Sunday is traditionally family day at our home.  We try not to do much work on Sundays, to leave the day for rest and time together.

We just got home from church, and the children are headed outside to construct Bamboo forts, with Daddy's help.  They are kept busy with schoolwork and chores throughout the week, and don't get a lot of time to spend on outdoor projects after the time change.  So today is a good, dry day to do it (so far).  I am feeding the baby his lunch, and I may head out there soon, myself.

Yesterday, I took apart my kitchen and reorganized it.  Should I say reorganized?  I never really organized it much when we moved in last month.  What organizing I did was not kept up by the person who puts away the dishes.  This person shall remain nameless for the time being .

Anyway, I have my appliances, but no cabinets or countertops.  This is the first time I've gone without cabinets in a kitchen, but I seem to be adapting pretty well.  I have one 8 foot workbench and my flat topped stove for work surface.  I have my refrigerator/freezer side by side combo, and I also have my 14 cubic foot freezer and my dishwasher and a trash compactor in there.  Oh, I also have two three-drawer units underneath the bench with my Tupperware, dishtowels, bread, and plastic wrap, foil, etc., in them.  On both sides of the stove, I have a large chrome shelving unit purchased from Costco.  Love Costco.  And that's my kitchen right now.

With Daughter's help, I removed everything and unpacked boxes that have been sitting and set everything up in a way that made sense.  I decided to put smaller items in bins, since I don't have drawers and cabinets to put them in.  So, I made a list of what I need and how many, to make sure everything looks neat and organized.  Then Daughter and I took a trip to Walmart to buy bins and Bi-Mart to buy half pint canning jars (for my herbs and spices).

I came home and put everything away in the bins and then discovered my labeling machine needed a new cartridge.  Oh, pooh!  I hate it when that happens.  If I had known, I could have gotten it at Walmart when I was there.  So, we ran by Staples just now to get it so I can finish my job.  When I've got everything labeled, I will be very happy.  I love it when things are labeled!

So, now my shelves are looking very neat, and everything has it's place.  I have yet to finish cleaning off my workbench, but I'll have to finish that tomorrow before or after school.

My next project is organizing an armoire in the room I plan to do school in.  We've been sitting at the kitchen table so far, but I have other plans....

Right now, I'm off to make the weekly menu before I do anything else.  Have a wonderful Sunday!

Kris

Today's Frugal Friday Tip has to do with soap.  Remember I told you about my soap making experience?  Well, when my bars of soap are down to slivers, I rescue those slivers from the shower, sinks, etc., and put them in a plastic container.

When I have a small pile, I put them in the blender with some hot water and blend them up.  I just eyeball the consistency.  I then fill up my liquid soap dispensers with this liquid soap mixture and I have practically free hand soap!  Now that's frugal.

Have a fantastic weekend.  Ours will be very busy.

Miss Kris

Frugal Friday sponsored by: Biblical Womanhood

Being frugal doesn't just mean saving money.  It can mean saving time, too.  Afterall, time is money, right?  At least, I consider my time valuable, and you should, too.

I instituted new rules about laundry at our house, recently.  Here's the deal: Wear your pants two days, not just one.  I always have, but my children are changing their clothes left and right.  My son can have up to three pairs of pants on in any given day.  Now, he can still be a boy and be careful with his clothes, too.  I am convinced of that.  He's still working on this, but I think I have everyone else in line.

I do about three loads per day, six days a week, including a load of diapers everyday.  My machines get a rest on Sundays, as I do.  That's a lot of electricity.  We're on a well, so I don't worry about my water much, but I do worry about the electrical bill.  Reducing the amount of laundry I have to do saves my time, and it also saves energy = money.

All of the following ingredients I already had on hand.  If you coupon shop, it's possible you could get a better deal on premade stuff versus buying these ingredients.  You just have to do the math and decide which is the most economical way to go for you family.

Dishwasher Detergent

1C. Baking Soda

1 C. Borax

1 C. Water

2 Drops Lemon Essential Oil

Mix well and use in place of dish detergent, about 2 T. per load.  Be sure to use vinegar in the rinse cycle.

Liquid Handsoap

This may or may not appeal to you, but I have used this method a few times throughout the years.  You take odds and ends of bar soap, shower gel, etc., whatever you have.  Melt down in a saucepan with water, whisk together and use the result to fill your liquid soap dispensers.  This time I used shower gel.  After making bar soap on the same day, I will eventually have left over pieces of bar soap to make this with next time.

Bar Soap

I don't make soap with lye.  It is just nmot convenient for my situation.  I bought olive soap base and melted it down in the microwave.  This is my first time making bar soap and I find I enjoy it.  Here's what I added to the soap base:

1/2 C. Non fat dry milk powder

1/2 C. Oatmeal ground up in the food processor

1 t. ground vanilla bean pods

1/2 t. Vanilla extract

I  mixed it in with the soap base while hot and quickly poured it into my molds.  I have storebought molds, but you can make a mold out of anything.  I got five bars of soap out of this and it is nice soap.  Not bad for my first time.  I don't know if you're supposed to use vanilla extract, but I was trying to get a vanilla scent and didn't know what else to use.

I don't think I'll buy Dove anymore....

My next experiment will be homemade shampoo.  Stay tuned for that.

So as I mentioned, things are pretty tight around here right now.  But not as tight as they could be.  We aren't feeling it as badly as we could because of all the planning I did last fall.  What do I mean, you ask?  Let me explain.

Even last summer I felt a huge urge to grow as much as we can and get the pantry stocked as much as possible by fall.  One reason was the impending birth of our son.  But I also felt the Lord prompting me to be prepared for this winter in a way I have never prepared before.  I believe He was speaking to my heart to prepare our family for difficult financial times.

In response I did many things, but not as many as I wanted to.  It was difficult being pregnant and getting through our schoolwork while trying to put up food at the same time. 

We got our three freezers stocked with chicken and some pork (we already had beef in there), cookie dough, pies and homemade meals for after our son's birth.

We put up jam and pickles and I froze green beans and zucchini.

We ordered our grains, flours and some medicinal items from the Azure Standard.

We ordered our beekeeping and soapmaking supplies from Glory Bee.

Between what we did this fall and the survival foods we bought last year, we could likely eat for a year with careful planning from our own food stores.

But there are a few things we have run out of and it has required my creativity this week, actually, this morning.  Baby went back to sleep for a while so I could make a big breakfast.  And he stayed asleep so I took advantage of the time and made the following items which we either needed or will need very soon: dishwasher detergent, bar soap and liquid handsoap.  It all went very quickly and I credit the Lord for allowing me the time.

This week I have worked hard.  Monday I baked.  Tuesday I went to the market and saved $67 on our grocery bill.  Today I made soap.  All this between lessons.  I am tired.  But there is great satisfaction knowing that my family has what they need and I didn't have to spend much to provide it.

I will post soap recipes on Friday for my Frugal Friday post.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kris

If you've never been to KimC's site, I highly recommend visiting. 

And here is a great excuse.  If you have enough children that socks are an issue in your home, i.e. missing socks, socks being eaten by your machines, can't find the right socks, no matching socks, etc., you've got to read her post about Taming the Sock Monster.

Very funny and very good advice for a Mother of Many.

http://inashoe.com/2008/11/24/taming-the-sock-monster/

Have a great Sunday!

This is what I'm calling my home management binder I'm working on.  I'm making good progress on it, too.  The great thing is, some of the things I've been including in the binder are things my Beloved has wanted me to get down on paper for some time.  A list of lunch and breakfast menus is one example.

So here are the categories I have.  Later I will tell you what all is in the categories, as I get them filled up.  Here's what I have so far:

First Page: Our Family Mission written out to remind us.

First Section: Schedule

Our master schedule and my weekly housekeeping routine right next to each other.  Also a 2008/2009 Calendar just for viewing.  I keep my actual calendar separate on my chalkboard. (I use the Mom's Plan-it! Calendar because it has room for lots of kids, but I will be running out of room with this new addition, I think, LOL.)

Second Section: Housekeeping

Cleaning Checklists & Supply Forms

Third Section: Family Kitchen

Menu Lists, Pantry Inventories, Herbal & Health Information.  Will also include mix recipes and often used recipes.

Fourth Section: Home School (This is going to get full.  Good thing Beloved got me a LARGE binder.)

Goals for each child through high school.  Yearly course of study and curriculum record.  Master copies of book report forms, etc.

Fifth Section: Children

Non-home school children items.  Right now I have a master of the drawer labels I did for the boys dressers.

Sixth Section: Projects

These are my personal projects I'm working on.  (I finished my Master Bedroom curtains, by the way.)

Seventh Section: Contacts

Home Group Rosters, Medical/Dental Office Info.,  Business Card sheets for household contacts.

Eight Section: Encouragement

Any article, etc. I run across that I want to read again and again for encouragement.

That's what I'll be working on over the next few weeks.  As I try to get my household more organized and make it so that I don't have to be the only person who can run it.

Blessings today,

Kris

It has many names: Home Management Binder, Household Notebook, Home Companion, etc., etc.  Do a web search and see what comes up.  It is a very useful tool to help you run your household. 

And, although it is becoming very popular with homemakers these days, there is nothing new about a Household Notebook.  Our great great grandmothers likely used them.  Historical records of famous families usually include the matriarch's household notebook.  In my research of the Lees of Virginia, a household notebook is part of their historical record.

I have known about this concept for some time, now, but have never put it in to practice.  The idea seemed overwhelming several years ago when I read about it at www.organizedhome.com.  I guess I needed to see more examples.  Now, however, there are so many examples online, blogs with instructions and free downloads, and more!  I am encouraged and have started to finally put together my own Family Home Companion Notebook.

Most folks don't know me well enough to know that when it comes to paperwork, I am a real messie.  I sometimes feel like all I do is shuffle papers around our home.  This is a problem I have had since I was a kid.  I always had papers, papers everywhere.  I've gotten a bit better about it, as I throw out junk mail when it comes in and at least throw all the bills into a basket for Beloved to pay as soon as they come in.  I have also filed all of the property information in files by address so Beloved can go right to the necessary place when dealing with tenants, insurance, etc.  I am improving, somewhat.

Expecting my fifth child and seeing that my daughter is nearly ten years old, I feel it will only benefit our family to have all our important household information in one place.  This will help me rest more when baby comes and it will help Beloved and the rest of the family to become familiar with things they normally don't pay attention to.  In the next few weeks, I will describe what I am doing to create this Notebook and as soon as I can, I will post photos of it.

In the meantime, check out www.organizedhome.com, http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/10/the_home_mgt_jo.html, http://savethephillipsfamily.blogspot.com/2008/08/household-notebook-preview.html, and do your own search to find out what others are doing with these once very important tools.

Okay, so this is probably the story of my life.  But these days my to do list never ends.

Granted, I put a lot of it on myself.  But when I am done at the end of the day, my house still feels like a mess.  Ever since I started organizing my entire house in JUNE, I feel like the mess just follows behind me.  I am still not done with that project!  I know I am gaining ground, but I really want everything in it's place very soon, as I start my bulk freezer cooking in October.

My plan is to make meals ahead for the freezer every weekend in October, and possibly early November if I'm up to it.  That way I will not have to cook for a long time after the baby arrives.

I also have some home sewing projects and baby sewing projects to do before baby gets here, too.  I just feel like if I don't get it done soon, I won't get it done.  But I have to pace myself.  I also need to finish our Christmas shopping.  I know what we need, so that shouldn't be hard.

Our living room is looking homier these days.  Got some pillows covered and everything is bright and cheerful looking, I think.  I have my pumpkins out, starting to do the fall decorating.  I'm excited about making soups and stews and enjoying the crisp fall air.  I really enjoy this time of year.  It will be nice when we put the garden to bed and are done putting up food.  A great sigh of relief will follow!

Goodness, I didn't realize how tired I am until I sat down to write you.  Going to climb in bed, now.  I hope you have a great week!

Miss Kris

It's Monday again and we are getting back into our weekday routine.  The new chore packs I made the children using Managers of their Chores have been a God Send, literally!  My three oldest LOVE to clip their chore cards on and complete them in order and then report back to me.  They are pictorial for the non-readers and it is so nice.  My four year old son is learning what the pictures mean and starting to remember what he's supposed to do next.  I LOVE MOTC!

I got a lot done this weekend, but looking at my house, it sure doesn't look like it.  What did I do on Saturday?

1. 3-1/2 Quarts of pickles made.

2. Baking done: Coffee Cake, Granola Bars, Cookie Bars

3. 6 Loads Laundry

4. 3 Loads Dishes

5. Church Clothes Prepared

6. Errands Run - 5 stops, took #3 wiht me.  That was fun!

7. Made Pear Sauce, and still have many more pears to deal with!

On Sunday:

1. Went to Walmart all by my lonesome, peaceful.

2. Clean up Kitchen, kind of.

3. Sewed a cover for my wicker loveseat pad.  Moving it into the house for extra seating in the Living Room.  "New" piece of furniture for the cost of the fabric to cover, $8.88, plus I got two pillows out of the fabric.  GOOD DEAL! 

Making some pillows to match, etc.  Got another good deal on pillows clearanced at Walmart.  Bought 5 pillows for $3 each.  I cleaned them out, actually.  They aren't the right colors, but who cares?  I am covering them.  It costs about $5 to buy a small pillow form, and these are nice 16 inch pillows.  Adding some comfort to our living room.  It needs to be homier, IMO.

The house is a real mess.  I did not finish the boys room completely on Friday, so that is staring me in the face.  But right now we need to get our schoolwork done, so I have to live with it for now.  More important things, ya know?

Have a blessed day,

Miss Kris