still pinning

Sometimes hanging up the laundry to dry feels like one more chore to add to my busy day. I wonder why I can't bring myself to use the dryer sitting in my back entry like "normal" people. My fingers freeze as October takes hold. I know that inside chaos reigns, schoolwork forgotten the moment that storm door clicked shut. There's rain in the forecast, so I also know this particular load will probably receive a second rinse before I can make it out to the line again. If a certain little boy would finish potty training most of this load wouldn't have needed washing...and on and on I could go.

 Other days I feel deeply appreciative that my father sunk posts for my "new" laundry lines on one of his very first visits to this house. It is a birthday gift that I have used week in and week out in the past year. I have doubtless saved hundreds on my utility bills. It feels good to be outside, all alone with my thoughts for just a few minutes. Schoolchildren need regular breaks; it helps their little brains coalesce information. The leaves are at peak and I would never have noticed the neighbors tree were I not pinning socks just now.  We are blessed with enough clothing that I could go days between loads and still potty train a two year old. There is no smell in the world like clothes fresh off the line and no sound like the snap of a towel in the brisk fall breeze.  I daydream about countless mothers before me doing this very task.  I hang contentedly.

new baby knitting

A pair of summery shorties, modeled by baby brodie. Super quick to knit, especially considering my last projects have all been adult socks! I also used a spool knitter for the first time since I was a kid (for the i-cord) and will never use dpn's again.

ps: Hannah and Dr. Cuz: These are up for grabs as loaners, lmk if you're interested! They're tiny (NB size for sure).

have SPOC, will travel

this is how we roll (through Sicily):




ps: can anyone guess what the acronym stands for?

peek-a-boo

tie-died cotton from my mother: $0machine thread: $.10naptime: priceless.
now let's see if I can get anything done (ha.ha.)

Barefoot in the kitchen (but not pregnant!)

and glad to be each of those things, I might add.

part of my cleaning arsenal:
1) a pretty apron. Have to look the part, right?

2) the all-purpose cleaner and disinfectant I mentioned before. Good for cleaning just about anything.
3) me-sized and Tonka-sized swiffers for light cleaning days. I do floors with vinegar and water or ammonia and water (by the time the floors are dry so is the smell). If Tonka is interested in helping (always is...for about 5 minutes per "job"), I have a spray bottle of vinegar/water that I spray on the tile for him to "mop" up. Great fun.


4) kiddiesgames.com for when the attention span runs out.


5) the newest weapon in the arsenal: Homemade dishwashing detergent for machines or sinks. It works at least as well as anything I've used previously, and is WAY cheaper. The only weird thing is that there are no bubbles, but that just means less pollutants going into the water system, so I can't complain. The only container I had when I mixed this the first time was a candle jar which, as it turns out, is perfect.



ps: notice the new labels. figured it was about time... will have to go back and edit the archives accordingly.

squeaky clean

The latest in crunch: homemade laundry soap. Works beautifully, costs mere pennies, contains no icky additives, smells great (even with vinegar as the softener!). Oh, and looks kinda pretty in the container to boot :)

the recipe: You can do a wet version, known affectionately as "boogers", but so far I'm liking the dry version just fine. Combine one bar finely grated (didn't do the pink soap finely enough) laundry soap (I used a mexican brand from my aunt and pink Zote; Fels Naptha is also highly recommended), 1/2 c each of Borax and washing soda. Mix up and use about 1 T per load size (so 3 if you're doing the biggest load your washer can handle or the laundry is filthy. For diapers I use 1 T). Wash as normal.

Clean Green

Reduce: I'm attempting to reduce the amount of chemicals in my house, especially now that my toddler has discovered how to operate a spray bottle and decided that anything with a screw-on lid must be drinkable. normal household cleaning is done with Simple Green and water, but anything requiring disinfection gets the special treatment.
Re-use: If I can avoid throwing something away by finding another use for it, great! Can you tell what my new (well, I've had it up for months now, but never blogged it before, so new to you guys) kitchen curtain was made from? And this knitted cloth from my mother? still looks brand-new after 3 years of regular use. It may have been a sweater in a former life, but I can't quite remember.
Recycle: Yeah, you can buy empty spray bottles from the store. But why bother when I've got one right here?


Recipe:
1 T Borax (note: this is toxic if ingested for babies, but is better than many alternatives. I wish I could find washing soda here, it's a slightly more environmentally sound alternative, but alas.)
1 c water
1/4 c vinegar
10 drops of your favorite essential oil, especially if it's got antiseptic or aromatheraputic qualities. OR, you can use hot water and add your own fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, lavender) and let steep 10 minutes before removing and adding the rest of the ingredients to the spray bottle.

more cleaning green ideas here.