2019 - August Prepping Updates

Started the new thread.

Grocery shopping on Friday was just a restock of what we used. We did buy 2 new tote lockers to help with organizing the garage. Also bought 2 more jugs of vinegar for cleaning any textiles I find in the garage that I'll keep.

LTS:
Case of freeze dried veggies
1 can freeze-dried chicken

As I mentioned, we've been cleaning out the garage for the past week. Lots of stuff got thrown away due to the three Ms - mold, mildew, and mice. However, we've found other things that've been missing for a while that we'll keep - always nice to find more preps!

Found some photos from past years, spent last night putting them all in the organized storage containers I bought ages ago!

Husband is delighted that I completely cleaned off one row of permanent shelving. He's organized all the camping gear up there, which includes cots, hiking backpacks, coolers, ground pads, tarps, the tent, and all the other equipment.

There's still much to sort through, but we're getting there.

Spent the day sorting toys in the continuing saga of cleaning the garage. Stuff was dumped in the boxes, a lot of it is broken and missing pieces. All of went into the trash. I ended the job with one large tote full of still good toys.

The second job of the day was sorting through the file cabinet and a couple boxes of old paperwork. All gone! LOL OK, I kept some of it, found some quilt patterns in the file cabinet.

Husband took two truckloads to the dump.

Still working on the garage.

I'm emptying the last of the boxes - Files of paperwork from 25 years ago that is long forgotten and no longer needed. I did move a bunch of stuff up to the covered porch so I can go through it more thoroughly since I can tell the kids packed it - there might be some hidden gems I want to keep. That task should take a few days, too.

Husband took a now empty space at the back of the garage and built another work bench, with pegboard to hang stuff from and a light to work there.

We still have some cleaning up to do, but it already looks great and I will have plenty of room for more preps.

I'm going to try and plant peas again for the last time... So keep your fingers crossed for me. On the up side the corn and green beans are looking really good this time the first crop kinda fell down and died on me....

Spent a couple of days at camp but stopped at the outdoor flea market on the way. Picked up a double bit ax head and a hatch head for a buck a piece. Now have to buy handles and sharpen up the blades, they're pretty bad.

While at camp, the power went out, again. Once it was off for an hour, I started up the generator to run the fridge and a few other items.

Well, after no power for a couple hours, my wife went down to two different young couples that had infants and young children. The next thing I know, they're bringing up their milk, eggs, etc., and yes, their own packaged breast milk. I never thought about those items for the young.

I went down to one family that I knew the guy was on insulin for his condition, so they brought the insulin and a few other items.

All went well after 15 hours of no power. I even gave one of the locals the key (the insulin user) to my shed where the generator and gas is, just in case of future outages and I'm not around.

You know, Rick, I never thought about that. Our neighbors are so self-sufficient, I believe they all have generators, but if a crisis happens, I'll go around and make sure any with meds (there are no young kids) need to keep those meds cold. Husband is a diabetic, so we are prepared. Thanks for the heads-up.

Grocery shopping was yesterday, no yard sales.

Restocked what we used
Sawyer portable mini water filter
2 pairs cargo shorts for Husband
Boxes, to mail stuff to family I found in the garage
2 crates for under workbench storage in garage
2 boxes zipper bags for more storage

The garage is cleaned out, now we are cleaning up, sorting and organizing where things will go that will remain in there. Husband is already sorting the tools and bought pegboard and pegs to hang a lot of things.

I'm still sorting through some of the kids' stuff - they saved everything! While the mice got a lot of it, I found papers and artwork here and there that could be salvaged. I also found their photos, which will be stored in plastic photo boxes, so they can sort through later. Their wall art/pictures are also being saved. I still have about 8 boxes of stuff to go through. It will be carefully packed, and stored in the house, then given to them the next time they visit. If they choose to dump it, that's fine. And of course, I'm washing and saving the keepsake baby clothes (untouched by mice or mold/mildew).

The mama cat we kept is now taken care of - she's been vaccinated and spayed. Her stitches came out Thursday. The little male cat we kept will be getting vaccinated and neutered in September (vet said to wait until he was 6 months old). I will try to trap the big feral male that is hanging around to get him vaccinated and neutered, but not sure how successful I'll be. He's pretty wily.

Cut about 10 acres of hay yesterday, raked it last night and heading out to rake it again. The daughter will rake it two more times and bale it for me, as it's time to head to camp for a couple of days.

Transplanted some blackberry and blueberry bushes that the neighboring farmer gave me. Going to put out the sun oven and cook a turkey breast.

Cinnamon wrote:
I'm still sorting through some of the kids' stuff - they saved everything! While the mice got a lot of it, I found papers and artwork here and there that could be salvaged. I also found their photos, which will be stored in plastic photo boxes, so they can sort through later. Their wall art/pictures are also being saved. I still have about 8 boxes of stuff to go through. It will be carefully packed, and stored in the house, then given to them the next time they visit. If they choose to dump it, that's fine. And of course, I'm washing and saving the keepsake baby clothes (untouched by mice or mold/mildew).

I"ve been scanning all our photos, etc into digital files the past couple of years. Been taking me a long time, because when my 85+ y/o dad moved out of our family home, into an apt, it was my task to sort through *everything*. Now ALL his photos, etc are scanned, organized and just about ready to be put on disks for each of my brothers, too! SO time consuming.

ReadyMom wrote: I"ve been scanning all our photos, etc into digital files the past couple of years. Been taking me a long time, because when my 85+ y/o dad moved out of our family home, into an apt, it was my task to sort through *everything*. Now ALL his photos, etc are scanned, organized and just about ready to be put on disks for each of my brothers, too! SO time consuming.  

Just make sure you have multiple copies of all those files and in more than one kind of media (don't use a dozen DVD-R discs from the same manufacturer, let alone same batch...) So you don't lose them for the future.

I keep important files on DVDs, USB thumb drives and multiple hard drives. And a set of DVDs and thumb drives are stored in the safety deposit box at the bank. I've lost data before, but some photos would be virtually impossible for me to replace so I go to extreme lengths to avoid losing them...

For serious archival there is a new DVD format called M-disc which is supposed to last for 1000 years. Requires a new DVD burner, but I'll probably go for it once I get the household projects paid for so I can have yet another format and one that is designed for long term storage....

I am finding all kinds of photos - sadly, some from Husband's family that we do not even know who these people are...the photos aren't labeled. I can guess due to some photos we have, but some are lost to history.

We have a lot of our digital stuff on thumb drives and CDs for precisely the reason RM and DMWalsh said - multiple venues to preserve them.

Husband scanned every photo we could find in our house about 2 years ago and we did our best to label them by date, location, and who was in them.

However, we have his family photos now, and I found a bunch of our older photos, too. In addition, I found a whole slew of my oldest kid's photos, from overseas jaunts!

Right now, I'm just organizing them in photo storage boxes to collect them all in one area. Then the work starts to really sort it out.

I'm still going through the kids' papers and artwork. I think each will have about one footlocker just of their art and school stuff. I've had to trash about half, and I expect them to trash some of this stuff, too. But for now, I'll store it and they can decide what to keep and what to throw away.

I also found some afghans Husband's mother made (what were they doing out there??) and thankfully, they are all in great condition, just needed a good wash. I plan to set them out for use. They're lovely.

dmwalsh568 wrote:

ReadyMom wrote: I"ve been scanning all our photos, etc into digital files the past couple of years. Been taking me a long time, because when my 85+ y/o dad moved out of our family home, into an apt, it was my task to sort through *everything*. Now ALL his photos, etc are scanned, organized and just about ready to be put on disks for each of my brothers, too! SO time consuming.  

Just make sure you have multiple copies of all those files and in more than one kind of media (don't use a dozen DVD-R discs from the same manufacturer, let alone same batch...) So you don't lose them for the future.

I do have everything backed up on 4 separate harddrives. Never thought about different KINDS of backups.

Cinnamon wrote:I am finding all kinds of photos - sadly, some from Husband's family that we do not even know who these people are...the photos aren't labeled. I can guess due to some photos we have, but some are lost to history.

(SNIP)

Right now, I'm just organizing them in photo storage boxes to collect them all in one area. Then the work starts to really sort it out.

That was the hard part. I found myself looking at furniture, photos & artwork on the wall, behind the people in the photos, hairstyles, colors of walls just to try and figure out what year the photo was!

Cinnamon wrote:I am finding all kinds of photos - sadly, some from Husband's family that we do not even know who these people are...the photos aren't labeled. I can guess due to some photos we have, but some are lost to history.

I was doing that with stuff from my dad's house. Just putting it in separate boxes for my brothers and then handing over the boxes. Now, I've been doing it for our daughter, who just got married. Handing over a full box & getting it out of THIS house makes me feel productive, lol!

ReadyMom wrote:

dmwalsh568 wrote:

ReadyMom wrote: I"ve been scanning all our photos, etc into digital files the past couple of years. Been taking me a long time, because when my 85+ y/o dad moved out of our family home, into an apt, it was my task to sort through *everything*. Now ALL his photos, etc are scanned, organized and just about ready to be put on disks for each of my brothers, too! SO time consuming.  

Just make sure you have multiple copies of all those files and in more than one kind of media (don't use a dozen DVD-R discs from the same manufacturer, let alone same batch...) So you don't lose them for the future.

I do have everything backed up on 4 separate harddrives. Never thought about different KINDS of backups.  

Yeah, I bought 4 hard drives at once from Newegg and about 9 months after their warranty expired they died one by one and in a matter of 10 weeks, all four were dead. Painful experience, but I didn't lose too much because I had some tape backups.

If the drives you got are from different manufacturers you're probably safe. If they are all the same brand, but were purchased over time, you might be fine. But if they were all purchased at once and are likely from the same batch at the factory, then you're at risk that they'll all fail around the same time.

I know I'm being a bit paranoid, but experience has taught me and I've seen too many others lose data the same way (backed up to 2 different thumb drives that they bought at the same time...)

dmwalsh568 wrote:Just make sure you have multiple copies of all those files and in more than one kind of media (don't use a dozen DVD-R discs from the same manufacturer, let alone same batch...) So you don't lose them for the future.

dmwalsh568 wrote:If the drives you got are from different manufacturers you're probably safe. If they are all the same brand, but were purchased over time, you might be fine. But if they were all purchased at once and are likely from the same batch at the factory, then you're at risk that they'll all fail around the same time.

All the drives were bought at different times and most from different manufacturers, so I'm not so bad, then. I'm also paranoid after loosing a single hard drive. Experience is a good teacher  . Takes longer to back up 4 drives, rather than one (or to UPDATE files  ), but I'll do it to protect my photos & files & family history stuff.

Yesterday was grocery shopping and yard sale day.

Yard sales:

5 quart crockpot for soap-making - $2
Nylabone small folding animal cage - $15 (on eBay for $75!)

Grocery shopping:

Restocked what we used
2 more footlockers for storage
4 red buckets for water storage for toilets in case of power outages - Husband thought mop buckets were too small

We have been having multiple short power outages for the past 3 weeks, which includes the landline phones being out. The longest one was an hour and a half or so. Not sure what is happening - repairs? Maintenance? New lines being put in?

Husband is working on getting all his tools accessible in the garage and putting like things together. It's always been a hodge-podge due to sheer volume of stuff we had out there, now he has room to use all his big tools - table saw, band saw, drill press, compressors, etc. Always before, we had to dig around for those big tools, drag them outside to use, and then shove them back in the garage whichever way we could. Now he has space to work inside or outside. He's built a new workbench at the back with pegboard for handing tools. He's using a lot of the old plastic containers and baskets from all the junk we threw away to organize items together. It's looking real good!

I am STILL working on the stuff that came from the garage. We are now up to 6 footlockers for the kids' stuff, plus some additional plastic storage boxes for other precious things. I am noticing that the longer I take to organize, the more stuff I am putting in the donation pile or throwing away. My criteria is getting more discerning about what needs to be kept!

Wife and the one daughter went yard selling today. They got a bunch of sewing and knitting stuff, nothing for me.

Me and the son in law got stuck with the kids, so I put all of them to work splitting and stacking wood. Now I got a fire going outside so they can cook their hotdogs and marshmellows. I have a chicken in one of the dutch ovens along with carrots and potatoes and have corn from the garden in the other dutch oven.

Then we'll sit around the fire, drink a few beers and tell lies, I mean stories to the grandkids, just like my granddad did when I was young.

Rick, I wanna come over and sit by your fire and tell lies...er...stories, too! I like my hot dogs crispy and my marshmallows just bronzed.

Cinnamon wrote:Rick, I wanna come over and sit by your fire and tell lies...er...stories, too! I like my hot dogs crispy and my marshmallows just bronzed.

Come on over, there's more than enough, even got some of them there Mike's Hard Lemonade and some of those Twisted Ice Teas, along with the beer.

Once we turn the radio on, 60's music, it gets a rockin around here.

YAY! A party! Maybe someday, Rick!

On a whim we drove to the big city for some shopping.

I found some winter shirts on sale for a decent price in one department store, so got 4.

We then went to Sam's Club and I found two pairs of pants for $9.81 each. They're the quick dry cargo pants for hiking and camping. Very comfy.

Husband bought a pack of AA batteries because I've been going through them with different small things like the remote, my mouse, and other stuff.

Today while I was at my monthly massage session, Husband spent the morning setting up our new phones, and continuing to work on organizing his new garage space.

Just got back from camp, cut and split firewood, again, to get ready for the cooler weather down there.

Stopped at the outdoor flea market on the way down to camp, picked up a couple of kerosene globes, a couple candle stick holders, 3 - 18 oz candles and a kerosene lantern, a small one, it's one that has the finger handle to carry it. I wish I could find a couple more of those.

There was a lady there that sales shirts, I got a couple that say, (can't fix stupid), another says, (I suffer from CRS, (can't remember sh_t)). Only $4.00 each.

Today was yard sales and grocery shopping.

Yard sales:

Snowsuit and jacket for grand-niece - $4
Work shirt for Husband - $1
Fleece Christmas jacket for me - $1
3 3/4 yards of Pendleton virgin wool fabric - $2 (retail, $35 a yard)
2 yards of Pendleton virgin wool fabric - $2 (retail, $40 a yard)
1 yard of Pendleton virgin wool fabric - $2 (retail, $35 a yard)
1 yard of cotton fabric - $1.50
Decorative wooden/tin cow for niece's farm kitchen - $2
Lemon cookies/chocolate chip cookies - $2 (donation to church )

Grocery shopping:
Restocked what we used
Crate for tools in newly cleaned garage
3 plastic file boxes for family keepsake papers/cards/albums
2 pairs of on sale shorts for Husband

The garage clean-up is basically done - took us an entire month of sorting, repairing, dumping, burning, and cleaning to get it finished. We got rid of probably 90% of what was in there.

I found things that belonged to other folks who'd asked to park their stuff...I cleaned it up and will be mailing it to them (2 boxes of photo albums and assorted things they had no room to take with them).

I cleaned up all my kids' toys and keepsake baby clothes, and repacked them. Their keepsake school records and art went into inexpensive plastic file boxes and inexpensive plastic portfolio bags. When they come to visit next time, all of it can be easily loaded into their vehicles for them to take.

I am still sorting through some stuff that I dragged into the house - most will most likely be gotten rid of in one way or another. What I will keep are some sentimental family records - photo albums, the grandparents' and other ancestors' marriage/birth certificates, family trees, and other memorabilia. It all fits in three file boxes, which I bought today.

I plan to scan all the papers to our computers/thumb drives/CDs and put them in the safe deposit box so if anything ever happens, I still have copies, even if they aren't authentic. It will be a big task, but with winter coming, this will give Husband and I something to do on those long winter days of snow and ice when we don't want to leave the house.

I found an assortment of photos in many boxes, I will be sorting, organizing, and scanning them, too. Multiple copies will be kept in several places, including giving some to the kids. This will also be a winter task.

Husband is now organizing the garage to his liking. He's sorting out tools and spaces so he can work more efficiently inside, and if it's nice, drag his saw and such outside, too.

I am now looking at other nooks and crannies, including closets, to do a major clean-out and overhaul of spaces. I guess I'm turning into a minimalist, I don't like having all this stuff to care for, and want less (except preps).

We are also planning to travel more, and I am the type of person who likes to have my home in order when I get back, so all I have to clean and sort is the stuff we took with us.

70 qts of green beans on the shelf.. Its been a long week-end break time....

Whew! Dave!

My dismal little garden coughed up 1 cucumber and 3 tomatoes this week. Tomatoes are done, they're about dead. The squash looks great, blossoms and all, but nary a squash this year. I doubt the cucumber plant will do much more, either.

Today was grocery shopping and yard sales (non-event). Basically just restocked what we used. I did stock up on some munchies for our coming trip. We're just heading out for a few days, no specific destination, just to start taking advantage of our ability to travel more.

Husband and I are working on a kit for each car - sort of a first aid, GOOD, and comfort kit - a little of each, rather than dedicated bags for each one, because we have other larger, dedicated bags. This is just for local trips and perhaps when we're a day or two out.

While grocery shopping today, I bought 2 pairs of reader glasses and 2 eyeglass repair kits to go in the bags.

Yesterday, I cleaned out and emptied the very last box from the Great Garage Clean-out. I had packed a lot of the stuff in plastic storage totes, and I no longer need them. While some are broken and will be trashed, Husband has decided to store our non-electric emergency gear in them. I have a lot of non-electric kitchen appliances and other tools I picked up over the years. we've kept them on shelves in the LTS, where they have been covered in dust from non-use. Husband is cleaning them up and packing them in the plastic totes to not only keep them better, but to clear up space in the LTS.

Here we go again gotta pick beans one more time. I'm trying to talk the wife into just pulling them up this time ,but i am not getting very far..

We bought a incubator with egg turner this week and we are going to give hatching chicks a try. Maybe make a little cash after we experiment with hatching I am thinking about raising more of a specialty breed to sell for more money...

Anybody have any ideas of what breeds to try ???

Dave58 wrote:Here we go again gotta pick beans one more time. I'm trying to talk the wife into just pulling them up this time ,but i am not getting very far..

We bought a incubator with egg turner this week and we are going to give hatching chicks a try.  Maybe make a little cash after we experiment with hatching I am thinking about raising more of a specialty breed to sell for more money...

Anybody have any ideas of what breeds to try ???

Dave58, here's a good article for what type of chicken to raise, everybody has their own preference. I raise the rhode island reds and the plymouth, they do well in the cold PA weather, of course, if you live in a hot, humid climate, you would want a different type:

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/7-chicken-breeds-that-do-well-in-cold-climates/

rick1 wrote:
Dave58, here's a good article for what type of chicken to raise, everybody has their own preference. I raise the rhode island reds and the plymouth, they do well in the cold PA weather, of course, if you live in a hot, humid climate, you would want a different type:

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/7-chicken-breeds-that-do-well-in-cold-climates/

Rick, that's a great link full of info! I've put it in the 'chicken' forum! Lots of chicken info on that site!