars for us and I use wide and regular mouth jars together. I can get twenty in my all American pressure canner. If I just use wide mouth I cannot get that many jars in, just a tip there.  

You will need new lids. Never use the used lids to can but I save the used lids to vacuum seal my dry foods. Since I write on the lids the date and contents I know which are used lids. Plus, I keep the new ones in their packages even if I only have a few lids left - a safety measure for me.  

You will also need rings. Now, if you need both you can buy new lids with rings, so there is that. But if you ask for rings from people getting out of canning they will gladly help you out. I keep my rings on wire hangers that I took apart and use like a giant safety pin. They slide on and off and are kept together.

Of course, you will need meat so look for sales.

I also will keep my freezers rotated by canning the meat to make room for new meat. This is why I can all year round.

So look up information on how to can and gather things together you will need.

On a separate note, Rachel Martinez reached out to offer us this great information on saving money on disaster preparation, so a big thank you for sharing! https://www.couponchief.com/guides/guide_to_saving_money_on_disaster_preparation

Keep working on your storage. Watch your sales and set money aside to take advantage of them.

If you know you will have extra money coming in, set some aside to stock up.

Do the best you can!

Monday Message

Jar mixes for one pot spaghetti hamburger helper, recipe HERE.

"Today, I emphasize a most basic principle: home production and storage. Have you ever paused to realize what would happen to your community or nation if transportation were paralyzed or if we had a war or depression? How would you and your neighbors obtain food? How long would the corner grocery store—or supermarket—sustain the needs of the community?" (President Ezra Taft Benson)

Now the holidays are over and cold reality sets in brrrrrr. We have had very cold weather and dangerous wind chills.  I hope you had storage to fall back on and stayed in and kept warm.

We had a local gas station chain ran out of gas as it was so cold their trucks would not start as they run on diesel which won’t work in these really cold temps. One thing is definitely certain and that is things are constantly changing. Being prepared is essential.

I hope you were able to take advantage of the sales over the holidays and build up your storage.

I received a food storage gift of the hugest bag of chocolate chips. What a wonderful gift! I will pour into jars and vacuum seal them.

That is a great idea for your gift giving. Who wouldn’t love that gift?

As winter wears on cabin fever sets in…. 

Guess who is winning? :p

If you aren’t up to a riveting game of chess here are some fun ideas to battle cabin fever…

https://geekmom.com/2014/01/40-cabin-fever-cures-kids/

With spring still not here and the dull days of winter still with us, get a fresh flower to bring a reminder that spring is coming.

Taking a good long bath can help your mood…..

But seriously this is the time to work on learning new skills….

You can read a good book or two. My favorite kind are cozy mysteries. Or you could read a book on the skill you're building or maybe some cookbooks…

Don’t forget your mending and teach it to your kids as well, the more the merrier.

I am a great believer in random acts of kindness. Look for people who could use a kind act. That leaves it wide open as who wouldn’t feel happy to be at both ends of that?

Keep working on your storage, every little thing adds up.

Do the best you can!

Monday Message

"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to ‘prepare every needful thing’ (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors, and support bishops as they care for others." (All is Safely Gathered In pamphlet)

We have been given all this for our needs. We need to manage it wisely. We need to live frugally and not waste it.

There is a saying… the woman shovels out the back door more than her husband brings in the front door. Don’t be like that woman. Be frugal.

Remember to add to your list making up your mixes ahead to have them on hand.

We talked in the last blog post about meal planning and how that helps us be frugal. When we are thinking and not guessing, our money goes further. Once you build the habit you can go on to the next thing on your list.

Once you have your plan, you should be able to also have a grocery list.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/frugal-grocery-shopping.htm - frugal ideas

https://www.wikihow.com/Grocery-Shop-and-Cook-Frugally - there are some great ideas on here as well.

https://www.thebalance.com/grocery-savings-4073550 - great ideas

On the news they say we are in for a rough flu season, are you ready? They said the best thing is chicken soup so next time you make it, double it and freeze it in smaller containers just in case…

http://www.frugal-living-tips.com/frugal-grocery.html - ideas

I will say stick to your list but check your sales and be flexible. If there is an in-store sale be ready to adapt your list.

http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/05/31/budget-series-frugal-living-groceries/ - great ideas here too.

We have covered a few ideas here to get you going. Find frugal recipes, not just easy ones, but frugal as well. And start a binder. Mine is divided like for your recipe files to help you find the recipe easier. This binder also serves as inspiration for meal planning and grocery shopping.

https://newleafwellness.biz/2014/11/03/six-crockpot-freezer-meals-aldi-40-minutes/ - it is nice to have some freezer meals at the ready to save you from going out to eat or if you get sick or to take to someone else who is sick.

https://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/10-free-aldi-freezer-meal-plans-that-will-literally-change-your-life/ - these could inspire you.

http://www.gracefullittlehoneybee.com/12-easy-freezer-meals-2-hours/ - I love this gal, she is so helpful.

http://www.thelittlefrugalhouse.com/the-ultimate-aldi-freezer-cooking-plan-80-meals-in-2-hours/ - these really are to inspire you.

It is good to find easy and frugal recipes.

https://newleafwellness.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Six-Freezer-Meals-from-Aldi.pdf - you can use whatever store you like or have in your area.

https://newleafwellness.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Six-Freezer-Meals-from-Aldi.pdfyoutube.com/watch?v=hRhbBbGoIdQ - watch this video if you don’t get to anything else...

This will get you to thinking frugal and doing stuff ahead which helps us very much as we all have to eat.

Keep working on your storage, it really saves in the long run!

Monday Message

"Today, I emphasize a most basic principle: home production and storage. Have you ever paused to realize what would happen to your community or nation if transportation were paralyzed or if we had a war or depression? How would you and your neighbors obtain food? How long would the corner grocery store—or supermarket—sustain the needs of the community?" (President Ezra Taft Benson)

I feel strongly that we should be working on storage, skills, living frugally and within our means.

If you stayed within your budget for gift giving you will not be worried about how you will manage and pay off Christmas at the same time.

This would help us to get ready for next year. Start a place to gather gifts or make gifts. Build this up a little at a time rather than having to do it all at once.

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/simplify-your-holidays/gifts-and-giving

I like the gift closet idea for gifts.

As we look toward this new year let's think how to make it more frugal.

https://www.frugalfamily.co.uk/a-frugal-new-year-lets-start-with-meal-planning/ - here is a topic, though it might sounding like nothing special.... ooooh but wait, if we did this one little task, we save much that could be used for storage and paying down debt.

http://organizedhome.com/kitchen-tips/menu-planning-save-time-kitchen

http://organizedhome.com/kitchen-tips/menu-planning-save-time-kitchen?page=2

http://organizedhome.com/kitchen-tips/menu-planning-save-time-kitchen?page=3
I think you will be inspired from these three links above.

We don’t have to do extravagant goals or goals we feel bad about not accomplishing instead just the basics.

I have over the years at yard sales and at the library section of free books gathered church-type cookbooks that has everyone’s favorite recipes.

I keep binders as well on food storage recipes and my using cookbook binder. I use binders for a lot of organizing.

Just grab an old binder and paper and dividers that you already have to build a household binder with meal planning as one category and save all your plans to review for ideas later to cut down the time it takes.

http://momsbyheart.net/how-to-create-your-own-meal-planning-binder-0908767/

http://momsbyheart.net/make-your-own-meal-planning-binder-day-2/

http://momsbyheart.net/create-your-own-meal-planning-binder-day-3/
One person’s way, her three links above.

I love this gal’s version of a household budget binder…. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=budget+binder+she%27s+in+her+apron&view=detail&mid=60EF9AF80B8A560FCD0160EF9AF80B8A560FCD01&FORM=VIRE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNtSMYxBnck - these people walk you through how they do meal planning.

Keep working on being frugal and on your storage and skills!

Monday Message

"Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through home production and storage, but others as well" (Ezra Taft Benson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1980, 48; or Ensign, Nov. 1980, 34).

We need to be mindful of the needs of others. There are so many people who are hurting and they do not share openly what hard times they are in. We don’t need to know what they are going through to help. Sometimes all we can do is smile but a smile goes a long way.

https://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/random_acts_of_kindness_holiday_list/ - to give ideas

http://warm1069.com/christmas-2/daily-random-acts-of-holiday-kindness/ - more inspiration

https://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/random-acts-of-christmas-kindness-advent-calendar/ - good ideas

https://www.pinterest.com/penniesoftime/holiday-service-projects-and-acts-of-kindness/?lp=true - this shows many things that could be done and get the whole family involved.

https://blogs.brighthorizons.com/familyroom/holiday-random-acts-of-kindness-for-kids/ - love this great for family.

Let us set a goal to be kind, not just now but all year long.

https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/budgetfriendly-christmas-activities-family-enjoy - things to do with your family.

http://andthenwesaved.com/christmas-activities/ - more family activities.

Try new things. I tried needle felting last year and made these cuties.

Don’t be afraid to try new things.

http://adrielbooker.com/family-advent-activities-christmas-countdown-fun/ - this a great list. I like the idea they have of spending time on your bellies using a nativity and acting out the story. What a great tradition this would make!

How about making a batch of bread dough and have the kids make the nativity and bake.

One year my grandmother with six kids could not afford Christmas. For Christmas Eve she gathered the children around the cook stove and opened the fire box where the bright coals were visible. They sat together in that dark kitchen and guessed what things they could see in the coals like we do with clouds and they all had a great time together…though this was during the depression someone knew of their hard times and the following day, Christmas day, people came with gifts and food. What a blessing for all.

I think the more you can do with the family the more you make a lifetime of memories.

Whip up some yummy julekaga this holiday season. Recipe HERE.

Remember to watch for sales and build your storage!

Monday Message

“You do not need to go into debt to obtain a year’s supply. Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account. Save a little for storage each paycheck. Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a part of your budget. Store seeds and have sufficient tools on hand to do the job. If you are saving and planning for a second car or a television set or some item which merely adds to your comfort or pleasure, you may need to change your priorities. We urge you to do this prayerfully and do it now. I speak with a feeling of great urgency.” ~CR October 1980, Ensign 10 [November 1980]

Remember to stay within your budget. I know it is very hard but stay on target.

http://momsoffaith.com/2013/11/101-frugal-christmas-tips/ this has some very great ideas. Great tips.

http://www.frugal-living-tips.com/frugal-christmas.html - this is two pages, you need to click on the second page button but good ideas as well.

http://www.frugality-for-today.com/christmas.html - this has great ideas too.

I guess you can see a theme going on here frugal, frugal, frugal!!!

It is hard to change things if you have always done things a certain way. It is hard to change but if you make it fun and show excitement it is contagious. So don’t say bummer, we are going to have a bad Christmas this year…everyone will feel awful… instead, excitedly say that you are going to do something different this year. Have a homespun Christmas and say you are going to have sooooo much fun, that you are going to make gifts and you are going to keep what you make a huge secret till Christmas. Make popcorn balls and you can fill in anything to come up with but you can set the mood.  

I know when you have older kids it would be easier to talk to them about it being a harder time and have a jam session where they throw out ideas too.

https://bandanguitartphcm.net/frugal/frugal-christmas-gift-ideas.html - I like the santa-tizer, too cute. There are tons of great ideas off to the right on this page.

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/961118a.cfm - great ideas

http://www.stretcher.com/library/christmas/menu/christmas.cfm I think there are so many ideas.

https://fluxdecor.com/diy-christmas-ornaments/ - this would be great family fun making. My favorite is the hot cocoa mix bulbs.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AZcI5KB8wWcgf-esRVEExkvQjVqzSieNN-Nv0Pcl2DoNdD0g9Y7IoAU/ - okay, so this would be great for your used canning lids that won’t vacuum seal, isn’t it cute?

http://puddyshouse.com/2012/11/26/diy-christmas-decorations/ I love the gingerbread man ornament.

Remember to do kind acts all year long.

I know you are all having busy times so I shortened it so you can get back to work.