We have been focusing for awhile now on preparing to live without power. WE have had natural disasters to stay on top of and the usual posts, such as Tips of the Week and Money Saving Tips have been absent. I felt it was important to focus on threats to the poser grid as it is expensive to prepare for outages. Dutch ovens, water purifiers and generators all take a big chunk out of the budget so I felt giving you plenty of warning of what could face us in the next two years would give you time to plan for those purchases and to make them. It’s time to get back to the tips that will enable you to be prepared in other ways and also help in freeing up funds to make more expensive purchases and to finish stocking your General Store.

This week we will reintroduce those weekly posts.

This week add a gallon of white vinegar and several pairs of latex gloves to your General Store shelves. Tomorrow we will discuss uses for vinegar other than cooking so this is not a mistake and not to be confused with the vinegar your have already stored in your food section. Vinegar will store just about forever so you really can’t have too much. Store gloves in several sizes as you will want help cleaning after a disaster and the kids, teens and all adults in your household will need gloves to be safe. Check out the dollar store for both of these items.

For those just joining our family and just beginning their food department add 10 cans of veggies per person to your store this week. As always if this is beyond your budget add as much as you can and remember it is more important to have a balanced two week supply for your family than to have a years supply of grains and not fruits, vegetables, proteins and dairy. Our food storage plan is designed to keep your family healthy while you face your challenge.

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Back issues: Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

My discussion with Doctor Prepper all about food storage part 1. .http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show

Doctor Prepper show all about food storage part 2. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/20/doctor-prepper-show

Talk with Halli: food storage and current financial outlook. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/idahotalk/2010/07/16/hfalli-friends

The Tax Foundation was established in 1937 to help Americans understand the implications of tax legislation and to understand tax codes. There website says:

“The Tax Foundation has launched a “Bush tax cuts” calculator at www.MyTaxBurden.org, which allows taxpayers to compare their 2011 federal income tax liabilities under three scenarios: if all the Bush tax cuts expire completely at the end of this year, if they’re all extended into 2011 or made permanent, and if President Obama’s budget is adopted, which includes a combination of expirations and extensions.

Taxpayers can type in basic information-such as filing status, wage income and number of dependents-along with optional more detailed information-such as capital gains and dividend income, state and local taxes paid and other itemized deductions-and determine what their federal income tax burden would be in 2011.”

As an example of what the elimination of these tax cuts will do: a couple making $100,000 per year will pay $12,500 in 2010…2011 the tax will be 15,700 or an increase of 3,200. For a couple with two children making $100,000 the taxes will go from $8,600 this year to 12,600 next, or an increase of $4,000. The alternative tax code requires tax payers to calculate their taxes two ways and to pay the larger. If this code is not adjusted one in three taxpayers in the country will have to calculate their taxes in this manner. Please check out the calculator for yourself to determine how this will affect you. Bottom line, taxes will go up for all Americans not just the wealthy on January 1st if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire.

It’s time to add another non food item to our General Store. With all the discussion about water in our yahoo group we are going to prepare for water shortages by stocking up on paper cups this week. Add a minimum of 100 cups per family member. This may sound like a lot of paper cups but that is figuring only one per day! It does not account for those who may just, drop in, when they discover their preparations are not sufficient. We all have a list of those we have tried to counsel and we know when the crisis hits, they will come. Consider those as you plan. Also, consider if the crisis we are facing is not contaminated water or a power outage causing water shortages but a severe pandemic you will want more than one cup per ill person per day as you will be discard them after every use. When dealing with a pandemic you will not have the energy to care for the ill and also wash dishes and continue with all the other household chores. Disposable cups will be an absolute necessity.

I would advise you to store both cold cups and cups appropriate for hot drinks. I have started storing more hot than cold because they are more versatile and can be used for serving hot foods like beans, soups and stews, as well as drinks. They will also hold up better for a full days use.

Finally purchase only paper cups. If we have an extended power outage we may be dealing with a major disaster and may not have trash collection. Paper products can be burned, plastic will emit dangerous gases and will be a danger to your family.

For those who are just beginning the food portion of their General Store we have added fruit. Today we are adding desserts. Yep, start with the important stuff…You should have asked your family about their favorite desserts so this week add the ingredients to make eight desserts. This could be as simple as a cake mix or the individual ingredients for your favorite cookies. Consider some that could also be made if the electrical grid were down. There are a few recipes for Dutch oven desserts in the April 2010 issue of the Totally Ready newsletter. This week…store eight desserts!

****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

My discussion with Doctor Prepper all about food storage part 1. .http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show

Doctor Prepper show all about food storage part 2. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/20/doctor-prepper-show

Back issues: Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

Talk with Halli: food storage and current financial outlook. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/idahotalk/2010/07/16/hfalli-friends



Just Getting Started with Food Storage or Restarting?

Purchase any item: an ebook, newsletter subscription, newsletter archive or product,  from Totally Ready and receive a free Guide to a Three Month Supply in 52 Weeks. Take advantage of this offer today and get an easy to understand and implement system to get you Totally Ready for whatever comes….

Yesterday we added water to our general store. Today it is time for you to determine just how much you should be storing for your family. Following are a few guidelines to consider:

Drinking- normally 8 glasses of water per day or or about 1/2 gallon person.

Flushing: Each flush can use as much as 2 gallons of water. Most people flush 5 times per day.

Laundry: If you have make a bucket washer you will need 3 – 4 Gallons of water for washing and the same for rinsing each “load”.

Cleaning and hand washing: 1/2 Gallon per person per day or plenty of hand sanitizer. Some of both is the best.

Cooking: If you are using canned fruits and vegetables you can use the juices and water they are packed in for cooking purposes and you will need less water. If you are using dehydrated or freeze dried foods you will need three times as much water for reconstituting. Again, you should calculate about 1/2 gallon per person per day under normal circumstances.

Pets: They are family members too and will need water for drinking and bathing. Observe how much they consume each day and add a little extra as you may have to resort to feeding them foods they are not as familiar with and will need more water to digest.

Bathing:  You can handle this like our great grand[arents and share bath water or you can plan on bathing using just a wash cloth and a basin of water or a camp shower. Whatever the plan you will need water. Only you can determine just how much.

We have often been told 2 gallons per person per day but you know how I hate generalities. Only you can really determine your family’s needs. Take a little time now with a paper and pencil and do a little calculating for yourself. Remember it is always better to be over prepared for an emergency than to be under prepared.

For information regarding storing water please read the post post  Water Storage and More

For information regarding finding water during a crisis and water when living in an urban environment see: February 2010 and May 2010 Totally Ready Newsletters

****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

My discussion with Doctor Prepper all about food storage part 1. .http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show

Doctor Prepper show all about food storage part 2. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/20/doctor-prepper-show

Back issues: Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010



For those who are just beginning and as a reminder to all who have been at this for years, a tutorial about why we store the things we store. So, why is it important to store fruits and veggies and not just wheat and beans? Simple, all the foods we consume contribute in some way to our overall health. During a time of stress it is even more important for all of these vitamins and nutrients to be present to insure good health.When considering foods to store first refer to the list you made when you created your ingredient list. Then consider color. You should be storing fruits and vegetables in every color. This will guarantee you are providing all the vitamins and minerals available. Store orange: peaches and apricots, yellow: corn, pineapple, applesauce, pears, Red: beets, red cabbage, cherries…you get the idea.

We have had this discussion before so I will summarize and just say, remember canned foods will keep at least two years past the expiration’s date. Also remember in all the studies that have been done comparing frozen, fresh and canned foods it has been shown that canned foods provide as much nutrition as fresh foods which have been harvested after just 24-48 hours. In other words, they are as nutritious as fresh fruits and vegetables you would purchase in the grocery store which are at least that old when they hit the store shelves.

This is what fruits and veggies contribute to our health:

Calcium: Calcium is essential for healthy bones and teeth. Promotes healthy functioning of muscles, nerves and some glands.

Fiber: Diets rich in dietary fiber has a number of beneficial effects including, decreased risk of coronary heart disease, reduces colon diseases, helps control cholesterol, and helps control blood sugar levels.

Folate: Healthful diets with adequate folate may reduce a woman’s risk of having a child with a brain or spinal cord defect. Builds red blood cells.

Iron: Needed for healthy blood and normal functioning of all cells.

Magnesium: Magnesium is necessary for healthy bones and teeth and is involved with more than 300 enzymes in your body! Increases metabolism and tissue formation. Inadequate levels may result in muscle cramps and high blood pressure.

Potassium: Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain a healthy blood pressure.

Sodium: Needed for normal cell function throughout the body. Most diets contain too much sodium which is associated with high blood pressure.

Vitamin A: Promotes good night vision, and maintains healthy skin and membranes and helps protect against infections.

Vitamin C: Helps heal cuts and wounds by building strong blood vessel walls. Keeps teeth and gums healthy.

Finally, this morning I had a visit from a couple of friends. One I had not seen for many years and all she wanted to talk about was food storage. She asked questions for over an hour and as we talked she thought of questions she didn’t even know she had. That is what is called a consultation. It wasn’t meant to be but that is how it turned out. You can qualify to win a consultation too. Get busy today and win one so we can talk! You could just hire me but why do that if you can win one?

****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

My discussion with Doctor Prepper all about food storage.http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show



Yep, we are going to have a power outage tomorrow so the electric company can put in a new transformer. I was asked the other day for unusual recipes to use food storage items. They weren’t meaning beans either…I love these recipes as they are for comfort foods but can be made without eggs during a time when it may not be possible to go to the store and purchase them. When the power comes back tomorrow I will post again but until consider how you would prepare meals if one of the ingredients you normally depend on is not available. How would you modify your recipes? Do you have a variety of recipes for the same foods, bread for example. There are bread recipes with sugar or honey and then there are those without any sweetener. There are breads with oil, butter or no fats. Do you have a variety in case one is no longer feasible to make?

WW II CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda and salt.

2. Cream together the sugar, mayonnaise, water and vanilla.

3. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture; stir until well blended.

4. Pour batter into greased and floured layer cake pans (or a 9- x 13-inch pan).

Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes

Soda Pop Cake

1 box cake mix

10 oz can soda

1/3 c mashed white beans

1. Place beans in blender and process until smooth. (Add 1 Tablespoon water to cooked beans or use water from canned beans)

2. Combine ingredients and bake according to directions on box.

For flavor combinations:

lemon cake and orange soda

vanilla cake and cream soda

chocolate cake and cherry soda

Wacky Cake
A WWII favorite when foods eggs and milk were scarce.
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups water
3/4 cup oil
2 TB. vinegar

1 bag chocolate chips (optional)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.
3. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl (except chocolate chips).
4. Add wet ingredients and quickly mix with hand mixer until everything is incorporated.
5. Immediately pour cake batter into greased pan.
Optional: Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of cake.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Frost cake with your favorite frosting, or dust with powdered sugar.

Your turn to share! Don’t forget Our Contest!

****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010



****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

This weekend I spent several hours inventorying my General Store. I took some time but it was well worth it. I discovered a few areas I need to beef up but I was so happy to discover my storage really is very well balanced. Plenty of each food group, condiments, spices and ingredients for desserts. There is always room for improvement and that was my goals, to find the weak spots. We have been working on our non  food items and there I am doing much better because it is on my mind each day as I watch for items on sale and think about what we should add next. We have had a conversation about laundry detergent in the yahoo group and I am feeling I need to store more so I can make it an entire year instead of just three month. None of the ingredients will go bad and I would really like to be able to have clean clothes for as long as the emergency last. I also think if there are others I need to be around I would want them smelling fresh too! It’s important for all of us to have those “discussions” with ourselves to determine what the priorities are for our own situations. TP, toothpaste and now soap, yep they all make my list!

I also spent time this weekend at an LDS cannery. If you have never been they are a wonderful resource for inexpensive, long term storage foods. The prices are great and you can the food in #10 cans which protects them from pests, water damage in case of a flood and damage from winds, smoke from fires and earthquakes. You do not have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to go. Just find a Mormon friend and ask them if there is one in your area. The friend can direct you to a price list so you can see what is available. Then ask them to take you. You may just get them moving on their own food storage again.

This morning Erskine Bowles who is Obama’s Debt Commissioner spoke and he said if we (our nation) don’t restore fiscal sanity we are going to go broke. He continued that this is the worst economic crisis in history and if we stay on this path it will be a cancer that will destroy our country from within. Allen Simpson, the co-chair of the same commission made similar remarks and said out debt is being financed by China who is just printing more money to buy up investments in the US.

Last week I received emails from people around the world like never before, New Zealand, Australia, Costa Rica, England, Canada and more. It reminded me this is not a problem only for us in the United States.

“Otago University’s school of human nutrition has released its annual food costs survey of how much it costs to feed a family based on healthy nutritional guidelines. The survey confirms what shoppers already know – it’s getting more expensive to buy even the most basic of groceries. And in some areas prices have risen by more than half over the past five years”

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/3907335/Food-prices-eat-more-from-weekly-budget

If you are just joining us you should now have a list of items you are going to add to your General Store and you should have a storage buddy. Today you begin. You will add non food items each week along with those who have been around here for a long time. This week we are going to add vitamins to our store shelves. I am not a huge believer in vitamins because I don’t believe they are the fix but during a time of stress when our food choices may not be adequate to provide all the vitamins and minerals we need vitamins will be an important addition to our daily diet. Vitamins are good for at least two years after the expiration date so when purchasing by the newest on the shelf. Check because the newest are often in the back. This week there seem to be lots of B one get one free offers on vitamins so stock up.

If you are just beginning and need to be stocking food as well begin this week by adding fruit. You can can your own or go to the store and purchase. Add 5 cans per family member. To get a complete list of what you will need to store for a three month supply you can  purchase my ebook: Mother Hubbard: What She’s Doing Now, you can purchase the Totally Ready Newsletters from the last year, or you can go back and browse the General Store posts beginning in February of 2009. If you choose to purchase anything I will include the 52 Week Guide to a Three Month Supply free.

My last  Doctor Prepper Show. We spent the entire hour talking about food storage. Take a listen as it was all about how to get started. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010



]]> http://blog.totallyready.com/our-general-store-and-the-news-about-the-economy-gets-worse-win-a-consulation/07/12/feed/ 0 http://blog.totallyready.com/time-for-menu-planning-its-not-painful-i-promise-ready-for-much-higher-taxes-one-more-reason-to-prepare-and-create-your-own-hedge/07/08/ http://blog.totallyready.com/time-for-menu-planning-its-not-painful-i-promise-ready-for-much-higher-taxes-one-more-reason-to-prepare-and-create-your-own-hedge/07/08/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:40:56 +0000 admin http://blog.totallyready.com/?p=1967

The Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of the year. We have all heard that but exactly what does that mean?  The current tax rates are 10% for the lowest income earners to 35% for the highest. They will increase to 15% for the lowest and 39.6% for those making the most. The rate on long term investments will go from 15% to 20%. Rates on dividends will go up to 39%. The marriage penalty will return so if you are married you will be taxed more than those who are not. The death tax will jump to 55%. That one really make me furious. All those years of working and saving and paying taxes on your income and when you die those same earnings are taxed again at 55%. The same money being taxed twice! Bottom line, you think it’s bad this year, wait until next!

I had so many on the blog yesterday we crashed the server for a while so I was advised not to post anything new so I waited until today to create a new posting. That should have given you all time to record your recipes and make an ingredients list which is where we continue today.

I am sure you have seen websites that tell you to create 7-10 recipes and multiply what you would need to make those for either three months or a year. I love variety and I also understand appetite fatigue. This is a real phenomenon where you become so tired of the same foods you would rather starve than eat them. It is real, it happens to everyone and it can be deadly. Plan for variety. You have written down the ingredients for your favorite meals and now you are ready to create a shopping list. First let me explain the reasoning behinds this exercise.

When you listed the foods you like you then recorded the ingredients in each menu choice. This has given you a visual understanding of the foods your family like to eat. As you begin to stock your General Store you will add foods by food group. When you get to a grains week you will be able to look at your ingredients list and understand that your family really likes rice much more than pasta or potatoes. Now as you begin shopping you know you should be purchasing more rice than pasta or potatoes. We will always add wheat to use for baking breads and for use in cereals in your long term plan. Yes, you will have to learn to do at least a few basic things with wheat.

You also now have an understanding of the spices and condiments you need to store to round out your food choices and to make them taste really fabulous!

Lastly once you have purchased your three month supply you have foods your family likes to eat. You can combine those in dozens of different ways to create dozens of different menus because you already know your family likes all the ingredients. For example: If I chose spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and rice, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tacos. I now have the ingredients to make burritos, Spanish rice, spaghetti pie, pizza, Mexican pizza, cheese and bean dip, empanadas, and chicken cacciatore.  I’m sure there are many, many more. All of these can also then be combined into casseroles.

What is a casserole? Easy, it is a protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts or nut butters or beans), plus a grain (noodles, rice, potatoes or wheat), a vegetable and a sauce. With the peanut butter for the PB&J sandwich you can make a Thai peanut sauce. You can use the cream of chicken soup from the chicken and rice to make a sauce for pasta and chicken. You can use the pasta sauce to make a ziti, just throw in a veggie and you have a casserole.

Simple. As we move forward I will share recipes which should help you to think creatively while rotating your store and will give you plenty of variety when you must survive on what you have stored. I share recipes every month in my Totally Ready Newsletter so spend some time with past issues and separate them into categories for cooking during a crisis. There are plenty there to start your experimenting.

All these same principles are true of the list you made for desserts your family loves.

Yesterday I got a call to appear at the last minute on the Doctor Prepper Show. We spent the entire hour talking about food storage. Take a listen as it was all about how to get started. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010



****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

I know it may be a bold statement to assume there is a Double Dip Recession coming but I really can see no way around it right now. I don’t believe politicians have the courage to do what is necessary and I say that as a former politician. Did know that about me? Well…it was our local school board but it still meant a nasty campaign. Let me tell you a story…I was serving during a time of real economic crisis. We needed to make some changes and they were not popular but in order to retain state funding it had to be done. I did my research and spoke with teachers (off the record of course, unions hate it when the teachers talk to you honestly!). I talked to the custodians, secretaries, parents and kids. I made the tough choice, the choice that was best for all, not just a few, and I got slammed by the union and parents who refused to listen. I was not reelected and EVERYTHING I said would result, did. I know what it means to be blasted in the press and to have people I thought were friends desert me. Now I understand that this was just local but in some ways that is worse. My kids were harassed and I was harassed at the grocery store and soccer games. I really don’t believe we have enough people willing to give up their elected  positions to do what is best for all.

I also believe Americans may have become weak and dependent and that they don’t have the courage to demand the government reduce spending as it may mean those social programs we are used to may have to disappear.  We seem to have forgotten we are Americans and together we can get through tough times. Our parents and grandparents knew that. They planted victory gardens, shared skills, rationed food and did everything necessary to beat a great depression and a horrible dictator in Germany. We must become that type of person! We can begin within our own homes and among our own friends and family.

What we have done:

We have a binder, paper, a permanent marker and passion to succeed.

Begun by designating a change jar as part of your food storage fund. We are placing all your coins and any change you find on the street or in the sofa in the jar.

Next set a budget.

Determined high priced meals to skip and replaced some dinner meals with breakfast foods.

Made a list of  favorite meals and desserts.

Created a master list of all the ingredients in each recipe.

Using your permanent marker made a slash mark across all the cans and boxes you currently have in our cupboards.

Dated items around the house that are not single use. If you missed this go back and get the directions.

Emailed, facebooked and tweeted everyone you know and tell them we are beginning food storage again.

Created space for food storage.

Today is an easy day…#1 catch up. I realized we have lots of new people joining us so this is a catch up day. If you have not notified everyone you know please do that today. I have lots of people asking me to use articles to pass out at church and in other places. Have you notified all of those people from your church? #2…Now that you have notified others get a food storage buddy. This person will help you, and you will help them, stay on task and as we get to organizing and inventorying our storage you can help each other with the task. So today, catch up and get a buddy. Tomorrow we will use your recipes to create YOUR food storage plan.

For those who are stocking their General Store, and all you newcomers should be doing this also, this week add Insect repellent and aloe vera to your General Store shelves. Over the next few months we will to adding deodorant, hand soap, after shave and hair spray so if you have not already dated those items to discover how much you use in a month do that today. For soap place the wrappers in a drawer, just like we did for TP, and count them at the end of the month.

One more note. Have you noticed the interference on your TV screen the last few days? That is being caused by solar activity! Remember I warned you NASA is concerned we may be in for solar flares which will take down the electrical grid? These storms are very minor compared to the ones to come so keep planning for long term power outages, just in case. The July Newsletter is devoted to cooking off the grid so be sure to read that and use it to purchase or gather the items you will need.

I have also have questions about the blog talk radio show I did with Doctor Prepper last week. It has been taken down because we had a caller who was rude and disruptive and the podcast can’t be edited…too bad. It had such great info. I guess we will have to try to repeat some of it on the 19th when we do another show together.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010



Don’t you wish you could see prices like that again? With food storage you can!

This week is full of nothing but bad news on the economic front. 125,000 jobs lost in June…14.6 million out of work…6.7 million have been out of work for more than 27 weeks…factory orders down 1.4% in May…the DOW down 400 points…3 million jobs lost since February last year…California reducing wages to minimum wage for state workers.  That’s the news just this week, THIS WEEK!More and more economists are forecasting double dip recession by the end of the year. Food Storage…It’s Time!

I left the beginning food storage post up for a few days to give you a chance to spread the word among your family and friends. I really hope you have done that. If you have tried before, try again. How will you feel if the worst happens and you did not make another attempt to warn your neighbors? This weekend as you meet with family and friends it is a good time to remind them again. I’m sure the economy will come up in conversation so take that as your opportunity to pitch self reliance once more.

There is a good article in US World Report on steps to take now to prepare. It is a good reminder. Naturally they did not mention food storage. How short sighted. I have been watching the movie Fun with Dick and Jane. It is about a couple who lose their jobs and they ways they cope and become desperate. It is meant to be funny, and it is, but at the core are some messages that ring true when it all hits the fan. People will be desperate to feed their family and have a roof over their head. Food storage is not the only answer but it is a huge part.

You should continue this weekend to make a list of the foods your family likes to eat and to create a list of all the ingredients in those meals. Tuesday we will organize those and you will have a plan to follow to begin purchasing.Again, this will be your food storage plan, not mine. You will store what your family eats not boxes of dehydrated foods that you won’t know how to use or toms of grains you will eventually throw away.

**** CONTEST**** To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

A holiday weekend is a great time to get the family busy creating space for your food storage. Summer is also a great time with kids home from school and extra hands to help. Next week we beginning filling shelves, nooks and crannies so get started! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Closets

If you have a deep closet with a bar for hanging clothes, move the bar as far forward as possible. Make sure you still have room to hang clothing. Add shelving to the back wall of the closet. Even if the shelf is narrow it can be used for smaller items such as soup cans, catchup, or shampoo bottles.

Add an additional shelf. Most closets have a shelf above the bar on which you hang your clothes. Look for wasted space above that shelf. This is a great place for Christmas decorations and items you use only occasionally, freeing up other space.

In children’s rooms, lower the clothing bar and add shelving above. Most clothing bars are hung higher than they need to be, even for adults, creating wasted space on the floor — which usually collects lots of clutter.

Raise the floor. If you don’t want to lower the clothing bar build a platform on the floor. Place storage boxes under it and you will still have room for all those shoes.

Empty your closet

Most people wear only 20% of the clothing in their closets. Try going through your wardrobe and if you haven’t warn something in the last year get rid of it.

Under a staircase

Utilize an open staircase by installing custom cabinets, shelves, or storage cubes on the wall. For a decorative look add a bench with storage inside. If you don’t care about fashion or don’t have the money to make changes, just stack away. If you are stacking keep a map of your inventory and remember to rotate your foodstuffs.

If your staircase is enclosed, you have a huge cavern just waiting to be put to work. Create access to the space within by creating a door and store away!

Need ideas for beginning food storage or preparing for the electricity to be out? listen to my talk with Doctor Prepper.  There were some technical problems so fast forward the first ten minutes.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

What happens if other nations call our debt due? What happens when we can’t pay our bills, education, welfare, government employees, and on and on? More taxes? You bet! Unless there are some very dramatic changes soon the American dream will vanish. Home ownership, college educations, self employment, all will vanish. It is serious and we must prepare now. Over in our yahoo group today someone made the comment that she laughed at yesterday’s post because I was talking about a dire future and then telling you to store toilet paper. Well, if our money isn’t worth the paper it is printed on then a supply of TP might be a very good thing to have on hand as the government takes more and more from us and we face rationing as our grandparents did during the depression.

I really am a positive person however, so today we reintroduce the concept of creating a General Store in your home. If you have been with us from the beginning now is the time to get friends on board. Send them an email tonight with a link to this post.

You all remember Old Mother Hubbard…the poor doggie had none because her cupboards were bare. That will not happen to us. Today we begin our quest to fill our cupboards, just in case. Remember the days of General Stores? They had everything to meet your needs from food, to cloth, to cleaning supplies, seeds and tools, even a small post office and a small bank.. Together we are going to build a General Store within our own homes.

You will need a binder, paper, a permanent marker and a little passion to succeed.

First excuse for most people, no money. Begin by designating a jar as part of your food storage fund. Each night place all your coins and any change you find on the street or in the sofa in the jar. I never spend change at the store anymore, except for my pennies. Be sure to include your spouse in your plan and even get the kids involved in adding money to the jar. This is just one of many ways we will discuss to fund Our General Store.

Next set a budget. Sit down and calculate what you normally spend on food each week or month. Now realistically decide how much you can afford to add to that budget. Can you skip a movie rental or a trip to get fast food? When a disaster strikes and the grocery store shelves are empty or your bank account is empty,  you are going to kick yourself over and over if you didn’t give up a few luxuries now for peace of mind later.

Once you have a budget look over your grocery list and your menu plan for the past few weeks. Which high priced meals can you skip for several weeks in order to put that money toward food storage? Substituting breakfast meals for dinner a few times a week can save a significant amount and most people love breakfast foods for dinner.

Time to get out that binder. Sit down with your family and make a list of their favorite meals, about 10. Now make a list of their favorite desserts. Once this is done use this list to create a master list of all the ingredients in each recipe. For example if you have rice in a recipe write it down. The next time rice appears in a recipe make a hash mark next to rice. When you are finished you will be able to determine if your family likes rice or  pasta more. When we begin purchasing grains you will then know to purchase more of the one your family likes best. There is no magic to wheat or rice or oatmeal. The important thing is to have healthy grains stored that are versatle and provide good nutrition. If you have my ebook,  Mother Hubbard: What She’s Doing Now you can find out exactly the amount you need to store, however, you alone will determine the exact foods which will achieve that goal. We’ll get more specific as we go along.

Using your permanent marker go to your pantry and make a slash mark across all the cans and boxes you currently have. These are the foods you will use first when preparing meals. More on that later.

Finally, using your marker date items around the house that are not single use. If the item is already open draw a line at the level of the contents on the outside of the container and date it. Now, when you use up that item you will know how long it took you to finish the bottle and you will know how much you need to purchase to have a three month supply. Mark both food and non food essentials. Some items to get you started: oil, shortening, pancake syrup, salad dressing, ketchup, toothpaste, deodorant, dish detergent, laundry detergent, hand lotion, shampoo, etc. To determine how much TP and hand soap you will need simply save the wrappers in a drawer for a month and count them at the end of the month. I have found this to be the best way to determine what you really need. I have heard some lecture and advise their audience to guesstimate how much they will need. Why guess when you can know? I have also never…met a family who needs to store as much oil as food storage calculators normally advise. Why waste your money stocking up on too much of an item when that money could have been spent to purchase things you really do need? Can you tell this is a frustration to me? I hate wasting anything, but especially money!

There is no need to be wary of food storage. You are in control, I promise. I am here to help and there are many people in our yahoo group who would love to share their successes and failure so you can learn. I remember when I first started storing food. I read information which said to store 5 gallons of oil per person. I have been married a long time and we have not used that much in a year even with a family of six. Oil is one of the items you date and then calculate how much you used.

Email, facebook and tweet everyone you know and tell them we are beginning food storage again and now is the time to jump in. Tomorrow we will discuss places to store the food you are purchasing for your General Store.

Need ideas for beginning food storage or preparing fopr the electricity to be out? listen to my talk with Doctor Prepper.  There were some technical problems so fast forward the first ten minutes.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

As I watch the news today the Stock Market is currently down 259 points after the consumer confidence report was released. I know my confidence is down and after the G20 summit where the United States was shot down  it appears the rest of the world has lost confidence in the U.S. economy as well. The conference voted to “require” all member nations to reduce spending. Not what our president wanted to hear but what I believe most Americans do want, not only to hear but to see implemented. I also notice some in Congress are backing off the financial reform bill a bit. I hope that is real and not just another ploy to get something for their vote. More and more I find myself looking at my General Store and being so….thankful that I am preparing. Notice I didn’t say prepared. It is an ongoing process and anything you and I have done is important.

There is a storm brewing in the gulf which if it becomes the CAT 3 hurricane they fear will cause massive damage and while clean up may provide some much needed jobs those jobs will be paid out of our taxes and will be another excuse for raising them even more.

For those who are new or who are just beginning to catch the visions now is the time to ramp up our efforts. The next few days I am going to go back to the basics and to the beginning of our General Store discussions. Please email your friends, mention it on facebook, twitter, or whatever you do and get the word out. I don’t believe we are doing enough to help our friends and family understand the need to become self reliant or the fact that there is help for them so they can do it. Lack of funds should not be an excuse. We can help them get past that stumbling block. Lack of space should not be an excuse. We can help them get past that also. Some economists are now predicting high inflation is on the horizon. When others are eating their $1.29 veggies we will be eat the ones we purchased at much better prices. There will still be sales and we will be the ones who can wait to replace food when it is on sale.

What did the consumer confidence report say?

“U.S. consumer confidence was rocked in June as Americans fretted about the weak jobs picture and more turbulence in the financial markets, a new report showed on Tuesday.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dropped to 52.9 in June, sharply below a reading of 62.7 in May and not even close to the 62.8 reading economists had forecasted. The 9.8 point drop in June marked the steepest decline since February.

The present situation index dropped from 29.8 to 25.5, a one-year low, and the expectations index tumbled from 84.6 to 71.2.

Consumer confidence which had posted three consecutive monthly gains and appeared to be gaining some traction, retreated sharply in June. Increasing uncertainty and apprehension about the future state of the economy and labor market, no doubt a result of the recent slowdown in job growth, are the primary reasons for the sharp reversal in confidence,” Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in the report. “Until the pace of job growth picks up, consumer confidence is not likely to pick up.”

Worries about the weak jobs market continues to weigh on consumers’ psyche, with the percentage of consumers anticipating more jobs in the months ahead dropping from 20.2% to 16% and those anticipating fewer jobs rising to 20.8% from 17.8%. It’s clear consumers were rattled by the May jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy created significantly fewer-than-expected private-sector jobs.

Americans grew more downbeat on present-day conditions in June, with those saying conditions are “good” falling to 8% from 9.7% and those saying conditions are “bad” rising from 39.5% to 42.4% — the highest level since February.

Consumers’ short-term outlook also took a hit, with those anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months falling from 22.8% to 17.2%.

The report plays into fears on Wall Street that consumers will once again cut back on spending, hurting the already-fragile economic recovery.” http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/consumer-confidence-drops-june-jobs-worries/

We need to keep adding to our General Store so for this week add Toilet Paper. I was really astonished when I read through the list of items we have added and realized we hadn’t done this one yet. Yikes! It is by far my favorite General Store item. I know I will be able to trade for anything if I have the TP. Call me spoiled or a sissy but it is also the one item I never want to be without. I realize we have talked about EMPs and the possibility we would be on our own for months before the grid could be repaired and store shelves would be stocked as they are now. I know I would need lots and lots of TP to make it that long but I am doing my best to make sure that happens! If you have been with us for very long you should know how much you use in three months so begin there. For those new…take the wrapper off of the toilet paper each time you put on a new roll. Place the wrapper in a draw and at the end of the month count your wrappers. Multiply by three and now you know what to store. I always recommend you store some extra in case your emergency has everyone staying home all day or others evacuating to your home. If you haven’t done this exercise go out this week and get several rolls as a start while you determine your actual needs.

So…you have two assignments for today. Get the word out that we are starting a series to help those just beginning food storage or those who are returning after an absence or for those who still hate the idea because they envision wheat taking over their lives.  And two, purchase TP for your General Store.

Wednesday June 30th I will be doing another show with Doctor Prepper. This time, a Bucket List, skills everyone should know to be self reliant, even or maybe especially, our kids! Join us 5:00pm Pacific at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/01/doctor-prepper-talk-show

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

Summer is the time for scrapes and bruises so this week we are going to add Bandages and an ace bandage to our General Store. That’s it, simple.

I recently read an article which quoted a recent survey which found that 18 percent of New Yorkers are now preparing for emergencies. This may seem like a small number but it is actually the highest that has ever been recorded. This article went on to advise people how to prepare by doing small things  like getting together a 72 hour kit, water and a three day supply of food. For the past three years we have been taking small steps each week to become prepared.  Many of these are free and many are not. Stocking our General Store last year we added food, this year non food and cleaning supplies. If you missed the food portion last year there is a guide on the March issue of the Totally Ready Newsletter. I realize for many this is old news but today we had a question in our yahoo group which reminded me again that we are constantly having new people join us. With all the newcomers and all the new interest in emergency preparedness now is a great time to again ask friends and family to join you. A preparedness buddy will help them get started and will help you stay motivated.  This is becoming a much bigger movement and hopefully it will soon be the thing to do.

To answer the question that arose today let me review just how we began our General Store and decided what to store. Some in the group have chosen to store food based on a predetermined menu plan. Some have seven meals they rotate, some many more. When I do a consultation the first thing I ask people to do is to decide with family members what their 10 favorite meals are. Then we move onto 5 favorite desserts and 5 breakfasts.

Step two, we take the recipes for each of those meals and list all of the ingredients. When an ingredient is repeated make a hash mark next to the item. When you are all finshed you will see a pattern. You will discover if your family likes more pasta than rice or more applesauce than peaches. You may love mandarin oranges but they may not appear in any of your recipes. Since you know your family likes all the ingredients you have listed you now know what to purchase for your food storage. Once you have those on hand you can combine them to make dozens and dozens of different recipes. You will have what you need to make your favorites but you will also have plenty to experiment with as you work on rotating the items in your General Store.

As you “Old Timers” know we store foods based on the food pyramid suggested serving sizes. I will never tell you to store 20 pounds of wheat, instead I will tell you to store 20 pounds of grains. Now that you have your recipe worksheet complete you will know that when it is a grain week you will stock up on the grain your family enjoys the most, for some rice, some pasta, some wheat, and so on. Naturally by the time we finish you will have a variety stored.  During fruit weeks you may add peaches which is the family favorite and occassionally a few cans of those mandarin oranges. Your General Store food supply then becomes specific to your family’s needs and foods that will provide not only nutrition but also comfort during a difficult time. Avoid food storage plans that tell you specifically what to store. They will leave you with food that is difficult to rotate and thus ends up in the landfill.

If you need help getting started just post your questions on our yahoo group or email me directly and I will be happy to help. For an indepth analysis of your needs we can schedule a phone consultation.

carolyn@TotallyReady.com 

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

That’s right, I’ve decided to hit the road. I have heard so many times over the past decade, “I just want you to tell me what to store and I will do it”. After hearing from so many that they have stored a year’s supply of dehydrated foods or even worse, a year’s supply of grains and powdered milk, I have decided it is time to do something more. For the past year and a half I have been encouraging readers and friends t0 create a General Store in their own home which would meet the needs of their family. You may have noticed that I never tell you to buy corn or peaches or tuna. Instead I ask you to buy cans of vegetables and fruits or pounds of protein. I would hate to be stuck cooking for an extended period of time with the foods some websites tell you to store.

It has been a real wake up call, or it should be, that there are already lines for food handouts along the Gulf coast due to the recently oil spill. It has been a matter of days and already families are out of food in their homes. What will they do when the relief agencies give them bags of food that they may not be accustomed to eating or that they may lack the skills to prepare? Food storage MUST be customized to your family needs and preferences.

This week I began in home consultations. I will be meeting with you in your own home and when I leave you will have a list of foods and other items to store specific to your family needs. We will walk around your home and I will help you discover places to store food that you may not have considered. I will help you learn how to plan shopping trips, how to afford food storage no matter what your budget and give you tips for rotating. I will leave you with an interactive inventory system to keep track of what you have, what you still need, and will also aid you as you use and rotate your stock.

I would love to be able to travel the country doing this but naturally that will not be possible. I am currently scheduling appointments in California and southern Oregon. The price for this service depends on the distance traveled and the number of appointments scheduled. I would also be happy to do telephone consultations. As I travel for other reasons I will let you know and if I am already in your neck of the woods I will be available for in home meetings. I will be in Houston the beginning of June and I have a few days available for consulting during that trip. If you are in the Houston area and would be interested please send an email and we can talk about the specifics.

As I watched the DOW plummet for a few minutes today, and everyone concerned the exchange would close to prevent a total melt down, I was reminded just how fragile our economy really is. The Greek economy has completely failed and there is rioting in the streets as government programs are canceled. These are the same type programs we have become so dependent upon, food stamps, education, police and fire, health care, all those mandated programs the state and federal government has put into place. I remember watching an Oprah when she interviewed women in Denmark and declared them the happiest in the world. Right…they pay 70% of their income in taxes and the government provides education, jobs, medical, etc. What happens when their economy fails and the people have no skills and no concept of how to create and make do? Riots like we are now seeing in Greece. That will happen here should we have a similar failure of our system. The Euro was devalued today by 10%. That is huge! What happens when foreign governments can’t repay their loans to us and we can’t repay our loans? Rioting and civil unrest as services are cut.

Am I concerned about EMPs and Solar Storms? Yes, but I am far more concerned about the economy and food supplies. Food supplier in many countries, including the United States, are subsidized by the government. What will happen when those subsidies go away as budgets become unsustainable? Last night I appeared on the Dr. Prepper show on blog talk radio. We discussed EMPs and Solar flares and he asked me what would be the first thing I would advise people to do. The answer, get your food and water stored. No matter the cause of a disaster the things we will always need are food and water. With all the concerns about world economies, natural disasters, terrorism and just plain life challenges, the bottom line remains the same. We must eat and drink to survive.

If you know someone who could use a hand with their food storage please let them know I am now consulting and I will leave them with a plan they can, and will, follow because it will be easy and it will make sense. If you have a loved one in California or southern Oregon and are at a loss for a gift why not give them the gift of an in home consultation. If you would like a telephone consultation just let me know.

Just a reminder, because of my concern for rising food prices,  I will send any new subscribers to the Totally Ready Newsletter

a copy of our March issue which includes the information you will need to store a nutritionally balanced three month supply

designed for your family’s needs, not a generic list you may find other places.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released their Producer Price Index (PPI) report for March 2010 and it is frightening. Food prices in March 2010 rose by 2.4%, its sixth consecutive monthly increase and the largest monthly increase in more than 26 years. The bureau fears food inflation could be coming on a grand scale, and it will be devastating.

Prices increased during the past year as follows: fresh and dry vegetables up 56.1%, fresh fruits and melons up 28.8%, eggs 33.6%, pork 9.1%, beef and veal 10.7% and dairy products up 9.7%. Last year prices were similarly increasing at alarming rates. Many did not notice these extreme price increases because manufacturers reduced packaging sizes or, in the case of dry good such as cereals, they just reduced the number of ounces of food in the packages.

We have talked about food inflation the last several months and lack of water in California’s central valley causing some of these price increases. Now there is a new water threat. Have you heard about this one? The Clean Water Act gives the Federal Government the authority to control all navigable water ways in the country. The administration is attempting to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2009 (S787). This new act would amend the 1972 Clean Water Act and replace the words “navigable waters” with “waters of the United States.” These waters would include:

(A) all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;

(B) all interstate waters, including interstate wetlands;

(C) all other waters, such as intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, or natural ponds;

(D) all impoundments of waters of the United States;

(E) tributaries of the aforementioned waters;

(F) the territorial seas;

(G) wetlands adjacent to the aforementioned waters.

Why do we care? How will this affect food prices? We need to care because we have seen what the federal government did in California and food from California increased in price and over 30,000 people were left unemployed. This could happen to you. If you decide to stock a pond on your property with fish as part of your food plan and an environmentalist complains that it is disrupting the life cycle of a feeder fish or water bug the government could force you to remove the fish. The government could decide a stream needed to be damned or undamned to protect a fern. Farmers whose farms are watered using a stream or pond could be denied access to those waters. Those who have cattle grazing and drinking from ponds on their own property could have access to those ponds denied. The Great Lakes will be affected by this change and some fear they could be pumped to provide drinking water to drought ridden states. You need to be concerned.

What has this to do with Money Saving Tips…nothing and everything. If we can see a threat to our economy and especially food prices, since we all need to eat, and we do nothing, we can be sure the cost of living will increase in our own homes. Sometimes saving money means acting before an event. It’s time to let Congress know we are aware of what they are trying to do and that we will remember them on election day if they make this change. Again, this appears to be a democrat vs republican issue but I have not seen a complete list so please write or call your Congress men and women and get involved.

If you have not completed stocking your general store with food I suggest you concentrate your efforts there. You may still want to add some of the non food items we are adding this year, each Monday, but you may only want to add a few and use your budget to get your food shelves full. Now is also the time to get your garden planted and to talk to friends and neighbors about sharing produce from gardens and trees. Food prices will increase and we will eventually eat our stored food and have to replace it but if you replace foods when they are on sale you will always be eating cheaper than those who failed to prepare.

I feel so strongly about this that for the next two weeks I will send any new subscribers to the Totally Ready Newsletter a copy of our March issue which includes the information you will need to store a nutritionally balanced three month supply designed for your family’s needs, not the generic list you find other places.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

In recent months I have been asked repeatedly how new comers can catch up. I’ve been asked for a summary of our Seven Steps from last year (365 Days to be prepared) as well as a list of what we have already added to our General Store. I have been asked where to get more information on topics we have already discussed. With this in mind we are introducing a Totally Ready Newsletter.

You will no longer have to wonder what you missed when on vacation or recovering from an illness or just a busy week. I will announce special offers for preparedness supplies as I find good deals or arrange for discounts with suppliers or manufacturers. For a complete list of the sections and topics to be covered please check out the information on the newsletter link above.

Wedding season is upon us and a gift subscription would be a great way to help get the newly webs off to a great start! And of course there is Father’s Day!

A great gift for those you care about most…

Many of you have told me of your frustration with friends and family who are not preparing.

Our first newsletter will explain the importance of preparedness, review our three month supply, introduce the General Store concept,

bring you up-to-speed on the H1N1 flu virus, and include an e-book discount for our new e-book – all this for subscribers only!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

If you are a member of a preparedness or other group, please contact me directly about a group rate

Carolyn@TotallyReady.com