Our General Store…New Gadget…Plungers and Matches

First, thank you to all who have sent me survival stories. Please keep them coming. It is great to learn of all the things you have discovered through real life experience. I will compile them and share them in a newsletter in July. If you haven’t already shared your survival tale please do so. Thank you to all who have let me know about the can organizers you have purchased. For any who may have missed my requests last week, I need to know if you have purchased can organizers after clicking on the link on the blog. If so, when and how many, thanks, it’s important and I appreciate your help.

I have often wondered why we don’t just do our water bath canning in our large stock pots. The water gets just as hot and will cover the entire jar. Now Ball has done it. The Canning discovery kit includes a polypropylene rack and jar lifter combo designed to hold 3 pint jars and fit in a stockpot, and also includes 8 simple recipes and  canning instructions. I think this is a great way for those who have never canned to get an idea of what is involved, and just how much fun it is, without all the expense. It would be a great gift for anyone you are encouraging to get involved in canning. How handy when you have just a few peaches or just enough fruit for one batch of jam and don’t want to drag out all the equipment.   Check it out.

Since we have spent time recently thinking about what might cause an extended power outage and how we would survive, I would like to stick with that theme in stocking  Our General Store this week. Now is the time to add a plunger. If you did not see the post about a assembling  “Washing Machine” for use in a power outage then you may not understand how a plunger helps during a power outage. Check out the post. I purchased my plunger at the dollar store so this is not a huge investment. When you get your plunger home be sure to label it “laundry only” and add it to your emergency supplies in the garage. If you don’t already have a plunger for your bathrooms now may be the time to add one or two. During a crisis we may need to use our stored water to flush. As we will be trying to flush with as little water as possible, the need for a plunger will certainly arise.

Add matches to your store. Wooden matches are inexpensive and a must have for any good storage plan. They should be included in your go kits, auto kits, 72 hour kits and of course on your General Store shelves. For storage, other than on the shelves in your home, place them first in a waterproof container or wrap them in plastic or foil to keep them dry. There are many ways to start a fire but the easiest by far is to use matches. Don’t skimp in this area.

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One Response to “Our General Store…New Gadget…Plungers and Matches”

1. Believer says:

   May 18, 2010 at 8:09 pm

   It is good to have matches. One thought however. If mice get into your storage, they can chew through the box, and if a match head is chewed, it can start a fire. It’s a good idea to put them in a metal can or something that cannot be chewed through.