Household Management in Uncertain Times Pt. 2
Managing our households is our primary vocation. It’s what God has called us to do as wives and mothers. There is prudence in always being prepared for the unexpected because none of us know the future. Whether it is a layoff, a medical emergency, hyperinflation, drought, or government shutting down the country - having our homes in order gives us peace of mind and our family provisions.
I remember my grandparents, both of whom grew up during the Great Depression, always having a well-stocked pantry, a beautiful garden, and a desire to fix things rather than replace them. They did not waste anything, and heaven help you if you did. I did not appreciate the skills they had as a child, but now I see them for the necessity and blessing that they are.
Today I want to share with you my favorite books, high value skills, ways to clean with inexpensive solutions, and comfort items that make life more bearable in tough situations.
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Preparedness Begins with Knowledge
Knowing how, what, why, where, etc. are all valuable when you begin to look at household management as a way to buffer your family from the effects of the world.
There are entirely too many books out there and sifting through them can be a quick route to overwhelm. These are books that our family has and enjoys and are a great starting point. **Please double check every author and book- with the rise in AI technology, many fake titles that are similar to the real ones are flooding the market.**
As you grow in skills, I do recommend buying hardcopies of how-to books that you find valuable enough to keep on hand. I have several more advanced books on gardening, animal husbandry/processing, and herbal medicines as an example.
Tactical Wisdom Series by Joe Dolio - Joe is a Christian and these books are written from a Christian perspective. The series includes:
The definitive “how-to” for starting down the road of self-sufficiency- The Encyclopedia of Country Living
The Area Intelligence Handbook
Polyface Micro - homesteading successfully with a regenerative focus on a tiny scale
The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies
The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving - I have multiple canning, fermenting, dehydrating, and other preserving books. This one has a little bit of everything in it. If you garden (and you should, even if it’s in a window or on a countertop), preserving the harvest is just as important!
Where There is No Doctor - a healthcare manual
Concrete Jungle and Prairie Fire by Clay Martin - During the Summer of Love, circa 2020, I think a lot of people would have been thankful for this information.
If you feel like a complete beginner and need the very basic basics of cooking from scratch, sewing on buttons, and cleaning - Home Ec for Everyone is a great starting place. For technical things, there is Shop Class for Everyone.
Useful Skills
You need to know how to do things. Keeping your home in good shape is simply a part of good stewardship.
This goes for more than just cleaning floors and deep cleaning the fridge (one of my least favorites). Being able to do basic maintenance and repair things is just a practical step toward being more fiscally responsible. No one needs to have to call a handyman for everything.
Being able to reuse and repurpose things is also an excellent way to steward resources well.
Here’s a small list of the types of skills that are invaluable to the homemaker:
Learning how to spackle, patch, caulk, and paint walls
Learn how to make cleaners if you’re out or want to be more economical- vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and good old-fashioned soapy water are all excellent
Learn basic hand-sewing stitches - be able to put on a button, hem a pair of pants, put a patch in the knee of jeans, sew up a sleeping bag hole, etc.
Use old wash clothes and t-shirts instead of paper towels for cleaning to save money
Learn how to cook from ingredients instead of boxes
Acquire the tools you need for cleaning ceilings/corners, tall windows, and changing light bulbs then do those things
Set a schedule for checking freezers, applying pest sprays, changing air filters, etc
If you have animals, learn basic vet care
If you have children, learn basic medical care
If your family enjoys wood working, outdoor sports, or other activities that come with higher risk learn more advanced first aid
Learn how to grow something - veggies, animals, relationships with your local community
Learn how to carve up a whole chicken before and after cooking- it’s much more economical
Learn how to use bones and vegetable scraps to make stock for your freezer or for soups/beans
Learn how to trim shrubs
Learn how to start a fire (if you have a fireplace or fire pit)
Learn how to save candle stubs and melt them into new candles
Learn how to preserve food - canning, freezing, dehydrating, and fermenting are all simple to learn and a great way to stock up a pantry. This skill is also invaluable if you happen to lose power and need to save a freezer full of food - I know from experience
Learn how to suture - Amazon sells kits and YouTube has videos, and you never know when you might need this skill
Learn how to check oil and tire pressure
Learn how to pack and maintain a 72-hour bag
Again, there are thousands of skills you can learn and hone- some are even barterable which can be very handy if, hypothetically, a large cloud-based server company were to go out and cause mass chaos in travel and banking, just as a far-out possibility.
Cleaning
I touched on this above, but being able to use inexpensive things to clean with is truly a great way to save money and a valuable bit of knowledge when things get tough. These are some ways to use cleaning agents we almost all have on hand.
Baking soda
Make a paste with water to scrub stubborn stains
Add to the wash to help strip odors from clothing and towels
Use 1/4 cup down drains weekly to prevent clogs
Put baking soda in the bottom of trash cans to deodorize
Use baking soda in a large tub with hot water to soak oven and grill racks to remove grease then scrub with a brush and rinse clean
Sprinkle baking soda on your carpets, let sit for a few minutes, and vacuum up to freshen the carpets - this works on mattresses, too
sprinkle baking soda inside stinky shoes to deodorize them overnight, and vacuum out the baking soda in the morning
Vinegar
Vinegar is an acid- be careful with it!
White vinegar on a paper towel or old t-shirt rag is my favorite window and mirror cleaner
Descale your favorite coffee pot/maker with vinegar, followed by several runs of fresh water to clean it
Spray vinegar on hard water deposits and let it sit for 30 minutes, then scrub with baking soda paste (don’t do this on natural stone, vinegar is an acid and will etch the stone)
Heat 3 cups of vinegar (not boiling) and dissolve 1 cup of table salt into it. Let it cool and pour into a spray bottle. Use as a weed spray in your yard
Hydrogen peroxide and Alcohol
If you find mold, spray it with hydrogen peroxide. Alcohol doesn’t kill spores
For cleaning soot off marble make a paste with baking soda and peroxide (mix very slowly and in an open container), apply the paste to the stain, and cover with plastic wrap to slow the drying time and leave overnight. Carefully remove the dried paste with a flate edge like a stonewear scraper or credit card then spray with peroxide and clean with a clean cloth rag
To disinfect a surface wash with soap and water, use 3% hydrogen peroxide undiluted, spray on and let sit for at least 10 minutes
To disinfect a surface, wash with soap and water, use at least 70% isopropanol alcohol, spray on and let sit for at least 30 seconds, then wipe clean
To brighten whites, add hydrogen peroxide to your laundry
I’d love to know your favorite ways to use inexpensive household solutions for cleaning!
Creature Comforts
In the grand scheme of things, it might seem silly to you to have a stash of comfort items, but did you know that during the Great Depression people still spent money on entertainment, alcohol, and cosmetics? We always look for some way to feel a sense of normalcy even when everything is crumbling around us. We also look for ways to escape into a “different” place or time.
In that vein of thought, try to imagine things you and your family enjoy. Things you do weekly- whether it’s a tea time, coffee together on the porch, evening game nights, etc. Think about what you would need in order to continue your traditions.
Some suggestions:
Keep a library of physical books for reading enjoyment
Keep stock of your favorite teas/coffees/adult beverages for date nights at home, etc
Keep candles and oil lamps with additional fuel- having light in the evenings to gather around for a game or reading or even mending things is important
Keep a supply of a favorite sweet treat- for our family that means I keep a supply of canned peaches, gluten free cake mix, cinnamon and butter (both in the freezer and freeze dried) so we can make dutch oven cobblers at home or camping without needing to get anything
Keep extra blankets - It’s actually cold that kills more people a year than heat. Have a way to keep your family warm, cozy is a bonus
Keep cooling towels, water, and electrolyte powder on hand.
Keep a small supply of gifts- think in terms of if the supply chain breakdown of 2020-21 happened on a larger scale- what items would you want to have
If you have a lotion or face wash or other personal care item you love, try to keep a few extra bottles on hand
Vitamins and supplements - while these have limited shelf life, it is good to have extras as long as you remember to rotate your stock
Socks - do not underestimate the power of good quality socks. We all have cheap socks off Amazon, but having a pair of “splurge” socks for keeping your feet healthy is a must in any situation where things have gotten -ahem- interesting. If you want socks that will stand up to interesting times, I recommend these
Survival Seeds - Food is a necessity, but if you like fresh veggies (who doesn’t?) then it’s a good idea to have some ways of growing your own
While this post and part 1 are both very basic overviews, I do hope it will help get you started in the right direction!
What other topics for getting your home in order would you like to learn more about?
