Homesteaders

[rancher hicks]

How do you make your soap? I use white vinegar for a fabric softener and to disinfect

I suggest you check with the local public library for books on making soap. Keep in mind that all this stuff requires equipment. I like to barter for some things if I can. I have bartered for soap, goat cheese, hay and horse manure.

The hardest thing I have is where to store the equipment when not in use.

 

[newbyintown]

Have you given thought to a mobile home? We live in one, and love it. About canning. You have to make sure you immerse the jars and lids in boiling water. A good canning book will tell you how long. Then put the cooked food into those jars immediately. I take the jar out of the water, put the food right in it, and put the lid on immediately. One jar at a time. All jars and food are left on the stove till used. And then I stored mine in the house. My mother put hers in the garage. But she had a lot of spoilage, I think because of the extreme temp. changes. If all of your instruments you use are immersed in the boiling water, it should be o.k.. Just get a good book on canning,

 

[newbyintown]

How do you make your own shampoo and dish soap? I know you can use water and white vinegar for glass surfaces and vinegar on counter-tops to disinfect.

 

[newbyintown]

We have friends who have a flour mill, but I don't think they know about freezing the extra. I am diabetic, and home-made bread makes it go way up. Since Celiac usually goes with diabetes, do you have this problem?

 

[newbyintown]

Getting the water out of our well if we don't have elec. is our problem. Can you tell us more about the windmill? What size. Cost. Etc?

 

[newbyintown]

We have ready-made food also. The MRE"s that the military use are really good. You can get them at army surplus stores and at gun shows, if you attend them. Our son was in the army; MRE stands for Meals Ready to Eat, or as my son said, Meals Rejected by the Enemy. LOL. But something else we have done is just to buy canned goods and stock-pile those.

 

[rancher hicks]

Have you given thought to a mobile home? We live in one, and love it. About canning. You have to make sure you immerse the jars and lids in boiling water. A good canning book will tell you how long. Then put the cooked food into those jars immediately. I take the jar out of the water, put the food right in it, and put the lid on immediately. One jar at a time. All jars and food are left on the stove till used. And then I stored mine in the house. My mother put hers in the garage. But she had a lot of spoilage, I think because of the extreme temp. changes. If all of your instruments you use are immersed in the boiling water, it should be o.k.. Just get a good book on canning,

The public library is a great place to get information. Also Craigslist has a number of the old books.

I only do the number of jars needed for the recipe, though some recipes make more than is written. Canned foods should be stored in a dark cool dry place. I use our bedroom closet cuz it stays cool and in the winter cold. The cooler the better though not freezing.

 

[newbyintown]

You can get Heirloom seeds from MyPatriotSupply.

 

[newbyintown]

Try going to the Tattler website to get lids and rubber rings that are reuseable. I love mine.

 

[boskelli1571]

We have ready-made food also. The MRE"s that the military use are really good. You can get them at army surplus stores and at gun shows, if you attend them. Our son was in the army; MRE stands for Meals Ready to Eat, or as my son said, Meals Rejected by the Enemy. LOL. But something else we have done is just to buy canned goods and stock-pile those.

Make sure you rotate usage of cans. Even cans will fail at times and there's nothing like a good dose of botulism to ruin the day