Awhile back, I wrote a post about Being Financially Prepared, and implementing a $1,000 emergency fund. Now, I am definitely not a financial expert, but I did take a lot of finance classes in college, and I feel that financial stability is very important. So I figured that it’s high time that I need to write another post about being prepared financially. This one will cover debt elimination, because it is such a relief to be debt-free! Continue reading
Hey everyone! Having just practiced earthquake safety during the Great Utah Shakeout last month, I feel that I am a lot more prepared for an earthquake. However, there are a lot of things that I didn’t really think about, and Amy has done a great job of laying out other survival methods in her guest post. Apparently there is a huge fault running through Utah, so an earthquake is a very real possibility for those of us who live here. Thanks for a great post Amy!
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Hello lovely readers! Today I have received a blog post from one of my very best friends. I have known Robin Cole since high school, and we have enjoyed many fun times together since. We even worked together grooming dogs for a couple of years! Robin graduated in English at SUU, before heading off to the U of U for additional degrees, so be prepared for a wonderfully written post. For the past couple of months, I have been thinking that I need to stop driving, and start biking! In fact, I even got this stationary bike 2 weeks ago, and it now has a home in my living room. But it’s not nearly as fun as getting outdoors on a bike. As I have been trying to be better prepared, I can clearly see the advantages of using a bike rather than a car. This article will adequately prepare you as you reach out to your dream of becoming a bike commuter! Enjoy, and please feel free to leave any feedback in the comments section below!
Do any of you guys have a garden? I don’t right now, but I really want to start one. My husband made a lovely garden box for me to go on our back patio, and I just need to paint it, and then get soil and seeds to start my mini-garden. I can’t find a picture online that looks similar to my planter, so I will take one after I get my box painted, and upload it as soon as I can. I’m really proud of Holden for making this. I haven’t ever really seen him make anything before, and he did such a good job!
One of the main reasons that I would like to get a little garden growing is because if you think about it, a garden is a form of food storage. And the best part is that it is all fresh, healthy food. Did you know that if you start your garden with non-hybrid seeds, then you can collect the seeds produced from your plants and re-plant them to get more plants the next season!
Today we have a guest post with some basic survival tips, and a review of what may be needed in an emergency situation! Enjoy! 
There are several legitimate sources for finding emergency preparedness information, and the Red Cross is one of these sources that provide us with information on averting and dealing with the most likely disasters. Some of these include earthquakes, large fires, chemical spills and water contamination, as well as various forms of terrorism, and even pandemics that can lead to social and civil unrest. Continue reading
So lately I have been wondering about whether or not there is an actual taste difference between some of the freeze dried food storage brands. So yesterday morning two of my friends, Andrew and Alyssa volunteered to come and help me carry out a little experiment. I had some samples from Food Insurance and Wise Foods and so I decided to put them to the test! We prepared the Beef Stroganoff from each company (And after we ran out of the Food Insurance Stroganoff, we made a little Chicken A’la King) and then asked random passersby in the little St. George mall to taste them and tell us which they preferred. It was actually difficult to get anyone to stop to be honest. Not a lot of people are willing to try freeze dried food. Combined with the fact that not too many people frequent the mall on Wednesday mornings, it was hard to get a good response to the experiment. However, we did get 10 people to try our samples. It turns out that 9 out of 10 the ten people asked told us that they preferred the Food Insurance sample.
Here is an interesting guest post highlighting the correct procedures for freezing raw meat. Part of being prepared is stocking up on meat when it is on sale, and freezing is a great way to keep it for long periods of time. Thank you to Mike for your expertise!
Freezing Raw Meat for Long Term Storage
By Mike Douglas
If you use proper packaging, it will help you to maintain quality and help to prevent your meat from becoming freezer burnt. It is perfectly safe to freeze meat or poultry in its original packaging for short periods, but this type of wrap is permeable to air and it will gradually diminish your food’s quality. 
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Last week was a very very eventful week, and not only because I graduated from college. The main reason it was so eventful was because we had a LOT of car troubles. But most of these things could have been avoided had we been more prepared. Here’s a brief summary of how the week went.
Sunday night we realized that the Camry registration was set to expire on May 1st (Tuesday). The car is registered in Holden’s dad’s name, and the last few years he has taken it to be inspected and registered. But Holden’s dad (Gary) was leaving out of town from Monday to Thursday. So we decided, oh that’s fine. We will use the Camry on Monday, and then we can both just get around in the Miata until Thursday when Gary gets back. The perfect plan!
This isn't my Miata, but it looks just like this one!
Hey everyone! Today we have a really awesome guest post! Sarah talks about something that I desperately need to do. I am an avid hoarder, so I will definitely be taking this advice. In an emergency, you will be far better off if you do not have to rummage through your things to find your most important belongings. What a great step in being prepared! Thank you Sarah!
Stop Your Hoarding: The 4 Box Methodology
By Sarah Paige
I had a friend that was offered a job in New Zealand and had to pack up everything and move in a matter of days. It was an exciting and frightening task as she had accumulated over thirty years worth of ‘things’ that were occupants of her home in Australia. Was there a plane big enough to carry her grandfather clock, her cupboard of crocheted blankets, her nostalgic collection of lava lamps?
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Summer is so close I can smell it! It’s finals week at DSC, and I know that many other schools have already had their final exams and are out for the summer! So let’s start preparing for summer, shall we? I am going to make a list of 10 things that I cannot live without during the summer! If you want to *really* be prepared, you could purchase these items at the end of the previous summer, when they are on sale! I have done that many times, but I do occasionally forget to get them in advance. But hopefully this list will get you thinking about some things you may want to get!
