April from Frugal Homemaking shows you how to make your own Kettle Corn–in the microwave. I can’t wait to try this!
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Summer Bucket List
Classic View
Grid View
Do-It-Yourself: Girls’ Ruffle Pants
Clay In His Hands shows you how to make ruffle pants for that special little girl in your life.
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Discipline is a Process
Yesterday we discussed how living a disciplined life is dependent solely upon me and the choices I make on a daily basis. You are not only the problem, you are also the solution.
So how do we change from the inside out? Well, first, we have to realize that it will be a process. You can’t just decide to go from zero discipline to 100% discipline overnight.
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill you can take that will suddenly make you a disciplined person. Instead, you need to just resolve to change something and then follow through with it–even if it’s as simple as resolving to put your purse away in a designated spot when you come home instead of dropping it wherever you feel like when you stumble into your front door.
It’s easy to want to overhaul our whole lives in a matter of hours or days. But I promise that if you set small, simple, and achievable goals to begin with and stick with these over the long haul, it will be much more beneficial and effective than trying to radically change within 24 hours and ending up exhausted and burnt out after three days.
I love how FlyLady encourages her readers to start changing their lives by shining their kitchen sink. Again, this task might seem so small that it’s hardly worth the effort. But it really can make a big difference.
For instance, not too long ago, we started making a big effort to go to bed every night with a spotless kitchen. I’ve been amazed at how much more peaceful my mornings are when I don’t wake up to a sink overflowing with dirty dishes. It just makes my whole day seem bright to walk out of my bedroom and into a sparkling kitchen in the early morning! The opposite effect is true if I wake up to a messy kitchen: I feel overwhelmed, defeated, and behind before my day has even begun.
It’s a simple thing to whip the kitchen into shape at night. In fact, if my husband and I work together, we can get it completely clean in ten minutes. But developing the habit of not going to bed unless the kitchen is clean can change my whole outlook on the following day.
Remember: Moving in the right direction–even at a microscopic rate–is still moving forward. Slowly making seemingly tiny changes can add up to major differences over a period of time.
Practical Application
Choose one small bad habit you will commit to reverse or one good habit you will aim to implement in your life for the next 20 days. Use the Habit-Forming Chart or Habit Tracker (if you’re ambitious, there’s a 3-habit 100 days chart here) if that helps. Or, you can track your progress online through DailyFeats and earn free gift cards!
After you’ve put some thought into it, come back and tell us what one small change you decided upon. I’ll share mine tomorrow.
Yesterday’s Progress: The laundry is DONE. Well, at least until tomorrow. 🙂 Yay! How did your project go? Did you get it finished?
Ask the Readers: How can we save on supplies for diabetes?
Today’s question is from Misty:
Is there any way to save money on supplies for diabetics? My husband and I are both unemployed. He is doing his best to start a new business, but as you know, it takes time to create an income. We do not have any health insurance and he has diabetes. The cost of this disease is killing our budget!
It costs upwards of 15 dollars per day just to do the minimum amount of testing, insulin injections, and pump supply change outs. I’ve not been able to find any way to decrease the cost. Does anyone have resources, ideas, or suggestions for us? -Misty
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
15-Minute Freezer Cooking: Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal
This recipe was really quick and easy to whip up. I modified the original recipe some (no surprise there!) and took it times six so it would make enough for a 9×13-inch pan.
The final result was pretty good, though we didn’t love it. I think it was the bananas that made it a little on the weird side.
Yes, I know, we love bananas and chocolate when they are in desserts such as Black Bottom Banana Bars or Chocolate Banana Bread, but they just gave a little odd flavor and consistency to baked oatmeal.
I’m thinking we’d like it better if we used our regular baked oatmeal recipe and just added in chocolate chips for a twist.
But the good news is that we ate half the pan for breakfast and I froze the other half (cut in squares and stuck in a freezer bag) for breakfast next week. So this 15-Minute Freezer Cooking project actually made it into the freezer, unlike yesterday’s project. 🙂
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A Handmade Christmas: Noel Blocks
Guest post by Jessica from Preserving Life’s Moments
After making these easy Boo Blocks, I just knew I needed to make some for Christmas, too. I chose the word Noel and I haven’t decided yet if they’ll stay here or be gifted out to a special someone in my life.
Supplies You’ll Need To Make “Noel” Blocks:
- a 2×6 piece of wood cut into 6, 7, 8 and 9 inch blocks (My husband cut my pieces out of leftover wood he had saved from a previous project.)
- sandpaper paint and paint brush
- scrapbook paper
- letters (I cut mine using my Cricut. You can also purchase letters at a store, or print them out from the internet.)
- ribbon
- embellishments (optional)
- adhesive of your choice (craft glue, double-sided tape, etc.)
Step 1: Cut your wood, sand it and paint with a color that coordinates with the paper you have chosen.
Step 2: Cut your paper to size. I left a 1/4 of an inch around each block.
Step 3: Adhere your paper to your blocks. I used double-sided tape. That stuff works for just about anything and is super easy to use.
Step 4: Adhere your letters to the blocks.
Step 5: Tie your ribbon around the edges.
Step 6: Finally, add some embellishments if you would like. I have added a couple flowers and sparkles on mine.
I had almost all of these items lying around my house so this was a very inexpensive and easy project to create. It is perfect as a decoration in your home or a great gift to give to that special teacher, friend, or family member in your life.
Jessica is a work-at-home mom to Shane (4.5) and Adalyn (11 months). She loves photography, crafting, reading, baking, and cooking. You can read about all of Jessica and her families adventures at Preserving Life’s Moments.
Do you have a great idea for a handmade Christmas gift? We’d love to have you submit your tutorial for possible publication for our Handmade Christmas series.
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Discipline is a Choice
Based upon your responses to yesterday’s introductory post, many of us are longing for more discipline in our lives. We crave order and peace. We want to be better managers of our time and life. We want to follow through with our good intentions.
But so many times I’ve found that I try to go about developing a more disciplined life in all the wrong ways. I check out a book on living an organized life from the library and think it will make all the difference. I download a printable household organization planner and think it will magically whip my house into shape. Or I think that if my house or life or responsibilities were different, then I could achieve a disciplined life.
Instead of addressing the root issue–my lack of self-discipline–I think that a fancy new system is going to fix the problem. A bad system is not the problem. I am the problem.
Oh sure. Life throws curveballs. There are job losses, babies born, illnesses, moves, and projects that can get one off course. But ultimately, whether or not I live a disciplined life is dependent solely upon me and the choices I make on a daily basis.
Those are tough words to swallow. And I could wallow in frustration over my short-comings and failures. However, instead, I want to let it motivate me. I am the problem, but I am also the solution.
I don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on organizational products. I don’t need to buy 20 books on living a disciplined life. Instead, I need to resolve to change from the inside out.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to start making specific, realistic changes to transform a cluttered, chaotic life into an orderly, organized life.
Practical Application
To jumpstart the 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Challenge, choose one small project that has been nagging at you for the last few weeks or months and go start and complete it in the next 24 hours. You may find that it didn’t end up taking you near as long as you thought it would and you’ll feel so good to have it done.
I’m tackling the laundry pile (no surprise there, I’m sure, as this seems to the area I’m constantly struggling in!). Ever since returning from Relevant, I’ve been woefully behind on laundry. So I’m going to aim to get completely caught up within the next 24 hours. And then I’m going to be intentional about keeping the momentum going… more on that in a few days.
Come back tomorrow afternoon/evening and I’ll tell you how it went–and you can tell us how your project went, too!
15-Minute Freezer Cooking: Chocolate Bottom Banana Bars
So, I told you I was going to try out a new method of freezer cooking–just devoting 15 minutes each afternoon or evening to making one thing ahead to store in the freezer. It was a good idea and I think it will probably work well.
There was just one problem: I really should have doubled or tripled the Chocolate Bottom Banana Bar recipe. Because, you see, after I made them yesterday afternoon, everyone had to try one for dinner. Then, the typical 3 p.m. chocolate cravings hit this afternoon (please tell me I’m not the only one who has these!?), so out came the pan of Chocolate Bottom Banana Bars again.
And well, there are no Chocolate Bottom Banana Bars left to put in the freezer. Ahem.
But seriously, while I may have had a little more than my fair share of these, I promise I didn’t eat the whole pan. Just maybe, um, oh a fourth of it. 😉
I’m going to try really, really hard for tonight’s baking project–the Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal–to actually make it in the freezer. Well, at least part of it!
By the way, I tried a new setting on my camera today and was so excited with how this photo turned out. It was probably a fluke thing that I’ll never be able to repeat, but it made me happy nonetheless that I actually took a photo that looked halfway decent. 🙂
Do-It-Yourself: Whole-Wheat Pretzel Bites
Life Blessons shows you how to make Whole-Wheat Pretzel Bites.
Pre-order The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget for $10.98
“Crystal Paine does it all as an entrepreneur, wife, and mom—and that means she knows all about finding room in a home budget! From reducing clutter to finding amazing coupon deals outside the grocery aisle, The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget will help you make dollars and sense of your life again.”
—Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host
The Audacious Dream
For a long time, I’ve had a big dream of one day being a published author. I figured it would be years down the road–maybe after my children were grown.
However, God had different plans. And near the end of 2010, a vice president of Gallery Books (a division of Simon & Schuster) stumbled upon an article of mine and wrote me saying they’d like to offer me a book deal.
I had to read the email multiple times to make sure I was getting it right. No, my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.
Jesse and I spent the next eight weeks praying about it and discussing whether this was realistic and something we wanted to take on. Truthfully, Jesse was really stoked about the whole thing. I was much more hesitant as my plate felt plenty full, I’d spent the last six months working towards margin and balance in my life, and I was scared to embark on something that might be too overwhelming–especially since I’d only have a few months to start and complete the manuscript.
Jumping In With Both Feet
But God kept confirming to Jesse and me that this was what I was supposed to do. So we streamlined and delegated, hired an assistant to take over a lot of the behind-the-scenes business tasks for me, and jumped in with both feet.
There were definitely some grueling moments and I won’t say that the writing process was easy–especially since I had no clue what I was doing and everything was completely new to me!–but it went much smoother than we could have ever expected. Plus, I truly enjoyed the entire process.
The manuscript was completed in early May and the last few months have been a whirlwind of new learning curves in editing, publicity, and traditional marketing (I’m used to internet marketing, so the traditional marketing is a whole new ballgame for me!)
Finally! It’s Done!
After months of effort, I’m thrilled to let you know that The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life and Save Thousands a Year is finished and off to the printers with a planned release date of January 10, 2012.
This book is the culmination of years of personally living frugally and simply and teaching others how to have a paradigm shift about money. I’m more than a little excited about it (more like crazily ecstatic about it!) because I believe its message is direly needed, especially right now as so many people are struggling to make ends meet. I believe this book has the potential to radically change your budget–and your life!
The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget is a comprehensive step-by-step plan to take you from financial mess to financial success. In this straightforward book, you’ll learn:
::How to set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.
::How to prioritize your time and life in order to live intentionally.
::How to streamline your home and life in order to have breathing room to work toward your financial goals.
::How to go from no budget at all to a full-fledged, realistic, written budget by following a simple three-step plan.
::How to make a cash envelope system work for you.
::How to cut your grocery bill in half (including 25 ways to save money without using coupons!).
::How to save big on restaurants, travel, clothing, utility bills, prescription glasses, gym memberships, and much more.
::And finally, how to cultivate contentment, embrace today, and live a rich and full life, no matter your income.
What I’m Most Excited About
You know what I’m most thrilled about in publishing this book? That all of my profits are going to Compassion International–an organization that helps to feed and clothe needy children around the globe.
Knowing that this book has the potential to not only change lives in our country, but to also give food, clean water, shelter, and clothing to those who are living in unimaginable circumstances, gave me so much purpose and excitement while writing. I’m humbled to be partnering with Compassion’s ministry to the poorest of the poor.
“For this mama of six, driving a 14 yr. old vehicle, endeavoring to live frugally and to live generously, this book not only offers fresh inspiration, it offers a practical, creative plan to make your life priorities — the reality of your life. And her last chapter on contentment? Standing ovation!”
—Ann Voskamp, author of the New York Times bestseller One Thousand Gifts
Pre-Order Your Copy Today
The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. It’s $10.98 right now, with a price-guarantee that if the price goes down any between when you order and the release date, you’ll get the lowest price. Shipping is free with an Amazon Mom account.
It’s also available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble. If you prefer ebooks, you can pre-order it for your Kindle or Nook.
No matter your level of thriftiness or how much or little you make, I think you’ll find help, hope, and inspiration in the pages of The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget. This book would also make a fabulous Christmas gift for someone you know who is struggling financially or just wants to do a better job of setting financial goals and stewarding the money they have.
If you can’t afford the $10.98 price tag, you could ask your local library to order in a copy. And don’t worry, I’ll be giving lots of copies away here, too!
PSST! If you do pre-order a copy, I have a little special something for you next week, just to show my appreciation. Stay tuned for more details. 🙂
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support of this project. Your excitement in comments and emails has knocked my socks off. I have the best readers ever!
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
How to be a Generous Host Without Busting the Budget
Guest post by Katey from Having Fun at Home
With the holidays nearing, many families find themselves with a house full of guests and a temptation to overspend so that their visitors feel welcome and have a nice visit. Here are some creative ideas for being warmly hospitable without spending too much money:
1. Be attentive to little details.
- Place a bouquet of bright fall leaves from the backyard on the guestroom dresser.
- Have your kids make a welcome banner.
- Spread a couple of magazines you think your guests might enjoy on the nightstand in their room.
- If your guests are coffee drinkers, put a coffeemaker and coffee in their bedroom.
- Keep a basket full of travel toiletries available in case someone forgets something.
- If you wanted to be over the top, you could even put chocolates on their pillow or try your hand at toilet paper origami!
- These ideas cost next to nothing but communicate care!
2. Become familiar with free outings in your area.
- Look into factory tours.
- Find good hiking trails.
- Figure out if there are any unusual claims to fame nearby. For example, here in Austin, we have North America’s largest urban bat colony. Every night, they make a dramatic appearance and are lots of fun to watch!
- Around Christmas, keep an eye on the neighborhoods that seem to be the most decorated and drive through them together one evening.
- Ask around to find out the best sledding hill in town.
3. Opt for fun, community-building meals rather than impressive menus.
- Make homemade pizzas together.
- Build a fire in the backyard and roast hot dogs.
- Set out lots of fresh ingredients, and let everyone string their own shish kabobs.
- Serve “Breakfast for Dinner.”
- Arrange for the men to be the chefs one night (or the kids if they are old enough!).
4. Make your home an enjoyable place to be.
- Stock your closet with lots of cards and board games. (German board games can be especially absorbing for adults and teenagers.)
- Keep a mental list of fun projects that everyone can do at the same time while still enjoying conversation (stringing popcorn garlands, putting together a surprise gift package for a mutual friend).
- Start a fire in the fireplace and roast marshmallows.
- Allow the kids a place of their own where they can make things together, get dirty, and have adventures (a basement or a fort in the back yard).
5. Apply yourself to the task of heartily enjoying your guests.
Heartily enjoy your guests and it will make it almost impossible for them not to have a good time!
Katey enjoys hosting her own house guests as a stay-at-home wife and mother in Austin, Texas. Her blog, Having Fun at Home, is resource for fun, inexpensive ideas for families.
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Introduction
As I’ve alluded to over and over again recently, I’ve fallen off the bandwagon. And I’m struggling to get back up on it again.
I’ve been mulling over how to break the bad habits I’ve been developing and stop this downward spiral. The idea came to me to spend 21 days focusing on intentionally developing more discipline in my life. After thinking about it for a few weeks, I finally pitched it to my husband last week.
His response? “I think it’s a great idea. Can I join you?” 🙂
We sat down over the weekend and discussed what areas he and I are particularly struggling in and what specific changes would result in the most immediate and effective changes. We then came up with a gameplan for the next 21 days for each of us.
Since I know that public accountability works wonders for me, I’m going to blog daily about discipline (I’ll be preaching to myself when I write them, but you’re welcome to listen in if you need some extra motivation, too!) and I’ll also have a practical application project for each day. The following day, I’ll share the results of my project.
My hope is that, at the end of three weeks, I will have developed better habits and I’ll be pulling out of some of the mess and chaos that have resulted from my lack of discipline recently.
You’re more than welcome to join in this challenge, but please don’t feel obligated. Save the idea for later or skip over these posts if your plate is already brimming full.
By the way, thanks for bearing with me and my eclectic blogging. You all are the best!
Shared Nov 7, 2011
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This Week’s Menu Plan (and a new 15-Minute Freezer Cooking experiment)
This Week’s Menu Plan (and a new 15-Minute Freezer Cooking experiment)
In the middle of our chaotic and messy freezer cooking session last week!
Breakfasts
Bananas (grabbed on the way to church as we were rushing out the door; yes, aren’t we so organized?!)
Carrot Cake Waffles with Vanilla Whipped Cream (recipe coming later this week; I concocted it this past week using this recipe as inspiration and we all decided it was very yummy.)
Toasted bagels, scrambled eggs
Steel Cut Oats with dried cranberries
Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal
Granola
Cinnamon Roll Biscuits, scrambled eggs, fruitLunches
Hamburgers, twice-baked potatoes, fruit salad
Hard-boiled eggs, pasta, peas
PB&J, carrot sticks, apple slices
Annie’s macaroni & cheese, peas
Tossed salad hard-boiled eggs, feta cheese, and dried cranberries
Leftovers x 2Dinners
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake, tossed salad
Southwest Roll-ups, Mexican Rice, tossed salad
Corn & Cheese Chowder in Bread Machine Bread Bowls, sliced apples
Lime Chicken Tacos, Mexican Rice, steamed veggies
Dinner out
Dinner with extended family x 2Snacks
Chocolate Bottom Banana Squares
Fruit/veggies
Cheese/crackers15-Minute Freezer Cooking
(I’m trying something new this week and am devoting 15 minutes on Monday through Thursday afternoons to making one item for the freezer. I’ll be blogging about these mini freezer cooking sessions so you can see how it goes for me!)
Chocolate Bottom Banana Squares — Monday
Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal — Tuesday
Lime Chicken Tacos — Wednesday
Homemade Baking Mix — Thursday
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
From old end table to adorable play kitchen
The Land of Oz Family took this end table…
…And turned it into this adorable play kitchen. I’m inspired!
You can also see how she turned a $12 nightstand from Goodwill into a play kitchen. Also, check out how Fresh Cut Flours turned a thriftstore TV stand into a play kitchen.
10 Goals for This Week
The week leading up to the Relevant Conference went well. There was a LOT to do, but we survived and everything at the Relevant Conference went really well.
However, I came home exhausted, behind on sleep, and travel-weary. We jumped back into homeschooling last week and I made sleep a priority, but everything else in my life was chaotic and messy–as evidenced by the fact that I couldn’t even find my dress shoes on Sunday morning!
And very uncharacteristically, I didn’t set goals–which was a big mistake. In fact, I realized just how much momentum I lose when I don’t put written goals on paper for the week. I felt like I was aimless and going around in circles.
So, I’m re-energized in this whole goal-setting thing and am hoping to really be intentional about implementing more discipline and good habits in my life over the next few weeks. I’m going to blog my personal 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life beginning today in an effort to be publicly accountable for developing more discipline in my life. Look for my first post and practical application this afternoon.
Here’s an update on my goals from two weeks ago:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Read Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? aloud to the children.2. Make Johnny Cakes with the children.
3. Wrap some fun surprises for the children to open while I’m at Relevant.Personal Goals
4. Finish reading EntreLeadership, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, Getting Things Done, and
In Search of Balance.
5. Get 8 hours of sleep Sunday through Wednesday nights (in preparation for short nights at Relevant).
6. Take extra Vitamin C. (Last year, I came back from Relevant and was sick for almost a week, so I’m trying to make sure I’m well-rested and all “vitamined-up” this year so that I can hopefully avoid getting sick!)
Home Management Goals
7. Get all the laundry done and the house clean before I leave.8. Make homemade ranch dressing (my friend made a mix up for me. I’ll share the recipe later this week.)
Business Goals
9. Attend/speak at the Relevant conference.
10. Host a reader meet-up in Harrisburg, PA for around 50 local readers.
And here are this week’s goals:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Read Little Town On the Prairie aloud to the children.
2. Take pictures of the children with our just-hatched chicks every day for the photo book I’m doing of our chick-hatching experience.
3. Put together Operation Christmas Child boxes with the children.
Personal Goals
4. Finish reading EntreLeadership, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, Getting Things Done, and Becoming a Woman of Influence.
5. Go to bed early and get up early, as part of my 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Challenge (more on that in a few hours).
6. Run 10 miles.
Home Management Goals
7. Do at least one load of laundry from start to finish every week day.
8. Make homemade Shower Cleaner.
Business Goals
9. Email all bloggers who are reviewing my book when it releases.
10. Write daily posts for the 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life series.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!
You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.