Monday Message

"Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the home production and storage, but others as well." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

Can up extra or grow extra, stock up - there is always someone in need.

Prices continue to go up - we need to prepare for them to go higher as well as we can. Look for sales and store the basics.

https://preparednessnibblesandbits.blogspot.com/2009/02/basic-food-storage-cookbook.html - this is one of my favorites. I love using their recipe for apple crisp using my dried apples. But you will find good recipes and information.

https://extension.usu.edu/preserve-the-harvest/files/Food-Storage-Booklet.pdf - this has some helpful information.

https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/basic-pantry-staples-checklist/#h-storing-basic-pantry-staples staples for your pantry.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/standard-kitchen-supplies-for-your-pantry-1808020 - more info.

https://lilluna.com/pantry-staples-list/ - this has a list here.

I am a firm believer if you store the basics to start with, it will enhance all your stock.

For example, if you store flour, sugar, salt, oil, shortening, and yeast. You will be able to make bread. If you store in addition baking powder and baking soda, you can also make muffins and biscuits and pancakes and coffee cake. Add brown sugar or molasses and cinnamon...you can now make cinnamon rolls and cookies and even more than I listed. This is just to show you when you have basics, everything else can be added to it.

And who wouldn't like cinnamon rolls?

Some people have cinnamon allergy - I read that you can use cardamom instead. I love cardamom in my julekaga bread.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-snacks-julekaga-jerky.html yum! This post also has the beef jerky recipe.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2018/04/monday-message_23.html - in this post, I tell you my favorite cookbooks. See if your library can get them for you.

Here are just shots from around the house.

These are just pictures from around the house I thought you might enjoy to bring a smile to your face... while the world can be so negative, put things in your nest that will make you smile.

Missy says you are doing great - keep working on being more frugal, learn those skills!

Tippy Longstockings says prices are so scary - don't just hide in your bag but do what you can in stocking up and building your skills.

Monday Message

"I wish to urge again the importance of self-reliance on the part of every individual Church member and family. None of us knows when a catastrophe might strike. Sickness, injury, unemployment may affect any of us. We have a great welfare program with facilities for such things as grain storage in various areas. It is important that we do this. But the best place to have some food set aside is within our homes, together with a little money in savings. The best welfare program is our own welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)

Spring has made things the lovely green that we love after a winter of no green. Of course, with that beautiful green comes time to mow.

The rhubarb is coming up and looking great. I thought you would like seeing how strange it looks as it starts to open a leaf...

Flocks are out they always are so very pretty...

And I have been picking asparagus - yum!

It has been very windy which has been hurting me but pushed on and finished the garage that was a lot of work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq_Y5cX8quc - this is interesting and would be so frugal.

https://www.pinterest.com/ginya18/remake-old-clothes/ - here are a lot of ideas.

https://www.pinterest.com/jfabrit/clothing-remakes/ - so many ideas.

https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/upcycled-clothing-ideas-for-a-zero-waste-lifestyle/ - there are some ideas here.

https://sustainablykindliving.com/best-ways-to-reuse-old-clothing/ - ideas.

I think there are many ways to recycle your old clothing. Have you priced fabric of late? Oh my goodness! It would pay to go to thrift stores to find clothing with lots of fabric

The rag balls that someone painstakingly made is what they use to do with clothing that no longer had any use...they cut them into strips and sewed the strips end to end. That is what they did with these rag balls as well. It is interesting to see the different fabrics.

This too is what they used to make quilts with as well.

Being frugal was all of this and more.

https://www.roseryapparel.com/videos/beginner-friendly-clothes - this gal uses pretty thrifted sheets to make dresses - very pretty!

Don't forget to trade clothes with others who may have child sizes you need etc.

I have shared before my grandmother making my mother an outfit for her concert at school. People would give my grandmother clothes they no longer wanted and she made a little pinafore dress for my mother out of the used clothing. But as she tried to make the little blouse, there wasn't enough of a ladies blouse to make it. So since the dress had the front part, she cut the blouse so that the hole in the ladies blouse was behind the bib part of the dress. I like what she could do, she did this with a treadle machine and oil lamp.

I one time found a dress at a yard sale but down the front someone had a coffee stain. I was able to embroider over the stain. You could also applique something over a stain.

Also, don't forget you can make old clothes into rags without any sewing but I save buttons and zippers off of them first

Share what ideas you have below.

This is my little spinning buddy, Carl, and while he wishes he was the color of my spinning right by him there on the table, he is just happy to watch.

Missy says she is showing a makeover for her, her pillow.

Tippy Longstockings, not wanting to be bested by Missy, says she, too, is sporting her pillow. 

I covered each with a scrap of fleece (to be fair they are the same). I covered their pillows with the fleece and safety pinned underneath to hold in place and they can't lay on the pins. They each have their own and clearly love them and they were a no-sew option.

Keep working at your storage and skills and frugalness.

Monday Message

"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to ‘prepare every needful thing’ (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors, and support bishops as they care for others." (All is Safely Gathered In pamphlet)

Hope everyone is doing well. This week finds me working out in the garage aka workshop for hubby. It is a huge undertaking. I tell myself to work for one hour a day. If I feel like I can keep going, then I do and I have still an awful lot of work.

Also had our very old freezer go out. It was a blessing I was right next to it when it did so nothing was ruined. It could have been way worse plus they were having a sale on freezers that ended the next day, I had no idea.

The other thing is it fit in our car amazing - we could do a commercial I say.

So a very busy week.

Since I am cleaning the garage, I thought I would talk about making your own cleaners...

https://www.bhg.com/homekeeping/house-cleaning/cleaning-products-tools/homemade-cleaners/ - great ideas here.

I use baking soda to clean surfaces you do not want scratched. I use it on my stove and I use it for drain cleaning.

To help with slow drains, I put a fourth a cup of baking soda on the tub or sink drain (I like to do both at the same time). Then take vinegar and I just dump a third of a cup and follow this with boiling water. It takes care of it but if it's still slow just repeat. So much better than chemicals which could harm you or your pipes. I have done this for years.

My favorite stain remover is shampoo - work it into the stain, rinse and repeat if needed.

If you have a favorite cleaner let us know in comments below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74pGhEq_fPs - great video.

https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/green-living/natural-cleaning-recipes - it is way cheaper to make your own of just about everything.

Thought you would like to see how the fabric changes when you weave it into the mug rugs I am making...

This first picture you can see what the fabric looks like, then when you weave it in you get a very different and pretty effect.

Missy is very nonplussed but Llama is very happy.

Tippy Longstockings says which is longer me or the cat tube? But which is cuter??

My seedlings continue to grow. At the time I am writing this two weeks ago, we have a frost advisory tonight so don't be in a hurry to plant till after your frost date. Mine will just sit here happily looking out the window.

Missy says cleaning means making your bed, she is demonstrating.

Tippy Longstockings says if you said she was cuter than the cat tube you would be right.

These are the cookies I made for the solar eclipse day. I thought they would be the closest I could come. They are peanut butter cookies I made and rolled in tubes so they were slice and bake, near the end I added the chocolate and tada! - eclipse cookies.

Missy and Tippy Longstockings both want to remind you to continue to stock your pantry, build your skills and find thriftier ways of doing things .

Monday Message

"The counsel to have a year’s supply of basic food, clothing, and commodities was given fifty years ago and has been repeated many times since. Every father and mother are the family’s storekeepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency … [and] God will sustain us through our trials." (James E. Faust)

We need to be able to repair our clothing.

Kids keep growing and taking clothes in and out and fixing buttons and zippers helps.

I have lost weight on purpose and I needed to keep my clothes that no longer fit. I like loose-fitting clothes but some would fall off and my shoes got too big. Fortunately, I have some sewing skills and was able to shrink my clothes, almost entirely redoing them. Some dresses I added the elastic gripper things to the back.

I am thinking on shoes - regular shoes are no problem, I can just wear thicker socks, but church shoes with nylons hmmmm... I'm toying with making pillows for the toes of the shoes. Can't hurt to try. That is what we need is not to be afraid to try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGVMjFJuwbw - this is so fantastic we all need these skills.

https://www.marthastewart.com/274965/how-to-patch-a-hole-mend-a-seam-and-fix - some creative ideas.

https://remake.world/stories/style/how-to-mend-your-clothes-during-quarantine-5-easy-stitch-fixes/ - I like the embroidered circles.

I think we need to try to make everything last longer. We need to take care of what we have and learn to fix things.

Hang onto things that are useful. Find different uses for those things you feel need to be tossed.

Find ways to save on everything.

https://makeit-loveit.com/making-pants-longer-lengthen-trousers - kids grow taller, this is helpful.

If you don't have a sewing machine, it is a great place to start. If you can, get one, even if you have to get one used. Look at thrift stores or your community web pages. Have family and friends be on the lookout for you as well. Ask someone you know who sews to go with you so they can make sure it works. 

We had two little girls so I needed a sewing machine. Someone posted in a paper of sorts. I wanted one with good tension and a free arm since I would need it for arms and legs of clothing I would make. We went to the house of the couple with the ad. She showed me the machine and my heart sank. I said I had really wanted a free arm. She said oh, but it is. Then she showed me how it was and we got that machine. That was near forty years ago and it was ten years-old at the time I got it and I still use it to this day.

This machine has made many things - toddler clothes, school clothes, it even sewed on our eldest's wedding dress. It is my work horse and the machine that those metal bobbins are for.

I know I have seen machines lately at Salvation Army....they let you plug them in and test them.

Once you get one, learn every bit of it. If you did not get a manual, look online most have free ones online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vva2h5oSYK8 - good to know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJjPF5_jB00 - if you already know how to sew, then build on your skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVR7Iy0TPIY - upcycle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-OcCW7n8h0 - upcycle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQIX4lYbUb8 - upcycle

So these things should help you get started. 

Missy says she can't count all the ways sewing saves money but if she could actually count, she would get right on it.

Tippy Longstockings says she is showing you how to keep your chin up through hard times.

Monday Message

"A cardinal principle of the gospel is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality are part of the royal order of life." (Bishop Keith B. McMullin)

Well the bad news - I heard on the news this week is that prices for things are going up for things we use in our daily lives.

So I guess we need to buckle up it will be harder than it has already been. So we need to find even more frugal ways as it just won't be groceries, it will be rents and mortgages, gas for cars, gas for heating, electricity, vehicles, medical... I think we need to start conserving all we can and find cheaper ways of doing things.

Plant seeds for your gardens or pots.

I have planted seeds in pots that I need to have a bit of growth on them before frost date, which is May 15 here where I live.

While your plants grow, be looking for dehydrator and canning jars and canners and vacuum sealers at yard sales and thrift stores and community pages. Perhaps you have relatives or friends that you could borrow theirs.

Look also for coats and boots and school clothes items that will benefit your family. You can also find things for home repair. That said, do as much as you can for yourself. Look up on YouTube how to make the repairs. You will be surprised how much you can do.

https://www.thriftyfrugalmom.com/frugal-pantry-staples-to-help-you-cook-from-scratch/ - stock up on pantry basics. I like to store basics because you can do so many things from simple basics.

https://www.cheaprecipeblog.com/2020/03/50-cheap-recipes-made-with-pantry-staples/ - more staple ideas.

https://www.taste.com.au/quick-easy/galleries/easy-dinners-made-pantry-staples/5o7wvrje?page=15 - just some ideas.

https://www.taste.com.au/quick-easy/galleries/easy-dinners-made-pantry-staples/5o7wvrje?page=15 - more ideas.

https://frugalpantrycooking.com/how-to-stock-a-pantry-on-a-budget/ - some good ideas.

https://www.gracefullittlehoneybee.com/how-to-build-an-old-fashioned-frugal-pantry/ - I love this gal.

We need to work on the basics, first then add to them.

Also keep working at your basic skill-building.

https://familycorner.blogspot.com/2017/08/homemaker-series-basic-homemaking.html - this has some info on skills.

https://www.queenofthehousehold.com/homemaking-skills/ - I like that she says taking care of ourselves is a skill. It reminds me of them telling you to put the oxygen masks on yourselves first so you then can help others.

https://www.artfulhomemaking.com/8-useful-skills-grandmothers-knew/ - good ideas here.

I think having skills is a huge savings. Clothes will always need mending, people will always need to be fed and cared for.

Learn while you can cause if you are having everything hit you at once, it is too hard to learn but push on and learn the basics before you need them.

Remake things into things that are useable. When our kids were a baby and toddler, I would check out free boxes at yard sales and would find jeans that were fine but with broken zippers. I would make them into jeans for the kids. You can do a lot more than you think. You can also learn to replace the zipper if they were the size of someone in your family. It is easier then you might think. If you have a pair of jeans with a broken zipper that can be your homework - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWRf6AOX7jA 

This week I found a computer desk half price - so ten dollars at the thrift store. It's perfect for my sewing table. It can rise and lower, so we were able to get it lowered to the perfect height for sewing that will not add to my pain.

It took a bit of reorganizing this week with that as it is tight quarters to make a shift, but I'm happy with it.

I did a deep organize as long as I was at it.

I sorted the bobbins - metal for one machine, plastic for the other.

So glad the sewing table is set to the right height, it's a lot easier.

In sorting and deep organizing, I found some scraps of fabric that I could cut in strips for my little rug mugs I am working on.

It is amazing how the fabric changes as it is woven. Think how you can use things in a different way.

Missy says remember to be kind no matter what end of the string you are on.

Tippy Longstockings says to keep working at things on your list ,you are doing great.

Monday Message

"The best food storage is not in welfare grain elevators but in sealed cans and bottles in the homes of our people. What a gratifying thing it is to see cans of wheat and rice and beans under the beds or in the pantries of women who have taken welfare responsibility into their own hands. Such food may not be tasty, but it will be nourishing if it has to be used." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)

It sure has benefited our family to have storage

I have still been working at some Spring cleaning. Trying to work smarter by being more organized.

I wanted to use a table we got years and years ago for three dollars from a college salvage store for my sock machine as I wouldn't have to scrunch over the machine as I was with the other table. However, the top was too thick for my sock machine to clamp onto so my husband helped to grade the section to come down to the right thickness. So now it is perfect.

I also switched a few things around on the watercolor desk to have a bit more space.

I was given this really odd wire setup. It took me a few times trying to use it then I noticed someone put it together with zip ties. I cut those to reveal these three wire baskets I used to put my tubes of watercolor paint in and they fit perfectly in this tray that I had. Note - lots of orange stickers, lots were clearance finds over a couple years.

This picture, if you look closely at it, you will see white wire legs. This is the rest of that weird wire concoction. These are two shelf things that stand up tall to have things slide under them which they do. So I used all but those ratty zip ties. I am trying to use what I have on hand and make them work. I was going to get rid of that wild wire thing but I gave it thought and studied it. I truly do not know how or what they were using it as but this is now its new use. So just think of the item for a bit before you toss it out and you just might find the best ever use for it.

If you go back to the sock machine picture, the top piece is a shelf. I took out the two drawers and sat them under it and put the other two cylinders in them they do a smaller size sock and a larger size sock than the one I am using in my machine at the time. But I got more space by doing this with the drawers.  So just see it at a different angle to get ideas.

It helps to save money and not running out to buy something. Shop your house and see what you have.  

When I need to rest, I have been watching videos on people reorganizing their craft rooms, looking for ideas. While I have gotten some ideas, an awful lot have Ikea systems which I have no budget for so I find myself looking at the others to see how they came up with what they had. Some really were messes before they did get it organized. It always has to be a mess while you organize but some made me glad I wasn't the one who had to do them.

This weekend is our general conference. When you read this it will have been two weeks ago.

We have chili and cinnamon rolls on this weekend. It is our family tradition. Growing up here in Iowa my favorite lunch at school was chili and cinnamon rolls. So this continues to be a favorite.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2013/09/monday-message-conference-weekend.html - this little fella making grandma's cinnamon rolls look good will graduate next month. Wow! I have done this blog a long time but the chili recipe is in this post. Often I save some taco meat to make chili but both ways are terrific. For the cinnamon rolls I just use the bread dough to make them from this recipe.

I use vital wheat gluten to make my bread flour. My recipe calls for three cups flour, so I add three tsp. of vital wheat gluten - perfect every time! If you do not have a bread machine, don't worry. You can just do it by hand.

Whether you feel ahead...

Or whether you feel behind...

Or you are having a hard time getting a grip...

Missy and Tippy Longstockings say to keep working on frugal ways and skill building, and stocking up on gibble is worthwhile.