I just picked this book up from the library and am now reading it like crazy. The idea is to feed a couple or family on $10 per person per week. I’m already a bit irritated because at the beginning of the book she mentions that they have a homestead were their meat, eggs, milk, fruit, and vegetables come from. Hello, if you are getting all that from the homestead…yes, you can have a tiny budget easily. So, inquiring minds want to know! I’m going to devote myself to reading this book fully because it has been referred to as … Continue reading Feeding a family on $10 a week.

Recently I was introduced to this documentary by Azure Standard. They sent this around to their customers and I love documentaries on health and nutrition so I eagerly rented it on Amazon and watched the entire thing over coffee. I then had my husband watch it. After which we both discussed and came to the decision that we would go fully organic. Amen. Now, I have known that GMO’s were not good and that organic is the best for us, but the cost is sometimes a bummer and then you have the old fashioned folks that poo poo it all … Continue reading Going fully organic on a small budget.

I have been having a difficult time lately with doing too much and being too productive and not realizing the cost. I write books, make vlogs, and then there is homemaking, homeschooling, raising little boys, the kitchen gardens now that spring is in full bloom and so on. I love all that I do but suddenly I hit the wall and I spread myself so thin that all that I do is half a#$ed.  I’m not doing that great at anything because I’m not present in my daily to do’s, I’m off making more list and planning other projects…while doing … Continue reading Learning to be present in the now before it’s all gone.

How do we become the quintessential homemaker? Do we have fine homes with matching sofa and love seat against soft tan walls in our suburbia? Do we cook fine meals from the Joy of Cooking and decorate cakes that compete with the local bakery in the gentrified part of the city? Do we throw excellent parties that are the talk of the town? Do we have perfect hair and pressed jeans? If so, I’m in a lot of trouble. My home is shabby chic with nothing…and I emphasize nothing matching. I bake cakes in a large pan and stick dinosaurs … Continue reading Homemaking 101.

I hear many families in my community talk of hard times brought on by injuries, unemployment, disability, and the 2008 recession that should have taught many a good and much needed lesson on living above your means. Some hardship is unforeseen and can’t be avoided, some hardships are created through unwise choices and investments. Right now life is easy for us; the spouse works a decent and easy job down the street and isn’t in a seasonal job or work that endangers his body and health. We live under our means, debt free, cars paid off, small mortgage, and I … Continue reading What if?

I don’t mean to get into poverty consciousness, but for some odd reason, I’m almost too fascinated with how to live on very little and still have an amazing existence. I grew up with my mother struggling with money. However, we always had a nice home, I wore a lot of hand me downs but I really loved getting bags of clothes that were new to me. We ate healthy and good food as my mother was a decent cook and knew how to feed us through lean times. I only knew that we had times when money was a … Continue reading If I were poor…

Many women have written their success stories in coming home and leaving high paying jobs, careers, and even being the main breadwinners. They all said it was worth it in the end and it all worked out. Most of them will say that there is no reason a person cannot return home and make it on one income. I believe this to be true. However, it will take sacrifice, making out budgets and updating them frequently until you have the one that works. This lifestyle will require cutting and trimming over and over until your family is living under one … Continue reading Making the choice to come home.

I’m living the good life right now as I am still in my pj’s and in bed working on my writing with my Pandora playing my favorites, a half caf/decaf, and a husband washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. I did make the bed as I’m sort of a stickler about beds made and clean kitchens. The rest of the house is already a mess even after a full day of cleaning and tidying. It’s a small cottage and doesn’t take much to make it look as though a great wind blew through here. I will bath and dress … Continue reading Is it time to come home?

I received my book, When The Banks Closed, We Opened Our Hearts yesterday and have had my nose buried in it since. I have ordered another book, We Had Everything But Money as well. I decided to buy these for my personal library after reading one of them from the library. The book had such a life changing impact on my perspective on homemaking and managing our money. These books are filled with history I never learned in school, but should have, and has brought about a feeling of abundance and gratitude for just how wonderful our life is today. … Continue reading How to keep your position as a homemaker in financially tough times.

A few blogs I would love to share with all of you, although most of you may already enjoy them: http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/ http://gdonna.com/ https://down—to—earth.blogspot.com/ https://thelegacyofhome.blogspot.com/ http://conniehultquist.blogspot.com/ These blogs and the writings of Connie Hultquist and Mrs. Sharon White always bring me back to the basics and joys of homemaking. They are devoted homemakers with a real love of tending to the family and hearth. They also have very strong spiritual practices that keep them in balance and in gratitude. I have been working too hard on my channel and writing books and it has caused a severe imbalance that has caused … Continue reading A day of homemaking.