Winterizing the Car Kit

As you know, we are big proponents of having a car kit in your car for little emergencies.  Ideally, you should check your car kit regularly, but the reality is...that just doesn't happen.  But I do try and check my car kit twice a year: once when summer starts and once when winter starts.

So this week, I pulled out the car kit to see what was missing and needed to be replaced or replenished.

First up, I opened the box!  My first car kit I put in an open box and realized quickly that it wasn't going to work. Dirt got everywhere. Now I use a lidded box.

 Three fruit strips were all that was left of the snacks.

 Not quite sure where the jumper cables disappeared to.

Checked the first aid kit to make sure I have everything.

 A few odds and ends in the bottom.

 Used my notebook to write down a few things I needed to find/buy.

 At the store I picked up some snacks (non melty ones, although that doesn't matter as much in the winter), bandaids and water. I love the mini size water bottles, especially with kids.

I also raided my change jar and scrounged up $10 in coins.  Hopefully having the money in change will discourage my husband from using it to buy Burger King, which is what happened to my last emergency stash of money.

All set back up in the car--for just in case.

If you have a car kit, have you checked yours lately?

Food Storage Tuesday

Every Tuesday, we post specific items you should gather in order to supplement your emergency car kit, your three-month supply, and your longer term storage.  If you are new to our blog, don't worry!  You won't be left behind.  Just start up where we are and follow along.  You will eventually have everything completed.  Once the car kit is complete, we'll be putting together 72-hour kits again (week by week).  Once those are done, we'll gather the car kits again.  So don't worry, just jump on in and join us where we are today!  

Today for your emergency car kits, add water and some high-energy snacks like granola bars.  If you've already completed a car kit (maybe last time we did it?), now would be a good time to check on your food and rotate it, especially the water in plastic bottles.

My three-month supply has been dwindling quite a bit lately, and I haven't been good about keeping track of what we have eaten!  One of my goals for the new year will be to re-assess everything we have, look over my meal plan, and write up a new shopping list.  (I know not to take on something this big around the holidays!  I am hoping to stay sane this month!)  We have a lot of really good food storage recipes on our blog that can help you come up with a three-month plan, too!  For example ,we love spaghetti, so I've planned a spaghetti dinner every Monday night if we were to eat from our three-month supply exclusively.  That means I need to store 12 lbs of spaghetti, 12 sauces, etc... (for the 12 weeks).  Once I have all that, then voila! I have Monday nights done for my three-month supply.  When the right sale hits, I can really stock up and hopefully even get it all done in one trip to the grocery store.  For more variety, you could just plan "pasta night" for once a week and have several different sauces to choose from.  Don't have the time/energy/interest to plan 12 weeks of meals?  We've done that for you in our food storage e-book.

This month for our longer-term storage, we're gathering "other" items.  I was able to stock up on honey over the summer (found a great deal on Craigslist from a local beekeeper), so I'm going to focus on something else this month.... maybe after I check out my local grocery store's weekly flyer.

Motivational Monday

"Work is honorable. Developing the capacity to work will help you contribute to the world in which you live. It will bring you an increased sense of self-worth. It will bless you and your family, both now and in the future.

One of the blessings of work is developing self-reliance. When you are self-reliant, you use the blessings and abilities God has given you to care for yourself and your family and to find solutions for your own problems. Self-reliance does not mean that you must be able to do all things on your own. To be truly self-reliant, you must learn how to work with others and turn to the Lord for His help and strength."

For the Strength of Youth, Work and Self-Reliance