Not a Suzie

Suzie Homemaker, yep that's me!  Oh wait, I'm awake-not dreaming.  In my dreams I am Suzie Homemaker, complete with shiny clean home, meals cooked to perfection, perfect hair, nails and make-up, always dressed in the nicest way, plenty of time for volunteer work and a husband who absolutely adores all I do.

Now onto reality.  You can easily find dust bunnies and fingerprinted windows, cooking is sporadic with the crazy schedules Papa Bear and I have, I give it a try with the hair and make-up but not always with success and I dress most of the time only with comfort and functionality in mind.  As for my husband, he does adore me and I am blessed that he puts up with me.

I would dearly love to be a Suzie Homemaker and I think Papa Bear would appreciate certain aspects of it too.  However, I just don't see it in the cards.  I'm thinking if I ever win the cabilliony dollars with the lottery, I will hire a live in cook/maid who will give the illusion I'm a Suzy...and that will be just fine with me. 

Gift of fresh produce

If you are a regular reader of Bear Necessities, you know how much I love living in my little town. This was once again reinforced last week for me. A friend of mine had posted on facebook about spending the day making spaghetti sauce and canning it. I asked for her recipe as this is something I have not yet done. Not only did she send me the recipe, but when I came home from church, there was a big bucket (27 pounds) of tomatoes on my porch!

The process of making spaghetti sauce is a long one. It took me about eight hours from start to finish, but Mm-Mm-Mm it is so worth every minute of it! Now that I have eaten really good sauce, the store bought stuff will never again be good enough. From this 27 pound gift, I was able to can 11 quarts and have enough left over for a meal.

If this wasn't enough, this same friend brought over a bag of green beans which I prepared and was able to can 10 pints! This friend doesn't know it, but come apple time, she is getting a HUGE box of apples left on her porch!

Legacy of Home

From time to time I think we all find ourselves needing a bit of inspiration to keep going in certain areas of our lives. We may actively seek a source of inspiration or if we are lucky, one will fall right into our laps. I have had the wonderful luck of just such a source of inspiration coming into my life.

As you know, I am a wanna-be domestic goddess. I want to be Suzie Homemaker, Betty Crocker and Martha Stewart all rolled into one person. Sadly, I am a closet hoarder, mediocre cook and have to force myself to be organized.

*Sigh*

I just happened to follow a link from somewhere to a blog that has richly become my daily source of inspiration. Mrs. White, the woman who blogs, takes being a stay at home mom/wife very seriously. Her satisfaction comes from taking care of her home and family. Her writing is just lovely and I often feel as if she is talking just to me. I used to turn my computer on and go directly to Facebook, now the first thing I click on is her blog. I'm inspired to be a better wife and homemaker.

If you are looking for a source of inspiration, click on over to Legacy of Home and let Mrs. White work her magic on you too!

Clean freezers and cooking

I have had a renewed interest in cooking and doing a menu. Friday, Papa Bear and I defrosted, cleaned and organized all three big freezes. I found strawberries in the bottom of the chest freezer I had vacuum packed before we got married (which will be 10 years in July) YIKES! Now that there is a place for everything and everything in its place, I can actually see what I have and am excited to be using it! Unfortunately, I ended up throwing out a 5 gallon bucket full of freezer burnt meat. It's my own fault though, and it did me good to see how wasteful and costly my disorganization can be.

I'm so very happy with the work we accomplished, I have gone out to the garage just to open the freezer doors and admire it all. I'm not being proud or boastful, just feeling accomplished at starting a project and actually seeing it through!

I am now inspired to start cooking again. WooHoo! I am very blessed to be married to a man who enjoys my making supper, but is also completely fine with getting himself something to eat. With the schedules we both keep, we aren't always able to be home at a decent meal time together, which just compounds the problem of cooking. This week seems to be looking pretty good, so I'm going to enjoy some meal planning and preparation.

Monday
Wild hog ribs

Tuesday
Turkey and dressing

Wednesday
Venison ham and beans

Thursday
Crispy oven fried chicken

Friday
Grilled salmon

Egg Bread Recipe

I grew up on cheap white bread, to this day, it is what I prefer. I've been trying to do better about eating whole grains, I'm just not developing a real love for whole grain bread though. Oh, I suffer through and eat it because it's good for me, but it is definitely not my first choice in bread...cheap white bread is.

As I looked through my bread recipes yesterday, I came across one my friend Karyn from The Teakettle Corner gave me several years ago. I had completely forgotten about this little jewel. It's as close to cheap white bread as any homemade bread I have made. I teased Papa Bear with the smell of it, then teased him more as I explained how very light the loaf was, but he couldn't eat any of it yet as it needed to cool. When he was finally allowed to dive into it, he asked if I was going to make another loaf tomorrow! Believe me, this is really something coming from a die-hard wheat bread eater. I'm thinking next time I make it, I'll put the flour as 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat and see how it turns out. Who knows, if whole wheat bread can be as soft as white bread, I may just learn to eat it.

Egg Bread

1/2 C. water
2 C. white bread flour (I used regular white flour)
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 T. butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk (reserve white for later)
either 3/4 tsp fast rise yeast or 1 1/2 tsp active yeast

Place all ingredients as recommended into your bread machine and bake with light crust setting.

What I did is:
Place all the ingredients into the bread machine on the dough cycle. When this was complete, I turned it out onto the floured counter and kneaded it a few times. I then made it into a loaf shape and placed it into a greased loaf pan to rise (about and hour). I then brushed the top with the egg white left over from the extra egg yolk. Bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes.

This is so incredibly yummy, your Papa Bear will be begging for more too!

April Declutter

I had mentioned earlier about a declutter calendar I have been following. I just can't hardly believe how much I've gotten done just by following it daily.

In case you are interested in starting along, you can click here for April's calendar. Honestly, doing one chore each day will soon have your home almost decluttering itself!

On another note, I must once again hang my head in shame as I admit to homemaker failure. Papa Bear was gone for two weeks and in his absence, my kitchen was spotless! Dishes done after every meal...AND put away. Table kept cleaned off. Floors mopped every day.

And then Papa came home...and the day he came home my counter and table looked like they belonged in a hoarder house! What's up with that? I so wish I was one of those women who keep a spotless home at all times. I would love to not cringe when someone stops by for a visit un-announced. I'd also love to be rich and never have to work again, but I don't see that happening either.

Fridge Addiction

I think I may have an addiction to cleaning out my fridge. I have it scheduled for Monday morning, and it seems I'm just itching to get in there and do it. Even throughout the week I *have* to keep it organized. Each shelf is designated to certain items. Heaven help the poor soul who puts a condiment on the left over shelf!

What I'm wondering is how I can get this clean/organized fridge addiction to spill over into the rest of my house?

Great Blog Find

As I was doing my morning cruise through Prairie Homemaker, I came across a link to a blog which sounded a bit interesting to me. Much much time later, I finally pulled myself away from it. The Legacy of Home is dedicated primarily to homemaking and the joy of it.

It's so easy to find ourself going through the motions of keeping house only because it needs to be done. I have been guilty more than once of this. This blog is a wonderful reminder to me that I actually do enjoy taking care of my home.

Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and go over to The Legacy of Home for a visit.

Start of Spring Cleaning!

It's time! It's time!

With Spring right around the corner, I find myself in the Spring Cleaning mood. I have been doing a bit here and a bit there and this morning I am pleased to announce my kitchen has been purged, decluttered, organized and spring cleaned!

So, two rooms down (bathroom was the first I did), five areas left. I think the next will be the laundryroom. Once it is done, Papa Bear is going to build two more sets of cabinets for me. After that, the whole room is getting a fresh coat of paint and some new curtains.

I love this time of the year when it is barely warm enough to crack a window just a bit to let in some fresh air, yet not warm enough to really get out and do anything. Once it's warm enough to be out, I find I have to literally force myself to get anything done inside.

Eat the Fridge

Do you find science projects in the back of the fridge? Green oranges in the crisper? A bottle of...wait, what is that??

Food wasted is money wasted--not a very frugal thing. So, what are we going to do about this? Hmmmm {scratches head} let me think. I know! {Lightbulb moment} Use it up!

Instead of throwing that little bit of veggies away, put it in a container in the fridge to make soup with at the end of the week. Some meats can also be added to this. The water you drain off boiled potatoes can be added as well as the liquid drained off the veggies. At the end of the week, add broth, seasoning, noodles, rice...whatever you would like, and enjoy a waste-free soup.

If you aren't into the soup thing, you can keep your leftovers in a designated area of the fridge and once a week have a leftover buffet. Little dabs of this and that. The reason for a designated area is to keep science projects from happening.

If there are large enough amounts left for another meal, you can package them and place them in the freezer (make sure to mark what is inside and the date). You not only will save money, you will also save time later on when all you need to do is pull the package out, let it thaw and reheat.

Fruits getting a bit soft and no one wants to eat them? Cut into bite size pieces, add a bit of yogurt, stir and enjoy.

Groceries is one of the biggest areas we can save money. There really is no reason to ever throw out food.

Flash Freeze It

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I'm going to take a leap here and assume you enjoy saving both time and money. Flash freezing will help you accomplish both of those with little effort.

The money saving comes from stocking up when fresh items such as onion, potato, celery, carrot, blueberry, grape...etc are on sale. The time saving comes from having items cut and ready to use while cooking.

Let's use celery as an example. When it's on sale, I stock up and take advantage of the deal. I wash it and cut it into pieces I will use in soups and such. What then needs to be done is to line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, lay the celery pieces out in a single layer, pop the cookie sheet in the freezer for about an hour and presto! You have just done a flash freeze. Label quart size freezer bags with the contents and date. Put the frozen celery in the bag and toss it back into the freezer for later use. When you need some celery for a dish, pull the desired amount out of the bag. The reason for the flash freeze is to keep you from having one big frozen clump of celery in the bag.

I especially like to do this with onions so I get all the crying out of the way at one time.

Grapes and blueberries are also great for flash freezing. They can then be eaten either frozen or thawed. I do want to caution you though, don't thaw out a large amount at one time. Once thawed, the grapes need to be eaten in a relatively short amount of time or they tend to get a little mush factor going.

Watch those sale fliers for great deals, stock up and save yourself both money and time in the long-run.

Menu and Alice

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If you have been reading Bear Necessities for awhile, you know my struggles with making a weekly menu and staying on a cleaning schedule. Oh, I have the desire to keep up on these things, sadly, I don't have the follow through. {hangs head in shame} I am a weak weak person.

*sigh*

I am happy to share my menu for this week! Yippee Skippee!

Monday
Wild hog and scalloped potatoes
green beans
applesauce

Tuesday
Goose
mashed taters and gravy
carrots

Wednesday
wait for it......

wait for it......

Venison heart! MmMmMmMmMmMmmmmmm
steamed cabbage
peaches

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday
Leftovers

I also picked Alice (my homemakers binder) up off the shelf, dusted her off and spent some quality time with her this weekend. It was a lovely time re-kindling an old friendship. I apologized for my absence and she forgave me. This morning she and I will once again be spending time together. Alice has already warned me there will be tough consequences if she is left on the shelf again (she looked pretty mean too, I don't think I'm going to test it).

Would love to spend a bit more time blogging with you, Alice is giving me 'the eye' and clearing her throat, I do believe it would be in my best interest to get going.

Frugal Laundry

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To dry or not to dry, that is the question. Wait, what about hot or cold, name brand or generic, or even does it need to be washed? Gosh, it seems there are several questions when it comes to saving money in the laundry room. Hopefully I'll be able to answer of few of these for you today.

Dryer sheets
I have used the name brand, the off brand and the generic brands. I use them for static control, not to smell spring fresh. I have been equally happy with the cheap stuff as I am with the more expensive. When using a dryer sheet, tear it in half, as half a sheet does the job and gives you twice as much for the money. Used dryer sheets can then be re-purposed for dusting and then thrown in the bucket for fire starters.

Laundry detergent
Less is more! Use less, get more for your money. The detergent companies tell you to use the 'fill line' on each load, but that isn't necessary. Heavy dirty loads will require more detergent then your gently worn clothing. I also use two different detergents. For my jeans, dirty work clothes, towels and cleaning rags I use Xtra. For whites and better clothes I use Tide. Of course, the Tide is only purchased when I can get it on sale and use a coupon. The Xtra is also purchased in bulk when it goes on sale.

Temperature
Obviously, using hot water costs more than cold water. It also can cut the life of your garments. I wash dirty work clothes, whites, towels and cleaning rags in hot, everything else is done up in cold. Check the care tag in your clothing to see what the manufacturer recommends.

To hang or not
I absolutely love to use my clothesline! If weather permits, my clothesline is full on laundry days. Not running the dryer is definitely a good way to save money. I also have several wooden drying racks I am able to use in the house when I am unable to hang outside. Not drying also helps extend the life of your garment. Maybe I should clarify here that I do use my dryer even when I'm not using it. Clear as mud? I put the items in the dryer for about 4 minutes to take the wrinkles out before I hang them. Make sure to give them a good shake before hanging. Items that will be going on a hanger anyway are dried that way. If you want a bit more softness to your clothes/towels, simply pop them in the dryer for a couple of minutes after they are dried to fluff them up. For the items you do need to dry, remove them promptly when they are finished to reduce ironing (saving you both time and money).

Multi-use towels
Do you dry off with your bath towel and discard it? Tsk tsk tsk if you do. Around here, I do laundry twice a week, bath towels get refreshed twice a week. Papa Bear and I have nice hooks in the bathroom to hang our towels to dry after we shower. I mean really, I get out of the shower nice and clean. Now, our washcloths are definitely a one time use thing....{shudder} that's just gross to me to think of using it again.

Wash it?
Do you even need to wash that garment? The slacks I put on to wear for two hours on Sunday are definitely not dirty. They get hung right back up. The sweater I wear with another shirt under it when I don't do anything to get dirty or sweat is not dirty, it gets put back away to wear again. The jeans I didn't even leave my house in all day are not dirty. They get folded and put back on the shelf. You are able to save gobs of money by not even running the washer and dryer.

Garment care
Always read the care instructions for your clothing. Taking care of your items insures they will have a longer life, meaning you will spend less money needing to replace them.

By implementing even a few of these tips, you will be able to save some of your hard earned money. Now, scoot scoot scoot off to your laundry room and enjoy your savings!

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De-clutter Calandar

A wonderful website was brought to may attention and it is way too good not to share with all you.

http://www.mysimplerlife.com/2012.htm

Each day has one simple chore. It may be to get rid of expired medications, or clean under the bed, or declutter your candles. Yesterday had a chore I found to be great fun: Dance in your living room!

I shared this site with my dear friend Alicia as we are both on the organizational wagon right now. She asked me yesterday how I was doing with it...I laughed and told her I wasn't doing it, I only sent it to her! This resulted in me getting the evil stink eye and a copy of the calendar handed to me with instructions that I would be doing it.

Today's chore is to get rid of hair doo dads you never wear. This should be easy since I went from middle of the back hair to a short bob, leaving me with all sorts of hair doo dads I no longer have the hair for.

Give this site a look and see what you think.

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Frugal Friday

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Hello my Frugal Friends, how did your spending go this last week? Did you remember to keep track of it all? In case you missed it, last week I gave a bit of homework.

"The first step to getting a handle on your finances, is to know where your finances are going. For one week, keep track of how your money is spent. Do you buy a paper, a coffee, a donut, a pack of gum each day? How often do you eat outside the home? Gas, bills, kids lunch money, toll booths, groceries?"

Were you surprised at the results? This step can be a very eye-opening experience.

This weeks homework will be much easier; pick the area you 'wasted' the most money and cut the spending in half. Continue to keep a spending log of this one area this week.

As promised, for your hard work, I will share a couple of homemade fancy coffee recipes with you.

Toffee Coffee
1 C. instant coffee
1 C. non-dairy creamer
1 C. brown sugar

Mix well (in food processor if possible) and store in air-tight container. Add 2-3 tablespoons to mug of hot water.

Cinnamon & Spice
2/3 C. instant coffee
1 1/2 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice

Mix well and store in air-tight container. Add 2-3 tablespoons to mug of hot water.

Here's another frugal coffee tip:
After making a pot of coffee, turn the machine off (saving electricity) and put the coffee in a thermos to keep it hot. If you aren't going to drink a whole pot, put it in a beverage container in the refrigerator to be consumed the next day. Simply pour it in your mug and microwave 2 minutes. Unused coffee is also good in baking to take the place of water.

Grounds can be used more than once, simply leave in the basket and only add 1/2 the amount of new coffee for the second pot. When done, don't throw those grounds away! They are wonderful to put in your compost pile!

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Frugal Friday Series

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With the beginning of a new year, often people decide to make a fresh start on their finances; cutting back, paying off, saving. As with any type of clutter, our finances didn't get where they are overnight, don't put unreasonable expectations on yourself of them changing overnight either.

I'm thinking about having a Frugal Friday series of posts. Each Friday I will post about ways to cut down expenses, pay off debt and save for the proverbial rainy day. I want you to know I am not an expert in any way, shape or form, and the tips I give are just that, tips. Most will be tried and true tips I have used myself, since I am a self-proclaimed Frugalista. I like to be able to spend my money in the ways I want, not to always be a slave to bills and such.

The first step to getting a handle on your finances, is to know where your finances are going. For one week, keep track of how your money is spent. Do you buy a paper, a coffee, a donut, a pack of gum each day? How often do you eat outside the home? Gas, bills, kids lunch money, toll booths, groceries? Trust me, this step and the budget step are the most difficult things I will be talking about. Once these two steps are out of the way, the fun begins...honest!

So friends, grab a notebook and track your daily moves for a week. Come on, don't give me that look, it's only a week. After that, I will reward you with a frugal way to make fancy coffee to treat yourself with.

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The Three Aways

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Put away, throw away, give away.

Any successful purging of 'things' begins with the three aways. It's best to set up boxes, bags, totes, baskets...etc that you can put items into easily. When purging an area, set your holders close by so as you pick up an item, it can either be put directly away or put into one of your holders. Once your area is purged, it is then time to deal with your holders.

Obviously the throw away is the easiest, so go ahead and get it out of the way.

The give away then needs to be determined if it is to be given away to a specific person or is it being donated to a thrift store, church, needed organization. Organize into where it is going, and then make arrangements to get it there. Set a limit on how long your stuff will sit before it is delivered. It doesn't do much good to purge an area only to have piles of 'things' sitting around.

The put away is where you need to be very careful. It's easy to put this stuff somewhere just to be done with it, only to have to purge the same items more than once. Take the extra time and put things in their proper places.

Once all your aways have been taken care of, stand back and admire your work. Even if the whole rest of the house seems to be falling down around your ears, take pride in what you have accomplished!

Remember, your areas needing purging didn't get the way they are overnight. Don't put the unrealistic expectation on yourself of getting it all done at once. Take your time, enjoy the purge. That's right, take satisfaction in the job you are doing, know when it is done, you will be a less cluttered self.

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Shoes in the shower

My daycare children think I'm so silly. They just can't figure out why I was standing in the shower, completely dressed and with my shoes on!

How was I going to get my feet clean?
Am I going to wash my clothes too?
Is Papa Bear going to be mad at me for having my shoes in the tub?

Actually, I was trying to get the water deposits off the shower walls. I have beautiful huge tiles that show every little spot. I've tried commercial cleaners. I've tried the Magic Eraser. We use a squeegy after every shower. Still have spots. This morning, I remembered about the millions of uses for white vinegar. Out comes the vinegar and sponge, I stepped into the shower (completely dressed and with my shoes on!), and the cleaning commenced.

I am proud to say it worked like a charm! I just poured some vinegar onto the sponge, put a bit of elbow grease into it, dried the tile and it looks absolutely beautiful again. The real test will be after showering (for real, you know...not with clothes and shoes on) and using the squeegy. Hope it holds up and I don't have to do it all the time.

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Happy Drying

Here it is December 29th, and I have my clothesline full!

I hung out towels.

I hung out Papa Bears working clothes

I hung out cloth napkins.

Then I got sad, I didn't have any more laundry to wash and hang out. Oh, believe me, I thought about washing my bedding that was done a few days ago just so I could hang it out again (I did this on Christmas). I decided against this and instead rounded up all the throw rugs in the house. They will soon be done and out on the line.

If you are a follower of Bear Necessities, you already know how easily amused I am. The fact that I was hanging on the line today brought immense joy to me! Normally, we would be in cold snowy conditions. When it's like that, I have drying racks strategically placed around the house. Going outside to hang is so much more fun.

I wonder if my neighbors would think I was weird if I asked them for their dirty laundry?

Easy Potato Soup

We enjoyed a yummy soup for supper last night that was so incredibaly easy to make, I thought I would share it with you all.

6 cups water
8 chicken boullion cubes
4 medium potatoes-diced
1 small onion-chopped small
2 stalks celery-sliced
1 carrot-diced small
1 C. instant potato flakes

Place all ingrediants except the potato flakes into a pot, bringing to a boil. Turn down and simmer about 1/2 hour or so until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Once veggies are cooked to your liking, turn the heat off and add instant potato flakes. Let sit about 5 minutes uncovered for flakes to absorb some liquid.

This is wonderful served with hot creseant rolls.