Welcome!

These monthly newsletters (from January 2011 to present) are to help us all be more prepared. They are written for the Hurricane Utah Stake (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,) but everyone is welcome to make copies. Many other groups and individuals are using them. (Note: Garden tips are for Southern Utah. You may need to adjust to fit your climate.)

Friday, December 2, 2011

December 2011 Newsletter


 It has been one year since the “Back to Basics” newsletters began. We have had one year of ideas and suggestions to hopefully help us all become more prepared. How is your family’s personal preparedness status coming along? Have you found any ideas you meant to try, or items you planned to purchase that you just never did. Maybe at this Christmas time a gift we can give to ourselves (and to the lord as we “Follow the Prophet”) is to really get ourselves prepared! Use food storage as a gift to others also! May we have a peaceful holiday season this Christmas time as we celebrate the birth of Christ. And may some of the peace come from knowing each of us is a little more prepared.


Included in this month's newsletter:
       Containers: buckets, cans, mylar bags, other
       Disaster Prep: bedding for cold weather
       In The Garden: take a break, garden books, seed catalogs
       Christmas Gifts: a Preparedness Christmas
       Hot Tip: hot cocoa
       Cooking With Food Storage: Ground Beef Jerky, Grandma's Molasses Candy
       Provident Living: seasonal cost cutters




Click here to download a complete December 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter.

Monday, October 31, 2011

November 2011 Newsletter

 November brings with it the Thanksgiving season.  What a wonderful time to reflect on the many things we have to be thankful for. Remember to also be thankful for your preparedness!  Being able to stock our shelves and prepare for the coming year gives us much to be grateful for.  What a feeling of peace to know you have followed the prophet to “Be Prepared”, but also to know that your family will be taken care of in times of trouble.  If you are not as prepared as you want to be, do not give up.  Keep adding a little here and there. Remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” either.  Just like the gospel, our preparedness is established “line upon line, precept on precept.” Be thankful for what we do have!  As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “This time, like all times, is a very good one if we but know what to do with it.”


Included in this month's newsletter:
     Rotation Rotation Rotation
     Disaster Prep: gas tanks, propane, money, baby diapers
     Hot tip: Spiff-e-whip
     In the Garden: clean garden, leaves, winter water, seed catalogs
     Cooking with food storage: flour tortillas, fruit cake
     November Challenge: Thanksgiving storage
     Thoughts on Being Prepared: four incentive quotes




Click here to download a complete November 2011 Back to Basics Newsletter.
(Note: After the google docs comes up you can download an original by clicking on a "download original" box in the top right of the screen. This may help when printing a copy to share with your ward.) 

Monday, October 24, 2011

How to Download

For those who are downloading this to print for use in their wards, this will hopefully help.  There has been some question as to the process to get the same document I use to print for my own ward.  Here is how: if you click on the link (click where it says "click here") it will take you to google docs.  To get the original document you must then click on the download link.  This should be on the top right hand side of your screen. When you click "download" it will download to your computer the same document I have on my computer. (Sometimes when you click the download link, you may still have to tell your computer to download it.  A message in the lower left of the screen will appear and you can click it to open.) When the document is downloaded and pulled up you can print it.  If you have trouble printing, you may need to click "enable editing" at the top of the page. (But you should be able to just print)  SO basically - in order to get the printable document I have on my computer, you have to go one more step after getting the google docs.  Good luck.  I hope this is not as "clear as mud".  But if it is and you have any trouble, PLEASE ask questions and I'll try to help!
Happy Downloading!

Friday, September 30, 2011

October 2011 Newsletter

The fall is here!  What a wonderful time of year. The cooler nights and mild days slow the garden and yard work, and a change of pace comes with the changing of the leaves. The holidays are just around the corner and plans are in the making for family celebrations.  It is also a good time to take stock of where you are with your personal and family preparedness.  Have you “harvested” a good amount of storage?  Are things taking shape with your basic and emergency plans?  Is the Lord pleased with our efforts to follow the prophet and “Be Prepared?”

                 Included in this month’s newsletter:
Expanded Storage: adding to nutritional needs and variety.
H2O: storing water - amounts, container, tips
In The Garden: fall garden, harvesting green tomatoes
Disaster Prep: Inventory sheet for family resources.
Quotable Quote: L. Tom Perry on preparing for the future.
Provident Living: mismatched socks and casseroles.
Don't forget... rotating 72 hour kits, check smoke detectors.


Click here to download a complete October 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

September 2011 Newsletter

September is here!  Time for back to school, apples, the last days of garden harvest, and many opportunities to add to your food storage!  The summer has provided us with a bounty of produce from our gardens and orchards.  Hopefully we have all found something to do to help us be more prepared.  September is a great month to finish up some bottling: apples, corn, tomatoes, beans, etc.  
Don’t miss the last of the harvest time!

Included in this month's newsletter:
     Legumes: beans, nuts, peanut butter
     Hot Tips: purchasing chili powder, beans and dried onions
     Provident Living: making your own baby wipes
     September Challenge: Taking inventory
     Disaster Prep: "What If" night
     Modern Root Cellar: window wells
     In The Garden
     Home Canning: Corn, Swiss Chard, Prickly Pears, Canner Tips       

Click here to download a complete September 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter
Click here to download an "Emergency Response to Disasters" booklet.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

August 2011 Newsletter

The refreshing rains and warm sunny days of summer have prodded the plants in the garden to bloom and grow.  Let’s be sure to put up some of that produce for a winter day.  The best way to taste summer in the cold of winter is to open a bottle of home grown and canned produce!  We show gratitude to the Lord when we make the best possible use of what He gives to us, and that includes our gardens. If you have extra, you can always share with a neighbor or someone who did not get a garden in.  President Brigham Young suggested we should be grateful for wheat, corn, and vegetables rather than gold and silver. Summer canning and freezing is a great way to further our preparedness.


Included in this month's newsletter:
     Slick Facts about Fats and Oil
     Provident Living (brown sugar and cheese)
     Hot Tip: Everlasting Yeast
     Quotable Quote: James E Faust
     In the Garden: fall planting, misc garden care, storing seeds
     Home Canning: Tomato Soup, Easy Spaghetti Sauce
     Disaster Prep:winter heat
     Challenge: taking inventory

Click Here to download a complete August 2011 Back to Basics Newsletter


**NOTE: for a first hand experience and advice on using the Everlasting Yeast check out foodforahungrysoul.blogspot.com . Katy used it and made some great bread!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Laundry Soap


Someone was looking for the laundry soap recipe in the past newsletters....but it is not there yet!  So until I include it in a monthly newsletter - here is the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Detergent
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1/2 c. Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 c. Borax
3 pints water
1 small bottle favorite liquid laundry detergent (optional)

Combine all of the above ingredients in a pan and heat until Fels Naptha is dissolved, or consistency is like melted honey.  In a 5 gallon bucket add a quart of hot water and then pour in the soap mixture.  Add 5 quarts and 1 pint of hot water.  This is where you can add your favorite liquid laundry detergent for a good smelling laundry detergent.  Mix and let sit for 24 hours.  Use 1/2 c per wash load. Yields 64 washer loads or more at a little over 1 cent a load for the recipe without the optional addition.  Note: This will boil over easily so keep heat low and stir often. You can also use a little less water for a stronger detergent. Store in an old laundry soap container, or purchase a container with an easy pour top.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Making Copies

I have had people inquire if they can make copies for their wards or group.  The answer is yes - for non-profit only. (It is Copyrighted.)  This way those who have been passing it out in their wards can continue.  If there are problems downloading and printing let me know.  Since this is new (or more likely since I am new at this) there may be things I have to work on.  Good luck to all of you as we help each other "Be Prepared".

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

July 2011 Newsletter

The summer “heat” it on! Is your preparedness also “on” schedule?  This month we celebrate our freedom, and one of the freedoms we have is the freedom to be prepared!  In some countries it is illegal to store food – it is called “hoarding”.  Part of our responsibility to our fellow members of the church is to “Be Prepared” so that we can care for ourselves, allowing church resources to go to those who are unable to do so. This IS a choice land, and we ARE a blessed people.  May we show the Lord our appreciation by doing as he has told us through his living prophets. Let us renew our efforts to “Be Prepared.” As we are obedient to the counsel given us, we will be blessed in numerous ways.

Included in this month's newsletter:
     Salt of the Earth
     In The Garden
     Quotable Quote
     July Challenge
     Provident Living Hints
     Disaster Prep: Outdoor Cooking
     Recipes to bottle: Pickled Beets, Zucchini Relish and Zucchini Bread and Butter Pickles

Click Here to download a complete July 2011 Back to Basics Newsletter


Past Newsletters

These newsletters were started in January 2011.  Click on links below to download the past newsletters for a printable copy. (Note: For some reason I have not yet figured out - some may appear scrambled or incomplete when viewing on the web, but when they download to print it "fixes" it.)


Click here for January 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter
Click here for February 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter
Click Here for March 2011 Back To basics Newsletter
Click Here For April 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter
Click Here for May 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter
Click here for June 2011 Back To Basics Newsletter