Food Storage Made Easy » Non-Food Items

Beyond The BabySteps: Non-Food Items: Inventory List

Jodi and Julie — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:32:07 +0000

For our Summer Crash Course we have been revamping all of the BabyStep pages and last week we updated the Step 10: Non-Food Items. On that page we give a great list of ideas for non-food items to have, but we wanted to give you this bonus handout. You can store this handout in your linen closet or wherever you store your non-food items to remind you to stay on track with what you have purchased, and what you still need to purchase.

Please note: This list is also on our our 3 month supply excel sheet found on BabyStep 3, but in case you’re an excel hater- we wanted you to have it in an easy to print form!

Cleaning Supplies Using Food Storage Items

Jodi and Julie — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:15:07 +0000

Recently we received an email from one of our readers and Twitter friend (@MaryC49) we just HAD to share! Mary did a blog post all about homemade cleaners on her blog http://somethingaboutmaryc.blogspot.com. What a great idea to store simple ingredients in your storage that can make a variety of cleaners. Her post was so great, we are just copying it directly here (she gave us permission).

So straight from Mary’s Mouth:

Today I am sharing some of my home-made cleaning recipes. They work. I have been using them for several months and have eliminated most of the store bought, pre-made cleaning products in my home.

I bought a 3 pack of spray bottles at Costco. Each had a different color cap ring and spray trigger. I use GREEN for Floor Cleaner, BLUE for Glass Cleaner and RED for Multi-Purpose Cleaner. I also re-purposed a clear acrylic spray bottle to use for a Linen Sprayer. I cleaned it well and poured just-boiled water in it to sterilize.

A few items to keep on hand for FRUGAL and GREEN cleaning are:

Distilled Water (when you clean you should start without stuff in your liquid)
Vinegar (plain old cheapo white vinegar)
Dishwashing liquid (I like Method or Trader Joe’s)
Borax
Washing Soda
Baking Soda
Essential oil (optional)

So here are a few recipes to start:

Multi-Purpose Cleaner

1 teaspoon Washing Soda
1/2 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
4 cups hot distilled water (or fill your 32 to almost full)

Put the top on your sprayer and shake it up a bit. Use this for your regular cleaning in Kitchens, baths, etc. Don’t use it on stone or granite. I haven’t made one for that yet.

Window Cleaner

1/4 cup Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
4 cups distilled water (or fill your 32 to almost full)

Put the top on the sprayer. Give it a shake or two. Use on Windows and glass. You can also use it on ceramic tile. Use newspaper to wash your windows. I use a microfiber cloth to clean mirrors and tile.

Floor Cleaner (Not the Mop Bucket kind -Ok for sealed Wood, Ceramic Tile, Sealed Stone and Laminate)

1/3 Cup Vinegar (NO MORE)
Fill the remainder of the 32 with Distilled Water
Shake it up.

To use: Spray (don’t squirt) on dust mop for daily clean-up. For build up on Wood or laminate floors, spray the floor and use a microfiber mop or cloth to buff the floor.

Linen Spray

1 1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 teaspoon Lavendar (or fragrance of your choice) essential oil
2 cups distilled water

I used a 16 oz spray bottle so a little was left. Place in spray bottle and shake well before using. Spray on your linens when you make the bed or use to iron with.

Oven Cleaner

Make a paste with Baking soda and water. Spread a bit on baked on gunk. Let sit a bit and then scrub off. Repeat if necessary. It also does a great job scrubbing grease off the inside of the oven window.

Soap Scum

Use a little baking soda with the Multi-Purpose Cleaner to scrub soap scum off shower doors and tubs.

Toilets

Use 1/4 cup of borax in the bowl. Swish it around some. Let sit in bowl about 30 minutes. Swish again and flush. I also put the same amount of Borax in the back of the toilet every so often to disinfect the whole thing.

Added "BabyStep 10: Non-Food Items" to Main Topics

Jodi and Julie — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:05:39 +0000

WOW! Can you believe we are finally through all the BabySteps? (Ok confession here … we are not FINISHED our food storage but we have researched the basics of every aspect, and have a plan to complete it all in a few more months!) Step 10 is all about the non-food items which in some cases can seem even more important than food items (i.e. TOILET PAPER). Take a look at BabyStep 10 and make sure to scroll down to the bottom for a sneak preview of something exciting that’s coming up in the future!

Addition to BabyStep 3 – Three Month Supply

Jodi and Julie — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:14:32 +0000

In planning our 3 months of food we started to think about times that we would actually USE it. The most likely scenario was an economic crunch, job loss, or something of that nature. So if we had no money for food, it would seem likely that there would be no money for other necessities like diapers, medications, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. Thus we have included establishing a 3 month supply of non-food essentials as part of step 3. Remember, this is only necessities for now. And the biggest benefit of including this in step 3 is you will be able to begin stockpiling these items as they go on sale and rotate them in as you do your food. This should free up even more money in your monthly budget and enable you to buy more food storage!

We have updated the Step 3 page with this new information.