Things you can do with vinegar

Since becoming a mother I really have begun to think about the products I bring into my home. I try and use the minimal amount of chemicals I can. In fact I generally try and make my own cleaners. Many of them are just as good as the commercial ones and I've been amazed at how inexpensively you can create things. One of my most favorite items that serves numerous purposes in my home is vinegar. I generally get one of the industrial size gallons from the store and I'm set for quite awhile. So, what all can you do with vinegar you ask? Well, you can use in laundry. It's a great fabric softener, fabric freshener and stain remover. I used it a lot when I used cloth diapers. It's great in the outdoor to repel various insects such as ants and garden slugs. You can also dab some on your skin as a mosquito repellent. It can help in your garden by suppressing weeds or increasing the acidity in your soil. It can help prolong the life of picked flowers. As a household cleaner it's relatively non-toxic so it's safe around food and food prep areas. You can use it to clean your windows, clean your drains, use it to make an all-purpose cleaner. You can use it to clean out your coffee maker. You can use it to clean your floors, your toilet or to polish furniture. You can use it as an air freshener. You can use it in cooking, and it can generally be substituted in the place of lemon when the lemon is needed as an acid. It can also be substituted in baking in the place of an egg. You can use it to turn milk into buttermilk. I could go on and on, but I'll stop there. Next time you're at the store, pick up a bottle of vinegar, you'll be amazed what all that little bottle can do for you.

The accidental homesteader

Recently I have been wanting to have a garden and because of that I've been doing a lot of reading and research. One word keeps coming up that I find intriguing. That word is homesteader and in my case urban homesteader. Loosely defined it can be viewed as a simple living lifestyle, incorporating small-scale agriculture, sustainable and permaculture gardening, and home food production and storage into suburban or city living. I didn't realize that many of the life choices I've made were so in line with the homesteading mindset. These were purposeful choices I made because of how I want to live, but I not conscious of embracing any one idea. It's ironic that I didn't get it because the essence of my life and who I am is "home". I love being at home and pursuing simple domestic arts. I try to think about my impact on the environment. I try to cook from scratch, I try and reduce, reuse and recycle every day. In my mind it's just how things should be. Don't get me wrong...I love gadgets, technology and stuff! I like to eat out occasionally or buy something new. But, apparently and overwhelmingly I homestead.
So, what does it take to be a homesteader you ask? Well I can list some activities I do and while not all encompassing or inclusive it gives you an idea of what it means to be a homesteader in my world.
Baking Bread
Cooking from scratch and using whole ingredients
Sewing clothing, crafts, household items and useful things
Knitting useful items
Growing own kitchen garden whether indoors or out
Canning and Preserving fruits, vegetables, meats, soups, stocks
Making my own cleaners
Shopping thrift
Reusing, reducing and recycling

I would also like to try my hand at candle making and soap making but, haven't gotten around to it yet.
None of the activities I listed above are hard or particularly time consuming. I look at it as just something I do. If you're reading this and you're hardcore homesteading you probably think I'm not doing enough, but I guess my point is that we can all make small changes in our lives that move us closer to the earth. Happy Homesteading!

Work on it Wednesday

I'm under the weather so I'm working on feeling better.

The found art of homemaking

I've been going through a lot of changes the last few years. If I had to describe it I'd say I've settled into myself. I'm happier than I've ever been with who I am and my life. I don't want to sound like PollyAnna, I do have bad times and challenges just like everyone does, but when it come down to it, I can say that I really am happy. One of the things that I realize that really brings me joy and a real sense of calm is homemaking. What is homemaking exactly? To me it's nurturing and caring for hearth and home. It's doing the little things to show that I cherish those in my life. It's taking the time and care to make sure our environment is lovely and comfortable. It's assuring that when my loved one's think of me it is with a warm heart and love. I wasn't always like this...oh I was always a bit domestic, but I've become more than that in recent years. I've truly become a homemaker. I realize that this was my calling all along, it's as if I truly found me. I remember in my 20's how ambitious and goal oriented I was. I don't think I really took the time to enjoy my life. Now I cherish each day in a way that I never did before. It's not important to me to be thought of as professionally successful or to keep up with the Jones' anymore. I'm happy feathering my own little nest...having my own slice of the pie.
I know that this all seems sort of anti feminist and retro perhaps, but I have to say I value my education and the fact that I can provide for myself and my family...but I love that I can also provide for them in other ways too. In fact I think being educated has made me a better homemaker even. I'm online a good bit and I think there's definitely been a resurgence in the art of homemaking. There are tons of sites about making your home beautiful, HGTV is constantly adding shows to it's lineup, blogs abound about homemaking, parenting, cooking and decorating. When I go to the bookstore, the home section seems to have expanded in recent years. People want to know how to care for their house and by extension their families. I feel like I'm just part of a growing movement really.
I could go on and on...but I won't. I'll just say that when people say things to me like "Oh, you're so domestic" or "Oh, you cook?" with a hint of irony in their voices, I don't take it the way they probably intended it...I take it as the highest compliment I could be given. Yes, I am a homemaker.

Homemanagement Binder...My life in a notebook

Well...sort of. I've always used a filofax/dayrunner system that I kept my calendar and little notes to myself in. As the size of my family grew, well so did my system. I needed something to keep everyone's needs, schedules, to do list and just the day to day stuff straight. At one point I had a lot of info on my sony clie pda, that is until my dh "borrowed" the power cord without telling me and it powered down and dump all my info. I was devastated. I don't think I could trust technology to that extent again. I mean I had tons and tons of info on there. I was furious to say the least. However, not to be deterred, I rebounded and began to think about the type of person I was...I'm not a techie...I like a visual, I like writing things down (I really believe it helps me remember them better) so maybe a notebook would be better. So, I got online and googled Home management notebook. Stumbled across some great sites, free printables and a really inspirational blog. I looked at tons of other notebooks, flylady, I looked at stuff I had been using (The Amy Knapp family planner among others) and made a list of what I thought I needed in my notebook. Next I went to Big Lots to gather my supplies. I got a Mead 3 ring zippered binder, a heavy duty zipped pouch, page protectors and plastic subject dividers w/pockets. That was a good start. I later added card holders and a bunch of stuff to the pouch (glue, scissors, tape, post its, hole punch, pencils, sharpie, pens and a calculator just to name a few). Then I got to work deciding which printables to use in my notebook. I found tons that work well for me on Organized home.com and Delightinreallife.com. Then I began to put it together.
The breakdown of my binder is like this

Calendar/Schedule
I have in a page protector the current month's calendar and on the reverse side the current year's calendar.
In this section I also have a 7 day calendar that I jot down my weekly plans.
In the pocket of the divider I keep a stash of blank 7 day calendars

Pending/To do items
Just what it says...things that I need to do, file away or what have you.

Phone numbers/Contacts
A list of emergency numbers, numbers of friends and family and business cards stored neatly protective sleeves ( intended for baseball cards).

Homekeeping
All generic things related to keeping the house
My house cleaning schedule
A copy of the flylady routine
A stain removal guide
Master grocery list
7 day menu planning pages

Takeout menus

Budget
Master spending plan
Manila envelope for receipts
A page protector that I store coupons in until I can organize them in my coupon binder
A home budget book
A pocket for bills that need to be entered online to be paid

Projects and Interest
A page for household projects
My personal project goals
Clippings, articles, craft patterns, notes on things I want to try or make

The parents
Stuff pertaining to me or dh
My work schedule

Health and wellness
An exercise journal
Info on diet and nutrition

That's pretty much what's in my main home management binder.

I also keep smaller separate binders for the kids that contains all their school stuff, schedules and forms that need to be dealt with and another one for recipes I've gotten online or from magazines (I put them in page protectors to save them from messy cooking).
So, that's it in a nutshell. It's how I stay partially sane and organized while working and caring for my large family. If you're on the hunt for a system, I hope you'll give the notebook system a try. It's changed my life...really.

Now here's a pictorial of some of the items in my notebook just to give you an idea of how it looks.

As promised...Mom's Monday Meal

This recipes is something simple and savory for the crockpot or slow cooker. I love the slowcooker. I love that you toss a bunch of stuff in there, turn it on low and before you know it you've got a delicious hot meal that you didn't spend all day slaving over. Who wouldn't love that?

Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken A Go Go

1 whole chicken (or you can use breast or whatever parts you have)
1 can of Cheddar cheese soup
2 can of any other variety of soup you like (cream of broccoli, chicken, mushroom...)
1/2 cup of heavy cream (you can use milk too, but I'd use a bit less)
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 small chopped onion (you can cook the onions before if you like, but I don't)
Season with salt and pepper to taste (for an extra kick you can try season salt, season pepper or whatever spices you like)

For a bit more nutritional value you can add a bag of mixed veggies the last 30mins to 1 hr. of cooking

Spray slow cooker w/cooking spray. Place chicken inside. In a separate bowl mix your soups and cream together, pour it over your chicken. Add seasoning, onions, and garlic powder. Cook on high for approximately 6 hours. Don't lift lid while cooking.
Serve over rice or egg noodles for a delicious one pot feast.

*Please note that you need to know your slow cooker. I have a newer one and it is pretty hot compared to my older one, so I tend to cook things on low for longer and check it.

Enjoy!!!

The Homemade Home Project

That's my name for what I'm about to do. It'll be a process, a project, a way of living from here to eternity...I hope. For the last month I've been using an online program called mvelopes to help me budget. We have a nice income, but I really feel that we spend impulsively and needlessly and need to be more cognizant of our finances. Well, it's a big wake up call. I knew we spent a ton of money eating out. But jeez we spend a ton! So I started thinking about why that is and what kind of life I want for my family. The why happens when there's poor planning, I'm tired, I'm sick or just don't want to cook and because I know that we have the money and I can just "pick up something". But that money could be going to savings or a fun trip...anything else. Our chest freezer is jammed full of food, yet this week we ate takeout 3 times for dinner and once for lunch and that's not including the fact that A. eats out for lunch every day at work. So, I tweaked my housework schedule to include not only meal planning (that was already on there), but preparing 2-3 freezer meals/week. That way I'll have a store and when I don't feel like cooking or have a busy day I can pop something out of the freezer and into the oven. Today I made 3 meals. One for tonights dinner and 2 to freeze. I'm also going to use my crockpot more. I use it a few times/month now, but I want to use it a few times a week.
Now, why homemade home project you ask...it's because I want to get back to basics. I want to nurture my family with less processed, commercialized, prepackaged crap. I want them to know that I take pride in the food and things I make for them. I want them to know that every time I take my hands to prepare something for them that It's like a hug and a kiss. I'm not just talking about cooking either. I'm pledging to make our home a place that nutures them at all times, that is gentle and welcoming...where their creativity and happiness dwell. I want our homemade home to be the place that is always dear in their hearts and stays with them as they are out in the world now and forever. That's my project, that's my pledge. To use my love, skills and care to continue to create the kind of home I want for my family.

Housewife or Martyr?

Like many women I stay home with my kids...except I also work outside of the home on the weekend. Because I'm home during the week a large majority of the housework falls to me, I think that's fair in the sense I'm there and all...but I also do 90% of the grocery shopping, clothes shopping, kids appts, carpooling...you get my point. Our house is smallish (1700sf) and we are lovers of stuff. It's a challenge to keep it organized and tidy. I hate to admit it, but I'm losing the battle. It's a struggle every day. It makes me so sad. I'm not used to living in such chaos. It doesn't seem to bother anyone else but me. When I moan to dh about it he says that I might just need to accept that we have 4 kids, and the stuff that 4 kids come with. When I complain that I do everything he says I'm being a matryr. I don't believe that. My house was tidy growing up and there were 7 of us. When I think about it though we were all gone during the day. I'm home...with the kids...every single day. We actually LIVE in the space. We live hard in the space. Is it too much to ask that we live hard in a clean and tidy place?
So...I guess I will martyr myself on the pillar of the pursuit of the elusive clean yet lived in home. I will conquer this. I will fight on! And when you think of me...think of me with a broom in one hand and a dust rag in the other!

Cleaning and the Internet

Is the internet keeping me from being the next Martha Stewart, Suzy Homemaker...a domestic goddess? I admit I would rather surf the net than clean any day of the week. I hate clutter and mess...but I seem to be able to find any excuse to get online and avoid chores. And even when I do clean I find myself taking frequent breaks to just check in...what the heck do I think I'll miss? So, I've decided to make myself a schedule and limit my online time...yes, I know I should be able to exercise self restraint without these gimmics, but yet here I am blogging rather than folding the 5 loads of laundry sitting on my couch. So...here's to a cleaner home and less online time.

Homemanagement Binder...will it change my life?

I've been working on a Homemanagement binder. Simply put, it's a notebook with everything in one place that I need to manage our home. Calendar, schedule (ok, I'm more of a routine kind of gal than a schedule persay), resources for budgeting, shopping, project ideas...anything I might need to manage our home. I've found a wonderful online resources and lots of examples for inspirations. Of course there's the flylady's control journal...but I don't really like the idea of controlling as much as managing. Anywho, I'm going to give it a try and will see if it changes my life. I'm even going to schedule myself some exercise time and perhaps get more in touch w/my spiritual side. It was interesting that many of the online sites where I saw sample binders were from women who identified themselves as christian women. I think it's interesting that they seem to put more focus in to caring for their home and family. Not to say that I don't consider myself a christian...I do, but I don't think that would be the primary identifier I'd use if you asked me to tell about myself. I might say I'm female, a wife, a mother...but not necessarily a christian. I was also fascinated by alot of the passages they quoted on their blogs that represented being a wife and how important it is to care for one's family. I think I'm going to take this year (now and into 2008) to read the Bible. I've never read the entire thing. I have several, but I've never read more than select passages. Anyway, even if I end up not loving the binder, I think I'll get something out of the experience.

So busy...

Well things have been so busy here. Two of the kidlets are back in school and one more will start after labor day and then it will just be me and the princess.
I've been working hard on home improvement projects in an effort to embrace and love the home we're in. I just cleaned out my pantry. I'm thinking maybe I hadn't done it since we moved in...imagine. Anyways, it's quite empty now. Now, I'm going to reorganize the kitchen and clear off the counter space. It's so liberating to declutter. I mean I took 3 bags of expired and dusty food items to the dump. I will probably have 2 more bags when I completely finish with the other shelf. Woohoo, we got the new floors! They look fanfreakintastic! No more soiled smelly carpet. It opens up the entire space too! I highly recommend wood flooring to anyone.
Things are advancing well in the project me arena. More on that later.

The Kitchen/Grocery Challenge

I started this last year, but I slacked off big time. But, baby I'm back! We've been spending way to much eating out lately. Plus with gas prices what they are I need to be organized and avoid running to the store 10 times/week. So I found this cool site called Cindy's Porch and I'm going to print off the list and begin my once a month cooking again. I even have a new cookbook to try out and I think it will make the summer much more relaxing if I don't have to stress about cooking big full meals. So, tonight I will make out my menu and tomorrow the cooking begins. I'm also going to try and eat fresher. I took the kids to the farmer's market last week and the veggies we got were so delicious. Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt like I was eating a wonderful meal and doing something great for our community by shopping at the farmer's market. Ah well, next I'll be going organic!