I stockpile and prepare that 1) there will be no stores, no banks, no one else to rely on. 2) No medical services or emergency response. 3) leaving to find "help' will be out of the question!
So, I have things on hand that other people probably don't and I am always looking for ways to do things differently, not only for right now but in case the SHTF!
I am a firm believer in things like coconut oils, essential oils, witch hazel, olive oil, as natural as possible and these items last longer and go farther than traditional supplies.
My friend put me onto this blog and I found this link for coconut oil uses!!!
crunchy betty
You can buy coconut oil in the health food section or in a health food store (it is expensive but a little goes a LONG way)
She also has a pretty good recipe for Elderberry-Echinacea Syrup
To me sometimes (most of the time) it is all about thinking outside the box... so anyone have suggestions or links to some practical solutions/recipes/ideas?
I just saw Coconut Oil in the Bulk food barn, the price was not too bad there.
Hi Mammaizzy
I like you, tend to think outside the box a fair amount, and I do have things that would be very hard to reproduce in a grid down frame, including many extra tools, cloth, meds etc.
Having said that, I am working towards moving bit by bit away from "what can be got and stockpiled" and bit by bit towards what I can produce, raise or get locally now, so that the learning curve of how to cook with only fats that I can grow/harvest or render happens while I can take my time..
Examples this year I learned how to make my own sheep tallow candles, very handy now that I know how many hours I can get for every 4 oz jar of tallow, and how jars I can get per butchered out spring lamb. Where as figuring out that other lards or animal fats are not nearly as good in this regard, I would much perfer to use them for cooking and the sheep for the candle.
I can't grow, harvest or produce cocunut oil so its off my radar for that reason, its a excellent fat from everything I have read but its in that catalog of "non-replaceable"
Having said that, I still keep Tea-tree oil in the house among a number of other things but I work towards having local backups in my homemade farm books that are the keepers of my hard learned first hand knowledge.
http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/
A website that is fantastic is cd3wd. It's rather overwhelming there is soooo much info but it is categorized. There is info about extracting plant oils- sunflower etc.
I can't say enough about how beneficial donkeys are and will be in the future. They protect, pull, pack, poop and in an ABSOLUTE worst case scenario> you can put them in a pot.
Until you do what you believe in, you don't know if you believe in it or not.
Leo Tolstoy
I wish I could add a goat to my B.O.B. Like a donkey they can be trained to pack, and to drive. Of course you could eat them as well, but until then, you have a ready supply of milk without the need for refrigeration. They can go three days without water AND they practically forage for all of their own food. They may not be as good of a defender as a donkey, but they are very alert and can provide you with an early warning.
I don't have my homestead yet, but when I do, I plan on having a few of these little guys on my property.
Someone said goats are great for security. If they can ever figure out a way to keep their goats from getting OUT, there's no way anyone could get in.
Hah! Good point Perfesser! I hear them rascally devils are Houdini's. But I was thinking more along the lines of bugging out. Tote them along with a lead chain, and then tie them up to a thick tree for the night. You wouldn't want to tie them up to a bush as they would possibly eat their way free.
Having said that, I still keep Tea-tree oil in the house among a number of other things but I work towards having local backups in my homemade farm books that are the keepers of my hard learned first hand knowledge.
I have a stash of that too! lol
When lice shampoo was in shortage (thankfully my guys haven't had it, I would cry, my hair is almost to my waist line and would be awful to treat!) I added tea tree oil to regular shampoo and scrubbed and scrubbed my neighbours kid's hair every night. They use it once a week now and haven't had lice since!
A website that is fantastic is cd3wd. It's rather overwhelming there is soooo much info but it is categorized. There is info about extracting plant oils- sunflower etc.
nice! I will be checking that out!
Thanks!
Someone said goats are great for security. If they can ever figure out a way to keep their goats from getting OUT, there's no way anyone could get in.
I wish I could add a goat to my B.O.B. Like a donkey they can be trained to pack, and to drive. Of course you could eat them as well, but until then, you have a ready supply of milk without the need for refrigeration. They can go three days without water AND they practically forage for all of their own food. They may not be as good of a defender as a donkey, but they are very alert and can provide you with an early warning.
I don't have my homestead yet, but when I do, I plan on having a few of these little guys on my property.
Goats are on my farm list! I want to make my own cheeses and I need the security lol PLUS I hate cutting grass so my yard will end up looking like a petting zoo LOL 😆 😆 😆
I have taken lavender & sage from my container garden... steamed/boiled it, bottled it and I use that mixture with a cotton ball to wipe down door knobs and the phone, remote control, cell phones. It kills germs (YAY!) and it smells pretty 😉