"New" Canisters for Storage

I have an extremely small kitchen.  There are two small drawers.  All the silverware and utensils are in them.  I HATE stuff on the counters, but there is always stuff- chargers, bills to pay, kids treasures, keys, phones.

These have no place to call home at my house.

Then I saw these at a second hand store.  

They were $1 and look very beat up, but I like the shape and knew they were the answer to my countertop woes.

I scrubbed and painted:

I liked them two-toned and I liked the original black handles.  So I kept the tops black.  

They cost $3.50 for blue spray paint.  I had the black on hand.  

Total cost $4.50 

I will store paperwork that needs action in the large one, cords in the next largest.   I could even label them with a white board marker.

Great find!

I took a chance on this 12 month down coat.  It was on sale at a second hand shop for .25 but it was VERY stained.  I soaked it with Shout advanced, tossed it in the washer and there are no stains!!!  We're set for next winter! 

worse version of self

As I was unloading the dishwasher yesterday, a task I had put off all day, I wondered with annoyance how many times I'd put away my white plates, bowls and mugs.  I wished for magic dishes and clothes that reappear clean and put away where they belong in my home.

My head has been aching for 48 hours and so my home has slipped out of my grasp again, filling every basket with laundry, the floor with grit, every surface with stuff and my mind with the blues.  I can feel myself slipping into the land of blahs, the place of gloom.  The place of failure.  The kind of failure that causes a person to give up and to miss out on the joy of what's in front of her.

When I was younger I would have waited for this feeling to go away.  I would have waited and waited and waited.  As if the magic of the cleaning fairy would arrive while I slept.   I chose to believe that I deserved a rest or that the chores were so overwhelming that I would feel worse if I decided to tackle the mess. 

Now that I am older, I know that the only way out into the bright skies of joy is to get off my rump, ask the Lord for help and do what needs to be done.  To turn off the TV, this computer and to set a timer.

Yes, a timer.  I am nothing but a child in a woman's body. If I play a game with myself I can trick myself into doing what needs to be done.  I look around and decide on a time. I say 10-15 minutes in one section of the house.  Then I move clockwise through the space and do NOT allow distractions to enter my space.

So today I'm starting to see a glimmer of hope as the third load of laundry goes into the blessed machine and the cleaning fairy does arrive to drag me back to the light.  All along she's been here, she's me. 

Cloth Diaper with a wool soaker

I found a grey 100% cashmere sweater for $2 at the second hand store.  It is so luxurious and soft!  I also found a merino/angora mix black sweater for $2 and made a great cover with it as well.  I found I could make one medium cover out of just a sleeve! :) This is a huge savings since one wool cover is at least $25 to buy premade.

Today I made a "bullet proof" grey nighttime diaper cover and a regular style black cover.

 My model: 

See how cozy he is!!

 I used this pattern.  I made the legs and waist bands longer on the grey diaper so that it will be a great night time diaper.  I also did a two- layer soaker inside instead of just one.  :)

"Who is rich? He that rejoices in his portion." B. Franklin

I was searching for some books about investment at my library and instead checked out this one.  Something about it rings true with me. The premise of the book is to get out of the "money step" cycle of earning money to spend money on something we think we want.  He encourages to reader to "embrace their inner miser!" 

A key point in this book is to decide what quality of life you want and say enough.    "Establish a permanent standard of living- one that is both comfortable and affordable."  He suggests that this should be an income that you are making in your 30's.   After deciding this is "enough" a person becomes free to stop chasing after more money.  Any money made above the level set goes to saving not to enlarging the standard of living. 

My family has chosen to do this.  Last year we drew the line in the sand and said, "this is enough."  Raises all go to retirement savings.  We will continue to save and not raise our standard of living above the comfortable level that we experience now.

A second key to the book and his philosophy, is to "never underestimate the power of not spending."  He argues that a penny saved is indeed a penny earned, but also a penny that doesn't have to be earned again!  This is the key to being a happy cheapskate.  They have more time for their own goals if their money is not being spent.  "By choosing to not spend the dollar, you know with 100% certainty you will still have the dollar and the luxury of not needing to earn that dollar again." 

I admit it, I am a cheapskate, but who cares.  I'm a happy cheapskate. I don't need to worry about saving a million for retirement, because I won't need to spend a million. :)

Storage

Our family of five lives in a 1400 square foot home.  We have no garage or storage shed.  We do have a storage room in the basement.

I had lots of stuff down there and have removed 3 bags to donate and 2 bags of junk!  I feel good about the space for the first time since we moved into our home.

 I have 5 bins for Christmas, a Christmas tree, 2 convertible toddler car seats and our camping stuff in that space.  Our summer screen doors are there as well.   I cleared out our nightstands and made little desk to accommodate my sewing machine and scrapbook stuff. 

In this space I have our stock groceries, gifts and art supplies. 

Cloth diapers Medium!!!

 Our little guy is already into medium sized diapers!!! He's growing fast! 
I like sewing and experimenting with sewing.  I like to reuse things that would be thrown out to make something useful. I like to sew them myself because I don't want to spend a lot on diapering, but do want it to be easy.
Sewing my own diapers has many benefits.  I can try different designs with no risk.  Since I spent $0 on the materials I can try a pocket liner, a snap in layer, a different shape or size with no worries.  If it doesn't work, I can throw it out with no guilt- it was trash to begin with anyway!

The new born diapers I've made work great, but I've learned that I want to change a few things.

I don't think flannel is the best material for making a diapers.  It's too rigid to get a good fit on baby.  This time I will use flannel for the absorbent part and upcycling T-shirts for the diaper.  The stretch makes it easier to get a good fit on the baby.  

My husband just got new undershirts- the old ones are being made into medium size diapers for baby! :)

Diaper construction:
Cut it out.  If you are a novice seamstress like me, I suggest squaring off the tabs in front and back so that the your sewing will look more consistant at the end.  Trying to make the curved tabs the same on both sides is difficult for beginners like myself.  
Inner:  2 layers of an ugly old T! Sew to that:  leg elastic and the soaker.  For the soaker, I used 6 layers of the T-shirt only in the front.
Outer: 1 layer nicer looking T. 
Put it together:  Put the pretty sides of the diaper together.  Sew around the edges.  Sew around the outside of the elastic. Leave an opening in the back.  Turn it right side out.  Sew around again the edges.  Leave an opening in the back where you turned it.  You've make a pocket where you can add extra absorbancy if needed.  This time sew around the inside of the elastic so that the first seam is outside of elastic and one seam is to the inside and it makes a casing for it.

I'm testing absorbency of this diaper today.  It fits great.  It's trim and soft.  If I need more absorbency, I'll add some in the pocket.

Resources:
Fitted diaper discussion.  
sized patterns
 Spreadsheet from diaper sewing 101 Baby Center page. Everything you need in one place!

Working at Minimalism

I really don't want to be a minimalist in the true sense of the word.  I want to be able to organize everything I have and care for it properly.   Since I am not extremely organized in our home or in my mind, the best way to do that is to have less stuff!
I only want to keep things that our family truly needs or that we find beautiful.  Everything else must go.
The main room consists of three spaces, dining, kitchen and living room.
Since we have nice molding around our windows I got ride of the pointless sheers that only served the children to rearrange and drive me batty.  It seemed bare at first, but now I like it.  Less mental clutter.
I also got rid of all the paperwork on the fridge and set up a paperwork station above the staircase and out of the main room.  
I also centered the couch, which was pushed aside to make room for the Christmas tree and then we just put the swing there.  The baby will be moving to the nursery soon and so I decided to keep the bassinet in the corner for now. 

 To be fair this is the before shot:

Ice storm and comfort food

We were iced in on a Sunday morning.  Church was canceled because of driving conditions and we had a wonderful morning at home.  It seemed we should have something special for breakfast.  Peter made his great homemade donuts and we all had a cozy morning together. 

Cake Donuts:
Combine
2 eggs well beaten, 1 c sugar, 2 T oil, 2/4 milk.
Combine separately and add:
3.5 c flour, 4 t baking powder, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t cinnamon.
Roll and cut donuts. We use a cup and a bottle cap for the centers.  Fry in hot oil until golden.  Serve plain, sugared, glazed or sprinkled. 

Price Match at Walmart

$78---
10lb produce, 10lb potatoes 2 gallons milk, 3 dozen eggs, 48 oz cottage cheese, 1 pound butter and cheese, 14 lb meat, whole wheat bread and tortillas.

Walmart will match every local ad price.  Since I just had a baby I need to keep the shopping quick and within our budget. 

I go through the ads and make a list then buy what's on the list.  I stock up on great deals.  This week $1 for sausage and chicken breast.  I buy a lot and freeze it.  88c for 5 pounds of potatoes.  I buy 10 pounds and keep them in the pantry until they go on sale again. 

My freezer and pantry are stocked with things that I foods I got at the lowest prices so I supplement what I buy with what I have on hand and we eat very well. 

Declutter bathroom two

The kid's bathroom is easier to clean because there is not much in there.  I think that is the whole idea of minimalism.  Less stuff, less to care for, clean up and wash.  It took me less than 10 minutes to declutter and clean up.

Going Minimalist... again!

I'm working on decluttering my house, again.  Clutter just seems to sneak up on me.

I started small in the bathroom, but threw out two bags of stuff! :)

before

after

before

after

this drawer was filled with junk...

It feels good to purge and get rid of things.  I also identified things that I can sell on the local Facebook sale page!

New Territory- Pre-adolescent boy

My eight year old is growing up.  He wants to be big.  He doesn't want to be little or do everything that his sister does.

He loves wii and wants to watch big boy movies. He wants to play tackle football and eat snack food at every minute.   He wants to know everything and he wants to be cool.  I want him to be thoughtful and obedient.  I don't know how to enter this new world of big kid!  Since we are both firstborns and so is my husband we are all butting heads a bit.  

I am trying to find suitable activities for us.

Tonight my husband is gone at a conference.  I'm exhausted with new baby.  I want a family night at home. What to do?

This is on the agenda tonight:

Hope this will make a peaceful night with good discussions too.

Review of Assunta Diaper Cover

Today I received my diaper covers from Assunta.

It took 20 days to receive this order.  Shipping was free. I got three tiny covers and two one size.  They gave me free baby legs with purchase!  They have a limited color selection, but I like solids.  The diapering money supports a non-profit that supports and houses abandoned infants in China.  For more info click here.

All of this was $26

 I thought I would review the Thirsties Size 1 ($12 orange) and the Assunta tiny ($5 red.)

They are the exact same size and fabric.  Both are double gusseted.  The Thirsties does have a curve in the snaps to accommodate umbilical cord and it has a little elastic in front as well.  The Assunta's fabric is a little thicker.

The Assunta has a cross over snap so it can get much smaller in the waist. The largest size is exactly the same.

The snaps are on the against skin on the Thirstie and inside on the Assunta.   The Thirsties has a wipeable inner layer.  The Assunta does not. 

I will try both on baby and report again soon and post amazingly cute baby pictures.   I think the price of the Assunta is excellent and will be ordering covers from there if they work well on my baby boy. 

I'm still working through my disposables from gifts and hospital.  My son is 9 days old. 

I've tried out my Indian prefolds and Thirsties covers just for fun so far. 
I've used the angel wing fold and the jelly roll.  But the trifold and lay in cover is easiest and works great!
Just an encouragement to those planning to cloth diaper your newborn.