This Weekend's Homesteading Projects and Why I'll Never Run Three Errands with Four Small Children in One Afternoon Again

Two things I've been wanting to make myself, but just haven't had the supplies (or courage) for, are homemade laundry detergent and yogurt. I've seen post after post about how to make your own laundry detergent on Pinterest, and last year a dear friend of mine even gave me some in a cute little jar with a scoop attached for Christmas (such a great and practical gift!) but whenever the excitement to make my own struck, I always seemed to already have a full bottle of store-bought detergent on hand...so I never got around to it. About a week or so ago, my mom, who works at Ace Hardware down in Orange County, sent me a "recipe" for homemade laundry detergent from her store and it rekindled the unfurling DIYer inside of me. Then, after yesterday's post on How To Cut Your Food Budget In Half many of my Facebook friends gave me even more great ideas on ways to save money and other practical things to make at home for way less than store-bought! One of these great suggestions was homemade yogurt. I knew my good buddy (and beer-making, cheese-making, Kombucha-making friend) Mary made her own yogurt, but the idea of it seemed a little complicated and scary (I know nothing about canning or preserving and find myself flooded with fears that I'll instead make something poisonous and give my children botulism or something). But Mary posted these Instructions for Making Yogurt at home and after reading through them a few times...it actually looks quite simple! And I don't think there's much chance of me accidentally killing my children...yay! She also passed along this recipe for a delicious Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal as one way to make a quick, yummy breakfast...with the homemade yogurt! So, all of that got me really excited and this morning I made the decision: I'm going to do it. I'm going to go right now to find all the supplies. The one little hang-up? That meant dressing, shoeing, feeding, corralling, and loading four tiny children into the van before we could head out on our - er, my - mission. And let me tell you, I was nearly defeated. Just between the laundry room and garage (said rooms being attached) we had meltdowns, a near potty accident, a crying hungry baby who refused to go in her carseat, and a kid get tangled up IN the straps of her carseat. It was so incredibly stressful I actually made everyone go back in the house for lunch, a debriefing, and a do-over. One fed baby and nearly an hour later, we tried again. First stop, Ace Hardware. There we found 2 out of 3 of our laundry detergent ingredients and some free root beer in the back for the kids (why I thought letting them have that was a good idea, I'll never know). Grace also managed to find the paint-mixing machine the employees use and started pushing buttons before I could get to her. Anyone need a quart of eggshell "green meadows"? We left there and headed to the thrift store hoping to find some cheap mason jars. Success! I found a whole slew of them in both quart and 8oz sizes! And the guy who worked there was so kind (it couldn't have been he just wanted to get my small herd of children out of his store as quickly as possible) that he sold them all to me for half-price! 50 cents each! So back in the car we all went to head across town to the other Ace Hardware to find the third item on our detergent list and some new lids for our mason jars. All said and done, I spent about $8 on 8 yogurt jars and new lids and $13 on detergent supplies - but it looks like I'll be able to make about twice as much detergent as I normally get for that price! And Mary said that once you buy the supplies, the yogurt comes out to be around $1 a QUART (really just the cost of the milk used to make it) which is going to save us a lot of money because we go through at least two quarts a week at our house - and we buy those for $3-$4 dollars each! So. It looks like me, my apron, and my live active cultures will be getting to know each other quite well this weekend. I also learned that taking four children on three errands equates to bucking a child in and out of a carseat 32 times and about a half-dozen temper tantrums. No thank you. Next time the outing limit is either two stops...or two kids :)

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent (adapted from AceHardware)

1 bar of soap 

(I'm using Fels Naptha, but you could also use Dr. Bonner's, Zote, Kirk's Castile, etc.)

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

A few drops of essential oils

Use a grater to shave the bar of soap into small flakes. Mix well with borax and washing soda until you achieve an even, fine mixture. Add your essential oils and mix well to break up clumps*. Store in labeled, air-tight container. Makes approximately 32oz of detergent. Use 1-2 T per load (depending on load size).

*Here are a few ideas of various oil combinations to make your new laundry detergent smell wonderful! Using Essential Oils in Your Detergent

I'll let you know how it all turns out! What are YOU making/growing/building this weekend?!

How to Cut Your Food Budget in Half...Or More!!!

As a very busy mama, I had developed some bad habits when it came to meal planning and grocery shopping. I guess what I really mean is I had practically stopped meal planning and was spending way too much at the grocery store (I won't even give you a figure...it's way too embarrassing).  Robert and I both grew up as only children who ate out...a LOT, so even though we have four little kids, eating out - and often - still felt really right (and good) to us. But you know what didn't feel good? Sitting down and looking at our spending each month and seeing that we were spending more money on food than on our mortgage! About 3 months ago we decided to make some BIG changes and by doing so, we've reduced our monthly spending on food by about 60%. I'm not saying it's been FUN, but it really hasn't been too difficult. Here are the basic things we've changed...maybe just by incorporating one or two of these principles you could save some big bucks too!



1. Eat at Home.
We used to eat out a lot. No plan for dinner? Let's go out! Bored on Saturday morning? Let's go out! All we have in the cupboard is a can of tuna...and oops, no bread? Let's go out! We were going out to eat way. too. much. Yes, it was fun and the kids loved it just as much as we did. But it was a money waster and had to stop. We've started eating every meal at home (meals out are now a treat rather than the norm) and you know what? We've actually been having a lot of fun and the ritual of gathering around our dinner table together each night at home has become really comforting and something we all look forward to each night! Robert takes some of the leftovers to work for lunch the next day and the kids and I eat the rest of the leftovers or something else simple at home.

2. Take Cash Out.
We ran in to huge problems using our debit cards. Each month we were shocked to see just how many extra purchases we'd made. "What?! We really stopped at Starbucks TWENTY times?" "When did you go to Baskin Robbins?" etc. Not to mention how much we'd spend at the grocery stores because we weren't keeping track, we'd just "use the card". Now, before we do our weekly shopping, we physically stop at the bank, take out the allotted weekly amount and use that. If we get to the checkstand and don't have enough cash...we put something back. It ain't rocket science!

3. Grocery Shop Once a Week.
We used to go to the store way too often. Like 3-4 times a week at least. I'd end up trolling the cupboards and realize I didn't have this or that to pull a meal together so I'd call Robert and ask him to pick up a few things on his way home...and $30 later he'd come home with my two items and some ice cream... Now, we do a family shopping trip ONCE a week. Usually Friday nights or Saturday mornings. We make it a really fun time. First we go to Costco to buy the staples (our meats, milk, eggs, fruit, etc.) and then we finish up at Trader Joe's where we buy all the "smaller" items. The kids absolutely LOVE going to both places; we treat them to a Polish sausage to share at Costco (a whopping $1.50 out of our food money for the week) and then they get to race around like crazy people with their own little shopping carts at Trader Joe's! Remember: Don't buy anything if it isn't on your list for meals, and don't spend more than the cash you've brought with you! The biggest thing that has made shopping once a week actually work: planning simple meals.

4. Plan 7 Simple Meals.
Okay, for me this has truly been the most difficult part of the whole experience. Our drastically reduced food spending hinges on whether or not I can successfully plan out 7 inexpensive dinner meals before we go shopping for the week - with a goal of still keeping them healthy and GOOD. So, the way I come up with 7 each week is I draw from various sources. I've got a recipe box with a few "favorites" that I repeat often, I've asked friends of mine to share their recipes with me when they come across something special, and I spend a little time on Pinterest each week trying to find one or two fun new things to try (and trust me, the options are endless on there!) Between these three sources, coming up with 7 is usually a piece of cake. And sometimes we don't use all 7 from the week before (leftovers one night, dinner over at the parents, etc.) so I have one or two to "rollover" to the next week. The other thing I try to do is "combine". For example, I'll buy a roasted chicken from Costco for $5 and try to use the meat in at least two or three recipes (plus I use the carcass to make my own chicken stock!) and I never buy more than two types of meat for the week. Good meat costs a lot of money so we try to limit it to just chicken and hamburger - we buy the big bag of frozen chicken breasts at Costco and thaw about 4-6 at a time in the fridge and we use less hamburger in each meal to make it go further. I've found that soups and chilis with a side of rice make inexpensive, easy meals, and that it's really okay to have just BBQ chicken, rice, and a vegetable or hamburger patties in teriyaki sauce and Crash Hot Potatoes one night. Simple can be delicious. Leftovers for lunch, fruit and yogurt for snacks, and simple breakfasts like toast and Adele's Chicken Apple Sausage.

5. If You Can Make It, Don't Buy It.
This one has kind of just been evolving as we go. Now that I'm really paying attention and counting pennies when we do our weekly shopping, not only do I try to buy cheaply (I love that everything at Trader Joe's is their own brand = less options and cheaper than "name brand". Buy their wine for $2.49 instead of a bottle for $9.99 and voila, you've already saved $7.50!), but I try to use what I have even if it's not exact. Like if a recipe calls for a green bell pepper but I'm already buying a red one for another recipe, Ill skip the green one and use half the red one in each. Or if a recipe calls for shredded mozzarella and I'm already buying a bag of shredded cheddar or Mexican blend, I'll just use that. Usually it doesn't change the taste too much (cheese is just GOOD) and why spend $5 on another bag of cheese that is only going in one recipe-? Like is said in #4, I also try to make my own stuff when I can. I don't want to waste $7 on chicken broth for the week when I can make my own for free! I use this easy method here with the leftover chicken carcass from Costco, freeze in several containers and then try to have one ready (thawed out) in the fridge at all times. I've also started saving a few dollars here and there by making my own delicious organic yogurt (which is way easier than you think!) and my own cream of chicken soup to use in recipes. Not to mention the added benefit of consuming less canned food (and toxins such as BPA). If I'm feeling super ambitious and the kids are cooperating I'll make homemade bread to go with our soups and to use for breakfast toast. And instead of buying expensive ice cream / snacks, I'll make these easy granola bars or a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies. Keep a lot of baking supplies on hand - they're pretty cheap and go a long ways!

So, that's pretty much it. And without embarrassing myself too much and letting you know just how excessive our spending was before, let me suffice it to say that we are saving over $700 a month by shopping and eating this way. Yes, SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH, SAVED.
A lot of that honestly comes from simply not eating out and ceasing to use our debit cards on impulse purchases, the rest is saved by eating simpler and making a few things myself. Just think of what you could do with all that extra money! Like feed a hungry child for just $38 a month and still have $662 EXTRA. We sponsor a beautiful little girl from Ghana, Africa, and praying over her photo at the dinner table each night has become a special part of our mealtime. The kids think she's their sister...and I guess really, she kind of is.

Here are a few of the "favorites" I've been making lately to get you started. Don't feel like you have to do everything I've said or dramatically change the way you shop and eat all at once. Start with one or two changes and save a little. Next week, or month, save a little more. It can actually become kind of addicting to challenge yourself and see just how far you can make things stretch. Like your very own personal shopping game:)

White Chicken Chili - I leave out the jalapeño and cayenne to make it kid-friendly

Crock Pot Lemon Pepper Chicken

Southwestern Black Bean Casserole

Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash

Lasagna Soup - instead of buying Ricotta cheese - I just use cottage cheese - totally works!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Oh, and one more "tip". You know those 20 trips to Starbucks I was making each month (at about $5 a visit or $100/month)? I now buy 1/2 lb of freshly ground coffee from Starbucks each week (about $6) and a bottle of vanilla creamer from Trader Joe's (about $3 and it lasts at least two weeks!) and am saving about $70 a month just by doing that! And I still get Starbucks coffee - yeehaw!

New Name, New Game

Hi y'all. It's late. I should be sleeping and gearing up for another crazy day of mamahood with four littles under four, instead I'm burning the midnight oil and updating my blog. Literally, in the dark with one candle burning...so baby can sleep, of course.

For matters of privacy, I've decided to give my blog a "new name, new game". When we began our blog several years ago - and pre-Facebook -  it was a good, central, place to share photos and updates with our friends and family. But now that I do that (about a jazillion times each day) on Facebook, I think my blog is going to take a different route; and hopefully a more public one (hence the reason I've ditched including our last name and city in the title!) Rather than simply being a place to re-post Facebook stuff for non-Facebookers, I hope this blog can be a simple, friendly place where I can write and expand on my Mamahood: What I'm doing as a mama, what I'm learning as a mama, what I believe in as a mama, and most importantly, about the sweet little ones who call me "Mama". I hope to do this with as much grace, honesty, and humor as possible.  

Please note (and share!) my new blog address:

http://oregon-mama.blogspot.com/

Detox Your Laundry Room with Wool Dryer Balls {review & GIVEAWAY from Mighty Nest!}

Detox Your Laundry Room with Wool Dryer Balls {review & GIVEAWAY from Mighty Nest!}

Playing With Light

Ever since I got my iPhone 4S about a year ago, I don't think I've touched my actual camera. It's just so easy to pull out my phone (which is usually out anyway as I have a bit of an addiction to certain social media apps - but that's another story for another time...) and although the pictures are pretty darn good, there's just something I've been missing about using my real, heavy duty, adjust-a-few-settings, camera. I admit, I mainly just adjust the ISO depending on the day's lighting and leave quite a few other settings on "auto" but even so, my Canon takes some photos my iPhone couldn't dream of (although I hear the photo capabilities on the new iPhone 5 are like 10x better than the 4S...wow!). So when I was so rudely awakened by my sweet darling Gracie after nap time this afternoon and saw the gorgeous sunlight splayed across our hardwood floors with that perfect, glowy, afternoon lighting, I just had to get my camera out! I plopped Abigail down on the floor (she's sitting up unsupported so well now) and started clicking away - what a great smiley little subject she is! It felt so fun to have that heavy, solid camera in my hands! The super thin iPhone is nice on-the-go, but sometimes my hands hurt just from trying not to drop the darn thing while maneuvering my fingers into acrobatic contortions to hit the super "touchy" touchscreen just right! So here are a few shots from today - Audrey made her way into a few of them as well:) Enjoy the light!