Emergency Supplies – Getting Around Could be Important
Emergency supplies could include a vehicle capable of handling more than just the pavement.
This edition of emergency supplies addresses getting around, it’s #8 on my list of priorities when it comes to essential activities. Most of the world is on wheels, but in America, we’re practically married to the automobile, so getting from place to place will likely be essential for many of us, even during an emergency. Just think of how many times you or someone you know told a story about travel and mentioned exactly which vehicle was used. The vehicle was as important as the place visited, wasn’t it?
What kind of transportation will you need during an emergency? It’s all up to you.
Oddly enough, during a snow storm or minor flooding, many of us feel the need to go out and get something from the store. I don’t know why it is, but I’ve seen it many times. Perhaps it’s a way to reassure ourselves that our lives can go on as usual, even in the face of trouble. We often elect to battle the elements just at a time when, in my view, we ought to remain in place. Read more…
Recycling – Articles Revisited
Recycling can take many forms.
Recycling involves more than simply hauling things to the recycling center or dropping them off into large containers for reprocessing. It often involves creating a new purpose for an item that would otherwise be discarded as waste. Today, let’s look at how some of us deal with waste. The more we start to shy away from simply discarding things, the more inventive our recycling can be. Here are ideas from our writers about how to deal with what might otherwise be waste.
First up is Mark who shows us a way to reuse aluminum foil. It’s always bothered me how carelessly we often use aluminum foil, but Mark shows us that there are many uses for it, long after it’s first put to use.
Next is Clair who shows us how he reuses plastic bags for pet food. Instead of washing them out, he immediately gives them another life for packaging pet food.
Then there is Joan who suggests a second life for newspapers in the form of fireplace logs. I’ve heard of this but never tried it.
Last is Glory who gives us 10 uses of old clothes. She urges us, “Don’t throw old clothes away.”
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Well, we made it through another Friday. I hope yours is going well. See you next week for another peek into our archive to revisit techniques associated with looking for a job.
Frugal Plant Profile: French Pussy Willow
We’re going places now with our frugal plant profile series. Where? We’re heading to the edge of the woods, along streams and close to the pond where we’ll find the French Pussy willow happily growing. This is one of the best frugal shrub/trees you can think of. Why is it frugal? I’ll tell you about that in a bit.
French Pussy Willow in spring
First, I’ll tell you a little bit about this most coveted plant for those people eager to welcome spring. Stems and branches of the French Pussy Willow, botanically Salix caprea, are often snipped to bring inside homes and offices and placed in vases with water. Why? Because of their lovely, fuzzy catkins. You know spring is well on its way when you spot these pretty branches on someone’s desk. The great thing about willows is they grow so quickly, the occasional snipping of branches is no bother to it. It actually makes them bushier and prettier. Read more…
Money for College – Knowing Your Financial Aid Abbreviations
When looking into borrowing money for college, it is important to understand the lingo professionals use. Part of that is knowing the abbreviations associated with the financial aid process. Read more…
Post Grad Guide – Try a Temp Agency
While it would be ideal to graduate from college and immediately conduct a successful search for a job in your field, that isn’t always possible. You might be moving to a new city upon graduation without much saved up and need to find work as quickly as possible or you might even be unsure as to what job you want. Maybe you know exactly what you want to do, but you’re just not having any luck finding an open position. Even if you’ve gone back home to the comparative security of mom and dad’s house, and so don’t need money immediately, the worst thing you can do for your future employment prospects is to stagnate in unemployment.
Temp agencies can provide a workable solution for those who need work and are having trouble finding it.
Get yourself into an office as soon as you can by temping.
Teetering on the Electrical Grid Edge
On our homestead, we generate our own electricity. We do this because the original builders of the homestead set it up that way, because we’re far beyond municipal utilities, and because we like taking responsibility for our own power.
Beyond that, there are many good reasons for either separating one’s family from the electrical grid, or at least creating back up electrical generation that doesn’t require additional power.
Electrical interties are a hot subject in Southeast Alaska, where high utility costs generate (sorry!) a lot of interest in connecting bush communities to power centers, like Juneau and Sitka. Our town is one, although the local needs require burning diesel fuel some of the time.
Interties, like so many aspects of modern life, work very well, provided everything goes as planned. When things don’t go as planned, it can be a disaster.
A satellite image of the northeastern U.S. taken by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program on Aug. 14, 2003 at 9:03 p.m., when a blackout affected 50 million people. (Image: NOAA/DMSP.)
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