traditional homemaking: a homemade winter! - Page 8

[artparent]

i guess it isn't for wet-mopping, just dust-mopping, but ooo.

maybe i could make my own by tying lanolised wool pieces to my old mop? how fun to choose your own colours!

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[artparent]

why yes i *am* avoiding housework.

i'm always looking for alternatives to disposable and very plastic solutions, i thought you might like to see these. this is the toothbrush i'm going to try next. i like that at *least* the head is replaceable. i remember my family having these. i wish the all-wooden toothbrushes were better, mine went black around the bristles, on the wood, which worried me; the bristles fell out (in my mouth!) now and then, and it was too big to brush comfortable! how disappointed was i!

we're currently using these razors - they are gorgeous, and while you spend a lot outright, the cost of the razors is a lot less over time - you're just replacing the blade inside, which is fun (careful!). safer than a straight razor that you'd have to sharpen! i'm so happy not to be throwing out so much garbage and it is an experience to use this thing. old british company.



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[jenfl]

So I've had the whole house to myself since noonish and no car to tempt me to go out and be "productive"! And, because of earlier visitors, the house is relatively clean!

Besides watching a movie and eating chocolate fondue (mmm, fondue....), I planted some basil and some peas in seed pots made out of a cut-up wrapping paper tube and made 2 loaves of bread. I hadn't intended to make 2 loaves, but the recipe told me to brush the top with butter just before baking. When I did that, the top completely fell flat and it didn't rise back up in the oven. I hated looking at that flat-topped loaf and didn't want that to be the result of my baking day, so I set out to do the second loaf. It's on its second rise now.... we'll see how things turn out.

Oh, and I knitted 3-4 rows this morning! That's a major accomplishment when you're as slow as I am.

[earthnut]

That was inspiring, Angelique, thanks!

Artparent, I mainly use a good, real corn broom. They're pricey, but so nice. I've used various mops, but if you can't wash the head, mops get so grody. After a few uses, you end up moving around mud, not really cleaning much. I don't want to use the disposable head ones, so I've been shopping for a mop that has washable cloth heads. I've been looking at a sh-mop.

Today, I moved in 6 bags of chicken feed (with hubby's help), and moved out 3 boxes of trash. Yay!

[greenmamapagan]

Oooh, I had such a good day Not only did I mop the floors this morning on top of my flylady stuff (which is going well) but I made DD a Mei Tai for her baby dolls. I'm so proud of myself

[HeatherAtHome]

Wow. I finally got my kitchen/dining room clean. It was piled 3 feet high with junk. (I don' think I'm exaggerating.) Mostly tools and construction junk and some random Christmas items. It was so clean that DH actually said "Wow!" when he walked in from work... usually he doesn't notice so much (which is really nice on the days it's messy!) but I guess it's because the change was so drastic.

Now I just need to declutter the corners, make it pretty and take some "after" pics for my blog. I've been meaning to post them for ages!

I've gotten back into my bread baking groove. I made all our bread for a year or more then stopped when I moved in with my parents for over a year. Now we're in our own home, doing what we want and living the dream.

Today might be a sewing day. I have some draft stoppers to make, curtains to sew for the new bathroom and maybe a table runner if I'm ambitious.

[_ktg_]

Originally Posted by artparent

i guess it isn't for wet-mopping, just dust-mopping, but ooo.

maybe i could make my own by tying lanolised wool pieces to my old mop? how fun to choose your own colours!

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That mop is beautiful! Too bad it can't just be a work of art for your home. Thanks for all the suggestions to make pizza dough in a bread maker - I used to have one but never used it ever. Time to go hunting for one maybe...

Trying to plan what needs to be done this weekend or really saturday as DH has game night with friends on Friday, and I'm going to be in doula training all day Sunday. We have a fridge packed still from our costco run, and I'm trying to figure out how to store sliced cheese (vacu-seal & wax paper seems to be the best bet...)

My 2nd class for graduate school started today.. ahh the law & bioethics. This one is going to be a doozy, as the most experience I have with the law is .. well none except for my civics classes back in H.S and that was well...awhile ago

We haven't taken our tree down yet... and wont until the end of the month but I'm tempted to start taking down the ornaments and trying to find some cedar branches to decorate our mantel and keep it wintery-festive without overkill. Does anyone else keep their holiday tree up (but not adorned) during January to keep the green in their house?

[AngeliqueW]

Hooray for the cleaning and decluttering Mamas! Now come to my house!
ktg- Who are you doing your doula training with? I'm doing a workshop with ToLabor (formerly ALACE) in March!
We are a shoes off household- our reason being an equal measure of foot health and floor cleanliness. I wear slippers inside and love having cozy feet. Outdoor footwear is too hard hot heavy to wear all the time. In winter I bring slippers to other people's houses too. People appreciate when I take my wet dirty boots off at the door but raise an eyebrow when I pull slippers out of my bag. Oh well.
Question: Do your kids do chores? If so what? I'm interested in how much moms are willing to delegate as well as how much is appropriate for kids to do. DS is still too little for that but he likes "helping" me do things. I want to keep that feeling going! DH's mom never let her 3 boys wash dishes, do laundry, cook, etc (as if they'd destroy appliances or something). They did mow the lawn, rake and such. Still, they grew up without what I consider vital life skills. I taught DH how to wash dishes when we were 23, laundry is still tricky.

[MamaFern]

Originally Posted by _ktg_

I have the same mop as Fern - love it and the almond of the soap/wood cleaner. If that mop is dirty or being washed, its the ole hand & knees with a sponge.

mmmmmmmm

the nice thing about this mop is you can have more than one moppy cloth part, or you can whip it off and hand wash it and then off you go. i generally wash it in between a dirty mop and clean mop (i like to do it twice when i actually do it)
i also have the duster cloths that you can get to go with it and they work great.

elisa, the toothbrush link didn't work, but im curious!can you post it again?

you would love the kootenay co-op in nelson.its the grocery store most folks shop at and all of their cleaning products and body stuff is all wooden and natural bristle and eco friendly. i have to make a list and stick to it otherwise im always buy things i want but don't "need"
you should come visit some time

[jillyofthevalley]

We're a shoes off house as well. I hate wearing regular shoes and it always feels so nice to take them off and put on my cozy slippers after running around all day. I always take my shoes off at other people's homes as well. To me it's just rude not to.

I try to get my kids to do chores but that seems to be a chore in itself. My girls are now in charge of cleaning their own bathroom. I figure it's a good place to start because if they don't do it and gets disgusting, I don't have to look at it (they have a half bath in their bedroom). Eventually my oldest will get disgusted enough that she will clean it. My girls are also in charge of unloading the dishwasher and that's still a work in progress. They usually abandon it half way through claiming they don't know where things go. My older girls are 7 and 9.

The boys are 4 and 5 (closer to 6 than 5) and right now they don't do much. I do expect them to pick up after themselves and we do what's called "10 minute tidy" a few times a day. When the house gets too messy they all have to stop what they are doing and do a quick tidy up to get the house back in order. Then they can resume their activities. If they don't complain and dawdle it takes less than 10 minutes. Next, I'm going to teach my boys how to make their beds. That should be interesting.

[MamaFern]

on the no shoes, we are also a no shoes in the house family..but i got these boots a week or so ago and i cannot convince myself to not wear them in the house. they are So so comfy, plus its just ice outside so not yet outside dirty...

we all have padraig slippers that we love. the little shop is just a few blocks down from where i grew up, so we have all had a pair for ages (my son and i got new ones from my mama for christmas!)

[jillyofthevalley]

Originally Posted by MamaFern

on the no shoes, we are also a no shoes in the house family..but i got these boots a week or so ago and i cannot convince myself to not wear them in the house. they are So so comfy, plus its just ice outside so not yet outside dirty...

we all have padraig slippers that we love. the little shop is just a few blocks down from where i grew up, so we have all had a pair for ages (my son and i got new ones from my mama for christmas!)

Those boots are cute! I don't blame you for not taking them off.

We all have padraigs here too. They are so comfy and they last forever. I've had my pair for a few years though and and dying to get another pair, not because they need replacing but because I'm bored of the colour and I want something different. The kids just pass theirs down the line so they always get "new" ones every year. They don't get a chance to get bored and luckily my younger ds loves pink so he doesn't complain if he gets a girly pair. In fact, right now his rain boots are pink.

[artparent]

hmm, toothbrush site seems down right now i'm sure i would love that shop, fern. love it into a good day of business! i'd love to visit someday

i have a 9 and 4 year old, i'm a bit inconsistent, but they do have a routine and the 9 year old has added responsibilities on top of that. the routine is things like, get dressed, lay out clothes for tomorrow, put away toys + crafts at night, brush teeth, that kind of things. i'll just ask them for help with things like putting the eggs in a bowl, or piling up the cloth wipes + putting them upstairs, or folding their clothes. things should be clearer when we're back in london and have their room set up eventually, as they will each have shelves for their own clothes, and their own bed to make, etc. i have my tall one put away the dry dishes, and she's very good about tidying up the table when it is time to eat. i find it is all easier if it is clear where things go, especially with drawing stuff.

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[artparent]

you might like this article on childhood responsibilities. i'd definitely like to increase what my children participate with. so = off to do laundry with them after lunch!

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[PNCTink]

We are a no shoe house as well. Sometimes I feel badly when I ask someone to take off their shoes, but I hate to think of the things they bring in on them. One exception is my Grandpa. I have never asked him to reomove his shoes. We wear slippers too. The padraig ones look really nice! I made myself a new pair in the fall out of an old fleece vest, but they are wearing out underneath. My birthday is coming...

My DD is still young, but she helps clean up the toys and she likes to help me load the dishwasher. I let her "sweep" too sometimes.

KTG-I know a family that leaves their tree up from Black Friday through St. Patrick's Day. They said they go through so much trouble to get it that they like to enjoy it for a while. They put Valentine's on in February and Shamrocks in March.

We took our decorations down today. I am hoping to make some wooden coasters out of the tree trunk, but I need to find a tutorial. I caught a segment of Rachael Ray the other day with someone who was talking about ways to upcycle things from the holidays. I think I am also going to make some blocks for the kids. The branches we'll give to our neighbor to burn in the summer in his fire pit. I always hate taking down our decorations because it feels so bare.

[artparent]

i'm usually the first to take my tree down! but this year i've loved it so, so i took off all of the ornaments except for the silver baubles, which are lovely aged-looking things, and the little lights (it is a little tree in a pot, outside in our solarium, so it lives there in the wintriest months anyway) and after new years i took down the baubles and left the lights.

i love the idea of making coasters + blocks from the trunk! i might also cut the boughs and dress something up outside with them...maybe a bannister. this winter feels very bare to me, i've been wanting more lights.

the children loved helping me thanks for the reminder.

my little one told me she wants me to play my classical guitar to send her to sleep every night "every every night" and i'm so pleased we tried it last night. i haven't played since i did this for her sister before she was born. i found information that says i can bring it on board when we fly home to london.


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[PNCTink]

I wish I could do something with the branches, but they are all dried out. Our tree stopped taking water about three weeks ago, even though I kept it well watered this year.

Yes, I have seen people carrying their guitars onto the plane, when we fly from Newark-Liberty (and Montreal) to Heathrow.

[artparent]

in future, (it would be a LOT of work!) you could slice the stump again, to keep the water entering. however i would be very, very careful now because the tree may catch fire very easily.

my parents move their undecorated tree outside in the rain + snow, on our deck, and we've really loved it every year. you could decorate it for the animals then.

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[PNCTink]

Yes, we do that when we first get it home. I think DH would have heart failure if I asked him to pick it up decorated and do that. LOL!

*Funny side story* DH's Dad bought their first real tree two years ago when they moved to Devon, England. he thought it would be nice, etc. So he went to B&Q and brought it home, set it up, and thought it was lovely. A few weeks later he was complaining about it to DH because they had to vacuum so much. It was losing loads of needles and dH asked, "Well, is it drinking water?" FIL replied, "I'm supposed to water it?!" What's even more funny is he is a good gardener. DH now asks him often, "Have you watered your tree yet, Dad?"

That's a great idea! Right now, it's located behind our shed, but we could hang some bird feeders from it.

[HeatherAtHome]

I am so happy! I finally tidied up the kitchen and dining room enough to take pictures. Here they are! You can click within the post to see the before pictures... from the previous owner. She had it so dark and dreary in here. A couple coats of paint brightened it right up.