Today’s post is a summary of what I have done for preparedness in October and what I plan to accomplish in November. I will be linking this post to Homestead Revival’s Preparedness Challenge! Head on over and check it out! So much to learn about!

Food Storage
1. Canned pear sauce, pear butter, and potatoes
2. Froze tomatoes – I should have canned them, but I didn’t have time!!! Oh well.
3. Made a temporary root celler. 
4. Bought several more canning jars and lids to have on hand to can with.
5. Added several more canned goods to the pantry/food storage as well as flour, sugar, and rolled oats. I also bought a 10# can of whole wheat flour and a 10# can of freeze-dried peaches from Emergency Essentials. I have yet to try either of these, but I love the shelf life they have!

I have been stocking up on the canned goods by shopping the loss leaders at our local grocery stores, Hy-Vee and Fareway, as well as shopping at Aldi’s. As always, read the labels to make sure you are buying junk when you buy your canned goods. Flour and sugar have been on sale a lot lately. I have been buying them and storing them in five gallon buckets with very tight sealing lids.

Emergency Supplies
1. Found a solution for our temporary heat problem. I have been trying to find a heater that will work for temporary heat when we lose power, but not be noxious to us. I have found a heater that will attach to a 20# (grill) propane heater and be safe to use inside for up to 30 hours on one cylinder. I will still take the precaution of having a carbon monoxide detector that runs on batteries to be safe. In an emergency situation, I believe this to be our best option.
2. Added some camping supplies to our emergency supplies: waterproof matches, sterno cans, a pocket knife, emergency space blanket, two 1# propane cylinders for the camping stove, and water purification tablets.
3. Added to our potable and non-potable water storage. I still have a long ways to go, but I am happy with the progress I made so far. 

Sustainable Living
1. Keeping up with the garden – I don’t have a lot to do there right now. It needs to be cleaned up, but I need some rain to make that easier. I also need to plant garlic, but again I need rain. The ground is so hard I can’t even dig in it, much less get a tiller in it.
2. Winterizing the house and garage – I am over halfway done with the expandable foam and filling in holes and cracks. The house just has one more hole to fill and the garage is about half done. Still need to get plastic on the windows.
3. Making my own bread – I love it, I love it, I love it!!!
4. Decided to continue with Avon. I want to have a business to add income to the family to help in our sustainability. I do not think Avon is the answer, but it is a direction to go in.

Other Prepping
1. Printed off and put into a binder the LDS Preparedness Manual. 
2. Purchased, printed off, and put into a binder the Wolf Pack Cookbook available from The Survivalist Blog.

I am happy with what I got done, but I have plans for November as long as the weather holds. 

November Goals
1. Finish winterizing the house and garage – expandable foam, plastic, chalking and weather stripping.
2. Get the garden put to rest for the winter.
3. Get the garlic planted.
4. Possibly purchase the propane heater – finances might be a bit iffy this month to purchase anything.
5. Add to our food stores by shopping the loss leaders at our grocery stores.
6. Get both vehicles ready for winter and have the right emergency supplies in each vehicle for winter. 
7. Research dead bolt locks for front and back doors to add security to our house.
8. Install the motion detector outdoor lights on the outside of the garage. I am really hoping this is a project I can do!

That is all for today! Whew, what a list!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Sharing is caring!