After a decade of living frugally in an effort to pay off our mortgage early while also paying out-of-pocket for our many home renovations, Dave and I have basically kept the same frugal lifestyle, despite the fact that we no longer have nearly as many expenses.
So what are we doing with the extra money? This is a question I’ve been asked countless times over the past few years — and one I’m finally answering today!
I recently shared some of our freezer meals creations on Facebook, and many of you asked me to share a list of the meals we were ACTUALLY eating (with links to the recipes). So that’s what I’m doing today!
These 10 meals are all ones I’ve made for our family in the last 2 weeks, pulling most (if not all) of the ingredients directly from our freezer for fairly quick and easy week night meals — perfect for this busy time of year!
I am not one to follow fads or trends, I have never been the type to “jump on the band wagon” just because “everyone else is doing it”, I rarely have super strong opinions about specific topics, I don’t see many things in life as “black or white” with no middle ground, and I strongly dislike all-or-nothing decisions and situations.
Instead, I opt for a mentality of all-things-in-moderation — which has been a HUGE asset in my quest for simple living.
Over the past 18 months, my cooking style has drastically changed and as a result, we’re buying most of our pantry staples in bulk.
I feel like I finally have a really good storage solution for all our bulk pantry staples — which is what I’m sharing today, complete with my first-ever chalkboard label project!
One thing I have stressed over and over and over again in my own life, with past clients, with my children, and here on my blog is the importance of planning ahead.
I could talk about planning ahead all day long, but if I had to boil it down to one single reason why planning ahead helps me to simplify, streamline, and de-stress my entire life, it would be this: Planning ahead lets me focus on the IMPORTANT instead of dealing with the URGENT.
I’m honestly not sure if braided rugs are in-style, trendy, or even remotely popular right now, but I really like the look of them in my home! They fit my semi-primitive-country-farmhouse style and they add a nice pop of color to my otherwise very white spaces!
Since I get SOOOOO many questions (and compliments) about my rugs, I thought it was time for a full-length blog post!
I often find myself striving for improvement in almost every single thing I do — which can lead to feelings of being inadequate and not good enough (I’m sure some of you can relate!)
Today I’m sharing the super simple technique I use when these thoughts creep into my brain… I’d love to know how you handle these thoughts as well!
As much as possible, I try to use “all-natural” products — especially if they are also simple and frugal. When it comes to DIY cleaning products, they are usually all of the above — simple, frugal, and all-natural! Score!
If you’d like to try a few DIY cleaning products but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right spot!
A few weeks ago, I shared why I don’t buy kids’ clothing in advance, why we purge outgrown clothing immediately, and why I don’t rotate clothing out by season.
As a follow-up on that post, I thought it might be helpful to share how we store the kids’ clothing we DO keep — everything that actually fits and that they wear right now!
As our children get older, as our vegetable garden gets larger, and as I have more “free time” for activities I enjoy, I hope to increase the types and quantities of food I preserve each year.
And since we’re entering the time of year when canning and preserving are becoming hot topics of conversation again, I thought it might be perfect timing to share some of MY favorite canning resources (the ones I’ve used year after year for as long as I can remember).
It recently hit me that I’m in that very short, but oh-so-sweet, season of motherhood when my children are all “old enough”… but not “too old”. They are self-sufficient in many ways, but still need me (and want me) in their lives.
This sweet realization… and a fun 3-minute motherhood challenge is what I’m sharing today, perfect for Mother’s Day weekend!
When it comes to eating whole grains, the first thing almost anyone (myself included) thinks of is… yeast breads! However, yeast breads are often fairly time-consuming for the average home cook with 832 other things to do each day.
If you aren’t big on the idea of baking your own breads but still desire to incorporate more whole grains in your diet each day, you will LOVE my list of 15 non-yeast bread ways our family eats whole grains EVERY day!
If you love the idea of serving roasted veggies with your meals throughout the week but don’t have the time to roast them every weeknight, I would highly suggest roasting large quantities at a time and reheating them throughout the week.
This system has worked well for our family over the past 2 years… I have a feeling it will work well for many of you too!
A couple weeks ago, I had an extremely busy week… one day in particular was especially packed full. I woke up with my mind already swirling as I mentally tried to rearrange the day in attempts to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together.
I knew I couldn’t fit everything in, I knew I would end up stressed out and grumpy if I tried, and I knew I would look back on this day and regret it if I didn’t make a change… today I’m sharing the CHOICES I made to eliminate potential chaos from my day.
Almost exactly 1 year ago, I came to you all with a question about what we should do with our current laundry room and “kitchen bathroom” (a.k.a. the fairly awkward full-bath off our kitchen). You offered so many fantastic ideas that we actually ended up changing our plans and going with some of your ideas instead!
We finished our half-bath renovation last fall, but we still need to tackle the new laundry room this spring/summer… which is why I need your help again!
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