As you know, I am trying to clear out as much of the chemical-laden items that we use in our home. I have changed over to homemade deodorant (really, I only use it when I leave the farm), homemade shampoo (this one is still a work in progress, even though it is satisfactory right now), laundry detergent for years now, toothpaste (it too is good but I would like to do a bit more tweaking on the flavor -more mint, less stevia), and now dish soap.
Cooking from scratch and having no modern day dishwasher, I use quite a bit of dish soap. I used to get the big ol' pink gallon at Sam's Club for less than $5. It lasted a month or two. I didn't really keep track. Then I read the bottle. What!? Wash thoroughly after handling? So I am supposed to wash my hands after washing my dishes with this stuff. Yes, it has a MSDS to read (as all dish soaps do). Contains material which may cause damage to organs: stomach and eyes. Don't we put food on the dishes we wash and eat it? If you dilute 2 oz into 8 gallons of water you greatly reduce the health risk. I can't say for sure how much I squirted in. Probably way more in my little sink. So, homemade dish soap it is.
I think I lucked out in finding an awesome recipe the first time. I absolutely love it. I have made it twice and still love it. Don't get me wrong, I still hate doing dishes, but this makes it a little more tolerable.
Here's what you need for about 14 oz:
1/4 c. shredded castile bar soap (I use Dr. Bronner's, both bar and liquid)
1 1/2 c. boiling water
I put the shredded soap in a quart jar and carefully add the boiling water. I stir for just a minute until it is dissolved. Then I add:
1/4 c. liquid castile
2 1/4 tsp washing soda
1/2 tsp glycerine
I stir that trying to dissolve as much as the washing soda as I can. I let it cool a bit. I stir and shake again and add my essential oil. The recipe of course calls for 15-40 drops. I use about 10. I have used lemongrass only so far because I love the scent for the dishwater. Grapefruit or orange blossom will probably be next. I guess I am a citrus girl.
I pour it into my plastic bottle I use and let it set overnight. I probably need to invest in a glass dispenser. Baby steps. It will thicken a bit. The directions say if it firms up too much, add more water and swish and swirl. I haven't had to do this yet. It stays fairly thin for me.
There is also an option to add vitamin E oil for your hands' sake. And I might try this next time as the weather is getting cooler and less humid. If you try this before I do, let me know.
The first time you use it, just like homemade laundry soap, no suds. It only fogs the water a bit. You start washing you glasses and it almost feels oily. The glasses become very slippery! After rinsing, your dishes have a squeaky shine, almost like Rain-X on your car windshield. Water beads up and rolls off with no trace it was ever there. AND, it also really loosens hardened or stuck foods like magic. Don't throw away your greenies or anything, but it amazed me what just a little time soaking did. AND, if your son brings in his milk glass after you have washed all the pots and pans and the water looks brown and greasy and gross, go ahead and try to wash it just to see. It is an amazing surfactant...is that the right chemical term? The milk glass will look as shiny and beautiful as the first glass I washed. The glycerine maybe? I don't care what it is, but the combination, to me, is awesome and I will never buy Ajax again!
Give it a shot, unless you have one of those new fandangled automatic dishwasher things, and let me know what you think? And what essential oil combination is your favorite?
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Sabbath Sunday
Oh dear, I find that my Sundays are still busy. This is the day that get everything ready for the working people of the household-those working a job outside of the home. There is baking to do, snacks to fix, laundry to have clean and available, alarms to set, lunches on the ready. I do think this should be the first day of the week for housewives and stay-at-home moms. This is the day that can make or break the trajectory of the rest of the week.
Thank goodness this is the day of worship as well. We need all the prayers we can get to keep moving while everyone else wants to quietly mentally prepare for the week in front of the television, as we physically prepare-usually in the kitchen. It can be a bit frustrating sometimes. But, if you don't do it, it really only makes it worse on you. Don't you hate it when that happens!?
That's okay, bring on Monday. I have my daily list and dry-erase marker ready to go!
Thank goodness this is the day of worship as well. We need all the prayers we can get to keep moving while everyone else wants to quietly mentally prepare for the week in front of the television, as we physically prepare-usually in the kitchen. It can be a bit frustrating sometimes. But, if you don't do it, it really only makes it worse on you. Don't you hate it when that happens!?
That's okay, bring on Monday. I have my daily list and dry-erase marker ready to go!
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Back to Bible Basics: The 10 Commandments #5
| “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Yes, we love our parents whether we want to our not, but to honor? What does that mean? I guess respect would be a easier to understand; not necessarily to do. Or would it? Don't we say that respect has to be earned. That is not what God is commanding us to do. He is telling us we need to hold our parents high. He is telling us to respect our parents regardless of how they earn it. Most of us find this fairly easy, less the teenage years, of course. For others this could be extremely hard due to different circumstances. Abuse, absenteeism, disagreeing with their morals and ethics. I guess in honoring our parents, we allow them to be the humans that we all are, humans that make mistakes, humans that have their own hurts and struggles. It's hard as a child, grown or not, not to want our parents to love us and be there for us no matter what. Sometimes, as parents, we find that "no matter what" may have some limitations for the greater good whether it be "your own good" or a more global good. We are blessed in that no matter how wonderful or how not-so-wonderful our human parents are we can know that God is our perfect parent and we have no need to fear of not being loved or accepted. We still need to consider the consequences of our decisions, but we will never be left alone. |
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Menu Monday 10/5
Week 2 of Payday...budget left over $23 with $5 worth of rolled coins. Don't you hate it when you are like two coins short of a roll. I have 38 quarters and that's after scrounging couch cushions. Oh well, they will wait!
Breakfasts
Eggs, sausage
Cream of Wheat, bacon
Fruit Smoothie
Eggs, sausage
Waffles, bacon
Sausage casserole
Biscuits and gravy, egg
Lunches
Supper leftovers
Bologna sandwiches, chips, pudding
PB&J, banana, trail mix
Pimento cheese, veggie sticks, cookies
Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes w/gravy, green beans, biscuits
Dinner/Supper
Beans and bacon (add leftover in freezer to pot), canned spinach, fried taters, cornbread
Spaghetti (homemade) w/marinara, salad, garlic breadsticks
Tuna casserole, peas
Pizza, salad
Meatloaf, breaded tomatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes
Black beans and rice
Taco salad with Salsa ranch dressing, Mexican rice and spicy refried pinto or black beans
Snacks
Popcorn
Chocolate chip cookies
Pumpkin bread
Grocery List I might have to post a pic of this huge haul!
Celery 1.29
Potatoes (10#) 3.29
Sweet potatoes .99
Lettuce x 2 4.00
Frzn green beans 6.98 (Sam's)
Cheddar x2 3.78
Avocado .99
Bananas 1.98 (Sam's)
Total: 27.16
Whew. That's cutting it close.
I might get a 3 pack of green peppers at Aldi for $.99 to throw on the pizza, and in my marinara and meatloaf, even if overbudget. I do have those quarters...The only other thing that I might have to still get is milk. I have 2 quart jars of dry milk to make yet, but I like to mix it with a little whole milk. I have less than half of my milk I bought last week. Hubby can pick up the tab, right? Boy, Mad Max better get it done soon. I am ready to have my own milk this spring. Of course after a couple of months of twice a day milking, I may have them for up for sale. Ha! Just remind me this is what I wanted.
Breakfasts
Eggs, sausage
Cream of Wheat, bacon
Fruit Smoothie
Eggs, sausage
Waffles, bacon
Sausage casserole
Biscuits and gravy, egg
Lunches
Supper leftovers
Bologna sandwiches, chips, pudding
PB&J, banana, trail mix
Pimento cheese, veggie sticks, cookies
Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes w/gravy, green beans, biscuits
Dinner/Supper
Beans and bacon (add leftover in freezer to pot), canned spinach, fried taters, cornbread
Spaghetti (homemade) w/marinara, salad, garlic breadsticks
Tuna casserole, peas
Pizza, salad
Meatloaf, breaded tomatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes
Black beans and rice
Taco salad with Salsa ranch dressing, Mexican rice and spicy refried pinto or black beans
Snacks
Popcorn
Chocolate chip cookies
Pumpkin bread
Grocery List I might have to post a pic of this huge haul!
Celery 1.29
Potatoes (10#) 3.29
Sweet potatoes .99
Lettuce x 2 4.00
Frzn green beans 6.98 (Sam's)
Cheddar x2 3.78
Avocado .99
Bananas 1.98 (Sam's)
Total: 27.16
Whew. That's cutting it close.
I might get a 3 pack of green peppers at Aldi for $.99 to throw on the pizza, and in my marinara and meatloaf, even if overbudget. I do have those quarters...The only other thing that I might have to still get is milk. I have 2 quart jars of dry milk to make yet, but I like to mix it with a little whole milk. I have less than half of my milk I bought last week. Hubby can pick up the tab, right? Boy, Mad Max better get it done soon. I am ready to have my own milk this spring. Of course after a couple of months of twice a day milking, I may have them for up for sale. Ha! Just remind me this is what I wanted.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Say Cheese...
No, we are not making cheese today, although that is in the near future. We are, however, making toothpaste.
Back in the day of couponing, toothpaste was always free with coupons and drug store discounts. But eventually, I had to read what I was buying.
Triclosan. "Researchers have raised concerns about triclosan and its link to dioxins, which are highly carcinogenic chemicals that can cause severe health problems such as:
Back in the day of couponing, toothpaste was always free with coupons and drug store discounts. But eventually, I had to read what I was buying.
Triclosan. "Researchers have raised concerns about triclosan and its link to dioxins, which are highly carcinogenic chemicals that can cause severe health problems such as:
- weakening of the immune system,
- decreased fertility,
- altered sex hormones,
- birth defects, and
- cancer"
Fluoride: You can look up the studies regarding this element that is becoming more and more controversial, especially considering it is in our municipal water sources.
I personally wanted to eliminate these two ingredients, especially the triclosan, from our household as much as possible. I found a few homemade toothpaste recipes and have found one that I tweaked and really like so far.
In a 3-4 oz jar, mix 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 Tablespoons of baking soda, 2 Tablespoons of powdered calcium/magnesium, 1Tablespoon of stevia (most recipes included xylitol for a sweetening agent), 10 drops of liquid trace minerals and peppermint essential oil to taste. Most recipes used 20 drops, I only put in 10 for two reasons: 1) I wanted to use it sparingly, and 2) it tastes just fine with that much to me. Give all the ingredients a good stir. It is a bit drier than a paste. If you prefer, you could add more coconut oil to get a texture that made you mouth-happy.
I purchased the items I did not have on hand from Amazon, but I will replenish them as needed from a local health food store, but this will be a very long time from now. I could have gotten smaller quantities locally that would still have lasted months.
I am very happy to slowly change over to homemade products so I know exactly what is in them.
Next up: Shampoo
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Me The Hypocrite ?
You all, I mean Y'all, know that my life's goal is to live as close as I can in the Ingall's fashion. The simplicity, the hard work, the faith and love that comes across the Hallmark channel every day from 4 pm to 6 pm. Yes, the tear-jerking television show that has much of my generation thrown into nostalgia nausea, whether it is just memories of our childhood innocence when we begrudgingly watched it with mom and dad Wednesday nights, beginning on 9/11...1974 or the longing for the simple life without smart phones and the treadmill of surmounting stuff we try to attain for convenience sake.
As I was out feeding the ducks in the misting rain that had been falling for a few days (thankfully), it hit me that my homestead was not as "working" as I would like it to be. In fact, a loved one has coined it as more of a "petting" farm. And it's true- for the most part. Mad Max, our Nigerian dwarf buck, is not my favorite to pet, but he is a necessary part of the farm regardless. Every animal on the place has a name, except one gray rabbit that is less friendly than the others, but still waits by the feed shed every morning. When I open the back door, the animals begin walking, hopping or waddling to the shed. Some wait for me impatiently at the door. Others will patiently wait for me to go ahead, just to make sure I don't back out of feeding them, I suppose. Others still walk beside me waiting for me to ask them how they are. And I do. The older rabbits that we let loose late this summer to live the last bit of their lives freely are the first to stand on my boots and try to stretch up to the shed floor, making it very difficult to maneuver from bin to bin and bag to bag. But we manage. Some of the young hens fly out of the coop and come running to hop into the shed. A few just strain their necks up as far as possible to see if anything has dropped on the floor. Poor Shirley got her head squished by the door when Hubby wasn't paying attention. It took her a couple of minutes to recompose herself-poor thing. I feed the goats first, and hopefully Max, being the bully that he is, will push out of the gate so that I can then lock him out until the girls have had sufficient amount of grain. Then he can come back in for his share. (Yes, I am saving money for a fence so he can be separated; life will be better for all caprine when this occurs). I also check the chicken tube feeders to see if they need refilled while I am in there. Then I give the rabbits just a dash of rabbit chow on the barrel lid in the back yard. Black, white, gray bodies circle the lid like a not-so colorful daisy. (Rabbit chow has gone up in price so much, I am really reconsidering how much food to buy when we invest in new stock to be caged next spring! and how to make rabbit runs for most of their dietary needs.)
Speaking of Daisy, and her boys, the ducks noisily follow me back to their area by the garden where I feed them and refill their pool. Then of course when I let the goats out for fresh grass, weeds and saplings, where do they go?
I began thinking about how this person was right. This is probably not the right way to homestead. I probably will not be eating any of the Duke ducks. I am letting the rabbits grow old without worry of being fodder for the freezer; the coyotes are a different story. The hens that we have had over three years? Am I going to stew them up before they die of natural causes just because their laying is dramatically slowed? I am not sure. Isn't the point of the lifestyle I am choosing to eat what you grow instead of buying it at Sam's Club? We have enjoyed several roosters and of course the egg-eating hen for Sunday dinners, but with all the time and money invested in these meat animals shouldn't we be spending more time at the "cone?" Shouldn't our dinner plates have a different look than the rest of the modern world?
I am starting to think that I may have to make some adjustments in my actions to sync up to what I believe in and am striving for. Yes, hypocritical...
The time that I spend in the kitchen is already huge, particularly on the weekends when lunch is a must; breakfast ready at 5:30 for everyone who is going out the door to work and of course lunches packed, or lunch as soon as the buns are done cooking for hamburgers, and moving straight to supper that has to cook in the oven for three hours, cleaning up as I go (dawn to dusk)...how much later is supper going to be if I have to butcher the chicken that day or skin the rabbit? But, isn't that the reason that I am here, at home, so that I can have the time to do it.
I guess painting my nails will have to wait...
As I was out feeding the ducks in the misting rain that had been falling for a few days (thankfully), it hit me that my homestead was not as "working" as I would like it to be. In fact, a loved one has coined it as more of a "petting" farm. And it's true- for the most part. Mad Max, our Nigerian dwarf buck, is not my favorite to pet, but he is a necessary part of the farm regardless. Every animal on the place has a name, except one gray rabbit that is less friendly than the others, but still waits by the feed shed every morning. When I open the back door, the animals begin walking, hopping or waddling to the shed. Some wait for me impatiently at the door. Others will patiently wait for me to go ahead, just to make sure I don't back out of feeding them, I suppose. Others still walk beside me waiting for me to ask them how they are. And I do. The older rabbits that we let loose late this summer to live the last bit of their lives freely are the first to stand on my boots and try to stretch up to the shed floor, making it very difficult to maneuver from bin to bin and bag to bag. But we manage. Some of the young hens fly out of the coop and come running to hop into the shed. A few just strain their necks up as far as possible to see if anything has dropped on the floor. Poor Shirley got her head squished by the door when Hubby wasn't paying attention. It took her a couple of minutes to recompose herself-poor thing. I feed the goats first, and hopefully Max, being the bully that he is, will push out of the gate so that I can then lock him out until the girls have had sufficient amount of grain. Then he can come back in for his share. (Yes, I am saving money for a fence so he can be separated; life will be better for all caprine when this occurs). I also check the chicken tube feeders to see if they need refilled while I am in there. Then I give the rabbits just a dash of rabbit chow on the barrel lid in the back yard. Black, white, gray bodies circle the lid like a not-so colorful daisy. (Rabbit chow has gone up in price so much, I am really reconsidering how much food to buy when we invest in new stock to be caged next spring! and how to make rabbit runs for most of their dietary needs.)
Speaking of Daisy, and her boys, the ducks noisily follow me back to their area by the garden where I feed them and refill their pool. Then of course when I let the goats out for fresh grass, weeds and saplings, where do they go?
 |
| Knock, knock, knock |
 |
| "Anybody home?" |
 |
| "I see you in there." |
 |
| "Don't you love me anymore?" |
I began thinking about how this person was right. This is probably not the right way to homestead. I probably will not be eating any of the Duke ducks. I am letting the rabbits grow old without worry of being fodder for the freezer; the coyotes are a different story. The hens that we have had over three years? Am I going to stew them up before they die of natural causes just because their laying is dramatically slowed? I am not sure. Isn't the point of the lifestyle I am choosing to eat what you grow instead of buying it at Sam's Club? We have enjoyed several roosters and of course the egg-eating hen for Sunday dinners, but with all the time and money invested in these meat animals shouldn't we be spending more time at the "cone?" Shouldn't our dinner plates have a different look than the rest of the modern world?
I am starting to think that I may have to make some adjustments in my actions to sync up to what I believe in and am striving for. Yes, hypocritical...
The time that I spend in the kitchen is already huge, particularly on the weekends when lunch is a must; breakfast ready at 5:30 for everyone who is going out the door to work and of course lunches packed, or lunch as soon as the buns are done cooking for hamburgers, and moving straight to supper that has to cook in the oven for three hours, cleaning up as I go (dawn to dusk)...how much later is supper going to be if I have to butcher the chicken that day or skin the rabbit? But, isn't that the reason that I am here, at home, so that I can have the time to do it.
I guess painting my nails will have to wait...
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Prep Day(s)
Saturday morning brings shopping. Shopping brings groceries. Groceries bring prepping.
(I have given over all finances to hubby, which he has ungraciously accepted. Frankly, my dear, I don't give...well, let's just say that I am very happy to have a new budget (although I would have given myself a bigger one) to only worry about groceries and household things. I think this will be such a load off my shoulders. )
We hit BI-LO, Aldi and Sam's. Oh yes, and of course the Dollar Tree for his Hawaiian Punch packets. I now have a budget of $120 for 2 weeks. Yes, approximately $60 a week. This should be interesting; I like a good challenge, but will they like beans and rice three days a week ? Just kidding...for now. Because we have had much food saved up while on MY budget and our mothers (both his and mine) sent us home with a bag of Midwest meat, we should fare fine for a while. I am hoping that anything left over from the budget will add up to some Zaycon purchases. It might take a while.
I spent $12 at BI-LO. I spent $40 at Aldi. I spent $44 at Sam's. Yep, I have $23 for next week. One item that I was not happy with was buying $10 worth of pepperoni at Sam's. We used all of our last bag but I have since stopped doing pizza day once a week. Guess I will reinstate that one! I did divvy it out into smaller bags, as I do all things, and got about 25 snack-sized bags for at least two uses each. I will try to stop complaining about abundance. I would have been happier buying a smaller package and using the remaining cash on something else.
Hubby did stop at a local feed and seed and let me get these 6 clay pots and saucers so I can repot several of my plants. They were 50% off. I got everything for just over $10 bucks!! So great!
After feeding the family lunch, I began prepping a bit. The two bags of chips are bagged into snack-sized bags and in the pantry ready for lunches. I finished all the peanuts, raisins and dried cranberries for the trail mix. I bought a bag of chocolate chips at BI-LO for $1.50 today so that should last until I can get a huge bag at Sam's next month. Hubby was down to two bags of work oats, so I whipped up a batch and got 20 more bags for him, but I did deplete most of my oats. No-bake cookies may have to wait until next payday. There is still plenty of beef jerky that I made left. I divided my pork loan from Sam's into five meals: 3 roasts, 1 chops and 1 chunk for stir-fry eventually.
Hubby will be off hunting this evening so I may do some more prepping. What do I have left to do?
Buttermilk biscuits (to freeze)
Sandwich bread to bake
Vanilla pudding
Granola bars
Mayonnaise
Rice cereal candy
PB&J sandwiches
Pimento cheese spread
Cheese snack crackers
Pizza dough (bulk)
Garlic bread and hamburger buns will be made on the day we eat it.
Pie filling done
Eggs washed and crated up, ready to boil, fry, scramble or bake. (Only 5 more dozen in the fridge-time to freeze too)
(I have given over all finances to hubby, which he has ungraciously accepted. Frankly, my dear, I don't give...well, let's just say that I am very happy to have a new budget (although I would have given myself a bigger one) to only worry about groceries and household things. I think this will be such a load off my shoulders. )
We hit BI-LO, Aldi and Sam's. Oh yes, and of course the Dollar Tree for his Hawaiian Punch packets. I now have a budget of $120 for 2 weeks. Yes, approximately $60 a week. This should be interesting; I like a good challenge, but will they like beans and rice three days a week ? Just kidding...for now. Because we have had much food saved up while on MY budget and our mothers (both his and mine) sent us home with a bag of Midwest meat, we should fare fine for a while. I am hoping that anything left over from the budget will add up to some Zaycon purchases. It might take a while.
I spent $12 at BI-LO. I spent $40 at Aldi. I spent $44 at Sam's. Yep, I have $23 for next week. One item that I was not happy with was buying $10 worth of pepperoni at Sam's. We used all of our last bag but I have since stopped doing pizza day once a week. Guess I will reinstate that one! I did divvy it out into smaller bags, as I do all things, and got about 25 snack-sized bags for at least two uses each. I will try to stop complaining about abundance. I would have been happier buying a smaller package and using the remaining cash on something else.
Hubby did stop at a local feed and seed and let me get these 6 clay pots and saucers so I can repot several of my plants. They were 50% off. I got everything for just over $10 bucks!! So great!
After feeding the family lunch, I began prepping a bit. The two bags of chips are bagged into snack-sized bags and in the pantry ready for lunches. I finished all the peanuts, raisins and dried cranberries for the trail mix. I bought a bag of chocolate chips at BI-LO for $1.50 today so that should last until I can get a huge bag at Sam's next month. Hubby was down to two bags of work oats, so I whipped up a batch and got 20 more bags for him, but I did deplete most of my oats. No-bake cookies may have to wait until next payday. There is still plenty of beef jerky that I made left. I divided my pork loan from Sam's into five meals: 3 roasts, 1 chops and 1 chunk for stir-fry eventually. 
Hubby will be off hunting this evening so I may do some more prepping. What do I have left to do?
Buttermilk biscuits (to freeze)
Sandwich bread to bake
Vanilla pudding
Granola bars
Mayonnaise
Rice cereal candy
PB&J sandwiches
Pimento cheese spread
Cheese snack crackers
Pizza dough (bulk)
Garlic bread and hamburger buns will be made on the day we eat it.
Pie filling done
Eggs washed and crated up, ready to boil, fry, scramble or bake. (Only 5 more dozen in the fridge-time to freeze too)
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