PANTRY PREP - #JarItUpJuly

 Good morning, friends!

I'd hoped to be doing more of these Pantry Prep posts. Some days, it's really hard for me to come into the office and focus when sitting at the table playing cards or dice games with Bob are much more inviting. 

courtesy of Ray Shrewsberry - Pixabay

One thing you will never see on this blog or my YouTube channel is a pantry tour. In one side, people talk about safety then on the other side they show everything they have stored and where! While I don't buy into the apocalyptic scenario (completely), that doesn't mean I want people to know what I have and where I store.  That said, let's move on. ;-)

So what is #jaritupjuly?  Well, the easiest description is to visit Angela @TheInquisitiveFarmWife on her YouTube channel. You'll find the video with all of the information and participants links HERE. 

I'll be talking about my complete list in my video HERE.

For now, here's the overview:

Since I have no desire to boot up either canner nor the dehydrator in summer heat (why make the AC work any harder than necessary) I'm going to focus on Meals In A Jar, Mixes, and dry canning such as oatmeal, flour, rice, cereals, etc. 

Next week is Week 5 in the Fly Lady cleaning zone so Bob and I will be doing an inventory of the shelves and making a list of what needs replaced. My #jaritupjuly list will grow from there. 

Leisa at Suttons Daze has a VIDEO explaining how are food supply is going to affected and seeing price hikes this fall, so we're out to get ahead of that. If you missed that post, HERE is Leisa's video. She doesn't spout nonsense, or believe in fear-mongering. She gives you statistics and where she gets her information from - reputable sources. I love her.

I hope you'll join the rest of us squirrels and start stocking your pantry.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~Kelly

FRIDAY FREEBIE - 25 Free Ways to Cut Your Electric Bill

 Good morning, everyone!

This is the beginning of a regular to semi-regular post. I plan to try for every week but at least twice a week. Stay tuned.

The theme of this post will be whatever comes to mind regarding everything household, prepper pantry, gardening, etc. Usually sharing a trusted YouTuber.

Courtesy of https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/

This week I want to share a video by my favorite homesteading youtuber, Leisa from SuttonsDaze. A year ago, she posted a video about FREE ways to cut your electric bill. Before you watch the video, I understand not all of the items will be feasible for you. But, if you can apply even a percentage of these, I think you'll be less stressed when you look at future statements.

I can say I've tried a couple of these for sure and they WORK! Our electric bill was almost $300 about four months ago. Mind you, we were using our 'back up' electric heat (rather than the wood burner I prefer) and because of that the house wasn't keeping as warm, forcing the heat to run more as well as a space heater for Bob in his mancave and one in my office to compensate for what my Split can't handle when temps got into the teens. We've learned a few things.

One, Bob will spend less time in his mancave and in the main part of the house when it's really cold. The trade off is he can work downstairs more in the summer where it's cooler as opposed to running the AC upstairs as much. As for the split in my office, it's energy efficient but not always able to handle the super cold temps. They just aren't made for that.

Two, I've gone back to hanging clothes on the line whenever possible. Sometimes laundry will wait until I can if weather is severely cold or wet. Clothes will dry mostly in cold temps. A few minutes in the dryer in the evening to top dry them and heat the house a bit is another great trade off.

I understand a lot of you will say you can't hang clothes outside for whatever reason. You Do You. That said, if it's a pollen issue, let them dry outside then bring them in and toss in the dryer with a dryer sheet as you normally wood EXCEPT you only need to run the dryer (possibly even with NO HEAT) or low heat for about 10-15 minutes. You'll be amazed how much you'll save.

I'm also using electric appliances less with most even unplugged (I'll get to that next) Our stove is a gas range and the only thing we run on a 250 propane tank. A fill lasts us between 4-5 years!!

As to unplugging things, we moved as much as we could to power strips. When not in use, I simply turn the strip off. I've done this with my dehydrator, our bed (we have serta system that raises & lowers), the tv in the bedroom (I only use for a couple hours in the evening when I go to bed, as well as the Emeril Multi-oven, the mixer and the toaster in the kitchen. 

Making these small changes have cut our bill in HALF! Mind you, I know we won't be using the back up heat, but we're using the AC as little as we can.

So check out Leisa's video below then see how many of the changes you can make. Also, please subscribe to her channel. She does in-depth research in a lot of things that affect our Pantry Preparedness. You'll be glad you did.

Be safe, Be prepared, be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room/ Dining Room

 Good morning, friends.

Been a busy few days here. 

RIP HoneyB

March 2016 - January 2026

He would have been 12 years old in March

i got only what had to be done in the Laundry Room/ Kitchen last week. Mostly focusing on giving the kitchen a good clean ahead of a project for this week.

Last Thursday we sent our adorable, Beagle/ Bassett mix over the rainbow. We are not sure what happened but have our suspicions. He went from being an excited, rambunctious dog to a very quick decline over night and the course of about eight days. A vet check-up showed his vitals all good yet he didn't want food or move around. He also, suddenly, wanted to stay outside in the cold air. We'd bring him in after a chance to do his business only to want right back out a short time later.  I hated to see this sweet boy leave us. He showed up on my deck litter box trained and would bring me his food bowl when it was empty. The house is much quieter now.

I'll spend this week clearing out the remaining items of HoneyB like his toy bucket and figuring out if we're leaving his kennel up until we find an end table. Currently, the top of his kennel serves as an end table on Bob's end of the sofa. I also want to clean up as much hair as I can both around the rooms and in the couch crevices. For a tight-haired dog he could shed a ton! I'll focus mostly on the living room for the deep clean and start taking care of things just lying around in the dining room.

I mentioned last week I was taking part in the Pantry Challenge and Canuary. As I type this on Sunday afternoon, Bob and I canned 7 quarts of Beef Pot Pie filling. You'll find Leisa's video HERE. There's a link to the recipe she used in her description box of the video. Today we'll be canning Beef Tips & Mushrooms in wide mouth pints. We'll use them for stroganoff or just over rice. That recipe is HERE. If there's canner room, I'll add a couple pints of Salisbury Steak patties. That recipe is on Linda's Pantry channel HERE.

Wednesday, I'll b emptying jars of too-soft apple pie filling into the crock pot to cook down to apple butter as well as canning the apple cider I have yet to do. I also think I've found a recipe for powdered mulling spices but since that doesn't require heat, I'll come back to that this fall.

We're adjusting to the new normal around here but we're moving forward.

How are y'all doin? Drop a comment down below. Do you can foods?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly