Every month I write meal plans that are designed to feed the average family of four for about $350. While that number is low for many families, it's a dream budget for others. There's no doubt about it. The cost of food is steadily going up. Organic milk has gone up by one dollar per gallon in the past year and eggs have doubled in price in the past 3 months alone. It's only $4, but even this small ... Continue Reading
9 Creative Ways to Save on Water
I'll tell you what - nothing makes you think twice about turning on the faucet than seeing your water bill go up. I guess that's the price to live during a drought. In the desert. In California. Go figure. Still, I like hot showers and to be clean and to eat pasta. All of which require water. So if any of that's gonna happen while keeping food on the table, we're gonna have to get creative with saving water. ... Continue Reading
Kinda Crunchy – 31 Day Challenge to Frugal Natural Living
I'm a competitive person by nature. There's satisfaction that comes from beating my own expectations, as well as those of nay-sayers. My husband knows that if he REALLY wants me to do something, challenge me to do it. But I have a sneaky suspicion I'm not the other one who operates this way. I REALLY want you guys to be healthy and enjoy the benefits that come from it. So I have a challenge for ... Continue Reading
How to Make Soap from Soap Scraps
About a year ago, we ditched over the counter body washes and face soaps and switched to all natural goat milk soap from Bend Soap Company. It started because I struggled with acne. Two days of washing with goat milk soap and my acne-prone skin started to clear up. Then I figured out how to turn it into a liquid soap (making washing my face at night much easier) and started shredding it to make ... Continue Reading
DIY Homemade Carpet Deodorizer
A few weeks ago I took a box of produce over to a neighbor's house and I smelled their house. From the mat outside their front door, I could tell that their house smelled good. Not like they were cooking something or baking something or anything like that. And it wasn't even the scent of air freshener or a plug-in. It just smelled clean. Fresh. And inviting. It made me wonder what MY house smelled like. And ... Continue Reading
10 Essential Oil Tips for Beginners
Have you ever felt like everyone in the whole world knew more about a topic than you? Like, even people who you thought would be utterly clueless - even they somehow knew more? That's how I feel about essential oils. I use them and I love them and research them too, but every time I click a link or read an article, I learn something new that makes me feel like I'm back to square one. ... Continue Reading
18 Hacks for Packing School Lunch – A Parents Guide
It's been one full week since my kids started school and oh.my.goodness. No amount of training or mental preparation could prepare me for the mother of all wrenches in your real food plans - a.k.a. packing school lunch. I mean, I THOUGHT I was prepared. I knew it would take work, some planning and a few cursory talks with the kids to make sure we were all on the same page... but in all seriousness, reading ... Continue Reading
Strawberry Chocolate Granola Clusters Recipe
Sha-blam! I have figured out the trick to crunchy granola CLUSTERS. That's what I shared on Facebook last week after discovering the two-part secret process (and secret ingredients!) to making homemade granola clusters. What you didn't see though is the BEAMING SMILE on my face behind the camera. First, I mastered the art of homemade granola clusters. A feat in itself, lemme tell you. Second, I ... Continue Reading
Five School Lunches in Less Than an Hour (free printable)
School lunches. Dun dun dun… They’re a plague on parents far and wide. Deciding what to pack, finding the time to pack, fighting the kids on what you just packed and potentially losing your pretty reusable containers to the school trash can. The whole thing is battle I’d rather not fight, but the kids have to eat and it’ll be goldfish and gummies if I don’t step in and do something. ... Continue Reading
DIY Homemade Bubbles
One the cutest things my little toddler does is bring me his shoes. It never fails that he brings me one left foot and one right foot, but they are always mismatched shoes! Then he brings me my shoes. And then he goes and bangs on the door begging to go outside! This ritual happens several times a day. Needless to say, we spend a lot of time outdoors. Besides walking down the path near our home and splashing ... Continue Reading