Frugal families just want to have fun. Honestly, we don’t set out thinking, “How can we do this for little money or no cost?” That requires too much thinking and is just not fun or how we approach life. We do think, “How can we have fun and laugh with the people we love and… Continue reading Game Night
Category: lifestyle
Healthy, sustainable, lovely, and with style.
Preparing for Winter
It feels a bit like “Little House on the Prairie” at our house right now. We seem to do lots of scurrying around this time of year preparing for the winter (not that the winters here in Portland, Oregon are that harsh). Chopping wood, harvesting vegetables, freezing sauces, putting away summer furniture, fixing gutters, and… Continue reading Preparing for Winter
The Biggest Stay The Same
Seated on an airplane next to my daughter several years ago, we found a show on the television to entertain us while in-flight. It was, “The Biggest Loser” TV show. We’re not big TV watchers at our house and my daughter asked me what it was about. Not having actually watched the show before, but… Continue reading The Biggest Stay The Same
Technology Free Sundays
Welcome to my six-month or so review of Technology Free Sundays for 2011. In January, our family made a commitment to not use technology on Sundays for our New Year’s Resolution. Our goal was to eliminate for one day, the devices that take our attention away from being present with one another and to give… Continue reading Technology Free Sundays
How to Make a Harry Potter Cape
Kids love to dress up and play pretend games. Having dress up clothes around your home is an easy way to encourage that type of play. When the “Harry Potter” books started being read out-loud in our family, our kids were smitten with the characters and all of their adventures. Who doesn’t love Harry, Ron,… Continue reading How to Make a Harry Potter Cape
Camp Cooking Supplies
With camping season upon us, I thought I’d share with you how my camp cooking supplies are organized. My goal while camping is the same in my kitchen – healthy food that tastes good, minimal packaging, and keeping waste to a minimum. In this case, waste not only with food but also keeping the amount… Continue reading Camp Cooking Supplies
How to Remove Tags from Clothing
If you’ve ever received a pile of hand-me-down clothing from me, you’ve probably wondered: Why does none of the clothing have tags in the back of the garment? Tags in clothing drive me nuts! If they drive you crazy, too, you’ll love these easy steps to removing those pesky tags while not damaging your clothing.… Continue reading How to Remove Tags from Clothing
Strawberry Picking Adventures
This was to be a post about my famous strawberry freezer jam. Unfortunately, the strawberries at the organic farm where we went to u-pick were slim pickings. The strawberries were in desperate need of sunshine to ripen them. Our family usually heads to Sauvie Island, just outside of Portland for our fruit and vegetable picking… Continue reading Strawberry Picking Adventures
Computer Recycling
Recently, I had to buy a new lap-top computer. Mine was 8 years old and a hand-me down from my husband. Needless to say, I wasted lots of time waiting for it to work. Our “home office” also had an old desk top computer, a laser printer, a color printer, and a fax machine. While… Continue reading Computer Recycling
How to Make Jeans Smaller
Remember our trip to “The Bins” and the stack of clothing I bought for $18.20? My family loved everything but several items needed altering. Altering clothing, especially jeans, is easy and takes very little time. The jeans, which were brand new Gap women’s jeans, were too wide at the leg for the wearer, who wishes… Continue reading How to Make Jeans Smaller
Go Gingham 