My Four Legged Familiars.

    I currently have 8 horses on my farm.  Each one has their own personality and uniqueness I love about them.  They also each represent a different part of me.  I didn't realize that they would each represent different parts of me when I adopted them, but the longer I have had them the more it becomes apparent.

     Louie is my quarter horse and the first horse I ever bought.  He was about a year old when I found him.  We were at the Waverly Horse Auction and I had one mission in mind: to buy a horse.  I had recently started on a path to my own freedom as I was waiting for my divorce to finalize.  I had never been to a horse auction before and my new boyfriend (now my husband) was very supportive in helping me to full fill my dreams.  He already had 2 horses of his own at home so to him it only seemed right for me to adopt one for myself if that was what I wanted to do.  My ex had never encouraged the slightest idea of owning a horse in fact the entire time I was with him I was barely able to be around horses.  Now things had changed, it was a new chapter in my life and time for a fresh start.  I dreamed of owning a horse my entire life and when the man walked into the sale ring with Louie rearing at the rope that led him some thing sparked inside me.  His coat reddish brown and his flaxen mane reminded me of a horse that John Wayne had once owned.  About ten minutes after Louie walked in the ring and several times of me waving my hand wildly in the air to bid, and I was shaking the hand of the seller and holding the papers to my new horse.   My original intentions with Louie were to train him to race barrels, but the longer I have had him the more I just like to pet him and allow him his freedom.  To me Louie represents the part of me that will need to be wild until I am ready to tame it.  He is stubborn, like me.  He loves attention but for only so long, and he loves to be around others of his kind.  He is very jealous of my husband, I think is mostly linked to the fact that he sees me as his mare, but he tolerates him because he knows how much I love them both.  In a way Louie saved me and I will forever be grateful to him for that.  He is the second most important adult male in my life after my husband being first.  One day I will get to sit on Louie's back and we will be able to share walks in the moonlight, but for now we both have some more growing up to do.

The rest of my horses are Miniatures, but that doesn't make their personalities miniature by any means.

Barney is the first miniature we brought home.  He was purchased with my daughter in mind but when my daughter fell in love with a mini we brought home later, Barney has become my oldest son's pet.  He is all black and larger than most minis and some days I truly believe he has a heart larger than most full size horses.  He has an innocence about him that reminds me of myself when I was probably about 10 years old.  I was always taller than most of the other kids in my class growing up, and at that young age I was very forgiving even when I shouldn't have been.  Even though he is very forgiving he can still be a little timid at times much like a child who is shy because they are meeting someone new.  He is also very curious and gets into everything,  2 winters ago he was bored and decided to get out of his stall and completely ransack by barn just for the sake of seeing what was in there.

Tink is our little painted mare that belongs to my daughter.  She has a deformity known as Knocked Knees thus making her different than most other horses and unwanted by most horse owners.  She also only trusts my daughter.  Tink hasn't exactly had an easy life and not just because she is visibly different.  She has lost two foals in her lifetime and before we brought her home she wasn't treated all that great by a man.  She reminds me of my self during the time I was with my ex.  She is that part of me that was a victim, that was wounded, not accepted for being different.  Tink gets very attached to her stable mates, much like how I often get too attached to different people in my life.  She is me when I felt I couldn't trust anyone.  With time she too will be able to trust again and my daughter holds similar importance to both Tink and I, so I truly believe she is the key to Tink coming out of her shell.

Bullseye is my youngest son's buddy.  He is ornery but very loving. He is like an awkward teenager just coming into puberty, he wants to be liked by everyone much like myself at that time in my life. He isn't really sure of himself at times, and usually really quite.  With a little encouragement he is willing to try new things.

Abby is my little bay beauty.  She is pretty, flashy, loves to have an audience, an nothing in the world can stop her.  She is me around the time I was 14-16 years old I had the world at me feet and I was going places, I loved to perform in plays and in band.  I was young, I felt beautiful and I was tenacious.  Abby next to Louie is my closest horse familiar.  She is very sweet but will let you know very quickly if you aren't doing something she is comfortable with.

Kiera is known on the farm as "Mama".  She is the first mare that has had a foal on our farm.  She looks like an older version of Abby.  She was very scared of the motherhood aspect but with a little time she has taken to it very well.  She is me when I was first becoming a mom and much like me now.  When she first had Zonni she had no idea what to do, we even had to help her learn to nurse her baby.  It took her a little bit to get used to the idea that she was responsible for another being but now she would protect Zonni with her life.  She is very good at putting the other horses in their place when they have forgotten what is appropriate.  She keeps a very close eye on things whenever someone is playing with Zonni, from time to time she has gotten a little forceful with my husband and myself but when it comes to the kids she is very well behaved.

Star is the king of the farm.  He is the oldest male and very territorial.  He is a very stunning buckskin color complete with the dorsal stripe.  He knows he is something special, he demands everything be done to his specifications and on his time schedule.  He can also be sweet and laid back.  He represents me now in several ways.  He is the part of me that has been around long enough to know what is wanted from life and what is needed as well.  Whenever something isn't quite right with him it shows in his physical appearance, much like myself.

Zonni is our baby.  She was born this past May and she is as cute as can be.  She is me in my toddler and younger childhood years.  She is curious and an escape artist.  When I was little there was not a piece of baby furniture or a car seat in the world that could have held me.  Zonni has found a way out of her pen no matter how we modified it.  She loves to play outside and gets very bored when she has to stay inside.  She loves her mom and does not like to be where she cannot see her.  She also loves to be cuddled and played with. She especially loves to play with the kids, I think she likes to play with them as much as they like to play with her.  Anytime we are doing something in the barn she has to be right there to see what you are doing.

Piece by piece they have let me see my life in a different light.  not all of them are cohesive with each other but they are all very important in their own ways.  I really feel that what we have is perfect if I had to loose a single one of them I would be heartbroken, but I also don't feel like I need anymore than what I have.  ;)

Where to start when it comes to being self-sustainable

  I can't tell you exactly how to become self-sustaining, I can't even tell that our home is completely self-sustaining.  I can tell you that we are in the beginning stages and I can share how we are doing it with tips we've learned from what we have done so far.
   Living on a farm does help, it isn't a requirement but it does help when it come to livestock and our water.  Since we live on a farm we have our own well, there for mother nature does the filtering for us, it doesn't have to go through a plant and be "cleaned".  I have seen ways on the internet to build your own water supply without using the city water, so I guess I would say: do a little research and you could probably come up with a way to have water without using the city supply.  Sometimes all it takes is a little creativity. 
    We also have the luxury of 5 acres to put whatever animals we see fit on.  That is something I wouldn't even have a clue what each city ordinance is, but it doesn't take much to ask around and do a little research.  Even if you can't have the animals in your own yard, having a friend that does have the animals is a plus.  We don't have our own chicken yet so we usually buy farm fresh eggs from a friend.  Supporting local farms is a good place to start.  As for larger animals for meat that is something that can easily be shared amongst friends as well.  My parents have helped friends who were raising 4H cows pay for the processing in exchange for meat.  
     Grow your own veggies, and plant a fruit tree or two.  Even with limit yard space there are many many ways to grow a garden.  The only wrong way is to not grow a garden ;) If you live in town you may want to check with your local city office to see if the have any specifics you have to follow dealing with where you plant your garden and so forth.  I have seen several things where people we fined or forced to move their gardens because they had planted them in their front yards.  Personally I think that is bogus!! Planting a garden is so awesome for many reasons and if it is my yard I should be able to do with it as I please.  At least they weren't leaving broken down cars and garbage pile up in their front yard.  If your city does have an ordinance, who knows you could be the one to help change it ;)
      I know not everyone can make or grow everything they could possibly need to be self-sustaining, but in my opinion every little thing you can do helps!  After doing some research on the internet and reading tons of articles I started to realize how easy it would be to make certain things for myself and that many of the things we buy in the store are truly luxury items.  Not to mention how harmful several of the things used to make these products can be extremely harmful to us and our environment.  Many of our health and beauty products fit into the line of luxury items.  . 
     Beauty products are definitely heavy on the luxury side of things.  Yes, I do where make-up.  That is one of the few things I do indulge in, and I haven't really found a way to make cosmetics to match the ones I buy.  As for lotions and and things of that nature, I have found ways to make a lot of them.  My list of homemade beauty supplies: lotion, chap stick, deodorant, face wash, shampoo, facial creams, body spray/perfume.  Most of the in-store varieties of the items contain harmful ingredients, just because it doesn't go in your body doesn't make it any less harmful.  After all the biggest organ of the human body is the skin, the layer that protects us so treat it well!  You can even make or buy feminine pads that are washable, and reusable.  I realize that it is the fact of having to wash things like feminine pads and cloth diapers is the main reason why people switched to disposable, to me it is no worse than cleaning up those potty training accidents or those yearly tummy flu messes.  As far as tampons are concerned..... I saw an article about a woman who found a moldy tampon in her box of tampons.  When she wrote to the company they told her it was no different than a mold found on vegetables and that she should not be concerned!  Really?!  If I won't eat moldy food I sure as Hell am not going to stick something that is moldy where the sun don't shine!
        There are many food items that can be made at home for a fraction of the price.  I have recently found recipes for different kinds of crackers, and I love baking bread.  Not everything made at home as a very long shelf life, but really I would rather make enough to use right away or freeze it verses ingest unnatural preservatives.  Condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise are also very easy to make at home and are better for you than what you can buy in the store.  A regular store bought bottle of ketchup has a staggering amount of sugar in it, it is actually amazing to me that there are any tomatoes in it at all.
       Laundry detergent is another on my list of things I can make myself for a lot less money.  I use a mixture of Borax, washing soda, and Fells Naptha bars.  I will do some looking and post the recipe I use.   As for fabric softener, I don't use liquid and if I use the dryer sheets I cut them in half and use a half a sheet per load.  Otherwise we are going to invest in buying some dryer balls or I am going to make some instead of using any fabric softener at all.   If I want my clothes to come out of the dryer scented I use herbal sachets from the lavender I grow in my flower bed.  These can be refreshed every so often with essential oils.  Of course when the weather is nice I use my clothes line.  If my basement was bigger I would have a clothes line in it as well for winter and rainy day use, but my basement is tiny so I have a drying rack for those few things I absolutely cannot put in the dryer.
     As for cleaning products....... I use a lot of vinegar.  Soaking orange peels in a jar of vinegar for a week or two, makes an awesome cleaning liquid.  You just strain off the liquid and put it in a spray bottle and use like you would any cleaning product.  I am careful not to use it on things I don't want stained because it could turn them a little orange.  For that stuff I just use diluted vinegar.  Baking soda is also in my cleaning kit, it works well on a lot of things, it is great for refreshing a stinking carpet just sprinkle it on let it sit for a few minutes and vacuum it away.  Some people even add herbs or essential oils to the baking soda to give their house a scent of their choice.
    So do some research and ask some questions, that is the best way to start ;)

When in doubt... Make it Yourself!

      Being a woman I tend to spend way to much money on things to make me more beautiful, smell better, ext.....   Well make-up isn't something I really want to spend time on making, but lotions, chap stick, the basic essentials has become a new part of my recipe book.  Our skin is used and abused on a daily basis, especially if you are like me and spend a lot of time outside or with your hands in soapy water cleaning things.   Basically by the end of the day I feel a little like I have alligator skin, and as much as I love lotion, it is something I spend way too much money on.  Chap stick, body spray, detangler also fit into the list of "I like to have but need to spend less money on" ;) I have been scoring the Internet looking for ways to make some of these items on my own, and for the price of raw organic materials I would save tons of money.  It is taking a little of trail and error on my part to find the recipes I like, or ones that aren't too complex for a busy mom of three who doesn't need to add more mess to piles that others leave for her......  So far I have been able to find recipes for chap stick and detangler that I really like, and I also came up with a recipe to put on chapped little faces do to colds or cold weather. 


Hair Detangler

• 1 1/4 cup  Distilled Water
• 1/4 cup   Dried Marshmallow Root
• 1 Tbsp  Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp   Olive Oil or Jojoba Oil
•  few drops of essential oil to make it the scent of your choice (Optional)

1. Combine marshmallow root and water in a small sauce pot and simmer over medium low heat for 15-30 minutes to allow mucilage to release.  The longer you let in simmer the thicker the mixture will be.
2. Remove pot from heat and allow mixture to cool
3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, cheese cloth, nylon, or teal towel.  Squeeze the strainer in order to extract all the goodness of the herb.  Reserve the liquid and compost the herbs.
4. Add vinegar and oils to the marshmallow root infused water.
5. Pour into a spray bottle, shake well prior to use.

I can't remember where I found this recipe, but when I do I will give credit where credit is due.  I had to add a little more distilled water once I put it in the spray bottle and I didn't have any essential oils to add a scent to it, but so far my daughter and I love it.  We both have semi-coarse hair so we battle tangles on a daily basis, and the apple cider vinegar isn't overpowering at all.  We really kinda like the scent of the apple cider vinegar.

The next recipe is for a something that is very similar to Gerber's Grins and Giggles Moisturizing Stick.  Living outside of a small town and 70 miles from the nearest city I have a hard time finding this stuff in the store.  The one stick I do have I bought in a Toys R Us store in Sioux Falls, SD, and I wasn't about to drive there every time I needed a new stick.  We have mostly done without it, but while trying to find a chap stick recipe that I liked or come up with my own, I accidentally made something that worked great on my chapped skin from constantly blowing my nose while fighting a recent cold.  When I figured it out I was thrilled, my poor kids' noses and cheeks are so chapped and sore in the winter and this will help with that immensely.

Chapped Face Stick

• 1oz stick of Beeswax
• 6-8 drops Glycerin
• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1/4 tsp Vitamin E Oil
• 7-10 empty chap stick tubes .15oz size

1. Melt beeswax, glycerin, and coconut oil in a glass measuring cup.  I usually do this with the double boiler method in a small pot of boiling water over my stove top, but you can do this at 30 sec intervals in the microwave. Do this until all components are completely melted.
2. Add vitamin E oil, if you add it during heating it will loose some of its beneficial properties.
3. Fill chap stick tubes with liquid and allow to set for a few hours.  They don't take long to set I just like to leave them alone for awhile so they are cooled all the way through.
4. Once set they can be applied like chap stick onto chapped skin.

Chap stick

• 1 1/2 tsp. Beeswax (.25oz) basically a fourth of a 1oz bar.
• 1 3/4 tsp. + 1/8 tsp. Coconut Oil
• 1 1/8 tsp. Cocoa Butter (raw not the kind you buy in the lotion section at the store)
• 3 tsp. Sweet Almond Oil
• 3 Capsules Vitamin E, oil squeezed out (I don't have the capsules so I used about 1/8 tsp)
• essential oils for scents, or flavored oils (both optional, I didn't use either)

1. Melt every thing in a small jar set in a pan of boiling water (don't melt over direct heat, it could burn or the wax could catch on fire!) Stir frequently.
2. When melted (don't cook too long! use as soon as melted to avoid grainy-ness), add fragrance (essential oils work well like lemon or peppermint- start with a few drops and work up from there you can always add more, or you can order flavors from places on the Internet.
3. Next fill the tubes completely to the very top. It contracts when cooled and form a little dip but you don't want to re-fill this, the layers might not adhere to each other and the top layer could slip off. It's also best not to re-melt the lip balm, it will get grainy.
4.  Let sit without moving until completely set up.

This recipe has a similar consistency to Burt's Bees when applied, that is why I like it.  Plus it is made with natural ingredients, I did it myself, and the cocoa butter makes it smell really good ;)

 

Update on 40 bag challenge

    I was going to keep to my day count but I lost track of what days were done when.  I got sick so I had to put things on hold for a little bit to let my body heal.  So anyway....... I have 16 tasks done and 23 1/2 bags of stuff pulled out!!! YAY!  I also have 2 rooms in my house finished, my living room and kitchen.  The living room was simple once I got the momentum going.  It just seemed really intimidating, it's not huge but it is larger than some of the other rooms in my house. I even rearranged the living room while I was at it, and cleaned under the furniture :S  With kids that is always an interesting task, you just never know what they are going to stuff in the couch cushions.  Hopefully we can get the one wall we put up in the living room finished so I can paint before winter hits. 
         We have slowly been remodeling or redecorating rooms in our house.  We don't have a particular order, we mostly go by what ever room I come up with an idea for first.   My kitchen was the first room I redecorated.  We started with the new laminate floors, next time I will not start with flooring instead I will start with the paint.  I actually didn't think I was going to repaint the kitchen but as we got to working on it I changed my mind.  Now all I have to do in it is make curtains and we want to build another cabinet for the microwave and some of our other small appliances.
     The kids' play room got a make-over next, mostly because it was a simple one.  I wanted a brighter color in it so it would be easier for the kids to see while playing, and we needed more storage space.  The walls went from a dark red color to a light peach, and my husband built a wonderful shelf system that the kids can store books and toy in. 
      I want to get the living room finished next, but I think I am going to get my bathroom done.  It won't take as much time to finish it mostly just needs a fresh coat of paint and the cabinets moved.  I made curtains for the lonely window in it last summer, and we also put new flooring in it not to long ago.  Words of caution when redoing a bathroom..... Don't put carpet in your bathroom especially if you have small children.  My boys missed the toilet a few times, and all of my kids have splashed in the tub before.  Needless to say when it gets hot and muggy the carpet can really start to stink, and no matter what I used to clean it, it didn't get all of the smell out.  So when we decided to redo the floors sin the bathroom we went with 1'x1' laminate tiles with sticky backs so all we had to do was peel and stick.

Day 6: 40 Bag Challenge

The Coat Closet........

         It is amazing the junk one can pile in a closet that they rarely use!!!  I found baby stuff in my closet, and Tristan is 4 years old now.  The kids had shoes stashed in it that they haven't been able to wear for years.  Prom dresses and I graduated high school 10 years ago.  So all in all I was able to pull about 3 1/2 bags of stuff out of the coat closet!!  Can you tell I come from a long line of hoarders ;) I call my self a pack rat but the truth is I would almost qualify to be on that TV show about hoarders, and me kids are following closely in my footsteps.  At least I can recognize the problem and fix it before it gets too out of hand. 
       I hold too much meaning into material items.  My husband has been a major help in learning to let go.  Mostly because I would rather have him and my children than all of the "stuff" or money in this world!  And my in-laws being hit by a tornado a year ago was a major eye-opener too.  As they say "He who dies with the most stuff, still dies".  Why hold on to a t-shirt that I no longer fit into, but has sentimental meaning that is really kind of dumb.  There is no reason! I can either make it into a t-shirt quilt with some of my other "old" shirts or give it to Goodwill.  At least if I turn it into a quilt it becomes useful again, instead of wasting space.  Some stuff I realized that I have a picture of me with or wearing that item so no need to keep the item.  As long as I don't end up with 500 million photographs I am doing okay ;) I also don't mean a random meaning less picture of that item, I am talking about the ones that are of a special moment,t like prom pictures of me and my friend dancing in our dresses.  It reminds me of a Sponge Bob Square Pants episode where Sponge Bob became one of those strange hoarders that was keeping every piece of garbage, and when forced to get rid of the garbage ended up taking pictures of everything and ended up with just as many pictures as he had garbage ;)
       So anyway back to the closet...... I made room for the adult coats that get used and room for the kids to put coats that are for a different season in.  Then we have a crate in the bottom to hold ball gloves, and bike helmets.  The top for now has extra blankets in it, and I made room for my vacuum in the bottom.  It has gone from a closet that I never use, to one I will use almost every day.
      I can't even begin to tell people how good it feels to have gotten rid of so much junk already. I have 10 days worth of tasks done leaving me with 30 tasks left, but I already feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.  I have also noticed day to day changes as well.  While sewing tiny scrapes are no longer stashed in a box with the idea that I might use them.  I keep ones that I know I can use somewhere, but some of the small ones I find a use and use it right away or I pitch it.  The kids' school papers have not piled up yet, and usually by this time I have a stack started and I wait to go through it till the next summer.  So far I have looked them over and if they are not ones I deem important I get rid of them. 
     I also look at the fact that some day my time on this earth will end and whatever I leave behind, my kids will have to go through and divide amongst them.  So why leave them a mountain of junk they didn't want in the first place!!  The older I get the more I have to take my turn going through relatives stuff and the more I realize how much of a pain it can be.   I really didn't want their stuff, I wanted them.  Since I couldn't have them I realized I already had something that they had given me in the past for a birthday or whatever, so I really didn't need something of theirs to remember them by.  Moral of the story don't leave your mess for someone else to clean up ;)

Secrets of My Beauty Kit

    Beauty Kits........
        Ladies we all have them even if they don't have much in them.  I consider mine about the average size.  I love eye make-up, I don't use it all the time, and I don't use it because I feel like I need it to be beautiful.  I use it to express my artisticness.  The rest  is mostly all-natural products to help keep my skin and such healthy.  I figured I would share them with you.

• Pumice Stone:   We all hate shaving, and some have even made the choice not to shave at all.  I shave because I like how my skin feels when it's smooth.  Reality is, shaving is very damaging to the skin, and doesn't always leave us so smooth.  We cut it leaving scars, it drys out our skin, and it also leads to the one thing I hate most; ingrown hairs.  They are painful at times and they look horrible.  There are tons of exfoliating products on the market and I have tried several with much disappointment.  While using a pumice stone on my callused hippie feet, I figured it couldn't hurt to try it on my legs.  I was shocked with my results!! the ingrown hairs were gone, and so was all the dead yucky skin.  In about a month of using it on my legs I saw huge improvement.  I usually shave in the tub, so I would soak for a few minutes allowing my skin and hair to soften.  Then I simply rub the pumice stone in a small circular motion all over my legs, and shaved as normal.
• Hair Conditioner:  I am sure you are thinking I am going to tell you to use this on your hair, nope ;)  I use it as shaving cream!  When I first learned to shave I did what my mom did and used my dad's shaving cream.  Sure it is cheap enough, but I broke out all over my legs when I used it, so I switched to the women's variety with little success.  First I was having issues with certain kinds clogging my razor and this lead to nicks, and cuts :( I also broke out from using it.  So for a very long time I used body wash, I didn't break out but it didn't help the condition of my legs much.  I know now there are several kinds of body wash that would work better for this on the market today, but I grew up in a frugal family, and we didn't have as much selection on the market in my early teens.  One day while in the shower I had washed and conditioned my hair first to allow my leg hair to soften, and I dumped conditioner on my leg by accident. While trying to wash it off my leg it dawned on me!  Shaving cream!! So I gave it a shot and it worked great! I didn't have tons of nicks, and cuts, and it helped moisturize my skin!  Now don't go out and buy the expensive moisturizing conditioner, you can but it can really make a dent in the pocket book.  I usually just buy VO5 for dry hair it's less than a dollar a bottle and it will do the trick.
• Coconut Oil:  I have seen the posts with 160 uses for this stuff, truth is, the uses for it are endless.  I use it as a night cream, lotion for my whole body, lip balm,  and many other things.  It even works great as a make-up remover.   http://wakeup-world.com/2012/03/02/160-uses-for-coconut-oil/   This link takes you to the post I read that kick-started my usage of coconut oil.  There are tons of sites and recipes for more uses, do a little research try a few out, and maybe you will invent a few of your own uses.  In my opinion you can't go wrong with coconut oil;)
• Baby Wipes:  They work awesome as make-up remover! Plus I am not always in places with running water when camping so they are great for keeping hands and feet clean.  In high school I was in every musical and play as possible, and I had horrible acne problems from all of the make-up.  My mom didn't have any babies in the house anymore, but we always had baby wipes for trips and so on.  I was very tired after a dress rehearsal and didn't want to take away from my time sleeping grabbed a baby wipe and scrubbed off my face.  They light bulb turned on and I carried a travel sized package of baby wipes in my make-up kit from then on.  The best part being, I can get the mascara off and I am not getting soap in my eyes. Not to mention they are way cheaper than the make-up remover pads you can buy, and gentle on your skin.
• Tea Tree Oil: I use this on blemishes and minor cuts.  The smell can be a little over-powering so I use it right before bed or days where I don't have to go anywhere.  It also tends to make my eyes burn a little so the zits that are close to my eyes I try to avoid.  It also works well for bug bites that itch or burn.  Dab on a tiny amount with a q-tip to the pimple, bug bite, or abrasion.
• Aloe:  This helps with under eye bags, I would go with an organic variety 100% pure variety with no additives.  Now it won't zap away under eye bags but it can help when you stay up to late the night before around the campfire ;)

               *One thing I want to add..... massage is very good for a lot of things!  I learned this in my CNA classes ;) It helps increase circulation, which helps your skin stay healthy and stretchy.  Plus it helps relax you

Day 5: 40 bags Challenge

      It is the 5th day of my 40 bag challenge.  35 more days to go and I am doing awesome!  I am 4 days ahead of schedule!!
     Today's task was my kids' coat closet, and it was a MESS!!!  I usually go through and reorganize it every couple of months if not sooner and within a week of cleaning it, it is back to is usual state of disaster :(  This time I went through found a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit or that they have worn holes in giving me another bag to add to my total.  After cleaning out the stuff that is not staying at my house, I went through and pulled out the surplus that still fits or that was missing it's mate.  I came up with some new rules for the closet and tonight when my husband gets home he is going to do a little remodeling in it for me so I can better organize it.
     
      The new coat closet rules

1. Each child will have one of each item/pair in the closet at a time.
2. Each child will have a designated section.
3. Items will be placed back in closet in an orderly fashion. NO MORE THROW AND GO!
4. If it doesn't fit, don't throw it back in the closet. Take it to Mom!
5. Dirty clothes do not belong in the closet. THIS MEANS SOCKS!
6. The closet is only for Shoes/boots/sandals, no slippers; coats/jackets/snow pants, no sweat shirts; stocking caps/mittens/ski masks, no ball caps or gardening gloves.
7. Chore clothes will have a designated spot in the basement, not in closet stinking up good coats and such.

    I am going to make a poster and put the rules up somewhere around the closet and hopefully they will follow them!   I am also going to get a color coded bin for each child to keep hats, mittens, and stuff like that in them. 
     The shoes is kind of an issue too, but I have a solution for that as well.  I figure they can keep their play shoes and cowboy boots in the closet and dress shoes they will keep in their rooms.  We also narrowed down the kids' shoes to one pair of cowboy boots each, one pair of sneakers each, and one pair of sandals each.  They don't need anymore than that plus shoes are not cheap! I just don't see the point in them having 20 pairs of shoes each that they will grow out of in a year or less.  My daughter does have some other shoes, but she keeps them in her closet in her room, and most of them are goodwill shoes or hand-me-downs. Slippers are a whole other conundrum with her, but I have a slipper fetish so I have no room to talk ;)

Day 4: 40 Bag Challenge

         I know I completed day 4's task yesterday on day three but I figured I would stay in number sequence for the title ;)    Since I finished day 4's task already I decided to go through my list and take care of other tasks that are in my kitchen.  My goal is to get my whole kitchen done first, and then move on.  I don't think I will do an entire room again only because some of the other rooms in my house are bigger and it is nice sometimes to space things out and work on something else for a change.
       Anyway, I finished 2 tasks and got two more bags out today!! So my bag total is 8 bags for 8 tasks done :D 
       If I do this again I will probably make a rough draft list first and reorganize things before I make a decision on my list.  Really though, it doesn't much matter in what order I get them done just that I get them done and stick with the challenge.  Who knows I could end up adding to my task list since some of my tasks aren't taking me as long as I thought they would.
       It is so very relieving to have so much progress made in my kitchen.  With it being the first room in the house that we come into, it becomes a dumping station for every one's junk.  The living room being the next worst on the list ;) I am hoping with some of the new organizing I have done that things will be a little easier to keep clean.  It will also help now that the kids are getting older they can start helping with the chores.

Kitchen Organization Quick Tip

Just had to share this quick tip.......
          Since we live in the country we occasionally have a mouse or two that like to visit inside the house :S, so we have a lot of our dry goods in plastic containers.  Plus I like the way the plastic containers fit better in my cabinets.  For the longest time I would get so angry when I would forget to keep certain cooking instructions to the items I was filling the containers with.  I started cutting the side of the box off and I would stick it in the cabinet next to the container with the corresponding item in it.  This only worked with things like Bisquick, most everything else comes in plastic bags or a cylinder(oatmeal, corn meal).  So I came up with this idea.........

I took a Sharpie marker and wrote the instructions right on the side of the container.  A Magic Eraser will take the marker off if you need to remove it, a pencil eraser works well too.

After a while I will have cooking instructions memorized, but this comes in handy if my husband has to do the cooking.  Great to help out baby sitters as well, and when my kids are old enough to use the stove or microwave they will be able to read and follow the instructions if I'm not there to help.

Day 4,5, and 6 knocked off my list on day 3!!!

     Well I got ambitious and kept working on things in my kitchen ;) I finished they next 3 days worth of tasks on my 40 Bag Challenge, and got 1 1/2 more bags so, lets see, that makes 6 bags total.  Right on track ;) I think for sanity's sake I am going to move around a couple of things on my list and just finish my kitchen tomorrow, that way I can have that room in my house completely done.
      I'll post again tomorrow, but for now I am gonna leave this one short and sweet ;)

Day 3: 40 Bag Challenge

       I am still keepin' on ;) and doing rather well I might add!  I have even worked ahead a little here an there, while I still have the cleaning buzz ;)
       Day 3 was my upper kitchen cabinets, and wow! did they really need cleaned out!  I haven't majorly reorganized and cleaned them out in probably about 2 years.  I reorganized them when I painted my kitchen and cleared out a lot of stuff then, but now my youngest has grown out of a lot of the "baby" stuff.
        I also should have done it sooner, because 2 years ago we had a massive snow storm on Christmas Day.  When this storm hit we lost power about half way through the day and couldn't get out of our farm.  That didn't bother us so bad because we figured the power would be back on and the storm would stop at some point.  At 9 pm we still had no power so we all huddled in the living room with blankets and candles.  By 10 pm my daughter and I came down with the tummy flu (not a fun night and I will probably never forget it) so blankets and towels started to become scarce.  Thankfully by 8 am the next morning, my father-in-law was able to get to us with his tractor and we headed for a hotel.  Before we left my youngest who was 2 at the time came down with the flu and my husband followed suit after we had settled into the hotel.  After 2 weeks of no power in the house, the electric company was finally able to get the power back on.  Because of the state we left the house in, my husband and I returned first and cleaned!  We had to make sure no pipes were frozen, we lost everything in our fridge and freezer, and disinfected like the entire worlds germs were in our house.  When we cleaned we were only targeting things that had been handled during the flu epidemic, we later realized that everything in the house was also covered in soot.  When we had the candles burning(yes we put then out before we left for the hotel) as the temperature in the house dropped the soot from the candles stuck to everything.  I gradually got the most of the soot mess cleaned up, but when I went to clean my cabinets this morning I found out lines of soot on the backs of the cabinets, and my top shelves that I rarely have to use still had a thick soot film on them :(
         So anyway.... enough of the story telling ;)
         It took me a little longer to accomplish this task.  I ended up rearranging my cabinets which was awesome!  I can find things a little better now.  I mean it wasn't bad before but now certain things are closer together, and I should have put them that way to begin with!  Not to mention while completing this task I got a head start on the next days tasks!
          Last but not least I cleaned out 1 1/2 bags worth of stuff.  That puts me a bag and half ahead of schedule :D

Money saving tips for the Summer.

                 I am always looking for ways to save money, with 3 kids I have to.  Not to mention the more we become self-sufficient saving money kind of goes hand in hand.

                 In the summer time while trying to stay cool saving money can be hard to do!  Our air conditioner is a luxury, we don't have to run it but sometimes it helps us sleep better.  At the same time, as with any luxury, our pocket book gets kinda skinny.  So I have learned a few small ways to save money to help with the extra expense.

1.         We make our own Popsicles.   What kid doesn't love Popsicles in the summer?!  I bought enough sets of Popsicle makers for the kids to each have 2, plus 2 extras for dad ;) They only cost me around $.90 for 1 Popsicle maker that makes 2 Popsicles.  This way the kids can pick the flavors they want and I know what the Popsicles are made of.  We even make fudgesicles from chocolate pudding, and smoothie pops with real fruit in them. Root beer float pops are good two ;) You also won't have a box taking up space in the freezer with Popsicles that are going to waste because the kids don't like the flavors that are left, or because they forgot they were in there. Ice cube trays also work well for making mini Popsicles ;)
2.        Grill.  We have a charcoal grill and in the summer we grill a lot! When I have to run my oven in the house I am paying to run that plus the air conditioner works harder while the oven is running. Or we resort to my electric skillet it cooks the food and doesn't heat the whole house up like my oven does.  George Foreman grills are a good alternative too.
3.        Don't just run the air condition because you don't want to take the time to shut it off until it's time to turn the furnace on.  If we are going to have a couple of cool days in a row or more, we will shut the air off, but when we do turn it on I don't wait till its really hot and sticky.  If I know it is going to be really hot that day I will turn it on while its still a little cooler outside so the AC doesn't have to work as hard to cool the house back down.
4.        Rain barrels.  They are relatively cheap to put in and they supply water for my flower beds and herb garden without me having to run the hose.  Saves on electricity and water bills ;) Basically a rain barrel(for those who may not know) is a large barrel or tub placed under eve spouts to catch rain water.  Some have hoses attached to them for watering, I will usually just dunk my watering can in mine.
5.        Grow a garden.  Fresh produce is not only very healthy for you, it is also cheap to grow and will save on your grocery bill.  Even more so if you can your surplus.  You can also swap with friends or sell your extras. 
6.        Instead of paying for admission to a local pool or water park go to the nearest natural swimming hole instead.  My kids had more fun swimming in the lake my in-laws were living by last summer, than they did going to a crowed town pool.
7.       Hit the garage sales!  You can find tons of bargains at garage sales, especially city wides.  We used to go to garage sales every weekend when I was growing up, but the best time is to watch for local city wides.  More people are likely to have a garage sale during city wides, and some save their stuff just for city wides.  Remember not to be afraid to haggle, some people will stand firm, but others really want the stuff gone and might budge some on their prices.
8.      Don't turn the lights on till you have to!  My kids used to have every light on in the house from sunrise to sundown.  When I figured out what they were doing I immediately put a stop to it! The next month my electric bill had gone down.  With the days being longer we are usually outside till it's too dark, but on those scorcher kind of days when we are sitting in the air conditioned house I make sure the kids do not turn the lights on till they absolutely have to!
9.      Keep your freezers full.  A full freezer runs more efficiently.  We fill clean empty plastic bottles 3/4 of the way full and freeze them.  This keeps our freezer full, plus if the power goes out in the winter we will have clean drinking water and ice packs to keep the frozen food cold.  I will even use the frozen bottles as ice packs for our cooler when we go camping or on trips, and when they thaw you have cold water to drink without the extra expense of buying bottled water at the store.  They also work well for boo boos ;) and way cheaper than the cold compresses from the store.

     Just a few tips I thought I would share for now, hope they help ;)

Day 2: 40 Bag Challenge

                     My "hidden cabinet" in my kitchen isn't really hidden.  It is more of a huge cabinet with a tiny door ;) When I first moved in I thought it was an access door for the electrical panel or something like that.  While moving my stuff in and reorganizing cabinets I opened it and was greatly surprised.  Over the years it has become a sort of "catch all" for junk we didn't know what to do with :S  I had unopened horse washing sponges, old broken toys, can cozies, an old rusty thermos, and a bunch of miscellaneous junk in it.  So now it is completely empty!! I pulled a bags worth of stuff out of it surprisingly.  I honestly didn't think I had that much stuff in it!  Now I am thinking of ways to use it that will be useful and so it won't become a "catch all" again.
                    Cleaning out that cabinet only took me 30 minutes.  So, yeah I could be done with the challenge for the day or I could get a head start on my task for tomorrow.  I have to bale hay this weekend, so I won't have much time for cleaning that isn't on my regular schedule.
                    One thing I have learned over the years is to take advantage of extra ambition when it comes to cleaning.  Before, I would be done with what I wanted to get done for the day and would still have the energy to clean.  Instead of using that energy to get ahead of schedule, I would find something less constructive to do with my time(watch TV), and then I would have a few days that we were unexpectedly busy and got behind.  It is a lot harder to catch up when you get behind than it is to do extra ahead of time. 

Day 1: 40 Bags Challenge

   Today was the first official day of my 40 bags in 40 days challenge.  I did really well!  I started with my kids' art drawers and cleaned out 2, yep 2, bags of garbage!

   My tips:
1.  If all the pages in a color book have been scribbled on, throw it out.  My kids will not color a page if it has the slightest bit of a scribble on it anywhere.  So why have them sitting around taking up space and collecting dust!  My daughter actually went through a phase where she would draw one line on a piece of paper and that was an amazing piece of art ;) I couldn't tell her it wasn't, being an artist myself I didn't want to squash any creativity she might have no matter how big or small.  She soon changed out of this phase and has moved on to more elaborate pieces, and now my husband has plenty of fire starter. 

2. Don't keep markers that aren't quite dried up!  They are not worth keeping, mostly because no one will end up using them, or they will be a constant frustration that isn't necessary.

3. Old broken crayons that no one wants to use can be remelted into neat tye-dye color patties that are way more fun to use.  This also makes a good craft for kids on a rainy day.  Here's how its done.....
                 Materials:
                                  Crayon pieces and muffin pan (I like to use an old tin that is reserved for crafts
                                         only).
                 Instructions:
                                 Break crayons into small pieces and remove all paper from crayons.
                                 Fill spaces in pan 2/3 full (have fun be creative with the colors we like to make
                                      rainbows)
                                 Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
                                 Bake for 8-10 min or until crayon pieces have fused into one piece.
                                 Cool at room temperature for about 5 min.
                                 Place pan in freezer for 20-30 min.  this will make the patties condense and
                                     make it so they slide right out of the pan.

4. This was done easier without my kids being home.  I have cleaned out the art center before when they were home and we argued a lot over what was staying and what was going :(

5. Designate and LABEL drawers.  Each of my 3 kids has 2 drawers, one small one for utensils, and one large one for coloring books, and notebooks.  When they know which ones are theirs and can see the other drawers are labeled for something else they tend to be better at keeping things where they need to be.

6. Don't keep junky pens and pencils that only work when they feel like it.  I like my mechanical pencils and Bic pens and the old faithful No.2 pencils ;)

7. Keep pens and pencils in a can, or in a drawer organizer. I can never find a pen when I need one.  My cans have been working great for the last 2 years, plus they are organized this way instead of laying all over the place in the bottom of a drawer.

8. Duplicate coloring books are not a necessity.  These are great to give to Grandma to keep at her house for when the kids come visit, or they are great to donate to a daycare, preschool or even a church(depending on the content of the coloring book).

After cleaning out the art drawers I even had one set of seven drawers completely empty!  I am now moving thing into it that I need to have more organized and more accessible.  For instance my coffee maker sits on the top of this particular set of drawers and the top drawer works great for my coffee filters and my bags of Starbucks coffee.

Less is More: The 40 bag challenge!

   While on Facebook a site that I have saved in my favorites posted about a woman who was doing the "40 bags in 40 days challenge".  I was intrigued, I had no idea what they meant by it so I read further.  The first blog I came to didn't post much in depth on what it was.  Mostly it was about what this particular woman was doing.  Her blog in turn lead me to the woman that started it(well I don't know if she created the idea but her post were informative and useful).  Her blog also has other posts with tips about sticking with the challenge and some other helpful tips.
http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/2011/03/one-week-from-now-40-bags-40-days.html

This is another link with some tips about the challenge that might help too ;)
http://threesidedwheel.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/keeping-a-holy-lent-40-bags-in-40-days-printable/

     The woman that started, got the idea for Lent.  She decided she was going to get rid of 40 bags worth of clutter from her house in 40 days.  She made of list of all the places in her house that she could get one or more bags out of.  While getting stuff out she also scrubbed down her house, in turn giving her self a fresh start with her house.  She also did some new decorating, and had new shelves built and so on.  The end result was awesome.  I have been needing a solution like this, we have 2 households crammed in one small house and I am over whelmed by the clutter!!! 
      With school starting and winter coming, I figured this would be the perfect time to try the 40 bags in 40 days challenge and get my Fall house cleansing in at the same time ;)

Here's my list :)

1. Kids' art drawers
2.Hidden cabinet in Kitchen
3. Upper Kitchen Cabinets
4. Lower Kitchen Cabinets
5. Kitchen drawers
6. Top of the fridge :S
7. Kids' coat closet
8. Living Room Closet
9. Laundry Room
10. Storage shelves in basement
11. Storage shelves in basement
12. Allen's clothes
13. Tristan's clothes
14. Daynia's clothes
15. Daynia's closet
16. Toy room
17. Attic
18. Attic
19. Soon to be master bedroom
20. Under our bed
21. My clothes
22. my closet
23. Daynia's room
24. Boys' room
25. Cedar chest
26. Living Room
27. Bookcase in Kitchen
28. Benches in Kitchen
29. My side of the bedroom
30. Hall closet
31. Bathroom
32. My nightstand
33. Area next to fridge
34. Shelves in toy room
35. Bookcase and shelves in Living room
36. My sewing stuff
37. My craft boxes
38. Holiday boxes
39. Hallway
40. Rest of my bedroom

   Now I am not going to go through and do all 40 days in a row.  I am trying to do as much as possible while my older 2 kids are not home.  So all the weekdays that they have school and the weekends that they are at their dad's house I will be counting as my days.  This might help me if I have a day break here and there, after all I still have a farm to run while cleaning ;)

Less is More

     I have heard the phrase "less is more" time and again throughout my life but never put much stock in it, until recently.
      When I married my first husband I never had much.  We lived in tiny two bedroom apartments until we finally got the courage to buy a house.  The house we bought was a very large four bedroom house.  It had a huge master suit with a walk in closet, a full basement that was really clean(no bugs), a small kitchen, and a large dining room and living room.  I had more space than I knew what to do with.  I never actually filled any of the space and I liked that fact because it was easy to clean that way. 
      When the marriage went south and I met my husband I am married to now, I moved all my stuff and my two kids' stuff into a small 2 bedroom country house that was already fully furnished.  As kids grow and so did our family with the addition of our son, our house became even smaller and more cluttered.
      Now when I hear "less is more" I look at the contents of my house and it gets me thinking.  But where to start how to make more into less!  It's really not a hard concept to make more into less, it was just finding a good place to start.
       Our financial situation has never enabled be to live a highly pampered lifestyle but it has created envy at times.  So I finally figured out that I have the ability to make a lot of things that I thought I had to have.  After figuring this out I had to weed out what was needed and what was just a want.  For instance, I have never really been into designer purses, but I do like to have a functional purse that fits my style.  I found several hobo or monk style bags on etsy.com that I loved but didn't have the money for.  So I studied the bags, and researched different patterns.  I found a very simple pattern, bought fabrics I absolutely loved, and made my very own monk bag.  After it was finished I took fabric paints and added even more of my own style to it.  Want and need for a new purse solved ;)
       Most simple things that are exactly a need that most of us like to have around the house can almost every time be easily and cheaply made.  I have made pot holders, coasters, a cozy for my coffee mug, slippers, and many other accessory type items for a fraction of what it would cost to buy them in the store. 
       Then you have the needs, with a little research and some helpful tips from youtube.com and the scores of sites on google, needs can also me made.  Not to mention adding your own creative spin and you'll have a one of a kind item.  Scarves for my kids was a need.  I found fleece material in the remnant bins while shopping and sewed a couple of quick seams in them, tasseled the ends, and now my children are warm and cozy while playing in the snow.  Plus they love the fabric I chose that had their favorite characters on it.
      Making up cycled clothing has become a sort of passion for me recently.  I stumbled upon these beautiful coats made by an extremely creative and wonderful woman called Katwise.  She takes thrift store sweaters and makes them into beautiful coats of all colors and styles.  While cruising through her etsy store, her prices were sadly out of my current range(some day I will save my pennies and have one of her fabulous creations), but she did have a tutorial on how to make them.  I jumped all over that!! I have now created 3 of my own Katwise coats and am working on a fourth.  After finding her coats I stumbled on others that were making things from old t-shirts.  I gathered my old t-shirts and started thinking and sketching and soon I was creating!  I have made everything from rag rugs and pants to a Katwise style jacket from t-shirts.  The point being when it comes to t-shirt up cycling the possibilities are endless!!  The best part is I am taking something old and unused and making it into something new and functional.  by doing this I haven't had to make expensive clothing purchases for about 6 months now.  With kids that I swear grow an inch every day, not having to buy them clothes has helped a lot with our finances. 
     I have even found recipes on how to make many things I am constantly buy at the store.  Ketchup, mayonnaise and other condiments can be made very cheaply at home especially if you grow your own vegetables or have laying hens.  Most of the homemade varieties taste just as good if not better too!
      We have also found that if we haven't used something for 6 months and can't think of a way we will use it in the next 6 months, we get rid of it.  This is making a huge impact on the amount of clutter we have in our house.  The kids are even starting to get rid of toys they don't play with!! I was a little shocked when this started happening and also very relieved!  It is really nice not to have to feel guilty about getting rid of toys I know they haven't touched forever, or get caught in the act and have to try to sneak it out without them seeing.  The last time I was caught the end result was the kids followed me for weeks and peeked in all of my hiding places to see if I had their stuff stashed in them. This led to them finding all of their yule gifts *ugh*.
       I have also found a new plan and I will do a blog next about it.  I will also follow up with progress reports ;)

Because this is my first blog ever, I will start by introducing myself.  I am a domestic engineer (housewife) mid to late 20's.  I have 3 children, 9 horses, 1 rabbit, and last but certainly not least a husband of nearly 5 years.  We live on a small farm in the Midwest, trying to become as self-sufficient as possible, and I might add that we are on the right track.  That is primarily what my blog is going to be about; my life and tips I've learned along the way......   So please if the things I post are not for you simply walk away and leave all snarky comments to yourself, as I will not respond to them and they will be completely disregarded. 

I should clarify on the 9 horses.  We currently have 8 miniature horses and 1 quarter horse who thinks he is a mini ;) The miniatures are my latest found joy.  As a little girl I dreamt of having horses and when I was little any horse would have done the trick.  While living in Washington state we often drove by a miniature horse farm on our way to church.  This started a fascination with the small creatures for me.   They were adorable, and each one has its very own and very distinct personality, almost more so than the larger breeds of horses.  Not to mention as a young girl of about 7, they were the perfect size for me to handle.  Well 20 some years later I finally have my own little horse farm! I also have way too big of a heart because I have taken in 2 that have seen better days.  My daughter has attached her self to the painted, knock-kneed mare I took in, and then I have a stallion who I am trying to find someone to give him a forever home.  As much as I would like to give every horse a home on my farm, sadly I don't have the room or finances.  The joy or helping them and finding good people for good horses is worth it. 

We had our first miniature foal born on our farm ever in May.  She is a little joy, so sunny and fun to be around.  I am a first time horse mommy with her arrival and am learning more than I ever thought I would. 

But enough for now, my laundry is screaming at me ;)