Making The Home: Removing Stains

"Ack I just got chocolate ice cream on my white shirt!"

Ever heard or done that before? I will admit at times I tend to have a hole in my lip when I eat, which usually means my clothes catch everything!

In my last MTH article, I mentioned about using baking soda and vinegar in your laundry for odors, but I wanted to show you the other home-remedies we use. We try to use a lot of home-remedies so we don't have to worry about any of the harmful ingredients in laundry products. A lot of times using store-bought products, unless organic, will be harmful to your health in the long run.

One thing that my mom has always liked using for stains is Shaklee Basic-H because it isn't harmful and doesn't take the colour out of the clothes. Right now we're using a organic brand from the store, which I will post more about later. They also have a stain-remover, which my sister just found, so we've been using that along with these other home-removers:

Baking Soda - Add 1/2 cup baking soda to your detergent in the wash cycle. Then add 3/4 cup vinegar in the rinse. It gets the colors brighter and the whites whiter, and I rarely have to use any pre-treatments.

Hydrogen Peroxide - You can use peroxide for any blood stain on clothing. Don't rinse clothes with blood on them, especially with hot water, because this will rupture the red blood cell membrane and you won't be able to remove the red spots. Instead put some peroxide directly onto it and let it set for awhile. Usually you can keep adding peroxide until the stain in completely gone. This also works for blood-stains on carpets, couches, or any other cloth material.

Hand Soap - If you're not at home or a place where you can change your clothing when you spill something on it, apply soap on it. Hand-soap in a restaurant's bathroom will work just fine. Don't rinse your clothes though. Just add the soap. Adding water will wash the stain through the clothes an will be harder to get out.

I heard of using a paste made of meat tenderizer and water for sweat stains. Sounds kind of weird. Apparently you just rub it into the stains just before throwing in the washer. The tenderizer breaks down the proteins (your sweat) and loosens them to lift out of the fabric.

When you've applied soap, baking soda, or peroxide on your clothes and washed them, yet you still have a stain. Don't give up and throw in the dryer. It may take a couple washings to get rid of the stain. Every time you take it out of the washer add some more stain remover.

We never use bleach unless we absolutely have to, and organic bleach at that. Did you know that when you apply bleach to clothes it eats the fabric? That's how harmful it is.

Yes, they may just be clothes that you wear and not eat, but so what. They are touching your skin the entire day. We take precautions in wearing sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun, yet we don't often take the time to protect the clothing that touches our skin everyday. It is important.

I'm interested in hearing what you use on your laundry!

Blessings!

Making The Home: Washin' The Laundry

Everyone has laundry and everyone has their way of caring for laundry. Until a few weeks ago I had never really done the laundry because my older sister had always been the one to do it. I never really liked doing laundry whenever she'd have me help, but I think that was because I'd always have to fold. Some people like to fold while others might prefer doing something else.




There are four main steps to completely a load of laundry.
1. Washing
2. Drying
3. Folding
4. Putting away

It might seem a very simply task, but it is a little more complex than that. Before you wash your load you'll want to separate them into piles.

The main colour piles are:
1. whites
2. darks - blues, blacks, jeans
3. colours - greens, yellows, light blue, khaki
4. reds - reds, orange, pink
5. towels

The reason you want to divide these all up is mainly because clothes bleed and if you have something red in with something green it may bleed and ruin the clothing. Putting clothes into the same colour piles will also help your clothes keep their colour.

After you've divided them up, stick them in the washer. We use powder soap, baking soda, and vinegar in most loads. The baking soda and vinegar help with any odors.

When your laundry is done washing you can either hang them out on the clothes-line or stick them in the dryer. Because we have warm weather we have been hanging them out. This also saves us on the heating bill by not using the dryer. However, before you put your clothes out or in the dryer check for stains. Once you put the clothing into the dryer the heat will set the stain in and will be hard to get out, if at all.

When your laundry is all dry you can take them in to fold. Fold the clothes into piles according to whom they belong. When you're done you can easily take the piles and place them directly on the owner's bed, dresser, or into their drawer.

More coming on stains...

Making The Home: A Spoonful Of Honey

I absolutely love honey. It's a natural substance that is very healthy for you. It's high in a lot of vitamins, but especially B-vitamin. You can take honey for just about anything. Add cinnamon to the mix and you've got some powerful stuff, and all natural. Making the home not only a healthier place, but a much safer one.

Facts on honey and cinnamon:

* It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases.
* Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases.
* Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.
* Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients.
* In addition to that, Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, on its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:

IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural Ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

TOOTHACHE: Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on th e aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient were found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol. (By the way. if you' re taking cholesterol medicine STOP! They all contain STATIN which weaken your muscles...including YOUR HEART and none has been shown to stop heart attacks or strokes!!!!

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

GAS: According to the studies done in India and Japan , it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada , various nursing home s have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

LONGEVITY: Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

PIMPLES: Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTIONS: Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

WEIGHT LOSS: Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

CANCER: Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

BAD BREATH: People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS: Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore hearing.

Recent studies show that start taking small servings of raw honey before the allergy season starts can help you all together. Because the honey already has pollen in it, it counteracts the pollen that gives you allergies.

Bet you didn't know just how GREAT honey really is for you, huh? Do you realize how often honey is mentioned in the Bible? Or that the Israelites were traveling to a land flowing with milk and HONEY? There over 60 mentions of honey in the Bible. John the baptist was quite fond of honey with locust.

I recently found that using honey instead of sugar in lemonade mixes is WONDERFUL! What do you use honey for?

Making The Home: Storing "Out Of Season" Clothing

Ah it's spring and not only are the flowers in bloom, birds in the air, but the weather is warm. You no longer have to stay cooped up in your house under layers of clothing. So what do you do with all your winter clothes? There are a few places you can store them. All in an organized fashion with easy access for next year's snow and low temperatures.

You can store your out of season clothes in plastic tubs. Many stores, even the dollar store has plastic tubs with lids to store almost anything in, and they stack nicely in the closet, garage, and some under the bed. We usually have a tub for girl's and one for boy's.

Before you put away you "out of season" clothing you'll want to make sure everything has been washed. This will help with insects and moths nesting in the clothes. I would not recommend moth balls as they can be very dangerous to little children and are never %100 guaranteed to keep out the bugs.

These clothes will be stored for a good six-five months so you'll want to make sure you put them in a clean, dry, dark place. A garage, or basement, or even in the back of a closest are good places. These tubs are pretty sturdy so you don't have to worry too much.

After you've folded all the clothing into the tubs put a brief description on the side of it. Maybe use a sticker tag to write the contents so you can easily find what you're looking for when the time comes without having to open or unstack every tub. For example "14-16 Girls, winter".

Another option for storing is hanging clothes in the back of the closest. This might be more ideal for young children with less or smaller clothing or if you have a very small wardrobe like me.

When winter comes you can take off the previously label and put your summer clothes in there for next year!

I hope this will help you in keeping your home more organized and orderly! I'd love to hear what ways you store your "out of season" clothing or any tips you might have!


Blessings to you as you Grow in the Grace of our Lord!

Making The Home: Fun Facts

Here are some fun facts that I thought I'd share with you. Some of them I did know and some I didn't. I'd be interested in hearing ones you knew and new ones if you have any.

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little
'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave
them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh
much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the
grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of
sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in
double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty
frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and
at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars make a delicious dessert. Simple chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Reheating Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in an oven with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills the m. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean.
(I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.)
He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.

Well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well t his stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know
dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right Through the screen! There wasn't any pudding at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Making The Home: Leftovers

We always have food leftover from meals. We want to be frugal with what we have so we don't throw it out. I knew a family that never saved leftovers so matter how big or small. My jaw about hit the floor the first time they threw a pot of mixed vegetables out to the dogs. When we have leftovers we store them in tupperware in the refrigerator until we can use them in another meal or eat it for lunch the next day.

Depending on what leftovers you have, they make great soups! Last night we had a wonderful meal of beef roast, potatoes, carrots, and peas. All of which we had leftovers and so today for lunch I put all of these into a stew pot, added water, butter, salt-n-pepper. Afterwards I let it heat for about 20minutes and it was done!

We also do this with any chicken we have leftover. You can always make a great leftover soup if you have any rice, potatoes, or noodles, and plenty of vegetables. Adding the meat is entirely up to you.

If you ever have leftover eggs heating them in a tortilla with some cheese makes great lunch burritos! You can always add toppings!

What leftover meals do you make? I look forward to hearing how you are Making The Home less chaotic around lunch time (not to mention it keeps your grocery list down and your 'fridge cleaned out!).

Blessings to you as you Grow in the Grace of our Lord!

Making The Home: Goat Milk Soap

When I first got my goats, I thought it would be fun to make cheese out of the milk. Instead I decided to start with making soap. I had read a lot about it on different homestead websites that all made it sound really easy. So I looked around online for a simple recipe, and after some advice from an experienced soap-maker, I tried it for myself. I've included a slideshow of how I made the first recipe. Please enjoy and let me know if you try it for yourself.




Create Your Own



Here are a few recipes that smell wonderful when done!

Citrus Soap

• 2c (1 1/2 Bars) Pure Olive Oil


• 2c Fresh Goats Milk


• 1/8c Cocoabutter


• 1 Lemon


• 1 Tangerine


• 1/4c. (Orange) Scented Oil


• Freezer Paper


• Pan to heat soap in


• Tray to place soap in

Directions:
Pour goats milk into batter bowl. Grate olive oil bars into another bowl. Grate peelings of lemon and tangerine, chop into small piece, and then place into a bowl. Cut open lemon and tangerine, squeeze juice into the bowl with the grated peels. Scrape out inside of lemon and tangerine. Mix grate olive oil bars, juice/peels, cocoa butter, and scented oil into goats milk. Stir until completely mix. Heat pan on stove. Line tray with freezer paper. Pour soap mixture into the heated pan. Stir constantly until mixture is smooth with no clumps. Pour melted mixture into the tray. Let it set for one week in a cool place. On the second week, the soap should be firm, but not solid. Cut soap into bars, remove from the tray and place on the tray in the open, cool place to dry. Continue to turn over every other day until completely firm.


Honey, Oatmeal, & Almond

• 2c (1 1/2 Bars) Pure Olive Oil


• 2c Fresh Goats Milk


• 1/8c Cocoa butter


• 1 cup uncooked oatmeal


• 1/4c raw honey


• 1/2c. (almond extract) Scented Oil


• Freezer Paper


• Pan to heat soap in


• Tray to place soap in

Directions:
Pour goats milk into batter bowl. Grate olive oil bars into another bowl. Mix grate olive oil bars, oatmeal, honey, cocoa butter, and scented oil into goats milk. Stir until completely mix. Heat pan on stove. Line tray with freezer paper. Pour soap mixture into the heated pan. Stir constantly until mixture is smooth with no clumps. Pour melted mixture into the tray. Let it set for one week in a cool, open place. On the second week, the soap should be firm, but not solid. Cut soap into bars, remove from the tray and place on the tray in the open, cool place to dry. Continue to turn over every other day until completely firm.

When your soap is done you will be happy at how wonderfully and lovely it turned out. You'll want to share it with your family and friends. This is a great homemade gift, so share it!

Making The Home: Quick & Easy

Do ever have one of those days when come supper-time you're exhausted and you just don't feel like making something? Or perhaps you don't have time as other duties call your attention?

One easy way I have found to cook meals in a short amount of time ahead of supper is a crockpot. You can easily stick a meal in there early, depending on the meal, and have it cooking all day without having to watch it or be in the kitchen for more then 20mintues. Clean up is really quick too since you only used one dish. Here is an easy crockpot meal that is a favourite in our family:

Ingredients:

• 3 Chicken Breasts or whole chicken
  



• 12 Potatoes



• 1 Whole Onion



• 10 Carrots



• 1 stick of butter



• 2 cloves of garlic



• Salt-n-Pepper

Directions:
Place the chicken in crockpot and add about a cup of water. Add butter, minced garlic, sliced onion, and salt-n-pepper. You can also throw in some rosemary or other herbs of your choice. Wash and cut the potatoes in halves. Set aside in a bowl of water. Do the same with carrots. Cover the crockpot and place a hand towel over it. Let cook for several hours. About an hour or tow before you're going to eat add the carrots and potatoes. Add more water if necessary.

You can tell is the chicken is cooked enough if you stick it with a fork and it comes right off. Carrots and potatoes will be tender when done. All the other ingredients will be flavored by the chicken broth. It taste so wonderful.

You can also have some biscuits and a salad with this meal, which are both easy also.

Making The Home: Household Items

We don't often use a lot of medicines. Only when we have to because we have everyday household items that usually do the trick.

Vinegar - We have a few uses for vinegar. It is a great cleaner. Wash our cloth diapers in it to take the smell out. We put it in our animal's water to keep the flies off of them. The flies don't like the bitter taste or smell of it.

Peroxide: I use this to rise out my mouth after I brush my teeth. It is like a bleach and will whiten them. It's also good for mouth infections and sores. Last year my gums were bleeding and I could barely brush or touch them because it was such an excruciating pain - but after I started rising and brushing with the peroxide it cleared up.

Honey mix with baking soda: We used this on our face as a wash. The grain-y feeling from the baking soda worked as a scrub and the honey has lots of vitamins in it to help the skin. Honey is also good if you're feeling sick. It has lots of Vitamin-B which will calm your stomach and then you won't feel like you need to vomit. There are MANY uses for honey. Many. I will list more later.

Eggs: I've used eggs as a shampoo and it made my hair feeling really soft and fuller. I've read some things about what they make shampoo out of and it can do more harm than good. So I took two eggs and mixed them up and then washed my hair. You can add different things to make it have a scent. I've heard of adding vanilla, honey and other spices.

Alcohol: Works great on poison ivy. When I got it last summer I continually put it on the ivy and it dried it up. I also use it sometimes on blemishes on my face - to dry them out.

Olive Oil: Mom has been using this on skin irritations for sometime. When my sister had a bad dry area she put Olive Oil on it. Dunk a clove of garlic in it and stick in your ear for an ear-ache or infection. Works every time. Rub garlic-olive-oil on your chest when you're congested... this concoction is called GOOT.

Cornstarch: We use this for baby powder instead having to buy some. Works great. You can also take a handful of cornstarch and sprinkle it over a pile of ants/ant hills. They will eat it and then it will kill them as it makes their stomachs bloat. No need of harmful pesticides. More coming soon...

Making The Home: Lemon, Salt ,& Vinegar

Today I cleaned the kitchen. I wanted to make it sparkle and shine. I think I accomplished my goal. I was wiping down the counters after I had done the dishes and cleared the counters. I had already wiped them down, but they still looked grubby. I found a lemon sitting in a bowl to be thrown out. It wasn't old, just dried out some so I used it... I poured some salt on the top of it and began to scrub down the counter tops.

The reason I did this is because the acid from the lemon works like a bleach and the salt grains worked to scrub, the surface, without scratching them. It worked really well. Within minutes the counters began to look brighter and cleaner. Afterwards, I decided to clean the copper kettle, which was also rather grubby. The beautiful copper color was very dingy. I poured salt on the lemon and began to scrub the kettle vigorously. Soon the sides of the kettle began to look like a brand new penny.

I continued to scrub the kettle until the entire thing was sparkling. I am not sure on how many things lemon and salt will work on to make sparkling, but I imagine more that just the counter tops and a kettle. Another way to clean copper is to use hot-sauce or ketchup. A few years ago Amanda and I were trying to figure out how to clean all of our pennies, but nothing we did seemed to work so we looked on the Internet. We found a site where a lady had accidentally squirted hot-sauce on one of her pennies and when she wiped it off… the penny was so shinny.

We decided to try this ourselves and sure enough it worked. You just let the hot sauce sit on the penny for a minute and wipe it off. The reason that the lemon and hot-sauce worked to clean these items in because of their acid. The lemon has natural acid and the hot-sauce contains vinegar. If you want to really want to get in detail, go look it up. You’ll find some pretty interesting stuff.

Making The Home: Learn To Sew

Sewing is something that every young lady should know how to do. I wasn't raised knowing how to sew. In fact just recently did I learn how to. It certainly has helped me with my fractions by using a tape measure. Sometimes it can be very frustrating, say, if you marked the wrong line and cut the fabric so your skirt was two sizes smaller. I don't know all the steps yet... I'm still learning. I am learning how to make my own clothes and 'costumes'. I designed my own purse which turned out pretty good except for the sides that just seem to flop in, but as I go I learn. Sewing should be a part of school too as well as the other homemaking arts. They all prepare us for life and that should be the main goal for doing any school at all. What good is learning something if you can't use it?

I was surprised a few years ago when a friend of mine told me she had a sewing class at her school. I was actually dumbfounded that people actually care if girls know how to sew. 'Back then' every girl knew how to sew... it was part of life. If you didn't know how to sew you were 'outta luck, but now you can go anywhere in America and buy a set of clothes. No sewing necessary, and that is just part of our lackadaisical society.

I am quite proud of the fact that I am making my own dresses and skirts. When someone asks 'where did you buy that?" I can answer "Oh this? I made it". Another benefit of making your own clothes is they last longer and you are being frugal with the money God has given you. I made an 'over-cloak' for a Pride & Prejudice ball I went to last February, which turned out ok, but you can tell I am not as of a perfectionist as I wish to be. There are several places where the thread is knotted or messed up... I hope to be one of those people who can make their own clothes without looking like I took some scraps and sewed them together. As they say, "practice makes perfect," and so I will keep practicing.

I quite admire Miss Brielle for starting her own sewing/costume business. She has done so well. She is currently designing and making all the cast costumes for a Cinderella play. She is efficient and well-together on orders and making the costumes they way you want it. I love looking over her site... she inspires me.

The Bible even says in Proverbs about the woman who spins her own wool and makes her own clothes. It saddens me to think that our culture has lost it's interest in women being the homemaker and everything that entails.

As I grow I hope to become the sewing, cooking, teaching, homemaking woman God has designed me to be... by His Grace and through His will, I will strive to do so.

If you don't know how to sew or would like to I would encourage you to look into it. Get some books for your library, read a little, ask your mom, or grandma or an elder lady you probably knows. Start with a simple project of sewing squares together to make a quilt. When you've got that down start on something a little harder. You'll be surprised how easy and fun it is.

Making The Home... Tidy Up!

My house can get messy, especially with eight kids and four of those are Littles who don't always pick up after themselves. Ok, I'll admit it. I have a hard time picking up after myself too! Within the past several years mom has allowed me, at different times, to be in charge of house-cleaning and making sure the kids did their jobs.

Something I like to do when in charge of house-keeping is set the timer to help remind us to stop what we're doing and tidy up. I usually set a timer for thirty-minutes to an hour and when it goes off I know to look around and see what's been left out and what needs to be put away before any other activities go on.

We spend about half an hour tidying up and then reset the timer another hour or so. If you're an older sibling encourage the younger ones to help, and grab a "buddy" to help you. Don't have a bad attitude or give a loud sigh to show your distain. Joyfully get up from what you're doing and help pick up anything you can.

You can also make sure to set a timer a half hour before your daddy is supposed to get home from work. Tidy up....pick up everything, light a few candles, and get dinner on the stove. He'll be pleasantly surprised when he walks through the door to find a clean house that smells nice and dinner on the stove.

The Bible tells us to be good stewards of what He gives us and that includes our homes and belongings, and if we don't we may loose it.

Luke 16: 1-2
"1And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. " (KJV)