Weekly Preparation Practice Checklist

Good tips for low-cost practical living!

Weekly Preparation Practice Checklist
http://community.stretcher.com/blogs/homesteadmindset/archive/2009/03/03/weekly-preparation-practice-checklist.aspx

1. Serve someone with nothing in return:

Sorry, Mom and Dad, but your God-given, regular responsibilities as parents don’t count for practice in this category. It is the over and above actions. No money has to be spent, just some time, or some effort, or care. This can be any form of service from inside or outside of the family. Practice selfless giving. Expect nothing in return.

2. Spend at least one undistracted hour with your whole immediate family:

This means no television, computers, electronic toys, music in headphones, etc…You get the picture. Take a look at your family’s schedule. We have become a fragmented-family society. Can you actually enjoy your own family? Can they actually enjoy being with you? If called upon for quarantine or as a support system, we’re going to need to be more homebound WITH our family members. Practice now! The idea is to build this up over time.

3. Garden work:

Actual gardening is obviously most productive, but in the winter, it may not be possible. Planning, seed sorting, composting can all still be attended to for a productive garden in the spring.

4. Re-use at least one thing that normally gets thrown away:

. Just look at each item before tossing it and ask yourself the creative question: "Can I use this again or in a different way?" This can be a can, left-over ‘scraps’ of food, or anything.

5. Preserve something:

Dehydrate it, can it or freeze it.

6. Work on longer term food storage:

Keep building that inventory with ever sale that goes on now of non-perishable foods.

First – your one year WORKABLE pantry and then the stock-piled store and ignore stash.

7. Try a new recipe or a new variation of an old one:

Can you create something with alternate ingredients, if ingredients are in short supply? Or make something all together new that is actually edible if you are limited?

8. From WORKABLE one year pantry, make at least one breakfast, lunch & dinner:

Practice now! That is why we push building the year long WORKABLE pantry now and the long-term, store-n-ignore, stash-n-dash hide out food later. Be well versed in using all the non-convenience items that you have for your preparedness. Otherwise, they do you no good.

9. Calculate the cost of at least one meal this week:

This is related to the number 11 on the practice list.

10. Financial preparation:

Working to get out of debt, cutting monthly expenses, saving on utilities, making extra income with an at home or side business, and more all can apply to practice in this category.

11. Work on local food/barter systems:

Do you have a dairy cow? Find someone with a great garden and swap milk for produce. Look for local CSAs and Co-ops. Better yet, get involved and join in one!

12. Research and study something new about sustainable living:

Try the library (yes we still have those). Is there an area of preparedness that you know you’re lacking or just not yet interested in? Expand and grow your mind!

13. Try a new hands-on preparedness skill:

To give all the examples, this list would be way too long. Ideas range from making candles to dehydrating… just get your hands dirty and try it instead of just reading and gaining head knowledge.

14. Do without electricity for one night (from evening until bed-time):

This really is a lot of fun! Candles, lanterns and board games, oh my! You can even combine this item with #2 and double your practice!

15. Cook once this week (in winter) by fire or (in summer)by solar:

Even if it’s hot-dogs over a bon-fire or a pot of beans in the fireplace use the fire for more than warmth. Make a solar oven and bake a chicken, brownies and more. It’s not just fun and it’s a skill!

16. Know in Whom your security and peace lie:

Don’t rest on all this preparedness and hope it will save your soul. Practice living for and knowing the One who can. He brings Peace in the midst of a world gone crazy and joy in the trials. Don’t neglect your relationship with God Almighty and His Atoning Sacrifice for us. Know Him. Know Peace.