Week 3 of 2017 has been a busy one around the Suburban Steader Homestead.  I’ve been gearing up for a trip north next week.  Part of that preparation is getting my vehicle in shape for the trip and also getting the homestead squared away for my ladies in my absence.  Come find out what my week has looked like.

This Week’s Milestones

If last week was a quiet week, this week has been a loud week.  I spent a lot of time getting stuff squared away, and still have some to do, before my trip next week.

Vehicle Preparation

As mentioned in the introduction, I spent some time getting my vehicle in shape for my trip north.  The first thing I did was get an inspection.  I’m embarrassed to admit that I was about two months overdue on that one.  I just never remember to get it done.  Fortunately, I have a relatively new vehicle (bought it new in late 2015) and put very few miles on it so there was no problem passing the inspection.

The second thing I did for my vehicle was put a tonneau cover on my pickup.  Here’s a picture of the finished product:

I chose a Lund 958173 Genesis Elite Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover.  There were a few reasons I picked it.  Primarily was the brand.  Lund has a good history in the tonneau cover market and I look for quality in equipment for my vehicles.  I totally live by the “Cry once, buy once” mentality.  Second, the reviews on Amazon were good.  It gets 4.6/5 stars.  The tri-fold design is something I like because I want access without taking it off at times.  Finally, this cover was Prime eligible which means I got it in a few days.  Can’t complain about that!  Overall, I like the cover a lot and think it’s a good addition to the truck.

Finally, I went through my truck and checked my preps.  I have a shovel (more on that later), tow straps, jumper cables, tool kit, a first aid kit and some winter survival items (shelter, blanket, boots, clothes, etc) in case I get stranded.  The one thing I don’t have in my truck is a converter.  While I really want one, I don’t view that as a necessity on the road.  The only electrical needs I have on the road are my phone and I can charge that through the USB outlet or the 12VDC outlet (I have a plug-in adapter).  I feel pretty confident in handling anything the winter can throw at me.

Household Preparation

It was time to get the house in order once the truck work was done.  I started with taking down the Christmas lights.  They always seem to go down faster than they go up!

Then it was on to knocking out a bunch of the honey-dos.  I won’t bore you with the details, but I did caulk some windows – we’ve been feeling some drafts – and square away a few items.  The most important thing I did was not so much of a prep or improvement around the house.  It was a simple task that took very little time – I cleaned off my nightstand and bureau top.  I fully admit that I’m a pack-rat of sorts and the Mrs has been on my case for a month or so to get it straightened up.  My nightstand is swamped with books (most of which I’m reading for review on the site) and my bureau top is a catch-all with my EDC stuff and whatever other crap is in my pockets.

Well, they’re both clean now and the Mrs is happy – so double win on my part.

I still have a few clean-up items to get done before I leave which include getting the snowblower ready to roll and making sure there is fuel ready in case the ladies get snowed in during my absence.

Blog Work

The blog schedule has been maintained this week with a post reviewing the Survival Hax Survival Shovel.  I also made a video review of it here:

I had pre-scheduled a post for next week, so I didn’t have a lot of work on the site this week but, do not fear, I’ll be checking in as much as possible while I’m gone.

Next Week’s Goals

Next week will be an interesting week since I’ll be on the road for most of it.  Obviously, I won’t be getting a lot done around the Suburban Steader Homestead.  The family is in the processing of “blessing” the planting schedule.  What I mean by that is we all review it at the beginning of the year and agree on what we want to grow.  Some items are experimental, some of the standbys.  We base our decisions on what’s grown well in the past and what we like.  I think we’re going to keep it fairly low-key this year and really concentrate on items we use (that probably means no brussel sprouts).  I’m hoping to get onions started next weekend, but we’ll see.

The blog front will maintain its current schedule with a post coming out next Tuesday and a weekly review scheduled for next Friday.  There’s a good chance the weekly review will be delayed a day since I’m traveling and may not get to it in time.  We’ll see.  I won’t leave you in the lurch though – you will get a weekly update.

Long Term Plans

The early season planting is still in the Long Term plan list but it’s quickly moving its way forward.  I’ll be planting some stuff soon and will take you along for the ride when I do that.  I’ve also been toying with the idea of providing drip irrigation to my beds.  It would involve some major earthworks around the home to run water to my beds.  I’d probably also run it to my shed just for convenience.  Speaking of my shed, it really needs to get shingled this year.  The roof is looking horrible and the siding is starting to fall apart.  It needs some TLC before I lose it all together.

OK,  that’s all for Week 3.  What did you think?  Did you like this article? Let me know in the comments.

Are you interested in seeing pics of my trip “real-time?” Let me know in the comments or on social media!

Dan

Founder/Owner at Suburban Steader

I am a middle-age guy with a wife, two young kids and a crazy dog. We live on Long Island, NY and had an interesting experience with Hurricane Sandy. That experience led me towards the self-sufficiency movement and eventually led to the founding of SuburbanSteader.com. I aim to provide suburbanites with the confidence and know-how to become more self-reliant by providing content on topics such as gardening, personal health, financial responsibility, cooking, self-preparedness and self-protection.