Car Winter Checklist
There has been a definite theme to our recent blogs. Winter is almost here and we have been thinking a lot about how to get ready. We talked about getting our yards and homes ready. We talked about getting our food storage in shape and getting our emergency supplies gathered. If we have followed through and taken care of the items on our lists, we are very close to ready. There is another important place to get ready for winter weather – our vehicles. That’s caused me to think about a car winter checklist.
In the bad weather it is definitely better to minimize travel, but if travel is necessary, keeping your car equipped with items you need in an emergency is a must. Winter weather can provide a variety of unexpected emergency situations. Make yourself a car winter checklist and be prepared. Your car winter checklist will include lots of things. You might already be keeping the following in your vehicle:
Cell phone and portable charger
We have our cell phones with us most of the time. When driving in winter weather it is a good idea to keep charging them as we drive. If we become stuck have a charged cell phone will be very important. This is also a good time to consider having a portable charger with a full reserve in your car. These car winter checklist items are probably easy to check off.
Window scraper and snow brush
You probably already have at least one of these car winter checklist items and chances are they are still in your car from last winter. Make sure you know where they are and they are in good repair. Cracked or broken scrapers can damage your vehicle and won’t work effectively.
Canned compressed air with sealant for emergency tire repair
This is something else from the car winter checklist that you might already have in your car. In severe weather it could be quite hard to change a tire. If road conditions make changing a tire impossible, the canned air could make a bad situation much less tragic.
Tow chains or rope
These are more important to have on your car winter checklist than they might be other times of the year. Winter weather brings slick roads and increased chances of slide-offs. Having tow chains or ropes can help you be pulled from a being stuck or could allow you to help someone else.
Booster or jumper cables
Most of us have booster or jumper cables in our cars. It is a good idea to check them and see if they are in good working shape. With the colder temperatures, the chance of these being needed could be more than in other seasons.
Emergency flares or warning lights
This car winter checklist item is something that many of us already have. In blizzard or low visibility conditions, the importance of flares or emergency warning lights is increased. Warning other drivers of your vehicle or another road hazard can keep low visibility situations from being even more dangerous.
First aid kit
After summer and fall road trips your car’s first aid kit might be a bit depleted. It is a good idea to take inventory and restock the supplies that were used. Keep your first aid kit on your car winter checklist.
Tool kit
Simple tools are something most of us probably already have in the car. Like the first aid kit, your tools may have gotten misplaced or used somewhere else during the good weather. Check that the needed tools are still in your car. Having all of the tools you need can make a winter car repair or issue much less serious.
What is on your car winter checklist? Want to suggest something we forgot? Watch our blog tomorrow for more winter specific items to keep in your car. See you then!
Emergency supplies for winter
All week long I have talking about getting ready for winter. It will be here before we know it. There is so much to do and get ready. Today I have been thinking about getting the emergency supplies for winter ready. If you are like me, you probably have a lot of these items already. It is just a good time to check your emergency supplies for winter and make sure they are all gathered and ready. Here is a list of a few of the things I am getting ready.
Flashlights or Lanterns
I’m sure most of us have flashlights and lanterns already. Are they in working order? Do they batteries and bulbs work? Do you know where they are? If you have kids like mine there is no guarantee when it comes to most of the flashlights. Track them down, make sure they work and put them in a few places that will be easy to get to in an emergency. This is one of the most important steps in getting emergency supplies for winter ready.
Batteries
Do you have extra batteries for flashlights, radios and other battery operated items? Think about the kids’ toys, do you want to be sure to have batteries for their favorites? I know if the power is out, it is nice to let them play with something to keep them busy. Batteries are an important item to have when you gather your emergency supplies for winter.
Emergency Radio
Do you have an emergency radio? Or a battery operated radio that can be used in emergencies? Radio communications are still very important in severe weather. Weather updates, power outages and other vital information is often broadcast on local radio stations.
Water
If pipes freeze and break your water supply could be cut off, restricted or made unsafe to drink. Now is a good time to make sure the water in your storage is fresh and in good shape. Be sure your water storage isn’t in a location where it can freeze and make a mess. Water is another very important item on your emergency supplies for winter checklist.
Heat source
This is one of those items that will be so good to have if you need it. Have a plan for a night without power. Locate sleeping bags and extra blankets. Make sure you have enough wood for the fireplace or wood stove. Do you have a safe space heater? Don’t use your oven for heat! A way to stay warm is another very important item on your emergency supplies for winter checklist.
Easy to prepare – no cooking foods
This is another important item that I talked about yesterday. You can see yesterday’s blog here: https://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/food-items-stock-winter You’ll want to have some easy to prepare and eat meals that don’t require power to prepare. Remember to have a non-electric can opener on hand. Also have food and supplies for babies and pets. This is another very important thing to remember when making sure everything on your emergency supplies for winter checklist is ready.
Have more tips to share with us? We’d love to hear them!
Food items to stock up before winter!
Winter weather is fast approaching and I have been doing a lot of thinking about getting ready. I’ve thought about getting my yard and home ready. I’ve made the lists and shared the lists with our readers. I started thinking about another thing I do every year to get ready for winter weather. I try to think about what would happen if a snow storm was to be significant enough to keep me at home for a couple days. I hate driving on bad roads so I like to make sure I have food items I need and stock up before winter.
I have a lot of emergency supplies. I have 72 hour kits and food storage. I have cans of this and cans of that. Those are the things that we usually think of when we talk about emergency supplies. When I think of being ready to wait out a snow storm or bad roads, I don’t usually think of those things. I think more of easy to use, quick things. I think of things that we run out of every few days or things that make life convenient. Here are just of few of the things I stock up before winter.
Shelf stable milk
I know I have many cans of powdered milk in my food storage. I could open a can if I needed to but I just don’t want to if I am stuck home for just a day or two. I like to get a few boxes of shelf stable milk to have on hand if needed. If a snow storm hits and I am out of milk, I don’t want to make a quick trip to the store because we are out of milk. It’s a good stock up before winter item!
Bread
Like the milk, I know I have the supplies I need to make a batch of bread. I could make some if I needed to but it seems so much easier to think about buying extra ahead of time. I grab a couple extra loaves of bread and add them to the freezer. If we run out during a snow storm, there is no quick trip needed in bad weather. If the power goes out temporarily, sandwiches are a good quick meal. It’s another good stock up before winter item!
Peanut Butter
This isn’t an item that I usually make a quick trip out for when we run out but in the winter I think differently about it. I think it is very handy to make peanut butter sandwiches as a go to snack or meal. It is also one of my kids’ favorites. Like the other items peanut butter is something that you can store an extra jar or two of easily. Is there something like this that would be a great go to item for your family? Peanut butter or something similar is another good stock up before winter item!
Easy meals without power
We’ve talked about having the basics for a few shelf stable meals on hand before. I like to keep them handy for saving money and avoiding buying fast food. In the winter, I add another reason. If the power goes out for just an hour or two, I don’t want to break into the food storage or open cans of more long term storage foods. I just think of our favorite easy meals and plan a couple that don’t really require power or much cooking to make. I grab all of the needed ingredients and just keep them together on a shelf in the food storage room. It is so easy to save stress later and stock up before winter with a bit of planning ahead of time.
Having those few things gives me peace of mind when a storm hits. Do you have a favorite food item that you keep on hand in case of bad weather? What do you stock up before winter? Let us know! We love to hear from you.
Keeping a well organized food storage!
Like so many other frugal moms (and dads) out there, I use almost any strategy I can to help save my family money. One of my favorite things is having well organized food storage or a home store. No matter what you call it, it is pretty much the same thing. You buy multiples of something you use when it is a great price. When items I use are at rock bottom prices I try to buy as much as my family will realistically use before the items go bad. Then when you need the items and they are full price, you don’t have to pay full price. You shop from your home store or food storage. Well organized food storage is also a great way to help ensure your family will have enough to eat if it becomes temporarily hard to purchase groceries. This could be because of finances or some sort of emergency. Having useable well organized food storage is a great way to be prepared and save money.
Why is having well organized food storage important? Why won’t a bunch of things tossed on a shelf work just as well? If you can’t find it, see it, use it – it can’t help you save money. In fact, it could end up costing you money. This well organized food storage is pretty easy to maintain if you follow a few basic tips. If you don’t follow them, you will have food storage chaos. (Trust me, I know from experience.) There are a few basic tips I like to follow to help me keep on top of things.
Put items away
I try to put my items away shortly after I purchase them. Having everything where it belongs helps you see what you have and helps you keep track of your food storage. Sometimes life is crazy and I put the bags of groceries on the floor near the shelf. If I don’t get it put away soon after, more bags pile up. This leads to that dreaded chaos. You forget what you have and may buy unneeded items. Getting items put away quickly is an important part of having well organized food storage.
Store like items together
This step may be a little different for everyone, just do it how it works for you. I try to store things together that are related or seem to go together. I think if it like how a grocery store is organized. When you go to look for something in your food storage, it will be easier to find because it is on the shelf where it makes sense to you. This makes your organized food storage much easier to use.
Keep storage areas as close together as possible
I’ve lived in some places that had great food storage areas and some that had none. In many of those hard food storage places it took a lot of creativity to have well organized food storage. Even in the hardest of places, keeping the storage areas as close together as possible was a great help. Running all of the house to locate items can defeat the helpfulness and discourage the use of items. Again you may end up buying things you don’t need.
Set rules about use
Having a great, well organized food storage can lead kids (or adults) to feel like that can just grab a snack and use whatever they want. Be sure to set some basic rules with your family about who can take things from the food storage and when that can happen. It will help items last longer and keep people from using up that one favorite snack or other item too quickly.
Know what you have
Find some way to have a basic idea of the inventory in you well organized food storage. If it is organized and easy to find, this could be as simple as taking a visual look before you shop. Some people keep detailed lists and itemize everything. There are lots of ways to do it in between those two extremes. Find what works for you and make a habit of knowing what you have in your well organized food storage.
Do you have more tips on keeping well organized food storage? We’d love to hear them!
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A PYP Best Blog! Freezing Vegetables for Storage
Just in case you missed this article on Freezing Vegetables for Storage the first time we shared it a couple of years ago, we are republishing it. After I wrote this blog originally, we got an awesome response. This is one of the PYP Best Blogs! I also wanted to share this information again because our garden are producing! We need to store away our veggies for winter use.
Freezing vegetables usually requires blanching in boiling water, cooking, or steam blanching prior to freezing. After blanching, cool in ice water for 1 1/2 times the blanching time.
Start counting your blanching time as soon as the vegetable is placed in hot water or a steamer. Use the best quality freezer bags or containers to prevent freezer burn. I use my Food Saver. Squeeze as much air as possible from your bags before freezing. You can stack bags in a box before putting into the freezer. Make sure you label your bags with the vegetable name and the date. Use the vegetables within 8-12 months.
These are the blanching times for vegetables that I have previously frozen.:
- Asparagus – Blanch medium stalks 3 minutes; large stalks 4 minutes
- Bean Pods – Blanch 3 minutes
- Broccoli/Cauliflower – Remove tough leaves; Remove ends; Slice stalks lengthwise; blanch 3 minutes or steam 5 minutes
- Brussels sprouts – Soak in salt brine* for ½ hour; Blanch small for 2 minutes; medium for 4 minutes; large for 5 minutes
- Cabbage – Blanch wedges for 3 minutes; shredded for 1 ½ minutes
- Carrots – Trim, wash and scrape the carrots; dice or slice them; blanch for 2 minutes
- Corn on the Cob – Blanch small ears 7 minutes; medium 9 minutes; large 11 minutes
- Herbs – Wash and drain, but don’t blanch; wrap sprigs or leaves in foil, or seal in a plastic bag; put inside a carton or glass jar in your freezer
- Peas – Green 1 ½ minutes; Sugar Pods, Blanch for 1 ½ to 3 minutes depending on size; Remove the strings from pods before blanching.
- Green and Red Peppers – Cut in two and remove seeds; Blanch halved peppers 3 ½ minutes – these work great for stir fry or fajitas.
- Squash – Wash, cut into pieces, remove seeds, and bake until tender; After cooling, scoop out the pulp from the rind and freeze
- Potatoes – Don’t freeze well unless prepared as food first, such as French fries, hash browns; for new potatoes, wash and scrape skins off, then blanch 4 minutes for very small up to 10 minutes for very large – eat frozen new potatoes within one month for best flavor and texture
- Zucchini/Yellow Squash– Cut into pieces, then blanch for 3 minutes
- Tomatoes – Wash and core your tomatoes; cut them up; Don’t blanch, cook until soft
When I have an abundance of avocado I make guacamole and then just freeze it. Make sure you add lemon or lime juice to help minimize darkening.
Here is the link to my post on freezing fruit for storage.
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