Posted in Tip of the Day

So many bad storms already this year. It pays to be ready.

Grandma Rosie 

Be Prepared for Storms

By Heidi Hunt

Lightning and wind and rain – oh my! Severe storms, plus the blackouts and flooding that accompany them, can be life-threatening. But, with a bit of advanced planning, you can weather them with relative comfort and minimal anxiety.

Food and Water

For most short-term emergencies, when the power goes out, experts recommend that you have on hand 1 gallon of water for drinking and sanitation per person per day for at least three days.

Here’s how to do this: When storms threaten, fill jugs with drinking water and fill your bath tub to have water to flush the toilet. (If water pressure fails, you can still flush by pouring water into the tank and flipping the lever.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has information on disinfecting water for drinking and cooking.

Keep on hand some foods that can be eaten without being cooked and can be easily carried if you need to evacuate your home. Energy bars, jerky, dried fruit and nuts keep a long time, are easy to store and carry, and contain concentrated energy and protein.

If you have pets, you also will want to develop a plan for their care and safety, especially if you have to evacuate. Add water for pets to your stored supply and sealable bags of dry food, plus leashes, crates and bowls to eat and drink from, if you have to evacuate. It’s good to have your animals’ shots up to date and their records handy to take with you.

Some folks keep an evacuation backpack ready to go in case of an emergency. If you and your family have to leave the house in a hurry, having just the basic supplies listed below will make the situation more comfortable. Store the backpack in a location that is easily accessible and known by all members of the household. Ready America, a government Web site, has more information about emergency supplies.

Emergency Kit

Weather radio
Flashlight
Old cell phone
Cell phone car charger
First aid kit
Water bottles
Hand sanitizer
Sealable plastic bags for food
A rain parka for each member of the family
Spare batteries
Cash, including some change
Addresses and phone numbers of family members and emergency services
Local map
Deck of cards

Stay Informed

If the power goes out, you won’t have TV, radio or the Internet to provide you with up-to-date information. Battery-powered or crank weather radios, available from $9 to $90, will keep you informed of conditions during a weather emergency.

Even if the power goes out, a landline, non-electric phone may still work, so keep one around. And you can use your car to charge your cell phone using a cell phone car charger, which plugs into the 12 volt DC car power socket (cigarette lighter). And any charged cell phone that can receive a signal, even one without an active service account, can dial 911.

Have a Plan

Know where to go in case a tornado or high water threatens your home. If you don’t have a basement, go to the most interior room or go to the nearest storm shelter. In cases of high water threatening your property, you should know the safest escape route to high ground that will not take you through the flood waters. Practice these strategies with your family so everyone knows where to go in case of a weather emergency.

Unless your house has been damaged by high winds or is being threatened by flood waters, the safest place to be during a weather emergency is your own home. We all cope best during times of stress when we are in familiar surroundings. This is especially true for children, the elderly and pets.

First Aid

Having first aid knowledge is another valuable resource for your family and your community. The Red Cross and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) offer first aid, CPR and disaster preparedness classes. The time to take these classes is now, before you need to use the skills.

Ready America also has a list of first aid kit supplies that includes the following, plus special supplies for at risk situations:

Two pairs of Latex, or other sterile gloves (if you are allergic to Latex)
Sterile dressings to stop bleeding
Cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect
Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
Aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
Anti-diarrhea medication
Antacid
Laxative

With preparation and planning, you can make a short-term power outage relatively easy to deal with. You and your family might even be able to make it a fun experience, similar to camping out

Grandma Rosie

Posted in Going Green

Living in SW Florida I try to come up with some creative ideas to mimic different seasons. One thing our family loves is to build all types of forts, secret hiding places, reading nooks, castles, etc. So I decided I wanted to find away to incorporate the two AND do it GREEN. Well, my brain came up empty, sad to say. I was so over thinking on the subject when I had a brainstorm! Oh my little noggins was working over time, I tell ya. You are going to be so surprised when I tell you that I decided to use the Internet for my research. Am I smart or what? (I know. I know. Or what. tee hee!)

I don't want to post the pictures of this project here, because I didn't have time to ask for permission, BUT I will give you the link to this MOST FANTABULOUS project!

http://www.littlegiraffes.com/igloo.html

The project is an igloo built from gallon milk jugs! Oh, I can't tell you how excited I am to get started on this project. Now, the website states that their class used 155 milk jugs. We go through about 4 milk jugs per week. So, with my caluclations it would take us about 48 weeks to collect enough of those jugs to make an igloo. Not only do I not want to wait that long, but where in blue blazes would I store an igloo for 48 weeks!

Then I had another brainstorm. I could make this project with my children for FREE because we have hot glue and yardsticks. Not only that, but I can reduce our waste AND the waste of friends and family if I ask them to save their milk jugs as well. In no time I will have enough jugs to make our igloo!

Are you thinking ahead of me yet? What do you do when you are finished with the igloo? There has been no trash savings if you dismantle the igloo and discard the jugs when you are finished with the igloo, right? NO WAY! I wouldn't leave you hanging like that!

Here is a list of ideas that we have used milk jugs for in the past and will implement using when we are done with our igloo.

• Watering can
• Change Bank
• Seed Sprouter
• Sandbox Toy
• Drinking Hole for small animals
• Megaphone
• Berry or Veggie picking bucket
• Automatic Plant Irrigation
• Plant Row Markers (cut into strips)
• Pool/Beach Toy
• Bird Bath
• Dustpan
• Funnel
• Clothespin Holder
• Luminaries (this is especially fun when there is NO holiday)
• Freezer Blocks (to keep your freezer running efficiently when it is runnin glow on food)
• Juice and Tea Containers
• Bird Feeder

There are so many ideas to use these plastic jugs for, that I am inclined to think up new ones! A FREE and FUN project for the family, saving LOTS of trash from landfills; this is a project that can't be beat!

These are my thoughts.

Leslie Valeska

~Contributing Writer~

Leslie Valeska is the lucky wife of Thomas.  With children ranging in ages from 4-16, she has had a lot of time to learn and experience much of the fine art of homemaking. She established Simple Journey Ministries to encourage, support, and inspire women, from all walks of life, to engage and continue on a path of Godly Womanhood. For FREE daily tips on simple and frugal living visit her blogJourney to Simplicity. Want to get to know her up close and personal and be notified of all the NEW releases, updates, SALES, events, and GOODIES from other authors, as well as find a good dose of support and encouragement, then visit Simple Journey Ministries. Of course, don’t forget to visit the Simple Journey Bookstore! 

Posted in Homestead Barnyard

Rabbits like cool weather, Its just a fact.  They have no way to cool their little bodies so special consideration must be made for keeping rabbits cool in hot summer months.  Here are a few quick tips:

1> freeze 2-litter bottles of ice and put them in the cages.

2>Ceramic tiles-my favorite method!  Freeze ceramic tiles in the freezer and put in the cages.  Have plenty on hand because you have to change them frequently.

3> Always provide plenty of cool water for them to drink.

4>Commercial mister systems.  Use with caution-there are alot of downfalls with this method.  Be sure to do your research first.

5> Locate the cages in a deeply shaded breeze way.

6> Dual roofs to keep the sun's heat off of the rabbits.

7> provide a fan to move the air around them.

Signs of distress to watch for:

1. lethargy

2.  heavy breathing

3. a very wet nose and muzzle

4. sprawling on the floor of the cage

5. Note any changes in diet

If you see these symptoms cool your rabbit immediatly.  This can be done by using a cool garden hose and wetting down its entire coat or dipping a rabbit in a shallow bucket of water.  Treat for shock.  I have never had to do this myself so I suggest doing some research on this subject ahead of time to be prepared.  Rabbits just don't like hot weather.  Imagine what you would feel like if you had a fur coat on in 90 degree weather.  A little preplanning will make both you and your rabbit happier.  Blessings>faithfarm

Posted in Homestead Garden and Farm

With costs for food, fuel, and just about everything it seems, on the rise, growing our own food becomes an even more important part of my family's attempt at frugal living.  I LOVE gardening, but also realize that it can be an expensive, though fruitful, venture if I don't make an effort to do things the frugal way.

This site has lots of ideas for saving money while you garden.  I especially like the tips for using vinegar in the garden.  Vinegar is a must around my home for cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc.  Now it also belongs in the garden!

If any of you have great frugal gardening tips, please share them!

Blessings,

Catherine

Posted in Featured Blogger

This Weeks Featured Blogger is the Blogging Sisters, Kim and Jill at Manna Milling Mom's!


This is a picture of Kim and her family.

I asked Kim to give me a little intro to her and her sisters blog and this is what she said...

"Sisters, Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters......"
My sister and I blog together. I am Kim(39), wife to Michael and homeschool mom of 2. My sister Jill(42) is a single homeschool mom. She homeschools her daugther, and has one other daughter in heaven. We live in Georgia not too far from each other. We feed our families organic (as much as possible), we mill our own grains and bake all of our families breads and baked goods. You won't find any Tastycakes or Hostess twinkies in our cabinets- no way!!!
My hubby says "the kitchen is the heart of the home" and where a wife and mother can minister her love and care for her family's health, through the work of her hands, and time she sacrifices"

They have been blogging here with us at Homesteadblogger since April of this year.  Many great recipes have been posted and I have to say I have tried some and they are GREAT!  Here is a tasty looking recipe for Whole Wheat Pizza Dough... yum!
You can access their archives and find lots of new recipes that way... and they are all using freshly ground wheat!!!
Jill, the big sister, shares with you pictures of her pets.
And Kim, the little sister, gives you a tour of her kitchen.
This is a great new blog and I think you will enjoy it very much.  Congratulations Kim and Jill on being this weeks Featured Blogger!

And if you have someone you would like to nominate for a future Featured Blogger send me their name and blog.

Have a great day friends!

From My Homestead to Yours,
~Chas~
Chasity L. Burrell
Senior Editor Homesteadblogger.com
My Cup Runneth Over at Heritage Acres Farm

Posted in Homestead Garden and Farm

Posted in Going Green

Just popping in here. Life on our little Tennessee Homestead has gotten a bit busier this week with Frank heading to Georgia for a new engineering job and the kids and I left to manage the home & farm! But I'm trying to keep up with some blogging!

I found a calculator at the U.S. Government's Energy Star website to help you determine if you should replace your old refrigerator or get rid of an old freezer to save on your energy usage. You can read about the calculator on my blog here.

I'm also trying to get more info on our experiences living with solar power so check back now and then to see what new info I have up!

Happy energy saving!

Kristin Hoffman homesteads with her family in the hills of East Tennessee and blogs about alternative energy, family farming, and home schooling with her husband at www.solarfamilyfarm.com. She can also be found keeping the home fires burning!

Posted in Featured Sponsors