K.I.S.S.

Bettacreek

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People just don't seem to think that life can be easy, and believe that it won't work unless you go through all the hassles. I also think that some people are all freaked out about collapse of the entire world (zombie nation). Sure, *if* that happens, you might not have a fridge, but, umm, if that happens, are you going to have chickens? If not, then why worry about preserving eggs? I mean, really, you're going to have to learn how to keep it basic and you're probably going to be eating dirt to survive and won't have mineral oil and all that s*** to "preserve" your eggs that you get from chickens that you don't even have in the first place. :rolleyes:

As for being a realistic kind of person, yes, put the damn eggs in the fridge and quit wasting money on mineral oil and all that other garbage. People just want to spend as much money as possible on stupid stuff that they don't need. I see people spending hundreds of dollars on stuff that I consider highly unneccessary. Pressure canners? Umm, I'm working on the fourth generation (AT LEAST) in my family without using one (and, NO illnesses from it, in the 100+ years that I can account for from talking to my grandmother, my mom and my own personal experience). Everyone swears up and down that I'm a freak and "you really should just buy a pressure canner, the money saved will make it worth it"... Umm, okay, WHAT money saved? I do everything in my WB canner and have never lost a single jar of food. My canner is even a hand-me-down, so it was free, vs, what, $100 for a pressure canner? Try putting a pressure canner over a fire to can once and you'll soon realize that it's just overpriced hype.

Hunting... Ha, there's another one where people want to spend a FORTUNE on crap to go hunting and process their deer or whatever. Full out "field dressing kits"... Umm, I can take a deer from the field to the freezer with a 4" pocket knife and a sharpening kit. Others want to buy the arm length gloves, the special bags to hang the deer, special equipment to hang a deer (a simple rope works just fine for me, and I'm a lazy, average sized woman), "hunting knives", gutting knives, skinning knives, etc, etc. Like I said, a 4" pocket knife will get a deer from field to freezer, you might want a grinder, but anything else is unneccessary. Use that $20 WB canner to can chunks up, throw the rest in the freezer.

Fishing... Another one that I think people blow money on. I don't need special $80 fishing vests, $90 waders, $5 lures, special filet knives, etc. I use the same 4" pocket knife to filet, $1 packs of 20 hooks, tie them myself (some people buy the $2 packs that have like 6 pre-tied lines, another waste of money), use live bait, fish in a skirt and I can outfish the crazy men out there who spend hundreds on junk. I always get guys who come up and think that they're going to teach me something about fishing, and they end up leaving looking like an idiot who just got outfished (with bigger fish, no less) by a gal in a skirt with the very minimum of equipment.

Hmm, where else? Oh, EVERYWHERE! People always spend so much more money than they need, they have bought the commercialization bullcruddy and think they need all this expensive equipment and junk to get the job done.


As for the kitchen, I LIKE my kitchenaid. Yes, it takes time to clean the stuff after you use it, but it takes MUCH less time than washing your hands 10 times and trying to get that sticky crud off of your hands all the time. I traded for a slice-o-matic too... I like that thing as well. It makes life easier when I need to cook in a hurry, because then all of the slices are the same and I don't have to rummage through the pan for undercooked pieces because they were cut too thick (I'm really bad about cutting nice, even slices). I traded for it to do sliced beets for canning and pickled eggs (hey, we get about a dozen eggs per day, and I'm raising more birds for the flock, so pickled eggs are a staple snack item here). I do have a hand crank shredder, but I use that for soap. I DID use it the other day for quick hashed tatters since I was running way behind on dinner and that makes them smaller so they cook faster. Other than those items, a crock pot, a toaster and a nuker, I don't have any other convenience items.
 

Hinotori

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On the fishing, angling doesn't need anything special. I've used a stick with line tied to it and just part of a worm on the hook and caught brook trout just fine in the mountains. Growing up we did have short cheap fishing rods for rainbow trout fishing in the rivers. Worms we dug up or grasshoppers we caught were bait.

We do own cheap waders. Standing in glacial fed rivers at 50 degrees trying to snag a salmon in the mouth with a barbless hook is very cold work without them. We'll have the same waders for years though and use them for razor clam digging as well.

I've seen some of the fancy stuff people use for collecting steamer clams. Shovel or rake from the garden shed, a size gauge, and whatever is sitting around to put them in is all that is needed.

Some of the fancy things people do for their chickens makes me laugh as well. Scooping poop with a litter scoop daily? I don't have that kind of time. I toss down some Stall Dry as needed, and just toss in new litter. It gets cleaned out twice a year.

We were having issues with rodents. I encouraged the dogs to get them, now the German Shepherd is obsessed and very good at it. We got two free kittens to help out in the small spots she can't get. They aren't quite 6 months and are already getting pretty decent when they actually find something. It's National Spay Day today, so the bigger boy is in at the vet getting neutered at the reduced price. Spaying and neutering reduces costs so much. No worries about litters to raise. Dogs cost 15 bucks instead of 55 for their license annually if they are fixed.

I like some of the old gadgets. I get them for their interesting antique value, but I do use them. I won't buy new cast iron, the old stuff is just so much better and has a smooth surface. My favorite pan dates to between 1895-1900.
 

Denim Deb

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Betta, when my siblings and I were kids, we were fishing at a friend's house. We had bamboo rake handles, some kind of heavy black fishing line, a cork w/a nail in it for a bobber, a hook and either bread of worms for bait. I don't recall now which. There was a guy in a boat w/all kinds of fancy fishing equipment. He couldn't catch a thing and we kids were pulling them in left and right. He got so disgusted, he threw his rod in the lake. :lol:
 

moolie

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Ditto on the fishing, my Grandpa used to cut us poles when we were out camping, tie on some line, get us to put a worm on a hook, and sent us down to the creek to see what we could catch. We always did pretty well ;)
 

Corn Woman

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I have to admit that I love kitchen gadgets because they save me time. I have favorites that I won't be without like my bread machine. With only myself and DH at home it is so easy to start a loaf before I go to bed and that keeps it simple.
 

Wannabefree

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On the fishing, my grandma took us to the dam once and gave us just the string and hooks with a old rusty washer for the sinker. We caught more fish than anybody there! It was awesome! :D

Corn Woman, I fired my breadmaker :p It was worthless for actually baking the bread, so I use my KitchenAide exclusively now.
 

Corn Woman

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I have heard that from so many friends of mine and to tell the truth I see them at thrift stores and garage sales all the time. I have a Goldstar brand and I got another one for my youngest DD at a thrift store and they both bake very well. I also use it to mix rolls and pizza crust. But your right WBF most of the time they are a POC. I figure we got lucky. When my trusty Bosch finally gives up I want a KitchenAide.
 

Wannabefree

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If I hear of anyone ever in the market again I'll tell them to get a Goldstar then, the others are junk when it comes to baking for sure. I never had bread turn out right in mine. I just used the dough cycle and done it myself :lol:
 

Denim Deb

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I don't use my bread machine anymore either. Every time I made a loaf of bread in it, it fell. Plus, I was tired of having a hole in everything I baked. :/
 

Emerald

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hehe the only reason I ended up with a bread machine was that my daughter wanted one and since I baked she wanted me to help her make up "dump"kits instead of buying them so my mother got it for her and I started working with it and it truly makes a crappy loaf! but wonderful dough.. in fact my bagels never really developed the way I wanted till I started making the dough in the machine. Now I get nice chewy bagels. and my daughter didn't want the machine so I ended up with it and killed it in about 2 years and lucky me I had bought another one identical to it for a buck at a yard sale. this on has lasted much longer as it was new in the box and never used. Oster brand.
 
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