Garden Gathering...

In preparation for the upcoming gardening bonanza, I've been gathering supplies, seeds, onion sets, etc. Here's the progress to date:

16 pounds of assorted seed potatoes (buying more when they get a new shipment)
320 onion sets (overkill?)
a million assorted packages of seed ;-)
soil test kit (I'm gettin' all scientific this year!)
innoculant for legumes (from a local coop)
several varieties of seed proven for our region from the coop

Last, but certainly not least...I always seem to need ties for training cucumber vines, taming tomatoes, etc, but haven't been happy with any previous materials. It seems that garden twine is too rough and scars the plant...also, it has no give when the wind comes sweeping down the plain. My new idea you ask? (Okay, you didn't ask, but I'm telling you anyway.) I found an old pair of tights that my girls had looong since outgrown. After carefully cutting them into strips, I ended up with a bag full of stretchy, soft ties for the garden and a headband (made from the waist) that my oldest likes to wear when she's practicing yoga poses on the Wii! I think these will work perfectly and they didn't cost a penny! :)

Waste Not Want Not...

I hate wasting things...anything...even the wax that is left over when a candle has burned itself out. I started saving those bits and pieces of wax to pour new candles awhile back & finally melted them down. These bits were even more special because they came from my beeswax candles that I LOVE to burn, but are so expensive. Here are some photos:

GOODBYE PAPER TOWELS!!

I finally did it!! We've not used paper towels in two weeks, AND I'm finally using all those cloth napkins I've purchased over the years! Check out my new setup:



Ummmhmmmm...that's my paper towel substitute there on the left...looks like a bouquet of fabric, no? Here, take a closer look:



A dear friend of mine over at It Began in Camp 4 once said that sustainable living is much more about frugality for her than anything else...living a sustainable lifestyle saves you $$$$$!! That really resonated with me in many ways. I would like to say that ditching the paper towels was born out of my responsibility to conserve natural resources and all that jazz....but it was really about cash. I hated that we used the towels once then tossed them and we were going through WAY too many rolls each week. It was like throwing $ straight into the trashcan...what a waste.

Of course, we do have to wash these, but I just throw them in with pretty much any load of clothes and they don't really add any bulk to a load...then they hang to dry and get rolled back up and go right back into the basket! I dreaded making this change, but it was soo much easier than I'd expected. Try it....you might like it!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Washing Soda $2.99.............Zote Soap 95 cents..........Borax $5.99..................

.........Laundry detergent for 18 months? PRICELESS!

(Please note: You will need another bar of Zote to make enough for 18 months, but only one box each of Borax and Washing Soda.)

Compare this with what most of us pay for store bought detergent! I have a front loader, so I have to buy the low suds HE detergent, which is even more expensive in most cases.

This homemade laundry detergent works beautifully and smells so good! Here's the recipe I use:

1/2 bar Zote soap, grated

2 cups Washing Soda

2 cups Borax

To get my mixture this smooth, I ran it through my trusty blender for a few minutes after mixing everything together. You only need a tablespoon or two of this in any wash.

I use this handy little scoop that came in some coffee.

Feel free to add a few drops of your favorite essential oil for different scents. I like lavender and lemongrass. I've also added tea tree oil to towels and sheets as it is a natural antibacterial/antifungal and smells nice to boot! I also think it looks so much more "Martha" on top of the washer than one of those ugly detergent bottles. Don't you think? ;-)

The main reason I'm attempting to tighten up our budget right now is that we are saving money to buy a bit of land. We want to be ready when the right place pops up for sale. Our plan is to find something with a pond, adequate fencing, and perhaps a loafing shed or barn. Aside from moving our horses closer to us (the currently live with family 2 hours away), we will stock the tank with fish and raise some cattle. DH has agreed to raise one steer each year for our own meat. He will be raised as organically as possible. The remaining steers will be raised for profit.

This plan will provide us with a reliable source of beef and fish at a minimum. Also, we'll get more time to ride, which we both really enjoy. This will also be a place where we can possibly raise a few sheep for wool. I've got to get busy practicing my spinning before this will happen, though.

It's the little things...

Little changes in our home I've been experimenting with in the past two weeks.

• We ran out of plastic wrap and foil. I decided not to buy anymore right now...see what happens. It's hard at first and I've found that some things REALLY need to be wrapped in plastic wrap and/or foil like quick bread that you're freezing. I did learn that I use these products WAY too much, and it's really a waste of money to cover a bowl with plastic wrap when a plate placed on top will work just as well. I'll buy some more, but try to use them more sparingly. Less trash and less money thrown away...it's a win/win!
• I wash my hands constantly when I'm cooking, so I've started putting the stopper in the sink to catch all that nice warm, sudsy water for washing the dishes when we're done eating. Not sure why I didn't think of this before, but I'll be saving a bit of water AND a bit of dish soap. Obsessively frugal? Perhaps.
• I'm going back to making my own laundry detergent soon. A friend of mine, who can find ANYTHING on the internet, let me know it is safe for front loading HE washers, so I'll be making some this week sometime. I'll post some instructions and photos later. This saves a ton of money and I think this soap cleans our clothes much more effectively than the store bought stuff.
• We have an aerobic sewer system like this one. It's all self-contained at our house. What is really nice is that the treated water is sprayed out every night to water our lawn and a few carefully placed trees. I'm thinking we need to reroute one of the sprayers onto the pecan trees. More effeciently use the water.

Leftover chicken???

Got a little bit of leftover chicken? Not really enough to even mess with reheating? Debone it and throw it into a container labeled "Chicken for Pot Pie." Keep this in the freezer, adding bits of leftover chicken, until you have enough for a tummy-warming pot pie. It's almost like getting a meal for FREE!! :-)