Category: homemaking


May
2023

Azure Standard Bulk Buying: 6 Month Review

categories: food, homemaking
bulk buying with azure standard

The rising food costs and trying to move back into an “ingredient-based” pantry I have been paying more attention on where to get the best prices. Not only have I found grocery items, but some of my household items are available and less expensive through Azure Standard. On top of the prices, buying in bulk (a larger quantity or in multiples of 3) has help build my pantry storage up little by little without overspending.

Azure Standard has been around for decades, but the company has grown a lot in the last couple of years when people really started to look into bulk buying, me included!. They are a co-op based out of Oregon, but have routes throughout the United States they drive every month; this makes bulk buying Non-GMO and organic products more widely available to everyone.

Changing things like shopping once or twice a month versus weekly shopping trip helps too. Paying more attention to which the biggest area (meat, produce, dairy, etc) has been a big help when trying to manage food inflation also! Bulk buying has never made more sense than it does in these times and Azure Standard makes the process easy.

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Feb
2023

How to Make Lard from Our Bulk Hog Purchase

categories: Fill Your Freezer February, food, homemaking

Buying meat in bulk from a butcher is more cost effective as long as you have the freezer space to do so. This last time I bulk ordered meat I requested to have some of the extra fat packaged up. The butcher adds some fat to the ground pork, but otherwise it would either go to waste or they would use if to make and resell lard in their shop own shop.

We have bought meat in bulk for YEARS, but until recently we had never known to request the fat to make our own lard (and tallow– from beef)!

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Jan
2023

Home Manager Binder: Keeping Track of What We Eat and Use

categories: homemaking, YouTube

During the pandemic I was able to mostly keep on our pantry and household needs, but I was never able to really get a rotating stock our pantry and linen closet. Add in the fact we had baby number six in the spring last year and I just continued to buy what we need, when we needed it. Therefore, my big homemaking goal of 2023 is to keep an inventory of what we use and consume so we can work on stocking the pantry and linen closet (toiletries). Enter: The Home Manager Binder.

Not only do I want to get a good rotation system down I needed a way to track how much we need for a 3 months/6 months/12 month supply for our large family. This will also help me when items go on sale, especially for those items we rotate through quickly.

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Sep
2022

Changing Grocery Shopping Habits in 2022

categories: food, homemaking, recipes

I feel like the last two years we have been playing dodgeball, ducking and hiding, just trying to stay in the game — that’s how I’ve felt running my home the last 2 years when it comes to meals. In this post I am sharing how I changed my grocery shopping habits in 2022.

We are supposed to be back to “normal” now, but with inflation and craziness continuing to happen I just want the “dodgeball game” to end.

We are currently a family of 8! We welcomed our 6th child early this spring, and I don’t know if it was the fear compilation of the last two years while grocery shopping or simply my ever-changing hormones, but I started to feel super defeated. One of our largest expenses, food, has gotten way out of hand this year.

I really had to sit and review my menu plans and grocery receipts to look at inflation, what I’m buying and realized it wasn’t necessarily me letting grocery shopping slide, inflation is happening — but I decided something had to change. So here is how I started changing my grocery habits in going into the second half of 2022:

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May
2022

Meal Planning and Money Saving Tips

categories: food, homemaking

Do you enjoy spending time in the kitchen with new recipes? Do you meal prep so you can save a ton of time with your busy weekly schedule? Do you cook just so you can eat?

A big part of money saving in the kitchen is meal planning, but I also know it feels a little “plain jane” sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be – it’s time to learn some tips and get creative. I’m someone who enjoys being in the kitchen cooking but is actively searching for ways to save money with the recent spike in food inflation. No matter where on the scale you land, these meal planning and money saving tips will help.

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Aug
2021

Prepping Our Home for a New School Year

categories: homemaking, homeschool

Today I am sharing 6 tips on how I prep our home for the new school year. I’d love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment.

Homemaking Schedule

I have had a homemaking schedule for years. With the ebbs and flows of life, I still find myself coming back to it. Prepping our home for a new school year definitely feels welcoming after the chaos of gardening, fishing days, bike rides and all the summer fun that leaves the homemaking a little to the wayside. I have a whole series here on the blog about my different days of homemaking (kitchen day, office day, laundry day, cleaning day, and errand day). This helps me keep up on our home and keeps the daily focus to one “task.”

home making schedule
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Nov
2020

Declutter Our Home: Journey Towards Minimalism

categories: homemaking, YouTube

The baby nesting phase hit last Fall, followed by the birth baby number five, Connor, before Christmas, COVID started in March and by that time I was more than ready to get back into a better routine and declutter our home. All of those reason tornado’d into buckling down and get started simplifying and really focus on declutter.

“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.”

kitchen declutter
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Mar
2019

DIY Citrus All Purpose Cleaner

categories: homemaking
citrus all purpose spray

Today I’m sharing a DIY Citrus All Purpose Cleaner: it’s quick, simple, and frugal. I shared this a few weeks ago on Instagram Stories and had quite a few questions about this ‘recipe.’

Since it is the seasons for cuties/cara cara oranges I always find myself making a batch of this Citrus All Purpose Cleaner which uses the peelings from the oranges/cuties.

It’s a safer and money saving alternative.

I started making this cleaner years ago, when money was tight and the fact that harsh chemicals make it hard for me to breathe (asthma growing up). Not only did it contain 2 ingredients that I was already buying, but it cleaned well, and was safe enough for my little helpers.

How To Make the Citrus All Purpose Cleaner.

To make this easy DIY Citrus All Purpose Cleaner you take a glass jar and add citrus peelings until you fill it up. Don’t be afraid to pack them in tight. You can choose oranges, lemons, or a mixture for this- the choice is completely up to you!

Then take plain, white vinegar and slowly pour it over the citrus peelings until the glass jar is filled to the top. Make sure all the citrus peels are submerged into the vinegar. If some of them won’t stay under the vinegar simply take them out and discard.

Using a canning lid and rim gives the jar a better seal than a plastic reusable lids. Tighten the lid and then give the jar a few shakes. Keep it in a cool dark place for 4-6 weeks. Write the date on the lid when it can be used (ex. “late march”).

citrus all purpose cleaner

How to Use It.

When it is time to use it simply open up your DIY Citrus Cleaner pouring a 1:1 ratio of citrus vinegar to water into a spray bottle.

Not only does it on windows and toilets, but I don’t have to worry about harsh chemicals getting on my little helpers’ skin.

If your spray bottle isn’t big enough to use all of your Citrus Vinegar, simply take out any of the peels that float above the vinegar. Reseal with the same lid, give it a few shakes, and store it until your next use. That’s it!

I keep a spray bottle in each bathroom along with a container of baking powder for easy cleaning and wiping. Between the two bathrooms I normally use the whole batch of this DIY Citrus All Purpose Cleaner.

Don’t forget to save this to Pinterest for reference!

citrus all purpose cleaner

Related Posts:

Homemaking Schedule: Cleaning Day


Mar
2018

March Challenge: Clean the Clutter

categories: 2018 Monthly Challenge, homemaking

How did you do last week with my 3 Easy Tasks ? I was able to tackle all of them, yay! This week I want to focus on the clutter.

Sometimes it could be something small that bothers us a tiny bit every time we see it or it could be that big, daunting task you just keep putting off every time it even comes across your mind. For example, over Christmas break we finally finished sanding, patching, and painting a hole in our bathroom from not having a door stopper (ahem, kids swinging the door open too hard). I didn’t even realize how much it really bothered me until it was done. The thought of needing to get that project finished probably crossed my mind at least once a day for months! So although this may be actual clutter in your life it could also mean mental clutter!

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