31 Days of Homemaking - Day 5 - Finding Inspiration

It's so important to have a vision of what you want in your life.

Habakuk 2:2-3 tells us:

 ²And the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.
³For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not tarry.

   

I have dream books, journals, lists, and pictures of many of the visions of my heart.  One of the area's I have the most fun with this is in regard to dream homes.  I've had this picture of the 2004 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway house for years...

I also fell in love with the home on The Notebook the moment I saw it...

And now, with Pinterest, I feel inspired to make my house homey every time I log on.

Here's some of my favorite homey place and spaces from Pinterest...

I just want to encourage you to dream big when it comes to your dream home and home projects. You don't have to spend tons of money to make your house homey.  Start small changes and you'll see a big difference. 

31 Days of Homemaking - Day 4 - How to Hang Wall Art

Have you ever walked into a room and the first thing you notice is how high the art is hung on the wall?

http://www.squidoo.com/ten-biggest-decorating-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them

I have.  It's probably my mother coming out in me, but it's something I definitely notice and it usually ends up bothering me a little (OCD, much?) ha!  There are a couple of fail-proof tips that can help you hang that piece of beauty in the most perfect spot.

1.  The top of the frame should never be higher than the door frame.  There are always exceptions to this rule, especially with big art pieces, but as a rule of thumb, if you have a 'regular' size piece of art or smaller, make sure it's not sticking up higher than your door frame.

2. The rule my momma always taught me was to hang your picture at eye level.  This can be tricky since we're not all the same height.  So, we will go off of the average eye-level height of a person at 57".  The center of your wall art should be at 57".  This is probably not where your nail/hook/wire/whatever is. So...

1. Measure and lightly mark 57" on the wall
2. Measure top of your picture to the middle (or take height and divide by 2)
3. Measure top of your picture to the tightened wire (a small amount)
4. Subtract this last amount to tell you how far above 57" your hook should go
5. Measure up from 57" with this last amount and lightly mark on the wall

This also works for hanging groups of pictures.  Just always remember the CENTER of your picture (or group of pictures) should always fall at 57 inches from the floor.

Some picture hanging tips that I've seen on Pinterest:

http://theindustrialcottage.blogspot.com/

Mark your nail spot by putting toothpaste on the back of the picture

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com

Use a Coke tab to make your own hook to hang your picture from

http://mmscrapshoppe.blogspot.com

Use a clothespin and nail to mark your spot on the wall.

Hope this helps!

31 Days of Homemaking - Day 3 - Making My Own Laundry Detergent

I've been wanting to make my own laundry detergent for awhile now.  Laundry detergent is just too expensive.  I found the recipe for a dry/powder laundry detergent on a blog: Being Creative to Keep My Sanity through Pinterest (gotta love it!) that I thought would be the best option for me.  I actually use liquid detergent when I purchase it, but after looking at a couple of homemade liquid detergent recipes it seemed like too much of a hassle.  With the powder detergent, the most work I have to do is grate some soap.

It only takes 1 TBS./load...that's ONE TABLESPOON PER LOAD!!!!  This makes a TON!  It will last for MONTHS and MONTHS!  I'm super excited about this.

This is what you need:
1 - 4lb. box of Borax ($4.09)
1 - 4lb. box of baking soda ($3.38)
1 - 4lb box of washing soda ($3.15)
3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap($1.29 each = $3.87)
1 tub of Oxyclean (I used the Kroger brand, it was half the price of actual Oxyclean and I really like Kroger brand items) ($3.59)

Total = $18.08

(By the way, if you live in Cookeville all of these items are at Kroger in the laundry aisle except for the baking soda...it's in the baking aisle.)

The hardest part of this recipe is that you have to grate all of the bars of Fels-Naptha soap.  I grated the first bar by hand with my grater and decided to do the other 2 with my food processor.  It took a lot less time in the food processor, so if you have one, I'd use it.

Then, you mix all of your ingredients together.  I got a 16qt. Rubbermaid storage container and stirred it in that.  Worked out great.  And, it really does make your house smell so good while you're making it.

I'm washing my first load with it right now.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

(Side note: this detergent will not suds up, so trust you've put in enough)

31 Days of Homemaking - Day 2 - Folding a Fitted Sheet

My Mimi would be so proud that I'm blogging about folding sheets.  She was a Home Ec. teacher.  She taught me how to set a table properly, and that I didn't need to put my elbows on the table.  I'm very thankful for everything she's taught me from etiquette to self worth.  Mimi has alzheimers now, but I know if she was her normal self, she would have the neatest linen closet with folded AND ironed sheets.

I came across this video and it seems pretty simple...(even though I think it's hilarious that she refers to folding sheets as one of the biggest challenges you'll ever face in life! -- I don't know about that, but I do know, when my linen closet is nicely organized, a little piece of me feels nice and organized on the inside.) ;)

But, as many times as I watched this clip, I still couldn't get it her way.  So I did a variation....

Here's my attempt:

I still have some work to do to get those crisp lines.  My guess is that's where the ironing comes in...and I'm thinking that's where I'll draw the line. Ha!  It also could have to do with this particular sheet being a jersey knit.

I also came across this interesting sheet storage tip on Pinterest:

Store the sheet set in one of the pillow cases.


Any of you all have success at folding fitted sheets?  Any tips?

31 Days of Homemaking - Day 1 - Cooking Pork Stew

There's nothing more than cooking and the smell of a yummy meal that feels homier to me.  Since today is the first day of October and fall feels like it's here for good, I attempted my first batch of stew.  And it smells good!  My sweet husband was kind enough to go grocery shopping for me yesterday while I stayed home with the babe, so I was texting him my grocery list as it came to mind.  (I really need to work on making meal plans and grocery lists -- maybe that can be included in my 31 Days of Homemaking!).  I asked him to pick up a few ingredients that I thought would make a good beef stew.  Well, by accident, he got pork stew meat, so this is a trial run. :)

I took Paula Deen's Old-Time Beef Stew recipe and made it my own...

• 1 lb. Pork stew meat
• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Dash ground allspice
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 6 potatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cans diced tomatoes

Brown the meat in the EVOO.  Then add the water, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice.  Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours. After the meat mixture is finished put it and the potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes in a crock pot..  Add about 2 more cups water.  Stir.  Spoon out 1 cup of the liquid and wisk in the cornstarch.  Then mix it back in with the stew.  Cook on high in the crockpot until potatoes and carrots are cooked through.

I'll be serving mine with corn muffins.  I'll let you know how the pork turns out. :)

31 Days of Homemaking

I'm jumping on the bandwagon (and hoping I stay on it!).  The Nester and Nesting Place is encouraging bloggers to blog for the 31 days of October.  When I first heard about this I was excited for a couple of reasons:  1.  Maybe this will help me get back into the swing of blogging, and 2.  This is a way I can document some of the home-y things I've been wanting to attempt.

I'm really looking forward to my 31 Days of Homemaking!

Whatchoo Talkin' 'bout?!

I've been contemplating my words lately, and the words of others, specifically about spouses.  I've seen and heard countless times spouses speaking poorly and downright horribly about one another.  And, the only thing I can think of when I see (on facebook, mostly) or hear this is, "You're the idiot who picked them!"  I don't care what s/he did...YOU look like the fool when you talk badly about the other one publicly.

The scripture tells us that the TONGUE has the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21).  So, when we speak negatively about things in our life...we are creating DEATH!  When we speak positively about things...we are creating LIFE!  It's. That. Simple. Really. It. Is.

Does that mean we don't deal with the reality of matters?  Absolutely not.  That just means when you're dealing with the reality of matters you need to speak life over them not death.

Let me give you a real life facebook example.  One of my fb friends shared over a status post that his wife had committed adultery.  I put it a lot more nicely than he did (you can imagine).  So, of course, the comments to the post were HORRIBLE, wife-bashing comments.  Well, a couple of months later, I noticed the couple was back together and happy.  I've learned from the wisdom of others....we have the grace to forgive our spouses while our parents (especially) and friends do not.  Keep issues about your marriage within your marriage or seek professional help.  Facebook is NOT the place to air your dirty laundry or emotional posts.

Let me add this in while I'm on the topic.  NEVER. EVER. NEVER. EVER. speak badly about your spouse (or ex-spouse) to your children!  Think about it folks...children get their identity from their parents.  If you're speaking badly about their father or mother to them, they take that on as their own identity.  If you're divorced, that's your issue...not your child's issue.  They are not your therapist and should never be put in that position.  Keep your words positive about your ex to your children or don't say anything at all...I don't care if your child is 4 or 40.  If you have spoken badly about your spouse to your child, ask them to forgive you and never do it again.

Again, you're either creating life or death through your words.  Speak life over your spouse.  Praise them. Love them like you committed to do.  Love them especially when they are unlovable.  Quit being so self-centered that it's all about them pleasing you.  Encourage them.  Support them.  EVEN WHEN IT'S HARD!  It's worth it.  I guarantee it...their actions will start matching up to your words.  It's Bible.