Survivor

Boy, have we been busy here at the house! It feels like we are in overdrive with anticipation of fall. We have throw out, donated, purged, cleaned and rearranged the house and still have work to do. This all along school work, errands and church, but it still feels good. I'm hoping to have the entire house done by October and that includes weatherizing for winter.

Our house is old and drafty so we try to put thick curtains up and plastic over the windows. We make sure we put seasonal things away and the car has its fluids replaced and brakes/tires are in good order. We have a passenger van this year, and I just have this feeling its going to be a cold hearted van, meaning it will be a bugger in the winter. So, that means the battery will be tested to make sure we don't get any surprises with a dead battery. We are on a limited to non existent income due to my husband being on workers comp, so we have to seriously plan out every little thing and car upkeep is a doozy!

I have a plan in the works for a winter emergency kit for the car. We broke down once when we had  normal van, several miles from our home, and had no one with a vehicle big enough to pick us up so we were fretting over how we were going to get everyone home. Luckily it was summer and we didn't have the cold to worry about, and eventually we managed to get our van in working order and back on the road with all of us in it. It got me thinking though about winter and what I would need in case something like that happened again. So I want to be prepared with a box with snacks, blankets, candle/lighter, flashlight, heat packs, extra clothes etc. I would hate to think of having to sit along side the road waiting for an answer to prayers in the middle of winter.

We are pretty resourceful people. My husband and I were both raised by families who know how to take nothing and make it into something. Being prepared isn't always possible but it does good to be able to know how to wing it, which we have done with food, vehicles, home repair and everything in between. There are several situations that come to mind when we have had to rig something together to make due and it actually makes me feel glad to have the know how.

When our washer broke for the first time, my husband was working over the road and we couldn't afford to call in a repair man. I knew my husband was going to be home in a few days and he is always to fix our machines. So, instead of freaking out badly and spending a small fortune at the laundry mat to wash clothes for a large family, I decided to go "old school" and hand was enough clothes to make sure my kids weren't running around like naked savages. There are several ideas online on how to make your own make shift manual wash bucket. They work great! It's things like this that separate the women from the girls lol.

I haven't had much time to blog, but I have been compiling a list of quick, simple meals that are low cost that have helped us in a pinch. I thought maybe some of my readers would be able to use it as a guideline or helper to make life a little simpler and the wallet a little fatter. I hope to have that up and posted by the end of the month so keep an eye out.

Feel free to leave a comment on a situation where you had to "MacGyver" your way through something. I will be looking forward to seeing them. :)