The Rural Economist & Bringing Rural Back Podcast: home

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Friday, August 15, 2014

Getting Prepared for Beginners #15 Skill Development (Home)

Special thanks to Brenda Barnes, Kathi Rodgers, and
Quinton Wojciechowski for providing photos for this post.

You may be thinking "Why is skill development important for a short term emergency?" I actually hope you are not thinking that. If you are, just remember you will be asking help from people who are in the middle of the same emergency. I have been a member of a volunteer fire department. When the call comes out you really want to answer. But if something is going on at your house that needs your attention, you are not going to go. This is not being a poor first responder, this is being a responsible father or husband or mother or wife. You cannot expect someone to come to your aid if doing so will endanger themselves, their families, or their property.

Skill development is something you want to do in advance. You do not want to have to learn to run a chainsaw when the tree is already on your house. I know this seems like an extreme example, but it's not and you get the point.

So what skills should you learn? Oh I am so glad you asked.

First Aid and CPR

There is a valid argument to be made for every parent to know CPR. I am not going to cover this in depth. My wife is much more qualified than I and will be writing a full post in the near future. I am just going to share a story.

My grandfather was the fire chief at the local volunteer fire department. As a result every member of my family had a role in the department. My aunt and uncle were rapid responders. A rapid responder is kinda like a medic or advanced first aid person.

I don't remember how old I was but I do remember it was Father's Day. A call went out about a heart attack. We were all at my grandparents' and the address was only a couple miles away. We took off. When we arrived at the home a man was laying in the front yard. My aunt and uncle started CPR. His adult children were standing around as my family tried to save their dad's life. He didn't make it. At the time I thought it awesome that these people needed my family to try to save theirs. Now I realize that if they had started CPR sooner they might have been able to save his life. Yes CPR IS VERY important.

If you would like to find out where you can become CPR certified you can search for classes HERE.

Building

These skills are not as glamorous as first aid skills but are just as important and to be honest more likely to be needed.

Skills that at least one if not two people in your family should have include:

Being able to shut off the utilities
Being able to tarp a roof to prevent leaking and further damage to your home.
Being able to board up windows.

We will cover each of these topics.

Electricity. You should at least know how to shut off the power. Depending on your service box you could have two different ways to shut off your power. The most common way to shut off the power is at the breaker box.

Inside the box you will see a large breaker. It will be by itself. Just switch it to off. That is it. Now doing this shuts off the power to the entire house. You can also shut off the power to certain sections of your house. Hopefully your breaker box is labeled. If it is you can just choose which circuits to shut off. If it is not labeled, no problem you can label it yourself.

If you have an older home you may have a fuse box instead of a breaker box. That is not really a problem. The concept is still the same. There will be a large double fuse by itself, either above or below it will be rows of small round fuses. The large fuse will have a handle on it. You will need to pull this fuse out in order to shut off the power to your entire home. To shut off power to individual circuits you will need to unscrew one of the smaller (normally glass) fuses. Just like in a breaker box each circuit should be labeled.

Reasons you might need to turn off the power include: Doing any work that involves an electric circuit. Damage to your home that might cause a short (one room damaged). Flooding of your home or a really bad leak (roof damage).

Water. Shutting off the water is pretty simple. You will have a water meter between your home and the main line. This will not apply if you are on well water or live in an apartment. If you are on well water I hope you are familiar with your system. If you are in an apartment there should be a maintenance person who is charged with this duty.

Your meter will be in a concrete or rubber box. Inside that box you will see the meter. The shutoff will be on the street side of that meter. It normally only takes a quarter turn clockwise to shut off the water. This cuts the water to the entire house. It is a good idea to have shutoff valves in every bathroom and each sink.

Here is the meter tool I mentioned in the video.

Natural Gas or Propane. If your home uses natural gas or propane every member of your family that is old enough to do so, should know how to shut off the gas. If your home is damaged this knowledge could keep a bad situation from turning into a true catastrophe. If something has happened which has caused a gas leak, the slightest spark could be devastating.

Shutting off the gas to your home is just as simple as shutting off the other utilities. Just a turn of a knob. If you do not think about it ahead of time you probably won't think about it when you need to. Being able to shut off gas lines is very important.

Most gas companies and even modern gas appliances have safety features that make gas leaks less likely, but this knowledge could be the difference between a bad situation and a total loss.

Boarding up Windows

By now you know me. I am not talking about protecting your home from zombies. I believe it is much more likely for a tree to knock a window out of your house. Once you remove the tree you will need to do something about that window. If you are rural and it is not during the blazing hot summer or hard cold winter you may be able to get away with just using plastic to prevent critters and weather from getting in your home. If you live in an area where looting is a possibility you will need to do something more substantial. Enter boarding up your windows.

There are several ways to board your windows.

The most common way is take boards or plywood and nail it up. Easy right? Also fairly easy to tear down if you have a pry bar.

There is another more secure way to board up a window, but it takes advanced planning and at least two people. Here are the steps and supplies needed.

Cut treated plywood to at least 4 inches larger than window opening.
Cut a 2X4 at least 6 inches longer than the window is wide on the inside of the house.
Open window wide open and figure out where to drill a hole as close to the center of the plywood as possible. Hole will need to be about 3/8 of an inch.
Also drill a 3/8 hole in the center of the 2X4
You will need a 12 inch piece of all thread 2 nuts and 2 fender washers for each window.
One person holds the plywood in place and feeds the all thread through the hole with a fender washer and nut already started.
The person on the inside makes sure the all thread goes through the hole on the 2X4 places the washer on the all thread and then tightens the nut.

Great Planes All Thread Rod (12-Piece), 2-56x12

I pulled this picture from Amazon, but you should be able to find this locally.

This will hold the plywood in place and will protect against most of the elements, but it is still not "zombie proof". It could be made so, but that would require tack welding, a cotter key and a drill press. If someone really wanted to get in all they would need would be a wrench, but if you had a tree come through a window, this would be the best way to keep the elements out of your home.

Tarping a Roof

Like so many things there is a couple of right ways and a ton of wrong ways to tarp a roof. The reason you would need to tarp a roof could be as simple as a few shingles have blown off and you are trying to prevent leaking that might occur or a whole section of shingles are missing and leaking will occur. Of course there is always the scenario where not only are shingles missing, but some of the decking of your roof is also gone. In the last two situations tarping your roof is a necessity.

I know you could always call a carpenter or repair person, but remember when you need them in situations like this several others are calling them as well. You could be way down on the list. The longer you wait to put into place preventative measures the greater the likely damage to your home.

If done incorrectly tarping your roof can actually increase the damage caused. When you put a tarp on your roof you are trying to keep moisture from getting to your decking. If the tarp allows moisture to get to the decking it also interferes with your decking's ability to dry out.

If at all possible the tarp should go across the ridge line of your roof. This helps prevent water from just running under the tarp. If you cannot have the tarp cross the ridge line of your roof you should use either a 1x2 or furring strip the hold the tarp as tight as possible then caulk the upper edge and the edge that is the direction where most of your weather comes from. Around here our strongest storms tend to come from the southwest. Ensure the tarp is as tight as possible and use either 1x2 or furring strips around the whole perimeter. The pictures below are of a tarp job done well.

Special thanks to Brenda Barnes for these photos.

Storm damage can happen to anyone at any time. Knowing these basic skills will help you protect your family and property.

I wish you all Rural Dreams and Homestead Wishes

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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Ladies,Man Up! Guys,Put Your Big Girl Breeches On!

I would like to discuss something that has been heavy on my heart for several years now. Remember, I have lived in the country all my life. I am used to seeing people work hard. My home life was a different story. I have to say my father worked like a horse. He was a plumber, but he was a small man. I feel like he believed he had some standard he had to live up to because of his stature. Plus he did grow up on a farm, so that goes without saying.

Now before I go on about my mother, let me say this. I absolutely adored her when I was younger. I still love her very much. She's my mom, and I will not disrespect her. Growing up in that home was difficult though. She and my father were not compatible. She had some mental issues....seriously. She had severe depression, bipolar, and a touch of schizophrenia. I do not tell you all this for sympathy or for you to look down on her. She was not medicated properly. ( I believe this sometimes just gets overlooked due to poverty,plus she did function for the most part.) My dad drank and did not manage his business well, though he was so smart in many ways and worked til he could not move, and I truly know that in their own way, they did love us. Life just sometimes doesn't go the way you expect.

I do not use this for empathy. I use it as my testimony to what God has done in my life and why I am what I am.

Okay, so with all that out of the way,here we go. Most days she did not feel well. At the age of thirteen I cooked all of Thanksgiving dinner for my family and it kind of just started becoming a habit. I liked it.I liked knowing that I was the one they depended on, and I was actually quite good at it. This started other areas of self-sufficiency in my life, not to my mother's approval.

Most of the time our lawn was in shambles. We hardly ever had a lawnmower(we hardly ever had a vehicle either ha!) When I got older and we would get a lawnmower that worked, I would cut the grass. This made me happy. You see, from the beginning I knew I wanted to better myself and not have people look down on me. My mother did not like the fact that I cut the grass. She did not like when I took the garbage out.My ex-husband and I were living with them at this time. She would say things like, "That is a man's job. You shouldn't be doing that. " Really? Taking out the garbage while he was at work? Cutting the grass? Of course, I didn't listen to her for the most part. Mainly because I wanted it done.I can't stand procrastination. Not in me. And I was young and strong as an ox. Why is there such a thing as a man's job or woman's job?
I remember a few years after that, my ex was sweeping the floor, and my son asked why he was doing that. That was for girls....Oh No! I corrected that real quick. My son is 18 years old, and now sweeps, mops, does the dishes, laundry. He knows no difference between women's work and men's work. Now I do have some common sense. I know men are typically stronger physically than women, and I will call on them so as not to injure myself, but come on! I believe in my heart that self-sufficiency is not only a boost for your self-esteem but it helps others as well.

I will give you an example: I was in college up until last year. I was at school, doing clinicals, and working at a hospital as a student Respiratory Therapist. I remember this nurse I was talking to at one of the clinical sites. She was upset because when she got off work (a 12-hour shift!) she had to go home, bathe her 3 year old, and cook supper. Her husband would not do any of this. I do believe that I would have found a way to get his attention. This was not right. I cannot tell you how much I depended on my husband during this time to help out with the "Matronly" chores.

Now to pick on the ladies a bit. I'm not sure whether it's a lack of caring or ignorance or laziness, but there are some things you need to stop ignoring. There are things you need to learn how to do in case a small crisis hits. One morning I was getting ready to go to clinicals at one of the hospitals in the city.My husband and I left at the same time into two different directions. I got halfway to my destination when I noticed that my temperature gauge on my van's dashboard had elevated significantly. Due to crappy vehicles in the past, I knew this was a bad sign. One that could lead me stranded on the side of the road if I pushed my vehicle any further. I reached a convenient store and purchased a gallon of water and a funnel. I was able to make it to my destination. (I did have a serious problem, and I did have to have the vehicle serviced) I have also had an incident where my battery has died and had to get someone to jump me off. The other person a woman had no clue how to do so. So I pulled out my jumper cables and hooked them up, and a few moments later,I was back on the road.

There have been times I had to have help, don't get me wrong. One day I was heading into town and had a flat. I got out of the vehicle, took the hubcap off, and started working on the lug nuts. They wouldn't budge. The gentlemen who did pull over to help however were amazed that I knew how to get the hubcap off. They said their wives wouldn't even know how to do that. I was shocked! I have changed tires before, but once again, sometimes we girls need a little back-up.

My main point is that you do not need to put all your faith into someone else. There will always come a day when they may not be able to be there. And even if they are, it may make things run a bit smoother if you learn a new skill. I believe we need to be teaching our children these things since we are now in a world where divorce rates are at their highest, and people are stuck in the "I can get someone else to do it. "Mode.
Besides that we are not promised tomorrow. When my grandmother passed away,my poor grandfather didn't have a clue what to do in the kitchen. He could build anything with his hands, he's had a successful business, but no experience in the kitchen. I remember him sticking a can of pork and beans on the burner of the stove...still in the can. He honestly didn't know because that was my grandmother's job. Now I know that seems drastic, but is that any different than a female who doesn't even know where the oil goes under the hood of her car?

I know sometimes it is way easier to do the job yourself rather than teach your kids. I fell into that category myself ,especially with my daughter. I have done the single mother thing. It STINKS!! I was working, going to college, and trying to raise two kids (three if you count my mom who was living with me. Her mind had started to get worse at this point.) I was exhausted and just trying to keep us alive. Even with that I will say there has to be a desire to learn new things, even things that don't seem interesting, like cooking. My daughter is an intelligent gifted girl when it comes to school and her art. She loves creating new things, however, she does not have a domestic bone in her body. It has always been difficult to get her to do the chores. In fact last week I was getting ready for work (Night Shift) and she said that there was nothing in the house to eat. I told her I had bought some frozen pizzas and to just throw one in the oven. She responded with, "I don't know how. "This was in part to big brother always looking out for baby sis. So the guilt flooded me. I decided that we would start off with something simple for the next night. Something she could cook for the family while I was gone to give her more experience with the stove, besides Ramen Noodles.(which is one of her favorites for some reason. She's a picky eater.) I was getting ready for work, and Gregg had brought in the stuff for her to make Sloppy Joes and fries. Not the most nutritious, but something to get her feet wet. I was gone by the time she started but he said she did it all by herself. Though I was happy to hear this, I knew we had more lessons to cover. Now I will say that if she can be involved in something outdoors, we really don't have to twist her arm. She helped her dad (adopted) build the chicken fence with delight. So a good lesson for us all to remember is that we may not enjoy new learning skills we need to embrace them as well as the skills we take pleasure in so that we can be well rounded as well as self-sufficient.

Embracing the many adventures in Homesteading,
The Un-Country Country Wife

Another post you might enjoy about people avoiding learning skills read.

Other Posts Written by the Un-Country Country Wife

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Un-Country Country Wife

All of my life I have lived in the rural area of Blount County Alabama.I loved it so much that when I remarried I asked my husband if we could stay here instead.Of course he agreed and he has been diligent in making this county his home as well.

Now that being said,I may have lived in this area where there were cows raised right across the road from me and I knew a lot of the people who had grown their own veggies and placed them in competition at the county fair every year.My father grew up here as well.He was raised on a farm,hunted,and even grew his own vegetables.So that should mean I have experience right?

Guess Again.

I will not go into detail about my home life but I will say this.I had to learn to become self-sufficient at a young age.I learned to cook and clean,and even become a mom at the age of sixteen.However,I did not learn much about homesteading.Oh my dad did try when we were younger,but if I wasn't in the mood,I just told my mother and she would take care of that.How I regret this terribly.She was from the city and it was years after my father died that she realized that the country life was good.

Yet she almost had me believing this as well.There isn't much to do around the country when you’re a teen.And so I thought all the cows and chickens and farming was pretty lame.Why go through all this trouble?It’s hard work and dirty and didn't seem enjoyable at all…

But then the strangest thing happened.I grew up.I started getting to know these people.I still was not completely convinced…

Then God gave me Gregg.

This man loves everything about dirt,and farm life and prepping (not the crazy kind that you see on television)

He was raised on a mountain and has done more than most people I know.And as a bonus,he loves to teach.So I have become his student (by choice!)

I have decided that I want to start sharing my adventures in homesteading since I may have come from the rural land but I truly am just now learning how to appreciate it. So everything is new and amazing and I hope that you will either learn something from it or have a new found love for it.

I am so excited having my wife write with me. For another post written by my wife you can read:

God Gave Me a Carter

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Hand in Hand Embracing the Homestead Life

If you can guess what classic American painting we are paying homage to please comment below.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Home Fires Are Burning

Allow me to get sentimental for a moment. We burned out first fire of the season this week. I know some of you have had to burn several by this point, but this was our first. I believe there is something magical about the first fire of the season. This fire was extra special for me, it was not only the first fire of the season, it was also the first fire in our new home. The first fire always brings back lots of memories for me.

I have lived with wood heat basically my whole life. I do not remember the first time my dad had me help cut the firewood. I do remember that he always started cutting firewood in August, the hottest part of the year. Lord how we would sweat. I can still hear my granddad say "When a man cuts his own wood, it warms him twice". Never truer words have been spoken. If you have cut your own wood you know what I mean.

After the wood was cut the larger pieces still had to be split, and it did not seem to matter how much of the wood you split, we always ended up with too many large pieces and still had to split some in winter. I counted it all fun, even though it was very hard work. I always felt proud that even at a fairly young age I was helping take care of my family.

We did not have a fireplace when I was growing up. We had a King brand wood heater. The kind with the removable to that would expose a cooking surface. It kept up warm during the coldest times of winter. In fact many times it kept us too warm. My mother had the ability to get that heater so fired up that we would have the windows and even the front door open because it was so hot in the house and this in January in the middle of an ice storm. (Love you Mom, but you know it is true.)

We used that heater to cook soups and just beans during a power outage due to an ice storm. I remember baking potatoes in the fire box. I remember having to dump the ashes in the garden. I also remember coming home from school on a really cold day and being able to smell the fire before the school bus topped the hill. As soon as the bus reached the top of the hill ,I could see the smoke coming from the chimney and everything was better. Those memories are over thirty years old and yet they are still very dear to me.

As I am writing this I can look over at the fire I have built for tonight. When I look at the flames and hear the soft crackling of the fire it makes perfect sense to me that the hearth was so important to the Greeks that it had it's own goddess. Hestia was the Greek goddess of the hearth and home, she was described as simple "having a wooden throne and a woolen pillow", not ambitious "she never chose herself an emblem", but important to everyone.

In spite of all of the challenges we still face, my wife and I have built the best life I have ever known. We keep The Home Fires Burning and I hope and trust that you will too. Together we can help the world to ...

Keep It Rural

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