An education in re-purposing A year or so ago I posted about re-making a man’s shirt into something that I could wear. I was quite proud of myself for the modifications I’d done to the shirt to make it more feminine-looking and match my wardrobe. Oh, my! Was I ever a novice. Since then I…

One of this month’s goals is to learn a new skill. How about learning to sew? Who sews any more? The art or skill of sewing has really fallen out of favor. When I was a kid, everyone took Home Ec (well, at least all the girls did. After all, I did grow up in Ye…

Garden veggies in April? How would you like to be eating fresh vegetables a full 4-6 weeks before the rest of your fellow gardeners? You can with cold frames. What’s a cold frame? Basically, it’s a mini greenhouse that helps warm the soil and protect plants during the cold transitioning months of early spring and late…

When my youngest son goes off to college next year, I will lose a great help in the garden. So for the last two years he and I have been working on several gardening projects to make gardening less labor intensive for me. This spring we’ve already completed two big projects: new raised bed and…

After raising three boys, it’s so much fun being able to sew for a girl. In case you’ve forgotten, last Christmas I made my little granddaughter a tablecloth playhouse, using fabric and trimming’s I found at the thrift store and on clearance. This year, my Christmas project for her was a princess dress. I found…

It’s time to be drying herbs The chives and comfrey are already flowering; the dandelions, chickweed and nettles have been trying to take over the yard. I’ve already harvested about a pound of dandelion root, about ½ of what I’d like to dig up and get put away for the year. Last year’s dill re-seeded…

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. This age-old proverb is the goal for those of us trying to live a frugal and sustainable lifestyle. Unfortunately, we live in a throw-away economy. Most people just find it easier to toss things when they break, rather than try to repair or…

Great Bargains this Christmas This year’s Christmas gifts were a bargain and I’m excited to share my successes with you. Last year a friend was moving and gave me a lot of her fabric stash. (Thank you, Dianna!) I made plaid flannel pajama pants for the three boys. Total cost for all three pajama pants:…

Yeah, yeah I know.  You think I’ve gone all earth-mother, touchy feely.  But I believe that we have a stewardship to keep our environment clean and our earth healthy.  And being careful with our environment is not only more sustainable for the environment (and thus healthier for me and my family), but it also saves…

One of the reasons we garden is because we want to make the world nicer. So it only makes sense that we’d want to do what we can to lessen our impact on the environment. The garden is the perfect place to reduce and re-purpose items you might otherwise be throwing away. When you garden,…

In the dead of winter, when everything is frozen and bleak, Mother Nature blesses us with a ray of warm sunshine: Citrus fruit. This is the season that citrus fruit is harvested and so there’s plenty. It’s abundance means it’s on sale a lot. And a good thing too–this is when we are most prone…

I’m in the process of converting my 40′ x 40′ garden into raised beds. The cost of materials to construct the beds and the soil mix make raised beds a bit expensive. So here are the details of how I am keeping the costs down on my raised beds. Keeping the costs down I used…

Rule One of Thrift Store Shopping: Don’t think you’re going to get exactly what you want. You might, but the selection is hit and miss, so most likely you’ll have to settle for something close. The finished product: black ribbon around the collar and each side of the button placket. I bound the bottom of…

We live in a disposable society. Just about everything that comes into our house is easily (and readily) replaced with something better, newer, cheaper or brighter. But our grandparents (who lived through some hard times) were just the opposite–they found a use and reuse for just about everything that came into the house. They were…

Compost time! It’s the height of the garden season and an important component to gardening is composting. Don’t let anything go to waste—compost it. Every scrap of fruit and vegetable waste in your kitchen should go into your compost pile. Keep an ice cream bucket or any other container with a lid underneath or near…

Thrift stores have become all the rage. And what’s not to like? You can get some super amazing bargains and you are helping the environment by using what would otherwise end up in the landfill. I’ve written before (like here and here) about some of the great deals to look for at thrift stores.* This past…