Worthwhile Wednesday- Being a good stewart, giving away our excess

I've been wanting write this post for awhile, but I've been afraid I'll offend someone.

So please note this post is about my family's choices, if it's not right for you that's ok. It is not my intent to change everyone with one blog post.  This is my opinion and my suggestions that are not meant to offend anyone.

That said, in my opinion our culture and the current interpretation of the American dream is very much centered around getting more...buying more...having more stuff....a bigger house...more and more focus on money,

...and as much as I love my country, I'm afraid our focus is in the wrong place.

The bible tells us in 1 John 2:15-17,

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 

And recently, my own church family has placed a focus on responsible stewardship.  In several sermons, our Reverend has reminded how privileged we are to live in such a wonderful country of abundance.  But as she reminded us, it is our call from God to give our excess to those who need and to take care of what bounty God has given us.

In a letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds the Corinthian church that while it is important for the Christian worker to earn and keep their wages, it is also extremely important to give to others from our abundance.  He further reminds them of the church in Macedonia that while extremely poor, freely gave to the Christians in Jerusalem that were being persecuted. 

The Macedonia church truly embodies the spirit of the Lord.  Freely giving, even begging to help others...always a spirit of love and compassion.

That's the kind of person I would like to be...

It's also the kind of people that I hope my girls grow up to be...

But it means focusing on responsible management of our money and shifting our love of money to a love of all people.   In this culture, that can be difficult because our society says, you need more stuff...you must have more to be happy...you have to have it all.

It is something I struggle with to this day...but all it takes is one look at the children in Africa that need a simple mosquito net to save their lives.

Or seeing a village that could use a goat, chicken, or even just clean water to survive.

In our own neighborhood, we drive by the homeless or hungry that struggle everyday.

Or knowing that we need to care for our world, so that we leave future generations with a sustainable landscape.

It doesn't matter what choices or mistakes they or we have made, it is up to us to help them and our world.  It is what God calls us to do.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18 

So with a need pressed to my heart to help, we've been making changes at our home for the past year.  Here are some I'm sharing, and if you are of the same mind, I hope it helps you too.

1. We're eliminating a lot of our going out to eat. At the end of the month, the money we save from eating at home we're going to donate to two different charities. This benefits our health too as we eat better at home with homemade whole foods. Taking care of ourselves and others with a simple change.

One of our favorites, Quiche.

2. We are living more frugally and with less environmental impact. So far we've eliminated a lot of processed food and commercial soaps & cleaners. Less toxins = better for the whole world. Plus saving money = better for our budget, which means more to share. My next goal is to eliminate more of our paper and plastic consumption.  That means the sewing machine and I will be spending more time together. ;)

3. We try to keep our money local to help those around us. That means buying from local stores, farmer's markets, and from our local farmers directly.  A healthier community means a better area for us all.

Tomatoes from our farmer's market last year

4. Our oldest, who is only four, has two jars on her shelf.  One with a picture of a bed with a net and another of clean water. We allowed her to pick two things she wanted to support and those were the two she picked.  We give her change from time to time for chores etc.  She is now saving all her change for little children.  As she says, "we'll get them new beds with no mosquitoes, and lots of good water and food."  She is so excited that there will be "no more malaria" for the kids she helps.

So happy with her jars

5. This Christmas, we are going to limit our "stuff". Each year my hubby and I go overboard with "stuff" for our girls, stuff they don't even use. So this year we are practicing a new idea. The girls will get three gifts just like the gifts the wise men brought Jesus. These will consist of a need (like new pjs), a want (a toy), and something to focus on Christ (last year Elizabeth got her own bible).

Overload

6. We don't over extend ourselves. That means a reasonable house payment, and no major purchases without cash. Debt is something of a dirty word in our house, and we're trying to eliminate all of ours with extra payments to our mortgage etc.  For us this also includes saving as much money as we can for our girls education funds.  Since Elizabeth has been born she's had a 529 plan.  We'll be switching both girls to IRA's soon, as the 529 plan doesn't give the tax benefits that it once did (the state we now live in has no income tax).

7. As I mentioned above we are trying to be frugal. That means that we also grow a lot of our own food, reuse items rather than buy new, make our own when possible, and fix what we have. I sew, Mark made our chicken coup from items we already had, I crochet hats and scarfs, we buy clothes at consignment, and we have a huge garden.

Peas from our garden

8. Give away our abundance- literally. The girls and I have been setting aside extra toys etc they don't play with. They'll be going with a friend of ours who has a charity helping orphanages in Africa. Elizabeth is all for it, she seems to have a soft spot for helping other little kids, and I'm super proud of her for that.

9. Every year at Christmas, we put together boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  Elizabeth loves shopping for the kids and personally picks out the toys.

10. This year at Christmas, Mark and I agreed that we'd let the girls pick out something extra to support.  I'm guessing they'll pick a goat, chickens, or a well for a village in need.

These are simple and even obvious ideas, and I realize that the amount of need in this world is overwhelming...but small simple changes from a lot of people can make a huge difference. So pick your favorite charity because together we can change what we see as important, and it's not money or the stuff we can buy with it...

One look at these cuties will tell you that.

This post is part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #33.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Make your own foaming soap

I love foaming soap!  Mainly because foaming soap doesn't leave dried soap all over the sink top for me to clean later.

Can you tell I have kids?

But foaming soaps are primarily water based, so your putting a lot of money down for not much soap.  Not to mention most commercial soap have chemicals in them you don't want (not even really soap, but detergents) or worse antibiotics which are next to worthless and even dangerous.

So why not DIY it?  It's beyond easy and great for your health & wallet!

To begin, you'll need a few things: liquid soap, water, and a foaming soap dispenser.  I use old dispensers from our commercial soaps days.  You may also want some glycerin, this provides some extra moisturizer.  For soap, I like castille and my favorite brand is Dr. Bronner's.  I could go on and on about how great the product and company is, but you can read about that here. Just don't skip the parts about how great they treat their workers, awesome company!

1. Empty foam dispenser:

-Make sure and wash out your empty foam dispenser to get it ready for use. 


2. Fill with water:

-Fill about 4/5 the way full with water (filtered or distilled is best).

3. Add soap

-Add  ~1/5 of soap, you don't want to overfill, but add enough soap to fill the dispenser completely without spilling when you put in your pump.  Also add soap second or it will foam up when you add your water or you'll have a lot of foam and very little water in your container.

4. Add glycerin and/or essential oils (optional).

-If so desired you can add glycerin for extra moisture (to your desired level of moisture, but not much) and essential oils if desired (just a drop or two).  The essential oils really add fragrance unless you use an naturally antiseptic oil (lavender or tea tree oil fall in this category).  I like to use Dr. Bronner's Lavender soap and not add extra oils.

Some extra notes: I also use this as a baby soap for my girls, only I use the Dr. Bronner's baby mild soap instead of lavender.  It works great and castille soap being so versatile (and the girls still so young) I use it for all over, even their hair.  Works great for little ones!

There you have it: so easy, healthy, and frugal!

This post is part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #30.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Compost Trashcan

This year we added some new members to our family- feathered ones that is...

Now that we've started with some backyard chickens (more to come later), we've got a lot of litter around.  So that begs the question, what do you do with chicken droppings??

Enter composting!

I was introduced to composting when I was little.  My dad composted our leaves, food scraps, etc.  As I grew I didn't really participate in it.  But when I knew we were going to get chickens, I knew I had to dispose of their droppings somehow.

So I began to search online and then later in a local class. All information pointed to composting. In fact, chicken droppings make some of the best compost there is.

Only thing, my hubby doesn't have a ton of time to build me a composting bin. Now being trained by my daddy, I could probably build one myself given enough time. But with two little ones underfoot, who has extra time??

So what's a family to do? Trash it!

Literally, grab a trash can and a drill. I picked one up from Lowe's and spaced out about 25 holes around the body and lid. (the one below is not mine, but looks exactly like mine)

Photo Credit: Trashfreeyear

Easy Peasy!

Then I elevated it, for proper air circulation, on two bricks. Now you're set to compost. Great for limited space too.

Now composting can be an art if you want it to be. I like things simple though.

So after reading the science and talking to some experienced composters, I came up with my own little system. Nothing new, mind you, but these are my rules.

I start with a bit of dirt and then I alternate brown and green layers. I follow these up with a bit of dirt.

Brown items: leaves, straw, sawdust, newspaper, yard waste, cardboard, dry glass clippings
-These are high in carbon/low in nitrogen. Make sure to not use treated lumber in your compost!

Green items: fresh grass clippings, fruit and vegetable waste, egg shells, hair, livestock manure, coffee grounds, tea bags
-These are high in nitrogen/low in carbon.

Every week (at the least) or couple days (preferred) we mix it. At first we rolled the trash can. After it got so full, we turned it with a shovel.

Make sure to turn, and it will be hot. That's the side effect of decomposing. If it's too wet add more brown items and be careful with food items as you can attract flies. But if you are properly layering, this is no issue.

Verdict: so far great!

-And easy way to compost that was cheap and had minimal labor.

-Not to mention how little room it takes. Small yard, no problem!

-I don't have to carry off chicken droppings.

-We've reduced our waste significantly! Which means fewer trash bags. Fewer trash bags means more money in our pockets.

-Again the more you compost the less trash. Less trash = less in landfills = better for our kids' futures!

-Finally, in about a month we'll have beautiful black compost for our garden. You have to love that!!

So what's not to like? Grab a can!

This has been a part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #29.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Using Grey Water

About a month ago, I ran across a post from Frugally Sustainable.  It's one of my favorite sites.

In this post the writer, Andrea, discussed greywater. Now I'll admit it, I had never heard of greywater and for those of you like me, greywater is your used household water.  So all that water you just drain from your sink, shower, or laundry machine, that's your greywater.

Now you may wonder what's so great about greywater?

Well, if you're like me you are probably looking for additional ways to save money.  With a little effort, greywater can help you do that. How?

If you save your greywater you can reuse it to water your plants or flush your toilet.  Now that it is hot, most of us are looking for ways to save on water.  Because if you're like me, you've got a lot of garden to water.endometriosis

Now there is a side note here, when watering plants, you need to use greywater that doesn't have anything toxic it in it.  Not only will you introduce toxins into your environment, you'll kill your plants.  So when you use greywater, it's extremely important to use water without cleaning agents etc in it, unless you use natural cleaners.

Once I heard about greywater, I started collecting water from our showers and bath time. For the most part, I've used it to flush our toilets.  But when I've been sure about the content of the water, I've hauled it out to our rain barrel to be used for our garden.

All that water we save, get's used twice.  Think about your water bill, what if you could cut it in half??

That's what you can do with greywater.

Not all of our waste water gets collected though.  With little children, I'm nervous about leaving any buckets out where they might have access to them and one of our sinks has no cabinet around it. So right now, I don't have buckets under our sinks.  But I'm hoping we'll add some in the future.

All that said, I'm guessing you're wondering if it's worthwhile?

It totally is!

We've had a lot of dry days lately, and we've saved a lot of water by flushing our toilets with greywater.  Plus the majority of the time I use the rain barrel to water the garden.

So instead of our water bill increasing this already hot spring, it's actually dropped!  That's amazing considering how much we have to water our garden and folks, we've got a huge garden.

I don't think I could recommend this enough.  It's worth the extra effort and not only are you saving your wallet, but you're helping to conserve one of our most valuable resources- Water!  Which is a scarce resources in some places and is a major focus of a lot of conservation groups.

For those of you interested about learning more, I'd highly suggest checking out the Frugally Sustainable post.  It's a great introduction and helps you learn the do's and don't's of using greywater.

This post is a part of Frugal Ways, Sustainable Days #26.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Reusable Coffee Filters for a Good Brew

Last week I talked about roasting your own coffee, and trust me, you won't regret trying it. This week, I'm continuing with the coffee theme, and I'm going to show you how I make reusable coffee filters.

But first, here's a little bit about why I made our own:

1) I hate waste. I'm not afraid of washing or a little extra clean up if it eliminates waste. Less trash makes me very happy.

2) I'm cheap or frugal, if cheap offends you. This cuts out another thing we have to purchase. Instead of new filters every time, just pull out a reusable one.

3) It's easy. Like I mentioned before, I don't mind a little extra work, but when it's this easy- it's a no brainer.

Now back to the filters. We have two ways we brew coffee at our house and when you read these, I might remind you that we are coffee snobs.

The first is our French press. Hands down, best coffee if you use it correctly. Coffee needs two things to be extracted properly- 1) heat and 2) time or pressure (that's why espressos brew so quickly, pressure). I might add that this is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of the Keurig systems, not enough time or pressure (no offense if you love yours, it's not for me though).

So as long as your water is 198-204 degrees F and is in contact with the grounds for approximate amount of time (this depends on methods and grind- check it out here) than you'll have optimal extraction. For the French press that's easy, just get your water close to boiling and pour over (go with courser grounds so the filter catches them all, and you don't over extract- over extraction = bitter). At the designated time, push down slowly the metal filter and enjoy.

The second way we brew is a drip cup. Now my hubby thinks this is the better way to brew. The cup is conical shape (which provides better drainage = no sludge & better extraction) and drips the hot water directly into a single serving cup. With a good filter and good brewer it has the proper time for extraction. I must admit, I like it too and the hubby is a master at brewing...so I may have to give him this one.

But the problem with the drip cup? Filters! So to stop the waste and expense, enter make your own.

First you'll want a paper filter for a pattern. I used a number 2 filter. If you have a conical basket for a larger machine, you'll probably need a number 4. I added one inch seam allowances for each side.

Make your pattern and cut. For fabric, I used unbleached muslin. This is IMPORTANT. You definitely don't want to ingest any bleach or taste it- Yech.

I wanted a raw look up top, but also didn't want my fabric to rip or shred over time. So I did an overlock stitch on the top.

I then sewed all three sides together (1/2 inch seam allowances).

Trim the edges to remove excess fabric and then flip inside out. Press.  Sew three sides again (1/2 inch seam allowances).

You've just added French seams! Yay. The great thing about this, is it exactly mimics the paper filter, in that you have a thicker bottom portion to fold down over your drip hole. This slows the water down (remember time for extraction) and doesn't expose your coffee to raw seams.

But remember our raw top? I make it taller to fold over the cup. I hate when a paper filter gets caught by the water and folds over.  With it rounded over the top, no problem!

A simple and easy way to eliminate some waste.  Plus remember that easy part- it's not only easy to construct, but simply rinse out when done and allow to air dry.  No need to wash with soap- besides who wants soap flavored coffee??  If you do worry about germs, don't, just boil it and use again.

All in all very worth your time.

This post is linked to Frugally Days Sustainable Ways # 18.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Roast your own coffee

I'll admit it.  My hubby and I are coffee snobs.  We love a good cup of coffee.  In fact, we would rather not drink coffee than drink poor quality coffee.

But I'll make another confession- we're living on a budget, a strict budget.  Let's face it, your best brands are NOT cheap.

So after a lot of research, we discovered roasting coffee on our own.

Now, before I go into all it takes to roast your own coffee, let me make a comment on caffeine.  My husband and I are not heavy coffee drinkers.  At most we have a cup to two a day...however, if you are not a moderate coffee drinker than I wouldn't suggest this for you (why tempt yourself).  As most of us know, excessive amounts of caffeine are not good for you.  But that said, there are benefits to drinking moderate amounts of caffeine and coffee in particular (some benefits come even with decaf coffee).  You can review some of this here and here. 

Back to roasting!  The first thing you'll need is green coffee beans.  This is how we save money on good coffee.  If you buy unroasted beans in bulk online, you'll find the price per pound to be around $4-5.  That is amazing for good quality coffee.

We buy our coffee from Sweet Maria's.  I love them!  They are an American company that excels in selecting great coffee beans and providing great support for their clients.  In fact, I used their original youtube videos to learn about coffee roasting. 

An added bonus, all of Sweet Maria's products are purchased at fair trade or farmer's gate prices.  Farmer's gate just means they bought the beans at fair trade values, but they purchased them from a farmer and not a co-op.  Either way, you can guarantee that your coffee is bought at a living wage.

Green beans store for a long period of time. From the seller, you typically can store the beans in a cool dry place for up to 9 months without any change in quality.  They'll keep longer than that, but you might have some quality changes after 9 months.

When you're ready to roast, you have a lot of options.  You can purchase a home roaster- but that's too pricey for us.  You can oven or stove roast- but the consistency can be hard to obtain.  What you'll find is most roasters will recommend- Air Poppers!

That's right your common Air Popcorn Popper, produces an excellent quality and consistent cup of coffee.

Now, not just any air popper will work.  You need one that looks like this on the inside.

The side vents allow the beans to get hot, without allowing the oil secreted from the beans to getting to the heat source. If you have a popper with the grate on the bottom, the oil and other fragments can get into the heat source, resulting in a FIRE HAZARD.  So check that popper before you buy.  We use the CVS brand of air popper.  It works great.

With the right popper, add 1/3 a cup of green beans to your popcorn popper.  Turn it on.

I like to stir mine in the beginning , until it looses enough water weight to move on it's own. But you don't necessarily have to do this.

You'll notice the beans slowly yellowing and the smell is something like baking bread at this point.

The chaff will fly up.  This is just the casing of the bean and is harmless, though a bit messy. You don't have to pick it out either.  It doesn't effect the taste of the coffee at all.  I keep a colander in front of the popper with a wet cloth.  It catches the chaff and keeps it from flying all over the place.

After about 1 minute 30 seconds, you'll enter first crack.  It sounds like popcorn popping. This is when the internal structure of the bean is breaking up and the oils are being released.  That's what gives coffee it's great taste!  You'll notice the smell is changing into a more coffee like scent.

Once first crack has past, you officially have coffee.  How far you go from here depends on the bean and the type of roast you want. My hubby is a dark roast man.  I follow the recommendation of Sweet Maria's and go to the darkest that particular bean is best at.

This usually means I go to the second crack and stop it right when it starts.  While first crack sounds like popcorn, second crack is quieter and is more like paper crackling.  Don't let it go too far.  Soon after second crack is over you get ash. Yuck!

Turn off your popcorn popper and using oven mitts dump into a colander. I shake my beans, this helps cool them off quickly.  Lay them out on a cookie sheet and allow to cool.

Mark and store in a glass jar when completely cool. I like canning jars.  I don't screw it down all the way at first.  What is happening is the beans are degassing, releasing CO2.  This will build up pressure if you screw it down all the way.  Leave it that way for several hours and then secure and put in a dark place.  Light and oxygen is what causes your coffee to go stale.

Since the coffee is so fresh the taste you get at 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and even 72 hours after roasting will be totally different.  Most coffees peak at about 48 hours.  But they are still wonderful later on.  I'll give you an good example.  Starbucks has the goal of roasting the coffee and getting it to you within 2 weeks.  Even with the best packaging the coffee is losing flavor.  So at four days out, your cup of coffee is fresher and more amazing than then gold standard of coffee in the store. 

You'll notice the amazing taste immediately...but be warned.  You might end up like me and the hubby- Professed Coffee Snobs.

Next week- Brewing Coffee with reusable filters and the best extraction!

This post is part of Frugally Sustainable Ways #17.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Make a bread bag

We made the switch to homemade bread several months ago. I primarily make sourdough, but also some fruit breads and other yeast breads.

But as everyone knows homemade bread becomes stale fast. How do you stop them from becoming stale?

For awhile we used ziplock bags. But plastic encourages mold and the fruit breads especially would go bad quickly.

So enter our homemade bread bag.

I took some ripstock nylon and layered it with muslin and a decorative cotton. The addition of velcro and we had a wonderful sealed bag!

The three layers help keep the bread fresh, but also to "breathe" to discourage mold. It works great on it's own, but even better when paired with a bread box.

However, when bread does go stale, don't throw it out! Stale bread is great for meatloaf, making your own breadcrumbs,or simply refresh them on the oven, just wrap your bread in a wet paper bag or towel and place in a preheated 300 degree oven. In about ten minutes the steam will soften your bread.

I encourage everyone to try a natural fabric bag. It's been great and was super easy to make. In fact, I'll post a tutorial soon.

Happy bread eating!!

This post is linked up with Frugally Sustainable Ways. 

Worthwhile Wednesday- Wool Dryer Balls

Looking for another way to save and reduce your waste?

I'm trying wool dryer balls and getting rid of my dryer sheets!

Dryer balls work by separating your clothes as they circulate in the dryer which allows the warm air to reach more of your clothing, reducing dryer times. In addition to this, the slightly rough, felted outside of the balls creates friction against the fabrics, which cuts down on static and softens your clothes.


Now I already use white vinegar for a fabric softer to get rid of liquid softner.  1/2 a cup in your rinse dispenser will soften your clothes, remove stains, and kill germs!!  However, who doesn't want extra softness and less energy use that wool dryer balls provide?

My dryer balls are made from 100% natural wool yarn, do not use a wool blend!!  It will not felt.

I wrapped a solid wool ball and then crocheted a case around it. The addition of the crocheted cover does not allow unraveling within your dryer, while you are drying your clothes. (some versions do, based on the amount your wool felts) I used a simple crochet ball pattern that was for a hacky sack and just expanded it to make it larger.

Pre-felting

After construction I felted them, which is really simple to do.  In order to felt, simply run a load of whites and drop your dryer balls into the wash.  The hot water helps nap the wool and then toss them in the dryer at the highest heat to cause even more felting.  I only felted mine once, but you could do it multiple times.

After felting

 My dryer balls are unscented, but the addition of fragrance can be added, check out essential oils.

These are approximately 9 inches in circumference, and most people recommend you start with anywhere between 3-8 balls, so I started with 3 balls.

So far so good, and I'm liking them for diapers this winter.  Cuts down on our drying time and cost us very little to make!

This post is linked up with Frugally Sustainable Ways. 

Now for shameless plug...if you aren't into finding your own wool, winding yarn, crocheting, or felting, then try my Etsy store.  I've got a set of three for $12.  Might sound like a lot, but considering you won't need to buy another dryer sheet...it's really savings!

Hint- Find us on Facebook, I've got some giveaways coming up and right now a discount code!

Worthwhile Wednesday- Ways We Save

Since we have been slowly changing our lifestyle to a more whole foods, natural style of living, people have asked if it's an expensive style of life??

Honestly, we're spending less than we ever have.

I know it is surprising, but it can be done. How? Well, that's what this post is all about.

Here's how we save $:

1. Buying bulk.

I buy bulk for a lot of our food supplies now. Bulk yeast, beans, flour (no mill yet for us- hoping soon), spices, meat, butter, and cheese.

Most of our items come from a farm store that carries local meat and Amish dairy products. Which means healthy, less processed foods for us and saving money.

How do we store our excess? We divide and freeze our meat in meal sizes. I cut or shred our cheese before freezing otherwise it tends to crumble when you thaw. I try to store dry goods in canisters, unless we use it quickly then it sometimes stays in its original packaging.

2. Make your own.

We make our own dishwashing detergent, stain treaters, and laundry detergent. All with things you can find at your local dollar store or Walmart. Big savings!!

We've just started making our own hand soap and it's great too!

We've also just started wool dryer balls. They cut down on drying time (saving electricity = $ savings) and static, so no more dryer sheets.

4. Make from scratch.

I don't buy any bread, at all. I bake all our bread, and we primarily eat whole wheat sourdough because it is so healthy. I simply make two loaves at a time and freeze one for later.

We use dry beans and cook as much as we can from scratch (removing can goods one by one). It takes a little more time, but the quality of the food is great!

5. Reusable

We have reusable bags to take in lunches that I handmade. In fact find my tutorial here or if you don't sew, find my Etsy store here (shameless plug).

I wash and reuse ziplock bags. They don't keep forever, but we use them more than once and save!

I have a reusable mop head that I crocheted. Simply toss in the wash, and use again.

Have an old t-shirt ready for the bin? Don't throw it out, tear it up for cleaning rags or make t-shirt yarn from it. Finding another use saves you from going to the store!

Plarn. Yep, whenever we get plastic bags from the grocery store (we try not to, but we've all been there when we forget our reusable bags), I make plarn. I can then crochet it into a bag or rug...really, anything. Tough and recyclable this is a great way to reuse and then recycle!

Dryer balls- see #2.

Cloth diapers and wipes. Better for baby's bum and your wallet. We bought our diapers, but made our wipes from flannel receiving blankets.

Up next for us, cloth napkins and un-paper towels.

6. Clean more naturally!

We use a lot of vinegar now. White vinegar kills germs, is a great rinse agent for your dishwasher, and softens your clothes. So we clean and wash with vinegar...and no, we don't smell of it, come by and smell me if you want. ;). Oh and buy in bulk here too!

7. Meal plan

We plan our meals to keep from eating out so much. Are we perfect?

No, in fact far from it.

But we eat out much less, and every time you cook from home you save. Having a meal plan helps you stay at home and helps your sanity when you wonder what's for dinner.

8. Save electricity.

Yes, an age old technique that works!

We don't leave lights on. We turn off things we are not using. We air dry or line dry our clothes as much as possible.

9. Preserve

We made apple butter, jam, jellies, and froze veggies last year at their peak time. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I bought jelly. 


This year we'll be freezing again, but also canning more veggies.  I'm hoping to not by any can goods from the grocery and very little frozen.


10. Grow your own.

We're lucky, we've got 4 acres to grow a big garden for us.  So this spring and summer we'll have lots of yummy in season veggies and fruits, all grown ourselves. (in season = better for you)


But if you don't have a big yard or no yard for that matter, you can still try for flowerpot gardening or even just a small garden.

11. Roast your own.

We're total coffee snobs.  But I don't want to pay Starbucks prices, so I buy green coffee beans and roast my own.  Look for a post on that.

12. Buy used.

We now buy most of our items used.  Consignment sales for the girls' clothes and toys.  Our items pretty much the same.  It's fun, affordable, and I don't feel guilty about splurging.

13. Gift Cards

I don't want my girls to miss out on any opportunity.  So when I wanted to keep both of them in Kindermusik, I added that to their Christmas list.  Thanks to their grandparents they are both going to classes at no cost to us.  

In all honesty, do our kids really need more toys?  No.  But an experience is totally worth it, and their grandparents are generous to give it to them.

14. Resale

Now I haven't consigned anything of the girls yet, but once I know we're done with babies, I'll be selling our stuff off.  Someone else can use it and we get money back.


15. Free Stuff


We take advantage of free stuff to do in the area.  We're proud members of Bible Study Fellowship, an international bible study for adults and children- that's totally free!


We also visit the library for books and story time.


Finally we participate in church.  Our church is very active with concerts, talks, charity events, and even family movie night each month.  What's better than fellowship and fun?


16. Coupons


When we go out to eat or I go craft shopping, I always utilize coupons.  Micheal's and Hancock's especially are great for coupons.  I never pay full price for yarn or fabric. :)


Now I'll add a disclaimer to all this goodness- there are a few things we don't save on with whole foods.  So in all honesty, here are the things we pay more for:

1. Milk.  We buy un-homogenized milk.  I wish we could get raw, but that's even more to buy a share in a cow.  We can't afford that now.  In fact, it might be better if we just get a cow.


2. Eggs.  Right now our eggs are more expensive than the ones from the grocery store.  We buy pastured eggs from a local farmer.  I'm hoping that with the addition of chickens to our family we'll be marking this one off the list.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Laundry Soap

For almost a year, we've been using homemade laundry soap. 

It all started with looking for a laundry soap for cloth diapers that we didn't have to order special.  Detergents can build up in cloth diapers and then you are left with funny smelling diapers...and nobody wants bad smelling diapers.

After a lot of looking around and searching for a recipe that we could make with items from our area we finally settled on this one:

Homemade Laundry Detergent for Cloth Diapers:

2 cups of Borax
2 cups of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
2 cups of Oxygen cleaning powder, we use Sun brand from Walmart (a lot easier to find and cheaper than Oxyclean)

Mix well. Use 1 Tablespoon for small loads & 2 Tablespoons for large loads.
Store in air tight container.

This is low suds version that is perfect for HE models.

**Please note that this is not my original recipe, but one I found on multiple sites on the internet and after trying fully recommend**

After washing our diapers with homemade detergent, we started to wonder why on earth weren't we making a regular detergent for our clothes?!?

So more searching and we found a powdered version we like a lot:

Homemade Laundrey Detergent

1 bar finely grated Fels-Naptha Soap (found at Walmart)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Sun Powder

I had more than one rasp for fine grating, so I just donated one to soap and it works great.  Also if you are a bit clumsy, wear tough gloves why you grate so you don't nick your fingers.  If you like your clothes to have a distinct smell just add a drop or two of essential oil when you start your load.

This is low suds version that is perfect for HE models. 



**Please note that this is not my original recipe, but one I found on multiple sites on the internet and after trying fully recommend**

Finally, we were looking for a great stain remover, and stumbling onto another blog, we found this one:

Stain Pretreater

½ c. vinegar
½ c. ammonia
½ c. homemade liquid detergent or regular detergent if you prefer
½ c. water

This works great!  Plus it is so easy to make and cheaper.  I just rinsed out an old cleaner bottle and refilled it with my pretreater.  Spray on stains and throw in the wash.  I was a little worried that it might spot my clothes, but so far it is fabulous.

Lastly, is homemade liquid detergent.  Now we haven't made or used this yet, but now that I'm making my own pretreater, we'll definitely being making it.  (I used a sample packet of detergent I had to make the first batch)  Here's a common recipe I was able to find and plan to use:

 

Liquid Laundry Soap

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Powder
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled.

Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-For Top Load Machine - use 5/8 Cup per load
-For Front Load Machines – use ¼ Cup per load


All of these recipes will save you lots of money and cut down on the amount of build up in your clothes! 

Two wonderful wins and very worthwhile.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Dishcloths

This Christmas, I got some great books on Tunisian crocheting, also called afghan crocheting. Big thanks to Fran!!!

It gives you the look of knit, but with crocheting. Perfect for me, an avid crocheter.

To try it out I used some cotton yarn I got on sale awhile back. (have you noticed I'm all about using what I already have on hand?)

I loved it!!

First I just did the simple stitch.

Then I combined it with the purl stitch for this great honeycomb pattern.

Finally I tried the knit stitch, awesome!!

Sorry for the shadow, I couldn't get it right. :(

I made all dishcloths and washcloths to get used to the technique. Very simple and a great practice, plus more dishcloths which we needed.

To boot, these are stylish dishcloths that took very little time to make and cost a fraction of what even walmart charges. Since I got my yarn on sale, all in all my dishcloths maybe cost at most .50 cents a piece, for a much better look.

Next up is a bag for my bible study materials. I've been using a reusable grocery bag, and it's time to move up.  I'm thinking I can make my bag for less than $3, using similar cotton yarn that I got at a fraction of the price.


Below is the pattern for the honeycomb cloth. If you need clarification on any of it, let me know.

Next up on my crocheting adventures: plarn. What's plarn? It's "yarn" made out of plastic grocery bags. The bad thing about plastic grocery bags is they aren't strong enough. Now, we use reusable bags to shop, but every once in awhile we get stuck with plastic bags and before we started using reusable bags we have a bunch leftover!

My goal is to use up my plastic bags, making stronger crocheted grocery bags. Plus if they get worn out or dirty, off to the recycling bin. A great way to reuse and then recycle later!  (Even better, it gives us more reusable bags to take to the store without purchasing any!)


Look for some plarn adventures in the near future and happy dishcloth making!!

Honeycomb pattern dishcloth-

Chain 25, using h sized Tunisian hook and cotton yarn of your choice. Organic natural peaches and cream brand is always a favorite of mine!

Complete a foundation row forward- insert hook in second chain from hook. Yo, pull up lp. *insert hook in next chain. Yo, pull up lp. Awarding another stitch to hook. Repeat from * across. You will have 25 lps on your hook.

Foundation row return- yo, pull through 1 lp. *yo, pull through 2 lps. Repeat from * until 1 lp remains on hook.

Row 1- sk first vertical bar. *tps in next vertical bar, tss in next vertical bar. Repeat from * across, ending with tss.

Row 1 return- same as foundation return.

Row 2- sk first vertical bar. *tss in next st, tps in next stitch. (hint you have staggered stitches when compared to previous row) when two stitches remain, tss into next to last st and final st.

Row 2 return- same as foundation row return.

Repeat until desired length.

Final row- slip stitch across in normal stitches, Fasten off at the end. This gives the cloth the same look at the start and end.

This post linked with Frugal Days, Substainable Ways Wednesday.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Reusable Snack Bags

We use a LOT of sandwich bags. Snacks for the girls, extra pacies, baby spoons...

You name it, and we stick it in a plastic baggie.

The more I thought about it the more wasteful it seemed, not to mentioned expensive.

Now I've seen reusable snack bags before, but had never sat down and made one. But after I threw away another baggie covered in applesauce, I decided it was time!

First I trolled the Internet for good tutorials, but without Velcro and a waterproof fabric on hand I wasn't sure what to do. Then I found this tutorial.

Instead of PUL or nylon, she used heavy duty freezer bags. Perfect for lazy and cheap me, who didn't want to go shopping for extra supplies. Though that said, there is no reason you couldn't sub PUL or nylon for this instead, in fact I'd encourage you too. It's easier to wash. This is just my alternative for $0, using what I had on hand.

I found another construction method I liked better, just like the old sandwich bags that didn't have the zip tops that incorporated the fold over closure. I did this for a couple of reasons, 1) I didn't have any velcro and didn't want to get any, 2) I had heard that Velcro could catch food and get a little dirty, and 3) I wanted a quiet closure in case we were at a meeting or church when we needed to open it.

First I used a cotton fabric I already had from a previous $1 a yard sale. Yay for using up scraps!!

I also cut a regular ziplock freezer bag (I used this since I knew it would hold up- I wash mine to reuse and they work great). These were quart size.

I then cut my fabric to match.

I wanted a finished edged, so I rolled my edges and sewed. If you have access to a serger, I would just serge it instead.

Then I folded the "back" part of the bag to make the fold over. This was about two inches.

I then folded my other side (which will become your front) to match edges and pinned, so the right sides of fabric are together.

Next I sewed up both sides.  Then I trimmed off excess and flipped.

All done!

This picture has the back flap over the top, just like the old sandwich bags.

I made a bunch and in the end even made two for my sister and one for my friend Amie that are embroidered. Too cute, right?

In the end they were sandwich size, which is perfect for us. You could adjust the size if you wanted smaller or larger.

We tried them out the next day, and wonderful, just wipe it out when done or wash in sink. I'm guessing this will cut our sandwich baggie buying by at least half, which is a win for us.

Plus less trash and who doesn't love that!

This post is linked up to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.