Living Life in Rural Iowa

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I didn't promise consistency in this post being weekly and I am sticking to it. We have been busy just trying to get as much done as humanly possible outside on the weekends. Well, let me rephrase that. Rob has been busting his behind to get as much done outside on the weekends as possible. I just help him when he needs help or thinks of something I can do. We can't hardly do anything outside after work now unless we have lights on us.

I am fairly handy, but let's face it. Rob is so much better at fix-it projects and projects in general than I am. I can garden, raise chickens, and fix simple things. He sees problems and things that just need taking care of and he does it. Since he likes everything working the way it is suppose to (I do, but I have a tendency towards just dealing with it as is), he does a lot of fixing and repairing. I do know he is sick of fixing and repairing too.

However, the wiring for the old hog barn and the new chicken coop are do…

During a snowstorm, it is possible that you will be in the ditch or stuck on the road. You might hit an icy patch and slide into the ditch. You might hit a drift in the road and become stuck. You might have had some confidence you could make it home, but the snow is too high and you are stranded on the road. 

You could be leaving work and hear that the roads will be closed at 5:00 p.m. The snow is piling up and you are already hearing the roads are bad. The wind started blowing and the snow is sticking to the roads now. The roads are slick and snow plows are trying to keep up, but the snow is coming down too fast. The road departments are going to pull the plows off the road pretty soon. 

You decide to try to get home. You have surely driven in worse weather before. You know you need to go slow and watch out for the other drivers. You get a few miles out of town and notice some cars in the ditch. You think they must have been going too fast. You keep the speed down, but you are starting…

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November is here already. Actually we are already half way into the month because time just flew by! Harvest is just about over with. The gardens are done unless you have cold frames. Everything outside is tucked away, battened down, or cleaned up. November is the month to start focusing on the inside things.

Prepping is a lot of little things that add up to big things. You need to work on the inside of the house as well as the outside of the house. Late fall and winter is a great time to get started on the indoor prepping tasks as well as working on some skills.

Five Prepping Things to Accomplish in November:

1. Practice walking around your house in the dark. While this may not seem important, it really is. When the power goes out, you will need to be able to get around in the dark. If you think someone is in your home, you will need the familiarity and the darkness of your home for your advantage.

2. Stock up on baking supplies. November and December is a good time to get your baking su…

In your lifetime, something will probably happen to you that will make you wonder what you are going to do next. You could lose your job. You could be in a car accident and not be able to work or pay bills. You could have a tornado or hurricane wipe out your home and everything you have worked for. You could get divorced and be left with nothing. A loved one could be taken from you and you have to figure out life without them.

So much can happen that begs me to think about this. I have been through at least two of those scenarios. I have had to ask myself "What happens when it is all gone tomorrow?"

The worst thing about this question and these scenarios is that you have very little to no warning. You rarely get to pick when something bad and life-changing gets to happen to you. Very few people know they have cancer before they are diagnosed. Many people have shown up to work only to find the doors locked and find out they are unemployed. The weather service is pretty accurate…

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Let's see if I can keep this post more upbeat than last week's post. It shouldn't be hard since I feel like I am in a better place today.

People have this idea that preppers and homesteaders are tough and resilient people that have their lives together. I can testify otherwise. Life is messy and throws a lot of curve balls.

The weather is one of those curve balls. Winter is showing up early this year. We have been spoiled the last few years with nice weather in October and November. This year we are scrambling to get outside projects finished. The temps have not been bad enough to freeze the ground, just bad enough to make working outside unpleasant.

And daylight savings time? Bah. You have to love the fact that the government controls when our clocks should turn back and skip ahead. I would like my hour or two back of sunlight when I get home to get more stuff done. I don't need sunlight to go to work and my kids don't need it to go to school!

To…

Kids can be so expensive. There is the expected expenses of clothing and feeding them. Then there are the unexpected expenses of injuries, wisdom teeth, illnesses, and notes from school saying they owe money for this or that. Either way, kids cost money.

I am here to tell you that after raising two kids to adulthood and two kids on their way to adulthood, kids do not have to be expensive at all. In fact, you can raise kids rather frugally. Most of these tactics are not one-time savings ideas but are everyday savings ideas. Whether you are a prepper, homesteader, or average suburban family, these ideas are all for you.

I want to preface this list by saying if you are serious about raising your kids frugally, then you need to put yourself into a frugal mindset. Being frugal is not a one-time thing. Being frugal is saving and not spending money every day and every minute of the day. Being frugal is in the decisions you make and what you are willing to do to have to spend any more money tha…