Disposables

Yesterday Rhonda discussed disposables as she continues with her simple home audit. This is an area I can definitely improve on.

We currently use paper towels, paper plates, zip-loc freezer bags, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, coffee filters, toilet paper, tissues, and sanitary napkins.

Things I am currently doing:

~ Slowly transitioning from sanitary napkins to handmade ones. It takes some getting used to, but the handmade ones are much more comfortable.

*This post caused my shift in thinking about disposable napkins.

** I purchased a sampler set of cloth napkins from Amy's Rag Bag.

~ Use old rags for cleaning.

~ I don't use much aluminum foil or plastic wrap (the plastic wrap can be eliminated because I hate it), so I will continue to use foil.

~ Toilet paper & tissues are a must, so they will remain.

Areas I need to improve:

~ Put my canvas bags in the car so I don't forget them while shopping.

~ Stop buying paper plates & just wash the extra dishes.

~ I mainly use paper towels to drain cooked hamburger, so I need to figure out another way to do so without the use of paper towels.

~ Zip-loc bags are used to repackage meats in smaller portions, but I could buy wax paper & butcher's paper to wrap meat instead which would reduce the use of plastic.

~ Try to find a reusable coffee filter to fit my coffee pot.

~ Buy or make cloth napkins and dishcloths/towels.

Snapshots

Streaked hair and self-portraits...

Kitty

Clover & Zoe

Gracie

Slip 'n Slide...

= Summer fun!

Homemade Bubbles

Check out this site for lots of different recipes!

Food

Yesterday food was the topic of Rhonda's round table discussions.

Food - Outside

I get overwhelmed with food - meal planning and preparation, shopping for food...you name it. Now I have come a long way over the years, but I still have so much to learn. With food being such an important part of our lives {we need it to live}, I do the best I can and am ever-learning in this area.

I have a small garden that started out with 3 cucumber mounds, 3 bell pepper plants, and 6 tomato plants. The bell peppers died and only 1 cucumber plant and 3 tomato plants survived {the peppers and tomatoes were heirloom}. I believe we have very poor soil. I added cow manure and triple X to the soil, but this is definitely an area I need to read up on.

Changes I would like to make:

1. Become more knowledgeable about gardening - particularly fertilization
2. Build a compost bin
3. Have chickens for fresh eggs
4. Plant a few fruit trees - peaches, satsumas, plums?
5. Install water tanks to collect rain water (sometime in the future as finances allow, but a girl can dream, right?)
6. Gradually increase my garden each year
7. Learn to can and preserve food

Food - Inside

I have a fridge, a small chest freezer, a smallish pantry, and a couple of shelves in the cabinets to store my stockpile. The chest freezer is getting rather low, so I need to work on refilling it with meats on sale and/or meats purchased through Angel Food Ministries.

Changes I want to make:

1. Improve in menu planning
2. Pack Alfred really good lunches to take to work
3. Reorganize my pantry and cabinets
4. Find a way to keep track of my freezer contents
5. Continue to increase my home-cooking skills
6. Utilize leftovers better to eliminate waste
7. Perhaps try making my own dog/cat food if determined to be cheaper than store-bought.

These are lists of things I can begin to work on now {except for the water tanks}, but not at all a complete list. As I grow comfortable with these, I can then add other tasks.

Gratitude List ~ Week 26

{source}

This a day early, but I'm feeling patriotic and sentimental. Thinking about the meaning of Independence Day makes me particularly grateful.

I'm thankful...

~ that I live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

~ for having the freedom to worship as I please.

~ for being able to raise & educate my children as I see fit.

~ to have the choice to stay home to care for my family and home.

~ to have the freedom to live the life I dream of.

What are you thankful for today?

What's Cookin' in My Kitchen

The other day I made a dozen hamburger buns from scratch. They are very good, but also very filling! I think they would have turned golden brown on top if I'd brushed them with a bit of butter.

*P.S. They taste like homemade bread. :)

Fresh squeezed limes {by hand as I have no juicer} to make limeade concentrate.

Limeade Concentrate
Mix 1.5 cups sugar to 1.5 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved, then add 1 cup of lime juice.

Limeade {makes 3 cups}
Mix 1 cup of limeade concentrate to 2 cups of water.

Kenzie helped with the limeade and is holding the finished product. :)

Homemade refrigerator pickles using cucumbers from the garden.

Here is a super easy dessert I made last week. Crumble an angel food cake.

Mix up a package of instant chocolate Jell-O pudding...

Mix well...

Pour pudding over angel food cake and refrigerate.

Dish it up and add a dab of Cool Whip and enjoy!

In addition to making the pickles and limeade yesterday, I browned hamburger for burritos, cooked seasoned hamburger patties to be used later on in the week and also made a meatloaf. It felt really good to get a jump-start on dinners for the week.

What have you been cooking up lately?

Living Deliberately and Money

I am taking part in Rhonda's simple home audit and embarking on a No Spend week. Today topics are on living deliberately and money. Here are my thoughts and plans on these two subjects.

I want to live a simple life. A simple life, for me, means creating a life that is satisfying and puts to use my creativity. Enjoying my home and family, having time for crafts and hobbies, spending time out in nature, gardening, cooking/baking from scratch, finding joy in life's simple pleasures, and living well within our means - this is the simple life I long for.

How can I make that happen?

1. Create a daily homemaking rhythm
2. Declutter
3. Plan more family fun activities (board games, popcorn & a movie at home, trips to the beach or park, etc.)
4. Increase my knowledge of gardening and increase my garden plot next year
5. Look for new, inexpensive recipes
6. Bake more goodies so my family doesn't feel they're missing out on the "good" stuff
7. Make time to embroider, read, journal
8. Laugh, play, listen, and talk with my husband and children
9. Always count my blessings

As for money, my ultimate goal is to become debt-free. I'm using Mary Hunt's RDRP and am projected to reach my goal by March 2017. I also want to build up my savings and live a good life on a budget.

How will I accomplish these goals?

1. Track my spending
2. Save all change in a jar to be deposited into savings
3. Whatever money is left each week will be rolled into savings
4. Windfalls will be divided between needs, savings, and debt
5. Incur no new debt
6. Reduce water and electricity usage
7. Shop thrift & secondhand shops first for clothing or household needs
8. Reduce, reuse, recycle
9. Shop the loss leaders and use coupons for groceries and toiletries
10. Stockpile using the above method
11. When one debt is paid off, roll that amount into the next debt to pay it off quicker
12. Pray and pay!

Homemade

In my quest for greater self-sufficiency and to be economical, I have begun looking for recipes to make more of my own food from scratch. Common things like: burger or hot dog buns, basic soda crackers/saltines, and homemade refrigerator pickles with my own homegrown cucumbers.

These things can be made with basic ingredients and are not filled with all those preservatives and things you can not pronounce. They also tend to taste better and are more filling. It really doesn't take very much time. And everything tastes better when it's sprinkled liberally with love!

Today...I Have Lived a Poem

Today
I have spread wet linen
On lavender bushes,
I have swept rose petals
From a garden walk.
I have labeled jars of raspberry jam,
I have baked a sunshine cake;
I have embroidered a yellow duck
On a small blue frock.
I have polished andirons,
Dusted the highboy,
Cut sweet peas for a black bowl,
Wound the tall clock,
Pleated a lace ruffle…
Today
I have lived a poem.
Ethel Romig Fuller (1883 - 1965)

Feeling Productive

Alfred cooked dinner's main dish last night....steaks, and boy were they good! I made the sides - salad and macaroni and cheese for the kids. The girls had a little friend sleep over. I don't know how late they stayed up, but they were as quiet as a mouse.

I worked out in the yard Sunday pulling weeds in the flower beds while Alfred mowed the grass. Yesterday I tackled weed-eating, which I must finish up today. My arms are a tad sore, but it's not unbearable. Alfred didn't have time to get to it so it was my way of blessing him and making his life a little easier. Besides, I like a very neat yard and couldn't stand looking at the weeds! :)

We had rain, glorious rain, yesterday afternoon accompanied by thunder and lightning. All of my plants got a much needed, good watering. Everything was beginning to look poorly. The rain also helped to cool the house down, too.

I am looking forward to another productive day!