Things to Know to Keep Home Peaceful, Comfortable, and Safe?

My husband, Rich, and I both agree: there isn’t one place we’d rather eat than at home. It’s peaceful, comfortable, and safe. You can’t say that with full confidence about many places outside the home these days. junebe you feel the same?

I say this as an introduction to my topic, taken from an article found on one of my favorite sites, Food Storage Moms (www.foodstoragemoms.com). Site owner/author, Linda Loosli, discusses basic pioneer skills we absolutely should not lose.

While we june not see the relevance of knowing how to do all of these things today, there june come a time when having mastery of at least some of these could greatly enhance the peace, comfort, and safety of home.

Many of her suggestions relate to this business of eating at home.

First on her list? BAKING. We all know there’s nothing that can touch anything home-baked. Home-baked goods are superior to anything found in a bakery or grocery store—if not flavor- or texture-wise, then at least health-wise. I love that I always know what’s in what I bake at home. The absence of chemicals, preservatives, and other mystery ingredients soothes my soul!

Closely related to baking is the art of BREAD MAKING. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an art as something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. Doesn’t this just fit bread making? Who doesn’t love coming home to the smell of baking bread or the taste of a warm slice slathered in butter and honey?

And then there’s true COOKING. True cooking is cooking from scratch. There are always good reasons to turn to a store-bought meal (Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pies come to mind), but in the long run, knowing how to make your own chicken pot pie is a skill that will never cease to serve you. (BIG thanks to Cook’n for helping me improve my cooking and baking skills over the years!)

Still food-related is Linda’s suggestion of CANNING FOOD. This is such a smart way to ensure we can enjoy good food throughout the year. Self-reliance, self-reliance!

Like canning, DEHYDRATING FOOD is a lost art. It’s always smart to have a variety of food storage on hand. Fresh foods, frozen foods, canned foods, and dehydrated foods mean all bases are covered. If power goes out and your lose the food in your freezer and refrigerator, you can turn to canned and dehydrated choices without a worry.

COOKING OUTSIDE (aka alternative cooking). If you have charcoal, matches, tinder and a Dutch oven, you are ready to boil water and feed your people.

GRINDING WHEAT and other WHOLE GRAINS: This skill does take special equipment, but the peace of mind that comes with it is worth the cost.

GARDENING. A wise man once said (over 40 years ago), “The day is coming that we’ll be living on what we produce on our own property.” Considering our highly adulterated food supply today, this sentiment isn’t so far-fetched. And can there be anything more satisfying than sitting down to a supper that you put together from food you’ve grown yourself?

Related to gardening is GROWING FRUIT TREES. This is a skill for sure. You don’t just plop a fruit tree in the ground and munch on its fruit the next year. Home-grown fruit is the best, but you have to know what you’re doing to get a harvest.

And related to gardening and growing fruit trees is SAVING SEEDS. This is turning out to be an important skill in that it’s a sure way to avoid GMO-affected food supplies.

Then there’s WATER GATHERING and STORING WATER. Good luck baking, cooking, gardening, etc., without a water supply.

I’ll close with the remainder of Linda’s list of recommendations of arts and skills that can contribute to the peace, comfort, and safety of home. All this stuff (mentioned above and below) might seem silly, considering how much easier life is today, but there’s no guarantee this comfy lifestyle will always remain. That said, these are skills we’d be wise to learn (while the going is easy) and keep alive:

• Beekeeping

• Blacksmithing

• Masonry and stonework

• Bartering and sharing

• Carpentry and building

• Knife sharpening

• Knot tying, rope splicing and other rope skills

• Raising food-producing and service animals

• First aid and medical care

• Natural healing

• Fishing and hunting

• Knitting and crocheting

• Quilting

• Sewing

• Repurposing old clothes

    Alice Osborne
    DVO Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com