Living Life in Rural Iowa

Fall has come and now it is time to get those projects done! Time to button up the homestead, secure the buildings, and make sure all the peoples and animals are going to be warm and safe for the winter.

This could be the time for panic or you can just simply do what you can do in the time that you have. I choose the second one. I know I have at least one good month left to do what I can. I might even get November if the weather holds out. 

This is the list of projects I like to get done in the fall around my homestead. I feel better about winter and can hunker down with a good book without feeling guilty. Doing these tasks also makes my spring even easier when I am ready to tackle the world again!

12 Must-Do Homesteading Tasks For The Fall

1. Clean out the dog kennel. I do regular maintenance daily, but every fall I like to clean out all the bedding in the indoor part of the kennel and put new bedding down for her. I usually use medium flake pine shavings and put a blanket or a dog bed o…

Really? Why not?

As I mentioned before, I read a lot of prepping boards and comments on posts in various social media outlets. I see a lot of people say that they can't prep (or homestead) because of various excuses.

I really loathe excuses. 

You know what? You don't need anything more than ambition and gumption to prep and homestead. However, many people are scared to do so before they even get started. 

The reality of prepping has been warped by reality television shows that only show half of the reality. Beginning preppers watch these shows and think that is where they need to be. They think they need to have everything these preppers do NOW and they don't have the money for that. What many newbies don't realize is that preppers shown on television have been building their supplies up for years. 

In another scenario, they see what the top prepping bloggers have and talk about needing to be prepared. Newbie preppers become scared from the sheer amount of stuff and skills …

A while back, I was without a computer for three weeks because my computer died suddenly. I have been thinking more about that now. So much has changed with computers and technology in general in the last four years.  

Our phones can do dang near anything we want them to. We have so many more social media options now. We now have notebooks and pads that function as mini computers. For a while, I had a Kindle that did nothing, but download books without graphics. Now Kindles are all that and more. 

The point is we all depend on computers and relevant technology way too much anymore.

Need proof? 

We "pin" everything on Pinterest or to remember it for later. 

We "google" almost every topic we could possibly interested in.

We look up videos on YouTube to find out how to do just about anything. 

We save links on Facebook to remember them for later reading or for super cool ideas.

We bookmark pages, posts, and anything else we might want to remember for later on the web.

We get u…

Welcome to the 30 Days of Preparedness Giveaway! September is National Preparedness Month and the Prepared Bloggers are bringing you an amazing giveaway sponsored by Valley Food Storage and various preparedness authors. These authors are authorities on topics from gardening and chickens to natural medicine and water storage, all to help you become prepared for what life brings your way. Enter for a chance to win one of 3 great prize bundles:Each bundle winner will receive:
1- Year Round Gardening Udemy course by Rick Stone valued at $30.00. "Learn everything you need to know to extend your growing season to 365 days a year no matter where you live. Not only will you learn how to have peas in June and tomatoes in August, but you will also learn how to grow tasty veggies in your garden all year long. Including the dead of winter! All using simple, inexpensive structures like mini hoop houses and cold frames", from the Udemy website.1- How To Embrace An Off-Grid Lifestyle by Ta…

Many people ask me what I buy and I have addresses this in other posts. Besides being a huge fan of Amazon Prime Pantry and Amazon Subscribe and Save, I shop at dollar stores. I love dollar stores!

Where I live, I only have a Dollar General. If I know I will be driving by a Dollar Tree, I will stop there too. I love these places for filling in the holes in my preps as well as adding to them. This weekend, I stopped at both places with some cash I had saved up. 

 The first trip I took was to Dollar General. For $11.00, I was able to purchase:


4 cans of cream of chicken soup - $4.00 2 bags of yellow rice - $2.00 2 boxes of raisins - $2.00 1 box of Naproxen Sodium 50 ct. pills - $3.00
I don't consider Dollar General to be a true dollar store. However, I find better deals there then Kmart which is my other local option. Although, Kmart is starting to mark down their camping supplies this month. I got 4 - 40 ct. waterproof matches for $1.74 and a 3 pack of Sterno cans for $2.73. Not bad. 
The …

August was busy! We did a fair amount of purging and decluttering. You will have that when you move another kid out of the house and to her own apartment at college. We still are. I even sorted out the sock bin in the laundry room and pitched a small trashcan full of socks. 
School also started on the 24th and we were all ready for it to start! The kids got their own Chromebooks again from the school. 
My Goals For 2015

1. Clean, de-clutter, paint, re-carpet, fix ceiling,  and organize Paige's room. This room is an unorganized disaster that needs some serious help. Plus she is at that age where she is growing out of everything: clothes, toys, books, etc.

We have a little bit of cleaning left to do. Then we will be looking to fix her ceiling.

2. Clean, organize, paint, and re-carpet the office. This is where I work at home (most of the time). It doesn't work for me. It doesn't really work for anyone.

I am looking at putting hardwood laminate flooring in my office now instead of c…

This post is a part of the 30 Days of Preparedness Round Robin with Prepared Bloggers! Thank you for visiting!

Today, let us focus on the ladies. Women have certain needs and your preps should reflect those needs. I am writing this list with the thought in mind that you might not have a man around to help you. Women need to be as well rounded as possible in their preps. You should be able to handle yourself no matter what!

However...guys, you may think you don't have to read this, but that would not be the case. You are either a female or have a mother, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, niece, or girlfriend. So this article applies to you either way.

I am not including food and water in this list. They should be a given in any preps. You should always be buying and storing food and water. And toilet paper, but that is a whole other post!

10 Most Important Items A Female Prepper Should Have: 

1. Sanitary pads, tampons, and personal items. This is at the top of the list for a …