Plan B

[Ambergris]

My preps, most of them bought at the grocery or at the bent can store at really good sale prices, are in complete disarray or wasted, largely due to poor packaging and failures to communicate. Stuff that was supposed to be packaged didn't get packaged and is full of bugs. Properly packaged stuff was put outside and left in the summer heat, or was fed to the chickens in lieu of scratch feed. Stuff that was bought to be put in the freezer (because "there's nothing to eat") got put in the fridge because the freezer was packed full of stuff that took more preparation than the cooks felt like handling.

 

Things must change.

 

Using a fairly random array of old grocery store receipts, I made a five-column list of foods (apples to yogurt) that covers virtually all of our eating. Meatloaf and lasagne are not on it, but all the ingredients are. This is now the master grocery list.

 

DS1's computer array is being taken off my dining room worktable. The bread machine, dehydrator, blender, cutting board, and knife block are going back onto that table. When making a loaf of bread does not entail a hour-long search for the machine and the ingredients, I will make more bread. I really miss having my own fresh bread (sweet potato bread, rye bread, onion bread, pumpkin bread, tomato bread...) available just about every day.

 

With this past monthly paycheck, I got lentils, barley, and rice from the grocery store even though only the rice was on special, and I left them at my office. When enough 2-liter bottles were clean and dry, I scrolled up a sheet of paper for a funnel and loaded them up. The bottles didn't come to the house until they were packed and labeled. I'm budgeting new shelf-boards to convert half a large bookshelf in my bedroom to hold 2-liter bottles (sideways, to spread the weight). These will now remain directly under my control. When we buy new lentils, I will pour this four-pound batch into the kitchen jar and refill the storage container. While this transfers responsibilities back to me, it means I won't be frustrated to a gurgling rage several months down the road when I found out that nobody but me was going to have done it anyway.

 

This weekend I got paid for a large side project, so I spent it on a Costco membership and a bucket of iodized salt. My new plan is to buy one prepackaged bucket or case of cans per large check and to fill at least one two-liter bottle per small check. Granted, some of the small checks bring in less than 4 lbs of lentils cost, but most bring in more.

 

DS1 told me we didn't need any more dried food. I told him his opinion was duly noted, but that if he didn't like my decisions, he could get his own place. Tensions are high, especially with my unprecedented refusal to share the wealth when an extra check came in, but I'm bulling ahead. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

 

And Mama ain't happy.

 

[snapshotmiki]

That sounds like a really solid plan! I'm glad you are taking charge! I'm interested in how life progresses!

[Jeepers]

I remember your post about losing food to bugs and to the chickens. Good for you for taking charge of the situation! I'm like you, my house...my rules. It's so maddening when others, who live in your house, don't value your efforts.

[themartianchick]

I remember your post about losing food to bugs and to the chickens. Good for you for taking charge of the situation! I'm like you, my house...my rules. It's so maddening when others, who live in your house, don't value your efforts.

 

 

Isn't that the truth? Sometimes it is easier to rely on yourself because you know the value of prepping.

[TurtleMama]

GO, Ambergris!!!

[AMarthaByHeart]

Agreed, Ambergris! I bet when there won't be any complaining about what you have done. Stand firm!!!!!!!!!!! You are right.

[JustAPrepper]

Glad to hear you are taking positive steps. Once you get it all organized and in to a rythym it will be easy to maintain and keep up with.

[Deb2of9]

I have a lot of the same frustrations here. I come home and find food everywhere but where it belongs. I hear the lament all the time that there is no food in the house, then I look at an almost full deep freeze, full freezer...leftovers going bad in the fridge and shelves a mess so that you can't find anything.

 

I do not have much room to store things, living in a trailer, but it is frustrating listening to how we have nothing to eat. Okay, nothing to eat translates to nothing that I can just pop in the microwave and make. I work afternoons 5 days a week, so am not home to cook. It is left to my daughter and brother. The last two nights I have come home to burgers on the grill because no one felt like cooking. I will give my daughter this one, for a change as two nights ago her cat died suddenly. She has taken it hard and probably doesn't really feel like cooking. However, that is right now.

 

Normally there is plenty of food that they can cook. I hear, "I don't know how to cook it." and then she disappears when I try to teach her. I don't know how to do a lot of things from scratch, but that is what I have the cookbooks for.

 

I have a plan for the next several months. I am digging the crock pot out and making one pot meals that I can start before I leave for work. I met resistance to this as well. It wasn't the meals that was the problem, but the fact that I said leftovers are to be removed from the crockpot and put into storage bowls before going in the fridge so the crockpot can be ready for the next day. Last winter, it got left in the fridge for over a month because the left overs went bad and no one wanted to empty the spoiled food.

 

I am tired of working hard to have nothing to show for it because others do not want to take the time to take care of things or learn how to prepare them. Maybe I shouldn't complain about what they cook. It isn't that they need ready to prepare type things. I had to work hard to convince my brother that a meal needs more than one pan to cook it because it isn't just meat or a pasta dish all the time. He never made vegetables. I now have convinced him that a meal consists of starch, veggie and meat unless it is one of the one dish meals we make. I said it can even consist of two veggies and a meat or all veggies if there is a balanced variety, but it isn't just throw it in together and heat it up. He will love the crockpot meals,except the emptying the left overs out of it part.

 

I need to figure out how to 1. use up the food they are not cooking and 2. stretch the budget. Then we need to start from scratch putting up food that we can store. I like the 2 liter bottle idea for storing grains, only we don't get 2 liter bottles. I will have to see if I can get them from other people who do drink them. Oh, we drink too much pop around here, but we do not get big bottles because everyone drinks somehthing different and they go flat too easily. Juice bottles should work. We do drink plenty of juice.

 

I too am planning on revamping my way of doing things around here. I am tired of an endless battle that gets me no where. I can't even get them to do the dishes. I do not want to come home between 11pm and midnight and have to clean up their mess. Nor do I want to have to do it the next morning before I can make breakfast as I had to this morning. I want cooperation and I am going to decide how we do things and they will have to accept it. Neither of them work (or drive) and I should not be expected to do it all.

 

My biggest obstacle is storage. Between being out of work for a year, and no place to store things here, I have lost most of what I had put up.

[Jeepers]

Deb, one thing that used to make me mad was when my D-ex would do things for our son instead of making him do it, or just letting it go. He said it was easier to do it himself. Maybe, but son soon realized he didn't have to do it because dad would. I hope that doesn't happen to you. The more you do for them, the more they will let you.

 

One thing that might help is making a menu for them. That way every day they will know exactly what they need to do. Start with a week and then a month. I used to do this and posted the menu on my fridge. I mainly did this because D-ex would come home and say,"I just has that for lunch". This way he could check the menu and see what was for supper if he wanted to. I would check the weekly school menu, that was in the paper, to make sure I wasn't repeating what they were serving too. I got some good menu making ideas from there too. Also, it helped me with grocery lists and I never wondered what I was going to fix for supper. You can also go over the menu with whomever is cooking and make sure they know how to fix it. Hopefully, it won't take long for them to get in the groove and change their habits.

 

Getting them to wash the dishes up after supper... I guess they will have to do it after a day or two so they can cook supper again.

[Deb2of9]

I plan on doing menus. I myself have always rebelled against menus because I didn't want to be tied to eating a particular thing on any given day. However, having a general idea of what we want to cook helps. Also, one of the arguments I get is, but nothing is thawed. If we have a menu, then part of the days plan would include pulling out what needs to thaw for the next day and put it in the fridge.

 

I do plan to start things such as menus. I want to get everyone on board, instead of doing it myself all the time, but I think what I will have to do is things such as, when it is my turn to make supper, have them get the dishes done so I can make it. I am planning on a crock pot meal one to two days a week. I can even do those on my day to work, but I think I might actually like to do it sometimes on my day off. That way I do not have to spend the day off cooking and cleaning and running errands and helping my DD1 or my grandchildren. I think the menu idea will help me get hold of the schedules. Why I can even plan my menu for what I want to cook on my days to cook.

 

One of the things that I find frustrating is when I have worked several days in a row and see that the house is a total wreck because I haven't had time to do much while working. Then I have errands to run and am gone all day on that and my daughter says, "you haven't cooked for a few days, so it is your turn to cook." Of course, on those days my brother does usually volunteer to cook.

 

My current goal for prepping is to get organized. I need to organize what I have and where it gets put so I know where to find it and I have to organize things such as cooking and shopping to save me time. It would help if they would pitch in, but I do not want to do it all. For now I will try to organize what I have, what I need to do and everything that comes into the house.

 

Maybe I can get my daughter and brother to help make the menus out, so they will have input into what they are cooking. I just know if I say this is what we are eating this week on these days, they are going to say they don't want to plan it out like that. They are as resistant to menus as I have been.

 

I will give it a try though. I will tell them we have to try it for 3 months, and if it isn't working we will discuss it and figure out why they ( or I ) think it isn't working. It is an idea at least.

[Jeepers]

I think it's a good idea letting them get involved. Let them think most of it is their idea and they are helping you out so much...which the are.

 

As far as organizing, you are on your own girlfriend! That has been a major stumbling block for me.

[Ambergris]

[HazelStone]

 

 

I have a plan for the next several months. I am digging the crock pot out and making one pot meals that I can start before I leave for work. I met resistance to this as well. It wasn't the meals that was the problem, but the fact that I said leftovers are to be removed from the crockpot and put into storage bowls before going in the fridge so the crockpot can be ready for the next day. Last winter, it got left in the fridge for over a month because the left overs went bad and no one wanted to empty the spoiled food.

 

 

I struggled with that myself. Living alone for a while meant I was the only one who could clean out the fridge. I learned to accept a bit of ick now in exchange for preventing a lot of ick later.

 

My husband is squeamish and won't deal with gross fridge stuff. However, he's a lot better than I am at PREVENTING it. Better about using up leftovers and putting stuff away in containers. Probably because he's backed out of the kitchen whimpering as I cleaned out the fridge on garbage night.

 

Still gotta improve on the food wastage though...

[CrabGrassAcres]

I don't see how you ladies do it, putting up with people that treat you like that and still loving them and going on with things. I had my fill of it when my mother moved in with me and invited the rest of the family to come share my paycheck and home. I was a lot younger then. I wouldn't do it today, I'm afraid.

[Virginia]

CGA, I'm with you. Of course, I'm getting older and grumpier.

 

My house, my rules. Don't mean to hurt any feelings, but these are adults that need to act like it.

[Nichole]

Last winter, it got left in the fridge for over a month because the left overs went bad and no one wanted to empty the spoiled food.

 

LOL

That happened to DH and me. I don't know how long it sat in there, but both of us were afraid to touch it. Then DH took it out and sat it ALL in the sink. Boy was that a nasty surprise! Still trying to drill in his head that you throw OUT old food before you put the dish in the sink....

 

I have the same problems with organization. I was actually just sitting down to make a list of how I can organize my preps and make sure they are all where they need to be and I am not over compensating in one area and leaving another out.

[Ambergris]

I blew my fuse the other night. Screamed. Since then, I have been coming home to the smell of dinner cooking, the worktable has been largely cleared for my use, and tonight when advised that the tub needed scrubbing, DS1 just said "okay."

 

Our October trip has been cancelled. A lot of my friends will be going, but my side-job money has been spent elsewhere. Plus, isn't October when we always have the batten-down-the-hatches group feeling? This year is no different for me. I just don't want to go seven hours (given normal driving conditions) away from home.

[Jeepers]

AMBERGRIS!

 

I'm proud of you! I hope things go smoother at home now. Don't give em an inch.

 

Ambergris blowing a fuse ---------->

Family coming to attention ---------->

[Ambergris]

Update:

One of the companies I do side jobs for has simply shut down, leaving me and a bunch of others without even an IOU. It happened yesterday, apparently, but I found out through the grapevine about half an hour ago.

 

This is a sign. Plan B was long overdue.

[Virginia]

A, that is so disheartening. I hope you at least get the money you have already earned.

 

Yep, good thing you have a Plan B.

[themartianchick]

I fear something similar, Amber... The majority of my employment now comes from private consulting. 6 months ago, it came from my day job. I now only work one day per week for my employer and I pick up the slack with my clients. It would be extremely painful to lose even one of my clients right now. For that reason, I've been trying to write more articles. They don't pay immediately, but the more I get out there, the more frequently the checks come in.

[Jeepers]

Ugh, that is horrible! I was so happy for you for getting more help at home and now this. I hope, in the end, you will get paid for the work you did. Yes, Plan B and Plan C is as good thing to develop.

[Ambergris]

You know, Jeepers, I had not thought of a Plan C. You're all too correct, though.

 

I had been getting partial payments (while the backlog grew) for some months. I keep telling myself not to count on that money coming through, but of course there were things set aside with the thought of "when that money comes."

 

Multiple streams of income, TMC. Got to have multiple streams of income. I started a new project at the end of last week that means one client might provide over 20% of my income in December. Which would be less scary if it didn't require me to let two income streams (trickles) dry up to put sufficient energy into the project. A buddy of mine is getting virtually all his income from writing people's blog posts right now. His risk tolerance is rather higher than mine.