Repurposed rain gutters

These are so cool, and a great way to plant flowers or herbs.

Happy Earth Day!

I hope everyone had a great Earth Day! We sure did. It was beautiful outside and we met our homeschooling friends at the park.

Please do what you can to be green :o)

Here are some ideas:
-Use cloth instead of paper towels and napkins
-Recycle, recycle, recycle!
-When you print something you don't need, tear it in half and make a pile of notepaper.
-Compost! Take a plastic garbage can with a lid, drill some 1" holes all over it, fill it with fruit &
veggie scraps, dead leaves, shredded paper, and a little water. Let it cook in the sun until it's
done and then dump it in the garden or whereever else you would like some awesome organic
compost.
-reuse glass containers for storing leftovers instead of plastic and baggies
-buy cloth reusable bags for your groceries. They won't break, have longer handles, and hold
way more
-shop garage sales and second hand stores.
-have a garage sale or put stuff on freecycle - one man's garbage...
-turn your heat down and turn your air up
-use long lasting light bulbs
-insulate, insulate, insulate
-use natural cleaning products - vinegar and water can clean anything!
-be more organized about your shopping so you'll drive less - save gas - save money
-plant trees - grow fruit - buy meat from a natural farmer
I could go on forever :o)
Do what you can, and others, especially your kids, will follow :o)

Ideas for Earth Day / Arbor Day

Since Earth Day / Arbor Day is next week, I was curious if anyone has some good ideas for celebrating. Last year we got free tree seedlings at Cub Foods. I've seen that McDonalds will be giving out free tree seedlings on Friday April 24th.

Another interesting tidbit about being environmentally friendly is you can recycle your ink cartridges and it will help donate money to The Raptor Center - here is the link with more info: http://www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu/recycling/home.html

Speaking of Ink Cartridges...since we homeschool, does anyone have great resources of where to get ink cartridges cheap? Seems like we go through them ALOT and they are not cheap. I was thinking of asking Office Max if they would consider any kind of homeschool discount.

Lori

Back to Basics Bread

I'll have to try this one out :o) It looks quick and easy!

Frugal Gardening links

Free pack of tomato seeds from Campbell Soup: http://www.helpgrowyoursoup.com/
Free seeds for sending in photos of your garden: http://www.buzzyseedsblog.com/
Free tree seeds from Tree Dazzled: http://www.treedazzled.com/treedazzled/freeSeeds.html
Start a Garden Journal: http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/2009/03/starting-garden-journal.html
How to grow potatoes in a garbage can: http://www.curbly.com/DIY-Maven/posts/6266-how-to-grow-potatoes-in-a-trash-can
Free Trees and Plants: http://www.freetreesandplants.com/index.html

Enjoy!
Lori

Homeschool links

I just added a bunch of homeschool links on the right side of the page. Some have great free curriculum and other stuff. Let me know if you have any others to add :o)

Free audiobooks online

Click here to go to LibriVox. You can search and find books and listen to them.

Kids glasses for $25!

Target is having a special. Kids get to pick any frames and they'll put some pretty nice lenses in them for $25! I wish they had them for adults because I really need some :o)
Click here to go there.

DIY...cheap alternatives for planting

I heard about making seed balls, this sounds like a great idea for kids so we are going to try and give it a go. Check this out for materials/instructions.

Also, here is another way of making your own planting pots with newspaper!

Lori

Turn clipped branches into new trees..

I've been looking for some ways to save money and also be able to increase the number of hardwood and fruit trees in my yard. I just found a great help!

Make "Willow Water" to use as a root hormone! Then cut branches off the trees you already have and soak them overnight in it. Plant them in the ground and you are done! I believe it because we have willow bushes all over our yard and them babies grow like mad.

Here are the full instructions:

Any species of willow will work. You will need some of the small branches - pencil-thin seems to work the best. Cut them up into small pieces.

For an all-purpose rooting tonic, 2 cups of cut stems soaked in a half gallon of warm water for one or two days. For a stronger tonic, use more willow stems! To make the tonic faster, use boiling water instead of warm and soak overnight. This will work even if you are lazy and just use cold water and soak the willow stems for a couple of days. Use promptly and make a fresh batch for each use. Or, put your willow water in a jar with a tight fitting lid and stick it in the refrigerator. It will keep for a few weeks or so that way . . .

Using willow water is even easier than making it. Soak cuttings you want to root in it overnight. Or water your soil-planted cuttings with the willow water. Two applications should do it. Some cuttings will root directly in a jar of willow water. The stuff also works great when you are setting out transplants - just water them with it after you plant them! Try this the next time you get a bouquet of roses - you might get a beautiful rose bush or two!

I wish I had known this last Summer when I tried to root some tree branches :o) I will definitely be using it for more apple trees :o)

Shipping container houses!

We were just talking about this yesterday and now I just saw this story on Yahoo about it, lol.
Cool homes made out of shipping containers. I wonder if they echo as much as my house does with it's hardwood floors? :o)

Meal Planning

I'm SO bad at meal planning...would love to hear everyone's tips for this. You'd think I could get a system down after all these years! I happen to find this link which I've read and it sounds like it might help me take some steps in doing this. Here's the link.

-Lori

Indoor Seed Starting

It's almost that time of year :o) Time to start getting the seeds planted for the garden. That way you won't have to spring for them later :o)
Here's a great article about it. I also have a friend that uses a 4 tier metal storage rack and hangs shop lights above each shelf, from the bottom of the shelf above it. You can grow a lot of plants on that rack!
Here's a blog by the same lady with lots more info.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

80 loads (approx.)

Change to: loads (aprox.) US Metric

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

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Ingredients

• 1 bar bath soap, grated (your favorite brand, fels naptha is great)
• 1 cup arm & hammer super washing soda laundry detergent (a laundry booster)
• 1/2 cup borax
• hot water

Directions

1. Place grated soap in a pot.
2. Cover with water and simmer over medium heat until all soap is melted, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour into 5 gallon bucket.
4. Add washing soda and borax.
5. Add enough hot water to fill the bucket.
6. Stir (I use a long measuring stick, but any long stick will work).
7. Let sit overnight to gel.
8. Use 1 cup per load.
9. (You can pour this into old detergent containers or leave in the bucket. Please cover with a lid if leaving in the bucket to protect children and pets.).

Homemade butter

I just made butter with the kids. 1 pint of heavy whipping cream divided into 2 glass jars with a tiny sprinkle of salt. Shake, and shake some more, until it's thick and creamy.
Of course the kids pooped out and I had to finish it, lol.

Last minute Coborn's deals

This week, Coborn's had 2 lb bags of Crystal Farms shredded cheese for $6.99 each! Great deal since they are almost $9 at Walmart and usually over $10 at Coborn's.
Also, they have 64 oz Food Club 100% Apple Juice for .99!
Sale ends today!

In tomorrow's ad they have lots of b1/g1 free deals. And you no longer need coupons for them, which is great because there also aren't limits on quantities.

Welcome

Well, here it is! I'm very excited to share our ideas and great finds. Please post any great deals, helpful hints, etc. that you find that might be of help to someone else.