Join the 2019 “Make It From Scratch” Challenge

Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course

Are you ready for a new challenge that will help you learn some skills, save some money, and make some cool things?

Please consider joining the “Make It From Scratch” Challenge on our Survival and Self-Reliance Forum.

This challenge will last the month of January and it’s NOT just about food. It’s about meeting ALL of your needs (or as many as possible) without storebought solutions.  I will be posting articles all month about ways to cook from scratch and to DIY everything from your beauty products to your home products. We’ll be creating all sorts of things from basic ingredients and supplies.

As Selco said when I told him about the idea, he loved it. He said, “Honestly, when the SHTF no matter how well you are prepped, sooner or later you’ll end up in a situation where you actually “build” or “invent” stuff from scratch.”

So why wait? Let’s get started right now so we know what to do if we’re ever in that situation.

A Note about the normal January Challenge

If you’ve been reading this site for a while, you know that I like to start off the year with a Stockpile Challenge. That’s where you go through the entire month consuming only the things you already have on hand. It’s a wonderful challenge that allows you to creatively problem solve and identify the weak points in your food supply.

But this year, I just didn’t feel good about encouraging people to use up their supplies. Instead, I want you to build your supply even bigger because I really think we’re going to start seeing some difficult times economically soon. If things settle down, we can do a Stockpile Challenge later, but in keeping with this article, I thought that encouraging people to produce instead of consuming was a wiser course of action.

This isn’t meant to scare you or to be “doomy.” I just want to be responsible, and using up everything you have for “fun” seems like a really bad idea right now.

Now, on to the new challenge.

How the Make It From Scratch Challenge will change the way you eat.

I did this challenge myself many years ago and it was a game changer.

You don’t realize how many things you purchase that other people have made until you focus on making everything yourself.

Take food, for example.

If you’re trying to cut out chemical additives or GMOs, the only sure-fire way to do it (at least without breaking the budget) is to start making everything yourself.

It’s easy to get it down to only eating the following things in store-bought versions.

• Bread
• Crackers
• Pitas
• Tortillas
• Pasta
• Cheese

But if you want to eat really, truly clean, making even those from scratch is the way to go.

And even better, it will provide you with the ability to easily make those items in an emergency scenario with the supplies you’ll already know that you need to have on hand.

And it isn’t just about food.

What if you could make nearly every household item you use without a trip to the store? I’m talking about cleaning supplies, bath products, laundry supplies, home remedies, and all sorts of other DIYs. including things you sew or build. I want you to think about repurposing the things you have to turn them into the things you need.  And best of all, the products you make will be far healthier for both your family and the environment than their storebought counterparts.

Every time you think you need to buy something this month, I want you to think to yourself, “Do I need to buy it or could I make it?”

Then, you may find that you need to purchase some supplies for making the necessary item, but most of the time it’s going to be much less expensive and you’ll probably have supplies left over.

I’ll be posting all sorts of DIYs and shortcuts this month to help you make the most of the challenge. And when the month is over, I’ll be putting together a PDF of these things that you can win FOR FREE by participating in the challenge and checking in over at the forum.

The Rules

Our Challenges never have rules that are engraved in stone. You still have to meet the needs of your unique family in your unique situation. So consider these rules more of a general guideline.

• If you’re in, go to THIS POST on the forum and let me know. (If you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so here. DO NOT USE YOUR REAL NAME ANYWHERE ON THE SIGN-UP FORM.)
• You will make ALL FOOD from scratch. That includes bread, sauces, dairy products, mixes, etc.
• You can use up any items you have on hand that you already bought that might go bad. But do NOT replace them. And if they won’t spoil or get stale, put them aside for later.
• Work on DIY replacements for laundry products, cleaning products, remedies, and hygiene products. You don’t have to remake everything on the very first day. Just be mindful of the products you use and figure out how you could make their replacement. Start a list of things you want to DIY.
• Post every day on the Challenge letting us know what you Made From Scratch and what you are adding to your DIY list.
• If you want to help others, post your own DIYs in the forum. (And if I have permission to put them in the PDF book, let me know!)
• Do this for the entire month of January and watch for my post and email letting you know how to get your prize if you’ve won.

By the end of this, you’ll be making noodles, laundry soap, and all manner of Made From Scratch awesomeness.

Why should you participate in the Make It From Scratch Challenge?

So, so many reasons. But here are a few of the most important ones.

• You’ll save a lot of money. Remember how I wrote you pay for things with either time or money?  If your goal is to spend less money, using a bit of your time to make things will help you achieve it.
• You’ll be healthier. You will break free of the chemical pollutants that are just everywhere. You’ll eat pure, whole foods and clean with natural gentle products.
• You’ll learn valuable skills. If things go downhill in the US (or wherever you happen to live) you will be far better prepared to meet the challenges of a world where you can’t just run to the store or order things from Amazon. You’ll already know how to DIY things without all the trial and error.
• You’ll free yourself from the system. Every single thing that you can make for yourself and do for yourself buys you just a little bit more freedom. And that’s one thing of which we can never have enough.

How could you go wrong participating in a challenge that will do all these things?

Who’s with me?

Who wants to participate in the Make It From Scratch Challenge with me? It’s going to be a lot of fun! We’re going to learn stuff and we’re going to save money and best of all, we’ll gain incredibly valuable skills.