A Long December

It HAS been a long December and I am so thankful it is a new year, although not a new biblical year (we still have that to look forward to). This past month has been full of everything: two trips to Denver and back (24 hours in the car); a broke down truck on the way to Denver; God's providence in both of those trips; Our sweet little boy went to Florida and is now home safe and sound; 2 birthdays; Helped kill 5 chickens; Had a weekend baby goat to watch; And all of these goodies below...

I received a new set of crochet hooks for my birthday from my beloved and a gift card from my mom and dad. My daughter and I wrapped them in Sculpy and now I have crochet hooks that don't make my hands cramp up. I love these. Aren't they cute?? :-)

I taught myself how to do a granny square and have pumped out a bunch of these turquoise squares that will eventually be a beautiful afghan for the back of my couch or wing back chair that will eventually come out of storage sometime this year.

100% wool giant granny square blanket that will be beautiful when it's done. I can't seem to get my square straight so there is a slight tilt to my pattern, but it's a fun blanket to make and goes fairly quickly.

Cotton Soap Saver Scrubbies...I found this idea on Pinterest and LOVE it. We have used those petro-chemical plastic poufs for years and I have always wanted to use something better. This is it. Stuff it with soap and scrub away! You can fill it with all those little leftover bars as well.

I learned how to do another type of granny square and pumped out this crocheted dishcloth this morning. I wouldn't call it a square...but it'll wash dishes! I love the soft cotton yarn and it's only $1.77 at Walmart (another gift card...I love my birthday)

Lip balm...this stuff is so good. Sweet and soft. I made many jars full, these are just two...peppermint and sweet citrus.

A couple of well used jars of warm-peppermint foot scrub (on the left) and lemon-sugar face scrub. Amazing stuff.

This has to be my favorite because it helps me and the kiddos organize our days better than anything ever has. It's an old picture frame and under the glass I stuck all three kids' daily schedules for Monday-Friday. Below that I placed parchment paper and made calendar grids with yarn. You can write on the glass and that is exactly what I do. I write the kids daily chores that change in the appropriate spots. There is also a little place for menu ideas.

Below the chart I have hung envelopes that contain specific instructions for daily chores. I have a child with Asperger's Syndrome, so this is essential for a smooth(er) sailing day. I do this so there is no confusion and there are no excuses. So far so good. I am the queen of chore charts...

My scarf! I started this last winter and just finished it. It was supposed to be a shawl...and perhaps someday it will be, but my attention span is NOT that long. I also found other things to do with the 100% lambs wool...

Like these super cute fingerless gloves. I learned how to make flowers, too. I also repurposed an old pearl necklace I found at a thrift shop.

I made Sophie a pair of fingerless gloves, as well. I love the turquoise and black. It looks sharp. She loves them :-)


Here's that goat...isn't she CUTE!?!?! Makes me want to scream with giddiness. We loved her. At first we thought we had her house trained, but then she pooped on the floor...a lot. Thankfully we were just watching her overnight for a friend and thankfully we have hard wood floors. We love goats...but outside goats.

I also made 10 gallons of laundry detergent and discovered how to make "Reeses" peanut butter cups...I suppose I should post that recipe. It's super-yummy.

Tomorrow we start school back up after a long winter break. I am excited to get back on schedule and normalize a little bit.

Miss all my friends and family back home...hope you are visiting :-) See you all soon!

Core Shopping List

Quite a few years ago my husband quit his casino job for ethical and personal reasons, and we had to really be creative about the money that was coming in. He took a part time job at a local fishery, smoking fish, and the money was NOT even close to what it was at the casino. (BUT we did get all the smoked salmon, trout and chubs we could eat!) We had to cut corners everywhere for him to be able to quit the casino job, and after years of being a spender, I had to learn to make do with what I had. I stopped buying pre-made food, and made everything from scratch. Eventually I got our food budget down to $250 a month. I am happy to tell you that I stuck with that and we are still only budgeting $250 a month for food. People think I am crazy when I tell them how much we spend. I know families that spend close to $800 a month to feed their family of 5-6. I can't IMAGINE having that much money to spend on food. I can tell you where it would go...into food storage!

Anywho...

This is my core monthly shopping list for our family of 5. With this list, I know that I can feed us all well for an entire month. Now, granted, I have a well-stocked pantry full of assorted whole grains, beans, rice, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and huge cans of tomato sauce and whole tomatoes which I purchase every few months. With this list and my pantry items I can whip up a ton of different meals, all fairly simple, and feed my family of 5 for about $250 a month. What you won't see on the list is fresh fruits and veggies. We eat them, but they come out of the "extra" money that is left over after I do my core shopping. When we want bananas, oranges, or a big container of salad greens we buy them, but we don't have a continuous supply in the house. We also don't buy a lot of seasonal foods when they are not in season. When salad isn't in season, we don't eat a lot of it. We eat lots of potatoes in the winter, and much more fresh fruit and veggies in the spring and summer.

I do buy bulk items from Azure Standard, such as spices, grains, and big huge bags of oranges or other fruit that's on sale. I also am trying to get to Costco every other month or so to the majority of my shopping. The less time I spend in Walmart, Safeway or Albertons, the more money I save. There are certain things I know are cheaper at Walmart, so I do buy them there, but for the most part, I am trying to stay away from that place :-) 

I look for sales on meat and only buy meat that is as natural as can be. Our local Warehouse Market has great all natural chicken that goes on sale every now and again. This past month I picked up 5 whole roasters for $20.  Last month I picked up 4 or 5 packages of drumsticks and thighs for about $18. I also buy our ground beef from the local meat market. It's all grass fed and is delicious. If I can't find a good sale on natural chicken, we stick with the ground beef or go without. I refuse to buy factory farmed meat. 

With all that said, here is the list with costs and location:

4 whole chickens ~ $24 ~ Warehouse Market

2 packages of chicken (breasts/drums/thighs) ~ $20 ~ Warehouse Market

4 lbs ground beef ~ $16 ~ Sackett's meat market

8 lbs cheese ~ $24 ~ Albertson's/Costco

6 gallons milk ~ $18 ~ Safeway

4 lbs butter ~ $10 ~ Costco

10 lbs organic sugar ~ $8 ~ Costco

15 lbs potatoes ~ $6 ~ Costco

5 lbs onions ~ $5 ~ Costco

Peanut butter ~ $5 ~ wherever 

Frozen fruit to make jam and smoothies ~ $7 ~ Walmart

Frozen veggies (any combination) ~ $15 ~ Costco/Walmart

5 lbs whole wheat flour (wheat montana) ~ $5 ~ Walmart

5 lbs all purpose flour (wheat montana) ~ $5 ~ Walmart

Sour cream (the big tub of Daisy) ~ $5 ~ Walmart

4 dozen eggs (until my hens start laying) ~ $12 ~ Safeway

5 lbs raw honey ~ $15 ~ health food store

20 lbs pinto beans ~ $15 ~ Walmart

5 lbs raisins or craisins ~ $10 ~ Costco

Organic beef and chicken "better than bouillon" ~ $12 ~ Costco

Total Cost ~ $237

I haven't been buying the bags of flour because I have so many wheat berries in my pantry now, but I do like to have flour on hand for making gravies and sauces or just to whip up a quick pan of rolls or a cake. I like easy :-) 

With this list I can make everything I want for dinners throughout the month...chicken pot pie, sloppy joes, soups of all sorts, scalloped potatoes and onions, chicken and dumplings, etc. I have a huge assortment of pastas in the house from my last few Costco trips, but normally, if we wanted pasta I would make my own. Since moving to Wyoming, I had to leave a ton of stuff behind...my pasta maker was one of those things, so I don't really care for rolling out pasta by hand, although it's not so bad for making big ol' noodles that will just go in a soup. We also don't buy bread (usually). We make our own English muffins, rolls, pizza dough, sandwich bread, flat breads, tortillas, etc. 

We also make our own breakfast foods, like oatmeal, granola, cornmeal mush, etc.

Lunches consist of leftovers, eggs and toast, peanut butter and jelly on tortillas, steamed veggies, etc. Basically whatever is on hand and quick. 

I also save all of my chicken bones (yes from every meal) and carcasses and put them in the freezer after all our meals throughout the month. At the end of the month I will make a big pot of stock, usually about 4-6 quarts, and that goes right in the freezer for the next months meals. (I could really do without the "better than bouillon" that is on my list, but I love having it on hand.)

The one thing that is not on my list is COFFEE and tea. I love coffee, am probably addicted, and will not go without it. It's not in my grocery budget because it is just for me, so it comes out of the money that is not allocated to bills, gasoline, or food. We drink water from our Berkey and sun tea throughout the month, and if you don't like those two things, well...tough patooties, drink it anyway :-) We have special drinks on sabbath, like Hansen's soda, but that does not come out of the grocery budget, it comes out of the "extra". 

So, there it is...I hope this helps you in some areas, and if YOU have a tight budget for food, let me know how you do it. I am always looking for ways to save money.

(We also purchase 5 gallon buckets of expeller pressed coconut oil from Tropical Traditions and use this as our main cooking oil, for frying, baking,etc., and  also for making deodorant and toothpaste)

Another Homemade: Toothpaste

The toothpaste looks rather gross all sloshy in the jars, as I look at them now. At the time, I thought this was the cutest pic ever. Ah well, it was late.

Regardless of the sloshy messy look of the toothpaste, it serves its purpose and is quite cheap! 

Here is our recipe:

8 T. coconut oil

12 T. baking soda

between 20-40 drops of the essential oil of your choice. 

Combine the coconut oil and baking soda and mix until the baking soda is fully incorporated into the coconut oil. 

Add essential oil, and mix thoroughly. 

Put a bit into individual jars or other containers for each of your family members. 

Remember, this is coconut oil, so depending on the temperature of the bathroom, your toothpaste might be runny or very solid. 

Homemade Face Wash

(Those are my little glass jars I got this past week on my thrifting trip.)

My skin is dry, it's oily, it cracks and peels, and then it produces way to much oil. I thought I was cursed with bad skin. No pimples, or anything like that, just crocodile skin around my nose, between my eyebrows and under my chin. That is, until I STOPPED using expensive store bought facial cleansers and decided to come up with my own. 

It's quite simple actually, on most days I just use a simple castile soap to gently cleanse my face. But, there are times, especially in winter, that I see that the return of the dreaded crocodile skin is imminent. So, a few times a week I mix together in my little Saki cup (above) a bit of organic course grained sugar, honey, baking soda, liquid castile soap and a tad bit of water, make a thick paste and give my dry areas a good scrub. The sugar scrubs away the dead and drying skin, the castile soap whisks away dirt and oil, and the honey softens my skin like nothing else. The baking soda...well, I have just become accustomed to adding it...I'm sure it does something good. :~)

Once a week or so, I'll make a bigger batch and scrub my entire body down with it. I love the feel of my skin after a good scrub down. It's so soft, and just has a glow to it. 

When my skin is extra dry and sensitive, I'll grind up a bit of oatmeal in the blender and add that to my mixture. If I'm out of sugar, I'll use cornmeal or salt. Sometimes a bit of lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar is nice to add to the mix. There are so many variations to a homemade face wash. Use what you have, and find what works for you. 

In the summer, as I become less dry and more oily, I use glycerin water to moisturize my face. In the winter, when I need a good thick moisturizer, I use coconut oil. Last year I used olive oil, but I find the coconut oil to absorb considerably better than olive oil. I LOVE it, and it smells like a mounds bar :~) I do have a stick of cocoa butter that I use when I need some serious, serious moisturizing, but other than that, there are no lotions of any sort in my home, something that I thought would NEVER be possible. 

I love my little glass jars. I can keep a tiny bit of my kitchen ingredients right there in the bathroom. It's so convenient and pretty. 

What's even better than convenience, to me anyway, is the frugality of it all. I love saving my husband money and finding creative uses for what we already have in the house. It's one of my favorite things. 

Homemade Laundry Soap

There are so many great recipes out there for laundry soap. I had some criteria that needed to be met while researching a recipe I was going to use for my own soap. It had to be cheap, super easy, have readily accessible ingredients and of course it had to CLEAN.

I first started using equal parts of borax, washing soda, and grated felsnaptha soap, but after two weeks of washing my clothes, they became stinky from the felsnaptha. So, since Ivory soap is so cheap I decided to go with that.

Here is my recipe:

1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 cup powdered Ivory soap

Grate your Ivory soap with a cheese grater and then whiz it in a blender until it has a more powdered consistency. I find that if you leave the bars unwrapped for about a week before you grate and whiz, the soap is dried out and is much easier to handle.

Mix equal parts of the borax, washing soda,  and the powdered soap together and whiz in the blender. Do this again and again, a small amount at a time, until all your ingredients are blended together.

I store my laundry powder in an old coffee container. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load. Shake the container every once in a while as the soap is heavier than the rest of the ingredients and sort of settles a bit.

For an all natural fabric softener and laundry rinse, fill a downy ball half full with white vinegar and pop that into your wash. No need for any other fabric softeners and the vinegar will clean the soap residue from your washer and clothes! It's great. You can add a few drops of essential oil, like lavender in your downy ball as well.

I like the powdered soap because it's easy. Our clothes get clean and the Ivory soap makes them smell great. I am sure you could use any soap you wanted, but I like Ivory because its cheap and doesn't contain a lot of the harsh chemicals that other soaps contain. It's definitely better than felsnaptha in the chemical department! It's about $3.50 for 10 bars. That's an awesome price.

Enjoy!