Reducing Paper Products

My first task is reducing paper in our home. I have been working at this for about 2 months now. I haven't used paper towel, except to clean up cat messes in these last 2 months.
I am very proud and excited about this big step. Its' amazing how much paper towel my family used to use! We used to use paper towel for a lot of things: to clean, as napkins, drying fruits and veggies off, and draining bacon, just to name a few big ones. Washing all of my cloths is so easy, since I do at least one load of laundry a day.

Now, I use all kinds of cloths. I've been collecting cloth napkins for a few years, but not regularly, so that was the first step. We only use cloth napkins now. For wiping our son's hands and face we use washcloths instead of paper towel.

I then searched online for ways to reduce the amount of baby wipes we use for my son. They can be so expensive and we went through them so quickly, the amount of money was adding up quickly. To replace wipes, I cut old receiving blankets into squares, ranging in size from 6"-8" in size so that I could determine the best size for us. I found a way to fold them together so that they can be placed in a plastic wipes box and feed through the top the same way disposables do. I looked up recipes on how to make homemade wipes solution and I put it in a squirt bottle to use as necessary. (that recipe is simply water, 1-2 squirts of baby soap, 5 drops of essential oil. I use a few of tea tree oil and a few of lavender) I have a very small bottle since I don't use very much, so this recipe works just fine for me. My son is very sensitive and I use cloth diapers at night for him now, so I didn't want anything with oil or anything harsh. We are in the potty training phase, so maybe this step was easier due to that.

I also use those cloth wipes, when dry, as a replacement for kleenex. I carry dry ones for this purpose and I bought a small wet bag to carry some that I dampened with plain water for  my son's hands, face, and any accidents.

An inexpensive pack of plain washcloths make great kitchen rags. I use them for counters, wiping up any messes, and pretty much anything I would use a paper towel for. Then I have microfiber cloths for more serious cleaning. I traded in the old dish sponge for a dish brush and I really prefer that anyway.

Overall, this change has been rather easy. It's amazing to only have to purchase toilet paper for my paper products, plus a stray box of kleenex for guests.

CANNING- 1st Try

Yesterday I took my first trip into the canning world...and I think I'm in LOVE! What a wonderful feeling of pride and accomplishment to see the fruits of your labor all jarred and happy waiting to take a trip into the pantry. I think I stared at the cans for 30 minutes and felt amazed. Then I started planning the next canning experience.

I made strawberry jam and it is divine. This summer I took my son strawberry picking with some friends. We picked some of the most delicious and sweet strawberries I have ever tasted. I originally picked about 6 pounds of strawberries.  It's a huge amount, especially since my husband would be out of town and it would only be myself and our 2 year old around to enjoy them. So, what should I make with them? I decided on a compote for pancakes, enjoyed some fresh, and was still left with a gallon bag full, maybe about 6 cups at the most. I froze them for 2 months.

I have never canned anything and my parents didn't do that growing up, so this is all new to me. I'm sure there are great tricks of the trade and probably easier ways to accomplish the task, but I don't know what they are. I scoured the internet for small batch jams. I didn't use any of those recipes. Instead, I went to the store, bought small jars and a box of pectin. I pretty much used the recipe on the pectin box, minus 5 of the 6 cups of sugar! It was a crazy amount that the recipe called for and they were plenty sweet. Next time, I might leave out the sugar all together.

I'm so proud of my 4 and 1/2 jars of jam. It's ridiculous. I went to the store again and bought more jars. This time, larger pint size jars.

The weather changed here in Spokane and started getting cold. It was time to cut my tomatoes off the vine, even the green ones. Now I have a huge bowl of green tomatoes and I need to make something with them. I've found a recipe for green salsa, made with unripe tomatoes. I also cut off the tomatillos I had out in the garden. The next canning plan is a huge batch of what I hope is delicious green salsa.

This weekend is apple picking, so apple sauce and apple butter and also on the agenda. I have my work cut out for me!