Living on the Cheap AND Green

I've been writing this post in my head for days, unsure of where to start. I've got a lot of tips and tricks that we do here at the homestead to save money, but we've been doing them for so long that I've lost touch with what parts of our life are not exactly normal. Or perhaps I could even go so far as to say that in our house, abnormal is the new normal.

For instance, it wasn't until someone suggested saving money by foregoing toilet paper that I remembered that we already DO that. When our biggest little was a baby I found myself growing jealous over her soft wet hiney wipes, and it didn't take me long to cut up a few more squares of old towel, serge their edges, and throw them into a shelf above the potty for our own use. I keep a bucket next to the toilet to hold the dirty wipes until diaper and wipe washing day. (Don't worry about visiting us though, we still keep TP around for guests!!)

Speaking of laundry, here is the detergent recipe I promised:

2 bars Castile soap, grated
2 cups of borax
2 cups of washing soda

I use Kirk's Castile soap but am searching for a cheaper option, that still doesn't contain fragrances or lathering agents. Tough to find these days. Know of any?

I usually make a double batch, mix it all up well, and store it in an old 9lb bucket. I use one or two tablespoons depending on the load, and it generally lasts me 6-8 weeks. I have not noticed that our clothes are any cleaner nor any dirtier than when we used the other stuff. Most importantly, our dirtiest, smelliest kitchen rags, consistantly come out clean. So, I consider that a success!

The kitchen is another place where I try to scrimp and save in the paper products department. We've moved from disposable sponges to washable washcloths, from paper towels to hand towels and cloth napkins. We use reusable containers for lunches and snacks on the go instead of plastic baggies.

We've also started using straight washing soda in our dishwasher, with a tablespoon or so of citric acid. Once in a while we put vinegar in as our rinse aid. And that all works perfectly fine for about half the cost.

On a related note, I have tried using Dr. Bronner's Unscented Liquid Soap (since I use Dr. B for so much else!) for dish-washing soap, but haven't found it to be as effective for cutting grease. So I still buy regular dish-soap and try to be conscious of how much I'm using.

Dr. Bronner's does seem to work fabulous in the bathroom though! We use it as hand soap, as body soap in the shower, and also as shampoo when needed. Now, the kids and I very rarely wash our hair. When we shower we massage our scalp under the hot water, and that's it. Only after lots of pool swimming or fantastic dirt playing-- when we really, really need sudsy action in there, we use soap. After rinsing out the soap we will then use an apple cider vinegar rinse to remove the residue. (And no, we don't smell like pickles!) Soft, clean hair, for super cheap!

But, a word of warning, before jumping onto the Dr. Bronner's bandwagon, read the label and do as the bottle says, dilute, dilute, dilute!

We also use Dr. Bronner's as toothpaste. Of course, every camper will tell you that using it straight isn't much fun, so I mix Dr. Bronner's unscented liquid soap with baking soda, water, a pinch of salt, about 20+ drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract, and a few drops of peppermint or orange or cinnamon essential oil. I wish I could tell you amounts but we mix it up differently each time. When the jar gets low we fill almost to the top with baking soda. Then, we add the water and soap in a ratio of about 1 parts soap : 2 parts water. By this time the jar is overflowing, and the kids are getting out of hand because it's past bedtime. We stir in the rest of the ingredients quickly, spilling toothpaste everywhere. The kids cheer! They love when we have a new batch of toothpaste because it's fun and foamy. Then they ever-so-cooperatively brush their teeth while we scrub off the counter grime with the excess paste that spilled out.

What a convenient segue to talk about home cleaning products!
We use vinegar and hot water for just about every surface in our house. If it needs more "uumph" I might add some baking soda, or Dr. Bronner's. Most things just need a little extra elbow grease when you aren't using chemical cleaners! I've also heard that vodka makes a great cleaner/sanitizer, but I haven't tried that one yet. I would be more likely to drink the vodka while cleaning (which still sounds like cheap and natural way to clean your house! Right?!?)

I've got a lot more things to share about living on the cheap, but I've got to take some time to organize them. Do you have a preference for where I go next with this?

In the meantime, I thought that I would share our budget spreadsheet and numbers so that you can have something to go by if/when you think about your budget. It's in google docs, check it out!
(Oh, and this is especially for family, don't worry about our negative balance! That figure is including the things that we want to start setting money aside for, like house and car repairs. It also is based off of reduced work hours. We're are consistantly well fed and very happy! I'll share more later about how we manage to eat well, as well as entertain ourselves for free!)

So, it's almost February. Do I have any takers on that grocery budget challenge??

The "B" Word

So, while I don't generally approve of the "B" word in my house, right now I feel no other choice than to use it.

I'm just so frustrated about this situation!

I can't believe this is about to come out of my mouth.

I'm talking about a "Budget."

A capital "B" Budget at that.

Sat down for some financial counseling yesterday, thanks to my friend Thom Dellwo at Cooperative Federal Credit Union! I made the appointment because they have free hours for Coop Fed members (for a limited time-- so go now if you are a member!) and my childcare situation has eased immensely since my father-in-law moved to town (Thanks Grandpa!) So, no excuses.

I have sat down and written out a budget before, but I usually get to the part where I don't understand why we are still well-fed and have clothes on our backs while not hugely in debt. For us, budgeting isn't really an "exact" science. So previously, I've just kept the ongoing tally in my head of how much we had spent overall and when payday was, and perhaps most importantly, when our tax refund was coming. And that worked.

Looking at the sheet with the numbers on it just makes me panic. And then when I start to explore our options for things like public assistance, I get really, really upset. If we were to make $800.00 less per month, and qualified for foodstamps/state health insurance/etc, we would have $1000.000 more in our pocket each month. Where is our incentive? But I digress.

So, living without a budget based on exact science won't work to do the things that I want in the future (and neither will getting angry about our broken system), like remodeling the downstairs apartment, going debt-free by 2016, and buying a small fortune of liquor to use for bartering once the economy collapses (ha ha...oye..?)

So Thom helped me work through all that budgeting angst and anxiety and now, what I'm left with is finding $300+ dollars/month to start breaking even consistently, stop going without so often, and to squirrel money away somewhere.

Finding $300/month isn't that bad, until you realize how bare bones our budget already is. We have two leads to pursue, one is to get school loans consolidated and hopefully waived temporarily, and two is to move our food(including takeout) and toiletry budget from $700/month to $500/month.

So that will be my challenge for February. Want to join me?

My first step is quitting coffee. Starts Monday.

You don't have to quit coffee or start Monday, but I would appreciate some Budgeting Buddies. Drop me a line and tell me what you are looking to do with the money you save.

I'll be logging in soon with some menu ideas as well as how I'm going to source those ingredients. Fun stuff, right?

I'll also spend some time sharing with you how our family of five survives on a shoestring, like recipes for our DIY cleaners and toothpaste as well as what to do for free family fun.

So look forward to that, I am!

The Hows (but mostly whys) of Candlemaking

I originally intended to include this in the original candle making post but once I started writing that post took a different direction. So consider this Part II.

Holding the cool bricks of beeswax in my hand, I mulled over the idea of getting involved with a project that could potentially take hours to complete, with no opportunities for an easy out should some little person decide a different course for the day. I took a deep wiff and thought about what my goal was for the project, what was I hoping the kids would take away?

The idea to create something for the children to use in their bedtime routine was necessary because we were about to shake things up a bit. Our oldest little is particularly adverse to change, and I was wanting to tamper the impending upheaval. We had already begun preparing her for the transition only to be met with pouts, grunts, and feet stomping. Having recently finished Donna Simmon's Kindergarten with your Three to Six Year Old, I was reflecting on the need to speak less and do more. Children get overwhelmed trying to process our heady verbal directions. At this age, our littles are not thinking with their heads just yet. Right now they are exploring with their bodies. They require something that stimulates their senses and keeps their souls connected to the here and now. So instead of pontificating on the new order of events ad nasuem, we needed to create a symbol of the change, a physical reminder, something tangible that she could take into her senses. Together the kids and I would need to form a spiritual vessel that would carry them peacefully through the night.

I first thought of creating a candleholder, which would then be used only to read by at bedtime. I handed the children a sheet of deep purple tissue paper for the dark night and sparkled white paper for the flickering stars and told them to rip it into smaller pieces. I then watered down some white glue and pulled out the foam brushes. I had the littles brush glue onto a vase, and cover it randomly with purple or white paper.

I soon saw how taken they were with the project, and thought about how delighted they would be to be able to light a candle of their own making that evening.

I thought about what sort of an experience they would be taking into their being while making dip candles, and then being able to call upon it later during the stressful evening.

I thought about their dimpled, red cheeks grinning as they stood over the sweet warm wax, singing songs about the light within us all.

Just then, I was reminded about the approach of Imbolc, the day of the Goddess Brigit; a goddess associated with fire and healing.

I quickly threw the wax bricks into a half gallon canning jar that I then placed into a large pot of water and put it all on the stove to boil.

I covered the table with paper. I gathered a wad of hemp, a dowel, and two boxes to prop the dowel between. This would be where our candles hung to cool. The littlest little (!) used the scissors to help me cut six strands of hemp that were twice the length of our jar.

Meanwhile, the big littles soon had the gaps on the candleholder filled, and we set it aside to dry. I cleaned up their space and got them snack as we waited for the wax to melt. Our kitchen was so warm and sweet smelling.

I pulled out a story about the Goddess Brigit and the light that we all carry inside, and began reading it to children while I dipped the ends of the hemp into the warm wax for the first time. After their quick dip, I laid them onto a cutting board. Once the hemp strands cooled I rolled them out on the cutting board and pulled them straight. Then I straddled them over the dowel and got the kids situated near the jar of melted wax.

The children were shown how to dip the hemp strands into the jar; they had to go all the way in and all the way out, three times. The big littles took turns dipping the strands and then handing it back to me to place on the dowel. By the time the last strand on the dowel was dipped, the first was cool enough to dip again. The children soon learned that it was important to dip quickly. If the stands were left in for too long, they would come out naked!

Once we got into a groove, we watched our candles grow very quickly, taking breaks to go play nearby once the jar grew opaque and I placed it back on the stove to cool.

We sang, we discussed the story of Brigit, we put our hands around the warm jar.

As the candles grew we took turns rolling them out on the cutting board to get rid of the lumps and curves. I took a knife and cut off little candle nipples that were forming on the bottoms. The littlest little especially enjoyed gathering up these smooth wax pieces, and squeezing between brother and sister to drop them back into the jar.

I didn't expect the kids to be so taken with the task but they returned each time I announced that the wax had melted again. It took us about one and one half hour to complete the dipping.

That evening, once Daddy was home, we chose a candle, cut its wick down to size, and put it in its bedtime spot to wait.

That evening while Daddy sang the same songs of light and strength that had been sung earlier, he lit the candle allowing the smell of beeswax to permeate the room. As if the memory had been infused within the layers of wax, the children's inner strength and light was reborn as the candle burned. Using the candle as a prop, we were able to call upon the nurturing experiences of the afternoon, and we tapped into the inner light of the littles to carry them through this difficult transition.

Going off the Deep End.

I've had this idea in my head since we ran out of beeswax sheets that I kept ignoring because I felt like it might be a little "out there" or "too complicated" but as I was writing my "master to-do list" and about to write down "buy new candle making kit" I added "/look up how to make candles."

And it was just about at that moment that I thought I had jumped off the deep end.

On top of making nearly everything from scratch in the kitchen, we've been making our own toothpaste for nearly six years now, after reading the back of a toothpaste label and recognizing just about all of the ingredients. Shortly after that, I started making salve and lotion after attending a fantastic workshop at a summer NOFA conference (where I also learned how dang easy it was to make my own butter, cheese, and yogurt!) We switched from shampoo and conditioner to Dr. Bronner's and Apple Cider Vinegar a few years ago, and this past year we've added laundry detergent and dishwashing powder to that DYI list.

Well, I had thought that perhaps we had reached the limit of DYI household items that were possible to accomplish with three kids (and the associated work of) in tow. Any more and I would be certifiable, right? I mean, who in their right mind spends hours on making something that you can run out to the store and buy?? Some day I would like to take it to the next level of DIY/self-sufficiency but it would just be too hard with these littles underfoot, right? Right??

Well. I looked up how to make candles the night before yesterday. And the yesterday, the kids and I dipped our own candles.

And I don't think I'll ever go back to buying the beeswax sheets again. (Although I may buy some of the shapelier hand-dipped from the honey folks at the farmer's market for special occasions.)

It was so easy, it entertained us for a few hours, and was done almost entirely by the big kids (with Lyra's supervision.)

It was that simple. And what a fantastic and deeply visceral experience for the big kids. They will know in their bones what it takes to create something with their own hands to satisfy a need, what it means to be self sufficient. They will not have the hesitation I have about starting up a new project because nothing will be new to them. This is just life.

I took the time during set-up, when they were so enthralled with the project that I had their undivided attention, to tell them a story from Starhawk's book, Circle Round, about Brigit, as Imbolc is approaching and it seemed quite fitting. While I prepped the hemp by giving it an initial dip in the hot wax, they absorbed the tale of a brother and sister discovering their own inner spark and ability to work and accomplish into this experience.

Perhaps the story will have left an impression, a "muscle memory", within the children that will be revisited every time the candles are lit?

What sweet thoughts that leaves me with!

While I was watching my (almost!) five year old and my six year old dip and dip and dip the hemp into the melted wax I learned that I still have so much to learn. I still have a long ways on this homestead journey.

What fun!

I can not wait to figure out what other things I can take back from the hustle and bustle of the modern consumerist society. What other day to day ways can I adopt to make the family slow down and take notice of how things work, where things come from, and how they can "make do" on their own? What do you all do?

One idea that has been in the back of my mind is making a large rag rug. Our dog spilled a jar full of oil on our playroom carpet, and that stain is never coming out. I've got a lot of torn sheets, old towels, and yards of cotton taking up space on shelves. How cool would it be to be able to play on a rug that you made?

What is on your list of things to learn to do and create?

Life is work.
Life is life.
Life is.

Still here!

Feeling very euphoric after successfully taking three children sledding for two hours at the park. I'm sorry to say I don't have pictures, I left my phone home on that trip. But I do have pictures of the kids enjoying their new swing!

I have been busy here lately, and posting obviously has become low priority but I have a few posts in the works, so don't despair I didn't abandon this blog!

I hope everyone is enjoying their tea drinking, book reading season!