Prepared 101 Week 1

Prepared 101

Okay, I hope you're ready because I am super excited and can't wait to get started.  Cincinnati Homestead Mom will keep all of the weeks saved in the dropbox so if you miss a week you can always go back to find it. Here is the link to the Weeks Of Prepared 101. (Just click where it says "Weeks Of Prepared 101")

WEEK 1

No rest for the unprepared individual so I’m just going to start by giving you your first assignment.  You will need some sort of binder, folder, or notebook to keep all of your “prepared” information in.

I want a list of what you are preparing for (fire, thunderstorms, tornados, martial law, pandemic, nuclear war, etc.…).  I want you to send me a copy of this list; you can put it in my dropbox. I also want a copy of it in your binder (this should be one of the first pages and can be handwritten on notebook paper).  Its best if the family helps you come up with this list. 

Once you have a list of things you want to be prepared for, note how long each may last, and what your plan of action would be. 

Short term – day or week

Medium term – weeks to months

Long term – months to years

Example

Fire – short term initial effect with a medium duration of time for cleanup and  reestablishing

·        Leave house immediately and meet at the corner store

Pandemic – most likely a medium term situation

·        Limit or Cut Off contact with the public, increase sanitization

Civil Unrest – short to medium duration in time

·        Bug In (stay inside), secure doors and window, if things get too bad in our area Bug Out to another location that isn’t under as much conflict.

Now that you have an idea of what kind of situations you are preparing for, lets get  some things we want to start stocking up on.  Obviously it would be hard to survive without water or food so lets start there. 

To me, water is the most important.  You are going to have a real hard time doing anything without water.  For drinking, cooking, cleaning, and personal hygiene, you are going to need H2O.  And not just any H2O will do, unless you enjoy vomiting and diarrhea.  Knowing how to make your water safe to drink could be the difference between life and death, so start researching ways to locate, purify, store, and use water in an emergency situation.   I have included a link to some of the "Water Information" I personally have in my binder.  Please use some of this as an idea on what you might want to include in your own research.

Things To Do

Start a section in your binder or folder designated to "Water".  Here you will keep information on how to locate, purify, store, collect, and use water.  You will track  how much water is needed for you or your family, and you will also keep track of how much water you have stored.  Just because you know the information now, I would still keep a printed copy in your folder (we forget the simplest of things when we need them).  Keeping all of this information in one place and easily accessible will help out greatly in an emergency.

·   I want you to store 1 gallon of water for each member of   your household

So lets recap, you should have made a list of events that you want to prepare for, plus come up with a short and basic plan of action for those events.  You should have also started some research on that wonderful thing that keeps us alive called water, and you should have stored 1 gallon of water for each member in your household.

The list of things to “Prepare” for and how long they may last is due in 1 week.  You can send the documents to me in my dropbox.  You can also send pictures of the items you have purchased or stored for additional points towards prizes. 

And as always don't forget to like, share, follow, and subscribe so you don't miss out on any of Cincinnati Homestead Mom's posts

prepared 101

Prepared 101

Okay Cincinnati Homestead Mom (that's me) has been working on "Prepared 101" for the last couple of days, a 52 week plan or course to get you better prepared, and I am super excited. 

Before we get started I want to let you know that I designed this plan / course to provide my mom with a solid foundation to get her better prepared for as little cost as possible.  Doing small things consistently will really add up and keep it from seeming like an unattainable goal.

To get started I recomend having a notebook / folder / or binder to keep all of your "Prepared" information in.  You should also clean out an area for all of your "Prepared" items.  You can start by putting your items in a tote or box, then upgrade as you go and need more space.  I recomend a closet, area of your basement, or maybe in the corner of a spare bedroom, but there are all kinds of places you can stash or hide the items you need to keep your family safe and better prepared. 

Each week Cincinnati Homestead Mom will give you an assignment.  There will generally be several parts to the assignment to really speed up the process of getting better prepared.  Some of the assignments will be designed to get you thinking about different situations you might find yourself in, and some assignments will be designed for you to build up a stockpile of food and goods, while other assignments will get you learning new skills to help you be better prepared.

To get credit for these assignments (because there will be prizes) you can send files, documents, pictures and videos to my dropbox. (just click on the link where it says "dropbox").  I will keep track of who participates, and lots of prizes will be given for all kinds of things throughout the course.

I will be posting Week #1 soon so be sure to follow and subscribe so you wont miss out.

Dog Food Bags for the Garden

Cincinnati Homestead Mom is SO EXCITED to test this out....



I've been wanting to grow potatoes but my soil is a lot of clay.  I've been doing some searching on the ole Internet and seen something about "potato bags" to grow potatoes in.  But they were anywhere from $5 - $25.  Being the prepper hoarder that I am, I thought of the stacks of empty 50lb dog food bags I have. 

I am trying 3 kinds of potatoes: Russet, Yukon Gold, and Norland Red.

Take your potato (hopefully it has multiple eyes) and cut it into several pieces so that each piece has 2 or 3 eyes. It is best to do this the night before and let the cut potatoes sit out overnight.

Then you just start with an empty bag. Start rolling the top (open end) of the bag down. 
Roll it down until it's about 8 - 12 inches deep. 

(Harley made sure the bags were empty)

I added a couple inches of straw to the bottom of the bag, then about 4 inches of dirt, followed by another small layer of straw.

Add your cut potatoes (eyes up). I used about 5 per bag. One in each corner then one in the middle (think of a dice).

Once the potatoes are in place, add another layer of straw, topped off with a few inches of dirt.

POTATOES GROW UPWARD

As the potato plants start to grow, roll the bag back up some, and add some more dirt.  Continue to do this as the plant grows.

At the end of the season (when the plant starts to die off) simply cut the bag open or dump it out to harvest your potatoes.

When I started this project I realized these dog food bags make excellent growing pots and containers.  They can be used for all kinds of things.....Tomatoes, Peppers, Zucchini..... the possibilities are endless.  I currently have potatoes and carrots started in some. 

I'll be sure to keep you posted on the progress of this Cincinnati Homestead Mom  and all of my projects.

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

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Fun Snowflakes

Tis the Season for this Cincinnati Homestead Mom and I am so excited this year!

Here in Cincinnati we have had an unusual warm winter so far this season. I am use to freezing weather and considerable snowfalls by now.  However this year I have the windows open and a short sleeve shirt on.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining, we've had some bad winters the past few years so I'm ready for any easy one.  Anyway, we're not letting the warm weather slow down our winter festivities.

Snowflakes are a great way to bring the winter feeling inside.  I love making things with my son, so some easy snowflake crafts were a great way for him to help and feel like he was a big part of the decorating.

As a kid I loved  making paper snowflakes by folding paper over a few times and cutting patterns along the sides.  I loved the anticipation as I unfolded it to discover the unique patterns.  Super simple, only 2 things needed...... Paper and Scissors.

For the snowflakes my son and I made, we used coffee filers.  Hey, they are paper and they are already round, so why not.

Things Needed

coffee filters (but any paper will do)

scissors

All you do is Fold It In Half a few times

Then using the scissors, you cut out pieces along the sides (half-circles and triangles work really well)

 After you've made the cuts you want, carefully unfold the coffee filter to reveal your snowflake

So there you have it.  A Super Simple Snowflake Craft to help bring the element of winter into your home without anything melting and making a mess.  The best part about these fun snowflakes is that you can use them for a ton of things; glue some thread or string to them and hang them from a curtain rod to give any window a winter view, make a mobile out of them to hang in your child's room, or glue them to a brown paper grocery bag to make beautiful wrapping paper..... 

I hope you have as much fun making these as Cincinnati Homestead Mom did.  If so leave me a comment and let me know.

 

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Ham and Cheese Sliders

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Football Season is here and this Cincinnati Homestead Mom couldn't be happier.  I love football season, and I love the Cincinnati Bengals (Who Dey).  To me, there is no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon then to have a few friends over to watch the game and cheer for our orange and black.

These little Ham and Cheese Sliders are perfect to take to a Tailgate, Super Bowl Party, or any other little get together you might be hosting or attending.  Sure to please, quick and easy, and not too hard on the budget.

Here is what you will need

dinner rolls (I like to use Sister Schubert's)

honey ham

margarin or butter

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

If you are using the Sister Schubert's dinner rolls (or another frozen brand) let them thaw for just a bit

* This is the tricky part - you want them to thaw out just enough so that you can slice it in half but to not let them thaw out to the point the individual rolls come apart

Lightly butter the inside of the top and bottom of the rolls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese

* you can notice how on the left they started to come apart on me

Add a good layer of Honey Ham

Next a layer of Mozzarella 

Finally put the top back on and cover with foil

I bake them according to the dinner roll instructions.  They should be lightly browned on top and heated throughout.

These are sure to be a crowd pleaser so try them out and let me know what you think in the comment section below.

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