There's a quick update.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Been busy.
I have not had the time or the desire to post on here :) So much has been going on around our home and church and most things take a much higher priority than posting on this blog. But ... for the sake of those that might be wondering, YES, everything is going well. Brianna and I have been busy with new cleaning jobs (as well as the old
ones) and lots of sewing jobs. The boys have been busy at the nursery,
paining a house (well, Brianna has been helping with that), raking
&/or moving hay, yard work for a few elderly people and so much
more. And of course there are our old lady friends to keep up with too.
That takes a good portion of Brianna's time and some of the rest of ours
as well. The 'country garden' is really doing great this year so far. Lots of hard work and we are reaping some already. It's been very helpful too that God has provided good rain. This summer seems a lot more mild so far than the last two that have been hot with droughts. I would like to share pictures of the country garden so I will have them 'on file' ... but once again, priorities. So, here is one picture of Corban working with the bees (that seem to be doing well too).
There's a quick update.
There's a quick update.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Baby chickies, ducks and so on
Our silkie roosters were getting too loud for the city ... so about 3 or 4 weeks ago they became silkie rooster pie (minus the silkie part). Ever since then our silkie hen has been sitting on her eggs quite diligently. We were beginning to feel sorry for her, all that sitting and we just knew the eggs were not fertile. Well, this morning we discovered much to our delight and surprise that we were wrong. She has hatched out 6 little chickies so far and she's still sitting on 3 eggs. It was hard to get a picture of her off the babies and eggs but another hen got into her cage so while she was going to defend the nest Brianna quick took a few snaps.
In other news, a month or so ago we got 5 chicks and 2 ducklings that are growing up rather quickly. These were originally all for meat but I'm not sure if we (well, those of us who eat meat around here) are going to eat the ducks or send them to the big, country garden to eat bugs.
We did not get a picture of our girls (the barred rocks) but they are all doing very well.
In other news, a month or so ago we got 5 chicks and 2 ducklings that are growing up rather quickly. These were originally all for meat but I'm not sure if we (well, those of us who eat meat around here) are going to eat the ducks or send them to the big, country garden to eat bugs.
We did not get a picture of our girls (the barred rocks) but they are all doing very well.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Frugal health and beauty
This post is going to be about toothpaste, soap and shampoo.
TOOTHPASTE
I cannot even remember the last time I regularly used 'normal' toothpaste, though I know it has been well over 10 years. Just like diet in general, my experimenting with toothpaste has been through some changes over the years. Baking soda, just water, Dr. Bronner's, homemade paste (made with baking soda, coconut oil, essential oil and a few other things), back to baking soda, just water, and so on, but none of these things ever really seemed to work satisfactorily.
A few years ago I met a brother who only used salt water for his teeth and he said he's never had a problem since. I gave it a try and that is what I have been doing ever since. I LIKE IT A LOT! He uses a plastic water bottle, fills it with water and adds in a teaspoon or two of salt. I like to just wet my brush and sprinkle on a little salt each time (I use RealSalt). My teeth and gums have never been better. I even use salt water (just regular sea salt) in my hydro floss.
Toothpaste rabbit trail:
Several years ago I discovered the Tightwad Gazette. Have you ever heard of it?? Lots of interesting ideas in there!! I checked out the 3 volume set from the library and that was the first book I ever read about cutting corners and saving where you can. Amy had a tip in there about 'how low can you go' - I think I even mentioned it on this blog before? The basic idea is: keep using less and less of something until you get to the point where you are using as little as you can and are still pleased with the results. Toothpaste was one of the things I experimented on and discovered that I really did not need a huge blob of paste on my brush like the ads and commercials showed! So, the first thing I did with toothpaste was cut down my use of it from a good sized blob to about a small pea-sized amount.
SOAP
Lately I've gotten in to making my own soap. Though the upfront cost can seem a little much, the ingredients last a long time and make a lot of soap. I especially like that I know exactly what is in my soap and only put things in there that I want on my skin and in my body. (Anything you put on your skin goes right into your body! My general rule is, if I would not eat it, i do not want it on my body ... thought I am not obsessive about this rule.)
Maybe the next time I make soap I'll post a video of how I do it? But for now I can only offer you the title of the book I used and appreciated to help teach me: Smart Soapmaking by Anne Watson. Her detailed instructions and lists can seem a bit intimidating at first, however after the first time through you'll be much more comfortable the next time.
SHAMPOO
Ok, I will admit it ... it's been a long time since I've used shampoo. I just do not like the stuff. No matter what brand I use, there always seems to be a bunch of build-up left behind in my brush! Honestly, this grosses me out. I switched to 'no-poo' and have not looked back. It's really simple and cheap ... and best of all it works great for my hair and is not toxic!!
Shampoo (or 'no-poo'): Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of baking soda with one cup of warm water into a squirt bottle of some sort. I found soft plastic squeeze bottles for a dollar at walmart in the kitchen gadget isle (these bottles would normally be used for ketchup or something - they have a pointed spout and a tiny little cap). Shake well before using.
Rinse: 1T vinegar to one cup warm water. Shake well before using.
To use: Squirt baking soda mixture all over scalp, concentrating more on dirtier areas. Gently rub with fingers and rinse with water. Now squirt the vinegar mix all over your scalp and rinse well with water.
That's it.
Tip: I tried mixing a larger batch of soda and water but the soda ended up clumping at the bottom. It would eventually (mostly) mix in if I shook it long enough, but I found it not a very fun thing to stand in the shower and shake a bottle of soda and water. Now I just keep some soda in the bathroom and mix it up each time.
Another tip: I am the only one in my family that does this. My boys just use Dr. Bronner's for everything and my daughter uses a few different kinds of shampoos. She is hoping to find something more natural that works for her, however she has not found it yet. So, I guess the tip here is ... don't expect everyone to jump on board!!
TOOTHPASTE
I cannot even remember the last time I regularly used 'normal' toothpaste, though I know it has been well over 10 years. Just like diet in general, my experimenting with toothpaste has been through some changes over the years. Baking soda, just water, Dr. Bronner's, homemade paste (made with baking soda, coconut oil, essential oil and a few other things), back to baking soda, just water, and so on, but none of these things ever really seemed to work satisfactorily.
A few years ago I met a brother who only used salt water for his teeth and he said he's never had a problem since. I gave it a try and that is what I have been doing ever since. I LIKE IT A LOT! He uses a plastic water bottle, fills it with water and adds in a teaspoon or two of salt. I like to just wet my brush and sprinkle on a little salt each time (I use RealSalt). My teeth and gums have never been better. I even use salt water (just regular sea salt) in my hydro floss.
Toothpaste rabbit trail:
Several years ago I discovered the Tightwad Gazette. Have you ever heard of it?? Lots of interesting ideas in there!! I checked out the 3 volume set from the library and that was the first book I ever read about cutting corners and saving where you can. Amy had a tip in there about 'how low can you go' - I think I even mentioned it on this blog before? The basic idea is: keep using less and less of something until you get to the point where you are using as little as you can and are still pleased with the results. Toothpaste was one of the things I experimented on and discovered that I really did not need a huge blob of paste on my brush like the ads and commercials showed! So, the first thing I did with toothpaste was cut down my use of it from a good sized blob to about a small pea-sized amount.
SOAP
Lately I've gotten in to making my own soap. Though the upfront cost can seem a little much, the ingredients last a long time and make a lot of soap. I especially like that I know exactly what is in my soap and only put things in there that I want on my skin and in my body. (Anything you put on your skin goes right into your body! My general rule is, if I would not eat it, i do not want it on my body ... thought I am not obsessive about this rule.)
Maybe the next time I make soap I'll post a video of how I do it? But for now I can only offer you the title of the book I used and appreciated to help teach me: Smart Soapmaking by Anne Watson. Her detailed instructions and lists can seem a bit intimidating at first, however after the first time through you'll be much more comfortable the next time.
SHAMPOO
Ok, I will admit it ... it's been a long time since I've used shampoo. I just do not like the stuff. No matter what brand I use, there always seems to be a bunch of build-up left behind in my brush! Honestly, this grosses me out. I switched to 'no-poo' and have not looked back. It's really simple and cheap ... and best of all it works great for my hair and is not toxic!!
Shampoo (or 'no-poo'): Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of baking soda with one cup of warm water into a squirt bottle of some sort. I found soft plastic squeeze bottles for a dollar at walmart in the kitchen gadget isle (these bottles would normally be used for ketchup or something - they have a pointed spout and a tiny little cap). Shake well before using.
Rinse: 1T vinegar to one cup warm water. Shake well before using.
To use: Squirt baking soda mixture all over scalp, concentrating more on dirtier areas. Gently rub with fingers and rinse with water. Now squirt the vinegar mix all over your scalp and rinse well with water.
That's it.
Tip: I tried mixing a larger batch of soda and water but the soda ended up clumping at the bottom. It would eventually (mostly) mix in if I shook it long enough, but I found it not a very fun thing to stand in the shower and shake a bottle of soda and water. Now I just keep some soda in the bathroom and mix it up each time.
Another tip: I am the only one in my family that does this. My boys just use Dr. Bronner's for everything and my daughter uses a few different kinds of shampoos. She is hoping to find something more natural that works for her, however she has not found it yet. So, I guess the tip here is ... don't expect everyone to jump on board!!
~~~~~~~~
What are your frugal health and beauty tips?
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Canning - Ketchup and Beans
I am so thankful to have a day to catch up on cleaning and also a few days 'here and there' to get some canning done. I feel like a real 'keeper at home'.
The other day I canned 21qts of lentils. The day after that I canned 49 more quarts of black beans, lentils, garbanzo beans and potatoes. Today I am cleaning :) :) and canning ketchup. Here are some photos; not all the beans are pictured - 3 did not seal so they are in our fridge and we used three last evening. And in case you were wondering, I used Tattler lids on all of these. Here is a link to a post I did on Tattlers if you are interested. Have a great day!
I had to edit this to include a picture of the finished ketchup and my recipe if anyone is interested ...
Ketchup - yields 9 pints plus a little extra for lunch :)
12 - 6oz cans of tomato paste (or use your homemade stuff if you have it)
1 1/4c vinegar (acv or white; I used a mixture of both in this particular batch)
1 1/4c sweetener (I used 3/4c honey and 1/2c rapadura)
1 1/2t garlic powder/granules
1T onion powder/granules
1 1/2t allspice
3T salt
2t dry mustard
1 1/2t celery salt
6c water
I like to put the paste in the pan first, stir it up good, add the spices, sweetener and vinegar, stir it up good again, and then gradually add in the water. This seems to help smooth out the lumps a little easier.
Simmer and adjust seasonings to suit your own tastes. Fill jars and top with lid and band as per normal canning directions. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Set on towel or cooling rack till completely cool. Remove bands, clean jars, check seals, store.
The other day I canned 21qts of lentils. The day after that I canned 49 more quarts of black beans, lentils, garbanzo beans and potatoes. Today I am cleaning :) :) and canning ketchup. Here are some photos; not all the beans are pictured - 3 did not seal so they are in our fridge and we used three last evening. And in case you were wondering, I used Tattler lids on all of these. Here is a link to a post I did on Tattlers if you are interested. Have a great day!
I had to edit this to include a picture of the finished ketchup and my recipe if anyone is interested ...
Ketchup - yields 9 pints plus a little extra for lunch :)
12 - 6oz cans of tomato paste (or use your homemade stuff if you have it)
1 1/4c vinegar (acv or white; I used a mixture of both in this particular batch)
1 1/4c sweetener (I used 3/4c honey and 1/2c rapadura)
1 1/2t garlic powder/granules
1T onion powder/granules
1 1/2t allspice
3T salt
2t dry mustard
1 1/2t celery salt
6c water
I like to put the paste in the pan first, stir it up good, add the spices, sweetener and vinegar, stir it up good again, and then gradually add in the water. This seems to help smooth out the lumps a little easier.
Simmer and adjust seasonings to suit your own tastes. Fill jars and top with lid and band as per normal canning directions. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Set on towel or cooling rack till completely cool. Remove bands, clean jars, check seals, store.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Progress
We are thankful for the green houses - the one is still providing lots of spinach, lettuce, kale, beet greens and growing a few new things, and the other is housing all of our seedlings (they are mostly full-blown plants by now) and also our neighbour's seedlings/plants.
The rabbits were attacked by dogs and now we only have two left. Live and learn.
The bee hive is repaired and two brothers surprised us with two home-made hives :) :) The boys did some work last fall for a man and he still owes them money ... they hope to collect that and use it towards getting the hives ready.
Brianna and my sewing business is really taking off! I don't know if I ever made it public on my blog or not, but here is the Etsy link: Modestly Covered if anyone is interested. We have a blog too but it's pretty much the same as the store: Modestly Covered Blog. She does all the sewing for now and I do all the other stuff, but I do hope to have time to help her sew soon. She just does so good at it ... I might mess it all up! But I can at least cut things out, right? She is finished with a few tunics that I plan to post maybe today or tomorrow. We are sticking mostly to ready-made things right now due to time issues but hope to offer more custom order items soon. Anyone can request a custom order though :).
The boys have been busy as usual ... not only with work but also with the garden. We've been helping them as much as we can with the gardening.
The chickens are all doing well. The roosters are loud as ever (we really need to get them out of the city and might just eat them to solve the problem). We added 5 meat chickens and two ducks - the ducks might be for meat as well, I'm not sure yet.
The rabbits were attacked by dogs and now we only have two left. Live and learn.
The bee hive is repaired and two brothers surprised us with two home-made hives :) :) The boys did some work last fall for a man and he still owes them money ... they hope to collect that and use it towards getting the hives ready.
Brianna and my sewing business is really taking off! I don't know if I ever made it public on my blog or not, but here is the Etsy link: Modestly Covered if anyone is interested. We have a blog too but it's pretty much the same as the store: Modestly Covered Blog. She does all the sewing for now and I do all the other stuff, but I do hope to have time to help her sew soon. She just does so good at it ... I might mess it all up! But I can at least cut things out, right? She is finished with a few tunics that I plan to post maybe today or tomorrow. We are sticking mostly to ready-made things right now due to time issues but hope to offer more custom order items soon. Anyone can request a custom order though :).
The boys have been busy as usual ... not only with work but also with the garden. We've been helping them as much as we can with the gardening.
The chickens are all doing well. The roosters are loud as ever (we really need to get them out of the city and might just eat them to solve the problem). We added 5 meat chickens and two ducks - the ducks might be for meat as well, I'm not sure yet.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Urban Homestead (?!) update ...
The thought occurred to me the other day that I think we might qualify for the title "urban homestead" though I'm not sure!! Who cares. I am so thankful for what we have here. I always wanted to live in the country but gave up that idea (submitted my will to God) shortly after we moved here to Monett. Even though we do not live in the country, we sure do have a lot of 'country-type' things going on around here ... and it's been fun being creative.
Ok ... so here are a few pictures.
We have had a wood burning stove of some sort for the last two winters. Last week some brothers took out our old furnace and discovered there was a hole in the floor going to the crawl space. The boys are digging out some sort of root cellar; I think it's going to be 7'x4' and about 6' deep. The hole is in our back entry / laundry room.
Our rabbits are all doing well. One mama had a litter of 11 babies - we saved one to breed, gave away 4 and butchered the others. A few weeks after those babies were gone, the other mama had 9 babies. One died, one got out somehow and was never to be seen again, and the other are growing very quickly. Here is a picture of a few from that litter.
The boys built a bigger green house in the church parking lot. If you are curious, this green house is about 6' tall, 10' wide and I'm not sure how long it is ... 20' or maybe 25'? It cost less than $200 to make - rebar, pvc pipes and plastic were the main materials. It's kind of messy in there but things still grow :) We have really been appreciating the fresh salads and greens for our green smoothies. Our first lettuce harvest was at the end of January. Here you can kind of see some things ... the front right bed is lettuce and beets, the bed behind that is spinach. The front left bed is getting worked over today and planted with something. Directly behind that is a bed with a different kind of lettuce and something else that is not growing yet. And then in the way back is kale and spinach.
An addition to our green house adventures. This green house is down the street from us in a sister's backyard. It was made from the heavy plastic sheeting that covers decks (as a roof); brother from church gave it to us - they got it at a really good price and thought we could turn it into a greenhouse. It seems to have worked but we need to find a way to heat it. Any suggestions? And, in case you were wondering, this cost well under $100 to build but would have been A LOT more if the brother had to pay full price for the plastic sheeting; the frame is mostly 2x4's I think?
Today Corban is working on getting the bee hives ready - we will be placing them at our 'country garden'. This will be our first year as 'bee keepers'. Last evening a few of us went to the local meeting that happens every month; they showed a few segments of a video and it was very encouraging to us ... made it seem like, YES, we really can do this! We are serious about this because honey is so expensive!! A gallon of raw honey in our bulk food order is going for about $40 right now (a gallon of honey is about 12lbs). I remember when we first started ordering from them 10 years or so ago, this same honey was going for $23. I cannot believe it!! But, we still buy it, though not as much. So, lets say we purchase 4 gallons a year. That's $160 plus 8% shipping!! That's more than the cost of a whole new hive!! and the hive lasts for years with a little bit of money each year to maintain it. So ... I hope this bee keeping thing works out.
Here is a picture of Corban replacing the wax stuff in one of the frames. I'm sure there is a technical name for it but I don't feel like putting forth much effort right now.
Have you ever heard of the Flylady? I heard of her about 10 years ago or more but I always thought, "I know how to clean, I don't need her!" Well, I DO know how to clean, but I am not the best organizer! I got on her mailing list over a month ago and began reading all the emails. Pretty soon I was really inspired and encouraged to give her plan an honest try. I really like the concept of decluttering for 15-minutes a day. Soon there is nothing left to declutter and only things to maintain. I also like the 'hot-spot' thing ... 2 minutes twice a day cleaning off the 'hot-spot' in your house. For us, it was definitely the top of the washer and dryer. Now it's clean every day because I purpose to clear it off twice a day.
Well anyway, I am thankful for this system and it seems to be working for me. Here are a few pictures of things we did to help us organize better:
Nifty air-tight containers for grains, seeds and spices and also a 'lazy susan' for the smaller things. The only one I could find was a real cheap one from WM, but I hope to have a higher quality one some day. My cabinet has been looking so nice now that everything has a home.
More air-tight storage boxes. Two stacked fits just right, and it's in a space that used to be filled with water jugs and fermenting things (see the next picture). I have REALLY been appreciating having these things right at hand instead of spread out around the house ... in the pantry, in the fridge on the porch or in the garage! Now I have them close to me, and I have a scheduled time each week to go replenish the supplies all at once. This helps also to see when I am running out of something BEFORE I run out of it.
I am VERY thankful for this little shelf in our kitchen! Corban built it especially for my gallon and quart jars that hold fermenting things and also for bowls or crocks of sourdough stuff. All of this stuff used to be sitting on my counter, but now it has a nice home! I think the wood for this shelf cost less than $30; Corban used/recycled some old piano pegs to hold the shelves up.
In the background there you can see 4 tote boxes - that corner back there used to be a mess with all the recycle stuff waiting to be hauled away. Now it's all sectioned out and contained nicely.
And just inside the doorway on the floor you might see all the dirt? That is where the hole is for the new cellar. I am not sure about trying too hard to keep that area clean since it will be a mess till it gets dug out!
Ok ... so here are a few pictures.
We have had a wood burning stove of some sort for the last two winters. Last week some brothers took out our old furnace and discovered there was a hole in the floor going to the crawl space. The boys are digging out some sort of root cellar; I think it's going to be 7'x4' and about 6' deep. The hole is in our back entry / laundry room.
Our rabbits are all doing well. One mama had a litter of 11 babies - we saved one to breed, gave away 4 and butchered the others. A few weeks after those babies were gone, the other mama had 9 babies. One died, one got out somehow and was never to be seen again, and the other are growing very quickly. Here is a picture of a few from that litter.
The boys built a bigger green house in the church parking lot. If you are curious, this green house is about 6' tall, 10' wide and I'm not sure how long it is ... 20' or maybe 25'? It cost less than $200 to make - rebar, pvc pipes and plastic were the main materials. It's kind of messy in there but things still grow :) We have really been appreciating the fresh salads and greens for our green smoothies. Our first lettuce harvest was at the end of January. Here you can kind of see some things ... the front right bed is lettuce and beets, the bed behind that is spinach. The front left bed is getting worked over today and planted with something. Directly behind that is a bed with a different kind of lettuce and something else that is not growing yet. And then in the way back is kale and spinach.
Today Corban is working on getting the bee hives ready - we will be placing them at our 'country garden'. This will be our first year as 'bee keepers'. Last evening a few of us went to the local meeting that happens every month; they showed a few segments of a video and it was very encouraging to us ... made it seem like, YES, we really can do this! We are serious about this because honey is so expensive!! A gallon of raw honey in our bulk food order is going for about $40 right now (a gallon of honey is about 12lbs). I remember when we first started ordering from them 10 years or so ago, this same honey was going for $23. I cannot believe it!! But, we still buy it, though not as much. So, lets say we purchase 4 gallons a year. That's $160 plus 8% shipping!! That's more than the cost of a whole new hive!! and the hive lasts for years with a little bit of money each year to maintain it. So ... I hope this bee keeping thing works out.
Here is a picture of Corban replacing the wax stuff in one of the frames. I'm sure there is a technical name for it but I don't feel like putting forth much effort right now.
Well anyway, I am thankful for this system and it seems to be working for me. Here are a few pictures of things we did to help us organize better:
Nifty air-tight containers for grains, seeds and spices and also a 'lazy susan' for the smaller things. The only one I could find was a real cheap one from WM, but I hope to have a higher quality one some day. My cabinet has been looking so nice now that everything has a home.
More air-tight storage boxes. Two stacked fits just right, and it's in a space that used to be filled with water jugs and fermenting things (see the next picture). I have REALLY been appreciating having these things right at hand instead of spread out around the house ... in the pantry, in the fridge on the porch or in the garage! Now I have them close to me, and I have a scheduled time each week to go replenish the supplies all at once. This helps also to see when I am running out of something BEFORE I run out of it.
I am VERY thankful for this little shelf in our kitchen! Corban built it especially for my gallon and quart jars that hold fermenting things and also for bowls or crocks of sourdough stuff. All of this stuff used to be sitting on my counter, but now it has a nice home! I think the wood for this shelf cost less than $30; Corban used/recycled some old piano pegs to hold the shelves up.
In the background there you can see 4 tote boxes - that corner back there used to be a mess with all the recycle stuff waiting to be hauled away. Now it's all sectioned out and contained nicely.
And just inside the doorway on the floor you might see all the dirt? That is where the hole is for the new cellar. I am not sure about trying too hard to keep that area clean since it will be a mess till it gets dug out!
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