Stocking the Larder

In true Buddy System style Helen and I are building up our pantries together. It is so motivating to talk about our pantries and ideas as we go along and our progress! I am handing over to Helen as we catch up with what she has been doing....

Stocking the Larder.

“ Cooking-yes,and living become simpler rites this month. I have made a list of satisfactory meals planned around only one cooked dish.  This list is hung on the door of my kitchen cabinet for reference.  When I am lacking in ambition I do not wonder what to have for dinner.”

                                                    - Nell B. Nichols

                                 Woman’s Home Companion June 1925

Sarah Ban Breathnach in her wonderful essay “ Stocking the Larder” tells of her favourite literary domestic Nell B. Nichols, a columnist in the 1920’s for Woman’s Home Companion.  There was nothing she couldn’t do.  But Nell’s great gift was that she never made you feel inept; you knew if you followed her blithe instructions carefully, you could also experience domestic bliss.

Nell encouraged her readers to have a plan for managing their household.  And that dear friends is what I joyfully want to open with you today!

We have a small two bedroom, 2 bathroom home.  We love every inch of it, but it’s comfortably full.

I have just in the last couple of weeks downloaded the 12 month preparation list from the Mormons who are experts in food storage.  Their programme is called “ Safely gathered in”.  I like the sound of that.

My main reason for building a pantry is provision for my family for the unexpected and the joy of not having to go grocery shopping if we are sick or it ’s inclement weather.

With that in mind here is the list for building your pantry one month at a time:

12 Monthly Emergency Prep Lists

January: Water, Beverages, and Water Storage

February: Breakfast Foods and Communication

March: Tomatoes, Pasta, and First Aid

April: Soup, Fish, Beans, and Sanitation

May: Condiments, Spices, and Emergency Cooking

June: Grains, Vitamins, and Bread Making

July: Summer Foods, Emergency Drills, and Canning

August: Fruits, Vegetables, Shelter, and Bedding

September: Meat, Potatoes, and Earthquake Prep

October: Oils, Fats, and Fire Safety

November: Holiday Baking, Emergency Heat, and Clothing

December: Baking Basics, Power and Light Sources 

Annabel and I love having a plan.  We are “ step by step” girls whether we are saving or renovating or building a pantry, so this works very well for us.

The thought of purchasing and storing one years pantry food while undertaking your regular monthly grocery shopping can seem daunting.

The Safely Gathered In programme encourages you to purchase extra’s as you are able and to do that consistently.  It also has a motto “ Store what you use, and Use what you store.”

Glen and I have been busy at home, sorting through our belongings and making sure that we are using everything!

As this has led to a little bit of decluttering, it has opened up some cupboards which we are now installing inexpensive shelving ourselves.

We have been through the house and we can see in tops of wardrobes and our pantry that we can install more shelving.

Recently we bought 3 second hand filing cabinets for $45.  They hold nearly 700 cans and will be a wonderful aid as we fill them. They are not pretty, but they are strong and in good shape, so we are going to spray them with some left over spray paint.

As the year progresses, and the pantry grows, it frees up more income towards  buying the requirements for the present month.  The end of January saw me with being able to add significantly to my pantry with beverages.  This month is breakfast foods and communication.

In closing dear friends….building a pantry should be a pleasurable exercise for creating a calmer home, so let’s joyfully encourage each other in the art of stocking the larder.

Love Helen xxx

Annabel and I would love to know, what is your plan for Stocking the Larder?

Show a little extra love.

I really think Valentine's Day is beautiful. It is a good celebration and can be sweet and romantic not just for couples but for anyone! I know we don't need Valentiens Day to celebrate love but anything that is an extra dose of love and affection, well, I am happy about!

You do not need to blow the budget. Like everything else you can celebrate and make it special without spending anything at all or very much at all!

If it prompts us to think of a new way to say thank you, I appreciate you, I love you, then its a good thing. A really useful tool is understanding the Five Languages of Love. This is just the best thing! And it expalins a lot. If you haven't read this book take a look online as there is a great website and even a little survey you can take. This could be a huge help to you as it was to me.

Different people express love and recieve love in different ways. It might be to do with their up bringing or their personality or both. And as soon as we see it we can understand people better.

Have you every given a gift or tried to helps someone and it fell flat? Or you feel someone doesn't seem satisfied with your efforts? Or maybe your husband gives you beauiful gifts but they leave you still not really feeling loved? Well, once we understand a persons love language this expalins it.

It applies to children as welll. You can hear someone say they give their children everything but they are still not happy. This is a classic. Maybe the child's love language is they want time spent with them and presents don't mean much? 

The love languages are

Acts of servie. This person really appreciates acts of servie as signs of love. If that is your husband he might see a clean house and nice cooked meals as love. Or you might feel that way yourself. A man who is like this might naturally wash your car as an act of love rather than buy you flowers.

Physical affection. This person doesn't want gifts or words they want physical affection. That is what makes them feel loved.

Words of affirmation. This person feels loved and appreciated when they are told how much you value all they do for you and their good points etc. When they hear you speak of them hightly. They value words above things. 

Quality time. This is spending time together, doing stuff together. This person would rather a date than a gift. A picnic rahter than a card. 

You can be a combination of these. So think about it. What ways really do you prefer to be loved? And think about what you think it might be that your husband really appreciates? 

Unwittingly we often express love in the way we like to recieve it. And it can miss the mark. My husband is a combination of two of these categories and I am a combination of another two. Luckily I figured out the ways he likes to be loved the most and basically I spelled it out to him what I like :)! I think men like this. Rather than scratching their heads trying to figure it out why don't we just tell them? So much easier! Mostly they are so grateful!

Andy listened to a guy on the radio who shared his secret. He says to his wife "I guess you can't figure out what I got your for your birthday?' and she will say "oooh is it that bracelet I saw" and he will say no it's not that. Then she says"did you get me that dress in the window?" and he will say no. Then she will say "did you get me that book I was talking about" and he says no. This goes on for five or six times. And he hasn't bought anything but now he has six ideas from her answers! The man is a genius!

I try to do something different and surprising. One year I set a table out in our front courtyard and make it look gorgeous. So when Andy came home he saw this lovely setting as he came in. And I baked a brie with walnuts in pastry and a lovely salad and special desert and so on and we ate outisde and had a lovely evening. 

On a day that he would be working I made his whole packed lunch in heart shapes. This is the thingwith men. They are tough on the outside but gooey insdie and he thought that was really sweet. AND if another guy saw this it means they give you a hard time but are secretly jealous, apparently.

Another time I wrote a letter that said how much I appreciate how hard he works and all he does for us and all of the things that he does that I notice and am grateful for.  So many men work really hard and long hours and are never thanked. So many women do too. Thanking someone for all of this can mean the world!

Cooking a favourite meal or planning a picnic can be beautiful ways to celebrate. Planning something romantic or some sort of surprise. Do you know what, I think anything that shows you have thought about it and gone to some kind of trouble is going to mean something.

I am big on heart shaped food. Really,  you can make anything in a heart shape from scones, pancakes, biscuits etc and I always sent them to school with the girls. 

But pizza, pies, and really anything as so sweet as hearts. And they make you smile. They are lovely.

This year I made a heart shaped pavlova. It looked beautiful!  And was just a little bit different so it was special. Baking a favourite food is always going to be a hit.

It is just a little bit of extra fun and sweetness. The world needs more sweetness.

I hope you have a wonderful week. Helen will be posting her pantry progress on Wednesday and my Feather your Nest Friday is already shaping up as over the weekend I had a heap of good things happen and did some fruit cooking.

Mondays are a great day to do a little extra and get the ball rolling. A good start helps the week go well! xxx

Feather your Nest Friday. 6 February 2015.

This has been a busy week. I think it got February off to a good start!

The weather has warmed up but that is normal for this time of year and we were very lucky to have it so mild for so long. That was a saving in itself. No air conditioning and less watering.

This week I was able to use some jams as a little gift.

I picked some cuttings of a palest pink geranium and a heap of pretty succulents as well. All free plants!

My own little Quince tree produced half a dozen Quinces this year which I picked to cook next week.

Someone  else moved out of the units and left behind heaps of stuff. I swooped on a carpet sweeper!
I always did the carpet sweeping for Nan. Mum had a carpet sweeper for years! I have wanted one for ages! I have had two re chargeable hand held vacuums that have both been worse than useless. The idea is for quick clean ups in between a proper vacuum. In theory. You know when you keep running over something and it won't suck up but you think it should so you keep running the vacuum over it? It would be miles faster to bend over and pick it up but no...
An old fashioned carpet sweeper takes no power. I have been using it every day and it picks up much better than my useless electric one! This is great. What a find. I can't wait to see who moves out next and what they leave behind!

I made biscuits. Some to give away as a small gift and some for us.

With the last of the last (and very soft) peaches I made Peach Crumble. Lana had commented that she made Peach Crisp. I had never heard of this. I think it turned out to be one of the name differences between Australian and the US like Biscuits and Scones. I googled and it seems to be what we would call Peach Crumble. Best idea ever!  I just made it as I would apple crumble and it was he yummiest thing ever! Thank you Lana, I made several of these and they were just wonderful!

I have always liked the saying "make hay while the sun shines." This is how I feel about using up the fruit when fruit is coming in or making the most of beautiful weather and washing and drying the quilt when it's hot!

But there are times when we need down time. We need rest. I've said I waste less time overall if I have a rest before a headache gets really bad than if I keep going. But whatever it is there are times we are sick or exhausted or injured and we have to rest.

And there are seasons where we are flat out with a new baby, a sick child or something that is taking all our effort.

These times are ok! Everyone has them. And so when I am well I think "make hay while the sun shines!"

Two years ago I got something nasty and was really sick for about six weeks. It was terrible! Well, there was no feathering my nest I was just trying to get through it! But overall it is ok. You just do what you can when you can.

I am talking about this because just now I know someone injured and confined to bed and someone struggling and unable to do the usual things. Also I know I have a reader with a new born baby! In whatever circumstance there is only so much you can do! Don't be discouraged when you have had a bad week or a sick week.  Be encouraged! 

Today I am off to see my aunt and her lovely garden. She called me to say she has a bucket each of Figs, Quinces and Plums for me! Now, I know this free fruit time is not going to last much longer. This is another time to make hay while the sun shines. This helps me to save money and build up my pantry! 

It is a reasonable drive to get there but there are several lovely op shops in her area plus a fantastic vegie shop I can go to on the way home. So it becomes a great day in many ways and a great start to my next week of Feathering my Nest!

Yesterday I had coffee with a lady I met recently. I gave her some of my Fig and Almond jam as she said how much she loved it. Making a new friend I found out she loves preserves and she has a lemon tree! I said to her if she likes Lemon Butter I would make it for her in exchange for lemons. Deal! And so I have a new source of lemons.

I am mentioning this as I get a lot of free fruit and this is how. I ask. Make it known to people that you make jam and pies etc and ask if they have spare fruit, offer to do a swap.... knock on the door where you can see fruit falling to the ground... let your church family or relatives and friends know you really appreciate produce. Reward them with a jar of jam or a pie. Doing this has always kept me in free fruit.

Depending on where you live this could work with vegetables or other things. But here there are good fruit trees and a good variety of them so it mainly works with fruit.  It is an example of "ask and you shall receive" it really works, you will be amazed. 

How have you saved money and Feathered your Nest this week?  Every little bit helps!

Have a wonderful weekend.xxx

The buddy system.

The other day Colette said that she NEEDs the encouragement we get in reading something encouraging and hearing what others are doing during the week. She inspired a blog post as I am exactly the same!

Over the years I have had women come along side me that helped and encouraged me. Mum and Nan  first and foremost then I have spoken about others like Mrs. Starkey who really was my Christian mentor when the girls were small. When the girls were a little older I added Laine from Laines Letters to this list. And she was the first time that I had a mentor that was on line. I never got to speak to Laine until recently but she wrote in such a way you felt she was writing to you and she was your friend just around the corner! She came along side me and encouraged me along the way and every day really. What a difference she made!

Helen had the same experience. She would go to the library and print Laine's Letters from the Internet then read them at home when her boys were small. She said to me it was just wonderful! You felt you were getting a lovely letter from a friend. At the end of that letter you felt revived. Full of conviction and a great sense of purpose and direction!

We might be blessed with plenty of mentors and helpers in our lives or we might need more. It can be quite hard to find people with so much in common and with similar beliefs. This is where the internet is wonderful!

After Helen I met Kaye. When I say "met" I have never met either of these friends in the flesh! But we all became friends thanks to meeting on line. Well, what a big thing this has been for me. I truly feel you can make wonderful friends on line and cast your net wide too!

Overall it has added together that I have always had someone encourage me in each stage of life so far. I feel like Colette. I NEED that encouragement. I need someone to report to and talk to. I do better this way. I just do.

Our hearts need encouragement. Thank goodness there are lots of ways to get it! Making time to read your Bible and pray will give you great encouragement.  And we are instructed to encourage each other and build each other up. The older women are to teach and encourage the younger women.

There are plenty of verses on this. It is normal to feel this way and be this way.

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are already doing. 1 Thess. 5:11

Encourage one another daily Hebrews 3: 13

And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works Heb 10: 24

Of course there is a flip side. Dad always told me the power of one bad apple to send the whole case bad. And he wasn't talking about apples! 

The knowledge that we do better with support is used extensively in all kinds of ways. Schools have buddy systems, many training institutions have buddy systems and the 12 step programmes for fighting addictions have you have a mentor who comes along side you. Anyone in diet/weight loss,  fitness will tell you that you will do better with a buddy or support person. The athlete has a coach. The Bible also say that two are better than one, when one falls don the other can help him up! Well, that is so true!

it is worth remembering that what you can build up you can also tear down. We have to be careful to place ourselves as much as we can in places we are being built up and avoiding being torn down. I'm old enough to know the things that are damaging for me. Too much news, horror/frightening/tragic movies, some music, argumentative or negative people... I need to try and avoid!

But if I can get little dose everyday of encouragement, lovely things to be thinking about, goals and aims and plans, then I am just happy and busy as a little bee!  I also do well if I'm involved in a challenge of some sort, even with myself! 

I think we are like sponges! I seem to be able to absorb positivity and feel refuelled but I also can absorb negativity and feel drained and upset. So i KNOW I have to be careful where I frequent and have wonderful friends and mentors that encourage me in the right direction. If as adults we feel this way imagine how important this is for children.

Here I've been able to add things that I know work for me. I seriously do better because of Feather your nest Friday and I participate with Wendy on her blog as she lists the ways she saves each week. Wendy's blog is My Abundant Life.  I do better because Helen and Kaye never have a bad word to say and are full of happiness and encouragement. There are several just wonderful friends who have the same qualities that I am so grateful for.

In my pantry/cellar challenge I do better because Helen and I are doing the challenge together and then I added it as a challenge here and now there are a group of us! Seriously I will be thinking about it and working on it thinking "I can't wait to tell Helen" this or that or be able to write an update to share. I feel as though I have someone with me all the way. 

Plus something else... having a buddy in what ever you are doing makes it fun! Somehow a challenge is fun and motivating. I don't want to report that actually I did absolutely nothing. I want to report I did this, this and this and possibly get gold stars! lol Ok Im probably not getting gold stars. But you know what I mean when you FEEL like you did well and you feel good about it!

It's through friendship and support I usually achieve things that I feel good about!
Having some cheerleaders in your life is a really wonderful thing. And many people don't. You can see just about any time that if you encourage someone or compliment them that they light up. It is a small thing to do to encourage someone but really it's so important. Be someones cheerleader, it might make such a difference to them. 


You know when things have a good influence on you really by the way you feel and by the fruit of it. The right influences make me feel inspired, energetic, happy, encouraged, faithful, purposeful... and the wrong .... my energy feels sapped, depressed, discouraged... etc. The difference is instant. 

I had a laugh today. My husband sent me a text and he always makes up sweet names for me. This one was "my mighty little trooper" !!! Well, I am good with that. I am hanging around with the right people that encourage me to get lots done and be busy as a bee or a little soldier apparently!


All the flowers are currently in my garden. I have never grown these Lilly's before so I am really proud of them. Now some white ones are about to come out too! Plus we have had glorious weather. My garden is one of my "right places to hang around" as I feel happy and inspired when out in my garden. 

xxx

Preparedness and pantries. What will be worth more than gold?

Normally I would write my pantry post on Wednesday. This week I am writing it early in case any of the Australian ladies are wanting to buy powdered milk...  On Wednesday I will post my normal Monday blog post, so we are just around the wrong way this week!

In a recent pantry post Mel told the story of her Grandmother who responded to advice from her Mother in Law about the goods that were most in shortage and greatly sought after in WW1. This wonderful woman listened to this advice and acted on it. She lined the drawers in her home with packets of soaps and she stockpiled fabrics and sugar. And when WW2 came she had the ability to barter and use a great supply from which she made sweets and clothes as well. What a brilliant woman! She just got busy building up her nest and preparing for the future!

This got me thinking about what in our world could become short on supply and valuable?  In a shortage usually the price goes up and things that were once common place become greatly sought after and expensive. So they would also make great things to barter with.

We have discussed already the things that fly off the shelves in disasters that are good to have. On this I was thinking how could I be like Mel's Grandmother and store something that will be a bit like bars of gold in the bottom of drawers?  It's an interesting subject!

This led me to some amazing discoveries. In fact my mind boggles!

I noticed on Wendys blog My Abundant Life someone was commenting about the shortage of powdered milk interstate. Then I saw others commenting on this. Now a bit over a week ago there was powdered milk here on the shelves as I bought some. But I recalled last year for some reason there were shortages of baby formula and I didn't know why. It was on the news and there was a hotline to call. But we had no one in the family needing baby formula and I really didn't take much notice.

Last Thursday I went looking for milk powder and the shelves were empty. All empty, every brand and Coles and Woolworths the same.

I learned that China in recent years has had health scares with infant formula. More than scares, they have had contamination and babies have died and thousands of babies hospitalised. Multiple problems and over time and the Chinese have come to want baby formula from other countries and I can see why. It began that those with relatives overseas (ie Chinese students  studying abroad) started to buy and send home baby formula. This escalated to baby formula becoming a commodity everyone wanted and worth a high price. And this has continued until now. Baby formula and powdered milk are called White Gold in many countries and half a dozen countries have experienced shortages. To top if off China also have had a shortage of fresh milk and one way to fill the gaps has been importing huge amounts of powdered milk from New Zealand. Now if I was a Mother in China needing powdered milk/infant formula I would be doing the exact same thing. So I am not being critical of what has happened just reporting it as best I can.

Australia and NZ are seen as clean and green countries free of contamination so are especially popular as sources of baby milk and powdered milk. And cans of formula have flown off the shelves. In both countries mostly now stores will not allow you to buy more than four tins. This is to try and preserve supplies for locals needing formula. I checked in my two local stores and indeed if you went to the counter with 5 tins you wouldn't be allowed to buy them. And I had heard nothing about this before.

(On top of all this we had our own contamination scare and some brands were removed from shelves sometime last year).

Some countries like Hong Kong have restrictions on how much baby formula you can leave the country with. (2 cans) They have even decreased luggage allowances on trains to stop the smuggling of white gold! In 2013 baby formula became hard to get in Europe and families there had to stockpile it when they could for fear of not being able to get any at all. In Algeria there is an actual black market in "white gold".

Ebay is full of baby formula being re sold as people make money of out of the situation. Much of the formula on ebay seems to be from the US so I am thinking there is not a shortage there... but I don't know this yet.

So... why is ordinary powdered milk unavailable? Is it related to the baby formula issue?
I decided to ring Devondale the main supplier of powdered milk in Australia. This call was very educational!

They said the amount of milk powder selling from the shelves is unprecedented. They cannot keep up which is why shelves are empty. They are trying to increase production but the man I spoke to said that in truth they cannot produce as much as is being sold currently, let alone if demand increases any further.

I asked was this related to the baby formula issue and China and he said yes. That there is a general shortage and huge demand for both. And it isn't an issue he could see going away.

Considering there are over a billion Chinese you can see how a country like ours with one sixtieth the population trying to contribute to their shortage is going to be a problem. And it could get worse! This shows to me how contamination, shortages etc can implicate the whole world!

Now, baby formula has a shelf life of a year or so. So it is not suitable for long term storage and the same for powdered milk. I am not sure how long powdered milk will really last? But this is worth keeping an eye on if a baby in your family is needing formula. And grab powedered milk when you see it if you use it.

The other two shortages that seem likely are chocolate and honey. There seems a general agreement that world consumption of chocolate combined with drought and Ebola etc in Africa equal higher prices and shortages predicted.

Honey is similar. Manuka honey in particular is only produced in NZ and Australia and is being hailed world wide as a medical miracle and beauty miracle. Everyone wants it. The prices are already very high. A shortage of this seems likely also. So I checked into Manuka Honey. Is it a trendy thing? or does it really have special properties? I think it does have special healing properties but I wil leave that up to you to decide. Lots of "honey" on shelves contains no honey at all and is just concoctions of sugar syrups and who knows what. But real raw honey is gone up and up in price.

Of the things I can see there is a likely shortage honey seems to be a good thing to store as it never goes off. Pure honey really lasts forever.

I decided to make this post today instead of Wednesday for anyone who uses powdered milk or has a child on formula. Formula is currently on the shelves as long as you don't buy multiples. But I would keep an eye on supplies just in case. And if you buy powdered milk watch for it as it may be on the shelf if your supermarkert has some come in but it is unlikely to last. (in Australia anyway)

I found this very interesting as there is nothing in the media but I found some mentions in the media last year. Perhaps they think if they tell people then it will only be worse?!

Wherever you live it can be a good idea to be up to date on shortages, contaminations and droughts etc which can cause things to be scarce and stock up on them if they are important to you. And sometimes these thing have the potential be be a good little investment for the future. In some cases buying before great price hikes is just a good saving.

So these days knowing what would be wise to stock up on as Mel's Grandmother did is possibly tricky. And we have to make our own judgements and do our own research... plus where will live may make a difference. But I am thinking I will stock up on pure raw honey and Manuka honey, at least. Also what to stock up on depends on our own needs as well as the needs of others and if you intend things to be an investment/safety net, gifts, or for personal use. But it is a very interesting subject. And a demonstration that a shortage in one country can have a domino effect on others.

Later this year if Lucy needs baby formula (She hopes not to but you never know...) then I will be keeping some spares on hand and watching the situation carefully. I would not have even known I NEEDED to do that.

Knowledge is power! I think of the Proverbs woman who is not afraid of the future. She brought home food from far away places, worked on building up her household and was like the bees and ants working away and storing things up. I think that's why I love birds and bird nests so much... they are happily working away on their nests creating a thing of beauty. That is so sweet to me!

Next week we will return to normal days and I will hand back over to Helen. She has been working like a little bee on her pantry and preparedness!

Have a wonderful week! Here we are in February! Lets make it a month we make the most of in every way! xxx

Feather your Nest Friday. 30th January 2015.

The last week of January! I always think January is a big month. Recovering from Christmas and holidays and possibly a time of recovering from spending more money than usual. Then thinking about what it is we want to achieve in the new year and our goals and dreams.
Then we get back into regular life and it flies! So it is really good to keep our goals in front of us and have a little review. So I'm looking over the month and having a little plan.

I had another really good week! My pantry is going ahead in leaps and bounds and my cellar is up and running.

So the ways I saved money and feathered our nest this week include...

My afternoon with my friend Hilde and all the pantry tips she gave me. I posted some of these in comments on Wednesday but more to come! It was so much fun and she gave me so many ideas  just on pantry recipes that will be so handy.

Plus we went op shopping. I had wonderful luck and got three gorgeous cardis. I have a thing about really fine knitwear. I don't like thick or chunky things at all. But really fine knitwear is usually expensive. I found a blue/grey longline very fine knit Witchery brand cardi for $4, A fine Laura Ashley black knit cardi for $5 and a leopard print cardi, also really fine... for $4. I love them all. I washed them up and am so pleased. I was so excited about these as I live in cardi's in winter.

I also found a lovely vintage cotton sheet with pink roses on it. I always buy sheets if they are good cotton and pretty prints that look Shabby Chic-ish. Where else can you get several wide meters of pretty cotton fabric for $3 or so? Also if I see sheets in very old or soft brushed cotton/flannelette I get them and wash them up and tear them into large hankies for when anyone is sick. They are so soft they are the kindest thing for bad colds etc. These are the softest hankies you ever had. You can throw them in the bin, it was cheaper than packs of tissues. If I have plenty of these I made cleaning cloths. I fill big jars with them and pour over some miracle cleaner so they are moist and ready to use.

 My friends daughter had a baby girl. I am able to go to my cupboard of things I've made ahead and find a gift that I can send her. My gift cupboard is wonderful. I am now trying to keep a selection of baby things. Mum does this, she knits and crochets plenty of baby rugs, little hats and things and she always has them ready to give far and wide. They are beautiful hand made things. So I was able to do this and wrapped in pink tissue and ribbon my soft pink rug to post....

I had a use up left overs night and made pizzas. I used up so many bits and pieces and they were really good. Also they made several work lunches.

Our neighbours went away and said we were welcome to pick fruit. I went over and picked peaches. So yes I have MORE peaches. I needed a ladder and even them used a broom to pull down branches. It was up and down a ladder for an hour and I got about two more buckets full. They are really big white peaches. We have had peaches fresh and cut up every night for a week. The freezer is full of poached peaches and pies. I have kept the girls in fruit as well. I've made peach jam. Now I need to act on these immediately as they are pretty ripe.

Over the last couple of weeks we got a few around the home repairs done, general tidying up and due to milk weather the garden is looking lovely! These all help!

What did you do to build up your home and save money this week? I hope it was a good week and that January started the year off well.

It really is amazing how much all that we do saves money and generally builds up our homes. If we can think of a list of little ways to save money on food, gifts, services, utilities and ways to build up our pantries, emergency funds etc they all add up and we build a buffer too that protects us when unexpected things happen. Mimi baked a divine chocolate cake and said that in a cafe it would probably be $7 a slice or more. It's true! The whole cake doesn't cost $7 to make and we can enjoy sharing it all week! (for her recipe pop over to A Tray of Bliss) This is an example of what is in the shops vs what we can do ourselves!

I normally post Pantry/preparedness on Wednesdays. This week I made some discoveries that I think amount to urgent information we all need so I will post this on Monday. 

Have a wonderful weekend! xxxx

Building up our pantries. 7

Last week Helen posted that in hard times, the times we are depending on our pantries and our supplies, we probably need some nurturing and comfort. Whatever circumstances that have come about something has gone wrong and that is why we are relying on our stockpile. Having supplies to see you through is a big comfort of course but having things that your family like and are nurturing is such a good thing. Adding little treats and luxuries, comfort food and drinks, is going to make things much better if you can possibly manage it.

Thinking about this and reading all your ideas I had added to my storage list. My additions include Golden Syrup, Sticky Balsamic, Coffee Essence, Vanilla Concentrate, Condensed Milk, special tins of tea, a tin of caramels, chocolate, sun dried tomatoes, tinned custard powder, tinned hot chocolate. So far... I am sure I will come up with more. Thank you for all the replies to Helen's question. This helped me lots!

I have progress to report in the cellar! I have food on my shelves! There have been two good things... one was a better fortnight for us and some savings and the other some great specials I found.
I also decided with every saving I make to use some of it for something for the cellar or pantry.

My bathroom cabinet is really large. That is big enough to keep spare shampoo and quite a few things. So I am building that up also. I added toothpaste, soap and hand wash to that.

Here is a pic to show my progress from my original cold, dark, empty and scary cellar!

It truly is amazing how things add up when you just add something every time you can.

Following on from Helen I thought ok I am storing up foods that keep and we like and I am adding things that will really add flavour as well as some treats. Now what meals can I actually make form all these components?

So far I have a list I am keeping of things that can be made entirely from what is stored. I think we can include whats in the garden and if you have chickens you could include eggs. But rather than just a random collection of things to think what meals could I make up from this collection? Thinking this way we might realise we need to add this or that and we would have a complete meal. I have my regular kitchen pantry and by then end of the year hopefully a well stocked cellar.

Then I always seem to have plenty of a fair variety of herbs. I have two towers I made like this one... this was when this one was first planted, or early on...

I made them out of recycled pots (that means I found most of them on the side of the road!) and these are near the back door. This is how they look now...

They are jungles of herbs, some chilli and capsicums,  and I pick so many!  I pick bunches for the girls and to give away as gifts. And I add fresh herbs to everything. I will always keep them going as they really are lovely adding flavour, colour and a burst of vitamins and minerals to everything. In a crisis they would be wonderful to be able to add to stored foods.

Anyway, from what I have so far I could make custard (from powdered milk and custard powder)
with plum pudding (tinned Christmas pudding) or tinned fruit.
I could make tuna casserole/mornay.... (powdered milk, tins tuna, corn, chicken noodle soup...)
which I could serve over pasta or rice. Or corn fritters.

I could make simple pasta and tomato sauce with fresh herbs,  pancakes  and served with any of several homemade jams. Scones, simple fruit cobbler using tinned fruit and a cake batter.

We like soup and even tinned tomato soup is nice so I would be quite happy with that. I could add fresh herbs to tinned soups to make them healthier.
I actually like baked beans and would find them a good meal.
I could make damper (simple bread).

So now to add to my list!

Doing something toward this week by week is really working. We are still in January and I have got this far so by December I think I am going to be amazed!

If you would like some wonderful reading on the subject Patsi's blog A Working Pantry is a wonderful resource. She has started a series I am following.  I am loving it already. Start here here to read the introduction. Thank you Patsi for making this free for everyone. I feel as if I am building up my pantry with a great friend beside me. She posts Wednesdays and so today will be part three I think. (which I am looking forward to).

While I've been adding things to my cellar shelves and writing this there is a great storm approaching the east coast of America. I have been watching updates. This is a situation people have had a warning, they know its coming and have time to prepare. Knowing what needs doing and getting it done before the storm comes in. I saw photos of empty supermarket shelves already.  After that cars need to be off the road and people need to be safe indoors. By the time I post this it will be well underway. I hope everyone is alright, there are millions people are in the way of that storm! In fact here are more people affected by the storm than there are in the whole of Australia. Like twice that many. My mind boggles. I saw pictures of the biggest supermarket I have ever seen in Boston and everything from the fridges and freezers was gone! Empty. It really makes you think!

What meals can you make from your pantry when a storm comes in and you can't get to the shops? Or when there is another reason that you cannot shop? I would love to learn some new ideas to add to my list.

As Helen said when a blizzard comes in or someone is out of work those are the times that a comforting or warming meal would be especially restoring and encouraging. A little planning is what we are doing!

I am hoping everyone has a staple pantry/emergency meal like my trusty tuna mornay and between us we will come up with a good list! Many thanks in advance...

It is lovely to make progress and to work on this together. Little bits add up! And there are small opportunities that crop up. I just got a $10 Woolworths gift card. If I use that on some good specials I can add more to my cellar!

I hope you are having a good week! xxx