Tips For Next Thanksgiving

Okay, my busy, frantic, Thanksgiving morning, was my own fault. For one, I am the worlds worst procrastinator. Secondly, my daughter decided to paint my kitchen the night before Thanksgiving. Well, that would have been fine if I had not procrastinated until the last minute to start my baking. So, we were up really late and I'm getting too old for that. Thirdly, a lot of my recipes are just in my head, so, it was easier for me to do most of the cooking, than to try to tell anyone else how to cook them, while I was trying to cook something else myself. It might sound like things were too crazy to be enjoyable, but that's not really true. I'm not complaining. I had a great Thanksgiving and really do love all the work that goes with the preparations. But, I did get an idea that I think will be helpful for next year, to make things a little easier (besides not procrastinating to shop and get started). First, I should make sure every little dish has the recipe written down. Before we get started, place the recipe along with all of the ingredients that goes in it, in the pan that it needs to be baked in. This may sound like a really simple thing, but if you have people there trying to help who aren't familiar with your kitchen and recipes, this should make it a lot easier for them to help. Second, don't try to bake your pies and paint your kitchen at the same time.

Just Get Started!

Do you ever have days when you have very little energy or motivation, lots to do or maybe a task you really don't want to do, so you sit doing nothing or doing everything except what you need to be doing? I have those days also (today). Usually, if I will just talk myself into doing one little thing, it starts a chain of events and I'm rolling. Like, after supper when I'm so tired that doing dishes is the last thing I want to do. I sit and look at them thinking," I'll rest awhile and then I'll do them" ,( knowing that a body at rest remains at rest). Or thinking, "I'll just leave them until in the morning when I have the energy to do them". But, if I tell myself, "I'll just wash the pans and leave everything else til later", once I wash the pans, I end up washing the plates. Why stop now? Next I wash the glasses, then the silverware and I'm finished before I know it. Likewise, if I keep a bottle of spray cleaner in the bathroom, often I'll think " I'm just going to spray the mirror down real quick". Before I know it, I've sprayed every surface in the room. Etc.
It also motivates me at times to turn on a tape, CD, or radio teaching in the room I'm cleaning in. I get into what I'm listening to and don't want to leave the room. So, I end up looking for things to do in there until what I'm listening to is over. And, I end up with a very clean room. Music can also be very motivating when you are cleaning. Anyway, the moral of the story is, whatever you have to do or tell yourself to get you motivated, do it, and most importantly, " Just Get Started!"

Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."

Leftover Delight

Recognize this dish? Probably not. Monday night it was my One Dish Dinner, last night it turned into, lets call it, Italian Sausage Helper. I hate to waste anything. Last night I cut up the couple of slices of sausage and heated it up with the onions and peppers in a skillet with a little water and garlic. Next I added about a cup of marsala cooking wine(I just happened to have this, if I hadn't I could have used chicken broth or apple juice) and let it heat a couple of minutes. Then, I added about a cup of gravy leftover from breakfast (if I hadn't had gravy I could have used a can of cream of something soup or just some heavy cream), a little basil and cayenne. When this was warmed I added some cooked egg noodles, sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top, and wah lah. It was very tasty. And guess what? We had leftovers. I think I'll put them in the freezer and add them to a soup one day.

I love making new dishes from leftovers. Recently, my husband came in and asked what we were having for supper. I said,"Tamale Pie". He looked in the oven and said "That looks a lot like the taco soup and cornbread we had last night". I can't get anything past him.

Proverbs 18:9 "He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster."

Frugal Faye

A few weeks ago I told you I was going to start spotlighting and sharing some wisdom from some older Titus 2 women. I hadn't forgotten. Yesterday, while I was at Faye's house quilting, she said, "I told my husband I need to cook some big pots of beans to can while it is still cool out." She said she always cans her beans in the winter so that in the heat of summer, she just has to open a jar, season it, and heat it up, instead of cooking it for hours and heating up her house. In the winter she appreciates the heat in her house because her kitchen is not heated. This lady cans everything.Baked beans, potatoes, you name it, nothing goes to waste at her house. Last week when I was at her house, she threw together a stew for lunch, using a jar of brisket she had canned. She had some brisket left over from an anniversary dinner her kids gave her and her husband, so, she canned it. It was delicious!

Making Laundry Detergent

I love making things from scratch that can save me money and hopefully be better for us. Today I am making laundry detergent. I usually make it liquid, but, I thought I would try the powdered recipe and see how it works. I got the recipe from http://www.tipnut.com/ . I hope I like it, it sure is easier than making the liquid.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

2 cups finely grated soap (I use Zote, but you can use any mild soap)

1 cup washing soda

1 cup borax

Mix all together. Store in airtight container. Use 2 T per load.

Keeper Tips

I love finding ways to be frugal and to manage my household well. I may become a little obsessive with it at times but, frugal can be fun!

• When covering bread that is rising, I found a plastic grocery bag sprayed with a little cooking oil works great. It does not stick.


• I have lots of old t-shirts that are not worth giving away. I like to wash them, and cut them into squares of different sizes. These work great for wiping little noses(and big ones), cleaning spills, greasing pans, and lots of other small jobs. You can throw them away or wash them, depending on your supply and/or obsessiveness with frugality.


• I bought some dish soap I did not really like the smell of at the dollar store. On a whim I decided to clean the toilet with it and it works great. It's thick enough to squirt up under the rim and it has lots of cleaning bubbles.


• Today, I cleaned under my kitchen sink and lined it with shelf paper. I then followed example of a couple of other ladies and put a dishpan under there to hold the dirty dishes until I get a chance to wash them (I don't have a dishwasher). My sink and counters look a lot better.


• And concerning Home Management Binders, Aubrey at http://www.prosopiavita.blogspot.com/ , had the idea to make a binder for her kids for before and after school. I thought this was a great idea.

My husband has gone hunting so I am getting lots of little projects accomplished. Hope you have a great weekend. God Bless!

A Note On Home Management Binders

For anyone who may be wondering, Flylady.net calls her HMB a Control Journal. A couple of sites to see some completed HMB's are: www.keepingthehome.com , and www.frugalchristianhome.proboards105.com . If you would like to show us yours, just leave me a comment to let me know. I'm sure I'll be looking at lots of different ones to get ideas before I actually get mine the way I want it. It's kind of like the way I cook. By the way, I'm always open to helpful tips.

Home Management Binder

I finally started creating my HMB today and you will not believe what convinced me that I really needed one. Well, I have had a very difficult time establishing a routine since my homeschool days have ended. With kids home my days were pretty much planned for me. Now that I have an empty nest, some days I feel like I'm going in circles wondering what exactly I should be doing next. I would start one thing only to get distracted by something else and all in all not always accomplishing a lot. Occasionally, I substitute for the local school district. One day I was subbing in a special education classroom. The students had notebooks with pictures showing what they were supposed to be doing throughout the day. They were not allowed to turn the page and look ahead until they had completed what was pictured on the page they were on. As I watched how well this helped them to stay on task and complete their work, I thought, this is exactly what I need! This is why I need a HMB. So, after much procrastination and reading about many of yours, I finally dove in. Actually, Flylady.net breaks it down into such simple steps I decided I actually can do it. Today, I got out the binder, put a pretty picture in the front and notebook paper inside. I'm on my way...