tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007490949582525706.post7079441691042765610..comments2024-02-26T06:06:10.884-05:00Comments on Adventures of a Thrifty Mama on a City 'Stead: Life Without Electricity--emergency or inconvenience?Chris K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12054057713267875769noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007490949582525706.post-86453391933873187152011-08-30T16:27:56.493-04:002011-08-30T16:27:56.493-04:00Love your post and as we are currently living thro...Love your post and as we are currently living through your scenario, your ideas are pretty spot on. My neighbor cooked all her meats the other night and invited all the neighbors and friends to come over and eat. She now has cooked meats that she can refrigerate for a few more days to make them last. We have a generator in our travel trailer and moved all our foods out to the trailer fridge and freezer. We pitched the older stuff that needed pitching anyway. But everything fit in coolers and in the trailer. You are right about shelter, food, and laundry being the biggest concerns.Whitneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17103721928643120871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007490949582525706.post-16571328441941525772011-08-29T09:51:11.769-04:002011-08-29T09:51:11.769-04:00We have a hand pump with extreme filter (biologica...We have a hand pump with extreme filter (biological, particulate, etc) for water, and there are plenty of streams and rivers around here (heck, the Connecticut River is about 2 miles away!). Sure, pumping by hand is not FUN... but it works, and provides fine drinking water. For emergencies, dump bleach into water (you'd have to look up the amounts - I have the info written in my "get home" bag but don't have it memorized) and run it through a coffee filter or cheesecloth to get out any particulates. Food in the freezer... ours isn't large right now, but when we have the chest freezer, it gets hooked up to the generator. We can handle *everything* else with no power, but we have the generator specifically to keep freezer and fridge running. Gas stove fed via one of those big backyard cannisters is something that keeps running safely without electric; you start it with a match or long lighter. I'm a bit more leary about starting the oven with a match... something about sticking my head into a running gas oven makes me squicky. LOL... And I have my wood cook stove for everything else, which I've had plenty of experience using now. I could probably even bake bread in its oven, if I had some decent cured wood (wet wood does not burn reliably enough for something finicky like bread). We all know how to start a fire from twigs gathered off trees and a bit of cottom ball soaked in petroleum jelly. This is something we all have in our packs. :) I even have a flint and steel in mine, though it takes me a good five minutes to get a fire started with it. But it's there. :)<br /><br />We hunt, have ammo sufficient for that for quite some time if we're careful and make every shot count. And frankly, in a major emergency? I'm not going to stress over hunting times. If my family is hungry, I'm going to feed them, and DNR can kiss my fuzzy butt. LOL... Unlikely I'd need to hunt out of season, though, because we also have chickens. I'd try to keep them alive for the eggs, but desperate times might cause one or two to end up in the cooker. ;)RevAllysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08647500969442410706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007490949582525706.post-67760012466125991682011-08-29T09:03:49.660-04:002011-08-29T09:03:49.660-04:00As long as I've got the basics covered,food,wa...As long as I've got the basics covered,food,water,shelter,I'm good....although living where we do with frequent power outages,we could get lots of practice at honing our skills. :)<br /><br />For canning up what might spoil,a turkey fryer set up outside would do the trick nicely.It's large and sturdy base would prevent falling over,you can control the flame,and it's big enough that the weight of a full water bath canner would not hurt anything.I don't see why it wouldn't work for a pressure canner as long as you set it up out of direct drafts somewhere outside.Lee Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05911593752939002971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007490949582525706.post-48292351462217787482011-08-29T07:27:37.113-04:002011-08-29T07:27:37.113-04:00One o the reasons I love your blog is that you thi...One o the reasons I love your blog is that you think as I do. I have lived thru many hurricanes and feel the same way. It is simple a matter of making due with what you have. I would be careful trying to use the pressure canner though with out a good source of heat. Fire is great for cooking on but the amount of heat you will need to can with the pressure canner will require a very , very hot fire. I will keep you and your family / friends in my thoughts. I know it is hard for some to understand but sometimes things like this are a blessing and bring people closer. It also reminds us what life was like before all the advancements in our day to day lives. Stay Safe and best wishes :)The Simple Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12246807911132307877noreply@blogger.com