Bettacreek
Almost Self-Reliant
People just don't seem to think that life can be easy, and believe that it won't work unless you go through all the hassles. I also think that some people are all freaked out about collapse of the entire world (zombie nation). Sure, *if* that happens, you might not have a fridge, but, umm, if that happens, are you going to have chickens? If not, then why worry about preserving eggs? I mean, really, you're going to have to learn how to keep it basic and you're probably going to be eating dirt to survive and won't have mineral oil and all that s*** to "preserve" your eggs that you get from chickens that you don't even have in the first place. 
As for being a realistic kind of person, yes, put the damn eggs in the fridge and quit wasting money on mineral oil and all that other garbage. People just want to spend as much money as possible on stupid stuff that they don't need. I see people spending hundreds of dollars on stuff that I consider highly unneccessary. Pressure canners? Umm, I'm working on the fourth generation (AT LEAST) in my family without using one (and, NO illnesses from it, in the 100+ years that I can account for from talking to my grandmother, my mom and my own personal experience). Everyone swears up and down that I'm a freak and "you really should just buy a pressure canner, the money saved will make it worth it"... Umm, okay, WHAT money saved? I do everything in my WB canner and have never lost a single jar of food. My canner is even a hand-me-down, so it was free, vs, what, $100 for a pressure canner? Try putting a pressure canner over a fire to can once and you'll soon realize that it's just overpriced hype.
Hunting... Ha, there's another one where people want to spend a FORTUNE on crap to go hunting and process their deer or whatever. Full out "field dressing kits"... Umm, I can take a deer from the field to the freezer with a 4" pocket knife and a sharpening kit. Others want to buy the arm length gloves, the special bags to hang the deer, special equipment to hang a deer (a simple rope works just fine for me, and I'm a lazy, average sized woman), "hunting knives", gutting knives, skinning knives, etc, etc. Like I said, a 4" pocket knife will get a deer from field to freezer, you might want a grinder, but anything else is unneccessary. Use that $20 WB canner to can chunks up, throw the rest in the freezer.
Fishing... Another one that I think people blow money on. I don't need special $80 fishing vests, $90 waders, $5 lures, special filet knives, etc. I use the same 4" pocket knife to filet, $1 packs of 20 hooks, tie them myself (some people buy the $2 packs that have like 6 pre-tied lines, another waste of money), use live bait, fish in a skirt and I can outfish the crazy men out there who spend hundreds on junk. I always get guys who come up and think that they're going to teach me something about fishing, and they end up leaving looking like an idiot who just got outfished (with bigger fish, no less) by a gal in a skirt with the very minimum of equipment.
Hmm, where else? Oh, EVERYWHERE! People always spend so much more money than they need, they have bought the commercialization bullcruddy and think they need all this expensive equipment and junk to get the job done.
As for the kitchen, I LIKE my kitchenaid. Yes, it takes time to clean the stuff after you use it, but it takes MUCH less time than washing your hands 10 times and trying to get that sticky crud off of your hands all the time. I traded for a slice-o-matic too... I like that thing as well. It makes life easier when I need to cook in a hurry, because then all of the slices are the same and I don't have to rummage through the pan for undercooked pieces because they were cut too thick (I'm really bad about cutting nice, even slices). I traded for it to do sliced beets for canning and pickled eggs (hey, we get about a dozen eggs per day, and I'm raising more birds for the flock, so pickled eggs are a staple snack item here). I do have a hand crank shredder, but I use that for soap. I DID use it the other day for quick hashed tatters since I was running way behind on dinner and that makes them smaller so they cook faster. Other than those items, a crock pot, a toaster and a nuker, I don't have any other convenience items.
As for being a realistic kind of person, yes, put the damn eggs in the fridge and quit wasting money on mineral oil and all that other garbage. People just want to spend as much money as possible on stupid stuff that they don't need. I see people spending hundreds of dollars on stuff that I consider highly unneccessary. Pressure canners? Umm, I'm working on the fourth generation (AT LEAST) in my family without using one (and, NO illnesses from it, in the 100+ years that I can account for from talking to my grandmother, my mom and my own personal experience). Everyone swears up and down that I'm a freak and "you really should just buy a pressure canner, the money saved will make it worth it"... Umm, okay, WHAT money saved? I do everything in my WB canner and have never lost a single jar of food. My canner is even a hand-me-down, so it was free, vs, what, $100 for a pressure canner? Try putting a pressure canner over a fire to can once and you'll soon realize that it's just overpriced hype.
Hunting... Ha, there's another one where people want to spend a FORTUNE on crap to go hunting and process their deer or whatever. Full out "field dressing kits"... Umm, I can take a deer from the field to the freezer with a 4" pocket knife and a sharpening kit. Others want to buy the arm length gloves, the special bags to hang the deer, special equipment to hang a deer (a simple rope works just fine for me, and I'm a lazy, average sized woman), "hunting knives", gutting knives, skinning knives, etc, etc. Like I said, a 4" pocket knife will get a deer from field to freezer, you might want a grinder, but anything else is unneccessary. Use that $20 WB canner to can chunks up, throw the rest in the freezer.
Fishing... Another one that I think people blow money on. I don't need special $80 fishing vests, $90 waders, $5 lures, special filet knives, etc. I use the same 4" pocket knife to filet, $1 packs of 20 hooks, tie them myself (some people buy the $2 packs that have like 6 pre-tied lines, another waste of money), use live bait, fish in a skirt and I can outfish the crazy men out there who spend hundreds on junk. I always get guys who come up and think that they're going to teach me something about fishing, and they end up leaving looking like an idiot who just got outfished (with bigger fish, no less) by a gal in a skirt with the very minimum of equipment.
Hmm, where else? Oh, EVERYWHERE! People always spend so much more money than they need, they have bought the commercialization bullcruddy and think they need all this expensive equipment and junk to get the job done.
As for the kitchen, I LIKE my kitchenaid. Yes, it takes time to clean the stuff after you use it, but it takes MUCH less time than washing your hands 10 times and trying to get that sticky crud off of your hands all the time. I traded for a slice-o-matic too... I like that thing as well. It makes life easier when I need to cook in a hurry, because then all of the slices are the same and I don't have to rummage through the pan for undercooked pieces because they were cut too thick (I'm really bad about cutting nice, even slices). I traded for it to do sliced beets for canning and pickled eggs (hey, we get about a dozen eggs per day, and I'm raising more birds for the flock, so pickled eggs are a staple snack item here). I do have a hand crank shredder, but I use that for soap. I DID use it the other day for quick hashed tatters since I was running way behind on dinner and that makes them smaller so they cook faster. Other than those items, a crock pot, a toaster and a nuker, I don't have any other convenience items.
It was worthless for actually baking the bread, so I use my KitchenAide exclusively now.
