Now that you've been introduced to vinegar and baking soda, here's a shopping list for items we'll be covering in the next couple of weeks. So come back next week and we'll talk about soap scum. I'll give you tips to get it off your shower and how you can help prevent it (and I'm not just talking about drying your shower after each use, I don't have time for that and apparently, no one else in my house does either.) Not all the items listed are green. Sometimes, at least for me, cheap over rules green. And really the bottom line for me is, what's going to happen if my kid uses it, sniffs it, eats it, or uses it for lipstick. I'm way more concerned about the immediate dangers for my child than the effects on the environment. I'm a mother first and foremost. For instance, borax... it's cheap and most people consider it to be green. It's only toxic in huge, huge quantities, therefore, I like it. How much can a toddler ingest in two unsupervised minutes? It's not … [Read more...]
How to Store Your Cords
A little ol' lady, who happens to be 93 years old, taught me a really good trick for storing your cords. And it costs nothing. It won't work for those really big orange extension cords, but it will work for the small extension cords and for cords attached to things, like curling irons, crock pots, toasters, lamps, etc. Next time you use up your paper towels, save the tube. Fold your cords up and tuck them inside to keep them neat and save space. It will also save you time because you won't have to untangle cords any more. I have all my electrical devices for my hair, such as curling irons, flat irons, and blow dryers, all in one drawer. This drawer can start to look like a tangled mess of cords. This tangled mess can start to waste your time while you're getting ready. I also have small extension cords that I store in a cabinet in my laundry room. If you put them in the paper towel tube, you don't have to worry about untangling them. It also makes them easier to … [Read more...]
Preparing for Thanksgiving
We're having Thanksgiving this year at my house. So there are a few things added to my usual list of things that need to be done to make sure my house is ready. I don't have to have a perfectly clean or organized house, but I want it to be functional and comfortable. So between now and then, I have a few extra things I'd like to get done. Run the cleaning cycle on the all ovens. I'll have extra people in my kitchen and without fail, someone will open my ovens. I don't want to shock anyone. A couple of weeks ago, I thought they needed to be cleaned, but I'm always looking for an excuse to procrastinate. It does really make sense to do it right before Thanksgiving (or at least that's what I tell myself). Clean the fridge. You will need all the extra room you can get. Make a menu and grocery list. This year, I've decided to only make foods we really like and will eat and truly enjoy. So turkey and pie it is. That simplifies things a lot. Along with the … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving Holiday Ideas
I love Pinterest. It's addicting. It's simple. It's brilliant. It's so easy to go crazy and spend hours and hours on Pinterest. It's fascinating to see what others find interesting. I love the whole idea of sharing so many ideas. Pinterest is simply genius. So now I'd like to share some of my Thanksgiving ideas I've pinned. So I Married a Mennonite is having a Pinterest Party and you're invited. Come check out everyone's boards for Thanksgiving ideas and share some of yours. … [Read more...]
Why Plan a Menu?
Getting a meal on the table has never been very easy for me. When I worked in BC time (Before Children), my husband did most of the cooking and did a fine job. Frequently, we cooked together and then I always did clean-up. That was the deal and it worked for us at the time. Then while I was on maternity leave, I started cooking dinner on a regular basis and oftentimes, by myself since I would cook and we would eat as soon as he got home from work. I would spend too much time throughout the day trying to figure out what I was going to make for dinner. Most of it would be just think time, but still it consumed a lot of my time. I would decide what to make and then rummage through the refrigerator and pantry only to find I was missing an ingredient. So then I would put the missing ingredient(s) on the grocery list. By the time, I got around to buying the ingredient(s), I had either a) forgotten what recipe I bought them for b) was now missing other ingredient(s) c) … [Read more...]
Making Your Own Laundry Soap
So I'm now starting to experiment with making my own laundry soap. I made my first five gallons about three weeks ago. First, let me start by telling you it passes the most important test...my husband's work clothes. I started looking for a recipe a few months ago. I looked at everything from the Duggar's laundry soap recipes to sorta Amish recipes. I checked out some YouTube in my searching. I even went to the library and got some real books that I could hold in my hands and turn real pages. So what did I find in all my searching? Making your laundry soap is cheap. No matter what recipe, the total cost is a fraction of what I was spending on laundry detergent. All the recipes I found were pretty simple with only a few ingredients. Most of the recipes I found were in bulk. Usually, they made at least five gallons and oftentimes, this was concentrated. … [Read more...]
