Self-Sufficiency Tips

[bèlla]

Coffee Plant: Best Varieties, How to Grow, Care, Problems, and Harvest

When I found out I could grow my own coffee plant, roast the beans, and brew a cup of java, I was ecstatic. I love coffee! I don’t grow it in huge quantities – certainly not enough to supply my daily multi-cup habit – but I do grow my own and save the beans for when I want a special brew.

If you’ve thought about growing your own coffee, I highly recommend giving it a go. You’ll know it’s worth the effort once you’re sipping your first cup of home-grown Joe because the flavor is out of this world – and there’s nothing like the satisfaction of growing your own.

…Continued on Morning Source

 

[jesuslover811]

If something happens everyone is going to want coffee. Being able to grow it is amazing

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Wish we could but it's too cold here. I've heard chicory can be substituted, though. I actually want to expand my gardens for herbs: chicory and nettle. I'm so going to miss caffeine if things turn for the worse.

 

[bèlla]

Food Preservation: A Year at a Glance

Knowing how much food you’ll put up in a year is wonderful, but life can often throw us curve balls. It’s a smart idea to have your food preservation for the year laid out ahead of time to plan for the unexpected and be prepared for anything the weather or the seasons throw at us.

It takes careful thought, planning, sourcing of supplies, scheduling your calendar wisely, keeping your pantry organized, and knowing how to properly store and build up your long-term food storage supply.

In this post I’ll be breaking down a typical calendar year, sharing the foods I’m preserving. This may look slightly different depending on which region you live in.

…Continued on Homesteading Family

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Everyone probably already knows about these, but I'll share anyway:

Reuseable Canning Lids

Canning Lids - Tattler Reusable Canning Lids

Control the food, control the people. I may get harder to get canning lids, and if you can't preserve your food--well, you're in trouble!

Also, Dollar Tree Garden Seeds

I buy vegetable, herb, and flower seeds from Dollar Tree and Dollar General. Just because the packets are cheap doesn't mean they won't grow. In fact, I had better luck with those seeds than I do with some name brand ones. 80-90% germination rate I'd say. So if you see seeds there, buy them up!

 

[bèlla]

Frugal Laundry Strategies

Looking for even more ways to save money and live a frugal life? I’m diving into some frugal laundry strategies to see what can shave the most dollars off of my bills each month.

Never wash in warm water. Unless you have some really crazy stains or bacteria that truly only come off with warm water (in which case, pre-soaking still may be a better method), there is no need to wash in warm water.

Hot water can damage clothing and can also cause shrinkage. For basic spots and stains (food, dirt, etc), I’ve never had trouble with getting clothing clean using cold water. And believe me, food stains are collected at my home on a daily basis…. x5.

Mr. Electricity (see above) reports that washing a load of clothing in warm water costs about $0.68 while the same load in cold water costs about $0.04. If you wash one load of clothing per day in cold water instead of warm water, at those rates in a year you would save $214. That’s significant.

…Continued on Little House Living

 

[bèlla]

What to Know Before You Buy a Mylar Space Blanket

Mylar blankets – also called space blankets – are incredibly cool. They weigh just a few ounces, fold down to fit in your pocket, and can be used dozens of ways in an emergency situation. Mylar is so awesome that it has pretty much become synonymous with the term “survival blanket.”

But can a thin layer of aluminized plastic sheeting really keep you alive?

A lot of the manufacturer claims about Mylar are complete hype. However, if you know how to use a Mylar blanket, they actually can help you survive.

…Continued on Primal Survivor

 

[bèlla]

Long Term Food Storage

With the recent events the world is experiencing, many of us are realizing we didn’t have a long term food storage plan available. I’ve done the basic research for you and created this long term food storage guide with a variety of foods for anyone who may be quarantined or left without access to food for a few weeks.

You want to make sure you have adequate sources of protein for your emergency pantry long term food storage. These are items that will stay fresh for a long period of time that won’t require refrigeration or freezing. Items include:

• Canned Fish – consider adding canned fish to your emergency food pantry. These include canned tuna, salmon, sardines, and herring. Not everyone enjoys fish, but if it becomes necessary to eat, you won’t mind getting a high protein-rich meal.
• Nuts – peanuts are the highest in protein, followed by almonds. Other nuts to consider storing would be brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts.
• Beans – Canned beans are also a great source of protein, and here is a great list of beans to add to your emergency food pantry: chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, black beans, soybeans, pinto beans, and navy beans. You can also opt for a longer storage life by storing dried beans.
• Meats – Canned ham, chili, and beef are great for long term storage. You can opt to purchase special chicken and beef that are known as freeze dried food. These can last up to 25 years. You have to rehydrate them to eat, but they are an option and not typically found at your local grocery store.
• Peanut Butter -Opened peanut butter can last up to three months, but unopened peanut butter can last for a long time on the shelf.

Other items to consider adding to the pantry of best survival foods that have a long shelf life are oats, dried pumpkin seeds, and quinoa.

…Continued on Pinkwhen