Preparations Update

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Winter feed run today, 1000lbs of chicken feed, calf starter and dog food. They were out of mineral blocks (2stores). I got 35gal of offroad diesel. I knew I had serious seat time last month but didn't realize I'd burned that much diesel. Topped off the truck with fuel while I was in town. It was loaded, sitting low in the back.

I'll feel better if I had another 400lbs of chicken feed though, make sure they have food until spring.
 
Made a store run this morning.
Added 2 - 5lb bags of Pillsbury flour dated 2 years out (2023)
2 small "cans" of folgers coffee
12 cans of vegetables (they have them for 50 cents each right now)
4 large cans of broth (no salt added chicken and beef)
6 cans cream soups
 
My wife organized the pantry, and did an amazing job. She was afraid the shelf would collapse from the weight of all the canned goods. I have been picking up a few extra of everything almost every time I go to the store, and the inventory is building nicely. Maybe too nicely. We will have to start storing some stuff in the basement.
 
Pearl said:
We use a spare bedroom closet for extra storage. I mark the date I bought stuff on the outside with a Sharpie marker. Stuff not bought in a case goes in boxes. Can easily see what's what when I need to take from the closet and add to the pantry.
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Good idea, Pearl, but all the closets are already full. I checked. The basement is the only hope. Not a bad option. Just need to be organized.
 
I only have 6 milk crates of stuff, that's a hair under six months for one. haven't stocked the rice, potatoes, dressing and crackers yet though.
 
Got more livestock feed and salt today for the critters. In the last 10days, I've brought in 5500lbs of hay, 1500 pounds of sweet feed, calf starter, chicken feed and dog food. Plus 300lbs of minerals and salt. Depending on January weather I'll get one, maybe two tubs of protein supplement. If winter is mild they'll need less than during a bad winter. (tubs are 25 gallon)

Also today, got 2022 calendars and farmers almanac.

Livestock feed 2 a .JPG
 
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Good for you.

I have eggs and don't have to wack my hens because I bought feed for the year this fall. I also stocked a year for my dogs and was working on two years before the fan got busy and put an end to it. I ignore all the warnings about stuff going bad. They are real dogs and can handle eating anything that crosses their line of sight.
 
When it comes to critters I prefer having feed and supplies ready for the whole winter. If a winter storm hits I don't have to worry about how to get to town for feed. Or have a medical issue, no one checking on my critters has to buy feed, everything is here.
 
Peanut said:
When it comes to critters I prefer having feed and supplies ready for the whole winter. If a winter storm hits I don't have to worry about how to get to town for feed. Or have a medical issue, no one checking on my critters has to buy feed, everything is here.
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Yep, how many times throughout history (even just modern history) have folks run out of feed during a hard winter? There is a bit of a formula: still have half a barn full at Ground Hog's Day - I think that's it but could be misremembering.
 
Like last winter here, it can be deceptive. Grass started turning green in mid-march like normal. But, it didn't grow until after the first week of May. There was nothing for a cow to eat in those green fields. It stayed cold, rained all the time, the ground never got warm enough for grass to take off.

Around here I might have 4/5 nights a year with temps below 25. Cows need extra nourishment with temps in the 20's. I plan my feed taking this into account. But all it takes is an extra week of that to force a change to my late winter feeding plans.

I like having extra, used to always have a few extra rolls of hay in the barn etc. For these three critters I have an extra 800-1000lbs of hay. Enough for about 3 weeks if the grass is slow next spring.
 
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Today made a run to W_M and the local store, got a cart full of canned goods and a car battery (they had the one I needed in stock, but were not showing it in stock on the web... That is a big problem with digital inventories, someone still has to enter it into the system.
 
I had to go to a town with a WM that I don't typically go to. While there for a business trip, I stopped in to see what they had. The hoard apparently has not hit this WM yet, although I put a pretty big dent in some of their stocks.

cream of celery soup - case
boot mat - 6 (I like to put these under anything liquid in storage so if it leaks, it won't soak into the flooring or make mess)
lard - 4
Keystone meats - 6 chicken, 6 beef, 6 pork
Antifreeze - case
Grill lighters - 4 (2 pks)
WD-40 - 8 cans
small chest freezer for Christmas gift for family member
work jeans for hubs - 6 pair at Goodwill that were brand new with tags $15/each

I picked up a bunch of stuff at the dollar store too. I went in there for one thing and spent almost $50. I grabbed some matches and lots of containers for T-Day and Christmas dinners to send home leftovers. Nobody gets to take my good tupperware home. 😒

I stopped at a re-store on my way out of town and found a countertop that would work in the shed. Hubs had to go by there with the truck, so he stopped and picked up the freezer and then stopped and picked up the countertop. That'll have to be a spring project, but it was a nice snag for a sweet price of a whopping $15. That shed desperately needs a work bench. It's going to be so nice when we get it installed.:) Now, I've got lots of organizing to do, which I intend to start on today.
 
angie_nrs said:
I had to go to a town with a WM that I don't typically go to. While there for a business trip, I stopped in to see what they had. The hoard apparently has not hit this WM yet, although I put a pretty big dent in some of their stocks.

cream of celery soup - case
boot mat - 6 (I like to put these under anything liquid in storage so if it leaks, it won't soak into the flooring or make mess)
lard - 4
Keystone meats - 6 chicken, 6 beef, 6 pork
Antifreeze - case
Grill lighters - 4 (2 pks)
WD-40 - 8 cans
small chest freezer for Christmas gift for family member
work jeans for hubs - 6 pair at Goodwill that were brand new with tags $15/each

I picked up a bunch of stuff at the dollar store too. I went in there for one thing and spent almost $50. I grabbed some matches and lots of containers for T-Day and Christmas dinners to send home leftovers. Nobody gets to take my good tupperware home. 😒

I stopped at a re-store on my way out of town and found a countertop that would work in the shed. Hubs had to go by there with the truck, so he stopped and picked up the freezer and then stopped and picked up the countertop. That'll have to be a spring project, but it was a nice snag for a sweet price of a whopping $15. That shed desperately needs a work bench. It's going to be so nice when we get it installed.:) Now, I've got lots of organizing to do, which I intend to start on today.
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Take a nap first!!
 
This is actually one of my prep items. It's made in Germany, thick stainless steel with a heavy base. A little tea pot! By measure is holds 4 cups of water. I have a regular size kettle somewhere (cheap). I found it was always too big, took to long for water to boil and served no other purpose. This little pot is perfect size, heats quickly.

In summer the last thing I want is hot tea. But in winter I like a cup every once in a while. Today it got a good cleaning, ready for winter! And ready for travel it need be.

Tea Pot 1 a.JPG
 
Peanut said:
This is actually one of my prep items. It's made in Germany, thick stainless steel with a heavy base. A little tea pot! By measure is holds 4 cups of water. I have a regular size kettle somewhere (cheap). I found it was always too big, took to long for water to boil and served no other purpose. This little pot is perfect size, heats quickly.

In summer the last thing I want is hot tea. But in winter I like a cup every once in a while. Today it got a good cleaning, ready for winter! And ready for travel it need be.

View attachment 75926
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Nice! I drink hot tea year-round (just one cup). I try to keep the kettle full. If the power goes out, it's just that much more water that I have.
 
Went to walmart this morning.

Bought the last 2 small canned hams on the shelf.
Added more canned roast beef and pulled pork
Bought more canned veggies
Added a 4lb tub of lard (only $9.23)
2 more boxes of fake ritz crackers lol
4pack of tissues
20pk of TP
boxes of pasta
boxes of stuffing
different envelopes of salad dressing and gravy mixes
cans of condensed soups
cans of spaghetti sauce
Double pack of large eggs (36count)
2 one pound packs of ground chuck that was marked down(under $4 each)



The actual grocery section was pretty well stocked, as was the cleaning products and paper products.
The meat sections were thin, but there was meat available
Again bacon, sausage and lunchmeats were practically bare
You could find turkey sausage and turkey bacon but not much else


Once I was on the way home I kicked myself for not getting some more canned milk :rolleyes:
I use it a lot in recipes instead of the regular milk
I'll have to get some more at the grocery store friday
 
ClemKadiddlehopper said:
Be careful doing that. Freezer math is the same as chicken math. I bought a spare several times and I am up to nine and out of freezer space again. It won't be long before I don't need to plug them in until spring.
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This week my wife said we are out of freezer space & I am looking at buying another chest freezer.
 
WVDragonlady said:
Went to walmart this morning. . . . . Once I was on the way home I kicked myself for not getting some more canned milk :rolleyes: I use it a lot in recipes instead of the regular milk. I'll have to get some more at the grocery store friday
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Walmart has the GV canned milk for 67 cents right now and they'll ship it to you. I have several cases of it put back now because I like to cook with it, too.

I ordered a case of the nonfat dry milk from the LDS store and it should be here in a couple of weeks. From Dollar Tree I ordered a case of the Gossner whole milk and a case of Musselman's apple pie filling. It's free shipping when they send it to the store and will be here by 12/6.
 
Filled a cart at Aldi. The pasta sauce pricing is interesting. Last month was 89 cents a jar, then 99 cents 2 weeks ago, and now $1.09. People have cleared out the baking section. I wasn't shopping for that, but noticed it was cleared out. Their Aldi "hot deals" aisle was empty. Saw a manager walking it with an employee asking if there was anything in back they could just fill in, said it was two weeks since any of it came it. She said she'd look. Noticed there weren't any turkeys, and ham prices still super high. Chicken mostly cleaned out. I got a flat of canned catfood, and wanted 3 flats, but that's all there was. Four big packs of tp in the store, and the rest of the shelves were empty. Glad I prep. Didn't need that stuff.
 
Wow, my supply chain got cut off and we have way more than you guys still. It's slowly piecing back to together in odd ways.

I went into town for paint and the grocery stores had small amounts of beets, onions, turnips, cabbage and carrots; all traditional storage veggies. You can make good soup with that stuff. Still no eggs and dairy. I was even able to get my replacement bag of dogfood + one.

Finally finished rendering the lard. I ended up with 16 quarts and two of beef tallow. I need more beef fat.

For inquiring minds, I ladle hot lard into jars and they self seal. No canning is necessary. I am using my last jar of lard from 2016 at the moment.
 
ClemKadiddlehopper said:
Finally finished rendering the lard. I ended up with 16 quarts and two of beef tallow. I need more beef fat.
For inquiring minds, I ladle hot lard into jars and they self seal. No canning is necessary. I am using my last jar of lard from 2016 at the moment.
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2016-five years. Do you only use it for food or do you make other things with it, soap, candles?
 
I cook with it and also use sheep tallow for softening and water proofing leather.

I would have to be exceptionally desperate to waste good lard on candles and soap. I have the means but not the desire. Soap is easy to stock pile and large quantities of lard is not so readily available these days. I prefer animal fats for dietary purposes and flavor.

I recognize this is a personal opinion and not everyone's view.
 
That’s how I do it also @ClemKadiddlehopper. I then store the jars in the freezer. Just finished a jar of pork lard from 2012 that I found buried.
Just did duck fat recently. Was trimmed off wings and would have been tossed so I gave it a try. So far so good. Seems to take less than with the beef tallow for the cast iron. Will definitely do it again when the time comes.
 
Thanks for the quick answer.
I was not sure if you raised your own lard & if you had extra for soap & candles.
Soap can be made from plants in vegan style & candle from bees wax or as you & I do it, dry storage of
candles & soap. I know a goat herder who make cheese & soap to sale.
You seem like a person who could go on with out leaving the farm/ranch if you wanted to.
 
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