This Year to Date

After looking at my picture of water storage, I realized we didn't have enough water so this week I added another 14 gallons of water to storage. I still have more to go but a little bit at a time is all I can do.

Also I picked up some deals at the dollar store on cans of strawberries and mushroom soup (2 for $1). Into storage they went. And at Walmart believe it or not I actually found clearance on Freeze Dried Ice Cream Sandwiches. I bought out the last seven they had and the kids ate two of them and proclaimed them excellent. I looked up freeze dried ice cream sandwiches on line and I see there is a shelf life of 2 years. I'm hoping for a little more so we'll see.

Overall I think this has been a good week for storage. I know Wifey also stocked up on some of her vegan food too.

Food storage has been going well. Last month my in-laws gave my a large cooler full of pork and bacon from their last pig. We've been signed up for a New York State program (Anyone in NY can join) called food sense and for $15.50 you get 10-12 food items a month. And there are special packages you can buy too. This week we received fish, potatoes, pepper steaks, broccoli, carrots, polish sausage, rice, canned fruit, fresh grape tomatoes, chicken patties and more. This program helps extend our food budget and the food tastes great.

The wood is still holding out in the shed. At most there is a month's worth of wood left. That's not quite enough for the season. Next year I would say we need to add about 3 more cords to make it comfortable and definitely add more bundles of kindling. We'll run out of kindling this week or early next week for sure.

We've had problems with the roof leaking over the stove. We discovered this was because of ice build up on the edge of the roof. The wifey chopped it away with a clawed hammer one night. She climbed on the roof after dark with a head lamp (bought from the dollar store) and chipped away. The light and the wife worked well and the leak went away.

We've kept the thermostat at 62 degrees in the house this winter. It seems chilly a lot but if we sit by the fire and cover with blankets we keep warm. So far this winter propane has cost $500 and then $400. (This doesn't include the first filling of the tank.) We still have more winter left. Brrrr.

Next winter we will put in a wood stove. I'll be sad to change the fireplace for this but the house will be warmer, we'll save a lot of money on heating, and even if the power is out it'll be warm. The fireplace loses to much heat out of the pipe.

The electricity keeps going up about $5 a month, which is really annoying me since I unplug everything and often sit in the dark at night. This month I'll concentrate on unplugging my laptop more and see if that will make a difference.

At this point I'm really looking forward to spring. We have a supply of seeds to plant. We won't need to heat the house and our expenses should lower. Okay we'll get through about two more months of winter and spring should arrive. I'll keep my fingers crossed and maybe it'll be an early spring.

Swag Bucks: It's Real. Earn Free Supplies Now.

Last month I started using this new search engine that earns me points called swag bucks. They have a toolbar that is optional that you can put right up at the top of browser and whenever you need to look something up you can type it in there. Now I know many of you are Googlers but this search engine is better than google. It not only gives the same information back as google but it gives more!

My bookmarks are overflowing with information I want to get back to with the things I've found in this search engine.

This is how swag bucks works.

1.Click the link on the top left hand side of this page.

2. Sign up

3. Start using the search. Swag bucks are awarded randomly. I find I can get some every few hours. You don't have to search that long. Do a search in the morning, than in the afternoon and at night. That usually leads to about 3-5 swag bucks a day.

To earn extra swag bucks you can invite friends to join (you earn swag bucks every time they earn swag bucks) OR you can do some special offers OR shop. Some special offers are free and some you pay for. Basically I found that promotions with a few swag bucks aren't worth the trouble or hassle. After downloading something for free points i often do not get my bucks or they want me to keep downloading things. I'm staying away from that stuff. If they fix it I'll let you know. Stick with the bigger swag bucks award and make sure you go in through the site to earn your awards.

Last month I earned $25 in Amazon Gift certificates. I'm already up to $15 worth this month.

How am I earning swag bucks? So far I tried some of the free promotions. I've tried Netflix and Blockbuster. Hey they're a free trial. A month free of movies altogether. I also do a lot of searching because of my job. But I find no matter how much I search (most of my work is online) I only win swag bucks about every 4 or 5 hours in between. I have no referrals yet but once people start clicking the link and signing up I can earn more and it'll happen quickly.

My advice to you is sign up and refer as many people as you can. Do searches a few times a day. Try the promotions if you can, especially the large amount freebie ones and than cancel before you'd have to pay (unless you're keeping it of course).

MOST IMPORTANT: Use swag bucks to help your family be prepared in any emergency. It doesn't cost you anything only a little bit of time! Check out all the rewards you can win. There's even an REI gift card for camping stuff. You can get items or gift cards from swagbucks. I prefer Amazon gift cards because Amazon has items I need for food, water storage, heat, light and shelter. Click Here

Our Food & Water Storage So Far...

Here's a sampling of our food storage to date. Remember just put a little food away each week, replace the items you use and only stock what you will eat. We don't have nearly enough yet but were working at it slow and steady. This method seems to be working for us.

The 10th Grade Science Project

My son brought home a science project that he has two months to complete. The subject? Preparing for a disaster!

Finally the public school is teaching something that could possibly save lives. Unfortunately, the teacher modified the assignment half way through. If people can not get the supplies they may need for a 72 hour period then they may draw a picture or cut out pictures from a magazine. The teacher was probably contacted by people who thought they could not afford (money wise) any special supplies.

That's too bad. Too bad the teacher didn't modify the assignment in a different way. For instance, forget a backpack and use a plastic garbage bag. Throw in a blanket and pillow from your bed. Use two litter soda bottles for water storage or some other containers from the kitchen. If they can't have a couple dollar tarp for shelter how about learning to get out of the elements by going under a pine tree in the woods (this is rural area) or using the garbage bag to stay dry. Make the kids think- what can I do to put this stuff together? What would I do to survive? Make them think of necessities: water, food, shelter, light and heat (it's cold here 6 months of the year at least).

What will these kids do with drawn pictures if a disaster occurs?

The project was to have enough supplies for 72 hours for 3 people. The kids put together emergency plans for in the home and away, learned what disasters may happen, took pictures of their families and identifying marks and gathered important paperwork together.

My son was luckier than most. Over the years he has been given everything he would need to survive. And our own food storage helped him to fill out his backpack with the food and water. (A used backpack we paid a few dollars for at lawn sale.) The only thing we had to go to the store for was the photographs he needed to show his supplies and pictures of his family if we ever got separated. In doing this assignment, we as a family, became more prepared. We know what roads to take from school or from his dad's house if anything happens. We know where to meet outside if there is a fire. Blizzards, tornadoes, floods and the nuclear plant where all discussed.

Every family should go through this assignment. Learning to survive a disaster before it happens could save so much grief later. In a way I think my son thought I was a little crazy before with the food storage but now I think he respects us just a little bit more because we have it.