Pantries and Preparedness. Everything old is new again.

This year has been really interesting from my preparedness point of view.  I didn't just work on my pantry but added a lot of new skills and practices.  Lately I have really noticed how all around me everything old is new again!
We have a store here called the Eco store which is full of things that are considered sustainable,  environmentally friendly and healthy.  Things like re useable coffee cups, shopping bags and baskets, beeswax food wraps and gals containers (so you can reduce plastic) stainless steel water bottles, water saving things like sink inserts.... and so on.  It is actually very nice and very trendy.   It is all stuff my Nans did!  They never realised how cool they were! 😊

I notice most of these things have several benefits.  They are non disposable so you save money.  They are non chemical saving your health and they are non littering.   A lot of people are talking about the war on waste.  And also there is a big trend towards home cooking,  growing your own veggies, chickens and alternative sources of power.  Homemade and handcrafted things are also the in thing.  Girls we are in fashion!

This is like my Dad. One year  khaki green and camo were in fashion. He said he always knew if he hung on long enough one day he would be fashionable! haha! He only ever wears khaki green basically!

This year Andy built me a new clothes line.  This is all I have plus an indoor drying rack for bad weather.

It runs by the latest technology of wind and solar power.  Completely free.

The lady over the road sits her clothes horse in the sun and yesterday it was on the front veranda. 

It makes me happy to see!  Another lady down the road does what I do too... she has a tree out the front and hangs her work uniform on hangers to dry in the tree. The wind irons it for her.  I have a tree in the back yard that is my hanging tree. 

Nan didn't have glad wrap/plastic wrap until later years.  She found other ways to cover food and pack Pa's lunch box.   I just made beeswax wraps over the weekend to be along the same lines...

Food on the table was covered in mesh or a netting throw.  Mimi got me back on to these! They are wonderful!

This was cooking by Chloe. 

I have been making my now kitchen towels for a few years mainly using recycled fabrics and the good ones I stitch on an edging.  

A lot of old sheets etc are turned into cleaning cloths. Beautiful soft ones are turned into handkerchiefs for times of bad colds and sickness.

These cleaning cloths were made up by Kelsey. I love them!  Nan also didn't have fancy cleaning products just a few basics and her house was always spotless.  She didn't have things like air freshener or scented candles either yet the house always smelled lovely! 

Another one is cloth to replace paper towels or serviettes/napkins to replace paper ones.  

She always did handiwork in the evenings and any time she sat down for a few minutes.  

I think of her when I crochet or knit.   I make cotton up into wash cloths and cleaning cloths.

We have chickens and grow some of our veggies and most of our herbs.

Baskets are used for everything from fruit picking to grocery shopping.  I have a basket in the car always!  Plastic bags are a big no no now but Nan never used them anyway!

My Nan would give me her change purse and I would walk to the corner shop with her basket and a list.  The shopkeeper knew her and I would walk back again with what she needed.  

Nan had ceramic cooking and storage dishes like corning ware,  pyrex, jars, tins...  kitchen storage jars were generally recycled jars.  Glass is back in again as everyone throws away their plastics now that it is found to leach chemicals into food.   So my op shop jars and recycled jars are in fashion too. (not that I care I have always LOVED them so much)

I recently got an old hand mixer so if the power is out I can still quickly mix up a batter or cake. 

I have sour dough bubbling and bread rising.   Roses drying and chicken marinating.  There are little domestic scenes in every direction!  The difference between my Nans and me isn't as much as I might have once thought.

More and more the simple things are beautiful to me.  I would rather be home making jam than on a jet.  I would rather a mending basket like Jane's than a fancy handbag. 

I am wondering what new things I will learn next year?  I am betting they will be old time skills.  The more of these we know the more prepared we are, the less we need from the store, the more we could manage without electricity, the more we save.   These are things worth working towards. 

This week I am going to be away at the farm.  I will post when I get back in about a week from now.  I am heading off on my own, op shopping on the way of course, and Andy will be home here working and manning the fort.  It is a very important week as there are some big decisions that affect the family.  

I hope I can make up for my lacking posts with a big one when I get home! And I hope I will hear of a lot of your nest building when I get back too!

How have you lowered costs with re useable things or by learning to make things yourself?

What skills would you really like to learn next year?   I am noticing we have so many skills here between us all.  For 2018 I am looking at having lots of tutorials on new skills.   So let me know what you would like to learn! xxx