Berry Bonus

This morning, my son picked up off of the ground in our backyard what appeared to be unripe mullberries. My husband and I thought, “Well, they couldn’t be mullberries, those grow on a bush.”; Or so we thought. Our friendly neighbor (who loves to garden and has a beautiful backyard and garden which I must admit I envy) said she would take a leaf from the tree and look it up for us. This evening, just before we sat down to supper, she told my husband that she had looked it up and it was in fact a mullberry tree. The tree is probably near 100 years old.

So, I have been looking around online and am excited to know that we can use the berries for all kinds of things like dried fruit, jelly, jam and even wine. For the frugal, I must say I am delighted that we have this bonus on our property. Now I need to get a dehydrator and canning jars and learn to make jam! I already wanted to get a dehydrator to dry some of our garden peas. I want to try some dry and some frozen. I suppose we could also freeze the berries If I cannot make jam right away.

Tonight I am making up the menu for our camping trip this weekend, hoping the weather will be favorable. My husband has been out in the garage this afternoon putting together his new propane grill. Yesterday he spent a lot of time in the garage putting up bike hooks and organizing the garage. It looks nice now, and we can actually walk around in it! Our next project will be to finally get most of the boxes that we’ve shoved in the spare bedroom downstairs put away, and clear off the other side of the desk once and for good so I can set up my sewing station! Maybe I’ll get around to making more sewing projects if I have a permanent place for my sewing machine and supplies. It was such a hassle pulling everything out and then putting everything away again at our old place.

Well, I’m off to join my family outside!

How to get Black Marker out of Carpet or Sofa

Just in case this ever happens to you…

black marker will come out of carpet and the sofa with a mixture of oxy clean and rubbing alcohol. Mix up the oxyclean as directed with water, then put in alcohol. poor onto stains.. let sit a few minutes, then blot (might have to rub some) out the black marker.

I don’t think you need to ask how I know… But I learned something new today! Life is not boring around here.

Also, the Mr. Clean magic eraser is a quick fix to black marker on walls, floors, and other hard surfaces.

Cozy for Guests

I’ve learned a bit about myself approaching home ownership. I’ve also learned a bit about my husband in the process. Firstly, that we both may have the favorite color of blue, but certainly not the same hue. My husband seems to also be partial to neutrals, and I would like to play around with color. There must be some compromise.

Even before we had the liberty of painting our walls, I knew a bit about my decor style.  One thing is for sure, although I do like SOME modern peices, my style is clearly ‘country’. I also enjoy cottage styles. All in all, I”m drawn to antique peices, patterned country fabrics, linens, and soft, natural light.

Slowly, each space in our new home is taking on a picture in my mind of home. Allow me to share my vision for our ‘Front Room’.

This is a picture of our front room before we moved in. Let me tell you, it looks just about the same now, with the exception of some extra STUFF lying around and an antique style chair I bought at goodwill. Now imagine with me…

White linen curtains. The walls are ‘Grand Stand Tan’ . There is a storage bench.. and linens and pillows accompany each seat. The accent colors are interchangeable with the neutral wall color… changing by season or mood. Books are stacked within reach. It is the perfect place to invite guests in to chat, have tea with friends, or sit quietly to read a book.

Perhaps I will come back and add to this post later. It is past my bedtime. Please do feel free to add to my inspiration for this space.

Hooked on Hotel Towels & Holders

It may sound strange, but living in a hotel for a short while can make one appreciate the simplicity.  I became hooked on this little towel holder, and knew I wanted one just like it for our “new” home. It would look great with the blue and white theme we have chosen for our upstairs bath. I will add that I am also hooked on white hotel towels. They are so verstile and “fresh”.

And now for some Blue & White Inspiration…

Organizing Kick-Off

I caught the organizing bug again. Maybe I can blame it on nesting, maybe not. So, I found some great ideas over at I’m an Organizing Junkie. If you are ever in the need for some organization inspirations, just head over there and you will surely catch the bug sooner or later. So I headed out this afternoon to pick up some baskets and cheap organizers from Dollar Tree. I decided my first project would be the cupboard under my kitchen sink.

Before:

After:

I’ve organized toilet scrubber handles and cleaning solution mixes in a bin further back on the right, as well as a basket to containerize ant traps and bug killers to the back left. Cleaning sprays are easy to pull out in a cleaning caddy.

I also organized our kitchen junk drawer. I’ll try to get pictures up of that later. Feel free to inspire me with links of your before and after organizing projects.

Next on my list of organizing projects:  Kitchen drawers, Under bathroom sink, Linen closet!

just got done Steam Cleaning

I decided to steam clean my kitchen carpet yesterday b/c there was a sticky spot, and i was horrified at what came out of that carpet. Bleh I hate dirt. I just steam cleaned them in the summer/fall last year! LOL. It was bugging me so I went ahead and steam cleaned the whole first floor carpets and the couches. I just love the feeling of a fresh clean home! On top of that it was a beautiful day today. I had the windows open with a wonderful breeze flowing through the house. I am so glad that spring is here! Fresh carpets and fresh air beat the musty dusty house of winter by a mile .

3 Week Cleaning

The 3 Week Cleaning is from www. keepingthehome.com
Please stop by and thank Candy!

There’s my usual cleaning schedule here, then there’s my 3 week cleaning schedule. I turn to this schedule, when I have so many things going on, that I can’t spend much time on cleaning. However, it’s still important to have a clean house. There’s many health reasons, and of course asthetic ones.

When you’ve just had a new baby, or circumstances have made it so that you don’t have much time for cleaning, then try 3 week cleaning. In order to do 3 week cleaning, you’ll need to be familiar with the Emergency Quick Clean. You can learn about that, by clicking here.

Here’s how to do 3 week cleaning:

Week 1

Monday – Take apart, and clean your stove top.

Tuesday – Clean all your appliances.

Wednesday – Clean all mirrors and computer and TV screens.

Thursday – Go through your house, and dust.

Friday – Do an Emergency Quick Clean.

Week 2

Monday – Wipe down all tables, counters, and surfaces throughout the house.

Tuesday – Clean all sinks.

Wednesday – Clean the showers/tubs in your bathrooms.

Thursday – Clean all toilets.

Friday – Do an Emergency Quick Clean.

Week 3

Monday – Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

Tuesday – Sweep and mop bathroom floors, and other hard floors, such as a laundry room, etc.

Wednesday – Vacuum all bedrooms.

Thursday – Vacuum the rest of the rugs and carpets in the house.

Friday – Do an Emergency Quick Clean.

If things have slowed down for you, then you can go to the original cleaning schedule if you’d like. If things are still too busy, then start over on this 3 week cleaning schedule.

Laundry Schedule

Monday – Do all bedding laundry.

Tuesday – Do all towel and washcloth laundry.

Wednesday – Do some children’s laundry.

Thursday – Finish children’s laundry.

Friday – Do your and spouse’s laundry.

 

Kitchen Shortcuts

Most of the meals my family eats start with the basics, like chicken and beef. A lot of grocery stores lower the per-pound price on meat when you buy in larger quantities. I buy 5 pounds of beef at a time. All 5 pounds of beef get thrown in a pot and cooked while I’m cooking dinner that evening. I then divide the beef into sandwich bags, 2 cups each. I never thaw out meat in advance now, because it only takes 1 minute to thaw one of our pre-cooked bags in the microwave. For chicken, I usually buy a cornish hen. The hen get’s thrown in my roasting pan, stuffed with a couple of sliced apples, oranges, or lemons (to keep it moist and juicy), and baked. Sometimes I poor a can of chicken broth over the chicken as it roasts, so that for dinner that evening I will have enough extra juices to make homemade chicken gravy. “Chicken cooking night” is often a real treat for my husband, as I spoil him with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and some of our roasted chicken. The leftover chicken gets de-boned, chopped, and frozen into 1 1/2 cup portions for later meals.

As our lives have gotten busier, we have definitely learned to simplify our meals. I am the queen of one-skillet meals and simple dishes. My family enjoys tacos in a pan, goulash, macaroni & cheese with hot dogs, and a ton of other easy dishes. Keep a family favorites cookbook, and add to it when you find any new and easy recipes you would like to try. Determine the ingredients that you use on a regular basis, and keep stocked up on them.

Make vegetables the easy way. Most dishes are even better when veggies are thrown into the mix. We try to eat vegetables every evening, so I have become pretty creative in slashing the task in half. Don’t be afraid to throw vegetables into skillet meals, or mix them up with dishes. This will save on washing an extra pot. My family just recently discovered steam fresh vegetable bags. They steam in the microwave in a matter of minutes, which makes the task of adding veggies to the menu even easier. Look for them in your grocery store’s frozen vegetable isle.

There are plenty of ways to save you time in the kitchen, and spend a little more time enjoying meals with your family. Try out different techniques, and stick with what works. You don’t have to feel guilty for not making fancy dishes, as long as your family enjoys what you cook. In this day and age, you should feel good about the fact that you are cooking for your family, instead of eating out.

Daily Housekeeping Schedule

Monday – Take apart and clean stove top; clean all appliances; do all bedding laundry.

Tuesday – Dust; Clean all surfaces; clean TV screens, computer monitors, and mirrors; Do clothing laundry (me and spouse).

Wednesday – Sinks; bathtubs/showers; toilets; do all towel and washcloth laundry.

Thursday – Hard floors; do children’s laundry.

Friday – Carpets and rugs; do me and spouse’s laundry.

Saturday – Maintain; Set out bibles, diaper bag, & church items tonight.

Sunday – This day is for The Lord. Keep it holy and use this as a day of rest.

Emergency Quick Clean

The Emergency Quick Clean is from www. keepingthehome.com
Please stop by and thank Candy!

Maybe you’ve been extensively busy, or there was a death in the family, etc. Now as you look around your house, you wonder how in the world it got to be such a mess! You have company coming over soon (or you’re just plain sick of the mess), so you have to get that house cleaned, and quick.

The Emergency Quick Clean can help you, but please remember, this is only for emergency occasions, when you’ve fallen behind on your housework, and don’t have time to take a week to clean up the whole house.

Depending on the extent of your messes, the Emergency Quick Clean will generally take you 10 minutes to 2 hours or so. The steps in this process are in a specific order, so that as you complete each step, your house is considerably better. That way, if your company arrives before you’re done, it’ll be close enough.

Emergency Quick Clean – step by step

1. First things first – Go to each toilet in your house, lift the seat, and put in toilet bowl cleaner. Let it sit in your toilets, as you go through the next few steps. We’ll come back to the toilets later.

2. Go into your kitchen, and wash your dishes. If you have a dishwasher, then use it. It’s one of your many “servants”.

3. Go to every sink in your house, and spray them all down with spray cleaner, and let sit. We’ll get back to the sinks later.

4. Depending on the amount of mess in your house, this step may be the longest one for you… Go through every room in your house, and throw away any trash, and put away things that have wandered away from their homes.

5. The hard part’s over. Grab a washcloth, and a spray cleaner, and wipe down your kitchen/dining room table, kitchen counters, and bathroom counters.

6. Get back to those toilets and sinks! Time to wipe them down, the cleaner has been sitting in them long enough.

7. Almost done! Grab your broom, and do a quick sweep of your kitchen and bathrooms. This is a quick sweep – that means you just sweep the middles of the floors. Don’t worry about moving chairs, ect, just sweep around them.

8. Time to spot mop. Turn on the hot water in your kitchen sink, get your mop wet, then look at the floor for messy spots, mop over each messy spot. Remember, this is an Emergency Quick Clean, so we’re not mopping the whole floor, just the visibly dirty spots. Now do this in your bathrooms as well.

9. Quick Vacuum time… Vacuum your living room and dining room. Focus on the middles. Don’t worry about the edges, or under furnature, ect.