Everyday finds: Ladder

     A while back I found this cute bunk bed ladder at a thrift shop for $5. The wood had some great age to it and it was sturdy so I snagged it. At the time I thought my chickens would love this little beauty for perching. However, in typical chicken fashion the girls deemed this useless and it ended up under our porch for the past few months.

     Today inspiration struck me and I dragged out this little ladder. I hosed it off and removed the L brackets from the back, saving them for later and another project. That was all it took to make this little jewel of use. I then placed this in my dining room where it can display some of my tablecloth collection that was otherwise hidden away. I think it adds a nice touch. I can change up the colors to go with the seasons, decorate it with garlands or ornaments and I think it will be a fun addition to our dining room.

     These ladders are incredible common finds. I have seen them in almost every Goodwill I've visited and they often pop up on Craiglist and Freecycle as well. What do you think?

Make your own laundry soap....

     In my last post I talked about the benefits of giving thrifting a try. Today, in another effort to save myself and my readers money, I'm talking about homemade laundry soap. I searched the internet for any recipes for homemade laundry soap I could find. Then I studied reviews on each until I'd found the recipe I wanted to use. I chose the Duggar Family recipe which you can find here.

     By combining three easy to find ingredients I was able to whip up a batch of laundry soap in about five minutes. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of Borax, 1 cup of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda and one grated Fels Naptha soap bar. The hardest part was grating the soap, but BONUS I got an arm workout. These three products are all available at Walmart.

      Now, some of you may be wondering if it's really worth it to make your own laundry soap. Here's how I was convinced. Every two weeks I purchase a bottle of Gain liquid laundry detergent at $10.97 at Walmart. That adds up to roughly $286 a year for our family of three. One batch of homemade laundry detergent costs a little less than $2 which adds up to $52 a year. That was all the convincing I needed.

     The real question though is does this detergent work? How do the clothes smell? How clean are they? Well, I wouldn't be a diligent blogger if I didn't give this a thorough test so I did six loads of laundry today with the new detergent. The loads came out clean, smelling fresh (without any weird perfume smelly) and soft. We have found our new detergent. Also, as an added tip: I buy the generic Great Value Walmart brand fabric softener sheets and cut them in quarters. They do the same job and go four times further. Happy laundry day!

Five tips for better thrifting....

     When I head out to the thrift stores I'm excited. I can't wait to get in, dig around and see what deals there are to be had. I'm not ashamed for shopping in thrift stores as saving money has never seemed like a bad idea. Thrifting has been gaining popularity for many years and now, with the economy and many families struggling, it's a great time to give it a go.

     I started shopping in thrift stores about 16 years ago. Here are a few tips I've picked up....

1. Give yourself a little more time- When you go to the mall it's easy to find exactly what you are looking for. When you go to a thrift store you need a little more time to go through each rack. In a well organized store things are arranged by color, size and type of clothing which will help.

2. Shop both for this season and next season- When picking out items it's always good to take a quick peak at the off season items. In summer it's easier to pick up winter boots, coats and snow gear for the kids. Wait until winter and you'll be shopping with everyone else.

3. Check an item thoroughly- Many stores don't allow returns so it's a good idea to check an item for stains and rips. Look at the garment closely. Test the zippers and the buttons. Read the care tag in case dry clean only items may be a deterrent.

4. Know your measurements and those of your family- carry your family's size measurements with you. It's good to know actual measurements vs. size. If you carry a small flat measuring tape (99 cents at most craft shops) you'll be able to quickly determine if an item will fit, even if there aren't dressing rooms. This saves spending money on something that won't work.

5. Be flexible- You NEVER know what you will find so plan to be flexible. Carry a little extra cash in case something that wasn't even on your list comes into view. I've been in a GoodWill and found an entire, brand new, sealed queen bedding set that I'd seen online and wanted. It was marked just $24.99 (still selling on the web for $140) and if I hadn't planned ahead someone else would have snagged it. Many stores won't hold, not even while you run to your car. This lesson was learned personally.


     Today our family ventured off the mountain to one of our favorite thrift store haunts. Store upon store of great things to be found. I was on the hunt for longer skirts, ties for the hubby and anything else that caught my eye. Here's the list of what I found and the prices so you can get an idea of the savings-

-ChaCha Vente shirt- $1.99
-Cookie Johnson denim capris- $2.99 (an Oprah favorite that retail for $128) these were new with tags
-Screenprint tee for Mr. Rural- $1.99 new with tags
-Van Heusen black button down shirt- $1.99
-Dress Barn skirt- $4.99
-Karen Scott tan skirt- $2.99
-Anny Taylor floral skirt- $2.99
-J Crew beach bag- $6.99 (similar on their website $88)
-Silk tie- $1.99

     So, it really pays to check out some thrift stores when you have some time to devote to looking around. You'd be amazed at how easy it is to shop for less! Grand Total- $33

Recipe share- chicken fried rice

     I think my son's favorite thing that I make lately is chicken fried rice. It's super easy to make and you can use almost any vegetables you have on hand. Here is what I do:

Set rice to cook in the rice cooker
Sautee whatever vegetables you have on hand in a sprayed wok (remove and place in a bowl once cooked)
Cook a diced chicken breast in the same wok along with some chopped green onion (remove and place in a bowl once cooked)
When the white rice is finished move some (desired amount) into the sprayed wok and douse with a little low sodium soy sauce. Toss in the chicken with onions and the veggies and toss over low heat until hot.

Serve.

Super easy and a great companion dish. Plus, you can throw in just about any veggie from your vegetable garden as well. Squash, tomatoes, eggplant, almost anything can taste great!

Disconnected.....

     I woke up this morning to a call from my son's school. There would be a two hour delay. I looked outside and it wasn't snowing so I wondered what had caused the delay. It didn't take long to figure out that we'd lost power sometimes during the night. Upon further investigation we found that wind had knocked down power from our mountain community all the way down to the neighboring city some 40 miles away.

     It's funny how many things we take for granted that run on electricity. As I started my day I had no internet, no television (not that we watch it on weekdays) and our cell phones were also going in and out. When I decided to clean I had to pick and choose the chores I could do because laundry, dishes and vacuuming were out. I couldn't operate the garbage disposal or whip up a batch of bread in the bread maker.

     Thankfully my son's school is just fine with operating without lights and off to school he went. This left me with a lot of time to clean, organize, purge. I found myself looking around and accomplishing more and more simply because I didn't have the interruptions of calls, emails, Pinterest! (said as an expletive! LOL). There was nothing to distract me from garden chores, chicken chores and all that deep cleaning which often gets neglected. The reality was; I had a lot more day!

     I'm not ready to forgo technology and go back to my colonial roots. However, I did wonder how much time I waste on the computer or answering emails, texting, etc. Maybe sometimes a time out can bring some prospective, or at least some much needed cleaning time. I might have to make this a new weekly goal; turn off the electronics for a few hours and see what gets accomplished. Definitely eye opening.

In the garden Saturday

     Things are finally getting going with this heat. Our first raised bed is showing some progress while the others have a ways to catch up (but they will). I took that sad little trellis I found at Lowes for $5, marked down from $45, and gave it a coat of spray paint. Now it looks just right and will provide a great space to climb for the tomato plant placed below. We've also planted peppers in this box.


     The pair of vintage metal shell back chairs (found for free on freecycle.org) are the perfect sitting place beneath our nectarine tree. The chandelier, above, still needs to be planted and I hope to take care of that this weekend. All in all the yard is filling in and bees are coming to check out the progress and new plants. Every thing we add, adjust or touch up is making our yard come closer to the space we want it to be.

     What is happening in your garden this weekend?