Here is the December Newsletter. You can find much of what is in this newsletter, here on this site, but this puts it is one location and makes it printable for you.
Have a great Christmas! Remember prepping items in your last minute purchases!
Today While The Sun Shines
Issue #3
December 2016
Issue #3
December 2016
This issue of Today While The Sun Shines, I want to share some tidbits of preparedness info with you.
This newsletter is made up of those tidbits that perhaps we didn't know, or we have forgotten, or which
might give us that “aha” moment!
Food Storage Sizes
1 gallon = 7 lbs wheat, rice or sugar
1 gallon = 5 lbs powdered milk or flour
1 gallon = 4 lbs macaroni
1 gallon = 3 lbs potato flakes, oatmeal, or instant milk
5 gallons = 35 lbs wheat, beans, rice, or sugar
5 gallons = 25 lbs powdered milk or flour
5 gallons = 20 lbs macaroni
5 gallons = 15 lbs potato flakes, oatmeal, or instant milk
55 gal drum = 400 lbs wheat, beans, rice, or sugar
55 gal drum = 275 lbs powdered milk or flour
55 gal drum = 225 lbs macaroni
55 gal drum = 160 lbs potato flakes, oatmeal, or instant milk
This info can be helpful if you know you have 10 buckets of wheat, 8 buckets of beans and 4 buckets of
rice. It kind of gives you an estimate of poundage. 350 lbs of wheat, etc. Etc. Now it will be easier for
you to do your inventory and have an approximate amount of just what you have on hand.
Food Substitutions
Cream Cheese: cottage cheese blended smooth with butter or milk
Eggs: 1 tbsp soy flour and 1 tbsp water or 1 tbsp ground flax and 3 tbsp water
Milk / Cream: 1 cup milk = 1/3 cup dry milk plus 1 cup water or 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup
water
1 cup buttermilk = 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup, let stand 5 min
1 cup heavy cream = 7/8 cup whole milk plus 1 1/2 tbsp butter
Sugar: 1 cup granulated sugar = 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar or 1 cup packed light brown sugar or 3/4
cup honey
1 cup brown sugar = 1 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp molasses
1 pkg yeast = 1 tbsp bulk yeast or 1/2 cake compressed yeast
1 tsp baking powder = 1/4 tsp cream tartar plus 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp lemon juice = 1/2 tbsp vinegar
1 cup butter / margarine = 7/8 cup vegetable oil
1 cup dark corn syrup = 3/4 cup light plus 1/4 cup molasses
1 chopped onion = 1 tbsp instant minced
1 clove garlic = 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup tomato sauce = 3/4 cup tomato paste plus 1 cup water
1 tbsp prepared mustard = 1 tsp dry mustard plus 1 tbsp water
Instead of throwing out your empty laundry jugs, fill them with water and label them as wash water.
The little bit of soap in the bottom of the jug will be enough in an emergency to use as washing clothes,
dishes, hands, floors, etc. You won't be using up valuable stored drinking water to keep things clean.
Make sure you label them with a black marker in big letters NOT drinking water, wash water. Not that
anyone will drink it after it pours out full of bubbles, but you never know with kiddos.
Always keep a flashlight and a pair of shoes by your bed. The flashlight can even be on your phone, it
doesn't really matter. If you have to exit your home in the middle of the night and the power is out for
some reason, the flashlight will be a life saver. The pair of shoes will keep your feet safe if there are
downed trees or broken glass or other items that might be hazardous.
Never store plastic buckets or water containers on a cement floor. Plastic will leach the toxins out of
the cement and can contaminate the food or water that is in the buckets or containers. Always make
sure you store food in food grade containers. It would be a shame if you worked so hard to gather food
storage and had to toss it because it became contaminated. It is worth the little bit of extra to have good
storage containers.
Keep your vehicle gas tanks on the upper side of half. If you ever had to evacuate, you want to make
sure you have enough gas to get where you need to be. Also, if there were ever a gas catastrophe such
as a major gas pipeline break, where gas shortages occur, or anything of that sort, you will fare much
better if you have a full tank of gas. Many of the people evacuating Fort McMurray during the fire,
didn't have much in their gas tank, and ran out of gas after sitting in long line ups, and never reached
their destination. They had to wait for someone to come along and give them gas to refill. Stay on the
upside of half.
Monthly To Do List:
• $2 per week / person in your household, tuck it away for emergency cash
• Invest in a water filter, either one that will do large amounts for your family, or a smaller water
filtration bottle for each member in your family. It might be a great Christmas gift, just saying!
• Gather together baking supplies this month – baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, salt,
vanilla, cooking sprays, flour
• Batteries, matches, lighters, flashlights, lanterns, candles
• Bigger possible purchases this time of year – generators are usually on sale, wheat grinders,
things like that – buy yourself a Christmas present that makes sense
• Buy your family and / or yourself a good emergency preparedness book for Christmas. Or print
out articles, pdf's etc and create your own special prep book for your family to have. My plan
for this Christmas is to create within my own family and my personal extended family, a family
of resourceful people, each person taking on one form of preparedness and specializing in that
area, being a resource person for our family to be better prepared. When we meet as a resource
group once a month, we can share what we have learned. We will start in January. I am telling
you this because I am creating a book that can begin to compile these resources and that will be
part of my family Christmas this year. Shhh, if you are in my family.
• Inventory condiments, spices, and extras like vinegar, etc.
• Enjoy a simplified Christmas, don't lose the real meaning of what it is all about
• Gather your favorite Christmas recipes. You should be starting to have quite a collection of
your favorite recipes by now. Keep it growing
December Weekly To do List:
Week 1
• $2 per person, per week, tuck away into your emergency cash fund. You should start to see it
growing now. Exciting right?
• Research and compare some prices of water filtration options
• Purchase vanilla and cooking spray
• Purchase batteries for your flashlight, and if you don't have a flashlight, you should get one.
There really should be a flashlight beside each bed in your home, in case emergencies happen in
the middle of the night and the power is out
• Buy, download or print out, or organize an emergency preparedness book you want. Take a
little time to organize your resources, meaning books, so as to find information easily when you
are looking for something
Week 2
• $2 per person, per week, tuck away into your emergency cash fun
• Purchase the water filters that you have found to be the best for your situation
• To buy this week would be cornstarch, salt, and any mixes you use often
• Matches, lighters, candles
• Inventory your spices and condiments
• Organize your favorite Christmas recipes
Week 3 and Week 4
• Take time to relax and enjoy Christmas and the true meaning and Spirit of Christmas.
• As you are doing last minute presents, remember small preparedness items, and food storage
items that will be something your family treasures.
0 comments:
Post a Comment