EMERGENCY PACK FOR THE HOMESTEAD

e dont talk enough about emergency preparedness. To we talk ab out it yet we dont proceed to act on it! How many of us have emergency packs ready to go? How many of us have access to things that will help us in a emergency situation? I mean from anything fr om wound care, to motion sickness pills, to a recourse we can read in case we cant google the answer?

Seriously its time if you haven't already to start organizing a pack!
We went on a pack search and was going to put one together ourselves. Though it can be done but I will warn you..it can GET expensive.
What we ended up doing was getting a pack from https://www.campingsurvival.com/ Camping Survival that was already out together.
When the pack arrived we really scrutinized it but fund very little that we really had to ADD to it.
AND it was a worthy value!

SURVIVAL BASICS: WINTER WATER!!!

Water is one of your most urgent needs in a survival situation. You can' t live long without it, especially in hot areas where you lose water rapidly through perspiration. Even in cold areas, you need a minimum of 2 liters of water each day to maintain efficiency.

ARE you prepared with WATER in the WINTER for survival??

Starry Vlog: I GOT IN THE WRONG CAR!!

Sometimes God puts you just where you need to be

KOMBUCHA? WHO NEEDS IT When you GOT KEFIR!!!

Everybody is going Kombucha crazy. But unfortunatly there is alot of misinformation out there regarding what Kombucha is and does.

I am a kefir fan. I recommend (as a RN) to all my patients Kefir over kombucha. Kefir is a richer source of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). So you could think of kefir as a drinkable SUPER CHARGED probiotic supplement.

Kombucha is more of a "digestive aid"
Misleading advertising is making it seem like it is a powerful probiotic when technically KEFIR wins hands
PLUS people need to be aware of what they are drinking.
Kombucha typically has caffeine, since it's made from tea so it limits who should drink it ( heart patients, patients with high blood pressure).
Also, alot of kombucha has SUGAR!!
So this is not a drink ANY diabetic should be looking at consuming. It can be very misleading.

Kefir eats the lactose so it makes it GUT friendly and gut healthy! It has more beneficial properties than Kombucha especially with its massive probiotic benefits!

Am I partial? YES I am but I go according to the properties these drinks have to offer.
KOMBUCHA..... from a medical perspective has too many limitations to people who have health issues.If you do not have these issues then just pay attention to the SUGAR content and watch your caffeine intake! Simple

The caffeine and sugar right there will limit its use.

So be wise. KNOW what your drinking. Kombucha still has some beneficial properties indeed. BUT weigh your own personal options before diving into drinking it and using it for something that you may be disappointed it doesn't possess.

HOW TO HAND WASH CLOTHS: AWESOME TIPS FOR NO WASHING MACHINE

Washing cloths by hand. Sounds like a no brainier? Actually I have been doing laundry by hand for over seven years. And there are helpful tips that  can make laundry by hand easier. We chose to  live off  grid and be as self sufficient as possible. We thought we would be doing washing the conventional way but after our first NEW washing machine broke down after only a month, I just stared doing it by hand. And actually I love it! But I did go thru some trials.

The proper set up goes along ways. Having a place to set it up during the summer where your water is accessible is really important. Also have a tub that can hold enough water. Buckets buckets and more buckets are  nice to. I like the buckets to seperate my dirty cloths from my not to dirty cloths.

I also finally found a old fashion scrub board. HANDS down these things work! I tried a plunger I tried a mop bucket! None of it works as well as grandmas old fashion hand washing board. 

In addition going out and buying a old wringer washer ( have you seen them new at Lehman's) those are for apparently people who have alot of  amount of money to spend on laundry..I DONT!!!! ) So we didnt even entertain the "looking good and fancy" Lehman washing machine. I mean its laundry..right?

I also  used last year before the  washing board a shower matt with suction cups and placed it upside down n the tub floor and used it as a scrubber! Worked well!!

Also a good drying rack and a place to hand dry your cloths on the line is needed.

A little goes along ways and you dont need a fancy setup. PRACTICAL and no frills....HECK..its just dirty laundry!

OFF GRID LIVING EXPERIENCE: NO ELECTRICITY FOR THE HOUSE?

How Karl Hammer Feeds 600 Chickens (Without Grains)?

When Justin Rhodes visited Karl Hammer and his 600 chickens he shared with Justin how he fed all 600 of them. HOW? Well with compost! However, what if you don't have 600 chickens! What if your compost pile isn't that big? What if?????


Well here's a answer that can take 100 lbs of food and turn it in 300lbs of food!!!
WHAT?
From seed to feed on our homestead we grow our own nutrient dense organic fodder!

To create fodder you basically take your grains, wheat barely rye oats, and by setting up a simple fodder system (we use buckets with drain holes) within 5-7 days of watering you will have a easy digestible rich organic green food that the chickens will love.

Sprouting amplifies the nutrients in the grains nearly six fold and increases their digestibility, so you get more bang for your buck. Plus feeding fodder to supplement your chickens' layer feed reduces your feed costs, gives you better tasting eggs with more vibrant yolks, and increases their laying productivity with improved health.
How could you go wrong!?
So you dont need 600 chickens or compost to save money on feed. All you need is a bag of grain and some buckets

Starry will show you the proof is in the pudding as she walks you thru this very simple and cheap way to feed your flock!!
And dont forget fodder is good for any farm animal!!!