Homemade Baby Wipes

I don't think I have blogged about this before so I thought I would let you in on a secret.  Store bought baby wipes are for the birds!  :)  There is a cheaper and HEALTHIER way.

Here goes:
Use a quality paper towel like Brawny (I have also found that Walmart's Great Value brand is fantastic).  Cut the roll in half so you have 2 short rolls.
You will need a container with a lid that one of the rolls will fit into.
Simply put 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol in the bottom of the container.  Now, place one of the cut rolls in the container.  Let it soak for 30 mins then pull the cardboard out of the center.  Remove the wipes starting from the center of the roll. 

Why so much trouble?  Why not just buy baby wipes?

Here are the ingredients of a certain name brand wipes:
water
Paraffinum Liquidum
Propylene Glycol
Oleyl Erucata
Phenoxyethanol
Glyceryl Oleate
PEG-40
Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Cetearth-20
Methylparaben
PEG-75 Lanolin
Cetylpyridinium Chloride
Butylparaben
Perfume

Do you know what all that is?  I didn't think so.  I'll break it down for you according to my research.
Paraffinum Liquidum- mineral oil
Propylene Glycol- Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=705315#
Oleyl Erucata
Phenoxyethanol- According to a warning by the FDA of 2008 "Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that is primarily used in cosmetics and medications. It also can depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in infants". 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenoxyethanol
Glyceryl Oleate
PEG-40- http://www.thesmartmama.com/understanding-labels-peg-40-hydrogenated-castor-oil-greenwashing/
Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Cetearth-20- Ceteareth-20 is the polyethylene glycol ether of cetearyl alcohol; may contain potentially toxic impurities such as 1,4-dioxane. Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Not safe for use on injured or damaged skin
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=701225
Methylparaben- Methylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=703937#
PEG-75 Lanolin- This ingredient is a chemically-modified form of lanolin, a fat-like sebaceous secretion of sheep. (Limited information available)
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/721898/PEG-75_LANOLIN/
Cetylpyridinium Chloride- It is an antiseptic that kills bacteria and other microorganisms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetylpyridinium_chloride
Butylparaben- Butylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors.

Human endocrine disruptor - strong evidence

Human skin toxicant - strong evidence

One or more animal studies show effects at very low doses

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=700868#
Perfume


Long story short....homemade baby wipes are cheaper AND healthier!  It's not hard.  So, get a roll of paper towels and a knife and get started!

Hot Temps and a Cooooold Freezer

It's super hot here.  We're doing all we can to keep our plants alive....and our chickens alive.  However, this heat is good for something!  Defrosting your freezer!  If you've read the "In the Kitchen"tab, you know that we have a tiny frig/freezer combo.  It's not an auto defroster so the little freezer section froze to a solid ice block.  Since it's tiny, we just wheeled it to the front yard and let it sit in the heat with the door open.  Several hours and a few hammer poundings later...we had a defrosted freezer.
Now, here's the purpose of this post...  We had lots of ice hunks on the sidewalk and we thought, "What could we do with these that would be purposeful and not let them go to waste?"  So we put ice hunks in our flower pots and around trees & bushes.

No matter what you are doing, try to think of ways you can re purpose things...even ice!

Using the Sun instead of Bleach

As you can imagine, cloth diapers get stained really fast.  Mr. Right saw my basket of clean cloth diapers one day and thought they looked terrible because they were so stained.  They were clean, they just didn't look like it.  He told me I should bleach them....well, I had bleached them.  Then I remembered being told (and reading) that the sun would bleach them and disinfect as well.  So that day, I hung a load of cloth diapers out to dry.  Within hours, they were dry and bright white!  It was like magic!

I couldn't believe it.  I never thought the sun would do such a good job.  From now on, if I need to whiten my whites I will hang them outside.  Plus, as a bonus, anything hung outside gets that nice outdoor smell! 

Keep this in mind...the more bleach you use in your washing, the more bleach that gets put in our water system.  The sun is free and non toxic so take advantage!

Homemade "Clif" Bars

Mr. Right and I bought some Clif Bars the other day.  We were away from home and needed an emergency snack.  Well, those things aren't cheap!  So, I decided to come up with a homemade version.  Here it is:
1/2 cup dates
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup peanuts
3/4 cup peanut butter
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup flax seeds

Process in food processor then press firmly into baking dish.  Refrigerate then cut into squares.

Yummy!

These are super good!  As you can tell, we started eating them before I could even get them cut into squares!

Chicken Mower

We like to be as resourceful as possible and when the grass/weeds/clover started getting tall in the backyard, we started brainstorming ways to use it to our advantage. 

As a result, Mr. Right came up with this...

He used PVC pipe, chicken wire and zip ties to create a chicken mower!  Most afternoons, he loads the girls up in the mower then drags it to a new spot in the yard that needs mowing.  They have done a great job at keeping our yard looking good!

This also means that they eat less chicken feed which makes keeping them even cheaper.  Whoo! 

The mower has a laying box mounted in the corner in case someone forgot to lay their egg that morning.  We also give them shade by clothes pinning a towel on top when they are in the sun.

I don't know if this is a result of the mower and all the grass the girls are eating but we did get 6 eggs today.  That means everyone laid one! 

Collecting Rain Water

We went for our usual walk and happened upon this barrel on the side of the road.  It's a 55 gallon barrel that has been cut in half.  We asked the lady whose house it was in front of if we could have it and she said yes.  So, Mr. Right carried the thing about half a mile back to our house. 

A container this big would normally cost a lot of money so we were happy to get it for free! 

We decided to use it to collect rain water.  We collected a whole barrel full in one day!  We look forward to learning more about collecting rain water and hopefully watering our garden this way as much as possible.

We haven't watered anything with it yet because the ground is still so wet from the rain.  However, Ranger loves it and thinks it's so much better than the tap water we fill his bowl with.  Smart dog!

Bolting

It's always nice to learn something new and if it's about gardening...I really like to learn something new!  I have wondered for a year why I can't grow cilantro.  First, I learned that I planted it at the wrong time.  Second, I learned that when the weather warms up above 80 degrees for several days, mature plants like greens and such think their growing time is over so they grow a seed stalk.


That's exactly what my cilantro does.  It's a cool season crop so it hasn't done well when I plant it in the summer.  It grows a little then sends up that seed stalk.  That's called bolting. 

So, just a reminder to do a little research before you start putting seeds in the ground! 

80 degrees is your enemy with cool season plants!

Hanging Clothes out to Dry

I have decided that one of my favorite things to do is hang clothes out to dry.  Since the weather has been so nice, I decided it was time to string up the clothesline again. 

This is a great, natural, money saver.  Maybe my dryer has something wrong with it but when I timed it the other day, it took an hour for a load to dry.  An hour?!  What does that cost? 

I haven't used my dryer in days.  I wash clothes as soon as I get up then go hang them outside.  Usually by lunch, they are dry.  Of course, the more wind the better because it basically beats the wrinkles out of everything.  On calm days, the clothes just hang there and become stiff.  We don't mind though.  I just do a quick iron over our clothes and everything else stays stiff.  We call towels that were hung dry "exfoliating."  It sounds nicer than "stiff."  :)

I would encourage you to do this too.  Save money...save the planet.  Plus, it's extremely fulfilling to hang your clothes out!

Lasagna Gardening

Have you ever heard of Lasagna Gardening? 

Gardening in layers is like making lasagna!

This is a neat method of gardening that Mr. Right and I heard about a year ago but we didn't look too far into it.  Well, since I have been reading Vegetable Gardening for Dummies, I have learned more about it.  We are going to give it a try this year.  Here's what it is...it's a no-till method of gardening.  Which means that you save money by not having to buy/borrow a tiller and gas for it PLUS it makes you "greener" because you aren't burning fossil fuels just to till.  Here is what the book says about it...

"It's like making lasagna.  The season before planting, lay down a 3-4 sheet thick layer of black and white newspaper over the garden area.  Water the paper to keep it in place.  Cover the newspaper with a 6-inch-thick layer of hay or straw.  Top that with a 1- to 2-inch-thick layer of compost.  By the next planting season, the layers will have killed the grass and most of the annual and perennial weeds in your garden."  from Vegetable Gardening for Dummies

 Pretty neat, huh?  We decided to try it this year because we just paid about $30 in manure for the garden today.  That's heartbreaking for frugal people like us.  With lasagna gardening, you enrich the soil by compost...not purchased manure.  I don't ever want to purchase manure again!

We're going to divide our garden plot up into four beds.  That way, we can lasagna garden the beds and not the whole garden.  There is no need for our pathways to have expensive manure spread on them.

I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

The Perfect Gift

Mr. Right always knows how to buy the perfect gifts.  Some husbands probably just buy their wife flowers or jewelry but Mr. Right can always hit the nail on the head.  The hard part for him is I’m not a typical wife…I guess.  Jewelry and expensive things do nothing for me. 

Yesterday he gave me the gift of the year; the gift that tops all gifts.  Curious yet?  He gave me the book Vegetable Gardening for Dummies.  Now, my husband doesn’t think I’m a dummy but he knows how badly I’ve been wanting to learn about gardening.  We have planted a garden for two years in a row and we haven’t been as successful as I would like to have been.  I didn’t know what to do.  I have tried to look up tips online, talk with Grandpa and I have even printed out charts but still felt like I knew nothing.  Well, let me tell you, Vegetable Gardening for Dummies  is an excellent book.  I can’t hardly put it down.  It discusses how to plant, care for, and harvest your vegetables, how to plot your garden and prepare the soil, composting, combating pests with environmentally friendly methods, money saving tips, when to plant, variety types, watering…you name it.  I was THRILLED to get this book…to say the least. 

My goal this year is to grow enough tomatoes to can LOTS.  We have scaled down the garden this year so we can focus on just a couple crops.  One thing we did wrong as newbies was plant too much.  We planted the entire produce aisle and didn’t get very far.  My plan is to slowly get better over the years by mastering just a few things each year then adding something to the garden the following year.

We will start tilling next weekend.  Well, Mr. Right will start tilling next weekend.  I don’t think my 31 week pregnant belly should be running a tiller.  But, I can’t wait to get in the dirt!  

I want to do more of this over the summer...

Window Farming

Well, I have Spring Fever.  It’s so dreary outside but I would really like to start gardening!  Too bad it’s February!  So…I started window farming.  I had some old seeds from last year and I decided to see if they would grow.  We bought some potting soil and I planted them in plastic cups.  I planted tomatoes, cilantro, and lettuce.  If it all grows, maybe be can transplant it in the Spring!

If you garden, starting seeds early will save you a lot of money.  It's cheaper to buy seeds and start them now then it is to buy plants later.

How To De-Bone a Chicken...My Way

I’m sure there are technical ways to do this but I just do it the way I like.  When I de-bone a chicken, my goal is to get all the meat off.  I don’t go for presentation points because I’m just going to chop it up and use it in a recipe anyway.  Now, if you were going to make fried chicken or something where you need whole pieces of uncooked chicken…then that’s a different story.  Check out this link on how to do that.

So here goes…  I start with a whole chicken that I have boiled. (I freeze the broth for later use.)   

I start by removing the breasts.  I usually just cut these off with a knife.  Then I use two forks to remove the rest of the meat from the bones leaving as little as possible behind.  

Breasts and white meat

 I don’t like dark meat so I separate that for Mr. Right (he likes it) and keep the white meat for me.  Be sure to remove all the skin, also.  It will peel off very easily.

Dark meat

It’s a simple process.  Leave nothing behind...

Homemade Self-Rising Flour

So, you have a recipe that calls for self-rising flour and you don't have any.  No worries!  Make your own.

Here's a 1 cup recipe:

1c whole wheat flour
1tsp baking powder (we buy aluminum free)
1/2 tsp salt (real salt)
1/4 tsp baking soda

Problem solved.  You're welcome.

Dry Laundry Detergent

Back in October, I posted about making homemade liquid laundry detergent.  Well, for a small family, I've found that this recipe can go kind of sour after a year of having it.  I guess you could just make a smaller batch but I've grown to like a dry powder version.

I use the same recipe sans liquid:

1 Fels Naptha soap bar, grated

1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)

½ cup Borax

 

 

 

Then, I use 1 tablespoon per load.  That's roughly 32 loads for maybe $2.  not bad, huh?!

 

 

Breakfast Menu

Something new I've discovered is I like to keep a breakfast menu.  I cook breakfast each morning for Mr. Right and myself so it makes the mornings go much smoother if I have a plan.  This way, I can have the table set and breakfast on the table by the time he makes it to the kitchen.  I even light a candle.  :)  Hey, he works hard all day and should get to start his mornings off right!  Plus, he's so handsome...I just can't resist.

Let's name these eggs "Tuesday", "Thursday" and "Friday" :)

Here is my menu:
Sunday: fruit, yogurt, homemade sausage biscuits
Monday: baked oatmeal (tasty and economical)
Tuesday: Omelet and homemade hashbrowns (or oven baked potatoes)
Wednesday: baked oatmeal
Thursday: pumpkin muffins (his fav), eggs
Friday: sweet potatoes (mashed or oven baked), eggs
Saturday: pancake day! and yogurt

I feel like sticking to a menu also helps keep things natural.  You won't need to grab something quick and unhealthy because you're out of ideas. 

Give it a try.  :)

Bulk Food from Country Life

Eating natural is something I enjoy.  Something I don't enjoy, however, is grocery shopping (plus, some of these things can't be purchased at the super market).  So, in case you are interested, here is a list of things we order in bulk from Country Life Natural Foods.

Sucanat 

Garlic, Powder, Domestic  17oz

Peanut Butter, Smooth, NS  35#

Whole Wheat Flour, Prairie Gold, CCF (white) 10#

Tortilla Chips (non GMO) Yellow OG, Whole Grain  16oz

Real Salt 

Cornmeal (non GMO) yellow, OG (whole grain w/ germ) 25#

Navy Beans, OG 25#... will last you a long time

Peas, green split 25#

Sunflower seeds (raw) 5#

Peanuts, Spanish, RNS 25#

Raisins, black flame, large 30#

Rumford Baking Powder (Aluminum free) 5#

Coconut oil 50#... lasts us one year

Yeast, SAF- Instant Red (Baking) 1#

Oats, Regular Rolled 25#...lasts us a year and a half

Pineapple dices, low sugar, IMP 5#

I think that’s it.  The things in bold are what I would consider “must haves” and would suggest getting them to start with. 

We mix peanuts, raisins, (dried pineapple when we order it), and sunflower seeds and eat as a healthy snack.  This is something we always have a jar of in the car for road trips.

Homemade Baking Powder

So, you ran out of baking powder?  No prob, Bob!  Here's a homemade recipe...

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Whammo!  You've got some baking powder.

So, carry on.  Finish baking whatever you started without having to run to the store.

P.S. washing soda isn't a good substitute!

Cloth Diapers

You might have guessed it....  When the baby gets here, we'll be cloth diapering.  I just can't stand the thought of buying all those disposables then filling the land fill with them.  eh.

Cottonbabies.com

 Cloth diapers aren't what they used to be.  Now, they are very absorbent, easy to use diapers.  We registered for ours at cottonbabies.com.  There are so many kinds and colors to choose from!  I got so excited registering for them.  Now, just a few (ok, a bunch) more weeks till we have a sweet baby to put in them.

I feel good knowing we'll be saving money and plastic!  Plus, in case the world ever runs out of plastic....we'll still have diapers.  ;)

Growing a Family "Pet"

I have tried making a sour dough bread starter before and it didn't work.  Well, I talked to my sister-in-law yesterday and she got me excited about it again.  So, I'm giving it another go.  A starter is basically a collection of living yeast that you feed and use to make bread.  It takes the place of using store bought yeast.  There are several ways of starting a starter and one way is to collect wild yeast.  That's what I'm doing. 

To collect wild yeast, you mix some flour with water in a bowl, cover it with a breathable cloth, feed it each day and transfer it to a clean bowl then it supposedly gathers wild yeast from the air.  hmm.  I started mine yesterday.  I noticed it smelling sour this morning (which is a good thing) so maybe it's working.

Our new family pet

You can't use any metal utensils or bowls while doing this which is really hard for me.  I like to whisk things (I'll admit it) and my whisk happens to be metal.  I whisked the pet this morning a few rounds before I remembered so hopefully I didn't kill it.

Once the starter is made, you feed it and it makes bread for you.  That sounds like a deal to me!  Sounds like more of a giving pet then those hens that aren't laying.

I'll keep you posted...

Cheap or Earth Friendly? You decide!

At our house, we call these napkins.  I found that buying paper towels/napkins wasn't economical so we were excited when we found these on sale one day.  We got 18 for $3!  Now, this is what we use at the supper table for a napkin.  I joke with guests that we're trying to save the world, one cloth napkin at a time.  :)

So what do you think?  Am I just cheap or would you do this too?