This book is used, I got it from a used book store.
Hardcover: 456 pages
Publisher: Reader's Digest Association (1981)
Language: English
This is the contest: Post a comment for this post with your Best Back To Basic Tip or Tips for a total of three tips. One tip = 1 name in the hat, two tips = 2 names in the hat, and three tips = 3 names in the hat. Three is the most you can post. After a few days I will take all the names in the hat and shake them up and my sweet little wife will draw a name and that person will get the Book, then she will pull a second name and that person will win something too, I think it will be a slinky shortwave antenna. So put your thinking cap on and come up with some good tips. And thanks for reading my Blog.
Here's my first tip, learn about your local plants for eating, seasoning and probably most importantly, for medicinal reasons.
ReplyDeleteFor example, horehound, it grows wild, is in the mint family and is used to suppress coughs (it really works too!). Pine needles are full of vitamin C, pinesap is a great antibacterial, juniper berries are good for your kidneys... there are lots more.
Wretha
My next tip, it's about as basic as you can get, I use a 5 gallon bucket for a washing machine, we call it our redneck washing machine. I took a rubber plunger and cut holes in it, I attached it to a longer handle. We cut a hole in the bucket lid to accommodate the plunger handle. I fill the bucket 3/4 full of water, add my homemade laundry soap, put in the dirty clothes, place the plunger in the bucket, thread the lid over the handle and close the bucket. I plunge up and down for a while, then remove the clothes, replace the soiled water with clean water, replace the clothes and repeat until I'm done. It works like a charm, is especially good for off grid homes.
ReplyDeleteGo here for more details and pictures:
http://offgridonthecheap.blogspot.com/2010/04/redneck-washing-machine-and-diy-laundry.html
Wretha
This is my third and final tip, homemade laundry soap. I use this and I love it, it's economical, easy on the environment, a little goes a long way! It requires 3 simple items, bar soap, washing soda (not baking soda) and borax.
ReplyDeleteTake your bar soap, grate it finely, measure how much by volume you have, add the same amount of washing soda and the same amount of borax, mix well (if you have 1 cup of grated soap, then you would add 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup of borax).
Use one to three tablespoons per load of laundry, it will not seem like enough, but it will work to clean your clothes and adding more will not get your clothes any cleaner. It does not suds up, suds do not clean, they just look pretty. This is safe for HE washers too.
Hints, I use a plain bar soap, not one with moisturizers and such, I prefer using castile soap, but Ivory will work in a pinch.
If you use gray water on your garden, lawn or other plants, omit the borax, it will kill plants, your laundry soap will work just as well.
To get your whites sparkly white, use liquid bluing.
Thanks for having this giveaway, this is a book I have wanted for some time, I borrowed a copy from a friend, but she wants it back, so if I win this book, it will make me very happy. :)
Wretha
Tip #1 - Pray while preparing
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway, Pete!
ReplyDeleteMy best tip: get to know your neighbors, especially those who have a similar mindset. They may be necessary to your survival one day.
Tip #2-
ReplyDeleteLearn to appreciate rough cooking. America's weight problems didn't start until we started replacing grains, rice, beans, etc with meat. While meat is good, grains and legumes are important to your diet. Learn to love a pot of beans or a simple rice/wheat dish.
Tip #3
ReplyDeleteDon't say it can't happen. This is coming from someone who survived an Ohio hurricane after my house was struck by lightning twice LOL. It can happen and one day it probably will. Be prepared.
Pete,I have that book and it is Good.It covers a lot of ground.
ReplyDeleteChina
III
Tip #1 Learn to grow your own food. Start at the library for nearly free info. You can start small (ie a container or two in the window sill and some herbs)
ReplyDeleteTip #2 Learn to save! Our grandparents who went through the depression were experts at it. And we aren't just talking about money... waste not, want not...
ReplyDelete