Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: December 23 ~ 30, 2018

[ReneeT]

Good Morning, All!

Preps tend to take a back seat during the holiday season, but beyond the new non-'kid' tablets that have been purchased for the grandsons, the rest are prep related - pocketknives have been purchased for the boys and put back for them for later. We will be taking daughter shopping for a handgun as soon as she and Hubby have the same day off work on a day our favorite shop is open. A concealed carry class is also in her future. MIL is getting a check that should cover her utilities through the winter, and the great nephew will get a 2018 silver coin; that will wrap up (heh) our gift giving.

I'm waiting for the post Christmas clearance sales to start later in the week, though I did take advantage of a 50% off sale plus used a couple of Extra Care Bucks that were about to expire to purchase a very nice wreath for my parents' grave next year - my Mama would love the bling on it, but she would also be very proud of me for getting a bargain on it Holiday themed/colored fleece blankets will be going on sale; I plan to pick up a few for the vehicles to add to the sleeping bags I keep in there for emergencies. And of course, Christmas candy will be quickly going on sale to make room for the Valentine stuff, so I will pick up enough to stock the emergency bag in my locker for a few months.

Other plans for today include cleaning out my van, filling the birdfeeders, catching up on laundry, and taking the boys to the pool this afternoon before taking them home. If time allows, I will also be going through the boys' dressers and then the storage totes to weed out any too small items to donate or pass down to the great nephew.

Tomorrow, I plan to hang my feather beds/comforters out on the line to air; then bring them in a let them dry a bit before putting them in space bags to store until needed. I swear I'm going to buy an old steamer trunk the next time I see one, just to store the feather stuff in (I wouldn't be able to use them if they were stored in a cedar chest.) We will go over to daughter's that evening to give the boys their gifts; and take them out to supper.

I work Christmas day, and am next up to be put on call if we are low census but co-worker Buddy and I have already agreed to let our 3rd co-worker that day take call instead (if she wants) as she has a new baby and 3 year old at home.

Well, that laundry isn't going to do itself, and we will need the big towels if we go to the pool this afternoon, so I reckon I'd better get up and get to work

Take care all; stay safe out there!

 

[prudentwatcher]

A couple of weeks ago I took advantage of an online offer from a retailer I had used before---a free $25 gc. I bought a quarter zip fleece jacket and only paid shipping. I like the jacket (I use it as a sweatshirt) and the company sent me at $25 off $50 gc, so I bought another one in a different color, a heavy sweatshirt, and a pair of fleece lined jeans, all for $36, including shipping. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

Today a quick dash into a grocery store led me to discover Pamper baby wipes at more than half off, so i bought 4 packages. They are good for lots of things and they last for a while. I had been planning on getting a few more anyway, and the good deal was just the icing on top.

All ready to go for Christmas. Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

 

[China Connection]

Did most of the mowing yesterday. Today I want to get another raised garden bed set up. I have the fill, ready but that takes some time.

Got to feed the chickens. Went shopping this morning so behind time on a few things.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

We joined Sam's club. We pick up some stuff by the case each trip. Not a lot but a case or two. It's not that expensive and is beginning to add up nicely. There are videos out about prepping at Sam's.

So far we have probably paid for the membership in what was saved picking up socking stuffers and dry goods. DH has his phone out and handy as we shop the aisles doing quick price comparisons with the same product in other area stores. We learned the hard and expensive way: Only buy what will be consumed before it goes out of date.

 

[ivantherussian03]

Kinda focused on the holiday, after the drama of frozen pipes. Baked all day, played holiday music. I made chili with tomatoes. It is cooking in slow cooker now. Baked pumpkin pie today, kinda waiting for them to cool to test. An elf dropped off a moose leg.

After the holiday, were cleaning house, top to bottom cleaning.

I need to clean my hunting rifle, and sharpen the kitchen knives. I have a bed room door that fell off hinges. It was too long when they installed carpet. Probably took ten to twenty years to wear out the door by dragging across floor. The fix is easy but watching "maintaince " man struggle to form excuses why it can't be fixed sounds exhausting. Especially after they "fixed" it already. I know how to fix it: glue, dowels, and a drill bit to fill holes, and redrill. New holes will hold wood screws in the hinges. It all takes times.Then I need start thinking about taxes, spend an hour on that.

 

[prudentwatcher]

I spent some time on Monday working on a large metal cabinet in the back bedroom. It used to hold canned goods, but they are all now expired and some of them got all leaky with black goo. It should have been cleaned out a year or two ago, but I've been really busy. I made a good start on it by hauling out the really bad cans and scrubbing (!!!-it took a while) away the black goopy spots. The top shelf had already been converted over to holding boxes of canning lids. The next shelf now holds boxes of salt, moved from the hall closet. I didn't realize how much salt I had--at least 80 lbs in various configurations. The third shelf will hold bags of sugar, all wrapped up in ziplock gallon bags (2 bags of sugar per bag). So this big cabinet is becoming my "non spoilable" cabinet.

Better half (who is a retired nurse) already has been going through the other cabinet of the same size in the same room that is our first aid/medical supply cabinet and dumping expired meds. I stocked really heavy in 2008 so some of that stuff dates back that far and had spoiled. Some things I had overstocked on. So now there is space and a better plan for restocking OTC meds.

I don't remember if I mentioned that a few weeks ago when looking for flashlights for the grandkids, I ran across a LOT of stored batteries I had forgotten about. They dated back to 2008 as well and were corroding and not usable. Those were properly disposed of and I probably will not stock up on quite so many batteries in the future, unless I really get worried about a major downturn/TEOWAWKI scenario.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We joined Sam's club. We pick up some stuff by the case each trip. Not a lot but a case or two. It's not that expensive and is beginning to add up nicely. There are videos out about prepping at Sam's.

So far we have probably paid for the membership in what was saved picking up socking stuffers and dry goods. DH has his phone out and handy as we shop the aisles doing quick price comparisons with the same product in other area stores. We learned the hard and expensive way: Only buy what will be consumed before it goes out of date.

I also have a Sam's membership. I guess 98% of all our food preps were bought there in bulk or by the case. Saved a lot of money doing it that way. DH, at first, took note of the price differences at other stores, too. In the end, it was cheaper at Sam's than anywhere else if you're buying by the case or in bulk. We store what we eat, and eat out of what we store, so everything stays on a good rotation system.

 

[moldy]

I finally have a couple weeks off school,but I"m still busier than a one-armed paperhanger. Becoming landlords has been a learning experience with a rather sharp learning curve. I'm working on a list of goals for 2019... Mostly finishing school with honors, and trying to eat down the pantry.

 

[Digger]

We lost two of our bee hives. Bees just gone in one hive. The other had a small cluster of dead bees after a very cold night. That leaves only the swarm we caught this spring. They seem to be doing ok. I thought they were the weaker hive, because they had less honey stored. The two we lost had full honey supers. We exchanged some of the frames of honey from the full supers to remaining hive. This will be our second winter with bees. We still have the remaining frames of honey from the empty hives to spin out.

Hubby got a new medium duty bushhog for Christmas. He has an old one that is in really rough shape. He has patched together many times. He also has my dad's old sidewinder bushhog made in early 1960. They were both broke down at one time. There is an outfit in Texas that makes some of the sidewinder parts and rebuilds other parts. We ordered what he needed to get it going again. Just need time now. He works slow because of his back injury.

There is still leaves to put on the garden and fruit trees to prune. Right now while the grandsons are babies, I can't get out and do much. But when they can tag along, you can bet we will be busy.

 

[prudentwatcher]

Digging around in a box on my desk, I realized I had almost $40 in Cabelas gift cards I had never used. Off i went to the website and ordered to long sleeve thermal henleys and two long sleeve tshirts. Paid $20 out of pocket, so not bad. Nice surprise.

We also bought a new mattress today. The old one is probably 15+ years old and we can tell it. It will be delivered next Thursday. Something to support these old achy bones and joints

 

[SAPPHIRE]

ya'll are sooooooooooo busy! dh and I are coming to grips with new routine due to his severe prolonged illness/surgery...….but I've found some good markdown/clearance sales for food stuffs to use immediately and just a few longer term stuff...….we have mucho cans to sort and it's quite a job for us physically...….but like always we're "pro"crastinators……….

 

[prudentwatcher]

That same uniform company sent me ANOTHER free $25 gift card, so I bought a quarter-zip up sweatshirt (the other 2 have been fleece). I only paid tax and shipping ($8). If they keep sending me free gift cards I will probably keep getting free stuff

 

[ReneeT]

PW, would you pm me the info on the company you used? Been looking for fleece lined jeans for Hubby...

 

[ReneeT]

Forgot to mention the booze deal this week:
Smirnoff vodka 750 ml - $11.99
10% off 6 = $10.79/bottle
6 bottles = $64.74 plus tax out of pocket
Rebate - buy 5/Get $35 rebate
Net cost: $29.74 for 6, or $4.95 bottle.

I bought 6 instead of the 5 required by the rebate because it worked out to $5/bottle either way because of the 10% off with purchase of 6.

 

[summerthyme]

PW, would you pm me the info on the company you used? Been looking for fleece lined jeans for Hubby...

Renee... look at Aramark Uniform company, or Sportsmans Guide... they both carry quality jeans (not sure Aramark has lined ones), and the prices are really good for the quality.

Summerthyme

 

[Journey]

Renee, I’ve bought fleece lined jeans for my husband at Tractor Supply. The last pair were found on the clearance rack marked $10 but rang up at $3!