Home Sweet Homestead

Springtime and freetime are a heady combination indeed. Throw in a dash of temporary poverty and a book about "urban homesteading" and you've got a recipe for all kinds of creative endeavors. Chris is off-contract (read: seasonally layed-off) until the end of June, so we are watching our pennies but we have lots of family time. This is a rare thing, and Chris especially is excited to take advantage of it. He has been busying himself all over the house with projects, especially housekeeping and gardening. And when one project gets done, it's easy to start another, so I've finally been getting to some projects I've wanted to do for a long time.

When Chris announced to me that he wanted make a worm bin, I actually professed my love for him out-loud. I've been thinking about doing this for over a year. It took a week or so (there was a run on worms at the nursery), but now we have a compost bin full of little Red Wigglers to eat our scraps. This is especially good timing because of all the fresh veggies we are now getting from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). We get a 1/2 share from a local farm every week, which we are splitting with a friend, so the cost for the whole summer is just a little over $200. We save money, eat more veggies, and support local sustainable agriculture. It's a good deal, all around.

I've wanted to make my own laundry soap for a while. It's really cost-effective, and since I know what's going into it, I don't have to worry about unsavory stuff irritating the baby's skin. I was a little worried at first that it wouln't get the clothes clean, but it works really well and the clothes come out smelling fabulous. The recipe is just one bar of Fels-Naptha soap (You can find it for about $1.70 at small hardware stores like Ace or Do it Best. I found it for even less at New Seasons, the local whole-food grocer.), plus 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of "washing soda". I could not find this last ingredient anywhere, but it's just sodium carbonate (not bi-carbonate, like baking soda). Then I realized that oxygen bleach is just a mixture of sodium carbonate and percarbonate (at least this brand), so I substituted that. I cut the soap up into 1 inch chunks and put all the ingredients in a food processor. (Next time, I may grate the soap first to make it easier on the food processor and get a finer blend.) So I put 1 Tablespoon of this into the wash -- maybe 2, if I think it's necessary. I also add white vinegar to the rinse cycle to soften the fabric and help get rid of any hypothetical soap residue. This sounds like an annoying extra step, but one website suggested just putting it in a Downy ball. Genius! The clothes come out clean, soft, and smelling fabulous.

In a similar vein, I made my own all-purpose cleaner from a recipe my cousin posted here. It's mostly vinegar with a little soap, borax, and tea tree oil. I think it works better than 409, and I can feel good about using it on food surfaces.

Last but not least, Chris made bread yesterday. He has fond memories of making it with his mom when he was a kid, and it was easy with a mix from Bob's Red Mill. He did old school, kneading it, letting it rise, and baking it in the oven. I never make bread because I hate kneading. But thanks to a friend, I won't have to. Today, he just gave us his bread maker, which he has never used. So I think at least for a while, homemade bread will be a more regular occurrence around here.

Are you exhausted just reading this? Today it's back outside to take advantage of this GORGEOUS weather and do some gardening.

P.S. : On the way back from picking up the free bread maker, I scored a free kiddie pool sitting on a street corner. I'm such a scrounge. I can't help myself.