My Blog = My Life: homemaking

Like many of you, we are a single-income, larger-than-average, (1.8 or more children), homeschooling family.

And both my husband and I come from a rich, Dutch heritage.

In other words, whether or not we need to be, we enjoy frugal living. I'm also a lover of nutritious, from-scratch, whole-food cooking. Overtime, we've found that you can have one and the other! Here's how we can enjoy a mainlywhole-food diet on a budget (we still eat take-out more often than I'd like to admit!).

Cheap foods that are good for you

1. Whole grains. Oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa are cheap! For ultimate nutritional value, choose any of these grains and soak them for a hearty breakfast that'll keep you energized all morning.

For a fabulously healthy, gluten-free, blueberry-muffin smelling breakfast, pour 1 cup of steel-cut oats, brown rice, OR quinoa in a crock-pot. Add 1 1/2 cups of almond milk, 1 1/2 cups water, 1-2 Tbsp of ground flax seed, 2-3 Tbsp butter or coconut oil, 1 cup fresh blueberries, cinnamon, sea salt, and sweetener (honey, maple syrup, stevia, or brown sugar) to taste. Stir. Cook on low overnight. Alternately, try using diced apple and a handful of walnut in place of blueberries.
2. Beans and legumes. Beans are one of the cheapest proteins available and can be used to replace meat in a meal. Given a good, over-night soak in purified water, they are a highly digestible form of fiber, complex carbohydrates, iron, and folate - ideal if you're pregnant or breast-feeding.

Our favorite way to enjoy beans are in chili, taco salad, and brownies (there's a Special Agent Brownie recipe in Trim Healthy Mama that's absolutely fabulous!).

3. Eggs. Eggs are one of the very few complete proteins available to us (they contain all 9 essential amino acids), contain only 70 calories, and are chock full of nutrition. Besides being excellent sources of protein and good cholesterol, they also contain iron, vitamins A, D, E, and B12, folate, selenium, and lutein.

Eggs can be cooked quickly in a variety of ways (hard or soft-boiled, fried, poached, scrambled) and provide great structure and texture when added to baked goods.

We enjoy them on their own and in omelettes, crepes, breakfasts bakes, and pizza crust.

Foods worth paying more for

No matter how tight our budget, there are certain foods I don't cheap out on as we feel the extra dollars are insignificant compared to the health benefits. We'd rather "pay the farmer than the pharmacy," as the saying goes.

1. Oil. It's a safe bet that anything you can get in a big plastic jug for $4 is not good for you. Vegetable oils and margarine derived from cheaply grown or genetically modified plants like sunflower, corn, soybean, canola, safflower have little nutrition to begin with and are chemically altered and deodorized in order to make them palatable. Our bodies were not meant to consume them.

Opt instead for healthy saturated fats that are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. These include butter (preferably organic), coconut, olive, and red palm oil.
2. Fresh, local, organic produce. We can't afford to purchase all of our produce this way, but we try our best to grow or purchase the infamous "Dirty Dozen" organically as these fruits and vegetables contain the highest pesticide residue otherwise:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Celery
• Peppers
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Pears
• Cherries
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes
• Grapes

• onions
• avocado
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• mango
• asparagus
• bananas
• cabbage
• broccoli
• papaya
• kiwi

Instead, we use coconut or almond milk. They contain high levels of vitamins A & D and are lactose free. They cost slightly more than pasteurized, hormone enhanced cow's milk, but since we rarely use it for more than our morning smoothie, we don't notice a difference in our grocery bill.

As our budget allows, we try to purchase higher quality dairy products like kefir, greek yogurt, cream and cottage cheese.
4. Meat. Cheaper cuts of meat are usually that way because they come from animals that are pumped full of genetically modified grain products, growth hormones, and antibiotics - the sole purpose of which is to fatten an animal up as quickly as possible for slaughter. Food Inc. is a fascinating documentary that explains how the food industry is making us sicker, fatter, and poorer through this process.

Although more expensive, grass-fed, locally raised, organic beef and chicken is a far more nutritious alternative and of much less consequence to your health.
5. Sweeteners. Sugar is cheap, appeals to our pallet, and is easy to come by. Consequently, diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart failure, and a host of other health concerns are also the norm. We stay away from refined sugar as much as possible and use raw honey, pure maple syrup, and stevia instead.

While they should still be used in small quantities, these sweeteners contain healthy enzymes and minerals which are difficult to get from other foods. They also have a healthier Glycemic Index which means they don't mess with your blood sugar levels in the same way refined sugar does.

Where to get healthy food for less

1. Garden. Anyone can grow their own produce, even a little bit. Be it a pot on the balcony of your apartment or a 3 acre market garden, all you need is some seed, soil, water, and sun and you're in business.

We put in a large raise bed last year for free - my husband made a tarp in exchange for a truckload of triple-mix and I used the gift cards I got for my birthday to purchase our seeds and plants.
2. Farmer's Market. Farmer's markets are great places to find local, seasonal produce, cure meats, eggs, honey and maple syrup at a fraction of the price you find in the store. Plus, farmers generally care about individual relationships with their customers and often offer a faithful buyer further discounts and "throw in a little extra."
3. Local Farmer. In the fall, we often purchase 1/4-1/2 a cow from a Christian farmer who grows his beef organically. We get to choose how we'd like it butchered and our freezer is well stocked for several months. We estimate purchasing our meat this way saves us 30% of the store price.

If we had the space for it, we'd love to keep our own chickens. We go through plenty of eggs around here! Thankfully, they are cheap to come by! We buy them from Brad's co-worker whose family keeps organically raised laying hens as a sideline business.

In the summer, we pick our own berries, freeze most of them, and turn some into sauce or jam. A relative of ours keeps a bountiful raspberry patch where we can come and go as we please.

It didn't work out last year because of pregnancy complications, but this summer, my mom, sisters, and I plan on putting up other produce from local farms that we don't grow ourselves: peaches, pears, carrots, pickles, etc.

4. Bulk Stores. I buy most of our grain from The Bulk Barn. We often receive coupons for $3.00 off a purchase of $10.00 or more (which I can easily spend in one visit!). I blend whole kernels with my Wondermill and the stuff I purchase pre-ground (flax), I purchase in small quantities as it goes rancid quickly. I purchase my organice herbs, teas, sea salt, and spices from The Bulk Herb Store.

I also purchase soap and other dried goods here like coconut, almonds, walnuts, and cranberries.
5. Grocery Store. You can save money at the grocery store by using coupons, ad-matching, checking the clearance shelf, and purchasing store-brand non-perishables like brown rice and tomato paste.

The clearance shelf where everything is ripe and ready, is a wonderful place to get greatly discounted produce. If you have a juicer, freeze your juice into Popsicles for a healthy summer treat or into ice cubes for slushies. Peppers and onions can be cut up and bagged for pizza toppings, apples turned into sauce, and mushrooms sauteed in butter for a fine steak topping.
6. Online. I must admit to rarely purchasing groceries online. I prefer to see the product myself. The exception to this is the extra virgin coconut oil I get from Tropical Traditions. The quality is truly remarkable. We use it a lot, especially in desserts like Chunky Cream Pops, Skinny Chocolate, and Peppermint Patties. I'm thankful it regularly goes on sale for 40-50% off.

In the interest of full disclosure, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Growing Home. I humbly thank you for your support! Linking to: Mind Body Sole, Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Frugally Sustainable, Natural Living Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies, Homestead Barn Hop, The Better Mom,

The amount of actual living space in our house is quite small, and since our kids prefer to play near Mommy (and I prefer to keep them within ear shot so I can break up squabbles), storing our toys in the main living area, adjacent to the kitchen, proved to be both wise and aesthetically pleasing! It's hard to tell at first glance, but between the baker's table and our bookshelf, 90% of the toys in our home are stored away.

My favorite feature of the baker's table (which doubles as an end table for the couch), is the swooping drawer. Designed to store large bags of flour and sugar, the deep sections are perfect for storing bulkier toys like trucks, teddies, and balls. Above the deep drawer is a smaller pull-out which we use to store puzzles and flat-laying games.

Inside our bookshelf cupboards are four bins I picked up from the Dollar Store. They keep the smaller, most used toys organized. One bin is for dolls and their accessories, the second is for toy food and play kitchen utensils, the third bin stores Mr. Potato Head parts, and the fourth stores Mega blocks.

The bin solution has been an excellent tool for teaching our two-year-old to clean up after herself. When she's tired of playing with dolls and wants to build a tower out of Mega Blocks instead, she first has to put away all of her dolly things and slide the bin back onto the shelf. She's learning that "When we take something out, we put it back."

The great thing about using small bins for storage is that it makes the cleaning-up process seem less daunting to a child. Even our 1 year-old can hold his attention long enough to finish putting all the Mega Blocks into a bin! A few of the bigger toys (a plastic shopping cart, doll carrier, and a ride-on toy) are stored in their bedroom closets and can be pulled out upon request.

Once in a while someone will comment on how few toys we have in our home. I like to think that we have enough. Space issues aside, our children really don't care for playing with "real" toys all that much. They prefer to play in the sandbox, or with everyday items like spoons, boxes, canning jar rings, blankets, and hats. Keeping toys to a minimum does several good things:

1. It increases our children's imagination and creativity. Do you know how many different ways you can use a box?!
2. It minimizes their entitlement mentality. We have never taken our children toy shopping or picked one up while they were with us. Hence, I can easily go shopping at Wal-mart without them begging for another teddy bear or a new ball. The more we have, the more we want.
3. It reduces the clutter in our home. Less cleaning, more room to play with the toys they already have.
4. Slim picking with toys creates many opportunities to teach sharing, as a wise Mom said on our Facebook page.
5. Fewer toys teaches our children that work can be fun! With less toys to distract them, we can spend more time doing constructive things together like making dinner, washing the car, or weeding the garden.

How's the toy situation in your home? Have you found a good method for keeping it all organized? I'd love to hear your solutions and advice!

It's Sunday morning. The alarm clock didn't go off like it was supposed to. Rolling over in bed, you squint at the red digital numbers and start to panic. There's an hour before you need to leave for church. You bolt out of bed, rudely wake your sleeping husband and try to scare him into action by telling him the time. Jumping into the shower, you realise you forgot your change of clothes and holler at your drowsy hubs to bring them over. You skip shaving your legs and conditioning your hair, dry yourself off in a hurry, only to discover that you had forgotten to iron your Sunday blouse. Having just had a baby, this is the only one that fits and is convenient enough for breastfeeding. You sigh as you button it up, promising yourself you'll keep your coat on the whole church service and nobody will notice.

You throw your hair into a quick ponytail. No time for anything fancy today. Running downstairs, you wake up your toddler and are too frustrated to enjoy her chipper morning spirit as she chatters away while you change her diaper. You rummage through her clothes, only to discover that her Sunday dress is still in the laundry room, probably hidden under the rest of the unfolded clothes. A skirt and tights will have to do. The tights have a hole in the toe. Oh well, her shoes will cover it.

Racing upstairs, you plunk her in her seat at the table and dash off to wake the baby, hoping he'll be alert enough for a good feed by the time the rest of you are done breakfast. While changing his diaper and trying to decide what he should wear to church, he has an explosive bowel movement leaving you no choice but to give him a bath. While you frantically wash the poop out of his hair, your husband calls from the kitchen to let you know that the syrup bottle is empty. Cheerios for breakfast on a Sunday. Again.

Placing baby in his bouncy chair, you wolf down your Cheerios, bouncing baby's seat with one foot, and feeding your toddler, who is highly distracted by the shadows the sun is helping to make on the dining room wall, with your empty hand. As soon as you're done your cereal, you ask (tell) your husband to take over feeding your toddler while you nurse your wailing baby in the messy living room you were too tired to clean up the night before. Trying to be as holy as possible considering the time, the rest of family gathers in the living room for devotions, where you pick the shortest Psalm and mumble a 20-second prayer so you can say you've done your duty.

After cutting baby's nursing session short, you lay him down on the floor, throw on your new white coat, and buckle your newborn into his seat. You had forgotten to burp him and he hurls all over the front of your new coat. No time to change. You pass the infant seat to your husband to place in the car while you hunt for your toddler's missing shoe. Where did she put it?! Already running three minutes late on the week your husband needs to hand out bulletins, you decided it's okay if she wears her rubber boots to church just this once.

Finally, you're all in the car and you race off to church. As your toddler begs you to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" for the hundredth time, you scream "Shut up! We're going to worship!" The gas light comes on. Hubby assures you that even though you might be running on fumes, you'll probably make it back. And if not all the way back, at least you'll be stranded on a major highway where lots of other church folk will be passing by and will surely stop to help. Just as you remember you left the tithing cheque and diaper bags in the front entrance, you see cherries flashing in the rear view mirror and hear a siren wailing in your ear. Busted.

Have you ever had a Sunday morning like this? We haven't had one quite that bad, but pretty close. Even though we need to leave by 8:45am to be at church in good time, I've found there are several things I can do to make it fairly relaxing and peaceful for everyone. A good morning starts the evening before. Here's some things I try to make a habit of doing so that Sundays truly are a day of rest and I'm not running around like chicken with my head cut off or barking out orders like a drill sargent:

Things to do Saturday morning:

• Decide what you'll be eating for each meal on Sunday. Make as much as you can ahead of time and slot in a trip to the grocery store if necessary.
• Check to make sure all the Sunday outfits are washed and ironed. A good way to avoid ironing, is to pull out your clothes from the dryer as soon as it finishes and hang them neatly in your closet.
• Make a trip to the gas station and top up the tank.

• Pack diaper bags. Include at least one extra outfit, three diapers, and wipes. Charity's bad also includes a cookie or two and a drink for in the baby-sit. Judah's bag is the bigger of the two as it also holds my nursing cover, extra nursing pads, a spit-up rag, and another shirt for me-just in case.
• Lay out each person's complete outfit in where they normally get dressed. For us this means a onesie, dress shirt, socks, pants, coat and hat on top of Judah's dresser; an undershirt, tights, a dress, shoes, and coat on Charity's; a suit, dress shirt and tie on the bathroom counter for Brad to change into after his shower; and my skirt, a button up blouse, camisole, and head covering beside my bed.
• Set the table for breakfast. If you're worried about flies pooping in your bowl or glass overnight, turn them upside down. We usually have waffles with Maple syrup, and orange juice on Sunday mornings which means three place settings including forks, knives, plates, and glasses. I also lay out Charity's bib and put two capsules of fenugreek next to my glass.
• Shower. I've realized I don't have to have a shower Sunday morning. It saves a lot of valuable time and is a great way to wind down by taking it Saturday evening before bed. After my shower, I usually lay out my earrings, and hair accessories on the bathroom counter so I don't have to hunt for them the next morning.
• Tidy the house. It's not the most wonderful thing to be doing on a Saturday night, but waking up to a tidy house is so much more relaxing for everyone! Set the timer for 10 minutes and you'll be surprised to how much you can accomplish. You'll be glad you picked up the toys even though you didn't feel like it.
• Put anything you can into the car. Diaper bags, purse, tithing cheque. The more that's already in the car, the less you'll forget. And you'll save yourself a bundle of time.
• Place all the footwear by the door. Make sure there's two of each. Unless of course, you happen to be missing a leg.

• This is the order that works best for us in this season of life: wake up, do my hair, get kids dressed and Charity's hair done while Brad showers, have breakfast, family devotions, nurse Judah while Brad clears the table and gets Charity's coat and shoes on, get myself dressed, put Judah's coat on, out the door.
• Get the kids dressed as soon as you take them out of bed. This saves having to go back into their rooms after having breakfast. If you're worried about them spilling on their clothes, invest in some good quality bibs and help the younger ones eat if necessary.
• If you're nursing, dress yourself after baby's done his feed, burped, and in his car seat to save having to put together another outfit. You can get dressed in 4 seconds flat. I've done it.
• Your husband wants to help. He might just need you to ask him what to do. Ask kindly and specifically instead of using body gestures and indirect commands. (i.e. Ask, "Honey, could you please put Charity's coat on?", instead of huffing loudly, "Charity's coat still needs to be put on and I've still got to get dressed, and I can't find Judah's soother!")
• Give your hubby a really good kiss on the way out the door. No matter how rushed the morning was, this will erase any memory of it. :-)

Does your house ever become a pig-sty? Maybe you prefer the term warzone or pit.
It’s okay. It happens to even the biggest neat freaks sometimes. You get sick, busy, have a baby, or maybe you just take the week off from housework. You turn around and the next thing you know you discover a fossilized piece of pizza in a couch cushion.

There will be times when your house simply just gets out of control. Here’s how to get it back to normal again without going insane.

Unless you’re feeling very industrious (or have help) give yourself at least a week to get a very messy house clean. Could you completely clean an entire house in less than a week? Probably, but this game plan takes errands, small children, and life in general into account. Very few of us can get 12 hours of uninterrupted cleaning, so spreading out massive cleaning over a week only makes sense.

If, however, you get a call from your mother-in-law saying she’ll be stopping by in an hour all bets are off, it’s time to start shoving clothes, toys, and dirty dishes in the closets. Just make sure you don’t accidentally push a child in one in your mad-dash cleaning spree.

From Pigsty to Palace In One Week: The Game Plan

Before You Start

* Buy all the trash bags, cleaners, and all the paper towels that you will need. Also consider buying paper plates, and utensils for the week. The environment will forgive you. It’s just for one week.

* Plan simple meals for the week that are easy to clean up.

Day One

* Do all dishes and put them away.

* Clean kitchen counters.

* Take a trash bag and donation box around to each room get rid of as much stuff as possible. This will infinitely speed up cleaning this week.

* Take a box for misplaced items around to each room, and fill it with any odds and ends that are out of place. Tomorrow you’ll begin putting things from this box away.

Day Two

* Put away all misplaced items in their proper places.

* Pick up and put away all stray clothes in your home

* Clean your bathrooms

Day Three

* De-clutter your dining room, living room, and kitchen. Make sure everything is in its proper place in these rooms.

* Organize these spaces as needed.

Day Four

* De-clutter the bedrooms and family room. Make sure everything is in its proper place in these rooms as well.

* Organize these spaces as needed.

Day Five

* Catch up on laundry.

* Put away all clean clothes.

* Vacuum and sweep the entire house.

Day Six

* Clean the windows and dust.

* Wipe the walls as needed.

* Wipe down all kitchen appliances

* Properly file or shred paper work and mail.

Day Seven

* Maintain everything you’ve cleaned, then:

* Rest.

Bonus Jobs If You Should Happen To Have Extra Time

* Clean out the refrigerator

* Clean out and vacuum your vehicle

* Clean up your desk area or office

* Store out of season clothes Want a deeper clean? I highly recommend Sarah Mae’s 31 Days to Clean.

What are your best cleaning tips? Let us know in the comments!

KM Logan is a wife, mother, teacher, and Amazon best-selling author. She is wholly inadequate but strengthened by the Lord. She’d be tickled pink if you stopped by her blog and said hi.

***This post contains affiliate links

Who would've thought there'd come a time in my life where I'd wonder where my next breath would come from when I'd be able to squeeze in my next shower? Not me! But here I am with 3 kids in three years, wondering some days when I'm going to find the time to do things I used to take for granted.

"When do I take a shower?" If Brad is home, then I have it after the oldest two have gone to bed while he watches our newborn, Anna. If I'm away in the evening, then I attempt to have one before the kids wake up in the morning. If that doesn't work out, then I wait until Anna's morning nap - place her in the bassinet, Judah (2) in his crib or a playpen with several toys to keep him occupied, and trust our 3-year-old to keep herself occupied and out of trouble. So far, so good (famous last words)! Worst case scenario, I look like a slime ball when someone unexpectedly pops in for a visit.

"When do I have my devotions?" My friend Anna, from Feminine Adventures, covered this question in beautiful detail. Go and read her post if you haven't already!

I try to have them while I'm nursing in the early morning or late evening. It never hurts to involve the kids either should they wake up earlier than expected. If I'm not too sleepy, I go through my prayer list when I'm nursing in the middle of the night.

"When do I make supper?" Raise your hand if 5 o'clock seems to be the most hectic time of the day. Okay, you can put it down now. Someone is guaranteed to be nursing, crying, needing to use the potty, discovering (and spilling) things in the pantry (like flour) while the rest of the house sits in disarray. Plus, the kiddlets are starting to get cranky from hungry tummies and you're expecting your husband home from work any minute.

This is why I try to make dinner first thing in the morning. I love using the recipes from Trim Healthy Mama (you can read my entire review here). They are easy, healthy, whole-food dishes that can be prepared quickly and made ahead of time. That way, even if the rest of the day is chaotic, there will still be a nutritious meal on the table, and hopefully, an atmosphere of relative peace and calm for my husband to come home too. He deserves it after a long day at work!

"When do I clean my house?" I used to reserve one day a week to do all the major housework like cleaning the bathrooms, scrubbing floors, vacuuming, and dusting, etc. Now with 3 kids, 3 and under, I spread it over two days.

The biggest jobs I try to finish on Thursdays, leaving Friday and Saturday morning to wrap it all up. Brad has Saturday afternoons off from work and we like to spend it relaxing with the kids, visiting our grandparents, or having friends over.

"When do I fit in exercise?" Normally I like to take a brisk 1/2 hour walk in the early evening after the kids have gone to bed while Brad stays home with Anna. We've been having so much rain lately though, that I've resorted to torturing myself with Jillian Michael's 6-week six pack during the first 35 minutes of the kids afternoon nap time.

I've joined the Redeemed Health and Fitness Facebook group for accountability purposes and encouragement. All the ladies in this group are mothers (most with larger than average families) who are seeking to shed unwanted pounds on a tight schedule. We share our highs and lows, praise each lost pound, steal each other's great ideas, and kept accountable with a daily check-in.
"When do I nap?" HA HA HA HA HA! Good one.

***For further reading, I recommendLarge Family Logistics: my favorite resource for learning how to build household routines within a larger-than-average families. Brad bought me this book for my birthday a few years ago, and I've been giving it out as gifts to other young moms ever since then. It's filled with step-by-step procedures, organizational advice, and a myriad of tips for efficiently managing a home in a way that honors God and builds up family relationships.

In the interest of full disclosure, some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Growing Home. I humbly thank you for your support! Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Modest Monday, A Mama's Story, Raising Arrows, Homestead Revival, Time Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies

I'm big fan of using natural, tried and true cleaning recipes instead of chemicals to get the job done. In addition to using my Norwex cloths, the following recipes featuring vinegar, baking soda, lemon, and essential oils are regularly put to use in our home. They work wonderfully, satisfying my desire for a clean, non-toxic environment.
Fizzy Sink Cleaner

• 1/2 cup baking soda

• 6 drops lemon essential oil

• 1/4 cup vinegar

• hot soapy water

• baking soda

• 1 cup olive oil

• 20 drops lemon essential oil

• 1 part white distilled vinegar

• 4 parts water

• Borax

• Water

• Water

• Distilled Vinegar

• Lemon Oil or Olive Oil

• Dustcloths or rags

• Lemons

• Air tight jar with screw lid