It's Me Again

OK, don't shoot me.  It's been a while since I've blogged.  Life happens.  Since my last post in July 2009, we've added another redhead to our family, and the two of them keep me quite busy! I have been enjoying every minute with them, though.  And while our little family has been growing, I find that my values and desires are changing.  I've been longing for a simpler way of life.  I want to get back to the basics.  I've been paring down our possessions.  I've been moving away from processed foods in favor of more whole, natural foods.  Even though we've moved twice since my last post, we are still not settled, and I've been planning for our permanent, efficient, minimalist home.  OK, as minimalist as a home can be with two little ones.

That said, I've found quite the inspiring book for getting back to the basics--for becoming self-sufficient.  The Backyard Homestead has been my dream book.  While reading it, I dream of owning my own mini-farm with 2 goats for all things dairy (Did you know that a cow produces 9 gallons of milk per day??  That's a bit much for us), chickens (I've already been looking for custom slaughter houses--I don't think I could do that myself), a large vegetable garden, fruit trees, fresh herbs, and maybe even a wheat field.  Oh, my goodness!  Just thinking about it makes my head swim with the possibilities!  I know.  This isn't your average suburban mom's dream.  Why not just head to Wal-mart and pick up what you need?  Because the more I research, the more beneficial it seems to me to know where my food is coming from.  Not that I don't trust the FDA...or the government, for that matter.  (Smirk.) I'm just a bit of a control freak.  Just a little.  Really.

Anyway, if you have any interest in producing any of your own food, this is definitely the book for you.  It is simple and easy to understand.  It provides plenty of information to whet your appetite and gives you the resources to finish the job.

Book Review: Gardening Eden

Over the last year, I've toyed with making our household more green and trying to cut out waste while making things healthier for our family. I've taken baby steps and changed quite a bit about the way that we live. Most of what I cook is from scratch, which eliminates excess packaging (and extra preservatives and other unwanted chemicals). I've switched to homemade cleaners, which are much safer considering I have a little one running behind me. I started a compost bin, which helps reduce trash, but also creates an organic fertilizer for the garden I've started. I'm hoping to reduce our grocery bill by growing some vegetables at home.

Honestly, my primary motivation for this whole movement has been money, or lack thereof. By making these small changes, I have already saved us a TON of money. We've slashed our grocery bill in half. I know that according to proponents of global warming, the world will come to an end if I don't start making changes, but that was not the reason I decided to make changes. Granted, there are other benefits for making lifestyle changes, and that's where Gardening Eden enters for me.

Gardening Eden by Michael Abbaté is written from a Christian perspective detailing why we should make our homes and lifestyles greener according to God's word, which is what our compass should be anyway. Included within its recycled pages are biblical reasons to motivate us to care for the amazing creation that God has entrusted to us, along with realistic baby steps on all levels that you can take to make changes that really matter. My favorite quote from the book says, "If we recognize the true goodness endowed in Creation by the Creator, how can we not be impelled to appreciate, respect, and protect it as His wonderful gift to us?" (pg. 32). I was honestly convicted as I read through the pages thinking, "Why have I not done more, sooner?"

I have established several of the practices he recommends in the book, such as cooking at home, eating less, turning the thermostat down, changing out standard light bulbs for CFLs, and avoiding disposables. Some of the suggestions he makes are in process. Environmentally-friendly landscaping is something we are looking into, and shortening the length of our showers is happening on most days. I'm getting ready to start a larger compost pile that will hold everything that could be composted.

Some of his suggestions just didn't pan out for me, even after research. I looked into joining a Community Supported Agriculture group, but the cost for CSAs from local farms is prohibitive for us right now, considering the vegetables we eat are a bit limited. Buying a more efficient car isn't on the docket right now, either. Although we would eventually like to trade our X-Terra for something that doesn't use as much gas, replacing it isn't an option right now. But following every tip wasn't Abbaté's point. He wanted to make you think about the lifestyle changes that you could take, emphasizing that every step toward a greener lifestyle was another way to worship the One who created everything for us.

Overall, this was a GREAT book, giving me lots of ideas to help this become a permanent change in our home and not just a fad. We are called to work and take care of the garden He has given us. I know after reading it, I'll be scrutinizing my decisions more carefully. Happy Earth Day!

Altering a shirt that is too short

In my closet, I have a lot of shirts that are just too short for my taste. I prefer to think that over the years they have shrunk. I have toyed with a lot of ideas for turning these shirts into useful items, you know, to help save the planet and everything. I actually made Kaelan a hat and scarf set out of three t-shirts. She's not particularly fond of wearing the scarf, but if I can get her mind off the scarf, she's fine. Anyway, I digress. For these shirts, I decided to see if I could fix the length.

I started with one plain white long sleeve t-shirt that hit right at the top of my pants and one brown t-shirt that was entirely too tight to be worn in public. Anyone know how to turn these pictures around?Using my handy dandy rotary cutter and mat (to avoid slicing my hardwood floor) I cut the brown shirt right across the chest under the armpits. This creates a tube which I shortened by turning wrong sides together.
I then pinned the right side of the brown tube around the right side of the white shirt as shown below.
Make sure the yucky edges of the brown shirt (that you cut) are matched up nicely with the bottom of the good t-shirt. Next you're going to sew across the bottom of the three layers.

There are some things to note when you do this.

• Make sure that you sew above the seam on the shirt so that it doesn't show when you're finished.
  
• Make sure if one shirt is smaller than the other one that you create darts by folding one shirt over (you can see this in the picture below). I chose to do this on the seams on the sides of the shirt. If you do this, make sure that the darts face the back of the shirt and not the front.

When you are finished, you might want to trim down the extra fabric along the seam. This was my finished product. Again, anyone know how to turn these pictures around?? So sorry!!
Hopefully you, too, can help save the planet and turn around global warming (cooling??) by refashioning a shirt.

Making Laundry Detergent

I thought I would try again to make my own laundry detergent. My first attempt produced some cloudy sludge that I used, but was not thrilled with. This attempt was better and so far I'm pleased with the results. It was super-easy and not nearly as messy as the first version. This is the recipe I would recommend.
What you need:
1 bar of soap grated into small pieces
1 cup of baking soda
1 cup of Borax

Combine above ingredients. Use 1 tablespoon per load of laundry. Ta-da. You're done.

I used Dove the first time and the smell wasn't quite as strong as I was hoping for. This time I chose Irish Springs, and I LOVE the fresh smell that greets me when I open the container (even though I don't like the smell for my showers). I grated the bar into small pieces and then put it into our blender to make the pieces microscopic. When this is done, mix with 1 cup of Borax (I found this in the laundry aisle at Wal-mart) and 1 cup of baking soda. Yes, I know that some sites suggest washing soda, but a) I couldn't find any at any of the stores I tried, and b) I read that it can be quite caustic and so I opted to go for the safest, most environmentally friendly route.