Mom-in-Law Lessons

I am dedicating the month of June to FAMILY. Maybe family memories, family lessons, extended family life, or family recipes ... who knows what will turn up on the blog!

When I think about my in-laws, I think of my mother-in-law (MIL). She has taught me so much! My mom was fantastic, but homemaking was not a focus for her. She was an excellent homeschool teacher and mother, but in terms of learning to bake, homemade remedies, etc., ... those weren't of interest to her. Therefore, my skills were nearly non-existent. I, on the other hand, was interested in those things!

When I realized that my relationship with Eli was headed to a lifetime commitment, I wanted to learn more. He came from his home in which his mom did all kinds of homemaker things! Especially in baking, cooking, canning, and growing in the garden. I set up about to soak up what I could. I have learned A LOT (with so much more I would like to learn), and something I was able to accomplish early on with my limited knowledge but eager hands was making jam.

Nothing like homemade jam.

I am still pretty basic. But each year I now make strawberry and peach jam. Eli doesn't like other berries thrown in there, so we stay with the staples of our pantry. I just finished two batches of strawberry (made even easier with my food processor - a gift from my in-laws!), and will tackle the peach once the season arrives. I haven't ever water-bath canned yet - a future project!

My MIL is always ALWAYS willing to show the ropes of what she knows, and invites me over to do projects together. If she knows I'm struggling to get something done, the offer is extended to "come over with the boys so they can be distracted" while I finish my project. We have baked together for Christmas, made jam together, worked together on bridal/baby showers, sewed together, and brainstormed together. She is an example of a woman who always extends her arms, and whether or not her house is messy is no matter to her - family and friends are always invited in. I have much to still learn from her, and I am so grateful to have married in to her family.

Is there something (preferably good!) that sticks out to you when you think of your mother-in-law?

Ice Cream Buckets

My family doesn't eat a lot of ice cream, but over time we have collected quite a few ice cream buckets. These buckets are very handy because they have a handle, a lid, and are made of plastic so they are strong.

Here are some of the current uses of the buckets around our house:

1) Drum set for toddler
2) Container to hold legos (much more convenient than the zippered bag they came in)
3) Tool caddy
4) Containter to freeze fish (I have heard that freezing fish in water makes it stay fresh longer)
5) Carry veggies from garden to the house

What do you use ice cream buckets for?

Grocery bags

My family just returned from visiting my brother and his family in Utah. Any time we travel for any length of time we always take plastic grocery bags with us for our dirty clothes. On this particular trip, as we were packing to come home, I had the idea of sorting our dirty laundry and placing each "load" in its own grocery bag so laundry would be a breeze. Wow, I am thankful for that revelation!

There are so many other uses for plastic grocery bags as well as paper grocery bags, just take a look at the side of the bag and you will probably find a list of ideas. Here are a few ways that we reuse grocery bags:

1) Lunch bags
2) Trash can liners
3) Wrapping packages to be mailed (paper bags)

You can also recycle your grocery bags at recycling centers or right inside the front doors of Walmart.

I know there are many more uses for grocery bags, but I am sleep-deprived (and pregnant) so I can't think of any others to list at this time.

Please feel free to leave comments regarding how you reuse grocery bags.

Baking Soda + Vinegar = Just About Everything {Part 3}

The last part of this segment doesn't actually have any baking soda or vinegar, but they are still useful and homemade. 


Health Care

cough syrup - We used this a lot this winter!  It works just as well if not better than most of the natural cough syrups that we tried.

toothbrush sanitizer - five drops of grapefruit seed extract in a cup of water.  We do this to extend the life of our brushes.  If I threw away our toothbrushes every time someone had the sniffles we would go bankrupt. {ok, not really}  But this disinfects the toothbrush daily to keep those germs at bay.

vapor rub - small amount of coconut or olive oil and and several drops of eucalyptus oil - mix and apply to chest.

vapor steam - add a couple drops of eucalyptus oil to the water in your steam vaporizer.  

diaper rash cream - No special mix here, just plain coconut oil.  It is the only thing that can be used with cloth diapers and it works really well.  


Hand sanitizer - {Crunchy Betty} - I haven't made this one, but it is on my list.  It would be nice to keep in the diaper bag to use after those emergency changes.


I'm sure there are many more things that could be added to this list, but these are the ones that we use most frequently.  

Baking Soda + Vinegar = Just About Everything {Part 2}

Spring is the perfect time of year to get things clean.  And though it is nearly summer I haven't finished my spring cleaning.  Below are some of my favorite cleansers to get the job done.  I do have others, but these are the ones that I find myself reaching for most often.

Cleaning

All purpose cleaning spray - There are tons of different recipes for all purpose cleaners.  Here are two:

1. Equal parts vinegar and water and go!

2. 1 part hydrogen peroxide, 1 part water, 3 T. liquid castille soap, a couple drops essential oil for fragrance.

soft scrub - 1c. baking soda, 6 T liquid castille soap, a couple drops of lavender essential oil, and enough vinegar to achieve soft scrub consistency.

carpet freshener - put baking soda in an old parmesan cheese container add a few drops of essential oils.  Sprinkle onto carpet and vacuum it up!  One thing I like to use are home fragrance drops from Bath and Works - they aren't pure essential oil, but they smell oh so good.

laundry detergent - {A Bird in the Hand} I don't what more to say than I already have.  I have kids, they get dirty, this gets their clothes clean.

disinfectant wipes - {Live Renewed} I haven't tried these.  I never used disinfectant wipes to begin with, but it seems like they would be really handy to have around.

Furniture Spray - 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 T. vinegar, dash of lemon juice. {I'm not sure if you need to, but I keep this in my fridge}

Hand soap - This one is super simple, but you have to have the right container.  It is just 4 parts water and 1 part liquid castille soap.  The trick is that you have to put it into a foaming soap dispenser.  I just save soap dispensers and asked my mom to save hers as well.  Voila!  Foaming hand soap!

*What is one cleaning product that you just can't live without {this doesn't have to be homemade}.  What is your least favorite cleaning project? {My favorit cleaning product is the soft scrub above, and my least favorite cleaning project is putting away clean clothes - Does that count?}