Archive for Homemaking
28 ways to save on food
Posted by: | CommentsI found a great article the other day at Money Talks News that shared 28 ways to save on food. Many of them I already try to put into practice such as… don’t shop when you’re hungry, buy generics, make stuff from scratch rather than buying prepared, etc., but there were many great tips that I hadn’t thought of in awhile or were new to me. Check it out and see what you think! Maybe it can help you save money at the grocery store. 
Super Simple Fruit Cobbler
Posted by: | CommentsI have a recipe for Fruit Cobbler that is SO good and SO easy! If you’d like to try it yourself and see how yummy it really is try this recipe! Then come back and tell me if you liked it!
Fruit Cobbler
1/2 c butter – melt in bottom of 9×9 pan
1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar – mix these three ingredients in a bowl
3/4 c milk – add this to the dry ingredients, mix, and pour into pan
3-4 c berries – spread across the top of the batter (I use different kinds of berries – this last time I used the triple berry blend from Aldi)
1/2 c sugar – sprinkle over the top of the berries
1/2 c water – pour over the top
Bake @ 350 degrees for 50 minutes. YUM!
Does your house need to be cleaned?
Posted by: | CommentsI don’t know about you but I can find it a little overwhelming to try to keep my whole house clean – and I don’t mean “surface” clean but “deep” clean. To try to take a day to really clean house can be exhausting so rather than get it done it usually just stays the way it is. Until last year that is. I got a neat idea from someone else and kind of ran with it and the list below is what I came up with. I have this on my computer and I print the list out and have it in a binder that has some things like this in it. I can open this up each and day look at what needs to be done, go take care of one thing on the list (sometimes more if something was really quick and/or easy), and then highlight it so I know it’s been done. Once the list has been completely highlighted I know the whole house has gone through a cycle where everything was completely cleaned. Then I print a new one and start all over again. That way every month or two everything gets cleaned really well. Of course, some things we do daily and/or weekly. It really wouldn’t do to leave the floors or bathrooms undone for a month or more. That would be a little gross! 
I’ve really liked this system and it’s worked really well for me. If you need help in this area, save my list to your computer and tweak it to fit your house. You might just love it!
Deep Cleaning List
Kitchen
Clean refrigerator
Clean freezer
Clean/organize pantry
Clean plate cabinet
Clean spice cabinet
Clean pitcher cabinet
Clean under sink
Clean pot/pan cabinet
Clean extra dish cabinet
Clean pot/pan drawer
Clean oven
Clean stove
Dust top of cabinets
Clean toaster oven
Clean glass/cup cabinet
Clean Tupperware cabinet
Kids’ rooms
Clean closets
Clean shelves
Clean desk
Office
Clean out desk
Clean top of desk
Clean off table
Clean under desk & table
Clean bookshelf
Clean closet
Clean out file cabinet
Laundry Room
Clean under washer
Clean under dryer
Straighten top shelf
Clean bookshelf
Clean game shelf
Clean top of dryer
Dining Room
Clean trash can
Clean buffet
Clean chairs
Clean spoons/spoon rack
Clean movie stand
Clean TV stand
Headboard
Clean under bed
Master Bedroom
Clean under bed
Clean out chest
Clean under couch
Clean TV unit
Master Bathroom
Clean out cabinet
Clean out medicine cabinet
Wash shower curtain
Clean out basket
Master Closet
Go through clothes/shoes
Clean out drawers
Clean top of chest
Clean under/around chest
Straighten stuff on shelf
Hall Bathroom
Clean out cabinet
Clean out medicine cabinet
Wash shower curtain
Clean basket
Living Room
Clean out desk
Vacuum under furniture
Clean coat closet
Clean TV stand
Vacuum furniture
Summer cooking
Posted by: | CommentsIt seems like every summer I go through a cooking slump. (Actually I do it more often than just in the summer but for the purposes of this post will go with the summer slump. 
) I just get to the point that I don’t know what to make (I’m not the kind of person that makes the same things all the time – I like variety), I don’t want to stand in front of a hot stove/oven besides – it heats the house up too much, and I just don’t have the motivation to figure out what to make.
I have several great cookbooks that I really like:
Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, 75th Anniversary Limited Edition
This is my favorite cooking magazine EVER! It’s awesome!
Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook
As I was working on my post for the Chocolate Revel Bars, I was looking at the website for Better Homes & Gardens and discovered some neat features. They have a a tab called “summer suppers” and under that tab I liked these two: 20 minutes suppers and 7 ingredient (or less) suppers. I’m anxious to try out some of these recipes! I’m always looking for quick and easy meals – especially in the summer!
Has anyone made any of these before?
Chocolate Revel Bars
Posted by: | Comments
I made these for the first time recently and made them again this week and my family just LOVES them! They are pretty easy to make and they are so tasty! Here is the recipe if you’d like to make them yourself:
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter or margarine
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1 14-ounce can (1-1/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12-ounce package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate pieces
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
1. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the butter or margarine. In a large mixing bowl beat the remaining butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar; beat until well mixed. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. In another large bowl stir together flour and baking soda; stir in oats. Gradually stir dry mixture into beaten mixture. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan combine the reserved butter or margarine, the sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate pieces. Cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in walnuts and the 2 teaspoons vanilla.
3. Press two-thirds (about 3-1/3 cups) of the oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15×10x1-inch baking pan. Spread chocolate mixture over the oat mixture. Using your fingers, dot remaining oat mixture over the chocolate.
4, Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned (chocolate mixture will still look moist). Cool on a wire rack. Cut into 2×1-inch bars. Makes about 75 bars.
Recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.
The Dinner Solution
Posted by: | CommentsHas anybody heard of this program or used it? I first read about it here. It looks really cool! It helps you make menus, grocery lists, balanced meals, and more! The only drawback is the price. 
It’s $59.99 and, while it’s probably well worth it, I just can’t afford to spend that much on something extra right now. I’d love to hear thoughts from anyone who’s used it though!!
A Poem to Encourage Mothers
Posted by: | CommentsI read this at The Homeschool Channel blog. It’s an awesome poem!
A Poem to Encourage Mothers
by Nancy Campbell
There are those who would spurn the vocation of mothers
And say of careers, it’s inferior to others,
I’ll have to admit that it’s not easy work,
It’s relentless and from it you cannot shirk.
It takes all of your energy being a mother and wife,
Requiring daily commitment and a disciplined life,
It demands all your resources of patience and love,
Long-suffering and wisdom from the Father above.
It takes self-control and continual endurance,
It needs constant faith and great perseverance,
It means total sacrifice, forgetting your self,
Sometimes you think that you’re left on the shelf!
And what about time? It’s no longer yours,
It belongs to all those who come in your doors.
Claim your own rights? No, they’re all gone too,
Like your right to sleep the whole night through!
It’s not so easy to crawl into bed with a book
Or go off and dream in some quiet little nook.
It seems like you’re totally losing your life
To be a good mother and a submissive wife.
But oh, faithful mother, please do not despair,
In God’s perfect plan you do have a share,
To fulfill your destiny planned from creation
Which is to nurture children and BUILD A NATION!
You’re walking in the footsteps of Jesus your Lord
Who sacrificed all, His life He out-poured,
He didn’t cling to His rights with selfish futility
He didn’t claim any privilege but walked in humility.
He gave up His life to save millions of others,
This principle works in the lives of all mothers,
When you lose your own life you’ll find it again,
A rewarding life, without guilt or shame.
So lift up your head, embrace your calling so high,
You’re in God’s perfect will, there’s no reason to sigh!
You may often feel worthless – don’t listen to this lie,
Your influence goes higher than the clouds in the sky!
As you nurture and train your God-given seed,
As you sharpen these ‘arrows’ by word and by deed,
You shape the nation – you determine its course,
Your mothering’s not wasted, it’s a great mighty force!
As your children leave home and go into the world
The proof of your training will soon be unfurled
You’ll influence countries where you’ve never been,
And down the generations its effect will be seen.
Your work is so powerful, no wonder it’s tough,
But God is behind you, He’s the GOD WHO IS ENOUGH,
His strength and His wisdom He will give to you,
He stands by His promises which are totally true.
He’ll always be with you right through to the end
As you follow His leading and deny the world’s trend,
Each morning you wake, your strength He’ll renew.
He’ll fill your home with His presence and His blessed peace too.
Some more great tips for household management
Posted by: | CommentsI wanted to share a little more about household management from the material I talked about the other day. There are so many things that are kind of common sense things but a lot of times we just don’t think of them until someone points them out to us. Since I loved so many of the ones I learned I wanted to share them with you. Some of these things are things I do and some were things they suggested. All of them work well for me!
Laundry:
1. Run one load of laundry a day if possible so that it doesn’t pile up and you don’t have to spend an entire day doing it.
2. The expensive detergents are really better. I know some people have allergies and such and have to buy certain kinds but if you don’t you can use the cheapest detergent and it works just as well. That’s what I do!
Grocery Shopping:
1. Make a menu and grocery list before you go
2. Saving Dinner and Kraft have great ideas/menus that you can use for meal planning.
3. Keep a notepad hanging on the side of your fridge and as you run out of things write it down so that you remember to get them all next time you go to the store.
Gifts:
1. Keep a list of what your family/friends like so when it’s time to buy a gift for them you can refer to the list for good ideas.
2. Stock up on good generic gifts when you see them on sale and keep them on hand for when you need them.
Car organization:
(I loved these ideas! It has made it very handy in the car!)
1. Keep grocery sacks in the car for trash bags or muddy feet.
2. Keep a small basket with items like wipes, hand sanitizer, pens/pencils, etc. for quick and easy use when you need them.
3. Keep insulated grocery bags in the car for when you need to grab things at the store that are cold while running errands. They usually keep things cold for a couple of hours or more.
Kitchen organization:
1. Keep a large decorative in your kitchen to hold recyclables until they are ready to go outside to the recycling bucket. It takes up less space than a trash can and looks nicer too.
2. If you are limited in drawer space, get a cute little basket for your potholders – then you have freed up a drawer plus your potholders can sit on the counter in the basket in very easy reach of the oven!
Household Management
Posted by: | CommentsI’m taking a little break from sharing about homeschooling fears because a new idea was on my heart to write about. I was in a great Bible study not too long ago that has some fabulous homemaking lessons. The Bible study was really great because every other week it had a lesson from Titus 2:3-5 which says:
3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
and on the other weeks we had a lesson on some type of homemaking skill. One of the ones that I loved was on household management. It gave me some really great ideas for taking care of my home. The verses for the skill sessions were Proverbs 31:10-31.
One of the most important things we can do is make sure that our husbands feel loved and appreciated when they get home from work. My husband is a neat freak so one of the ways that I try to show him that I love and appreciate him is by having all of the clutter picked up in the living room and our bedroom before he gets home. When it was colder outside I would even light some candles to give the house a nice smell and ambiance for when he walked in the door. Now that it’s warmer outside and still light when he gets home I try to have the windows open for fresh air rather than the candles burning. I also try to have dinner ready or almost ready by the time he gets here. That way we can all sit down and eat dinner together and he doesn’t have to wait long if he’s really hungry. In your home this may look completely different. You just need to figure out what would make your husband feel loved and appreciated and then do that.
The really cool thing about all of this is that when I started doing all of these things my husband didn’t actually see me doing most of them since he’s at work but he did notice all the little things here and there and I could tell he was happier and more relaxed all the time. It really did make a difference between us – for the better.
Another thing they talked about in this lesson was meal planning and grocery shopping. Many of the things they talked about were things I already put into practice but I did learn a couple of new things. One important thing to do is always have a menu and meal plan. Even if you don’t think you can stick by it every day, if you have it there to consult it makes meal time go so much smoother. One of the ideas that was new to me was using 3×5 index cards and listing breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas on them. I did that and hung them on the fridge and now I can look at those to get ideas for those meals when I’m not sure what to make.
One more area that really helped me in this lesson was chores for my kids. They suggested a wonderful idea of having zones for the kids. I broke their room into seven zones and each day they are responsible for cleaning that zone. That way, when their room is really messy, they don’t get overwhelmed at the thought of having to spend hours and hours cleaning their room. If they tackle each area a day it only takes a little bit of time and the room never gets completely out of control. I will say that I can see a big difference in my daughter’s room on the day that her zone is her floor! She definitely doesn’t take after her daddy.
A special request
Posted by: | CommentsHey, all! How is everyone out there in bloggy land? Long time no see around here right! Well, life just keeps me pretty busy. Plus, I’ve been having a little more fun with my facebook page lately so I’ve kind of neglected this. Anyway, I have a question for you. I just recently got a Sam’s card again (after MANY years without one) and I was wondering if any of you have a “must have” list from Sam’s. Are there any things there that you think are super great deals? Anything that is better to buy there than anywhere else? If you have some ideas I’d love to hear them!!
And I actually have a couple of other ideas for posts so you may even see me on here again soon!
