3 cups distilled water (hot)

3 tsp. baby soap

3 tsp. olive oil

5 drops of tea tree oil (antibacterial to keep wipes from souring or molding)

1 empty wipes “pop up” container

3-4 old cotton t-shirts

Cut your old t-shirts (I used three shirts in size XL) into squares (approx. 6 1/2” X 8 1/2”) An easy way to do this is to lay the t-shirt out flat, cut off the bottom band, then cut up each side to the armpit. Measure about 6 1/2” up and cut a strip across that width (through both layers). Cut that strip into three equal parts. Then measure 6 1/2” up and cut another strip, and cut that into three equal parts. Then take the remaining top part of the t-shirt and using one of your cut pieces measure out and cut two more squares. You will get 16 squares out of one t-shirt cutting this way. You may end up with more or less and may have to adjust your cuts according to the t-shirt size. 

To stack the wipes, lay one down with the longer end going north and south, and the short ends east and west. Then lay another one down below it, overlapping the first wipe half way. Then fold the first wipe over the second wipe so it is folded in half. then place another wipe on top where the first wipe was and fold the second wipe in half over this, continue until you have a large stack of wipes, each one folded into the next. Place the wipes into the empty wipes container.

In a large bowl mix the water, olive oil, baby wash, and tea tree oil. Stir with a spoon until blended. Slowly pour the mixture over the wipes to saturate. Close the lid and your wipes are ready to use.

To clean, throw the wipes right into the wash with your cloth diapers. Sometimes you might encounter such a mess that you don’t want to clean out the wipe, or put it in with the washables. On those occasions, I just toss it right in the trash. I would have just tossed the old t-shirts anyway. This way they are getting used multiple more times and since they are 100% cotton, they are biodegradable when we do choose to throw them out. We are told that disposable diapers take over 500 years to decompose and I can’t come up with any good information on how long it takes wipes to biodegrade but would venture a guess at a couple hundred years. Most wet wipes are made using cotton with synthetics, and other chemicals, and then they add alcohol, perfumes and who knows what else. We know that they don’t decompose quickly or else they would be falling apart after sitting on the shelf for 6 months. A 100% cotton shirt takes 6 months to decompose and cloth diapers are reusable for many years to come. And since we are making them ourselves and know exactly what is going into them we don’t need to worry about things like THIS happening to our children.

And lastly, if you are not using cloth diapers, I would encourage you to find a method that suits your needs and try it for a while. You will not only save a ton of money, but you will help save our precious God-given environment for our precious God-given kids.

If you have any additional wipes ideas that are thrifty or environmentally friendly (or both), or if you have a recipe that you use, please feel welcome to comment below and tell us what is working for you.

FYI: I don’t usually use bottled water—as shown in the photo above—since those bottles are way worse then wipes in a landfill. I just happened to have it on hand and decided to use it since it better shows what you need for the recipe. I do recommend that if you prefer bottled (or filtered) water, like we do, to purchase a water crock, and use refillable 5 gallon water jugs. That’s what we do and since 5 gallons of water costs us $1.75, we save over $300 a year on drinking water.

ad·vent/ˈadˌvent/

Noun:

1. The arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.
2. The first season of the church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

There are several types of advent calendar. There are wreaths and wall hangings, chains, ornaments, pictures, boxes, cards, and so much more. You can purchase advent calendars that are in the shape of a Christmas tree or have a nativity picture on it where you open each day and find a piece of chocolate. Depending on the extravagance of it, they can be priced at $40 and over! But that’s not really my style. We are celebrating the birth of Christ. So in that wonderful and exciting tradition, reading through the Christmas story is an important part of our Holiday celebration. A great way to do that is to make your own Advent calendar. Spell Out Loud has a great printable Advent paper chain (this is what we are using this year) that counts down the days as it teaches the story of Jesus’ birth. It’s also a great little craft that will keep the kids busy for a little while putting it together.

FamilyFun Magazine also has A-door-able Advent Calendar that would be fun to make and use this holiday. And since it’s a door theme, why not hang it on your door?

If you’re the ultra crafty type, skiptomylou.org has a host of ideas to glue, sew, cut, stick, and hang your way into the advent season with their 10 terrific Advent Calendar Tutorials!

If your heart’s set on an advent with candy or gifts, this one at KristenHove doesn’t have instructions but is pretty self explanatory.

But if you’re not too crafty, or just short on time, try an online Advent Calendar. You’ll find a good one at beliefnet and another at Teaching Mom.

With all of these choices, you’re sure to find something you love. Just have fun with it and enjoy these special moments with your family as you teach them some important things about why we celebrate CHRISTmas. If you’ve never done an advent calendar before, why not start a new tradition this year? It’s a great way to daily keep your focus on the real reason for the season!

So back on topic. Today I am going to show you how to make popcorn two different ways. Both easy, healthy, and in ScrimplyThrifty fashion…cheap!

DO IT YOURSELF MICROWAVE POPCORN

The first is easy microwave popcorn. You will need popcorn (the plain store brand popcorn that you can buy in a bag for a dollar or two will work just fine). You will also need plain brown lunch bags. 1 Tablespoon of butter (or oil) is optional. First Place about 1/3-1/4 cup of popcorn in the paper bag, then add the butter on top of the popcorn, if desired. You can opt to put it on after the popcorn is cooked, your choice. If you like the soppy buttery type popcorn, putting it on after is the way to go. Putting it in the bag just gives it a light buttery flavor, and a not-so-messy-to-eat popcorn. Ok, now just roll the bag a few times. I fold mine in a little on the corners to make sure it doesn’t open whilst popping. Place the bag on a plate (if butter is added) and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Just do like you do with store bought popcorn and listen closely. When the popping slows, it’s time to turn it off. Don’t strive to make sure every kernel is popped. Because we all know how unappealing burnt popcorn to everyone in the house…and maybe even your neighbors. he he! Be careful when you open it, steam burns! Dump it into a bowl, add your favorite toppings, shake it around a bit and there you have it! Yum!

EASY HOMEMADE STOVE TOP POPCORN

The second way to make popcorn is on the stove. This is also really easy, but not as easy as plopping it in a bag and nuking it! This recipe is for all of you die hard naturalists! I understand your plight, I really do, but sometimes it’s difficult to give up the convenience of just zapping stuff!

You will start with a basic three or four quart saucepan with a snug fitting lid. Heavy bottom pans are best. You will add 3 Tablespoons of oil (I prefer coconut oil- but any high smoke point oil will work just fine) and three kernels of popcorn. Heat pan on medium high heat. When two or three kernels in the pan pop, add 1/3 cup of popcorn into the oil in an even layer. Replace the lid, remove from heat, and count 30 seconds. This method brings the oil up to the right temperature as well as bringing all the kernels to a temperature where they will all be ready to pop at nearly the same time (leaving few kernels un-popped). Return the pan to the heat, and the popcorn will soon begin to pop, all at once! When this happens, tilt the lid only slightly to allow steam to escape, and gently shake the pan back and forth over the burner. when the popping slows down to 5-6 seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, pour it into a big bowl, and add butter and salt if desired. And there you have it! Easy homemade healthy popcorn that will cost you pennies,

Oils to try: Coconut, Corn Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or Bacon fat.

Flavorings/Toppings: Tabasco, Curry, Cumin, Chili pepper, Cayenne, or black pepper & grated parmesan cheese. Garlic butter & finely grated cheddar cheese.

I once perfected a recipe to make homemade kettle corn, but I don’t think I ever wrote down the recipe. It was so good that I couldn’t quit making it but finally I just had to stop! I’ll try it again one of these days and when I do, I’ll add it to this post. Beware though, If you do try it yourself, it is VERY addictive.

Happy popping everyone!

In the meantime I have discovered wool diaper soakers. I can use regular newborn prefold diapers and then use the soakers as a cover. Later on I can use the newborn prefolds as soakers in the diapers I am going to make. I had a few old (shrunken) wool sweaters lying around so I cut them up and tried a pattern I found on Katrina’s Sew Quick Soaker Pattern blog. I had looked at several others, but not one of them compared to this one. The other’s looked old-fashioned, even amateur, but this one is trendy and you can mix it up a little to make it your own style. The most important thing to me was that you can sew them up pretty quickly. I cut out the patterns one evening and whipped them up the next day. It took me a little while because I didn’t see any instructions other than a video tutorial, and to be honest, the video had me a little confused. Once I got the first two done, I had figured out an easy way to sew it up and it started going pretty quick. I also added in a ‘longie’ out of leftover sleeves, and I added fishie appliques, so that did take a bit of time too. Keep in mind that this is my first attempt at making any type of diaper soakers…other than the things you stuff in a pocket diaper…so flaws are to be expected.

HINT: You can find used (often already felted-washed, dried, shrunken) wool sweaters at your local thrift stores. Just look on the tags for sheep’s wool, cashmere, angora, alpaca, or a mix of these types of wool. 100% is best, but I have used 80% wool and seems to work just fine. Some are softer than others, which is great for baby.

So, with no further ado, here is my little tute:

Start out with an old wool sweater. I prefered to felt mine (okay, okay, they were already ‘felted’) But I did want them felted, just because #1. To me it seems they wouldn’t be as leaky and #2. I would have ended up ‘felting’ them by accident later, I’m sure, and then would be too small. So, I just decided that, for me, felted wool is best.

Trace the pattern onto the sweater and cut it out…while you ignore my fondness of sharpie markers that don’t wash out—hmm, here’s a thought, maybe I’ll try the kids washable markers next time. If it works, it will be the last time I ruin perfectly good fabric because I read the instructions wrong. Oh, my wandering mind…back on topic now…..

Ready to sew.

Here’s what I got out of two sweaters. 2 Newborn soakers, 2 size 1 soakers, and hopefully enough for a longie….we’ll see. With a bunch of scraps left over… nursing pads maybe?

Sewing the leg cuffs. Line up the edge of the cuff material (the ribbed edges–cuffs, waist, collar— of the sweater works best for this. when I ran out I used strips of fabric and folded them in half for the cuffs which is a little harder when you are using a thick felted wool.) The actual cuff may be shorter than the fabric that you are sewing it onto. The best way to make it fit is to pin the end of the cuff to the starting point where you will sew it to, then pin the other end of the cuff to the other side, where you will stop sewing. Fold it in half with the shorter fabric in the middle and pin right in the middle, then place a few more pins just to make sewing easier. Sew on your cuffs pulling the stretchy (if you use the ribbed part of the sweater) fabric to be even with the not so stretchy part. Just keep it pulled tight between the pins so that it sews even, until you get to the end…don’t forget your reinforcement stitches at the ends.

Leg cuffs are on. I sewed using a straight stitch and then reinforced with a zig zag. Not sure if this is necessary with wool since it doesn’t fray, but I didn’t want to take my chances of anything coming apart and it worked out pretty well.

Pin on your waist band, and sew it onto the diaper cover. I later realized an even easier way to do this if you have a long piece of waist band. First you would sew up the one side of cuff and side of diaper cover, then you can sew one long piece of waistband to the diaper cover all around the waist band in one piece. and then just finish the second cuff/side. Either way it works, it’s easy, and it looks good.

Make sure you stretch as you sew, when necessary.

Pin each side of the soaker, and sew from bottom of cuff to top of waistband.

Inside out view of finished soaker.

Turn the soaker right side out and you are finished!

My finished products….It probably took me as long to do this tute as it did to sew the four regular soakers. (The longie took quite a bit longer because I had to keep piecing it together to make it work. And then of course those fishie appliques. And I bet it won’t even fit him till he’s about 9 months to a year.–Oh well, just in time for next winter.)

There was only one thing I didn’t really like about how I sewed these together, and that was that the leg cuff seams were located on the outer thigh rather than the inner thigh. You could do this differently so that the seam would be on the inner thigh and probably look a little better, but it just seemed like it would be too time consuming (making the pattern more difficult to sew) and really wasn’t that bad-looking. I then reasoned that if the seams were on the inside they would be more likely to irritate the baby’s legs than if they were on the outside, and that settled it for me. Easy, practical and they do look pretty good. Can’t wait to try them out!!!

Ooops, how did my baby belly get in the bottom of that picture?

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and I hope you find it useful in making your own diaper soakers. Thank you so much Katrina for your wonderful pattern. You can find Katrina’s pattern on her blog page at Katrina’s Sew Quick Soaker Pattern HERE. FYI, I did not use her longie patterns for my longie, If I had I’m sure I wouldn’t have had to peice it together. But if you want to do longies the right way, you’ll find Katrina’s longie patterns HERE.

In addition; you will also need to lanolize your soakers if you make them out of wool. This will enhance their ability to keep the wetness in and it keeps the wool in tip-top shape. I found a great tutorial by Understanding Laura over on Blogspot. I love the way she takes something that could be time consuming and difficult and makes it quick and easy, not to mention she’ll just make you smile.

And last but not least, Zany Zebra has some other information on washing wool that might not be mentioned in the tute above. This includes information on how to wash wool in the sink or in the washing machine, and tips especially for those using unfelted wool and how to keep it that way.

Feel free to leave your questions, comments or suggestions below. I’d love to hear your ideas and even improvements. I’m sure I will be sewing several more of these in the near future. Happy Sewing!

Take a look, HERE!

• Wash your hands frequently.  Always wash your hands before eating or touching your face.  Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer when you have visited public places such as the grocery store. I do not recommend anti-bacterial soap. Handwashing with soap and warm water while rubbing the hands and getting under the nails works best. Anti-bacterial soaps kill both good and bad bacteria, and they do not allow your body to build up immunity to bacteria that could make you sick. Building your natural immunity really is the best way to keep yourself healthy.
• Keep your hands off of your face as much as possible. These germs are spread through the mouth, eyes, and nose. Protect these portals of entry by keeping hands off of your face.
• Clean surfaces that are likely to have more hand contact, such as door knobs, phones, keyboards, counters, desks, remote controls, refrigerator handles, toilet flush handles, etc.
• Make sure you get enough sleep. 8 hours for the normal adult and 10-12 for children and teens.
• It is always wise to always have a healthy diet, exercise, and use stress management/stress relief techniques. During cold and flu season this will help to build your immune system up and help prevent illnesses.
• It is said that gargling with saltwater twice a day helps clean viruses out of the system before they have time to settle in and make you sick. It could be possible that gargling with saltwater has the same effect on a healthy person that Tamiflu has on an infected one.
• Vitamin supplements have been known to boost immunity. By optimizing your levels of vitamin C, zinc, and vitamin D3. 

It seems many people these days are deficient in vitamin D3 (which is acquired through sun exposure) due to using sunblock and working indoors for longer hours.  Taking at least 1000 IU of this one vitamin daily or getting at least 15 minutes of sun exposure to arms and legs daily (without sunblock) will help keep you healthy this flu season.

So save yourself the price of multiple doctors visits, prescription costs, flu shots and most importantly, save your self by making the best choices for your health.  Always do your research, even after talking to a doctor, and make sure you are doing what is the best and healthiest for you and your family.

Note: I failed to post this during the flu season, but I had it written up and wanted to get it posted in advance for next flu season. By the way, Not I nor my family received any type of flu shots this year. Only my husband got sick.. The kids take a multi-vitamin plus 500 IU gummy D3 and I take a multi-vitamin plus 5000 IU D3. My husband does not take vitamins, but when he got sick I gave him 5000 IU D3 2x a day, and he got over it pretty quickly…and then there’s the outcome of the swine flu, the shots causing deaths and nervous system difficulties such as Gillian Barre Syndrome, and those I know who did get the ’swine flu’ (if that’s what it really was, the doctors seemed to be calling everything swine flu for a time) are all just fine.

Homeschool Enrichment Magazine is offering  a free digital subscription to their magazine. It is just like the print version only you can view it immediately online. If you are like me, you prefer to have the print magazine come in the mailbox for you to read on the go. But this digital subscription is a perfect way to try it out before you buy. I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed. Follow this link to subscribe.

Have a blessed homeschool year!

Clause: I am not responsible for any accidents or injuries resulting from the use of these soap making instructions. Make soap at your own risk. Please be careful and responsible.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

olive oil 14.4 oz

palm oil 1.6 oz

water 6.08 oz

lye 2.07 oz

SOAP MAKING DIRECTIONS (these instructions can be used for any cold processed soap making recipe);

Measure out all ingredients prior to making soap. You will need a small digital or manual postal type scale.

Heat oils in pan on stove to reach 110°.

Mix water and lye:

• NEVER use aluminum or metal container or utensils to mix lye. Use plastic or glass container and wooden or plastic utensil.
• NEVER add lye to hot water. Always use COLD water, the colder the better.
• NEVER ad water to lye, this can have “volcano-explosive” effects. Always add lye slowly to water while stirring gently (and ALWAYS mix in a well ventilated area or outdoors).
• ALWAYS keep a spray bottle of vinegar on hand. This can be used as a neutralizer for the lye in the event of burns.

Let lye mixture cool to 85°-95° (You may immerse the container 1/2 way into a cool ice water bath in the sink. Make sure you don’t get any of that water in the container and make sure the container is stable and will not tip or spill.)

Place pan of oils on a sturdy surface. Once lye has cooled to temperature, slowly pour lye/water mixture into soap mixture, while blending with an electric stick blender. (You can also stir by hand but it will take much, much longer. I have not personally done this so I can not tell you the time frame.)

Watch for “trace”. Trace is when the soap mixture thickens to a thin to medium pudding consistency and when you lift the blender and drizzle soap it will leave a “trace” of drizzle in the mixture. You will also notice the top getting shiny.

At this time you will add your pre-measured additives such as fragrance (or ground oatmeal etc. when making bath soap. NOTE: The above recipe is not for bath soap although it could be used as such but produces very little suds.)

When it reaches regular pudding consistency, it is done.

Pour into prepared, lined molds. I prefer large cigar boxes, or you can use any stiff cardboard box. I line them with freezer paper as if wrapping the inside of a present. It takes some practice but works quite well.

Place soap away from drafts and cold. Some prefer to wrap with a towel or small blanket. I just put mine in the oven with the light on. (no heat.)

Let ‘cure’ for 24-48 hours. Most soaps take only 24 but this soap may take longer. You want to make sure it is still soft enough to cut into bars but not so soft that it will be runny in the middle. If you can very easily put a finger indent in it, I would leave it sit a while longer.

Once set, remove from mold, and cut with large knife into equal size bars. (A good size for bath soap is 3 1/2″ x 2 1/4″ x 1″ or you can make round ones by pouring your mix into a cleaned out Pringles potato chip can, no lining necessary, when ready just peel off can and cut soap. For laundry soap I like to make them about 3″ x 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ which can be grated for laundry soap and also used as a stain stick (just spray water – or TKO cleaner- then rub on soap bar.)

Stand your cut bars on end on cardboard box or flat surface with space in between the bars. Keep in well ventilated area. This allows air to circulate and finish drying the soap. If necessary, label box with date and soap type. Turn soap over after a week or so. Let soap cure for about 2-4 weeks before using.

TIPS:

• make sure there are no lumps in your soap and that it is not grainy. if so, you may need to heat up the soap some to remedy this.
• Lye is a dangerous chemical and can burn your skin and eyes. Always wear rubber kitchen type gloves and goggles.
• When mixing lye, keep the room well ventilated or mix outside if possible. Fumes can be harmful.
• Do not make soap while toddlers and small children are close by. It is best to make soap during their nap times or when they are not at home.
• Again: Keep vinegar handy. Vinegar neutralizes lye.
• Again: Add lye to (cold- never hot) water, Never add water to lye.

Enjoy your soap! Your laundry! and the clean!

My Beautiful New Kitchen Linens

 Watch for these…they will soon be coming to a blog near you (mine) gently surrounding some of my hopefully-perfect kefir sourdough bread. (The starter is working it’s magic on the kitchen counter as I write.)