Lynda

I happened to see a sale on bacon today at my local(actually 2 towns over) grocer and we decided to do a bit more stocking up as it’s outrageously expensive and anything I can find for under $3.00 a pound I consider to be a good buy. While looking at the meat case with the bacon and adding some to our cart I happened to see another brand that was…[Read more]

@Linda wrote:

I have been a prepper all my adult life, grew all my vegetables, chickens, turkeys (really dumb birds), lambs, beef and goats. Now we live in a city, so I need to do things differently. There is why I think this forum will be helpful in helping us decide what to buy to store our pantry, how to survive when the economy tanks, maybe…

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Same here, Vina. Unnecessary expense. Never thought I’d say that! 😉

Vina, I’m just happy I can now ignore the commercial laundry soap aisle, except for the Borax. 🙂

For auto dishwasher I use a half and half mixture of baking soda and borax. When I compared the cleanliness of the dishes it won hands down over the stuff I used to buy.

Everything’s going up and just today I read that cotton prices have soared so…[Read more]

Vina, so many laundry recipes to choose from but this oneworked for me:

Shave a bar of soap, can be Fels Naptha or regular soap, like Dial or Ivory. I used Dial

Heat 6 c. water and shaved soap, mixing both.

Stir in 1/2 C. washing soda and 1/2 cup borax. Wear rubber gloves for soda handling.

Mix until dissolved, bring to boil and boil for 15…[Read more]

I made my second batch of laundry soap last week and it turned out much better than my first. Better recipe, I think. Also made my own liquid hand soap from all those leftover slivers I save. Turned out great.

Have you seen the price of commercial laundry soap these days?

I hadn’t noticed this thread before and it’s coincidental that the husband just ordered washing soda for me from Arm and Hammer(GreatCleaners.com) so I can make my own laundry detergent. I also just made up a batch of dishwashing soap for the dishwasher using equal parts of borax and baking soda. I’m so tired of paying outrageous prices for both.

I suppose there are numerous books one can purchase regarding this. Borrowing this is a good idea, maybe photocopying pages for reference?
I’m starting my own little library with books such as these and highlighting the best information for possible later use.

City, I would think that becoming debt free is your first priority. I don’t know what the gun laws are in CT, but in MA they’re strict, although we had no problems. Check with local law enforcement.

As to the rest, we did this over time: now I’m just getting around to learning how to garden efficiently, and then process the produce. Learning how…[Read more]

cityhomesteader, thanks for the welcome. We bought parcel of land 7 years ago in central/west MA, built a cabin(we always wanted one), sitting 450 ft. back from a country road. Surrounded by woods(to the sides), and wetlands in the back which we own, for a relatively cheap cost(13 acres). Sold our old house, fitted cabin with solar panels for hot…[Read more]

Vina, thank you for the welcome. I’ll primarily be hanging out here and on Survival Monkey forums(another site), and pick a few brains for advice. I’m learning how to dehydrate food right now(practicing), growing my own vegetable garden, and will try canning next. The lost arts. I’m happy to see so many others doing this and hope to see more.…[Read more]

Hello, everyone. I’m new here and live in Massachusetts. Are there any members who live in MA? I’ve been gathering supplies for about a year now and joined to pick up some useful tips and advice from the more experienced preppers. I have read Rawles’ “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It.”, am in the middle of reading “Patriots” by…[Read more]