The little birds...

If you watch little birds you will see they are busy and happy! Using whatever they can find they create the most gorgeous little nest.
I would be the little bird with some glittery thread in her nest!
We can be like this. Happily working away with the things that are available to us to create a beautiful and happy home.
All the while with a little song in our heart.

Banner by Free Pretty Things for You.

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Pantries and Preparedness. Feb 19, 2015.

It is so exciting to have an update! Probably because I have progress to report!

Firstly during the last fortnight I managed to:

Add surgical masks to my first aid kit. The ones you wear to avoid picking up air borne germs. I looked in the chemist and saw they really don't keep many. So in the event of even a really bad flu they would sell out of these fast. So I am buying enough for everyone to have a few on hand.

I added lots of jars of homemade jam to my pantry. Fig, plum, strawberry and peach. Except for the strawberries which were very cheap all the fruit was free so this cost me the cost of the sugar only. On Monday I wrote about all the things that you can do with jam! Thank you for so many extra ideas and recipes. It is very handy stuff.




I re arranged things so that my kitchen cupboards contain the things I constantly use, a couple of everything at least. Then the cellar can be the things that last a long time and duplicates. You know when you start moving things how it has a domino effect? Well, it made a mess but the end result is much better!

In my kitchen cupboards, which aren't large, I freed up some space. I packed up all my cake making and cup cake making  things into a giant tin. Patty pans, sprinkles and those kind of things. It gave me a whole small free shelf in my pantry. I had this tin and it says "cakes" too.


I also made a little bit more room by getting a big jar, bigger than fits in my pantry shelves, and using it to store pasta nests. These nests are Jamie Oiliver pasta and we love them. They are a bit of a luxury but my non pasta loving husband happily eats these. But they take up a heap of room! So now I have this lovely huge jar full of them on my counter. 


I added some pantry meals to my list of things I can make just from my pantry. Quite a few were thanks to Hilde and her ideas.

We made a decision. First we need to build up our emergency fund but then we are going to get a rain water tank. We have room for a small one or even a couple but we think we will get 1000 litre one and it will be a few hundred dollars. This would be more water and easier and better than trying to store enough bottles of water. Our rainfall is reasonable too. I think this would be a good investment. I think we can get our emergency fund looking better the first half of the year then we will get the tank at the end of the year, all going well. It would be a massive improvement on our water storage and reserves.

Then I added goods. This last fortnight I added powdered milk x3, pasta, honey x4, tinned milk, beans, soup, pasta and rice. (and the surgical masks)


My last picture is for Patsy. I have been following her series on A Working Pantry. It is fantastic. Last week she posted a picture of her trunk that she uses to store future presents in. I wrote and told her I have a huge trunk and it is empty on the verandah at this point. I found it on the roadside... I really love it and need a plan for it. So Patsy here it is.. I am not sure if I should paint it or just clean it up and oil it... or what. But it has a lot of potential! I think of pirates treasure every time I look at it!


Speaking of A Working Pantry...in part 4 of the current "This is Why" series Patsy talks about the ways we can shop that help fill our pantry. Point 18 she says she sits and studies the fliers/brochures before she shops. Every week I study the specials of my main store and I get that brochure delivered online on Wednesdays. BUT we get a lot of junk mail and mostly I don't read much of it. I think the sheer volume of it is off putting. But today I sifted out the things I know I don't want ie furniture brochures and electrical and made a small pile of possibly interesting ones. Then I made a drink and sat and went through them properly as tomorrow I will be shopping. It was worth it. I found four things we use and need on major specials, a $10 voucher I can use and a recipe that I loved! I would have missed out on all of these! Thank you Patsy. So this will now not be overlooked. I only need to do it properly once a week as most brochures come at once. This will help me stock my pantry!

Last fortnight I had my eyes opened to how a contamination in one countries food can create shortages world wide. This fortnight we saw this again here with a whole heap of berries contaminated with a life threatening disease! Now I am thinking in terms of stocking up these in incidences show how easily something can go wrong with food supplies, safety etc. Also again I see the most massive amounts of snow in areas of the US! I look and think I so hope those people are ok and have been prepared.  My eyes have been opened!

How have you been going? Any step big or small is a step! We are like ants gathering in. In fact the other day I went to the letterbox and there were ants everywhere. The whole path was covered in busy ants. I think we all see that at times before a storm. They seem to be working frantically. They somehow know the storm is coming. I stood and watched them.... and it hit me. I am seeing exactly this scene around me and amongst my blogging friends and around me too. And I have never noticed that before. In years gone by I noticed at times there were various bursts of activity (ie remember the millennium bug?) but in my life I have never seen so many people suddenly feel it might be wise to be prepared. Maybe I am just aware of it now? Or maybe somehow like the ants we just know it is time? I don't know but I have been thinking about this as to me it seems the "ants" are busy. Has anyone else noticed this?

Your progress, thoughts and ideas are making up a major part of what we are learning. Thank you so much. After the ideas on what to use jam for post kept coming in I am amazed at what a good thing jam is for our pantries... it has far more uses than I even ever imagined! What a gem!

What have you done in the last weeks to increase your preparedness and build up your pantry? We are building up an insurance policy and a buffer against unexpected events.

"when it snows she has no fear for her household" Prov 31.21

35 comments:

  1. Annabel I love the trunk - I would just leave as is, if needs be put a protective coat of something on it but I think it is perfect the way it is.
    It is also another place that you could store items in - not necessarily craft items but large containers of food items that need some form of protection but are also too large to get down into the cellar.
    I have a raincheck for an item that was not available at a supermarket that I go to infrequently - I have a trip that way next week so will see if I can pick up the items. The rain check was for more than I would normally need but I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.
    I also have 1 x $5- rewards card here and another on the way so will look for items to go into the pantry - tins of berries use to be cheap but they have got expensive but they are one of those foods that make you smile so I think up there with chocolate.
    We have a possible cyclone forming that is going to cause much angst for a lot of people - we have all of the basics covered due to when we were planning the house, gas cook top instead of electric so we at least have something else other than the BBQ to cook on. I also have a kettle that is brought out when we have no power because even though I know you can boil water in a saucepan I am always worried that in the poor light from torches that someone will get badly burnt.
    We also have a water tank that we can get water from to boil. It is hooked up to our toilets and washing machine (and saves us so much in water usage that we use less than 1 person according to the latest water bill).


    Lynette

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    1. Thanks Lynette! I am thinking the trunk could store blankets, sleeping bags etc. as I have an over crowded linen press... this could be my solution if I clean it up and line it nicely.
      I just saw Nanna Chel said about the cyclone,rain even and earthquake! That is a handful! It is very handy having the water tanks.
      We have a battery lantern. It is really handy as you can hand it up so your hands are free while you do things in a way you cant with a torch. That could help you with the boiling water etc as I agree safety is important to think about.
      I hope you weather the storm alright and have plenty of what you need on hand. Thank you so much for commenting.xxx

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  2. Annabel on Monday morning I received an email from my sister that read “OMG how was the earthquake. How strong did it shake you guys.” Well we slept through it. At work that day the topic of conversation was “my house was shaking, the windows were rattling. We got up to check everything, we didn’t know what was happening.” But our next door neighbours didn’t feel anything either. Perhaps our area is a little more stable? Anyway we have weather warnings for Friday for heavy rain and flash flooding and possible river flooding. We have put petrol in the car, and buying in some extra bread, milk, and batteries (not desperate for batteries but they are on half price special!) We have plenty of plain flour, baking powder, powdered milk, coffee and meat in the freezer. Though Don wants to buy sausages (what is it with men and sausages, my husband considers them a staple food item). We have fresh, frozen and tinned vegies. We have our u-beaut solar powered/wind up (flashlight/phone charger/siren/flashing light) radio to the ready – yes it does everything but boil water. We have a camp cooker and gas cartridges in case of power outages. I have the SES phone number programmed into the home phone and the mobile. I need to write it into our phone book though, as if the power goes our home phone goes, and if the mobile goes flat we don’t have access to the number. However we do have a vintage telephone that will work in a power outage, as long as the phone line is working, so we can use that to call out if needed. We need to give our dog a bath in case she needs to be brought in side if we have a bad storm.

    I think a rain water tank is an excellent idea. Your shelves look so lovely and the plants hanging underneath are just darling. I wish I could do something similar.

    I have just started in the last few weeks using the junk mail to see what is on special. I go for the things I would normally buy that are going half price or better. I feel positively gleeful when I check the sales docket and see how much money I have saved by buying what is on special.

    I agree with you, I have never been aware of so many people focusing on being prepared as in the present days. Part of it could be that there is now such a focus by state and local governments on disaster preparation. A few years ago our council didn’t even have a disaster management committee now there are disaster management staff within local councils. Certainly I think there has been a change since Hurricane Katrina and the GFC.

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    1. Sherri you sound pretty prepared. Everyone commenting is from QLD and you sure have had everything with the earthquake included! I think it is really good that the government has that preparedness website etc. The reality is that when something big happens the SES cant be everywhere at once or do everything! So we all need to be prepared and look out for our neighbours etc.
      My shelves are so handy and I got them from IKEA! That box is choc full of cake making odds and ends so they are out of the way.
      Yes men love sausages! And meat. And puddings too in my experience! I have been looking at your lovely little spot in the world. Just lovely! xxx

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  3. I love your trunk and I would leave it as it is! It looks like it is fairly large ... it would hold a lot of pantry items!

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    1. Patsy it is really large! I am thinking of making it home for blankets and sleeping bags etc as my linen press is over full. Now to clean it up, line it and find a spot for it!
      Looking forward to your post later! xxx

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  4. Well, my hubby said the windows shook here during the earthquake even though we are a long way away from Eidsvold :-) The house is old so the windows were just shaking from the wind. We are also in the firing line of the rain event expected tomorrow. We have a corded phone still, which we like, so hopefully that will still work if the worst comes to the worst. We recently bought a new rechargeable light which has been charged up in case power is cut. We have a selection of water tanks including one 30,000 litre one so shouldn't go short of water if needed. I have powdered milk on hand but probably should stock up on some eggs as we are low on them. I just hope the wind isn't too bad and roofs don't go flying. I think hubby is on the roof at the moment checking something :-) Hang on to your hats if you live in SE Qld!

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    1. Nanna Chel I saw the cyclone developing on the map and I just saw some areas are expecting 11 inches of rain in 24 hours! I cant even relate to that! Plus an earthquake. Youve got it all!
      I know you are sensible and prepared. I dont know if there is a rush on the shops but eggs milk and a few things would be handy to get before they go.
      Your water tanks are wonderful. I had this when I was in the country and lived solely on rain water. Well your tanks will be full after this I think!
      xxx

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  5. When we lived in Melbourne there was an earthquake right over the other side of the City, in the country and the house moved a bit - my husband never felt a thing.
    We were not home when the Newcastle Earthquake hit - our house was a couple of hours away but when we arrived home we could not get in our house because the doors would not open - frames must have moved.
    We are an hour north of Brisbane and we have rain being blown every which way, it came over quite suddenly.
    I like the idea of storing extra linen cupboard items in your trunk - you could almost set it up for 'tough times' as well - sleeping bags, extra blankets etc so that you do not have to be trying to find things in the linen cupboard.
    Our plan is for more water tanks - we have a shed going in soon and are putting a 1000 L one on that - no pump but a tap so that my husband can wash his hands down there, if needed.
    My emergency soap supplies grow every time that my husband is away for work, he brings home the small soaps, shampoos etc and I pop them into a large glass jar that is meant for biscuits but doesn't seal properly. He looks like his in Melbourne next week for 5 days rather than the 4 originally planned - more toiletries for us.
    We do not get junk mail - no letter box but I do look at the grocery ones on line - if I was going into Spotlight this week I would make a detour to an IGA store not far down the road from there and pick up some blocks of chocolate for the emergency stockpile - there is a limit of 6 per customer - think they may have scooped the pool on Cadbury blocks before they were recently downsized.
    Next week I am heading that way so will check out their catalogue online before I leave the house.

    Lynette

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    1. Online is a great way to check specials Lynette. I just saw QLD could have two cyclones heading towards it from two directions! I will be paying attention during the weather report tonight!
      I have the trunk washed out and clean... xxx

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  6. Dear Annabel

    What a fruitful week you have had. I love the trunk and the sneak peak you have given us of your pantry....just lovely. This week an order from an online discount grocery store came in and I was able to add the following to my store cupboard helped along by a quick trip to Costco
    *74 disposable razors
    *6 bottles of shampoo
    *6 bottles of conditioner
    *6 bottles of liquid hand soap refills
    *1 bottle of Morning Fresh Dishwashing liquid
    *12 x 400gr tins of crushed tomatoes
    *4 cans of baked beans
    *2 cans kidney beans
    *2 cans of corn kernels
    *2 cans of four bean mix

    Next Week I am looking to adding skim milk powder and more lactose free UHT milk for Miss Pamela.

    Just a word of warning for those of you buying masks to protect against disease. Once the mask is wet, from your breath or coughing or sneezing then it is no longer of any use as a protection so they cannot be put on and forgotten about. Gloves are of high importance the disposable ones as many illnesses are passed on by touch but again remember they need to be changed after each encounter. So if you wash your hands and put on gloves to give care to someone then they must be thrown out and hands rewashed and new gloves put on. Most hand sanitizers on the market are completely useless it is only the Hospital Grade ones that are of any effectiveness. Good hand washing techniques using soap and water is a very effective to stop the spread of disease.

    I think you will find a water tank very effective and useful Annabel. I am trying to balance getting my emergency fund built up again and building up the pantry at the same time. It feels like I am walking a tightrope somedays.

    I hope you have a bountiful week
    God Bless

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  7. Thanks for this information Mel. I should buy gloves. I know CPR etc and have no gloves at the moment. I will make that my next thing.
    Can hospital grade hand sanitisers be purchased or would you say proper hand washing is better anyway? Im picking your brains...
    Mel can I ask was your discount online store Kogan? I have been looking aat some amazing prices with them and thinking of making an order. You had a great stock up and there are some very handy things there. It is significant building up of your supplies!
    Thanks Mel for this information I appreciate it.xxx

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  8. Annabel my Kogan order arrived last week - good prices with some items being 99 cents. Yesterday I placed an order with Groceries on the Run - haven't placed one with them in ages but they had a few things that I wanted to get 1 being a 10 person first aid kit with a detachable smaller one. The other thing I wanted was the sleep, stress and I cannot remember the other spray relief items (I think they were Bach ones) - I tend to go that way rather than the normal medications route. Postage for this order was the same as the Kogan one. I have looked at Save On Brands and the postage for me was ruling out buying from them. I live in hope that they will have a set postage day or similar.
    I have read and seen articles where they are adamant that good old fashioned soap and water is much better for hand washing than hand sanitiser.
    We have had more showers and it is certainly blustery - white caps can be seen down through the walk way to the beach at the bottom of the street.
    Cyclone has been upgraded to a category 2.


    Lynette

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    1. Thanks Lynette I hadnt heard of Groceries in the Run. I have been having a look. I will try Kogan now as Mel also is saying it was good. And some of the prices are crazy! Postage is a big factor.
      Also now I know about the hand sanitiser is not so great. Except the high alcohol ones it seems. As you say proper washing of hands is better.
      Thanks for this information, now my shops I check for prices are wider and more varied! xxx

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  9. Dear Annabel, your posts have encouraged me to work on getting our cellar into a usable condition. In our former home, we had several water barrels joined by pipes that filled with rainwater from the roof. My husband then rain small pipes from them to our garden rows with little taps at each end. At the tap he put the soaking hoses that could be rolled up for major tilling and then when we needed to water he just turned the main tap on at the barrels and then at the individual rows needing water. It was a bit of work but not too pricey and worked great. Oh and we learned the hard way that you need to watch out for mosquitos breeding in the water and to use a screen/sieve to keep trash out of the barrels. Good luck.

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    1. DIana I am so pleased about this. I had my cellar for a couple of years before even going in it! It was Wendy from My Abundant Life who encouraged me in what an asset I had. And I wasnt using it. Mine wasnt hard to clean out and was empty. But starting this has been a really good thing and now I know what an asset it is. Once stocked up well it will be better than money in the bank!
      Your rain water tank system was great! Your husband sounds like a very handy man. We have a long narrow space so this would suit us.
      Once you get started on the cellar please keep me posted. Also take some photos! I am planning to have a few blogs where everyone can show their progress and pantries as I would love to see what everyone does. It is encouraging to go along with others buddy system style! Many thanks.xxx

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  10. Hi Annabel; Goodness, cyclones would terrify me half to death! I will definitely take snow and blizzards. I had a laugh last week end. It started to snow pretty heavily about noon on Sat. Almost a white out (thats where you can't see 10 feet in front of you.) So I looked up the weather man on the computer and it said slight snow flurries for that day. I thought, hey you guys, look out our window!! lol. We did get about 6 inches of snow, they changed their report pretty quickly. This is what we are use to! I also prepare for emergencies, keeping my pantry stocked and meat in the freezer. We lose power too in a bad storm so we will rely on our grill for cooking. What is Kogan and Groceries on the Run? I wonder if they ship world wide or just in Australia. Would anyone know? Love your posts, have a great day! Hugs, Doreen

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    1. Nana snow storms and twisters scare me to death! Where we live of them all bushfires are our number one natural risk. They are terrifying but our house is safe but the family farm is not.
      With Kogan and Groceries on the run I am thinking that long distance postage would ruin the deal even if they would do it. I would search for bargain online groceries for your state and see if there is anything similar. I think if we have them here you probably will as we usually copy the US and the UK! It does seem some of the bargains are amazing. Also we have sites like Deal of the Day.... search for things like that too as they sell things like first aid kits and handy goods.
      Thank you so much for your kindness and encouragement.xxx

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  11. I am finding these posts so encouraging! Having a pantry is such a blessing and I feel inspired by seeing and hearing what others are doing in their pantry preparations. Thank you!

    Blessings,
    Sharon

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    1. Thank you Sharon. You are a mason jar loving person like me! I just love what you did with your stamp! I am loving your blog. We love the same things! You even have geranium cuttings in jars, you should see in my bathroom....I will put a link to your blog on my fb page and in a future pantry post. Helen would love your blog too.
      Thanks so much.xxx

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  12. I placed my order through Kogan however be careful it is too easy to get caught up buying "stuff" because it is cheap. I also bought 6 roll on Rexona deodorants and 24 sets of three body wash in assorted varieties for less than $1 each and these will be used as gifts for the girls to give friends at Christmas.

    Pamela did a thesis at the University SA in regards to hand sanitizers and they are completely useless. Effective hand washing is best and if you sing Happy Birthday whilst washing and wash until the end of the song you should be good. Hospital grade hand sanitiser can be purchased through medical supply shops. The minute the hand dries from the sanitiser then bacteria can grow.

    Myself I would go with hand washing and drying hands on paper towel in the event of an outbreak. Using liquid soap and pressing it with your elbow.

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    1. Thank you Mel I love the information you give me. I am amazed about the hand sanitiser and will not rely on it now.
      I thought it might be Kogan... I will place an order and heed your warning! I can see it would be easy to get carried away!
      The body wash for gifts was a good idea... ok I will go do this... xxx

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    1. Thanks Lana... I am going to put it to good use. It is like my cellar, I had it and didnt use it! I will post an update...xxx

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  14. Hi Annabel, being prepared is definitely the way to go as not all emergencies relate to weather situations.
    We have recently retired and our only source of income for the future will be our superannuation payments. Due to problems with our fund (on their par)t, we will not receive any payments for between 8 and 10 weeks! Yes, they will be back paying us, but I'm soooo glad we have a full freezer and well stocked pantry.

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    1. That is a reason to be prepared I didnt even think of! You wouldnt believe it you would think they could just pay you!
      It is amazing how many circumstances I am hearing about where a good stocked up pantry has been a saviour and you are right not just weather and disasters, unemployment, sickness, unexpected extra expenses and so many things. My eyes have been opened. I hope you get through this time ok and then just love your retirement! xxx

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  15. Dear Annabel,
    The trunk is beautiful! I read Patsi's post about her gift trunk as well and just loved it! I don't know what you'll do with this beautiful piece but I agree, it holds many possibilities :) I think the water tank will be a wonderful investment.

    This series has been so educational. I do stockpile many items and always have. Yet I've never truly considered "preparedness" in the context in which we have been discussing the past several weeks.

    The comment before mine about her source of income not coming through due to no fault of her own, yet they have the pantry to fall back on. It's things like this where I say, OK! That's just one of so many I've never thought of.

    I had an incident a few weeks back. Something seemingly no-big-deal but because of this series it stayed with me. We were having guests for dinner that evening. At about 3:00pm, an employee from the city knocked on my door explaining that there was a water emergency in the neighborhood and they would have to shut off the main to all of our homes until at least 7:30 pm. A pipe had burst or something, and everyone had to be cut off in order to repair it, and here I was getting ready to pull together dinner for 8 people! Not just dinner....but toilets needed to be flushed as well. Anyway, the worker told me that we had about less than 5 minutes of water usage at that point. As he's talking, I'm thinking 'of course I have some bottled water in my pantry but not that much'. I thanked the worked and closed the door. I RAN, I kid you not I ran to the faucet and threw it on and stuck a pot under, as we still had water for about 2 minutes. I figured I'd grab what I could for obvious reasons. I did not want to pack up my kids and go to the store to purchase water for flushing the toilets. Then I remembered...I have a swimming pool! Ok, I could pull from that for flushing if we needed to. I was not going to panic and un-invite my dinner guests because of this...or worse, resort to going out and spending money on an un-budgeted dinner out because I felt pressured & unprepared. We stayed home. I didn't panic. I cooked dinner. The water came back on. Lesson learned about storing and rotating water. Ok, I hope I'm not boring you all but my point is I have lots to consider and learn and know about ALL KINDS of preparedness!

    What I've done this past week: added 3 boxes of kitchen matches to my pantry, checked the dates on all of the canned/dry goods I currently have, learned more about canning and I'm almost ready to try sauerkraut :), added several hygiene items I got deeply discounted, rearranged a few shelves to better utilize the space I have, found a few more "pantry only" recipes that sound good to me, bought 12 lbs of asparagus at .88/lb and blanched them, froze & vacuum sealed in portions and *added them to the freezer part of my pantry. (*I love how Patsi says that. I mean she is organized and means business, right?!)

    Sidenote Annabel: You had asked in a previous pantry post if I eat rice and yes, I do eat that modestly. If I pair it with a good protein and/or fat it still raises my blood sugar but not too badly.

    I am learning so much! I pray for everyone's safety wherever you are, and let us all continue to build up our pantries! Big hugs to all! xxx

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    1. Colette well done on going ahead with that dinner. It was great you got notice even if it was only a few minutes you made the most of it!
      Here when they are fighting bush fires the water in peoples pools becomes a source of water for the fire fighters and all the pools are emptied in the area!
      All of these things we are seeing and hearing from each other are eye opening. I am learning so much. I keep saying my eyes are being opened as its like everyday seeing someone needing to be well prepared. Today a massive storm is heading towards Queensland. I know they are used to cyclones but they get more than their fair share thats for sure! And I see snow is a major issue in the US. I saw some amazing pictures.
      With all this each week we are all making some progress! Patsy is a major help to me.
      With your own diet try and think of more things you can make a meal of from the pantry. Just so you have plenty as well as the family. My husband is diabetic... so he needs lower carb. I keep tins of tuna and salmon as he loves these. As you say protein lowers or slows down the sugar rush of carbs. So does lemon juice or vinegar so these added to a meal are very handy.
      I also love now to count all areas of my pantry... freezer included. I know in a power outage this changes but most of the time our freezer, fridge and storage are all part of our pantries.
      Now I am working on my trunk. Everyone agrees I should leave it natural just clean it up. I am going to line it with gorgeous paper.
      Many thanks Colette.xxxx

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  16. Hi Everyone, Thank you everyone for the wonderful ideas and encouragement!Sharon, your blog is really lovely. I have just spent a few minutes looking at it. Colette, good for you managing the whole water situation with the pressure of having guests to dinner. These things while not pleasant, really raise our awareness and sharpen our skills. This week I was able to source Sanitarium cereals half price for my pantry, which was excellent, as they are the ones that my family eats each day. I'm still following the Safely Gathered in plan and this month has been breakfast foods, so that was very timely. This sudden awful weather of two cyclones in the state and the forecast being for 2 months worth of rain falling in one day, was a reminder of how comforting a pantry is. I didn't have to go to the store for anything, even though we have only recently started this together with you....so thank you Annabel and friends! Love Helen x

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    1. Helen I just saw the news that the cyclone has been upgraded and expected to be category 5. I am glad you seem to be below the worst hit areas as this looks terrible! These times you think I hope everyone is well prepared or evacuated. What a night! Hope you are well out of it! xxx

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  17. Sending thoughts out to those in the path of these cyclones. God Bless and stay safe.

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  18. Our daughter's new boyfriend wanted to meet us so they came for tea tonight. Dessert was sweet impossible pie made with items from the pantry. Today I made a half mix up because I didn't want left overs.

    The boyfriend went back for seconds for dessert.

    Lynette

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  19. I am a new reader and so happy I found your wonderful blog. I read A Working Pantry regularly, The Prudent Homemaker, and Granny Miller.

    We have been building and using from our pantry for several years. I keep a six month supply of foods we eat, medical supplies, personal use supplies, household supplies, propane, wood, etc. It took about a year to accumulate everything.

    Seeds are also very important to stock, store well, and rotate it you have any garden space at all. It's amazing how much a person can grow in a small space. Vertical growing helps tremendously if one's garden space is small.

    To calculate the items needed to store for a specific time period takes some serious charting, documenting, and calculating. It is quite surprising to most people, myself included in the beginning, to see in writing the large amount of food required to sustain health for a year time period. Most charts and calculators give the needed amounts for survival - not for staying healthy.

    I love the trunk idea for storing gifts. We recently moved and I lost the closet I was using for gift storage, so the trunk idea has solved my dilemma. Thank you to both Patsy and you.

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    1. Welcome Glenda! I have not read Granny Miller so I am going to go and find this blog. I read the other tow of course with great dedication.
      You are well ahead of me on your pantry and storage I hope I can learn from your experience. I totally agree that what is needed to survive is one thing but to be healthy is another and to be happy and enjoying meals as well is another too. It is a big task to build this up but well done on having six months supplies!
      Im so glad the idea of a trunk is helpful to you. We have to thank Pasty on this one. Also old suitcases are lovely and hat boxes, either stacked look nice and can be great storage.
      Thank you so much for commenting, I am so pleased to have you here.xx

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  20. I noticed in some of your pictures, it appears that your jams are covered in plastic wrap with an elastic rubber band around the rim. Is this how you store them or am I not seeing something else?

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I really appreciate your comments thank you! The aim of my blog is the be a place of encouragement and happiness. Very rarely is anyone rude. Actually only twice so far! If you post a rude or aggressive comment I will read it but not publish it, thanks for understanding.xxx

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