Category Archives: Do-It-Yourself

Money Saving Monday: Reduce Paper Use

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Several years ago, the cost of paper towels increased.  One day I was at a friend’s house, something spilled and I asked for paper towels.  My friend told me she does not buy them.  She said they were a waste of money.  I was surprised, but I immediately started my frugal wheels turning.
I realized if we stopped buying paper towels and paper napkins I could save a little each week – and a little each week adds up over years of time.  I started by getting some cloth napkins.  I already owned one set I used for nice dinners, but I added to my collection until I have enough for every day.
I also stopped buying paper towels.

 I do keep one roll in the house, put high upon a shelf that I can use if something really bad happens (like a stomach virus going around the family).  I found that if I stored it under the kitchen sink (or worse, on the kitchen counter) they would rapidly disappear.  Making them difficult to access solved that problem.

We also played around with using cloth baby wipes when I was using cloth diapers, but I had a hard time keeping them moist without them getting a musty smell to them.  I researched and learned that I could use baby shampoo and some essential oils in the water to keep them fresh. I still prefer to use store-bought wipes, but if I am in a pinch, I can use the cloth ones with no problem.
Some will argue that I am using water and electricity in washing and drying these items, and it is, in fact true, but I am usually just adding them to loads I already plan to wash, so I do not see any expense effect at all.
If you decide to make the switch to cloth napkins, try to purchase ones that are patterned or dark-colored.  White ones do not clean as well as I hoped and stain quickly.  You can often find sets of cloth napkins at a local Goodwill or thrift store or at a discount store.
 

[Editor's note: Our family's first stash of cloth napkins was from the clearance shelves at our local Target store - super handy since we had a gift card from a holiday that we used to pay for them.  Make sure you let family members know you're switching to cloth too; my Nana passed on some cloth napkins that had been in the family for generations that she'd had stashed in a closet as she thought no one wanted them! Check online for easy DIY tutorials for making up cloth napkins from other items around the house that are worn out in spots, but could be reused.  ~MK]

Malia Russell is the blessed wife to Duncan, thankful mother to five children, ages newborn to 21 and an author, conference speaker and director of www.homemaking911.com and www.wheat-n-things.com. Visit her site for inspiration, encouragement and practical help in your roles as a godly wife, mother, homemaker or home educator.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Chop ‘em & Keep ‘em!

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My family has a real taste for hummus – we will dig in to a container of Haig’s or a batch of homemade hummus like nobody’s business!  When my husband saw a tip in a running magazine about substituting celery and carrots for bread, crackers, and chips for the dipping, we gave it a try and really enjoyed it.  But how could we bulk buy on the veggies and make them last in the fridge?



Turns out you can keep fresh celery, carrots and radishes crisp much longer if you wash and chop them, then store them in water in the fridge.  Voila!  Chip replacements that stay crunchy much longer.

Now if only I could get the hummus to last that long…..

(Want a bonus tip?  Here’s where I got my recipe for a super easy hummus when I ran out of tahini.)

Five on Friday: 30 March 2012

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One of the best things about the internet are the resources we have at hand with the click of a mouse or a few keystrokes.  The problem is, wading through all those resources can lead to information overload.  We’ve decided to share a few tidbits with you each week that we find interesting, inspiring, or just good clean fun.  So get ready to check out some of our top picks for websites and blog posts – we’ll share five of them with you each Friday.  (Hence the title Five on Friday, of course!)
  1. Need a little garden inspiration?  Step away from the seed catalogs (slowly … slooowly) and check out these great ideas for plant markers over at Homestead Revival.  (I didn’t say it wouldn’t give you an excuse to head back to the seeds, now did I? *grin*)
  2. Passover and Easter are on the way – learn more about these feasts and tons of other interesting facts about the movements of the stars and planets with Jay Ryan’s April Classical Almanack.
  3. If you’re clearing out closets during the change of seasons, be sure to check for any outgrown or ill-fitting wool sweaters – you might find a treasure that can be upcycled into a “sweater” for your e-reader or other portable device thanks to these awesome tutorials at FIMBY.
  4. More folks are seeing sunshine peeking through the clouds lately – if you’ve had concerns about chemical sunscreens, but still want to keep your family safe, check out these homemade, natural sunscreen options over at Whole Foods on a Budget.
  5. Speaking of spring, if you need encourage young ones to join in and help out, there’s a list of 15 chore suggestions for four-year-olds over at MoneySavingMom.


Did you read anything interesting this week, or find a website for an American company you’d like to share?  Please leave us a note here in the comments – and make sure you enter our current book giveaway, which ends next week!

Money Saving Monday: Making Pancake Syrup

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Our family loves real maple syrup. But, sometimes we run out and I am not able to get it from our supplier instantly. I did not want to purchase the store kind because all of the artificial syrups had corn syrup in them. We avoid corn syrup products because we have a son with a corn allergy.
When I started trying is making my own pancake syrup. I found the following recipe from Jonnie McCoy’s book, Miserly Moms Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy.
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp maple extract (bought this at Meijer’s).
Bring the water and sugar to a slow boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat before it comes to a boil. Add the maple extract. Store in the refrigerator.
If you like it thicker, replace half the water with Karo syrup. I was a bit skeptical, but decided to give it a shot. It turned out just fine and I have been using it every since on our weekend waffles or pancakes. I prefer it a little thicker, but my husband likes the original recipe better, so I make it that way. I usually make half this recipe and we use it all the day I make it. I asked the children what they thought of it and they said they did not notice a difference. There is a HUGE difference in expense.
Here is what Jonni calculates:
Homemade 30 Cents
Store Bought $4.20
WOW!
Malia Russell is the blessed wife to Duncan, thankful mother to five children, ages newborn to 21 and an author, conference speaker and director of www.homemaking911.com and www.wheat-n-things.com. Visit her site for inspiration, encouragement and practical help in your roles as a godly wife, mother, homemaker or home educator.

Planting Potatoes in a Bucket

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Years ago I found a project in a child’s gardening book for growing your potatoes in a bucket. This makes an easy, quick, not-too-messy project for growing your own potatoes that are as easy as child’s play.
You will need:
  • a large bucket. I use a 6 gallon bucket. You can use a larger or smaller one, but this size is manageable for me.
  • seed potatoes – you can get these from a gardening center

1. Drill some holes on the sides of the bucket, about two inches from the bottom. You may do this ahead if your children are too young to help with this part.
2. Add about 3 inches of rocks (you can make good use of those you are pulling out of your garden as you are preparing it).
3. Add potting soil or loose, healthy soil from your garden. Your bucket should be about 6 inches full.
4. Add the seed potatoes and cover with about 3 inches of loose soil.
5. Water to moisten.
6. Place bucket in a sunny spot.
7. As the potatoes start to sprout and reach the top of the soil, keep adding more soil, only leaving the top few leaves exposed to light. You will continue adding soil daily until the bucket is full. it will be heavy, so be sure to put it in a place you want it to stay.
8. Check daily for moist soil.
9. When the plant starts to die (yellow), it is time to harvest the potatoes. You can turn the bucket to it’s side and pull the potatoes loose.
Malia Russell is the blessed wife to Duncan, thankful mother to five children, ages newborn to 20 and an author, conference speaker and director of www.homemaking911.com and www.wheat-n-things.com. Visit her site for inspiration, encouragement and practical help in your roles as a godly wife, mother, homemaker or home educator.

Money Saving Monday: Cloth Diapering

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Considering our current budget and our financial goals, I started toying with the idea of TRYING cloth diapers for our fifth child. As I considered it, one major drawback was that to use cloth diapers, you have to sink quite a bit of money into it, just to give it a fair try.
After lots of encouragement, I decided to try to make my own diaper covers. A friend mailed me her pattern. I bought the material for about $4.00 per cover, including the PLU to make them waterproof. I should mention now, I hardly ever sew. I have sewn about 3 things in my life, and each time with much nervousness and pain involved.
But, even for me, these were fairly easy. I watched several YouTube videos on sewing cloth diaper covers, called my friend 4 times,and did it. I made my first cover. It took all day. (Remember, I never sew and I am not very good at it.)
Here is what it looked like:
Then, as soon as I finished that one, I was hooked! I LOVED how adorable it was, how easy it was, and how well it fit. It was planned to fit him until he was 22 pounds. After that, I did the remaining four assembly line style and finished them all in about 3 hours.



Now, I take a prefold cloth diaper (free from freecycle) and put it inside there, then velcro it onto him. Five were plenty to get me through the day, since you can wipe them out after each use (hence, the PLU).
When I change the baby, I take the soiled diaper to the bathroom and rinse the soil into the toilet. Then, I drop the diaper in a bucket in there, already partially filled with water and a small amount of detergent. When I wash them in the machine, I first drain the water from the bucket into the toilet, then put them in the washer with detergent and wash them in HOT water. I hang the covers to dry and put the pre-folds in the dryer. Usually one time through the dryer is not quite enough, so I hang them on a line to finish drying.
Malia Russell is the blessed wife to Duncan, thankful mother to five children, ages newborn to 20 and an author, conference speaker and director of www.homemaking911.com and www.wheat-n-things.com. Visit her site for inspiration, encouragement and practical help in your roles as a godly wife, mother, homemaker or home educator.