God Given Gifts

So just now I was reading the latest post from Frugally Sustainable, (as I've said, I'm attached to this blog) and something Andrea wrote yesterday pulled some serious heart strings and really what I've been striving for without having a way to explain it.  Andrea states, "Your job could be lost, your home destroyed, and your possessions stolen…yet your ability to identify and use your God-given gifts to provide for your family is the defining difference between dependence and sustainability."

My job has been lost, it could come back, but my latest client went on hospice and recently died.  Being 8 1/2 months pregnant my Home Health Aide agency doesn't have any new clients for me to take on, so for now and however long until my doc clears me for work and what our life is like after my son is born, I'm essentially unemployed by the job world.  I still have my crafting business which I think is more of a hobby at this point and I pray that this year and my new products I will make enough money to pay the booth fees, my rent on my studio until someone takes over my lease and still help build our savings.  This is by facilitating part of my God Given Gifts.

We have home owners insurance and thankfully we don't live in an area in the US where we are hit by most natural disasters and storms, but anything is possible.  We have been robbed in the past so I entirely know what that feels like.  But what Andrea stated is so true, without our God Given Gifts we can't be sustainable we are completely dependent on someone or something.

This is what has been pulling on my heart strings in the last couple of months as my due date is more near and knowing what kind of a world we currently live in and having my deepest roots with God knowing he will provide and take care and when I'm not sure what to do or how to handle something I give it to him and he will guide me.  He has been guiding me lately into the world of frugality and sustainability and as some people might think that its crazy and will get better, I'm actually thoroughly enjoying the adventure.

I'm using my God Given Gifts to utilize fabric I own to make reusable family cloth vs toilet paper.  This is saving us approximately $7 a month and especially now in my last months of pregnancy where I use the bathroom at least 10x a day it is saving us.  The fabric I already had so it didn't cost me anything to make the switch.  I made reusable diaper wipes for my son out of more flannel I already had and am making the diaper wipe spray to use with it which is not only a lot HEALTHIER and safer then what you buy on the store shelves it's a lot more affordable!  You want to play the devil's advocate and state well, you still have to wash the wipes and family cloth so you're not saving any money.  On the contrary we are, we still have to wash bathroom towels, lights and darks and eventually cloth diapers.  I was most of our clothes on cold because they wash out as well as with dark and saves energy from not heating the water.  Though I do wash towels and family cloth in HOT, but then I also hang dry/line dry as much as possible which saves money from running the dryer.

I used my God-Given gifts to make 90% of the items we needed for the arrival of my son.  I made his towels and wash cloths, burp cloths, diaper wipes, blankets, comforters, my reusable breast pads vs those expensive disposable ones, my mom and I recovered an antique baby buggy on loan from my dad so as an infant he can lay flat, my mom got a free stroller for when he's older that I'm also currently in the process of recovering.  The furniture in my son's nursery was mostly all mine through out time, we're using my crib, my nightstand, my baby mattress, a dresser I got from my dad, borrowing a rocker from my mom.

I'm enjoying the challenges of frugal living by finding out how much protein and fiber are in beans which I've never been a fan of but am willing to buy a few and try them out and see which ones we can make apart of our pantry stock affordably and eat vs red meat which I'm also not a huge fan of but need the protein.  I'm creatively figuring out the structure of our back yard in terms of planting area and full sun to plant a garden to help save money to sustain us as much as possible.  I'm decluttering our home with things we don't need or use to have a garage sale to make money to save.

Andrea also quoted the Bible at the end of her blog post and I had not yet read this, reading the Bible cover to cover is something I've always wanted to do, and I'm sad to say I always get distracted but now with not working I'm hoping I have time to really start and immerse myself.

“…so don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “ –Matthew 6

Natural Cleaning Recipes put into action

So tonight I decided was a good night to make some home made natural cleaners to my liking.  Like I've said before I do not consider Borax my friend.  Just because its natural occurring doesn't mean its not poisonous as it is.  Would you clean with poison ivy?  Its naturally occurring.

The first recipe I put together was my laundry detergent which is in two parts.  Wet and Dry.  You keep them separate until you have your wash in the washer.  I mixed equal parts of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and put it in a canning jar.  Then because we are having a baby in about a month to a month and half (hopefully not longer) I have a baby food jar of Dr. Bronnor's Lavender Castile Soap and a baby food jar of Dr. Bronnor's Unscented Baby Castile Soap.  You can add essential oils, I decided not to this time around.  You can always add them.  When your wash is in the washer add 2 T of the dry mix and 7.5mL of the Castile soap and that's it.  I found a cooking syringe at Target in the cooking/baking aisle for $1.99.  I washed my first load with this detergent tonight on whites, darks are currently washing and everything came out clean, no heavy smells, I plan on hanging them out side in the morning.  I'm editing this part, I left my laundry in baskets last night so I could hang out this morning, before you put your wash in the washer turn the water on and put in the dry ingredients to let disintegrate before adding laundry, then add liquid.  I had a few pieces this morning with the dry mix balled up on them.

The second recipe I put together was homemade window/glass cleaner.  I bought spray bottles at the dollar store earlier this week to put the cleaners in as I didn't have any I could re-purpose, I think they got recycled.  Its 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap, 2 c. water, shake to blend, and spray.  I added a couple of drops of blue food coloring so my husband realizes what it is as he more then likely won't read "glass cleaner" that I've written on the side of it.  I sprayed our bathroom mirror and tried with a squeegee first (not my forte) so I resprayed and dried with a microfiber cloth and its amazing!  Streak Free, no lint and practically edible.  The Liquid Dish soap I used is non toxic, not much left so soon I'll be making natural homemade dish soap.  I can't begin to figure out how cheap this is vs buying Windex which is what these days $4-5.  The total cost of the jug of vinegar was like $1.92, the water was free, the liquid dish soap around $4-5.  HUGE savings and HUGE difference.

And last but not least the third recipe I put together was an all-natural all purpose cleaner which I got from Frugally Sustainable  except I left out the borax and the Tea Tree Oil just because I didn't have any.  But will be picking some up on Wednesday when I head up to Cook, MN.  Tea Tree Oil is a natural anti-septic.

Will let you know when I make home made natural liquid hand soap and dish soap.