moving as many family members under one roof as possible.
This way you have as many hands to garden,farm,sew,quilt,knit,cook,watch the kids and work as possible.
if you can live on a farm that is ideal.

Fishing,hunting and gardening was so normal and frequent it was a way of life. You did it after work,before work,and for fun.

Hobbies were crafts,reading, and game nights with your friends,family and neighbors with potluck meals.Lots of card games, book clubs,sing a longs etc etc.

church/temple was a big deal and often a lifeline for emotional support and sometimes a hot meal.

you swapped goods for goods and goods for services and services for services and services for goods. money was scarce and not worth much anyway. so you’d trade apples for oranges. zucchini for onions,deer meat for fish,sewing for construction. Baby sitting for tutoring, piano lessons for a meal.(you get the point).

So make nice with your neighbors,they may be your biggest resource later,and you theirs.

idiots,slackers,cons and lazy folks were ignored. your neighbors warned you about them and you steered clear for them and didn’t get sucked in. But if a good person came to your door you scrounged up a plate of something and they ate it on the porch and left the plate there when they were done.

Hobos begged for food or a buck to do a job for you. This will come back. I had a gentleman a few days before new years eve asking for whatever I had to shovel my driveway. the snow was just lightly dusting it but I gave him my last five bucks in cash and two bags of food. he cried and said he had a job driving a truck lined up but ran out of money for gas to get there and clean his cloths and his food stamps and unemployment ran out. I am in no way rich but I viewed it as an opportunity to do good. I cried to. I could not imagine being in his shoes. I have seen people begging in the parking lots of the grocery store for food,bus fair,toilet paper. so the traveling hobo,begging “sir can you spare a dime” is back .

Some of my folks and my husbands folks kind close up some when you ask em their stories, but sooner or later they tell ya. I buy depression and frugal cook books and life skill books and practice doing things ourselves. the strongest,most frugal,highly skilled will survive.

The people who can’t cook their own food,mend cloths or garden and spend money likes its water will be in a state of shock and awe but if you are determined you will eventually acclimate and survive.
I have heard the term “do or die” from great depression folks often. I have also been read “the optimists creed” and I have a copy on a plaque and read it often. I have been told Optimism will save your life when times get tough.

We give to charity when we can, our folks give to charity if and when we can, and we stay nice with our neighbors.as this is how i and my man was taught is how you survive. your kind, sharing and charitable (but not gullible)

FOR FOOD:
bulk at Costco in 25-50 pound bags. things like rice,flour,cornmeal,sugar,dehydrated onion,raisins,pinto beans and oats.Potatoes,onions,bananas,carrots,celery and apples. and we always pick the ones that say made in USA…some of these items can be as low as 22-50 cents a pound and some have an extremely long shelf life. If your terrified the produce will spoil chop,dice and freeze in reusable freezable containers.if you use brown sugar, keep molasses, add molasses to the sugar, viola brown sugar. just a few table spoons per cup of sugar. want it lighter add less.

Embrace your inner soup and burrito chef persona. you can make double the size freeze half for later. crock pots(or at least ours) uses very little electricity. burritos can be rolled in foil, soups can be stored in Tupperware or old cool whip/butter containers(just don’t heat the soup in these they melt if not microwavable safe. If you wish to invest in Tupperware I prefer “rubber made” its the best I have found so far. or do what my dad did and reuse butter and other containers from the store.

I got a ten buck steamer, I make the main course in the crock pot and perfect rice in the steamer and both use less energy then my stove(and I can do something else like clean,sew or garden)

save old milk containers and wash very well(or use pitchers instead).
make milk from powdered milk,water and vanilla extract. Or water down whole milk (experiment until you can tolerate it) it makes 2% milk so I am told by kids who had parents who were dairy workers.
so get two gallons out of one, make one white and one chocolate…
or buy a half gallon and do the same thing(one half gallon white, one half gallon chocolate after you dilute it)

buy your salad dressing at the dollar store or just use oil and vinegar, as a Jewish kid all I was allowed growing up was oil and vinegar dressing….we never had ranch or Russian . and grow your own lettuce. Mesclun is very easy. I started it indoors in cheap peat moss pellets in an empty egg crate on top of my fridge and planted in pots in spring. My dad used to grow bean sprouts in the window(cause he didn’t trust the ones in the store) we ate them in salads,stir fries,soups and even omelets. Bizarre but tasty.

My dad was so cheap he would open the paper bags the bagger bagged our groceries in and use them to strain the grease off meat.paper bags were also our art paper,book cover paper and wrapping paper.If they were packed in plastic they became trash bags.

stretch stuff. my grandfather once fed ten people on one can of tuna fish(yes yes this is true) he added shredded onions,celery,carrots and boiled eggs with miracle whip. then put it on day old bread off the mark down rack. best tuna salad I ever had (albeit not much tuna in it lol)

embrace apples and raisins: apples can be used for half the potatoes in stew, apples and raisins can stretch stuffing,they can be added to rice dishes,plain oats and mixed into a cobbler with biscuit dough and a bit of butter and cinnamon sugar.They also make good muffins or pancakes.

BEAUTY:

for bath salts two cups of cheap Epsom, two tablespoons of any oil you have( I like olive or coconut) and if you got it ten drops of either lavender essential oil(the cheapest of the essential oils) or vanilla extract. nice soak for little money.I find the coconut oil smells better and lasts longer.

also you can add ten drops of lavender essential oil to cheap old cocoa butter lotion. Lavender is so strong the ten drops could be enough for the entire bottle. they say its ten drops for ounce of lotion,salts or carrier oil(johoba or almond) but I find with lavender a tiny bit goes a long long way.I like the one by “NOW” found at health food stores. I look for it on sale.

STRETCH YOUR LIPSTICK:
dig the leftover lipstick out of the container,mix in a bowl with cheap chap stick, stick in a pill container and apply with lip brush….I prefer to use a better lip balm then chap stick like nuetroguena naturals. I compared the ingredients and nuetrogena had better stuff in it then the fancier lip balms at an $8 SAVINGS!(it pays to know your chemicals)or you could use coconut oil.

FANCY FACE SOAP:
My Russian Jewish grandma loved goats milk on her face.she looked so young all her life. so I try to find solid soap with that in it as cheap as possible(or if your skilled make it yourself) it trumps any soap for your face no need for humectrants,or retinol. Otherwise find a mild glycerin soap (cheap in bulk at of all places HObby Lobby) Melt it down in a pan you will never use for food again,add some honey,aloe and pour into an old cupcake/muffin pan you will also never use for food again. let set and pry out with a knife. works well…I did this once and it was very easy. worked for my youngest who has eczema.If you want an exfoliate use cheap white nubby wash cloths. very cheap in the auto section of any walmart,target or home depot.

THICK BODY BUTTER:
buy which ever one of these you can afford from the health food or grocery store…needs no refrigeration I promise…
extra virgin coconut oil(will look like crisco)
cocoa butter(significantly cheaper)
and put it on your body,feet,lips or even your face after a bath. very nice. my youngest who had eczema uses this and it works well.
if you want foot cream you can add ten drops of Lavender essential oil or 5-10 drops of peppermint oil to one cup of coconut oil or cocoa butter. but be careful of the scent if you have sensitive skin. My oldest and I can use this but my youngest has to use it without essential oils. If you only use a clean spoon to scoop out the coconut oil you can use the same jar for eating and your cosmetic purposes. that way it avoids you having to buy multiple bottles. but a little goes a long way….so don’t over do it.

FROM DISHES,TO HAND SOAP:
Find a mild concentrated cheap dish soap you like, refill all the hands soap bottles in your house with it, this has two benefits..one you have eliminated one product(hand soap)two, now when you use your dish soap you just use a couple pumps versus accidentally wayyyy to much (think kids with slippery hands)You can even do a half soap,half water solution to stretch it farther. I have also used this to hand wash my cloths in a pinch,and used to wash the tub,the sink and the toilet bowl. It does not disinfect(unless you buy disinfecting type) but it does clean.

MULTIPURPOSE CLEANER:
I got this tip from a maid I met in a hotel. FABULOSO, love it embrace it and own it. this is a surfactant that can clean anything from your bathroom,your floors,your garage door and even your car(and Yes I tried all of those things) I prefer the Lilac(purple) one. I buy the biggest jug I can find. I buy a spray bottle and a bucket. I water it down per the instructions on the back. It also doubles as an air freshener as it has a yummy scent. They do make it in Orange but I find that aggravating to my asthma. That’s all the maids use. FABULOSO and maybe a watered down disinfectant in a different bottle. But never mix Fabuloso with anything but water.

OVEN CLEANER:
as an asthmatic(and a tight wad) when I have to clean the oven (by hand) I have to get crafty…I made a paste of three parts baking soda,one part toothpaste and a few drops dawn soap. I scrub the oven with this(think lots of elbow grease) and it worked. AND I didn’t fall over dead from the price or the fumes.

DISINFECTANT:
buy Clorox bleach, make the cutting board cleaner solution(dilution of bleach to water)Its on the back of the bottle or jug. for my purposes I figured it to be a 32 ounce spray bottle of water with two tablespoons of bleach for a strong disinfectant. I spray on kitchen counters, sinks etc…no need to rinse but you can if you want to(i’m paranoid so I do) disinfects fine(I’m still here) though if your asthmatic like me wear a mask or ask your husband to mix it…shake bottle before each use.

THE JOYS OF BAKING SODA
buy in huge bags at Costco. keep in kitchen, use for baking. make a paste of a few tablespoons of some and water and a few drops of peppermint or vanilla extract for emergency toothpaste. grab a cup and throw in toilet to make a eco-friendly toilet scrub. use to scrub tub…add dawn soap if you have soap scum(or cheap suave shampoo)…works well. and if your short on Drano…add a cup of baking soda,followed by a cup of vinegar followed by hot water till the drain unplugs(also makes a great science project with a volcano and red food dye). Its save and very very versatile.

SELF ESTEEM
don’t take the kids to the clothing or grocery store, buy it,put it in bins (so they never see the brands) and when it comes to cloths forbid them to check the tags till they try it on and give you an opinion(then clip them ) we threaten them with “we’ll take it back if you look” and with one teenage girl and one preteen girl this solved all our problems!

If the kids,neighbors,relatives whatever….yada yada yada berate you,question you (or your kids husband whatever) smile,straighten your shoulders and proudly proclaim yourself (or your family)”NONCONFORMISTS” when your asked what that is, very intellectually explain you don’t believe in feeding the corporate machine,desire to trash the environment with stuff you’ll never use .and do not feel the need to use brand names to try to obtain validation from people you don’t know or don’t like” this makes you look very smart.

my preteen claims it means she doesn’t waste thing and my teen has taken it on as a ANTI-waste,ANTI-sheep mentality,ANTI-peer pressure mentality.
Neither of them get picked on. It is my manipulative but intellectual way of saying we are broke without coming out and saying we are broke nor believing we are broke. It fends off the “Jones-es,nosy peers and nosy people” It makes them feel rude for asking and makes them question their over buying,over using,wasteful habits and takes away from my Moyle,cheap,tightwad life style. It succeeds in keeping our integrity and self esteem intact while shutting the mouths of all the YENTAS(gossips,nosy people)who dare even ask why.

anyway, I know this was a novel(sorry) hope it helps.

Get to know your neighbors, plan on making a garden if you can and start buying locally…most importantly start NETWORKING so people know you and you know them and can start pulling resources and talents/skills if and when necessary.

People are adding on instead of buying up; building granny units to accomodate multi-generational families instead of retiring to a condo, renovating what they have instead of building new.