jeanettecentaur

If I haven't said it before, THANK YOU for posting recalls, Wormguy.

I have been keeping a log of my purging adventures using the KonMari Method. I wish I had discovered this years ago. The premise behind it is to decide what to keep instead of what to throw away and only surround yourself by items that truly bring joy. Next, these items are ONLY tackled by category...not room by room, or a single drawer that day. In other words, when I decided to tackle clothes, shoes, accessories I went through the ENTIRE HOUSE, GARAGE, BUG OUT BAGS, VEHICLES...all of it, and dumped it all into the middle of my bed and went to work. I was shocked by the volume of stuff, but now it is under control! On December 31st: Today I began another downsizing journey to start the year off right. I was able to donate about 30% of my clothing, shoes, bags to Castaways! Since we have the rule of removing 2 possessions for every 1 we aquire I thought I was doing pretty well, but I still see clutter and am aware of owning "stuff " that truly serves no purpose, so really, it owns me...and I pay to house this cr*p. I am implementing the KonMari method. It's brutal and efficient. I have had the voice of a tiny Japanese woman all day telling me that my socks look like potatoes in a drawer and that I should "let them rest" and roll them like sushi. She demanded that I set up all my foldable shirts like a beautiful bento box. So I did. Happy Happy Tidy New Year! On January 5th: KonMari method WORKS!!! I have been purging books with every move, but today I was able to drop another 50%. Chosen keepers are reference books for Nursing, Herbalism (Chinese, Ayurvedic, Western), Food preservation (canning, dehydration, fermentation), Urban and wilderness survival, homesteading, hunting, firearms, favorite cookbooks, kayaking, camping, local History, and finally Constitutional Liberties. A few favorite fiction books that I re-read like Douglas Adams and Tolkien were kept. I feel light as a feather at the moment and my shelves look tidy and bare! On January 7th: Another KonMari task complete! I went through every closet, drawer, bag, my vehicle, filing case, fireproof safe...all of it (again) and found all papers, manuals, photos and mementos (old letters, cards, etc.). All mementos and photos are set aside and completely ignored until I get to that category. The end product of todays work was 3 small folders: Things to be dealt with, Things to keep for a limited amount of time, and Things to keep indefinitely. I was left with a fraction of the giant pile splayed all over my bed and floor. In fact, it doesn't even take up a 1/3 of my tiny portable filing cabinet! I had 4 giant bags of shredded documents!!! Definitely my most satisfying purge yet. One thing I was having a hard time with was giving up all my subcategories in my portable filing cabinet. It was stuffed with labeled folders for Taxes, Vehicle registration, Nursing certs, and on and on. Now that I only have 3 little folders, it's easy to flip through and discard whatever I come across that is dated/expired and no longer needed, instead of having to make another day a year down the line where I need to go through it all at one time. It's intentionally set up that way so I am forced to look at those documents if I need something which creates the opportunity to get rid of more. Ha! Definitely helps me with my "put it off until another day" mentality. Next week's category: Komono Komono is Japanese for "small articles; miscellaneous items; accessories; gadgets or small tools, parts, or attachments; an insignificant person; small fry." Ha! It has many subcategories, and my first will be CD's, Games, and DVDs. Wish me luck! On January 12: Look away if you are bored of my decluttering adventures... KonMari strikes AGAIN! 2 categories tackled today. 1st was CD's, DVD's, Video games. I got rid of anything that wasn't saved to hard drive. Easy. 2nd was skin care products and hygiene. A surprising amount of bottles and tubes went into the trash. Kept items were favorites and perfectly arranged out of sight. Other than the obvious decluttering that is happening, a favorite part of KonMari method is having a category of items located in ONE spot. It seems silly, but I had hand lotion, lip balm, and nail clippers and files all over the house. I am supposed to "let the home decide" where these items live, then use the dang nail file and PUT IT BACK in the one, single, solitary place that it goes. Duh. Next week's goal: 1. Makeup 2. Nail polish, hair products, tools, and accessories. 3. Jewelry I don't actually store a lot of this stuff so shouldn't be too hard. On January 20th: KonMari update: Today's purge: Make-up, Nail polish, Hair products, and Hair Accessories. I turned up Smashing Pumpkins and got to work. I was certain that I didn't have an overabundance of this stuff. Pretty little (ruthless) Marie Kondo proved me wrong again!!! Many moons ago I would carry around an entire giant tackle box filled with MAC Make-up that I would even lug around to camp. I definitely got over that! Still, many colors of eye shadows, powders, whatever... were just not quite right, so out they went! I have been coloring my hair black to blonde to red since I was a teenager, so I have plenty of color, developer, clips, gloves, bowls, etc. I also had 10,000 "claws" that I hate to wear. I'm not sure why I had a rainbow selection of hair ties since I'm going to 99% of the time grab something BLACK. Into the trash it all went!!! (Except for what I ACTUALLY USE) Nail polish was easier than I thought it would be. Since I'm a nurse I rarely polish my fingernails, but when I do it's Black, Silver, Purple, Blue, or Orange. Someone please explain to me why I thought a pale pearly color was a good idea? I don't know... I kept a favorite in each color and tossed the rest. I washed all my hair and make-up brushes then scrubbed my sink and mirror. Suddenly I have a ton of room in my vanity and of course it is all PERFECTLY organized and only filled with products I actually love and use. {{{Gratefulness}}} Next in the subcategory of Komono: Valuables (passports, credit cards , cash...basically whatever is in your wallet or safe) followed by Electronics and CORDS, CHARGERS, etc. This is one I am not looking forward to. The husband is very attached to cords that "we might need someday" and I promised to make sure he sees what is about to get donated. Almost every drawer has a mysterious cord or charger. It is a giant pet peeve of mine! Fortunately I already dropped off old mobile phones to get wiped and recycled. This also means addressing computers, tablets, old cameras, etc. Wish me luck!

Getting started on 1900 House today. Thanks!

It looks like I have some holes in my preps!!! Dang it... Directions: --Fill in the blanks as they apply to your household as of today. --Assume LIGHTS OFF scenario. --Use piece of paper [or..just be careful - don't reveal ALL your secrets on the board] .....but we can discuss if you have comments/questions. ===============================================/==================== WATER A - 1 Barrel 2 Bathtubs 3 5 Gallon containers WATER B - 1 Berkey or homemade filter if necessary 2 Desalinator...tested in our bay and effective 3 Boiling as last resort to fresh water sources. SHELTER – 1 Our home, clubhouse, inlaw's house a few doors down if necessary. 2 DD Jungle hammocks... we use these ALL THE TIME and I get my best sleep in them. 3 Usual camping gear...large ground tents, small ground tents, pavillion. 4. Last resort if stuck on this peninsula...large boat barn. Clothing - [a subcategory of 'SHELTER' in my reckoning.... list your best, durable outfit for each condition if you're surviving in the elements.] 1 ...Cold/winter/ snow...Plenty of Swazi gear, winter motorcycle gear, boots, hats, etc. It's rarely used because we have short winters. 2 …Hot/dry/sunny...Plenty of quick dry outdoor flexible clothing, sandals, hiking boots. 3 ...Rainy/ windy/ muddy. Got it covered. Since we live in a saltwater environment, most of our clothing is meant to get wet, dirty and brush off and dry quickly. Sometimes you just get wet and deal with it!!! Footwear - [same as above...but possibly even more important than clothing] 1 ...Cold/winter/ snow. We could use better cold weather boots. 2 …Hot/dry/sunny. Got it. 3 ...Rainy/ windy/ muddy. Got it. LIGHTING - [three ways....] 1 Flashlights and lanterns with rechargeable batteries and solar chargers. 2 Candles 3 Solar lights and solar strips to wrap around trees or whatever. COMMUNICATIONS - [subcategory of TOOLS but keeping this simple] 1 Mobile Phones 2 Walkie talkies 3 Weather radios that crank or use rechargeable batteries SANITATION A - [washing] 1 I have 2 big tubs preset for this issue. It has plungers, soaps, hanging line, etc. 2 Plenty of baby wipes, dry shampoos, Germex, toiletries 3 Jump in the bay and deal with being a little salty! SANITATION B - [toilet] 1 Flushing portapottie. New/unused. 2 Dig a hole. 3 I should probably get more plastic bags, sawdust, and 5 gallon bucket conversion!!! I have plenty of 5 gallon buckets, and could always add sand for layers. HEALTH / FIRST AID - [meds, OTC, bandages, …..long term without Walgreens available.] 1 Multiple first aid kits 2 Big tubs filled with wound care supplies, gloves, etc. 3 Big tubs filled with OTC meds, Fish Antibiotics, etc. 4. Herbal supplies for Ayurvetic Medicine, Western herbalism, etc. IMPORTANT PAPERWORK - [First,can you find them? Then 3 ways to transport them securely...change of SHELTER scenario] 1 Preset paperwork in small file in our 15 minute evacuation room. We also have lockable/portable safe. 2 Scanned documents in Terabyte drive 3***Need copies in all our BOBs!!!*** FOOD A - [three meals without electricity...note logistics/equipment needed] 1 We have 12 cases of MRE's. 2 Lots of freeze dried foods that can be made delicious using stored spices and our dutch oven on volcano stove. I love that stove because it uses propane, charcoal, wood...whatever you have on hand. 3 Any number of homemade and store bought canned goods in our big pantry. We can heat on Jetboil, Kelly Kettle, Volcano stove, or eat cold as necessary. 4 ***I sure wish we had invested in a Solar Oven by now!!! FOOD B - [ three meals while in transit to your SHELTER....note logistics/equipment needed] 1 Easy Mountain House meals...just boil water in jet boil. 2 We store tons of meat sticks and jerky. 3 We keep large amounts of Cliff bars and Bison Bars for EDC. Our BOBs, EDC, GHB are stuffed with them! We eat them all the time. SANITY - [three things to keep your mental/emotional health stable....fun things, challenging puzzles, Bible....] 1 Music 2 Books: Spiritual, homesteading, medicinal, fiction 3 Games, cards, etc DEFENSE - [three non-standard methods to 'defend the castle' ...cuz we know about the Other ways] 1 I need to think more on this... We have 3 story rooftops and can see people coming and going from our part of the peninsula by water or by ground/road. 2 3 ANIMAL / PETS - [Can you care for their needs if you have to change SHELTER from house to.....somewhere else...cuz lightning struck and your house burned down! ] 1 If my house burned down then all my animal preps burned with it. 2 3 ===================/=====================/==========================

We avoided ALL shopping this weekend, except for my Melaleuca order which is an automatic order each month online. That is the thing about being prepared...we never "need" anything, and Christmas presents will most likely be prep items for the family! LOL!!!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vf2iecl996bdxdt/FB_IMG_1448983176691.jpg?dl=0 Here is the head of my staff.

Thanksgiving meal was Blackened Redfish, Fried Oysters, Fried Shrimp, and Cilantro Slaw. We still has pumpkin pie, of course! https://www.dropbox.com/s/eoldat52aail8zm/20151126_160907.jpg?dl=0

Thanks, you guys!!! I "insisted" that DH not spend any cash on me this year because our preps are always a priority. However, I received a beautiful Blackthorne Staff from Ireland and some Python Straps for my DD Jungle Hammock. The staff is a perfect height for me to hold like a wizard and has a hook at the top to reach for stubborn persimmon high in a tree! It also shoots fire and lightening depending on my mood, so definitely a prep item!

I understand your concern! That is something to think about while camping anywhere and even in a tent, but it has come up a bunch on the hammock forums because you are essentially a giant meat bag. I do keep my firearm and night vision in a pocket of my hammock right by my pillow since the hammock has 4 pockets for easy access while lying down. Also, it's important to scout your camp spot anyway to avoid hanging across animal trails or under "widow makers" (dead tree branches). So far the closest wildlife (that woke us) has been a curious raccoon and a skunk that walked right under DH's hammock.

Next weekend, 130 people are doing the Texas Hang in East Texas. Funny that you bumped this, Dogmom4, because I just got finished airing out my Jungle Hammock after re-applying Permethrin. I have used this hammock a TON ever since I bought it, and I will "never" go back to ground camping if I can help it!!! It's part of my Base Camp in my BOB/INCH bag and I don't leave town without it...ever. Also, it makes me miss CGA on this forum because she always knew everything about everything and walked the walk.

Ha! Do you know that they are already on their 5th deck? I haven't finished the first one!

So cute!!!!

I have Thrive Honey Crystals from Shelf Reliance and the first ingredient is Refinery Sugar (Refined cane sugar) and the 2nd and last ingredient is Honey. Essentially that reconstitutes into "honey sauce" and if I had paid attention to that ingredient list I probably would not have bought them. What can I say? I was caught up in the moment at a Saxet Gun Show!!! That said, it does have at least 25 year shelf life and less weight and easy pour/use. Here is my thought process these days...Why would I take beautiful local honey with an unlimited shelf life and medicinal properties and turn it into crystal sweetener? I can just use Raw Cane Sugar at that point. The "dead" honey won't reconstitute into a natural antimicrobial burn treatment or sore throat remedy. What are your plans for crystal honey, Jeepers? I can see it being handy for pre-made meals in a jar.

She will be missed.