Inspiration: Ma Ingalls

Growing up I read a lot of different books.  One of my absolute favorite series was the Little House books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The stories she told of growing up in small towns across the Midwest were amazing to me.  It seemed impossible that anyone could have lived without our modern luxuries, but at the same time there was something so romantic about it all.

Some of my favorite stories in those books were the ones that talked of their every day life.  Butchering a pig was a big to-do, but the little things that Ma Ingalls did in the house have stuck with me.  She was the ideal home maker, managing her home efficiently and getting it all done.

Nowadays, we need to remember that things are pretty easy now.  We don't have to worry about a "Long Winter" with no food.  We can still learn something though from the "olden times".

Learn canning and preserving.  Invest in a side of beef and support a local farmer.  Shop locally.  Grow your own produce.  Wear your apron proudly and get it dirty every day!  Get inspired by some country living!

Did you read the Little House books?  What story has stuck with you?

Make the switch: clean with cloth!

Paisley Unpaper Towels

It's a new year and everyone's making resolutions on ways to improve themselves.  Maybe you're hitting the gym, eating better or implementing a consistent "me time".  Have you thought about switching to using cloth in your cleaning routine?

This was one of the first things I did as I switched to a more green home life.  It started off simply enough by registering for dish and hand towels when I got married.  It was a no brainer to have hand towels to dry my hands with and it made perfect sense to get the matching dish cloths, even if I didn't plan to use them to wash dishes.   Now though, those dish cloths are getting pretty ratty from use!

If you have cloths sitting in a drawer or closet, pull them out.  Evaluate them and decide how you are going to use them.  Are they cotton?  Microfiber?  Did you know that microfiber cloths are perfect for cleaning windows and mirrrors, you don't even need Windex!  Maybe you can start using the dish cloths as dish cloths instead of buying sponges.  Cloth gets better with use, it will become softer, more absorbent.  And you got those to use them, not have them sit where no one can see them!

So tell me, what is your favorite way to use cloth as you clean?  Bonus points if you share a picture of your favorite old rag on the facebook page!