cleaning – Plain and Not So Plain

Large family organization tips the pantry stocking for emergencies part 11

amy / 10/01/2013

In part 11 of our large family organization tips series we are going to look at our pantry and stocking it for emergencies.

When we were first married I would do our shopping once per week. Sometimes I would realize that I forgot an ingredient to make a certain dinner and I would have to load up a child and run to the store. Fast forward to 10 children later and this scenario does not happen anymore. I have realized over the years of my marriage the importance of stocking a pantry.

Stocking a pantry doesn’t mean having 10 pkgs of flavored rice.It means have 20 lbs of rice and the spices to make it. When you have a large family the importance of buying in bulk is tremendous. I have to think long term, what can I feed my family if I can’t get to the store.

I plan out our menu for the month and then base my shopping list off of that menu. If we are having a month where I don’t have to worry about cutting back on my expenses then I purchase everything that i need to make those meals for the month, even if I already have that item in the pantry. For those months that I need to cut back because we had an unexpected financial emergency then I use up the stock in my pantry.

This has been very crucial to us not running out of food. I have learned to stock my pantry. It has taken me about 6 months to do it and I have used about $50 extra dollars each month to devote to it. That means that when I have planned our regular household menu I have cut out things that would cost me more to purchase and substituted something cheaper. Instead of choosing a costly snack item to make, I would opt for something simpler like air popped popcorn. Same for desserts and treats, I just made them basic so that I was able to devote the extra money to stocking my pantry.

Having a stocked pantry has been helpful in being prepared for emergencies as well. There was a time that we were scrambling along with the rest of the people living in our area to get to the store and have water and food because there was a power outage. But this past winter when we lost power for a week, we had a very comfortable time as a family. We were prepared and did not have to feel any sort of inconvenience except for the ability to watch a video at night. We may not live in areas where hurricanes or other natural disasters hit but after last winter and having an ice storm that knocked out power to our area for a week, it has helped us to be prepared always.

Having a stocked pantry has given me a peace of mind and let’s me not worry about the what ifs in my life.

As part of our stocked pantry, we do a bulk food shopping trip at a Mennonite store about every 3 months. I buy raw sugar in 50 lb bags, white whole wheat flour in 50 lb bags, oatmeal in 50 lb bags, popcorn seeds in 25 lb bags, and rice in 25 lb bags. I store these in 5 gallon plastic buckets with lids.

I also purchase coconut oil in 1 gallon plastic jars, natural honey in 1/2 gallon containers and peanut butter in gallon jugs.

Here is how we did it:

Each month we worked on storing up a weeks worth of water supply per person. Each person needs 1 gallon of water per day.

When emergencies happen, water is one of the first things to disappear off of store shelves. Don’t let your family go without. You can live without much food but you can’t live without water.

This is how much you would need per person for a weeks worth supply of water.
2.2 @ 24 ct. cases of 16.9 oz. bottles (commercially bottled)
14 @ 64 oz. juice bottles (wash & dry, and fill with water)
7 @ 1 gallon heavy duty bottles (commercially bottled)
27 @ 2 liters soda bottles (wash & dry, and fill with water)

Every 6 months, I rotate using this water. We as a large family use water bottles when we run errands in the van. We don’t drink tap water so for our family it is easy to put into the rotation our stored water with new water.

Along with working on storing up our water per person this is the extras I concentrated on for the month.

Month 1

bottled juices
tomato juice
powdered milk
instant coffee
box cereal

Month 2

pasta–spaghetti, elbow macaroni, penne pasta
spices –taco seasoning, gravy pkts, dried spices from the bulk food store
chicken bouillon, beef bouillon
bacon bits

Month 3

canned vegetables–green beans, carrots, peas,corn, potatoes
canned beans–pinto, black, chili, refried

Month 4

pizza sauce
jarred spaghetti sauce
Alfredo sauce
diced tomatoes
salsa

Month 5

canned fruit
crackers –saltine and graham
pretzels
we usually always have a months supply of garbage bag snack mix
canned chicken

Month 6

ketchup
mustard
ranch dressing
peanut butter
jelly–even though we have a freezer full of strawberry jam,I keep 2 jars on the shelf for emergencies
syrup

These are things we don’t necessarily stock up on, but I do like to have a pile of extras in the pantry for baking.

sugars
flours
baking powder
baking soda
chocolate chips
M&Ms for making monster cookies
marshmallows

Our freezer is usually pretty full. I know we have a years worth of applesauce, strawberry jam, and blueberries. I purchase our meat once per month as well. We always have a supply of chicken and hamburger with which to use.

I like to stock an emergency preparedness pantry with items that my family would eat. Especially in times of an emergency when stress is already high, you don’t want the added stress of your family eating unfamiliar foods. Choose to stock your pantry with items that you will normally eat up.

I rotate all of these foods, when we go shopping I bring the old to the front and put the new in the back.

I try and have the following on hand to make emergency situations more pleasant.

fettucine and jar Alfredo sauce
Spaghetti and jar sauce
Velveeta cheese—it can store on the shelf(gross I know) but it can replace “real” cheese for comfort foods like homemade mac and cheese or eggs.
crackers and peanut butter–little ones easy snack
pickles–because all of the children love these

Having our pantry stocked for our large family has helped me to be better prepared. I feel like anything can happen at anytime and my family will be taken care of.

Here are a few items that we also stock for emergency preparedness

rechargeable batteries
paper plates, cups, silverware
paper towels
wipes and diapers
manual can opener–don’t forget this one:)
flashlight
Coleman gas stove
propane tanks
tea light candles
wind up radio/flashlight—found at goodwill
tylenol
bleach–to sanitize water
matches and lighters
kerosene heater
kerosene

large family organization tips series part 8 the master bedroom

amy / 09/30/2013

In part 8 of our series, large family organization tips, we are going to look at the master bedroom.

As with all of our rooms in our household they are found to have the minimalist amount of things inside it to avoid the “cluttered” look.

I think with most families, the master bedroom is the “catch all” for miscellaneous items. Not here. Our room is made with a simple layout. We have a bed, made from pallets. Yes, you read that correctly, you can click here to view how we made them. The only other item in our room is a hope chest with a tv on it.

Some things in my hope chest;

all our family memories–photos and videos
my wedding dress, that I hope to fit into this anniversary
wedding videos
scrapbooks–when I had time to do those
journals of the kids–I keep one that I write in at least 2 times a year for each child until they move out of the home
flower petals I am saving for the girls—Daddy buys them roses for special days and I keep them dried for when they have their wedding day,they can throw the petals in the aisle
some favorite things like blankets, first outfits, and special toys

This year I finally took the time to decorate our walls with photos of the family. I had our family business make this sign “All because two people fell in love…” and then I printed off various pictures of the children and placed them around that plaque. I love laying in bed and seeing my beautiful child’s’ faces.

Our closet is located in our master bathroom, which is convenient. We don’t do dressers so everything is hung up. I had my husband make me a jean holder for his jeans. He took a 2 inch wide board and placed 10 screws in it like a coat rack. I hang all his jeans by the loops on that rack.

It makes me not have to fold all of his jeans for work and easier for him to be able to see what jeans he is grabbing out. I then put our undergarments in plastic drawers like I do in the lower half’s family closet. I fold most of my skirts and set them on top of my drawers.

As with my children, I don’t keep a packed closet. I go through my husbands’ and my clothing every season to evaluate the clothing that is stained, too small, or too big in some cases:) For myself during my weight loss I have gone through numerous dress sizes. I kept a pile of skirts that I would strive to fit into in a pile on my shelves. As my weight came off and skirts became too big, I would put away the nicer ones that I wanted to keep in a bin in our basement, gave away some, and threw others out for rags. I would then replace my shelf with a new set of smaller skirts. As soon as my top size went down, I gave away or threw out tops that were too big. No sense looking frumpy for my husband. If I get pregnant again and need larger tops, I do have a stash of pregnancy clothing in the basement.

I make sure and go through undergarments as well. This is getting personal, but I feel that as a wife we should still try and be pleasing to our husbands and that means going through worn out or ripped undergarments and replacing them with nicer ones. I teach my daughter, keep your older undergarments for your time of the month and then get a new set to wear for everyday. That way they won’t get ruined. Okay enough about that.

As for what clothing to wear. I do a lot of bending during the day. Whether it be to tie someones shoes, pick up a pacifier, or to pick up a child. When shopping for my clothing I need to keep that in mind. I know that there are some things that just won’t work for a busy mother of little ones.

wide neck tops are out–just have a child start pulling on your top and you will understand why
no mid-line shirts—as soon as you go to fix your pony tale or bend over to pick something up, your backside and stomach get exposed, opt for longer fitting t shirts
snap up shirts are out–if you can snap it, so can your children
zipper tops, kids love to unzip things, especially mommy’s shirt

Do the layered look for your wardrobe and you will be set. I have 4 solid colored long t shirts that I wear under everything. When I was nursing full time I cut nursing slits in them and wore them under my tops, now I just wear them under things because it makes me feel more modest. I know that if someone pulls on my outer top I am covered by my undershirt.

For skirts….

avoid wrap around skirts, they always come apart when sitting down
no slits up the front, unless you sew them, they will fall apart when sitting down
shorter flowing skirts are good to fly up on you when walking holding onto a little one, avoid
sew the slits in most skirts. I haven’t found too many skirts that the slit is as low as I like it. While walking you would be surprised at how much of your leg is exposed, do a simple straight stitch to sew it together.

We try and avoid all dry clean only clothing. If it can’t be washed and dried by me, it probably won’t get done. I am not an iron-er either so shirts must be wrinkle free.

My wardrobe is pretty basic. I have solid 4 solid color t shirts, and 4 solid color long sleeve shirts to wear under my tops. I have 3-4 nicer church tops, and 10 everyday tops. My tops are able to let my skin breathe. Being a mother is a hard, sweaty job. I realized I don’t want to be wondering if I have wet armpits while praising the Lord on Sundays. I avoid all white and light colored tops. Knowing they will get stained somehow. For skirts I keep 3 nice for church, and 3 for everyday. I have my favorites and will continually wear those. Why would I keep something that wasn’t comfortable or that i didn’t really like completely? I also keep my colors simple. I like brown and purple. Most all of my undershirts are brown then while shopping, I know that all I have to look for is a coordinating top to go over it. Makes it much easier.

For footwear, wearing heels is a little dangerous while carrying babies. Plus they are not good for your back or your feet. Save yourself some grief and pick out a cute pair of practical shoes or boots. I have a set of brown leather boots that go with all of my wardrobe, I chose this as my footwear option. I have no need for pantyhose, or knee socks, just any pair will do. I prefer to be barefoot most of the time, so if I do have to go out, I usually just grab a pair of my husbands socks and then put on my boots. Simple and easy. Same for summer shoes. I have a pair of flip flops that are for yard wear, a nicer pair of sandals for church, and one nicer pair for wearing out. That is all. Well actually I have a pair of tennis shoes for walking, but that is it. Just a basic set.

We don’t store miscellaneous things in our closet. I find a place for things that need a home. The only thing I do hide in here is some early birthday or Christmas presents. But clothing that no longer fits gets put away in a bin down in the basement, thrown away, or given away. We don’t hold onto the “maybe one day I will use this theory.” We get rid of it. If clothing hasn’t been worn in the last year, we pitch it. As soon as there are holes in clothing–socks, pants,shirts, etc–they get thrown away or in the “to sew” pile.

up next the laundry room…..