by Texas Homesteader ~
You value your family’s heirlooms. But it seems we can no longer be sure future generations will be interested in receiving grandma’s finer things. A generation shift could make it harder to pass grandma’s stuff to your kids. Read my thoughts about the difference in typical life for different generations.
by Texas Homesteader ~
Life is busy & days seem so crammed that many people struggle to keep a tidy house. But maybe there’s an easier way. We can learn to clean like grandma did.
I’m nowhere the housekeeper grandma was, but here are a few things we do here on our Homestead that grandma would surely approve of…
by Texas Homesteader ~
Do you struggle drying your clean sheets outside due to the wind? You know the drill, you fight to get the sheets onto the line. Then the wind catches them & makes them want to set sail into the next county!
But I’ve discovered a secret to keeping the sheets on the line on windy days!
by Texas Homesteader ~
OK, I’ve made it no secret that we own a nice, newer, high-end CRAPPY refrigerator/freezer. It was exorbitantly expensive because we required a specific size to fit into our kitchen layout. Although it looks great and is labeled ‘Energy Star’ to conserve electricity, it’s… well… it’s crap!
One of the biggest deal-breaking problems with it is the ice maker. Although there are only two of us in this house on any given day, it can’t keep up with our ice needs.
Now we work outside in the Texas heat all summer, ice is a necessity! Of course we could buy ice cube trays blah, blah, blah but instead I just make sure to reserve ice use for actually cooling our drinks.
But there are other times when I need to use ice in the kitchen. For instance, when I’m making homemade yogurt I need to cool the heated milk. Now I used to do that in a bowl filled with ice – what do I do now? Check out this Homestead Hack, y’all!
by Texas Homesteader ~
One day RancherMan took my hand & suggested we enjoy an unseasonably warm day & take a walk around the homestead.
As I often do this time of year when the poison ivy and snakes are (for the most part) dormant, I found myself once again at the location where the previous owners used to take their household discards.
Although our barn and some of the barbed wire on our property dates back to the 1880’s, the last residents before us had their house burn down because of a lightening strike sometime in the late 1950’s.
So this area where they tossed their no-longer usable household items so long ago is like a mini time travel for me and I love it!
It seems I can learn about those inhabitants from so long ago from what they left behind, a broken child’s die-cast car, broken household trinkets and glass jars.
by Texas Homesteader ~
We all had to start the road to simplicity at the very beginning. So even if you’re a veteran eco-warrior, don’t belittle someone else’s humble beginnings. Let’s support each other in our path to living simply! Remember we’re all in different places in our lives.
by Texas Homesteader ~
Canning jars used to be sold in 4-sided cases with cardboard dividers. But they’re now sold in half boxes with no dividers to protect the glass. I don’t want to store my empty jars that way knowing that canning jars clinking together weakens the glass over time.
I came up with a solution that protects the jars as well as simplify storage. See what we did!
by Texas Homesteader ~
For the past several years I have been mindful of the type of dishes in my kitchen. I don’t want inexpensive, cheaply-made items. I want cookware that will serve me for years.
One of the most-used items in my kitchen is my collection of CorningWare. These covered glass casserole dishes are safe to use in the oven or microwave.
And they clean up in the dishwasher. That kind of versatility works for this country girl!
