am trying to prepare ahead with purchasing INGREDIENTS to make products as needed...such as I have 20 mule borax, washing soda, bar soap....pepperment oil, glycerin, ... coconut oil (what kind to buy) not all you can consume.... vinegar, etc...is there some kind of list I could draw from...wish to make toothpaste, things I will need in the "can't get to the store times" have yeast for bread, am going to learn how to make soap.....please just title it: soap: bar soap etc....I feel time is going by fast and need to do this.....thank you all who can help.....
INGREDIENTS to be ss in hard times?
- Thread starter Kingsfarm
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Should have added, instead of buying boxes of STUFF I feel it is best MAKE as you need to save space and time.....I don't have that much space to store things as I read a lot of do not have..thank you again.......G
S
sunsaver
Guest
You need to request specific recipes or formulas for specific purposes, before we can give any advice. I don't think we have a list of things, and recipes often get buried in threads.
Don't panic. Unless you currently live on the eastern seaboard or Jersey shore, you have plenty of time to learn self sufficiency. Don't worry, and don't put so much pressure on yourself. Do your best, and trust that God will take care of the rest. We are all willing to help you as best we can.
Don't panic. Unless you currently live on the eastern seaboard or Jersey shore, you have plenty of time to learn self sufficiency. Don't worry, and don't put so much pressure on yourself. Do your best, and trust that God will take care of the rest. We are all willing to help you as best we can.
freemotion
Food Guru
If things got bad enough for long enough that you'd need all that stuff.....well, you wouldn't be washing as many clothes as you wouldn't be going out much, etc, so your supplies will last longer than they would if you used them regularly now. Seriously. On work days, I can change my clothes several times. On days that I am home working on the farmlet all day, I wear the same clothes two days in a row if reasonably clean, and pants/shorts for longer at times. Etc.
I wonder at stocking up things like razors......really, I'm not gonna be worried about a little pit hair if I'm not going off-farm much and working my tushy off just to survive.
DH could stop shaving altogether....a scissor-trimmed beard is rather sexy. 
Put that washing soda in a very well-sealed container as it will become hard as a rock....ask me how I know!
I wonder at stocking up things like razors......really, I'm not gonna be worried about a little pit hair if I'm not going off-farm much and working my tushy off just to survive.
DH could stop shaving altogether....a scissor-trimmed beard is rather sexy. Put that washing soda in a very well-sealed container as it will become hard as a rock....ask me how I know!
Marianne
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Before I found this forum, I thought about all the 'stuff' I used in a given day, starting from when my feet hit the floor in the morning. Then I did a search for 'homemade ____'. (toothpaste, soap, deodorant) - I don't make soap anymore, but rather buy a bunch of bars and unwrap them to dry so they last longer. There are different recipes for toothpaste and deodorant - so baking soda (I get a 7# bag of Arm and Hammer for laundry and cleaning in the pool section of Wally World, but for toothpaste, I use the smaller boxes from the grocery store, cornstarch). Baking soda and vinegar for shampoo and conditioner replacements.
I don't buy convenience foods. There are literally tons of easy recipes for mixes (make your own cream of ___soup mix using dry milk, bullion and a few seasonings). I found most of mine at http://busycooks.about.com/library/recipes/blsoupmix.htm .
I stock multiples of white vinegar, baking soda, laundry bar soap (Zote), borax, washing soda, Clorox (will disinfect water) - that pretty much takes care of laundry and cleaning. Got some line or something for clotheslines? And clothespins?
I'm in farm country, so I don't worry about stocking grains, but I'll always have extra bags of flour, sugar, cocoa, cooking oils, lots of cinnamon, other basic spices that I use a lot of - basil, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, baking powder. I don't have buckets of beans, but since we don't butcher and try to eat a more vegetarian diet, I do have bags of various beans and lentils. I do have Black Angus cows for neighbors, so if I had to, I could strike a deal with the owner.
I don't stock ANY paper product, but I am an obsessive plastic bag saver. I get bread bags from friends, wash them out, use them for wrapping raw meats, then put them in a freezer zipper bag. That way I can throw the bread wrapper away and still wash and reuse the zipper bag.
I already made the change to family cloth (using just cut up old t-shirts), use rags for cleaning instead of paper towel, use wash cloths instead of napkins.
Then there's the 'no power' stuff - oil lamps and oil, extra milk jugs to save water (I have cats, dogs and chickens that will all want water, too). We're on private wells, so no power means no water. Candles, plenty of firewood, batteries (a crank type flashlight would be better!) Check Lehman's for non electrical stuff.
I'm like you, I'd rather stock ingredients to make lots of stuff instead of stocking lots of stuff. I try to have enough for one year and it's not unusual to get snowed in here for days at a time in the winter. One time we didn't have power for 8 days. I learned a lot then!
I know there's stuff that I'm forgetting, but this is a start.
I don't buy convenience foods. There are literally tons of easy recipes for mixes (make your own cream of ___soup mix using dry milk, bullion and a few seasonings). I found most of mine at http://busycooks.about.com/library/recipes/blsoupmix.htm .
I stock multiples of white vinegar, baking soda, laundry bar soap (Zote), borax, washing soda, Clorox (will disinfect water) - that pretty much takes care of laundry and cleaning. Got some line or something for clotheslines? And clothespins?
I'm in farm country, so I don't worry about stocking grains, but I'll always have extra bags of flour, sugar, cocoa, cooking oils, lots of cinnamon, other basic spices that I use a lot of - basil, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, baking powder. I don't have buckets of beans, but since we don't butcher and try to eat a more vegetarian diet, I do have bags of various beans and lentils. I do have Black Angus cows for neighbors, so if I had to, I could strike a deal with the owner.
I don't stock ANY paper product, but I am an obsessive plastic bag saver. I get bread bags from friends, wash them out, use them for wrapping raw meats, then put them in a freezer zipper bag. That way I can throw the bread wrapper away and still wash and reuse the zipper bag.
I already made the change to family cloth (using just cut up old t-shirts), use rags for cleaning instead of paper towel, use wash cloths instead of napkins.
Then there's the 'no power' stuff - oil lamps and oil, extra milk jugs to save water (I have cats, dogs and chickens that will all want water, too). We're on private wells, so no power means no water. Candles, plenty of firewood, batteries (a crank type flashlight would be better!) Check Lehman's for non electrical stuff.
I'm like you, I'd rather stock ingredients to make lots of stuff instead of stocking lots of stuff. I try to have enough for one year and it's not unusual to get snowed in here for days at a time in the winter. One time we didn't have power for 8 days. I learned a lot then!
I know there's stuff that I'm forgetting, but this is a start.
Marianne
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And I just had to go grab a cookie, saw extra brown sugar, molasses, the spaghetti sauce seasoning that I love, 2 big bottles of homemade vanilla. I can't afford to stock up on honey as it's really expensive here. I'm not afraid to use sugar. I like coconut oil, but I'm not a snob about it and will use other oils, too.
I also buy institutional size cans of tomato sauce and tomato paste. Then I can make spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, ketchup, chili sauce, etc, etc if I run out of what tomato stuff is canned or frozen from the garden this year.
Basic first aid stuff, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, bandages, etc.
Vitamins and your pain relieving drugs of choice (aspirin, etc)
I think the trick is to buy the ingredients of what YOU like to eat and things YOU use. No sense in buying lentils if you absolutely hate them, you know? It's going to be one step at a time.
I also buy institutional size cans of tomato sauce and tomato paste. Then I can make spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, ketchup, chili sauce, etc, etc if I run out of what tomato stuff is canned or frozen from the garden this year.
Basic first aid stuff, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, bandages, etc.
Vitamins and your pain relieving drugs of choice (aspirin, etc)
I think the trick is to buy the ingredients of what YOU like to eat and things YOU use. No sense in buying lentils if you absolutely hate them, you know? It's going to be one step at a time.
gettinaclue
Almost Self-Reliant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVYO_jtzQY4&feature=related
How to make an oil lamp.
He uses a bottle here, but you could easily use a small mason jar.
You only need: A jar, a lid, a ring (if you're using the mason jar), oil, and a small strip of cotton for the wick.
How to make an oil lamp.
He uses a bottle here, but you could easily use a small mason jar.
You only need: A jar, a lid, a ring (if you're using the mason jar), oil, and a small strip of cotton for the wick.
Leta
Lovin' The Homestead
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We are attempting a vinegar mother. You can make baking soda into washing soda by heating it. I buy baking soda at the feed store, 25# at a time. For toiletries and soapmaking, I have lye and oils, beeswax, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, cornstarch, same oils I use in soap, essential oils, stevia (in tooth powder). I make laundry powder by the 5 gallon pail and stain remover and dishwasher detergent by the gallon, and only make them once a year, so I don't stock up on their ingredients. Liquid soap is easy, just cook the shredded bar soap in water. We save seeds and water and have a minimum of 6 months of food at all times.
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I have a good start now thanks to you all....I am in Louisiana so we get hurricanes, rain, storms and heat...very hot now...Now that I know most of the ingredients I will start to buy....then start making a receipe book for my girls & myself (have six children 5 girls and 1 boy) all married ... they are no where in to ss but HARD times will come and I think for real, they will at least have a list of what they need to purchase and a how-to do it book...I believe the children will have the hardest time because they have never BEEN WITHOUT...have been married 54 years to same man and it seems we are starting all over again...Ha. Husband is 79. ..still milks a cow (we make butter) and grow our veggies so life on the farm is simple and getting simplier.. am 72 - I love the life we are blessed with .... Never a dull moment, we have chickens for eggs and meat .. am getting much closer to being ss .. there is a lot to learn ( am canning & dehydrating ) Have you all done this for your families? If they are like mine they are not too interested in all this but I bet they sure will be WHEN tough times get tougher and they are coming...Not being negative but just look around and listen.....
Marianne
Super Self-Sufficient
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I think the recipe book is a great idea. I did the same thing, putting recipes in a binder, then two, then three! When you start putting it all down to paper, it starts adding up. I put in the recipes for homemade self rising flour, sweetened condensed milk substitute, cream of ___ soup mix, etc, etc plus all the meal recipes that I use. I also did a section on basic herbal medicines, like homemade cough syrup, etc. Everything got printed off and then into those plastic page covers. When I was typing some things, I added little personal notes so maybe the binders won't be the first things thrown out after I kick the bucket. 
our kids all have different lifestyles than we do. I don't worry about hard times for them, they're all survivors and can take care of themselves.
I have to admit that my main motivation for doing all this was because I've turned into a tightwad. I wanted to lower my consumerism, save money so we could live better on less and be able to make whatever I wanted without having to run to a store. Now that I have the household 'stuff' under control, my focus is back to passive solar and other energy related stuff. Cheap is good, free is better!
our kids all have different lifestyles than we do. I don't worry about hard times for them, they're all survivors and can take care of themselves.
I have to admit that my main motivation for doing all this was because I've turned into a tightwad. I wanted to lower my consumerism, save money so we could live better on less and be able to make whatever I wanted without having to run to a store. Now that I have the household 'stuff' under control, my focus is back to passive solar and other energy related stuff. Cheap is good, free is better!
