Thanks to Paula’s Bread for their continued sponsorship of Passionate Homemaking! They have also generously contributed towards sponsoring me to the Relevant 2010 conference!
It has been a true pleasure to work with Paula Sutton, co-owner of Paula’s Bread, over the last several months since they began advertising with us last fall. Paula is a loving Christian wife, mother to nine children, and homemaker. She started Paula’s Bread as a Bosch distributor in 1987 and has expanded to include numerous kitchen resources and tools for natural food preparation. They offer Bosch mixers, grain grinders, stainless steel bakeware, cookware, and various kitchen gadgets. It is a family run business purposing to provide high quality service and products. Today they would like to offer a Bread Making Kit to one of our readers, which includes:
Bread Making Kit ($39.99 value):
Whole Grain Basic Bread Making DVD (not pictured)
SAF active dry yeast (1 lb)
dough enhancer (16 oz)
vital wheat gluten (27 oz)
bread bags (100 count)
This combination special is enough ingredients for 50 lbs of wheat and will provide the perfect texture you desire. The Breadmaking DVD will give you a thorough tutorial into making whole wheat bread with all the visual tips and tricks for successful breadbaking. With this DVD, you will learn how to make bread, cinnamon rolls, mock rye bread, pull aparts, pizza… all with one basic whole wheat bread recipe!
Currently, they are running a special combo deal on the Bosch mixer and Nutrimill. If you are in the market, check it out!
To Enter:
1. Leave a comment below and share your favorite bread making tip or what you love about home baked goodies.
2. For a second entry, sign up for the Paula’s Bread newsletter to hear of special promotions, tips, recipes, etc in their monthly newsletter. Come back and tell us about it!
3. For a third entry, follow @passionatehome and @paulasbread on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, sharing the following:
Enter to win a Bread Making Kit from @paulasbread at @passionatehome!
Thank you to Graham Gardens for your sponsorship of Passionate Homemaking for the month of April! It’s giveaway week at Passionate Homemaking!
Graham Gardens is a family company based in Pennsylvania that has uniquely created an assortment of lovely all-natural wholesome skincare for the whole family. Their products contain only natural ingredients without fillers, or other preservative ingredients.
I had the privilege of sampling an assortment of their products and have been very pleased especially with the moisturizing butter bar – it is delightful and very effective for dry skin! I eagerly anticipate using the natural bug bar this summer to keep mosquitoes away! The natural lip balm selection is also wonderful.
Graham Gardens would like to offer TWO gift baskets to two different winners with several of their natural skin care products which values around $70 dollars. It contains:
1 Large, Fresh Butter Bar
1 Small, Natural Butter Bar
1 Lavender Body Oil
1 Large Healthy Skin Salve
1 BugBar
1 Peppermint Candy Lip Balm
1 Orange Sunset Lip Balm
1 Adventure Bay Lip Balm
TO ENTER:
1. Head over to Graham Gardens and check out their list of products. Select the product you are most interested in trying and come back and share it in the comments below.
2. For a second entry, follow @passionatehome and @grahamgardens and tweet about this giveaway. Leave a second comment letting us know.
Thank you to FBS Books for your sponsorship of Passionate Homemaking for April!
FBS Books is a Christian family run business offering homeschooling curriculum, Christian living books, parenting, and preschool materials of all kinds. They have a wealth of excellent good books! It is in the second generation of being a family owned and operated small business in Orlando, Florida.
Taraleigh, the co-owner together with her husband, shared with me their vision: I love books and love to read and have been working on putting items on there that have impacted me personally as well as books that I am excited to read soon. My children are ages 9,6, and 4. It is a full life that I love, but I know how much good books can be a means of grace for my own soul to help equip me for this task of being a wife, mother, and teacher. I would love to pass that on to others as they are ordering their curriculum over the summer. We try and offer the most competitive prices that we can, even with being a small company.
FBS Books would like to offer a $50 gift certificate to one lucky winner this week!
They are also offering a coupon code discount to Passionate Homemaking readers of $5 off a purchase of $75 dollars or more. Simply enter: passionatehomemaking in the coupon box at checkout. They also offer free shipping on orders of $25 or more!
TO ENTER:
1. Check out FBS Books and find your favorite choice resources and come back and leave your selection in the comments below.
2. For a second entry, become a fan of Passionate Homemaking and FBS Books on Facebook. Come back and enter a second comment letting us know that you did it!
If you have been around here for long, you know that I strive to soak my whole grains for the benefit of breaking down the phytates and making the nutrients more accessible to our bodies. Over the years, I have taken many of my favorite recipes and adapted them to allow for the soaking process to be completed. There is a never ending stream of emails that I receive asking the question, “how do you adapt recipes for soaking?” Today, I am going to make an effort to give two examples of how I have accomplished this process. I hope that is helpful to you. Over the next few weeks, I will be a compiling a video tutorial of what soaking looks like with a few of our favorite recipes.
First off, let me just encourage you that it takes time and experimentation to adapt your recipes. With each recipe that I successfully modified, it took at least two tries to get it right. So be patient and just have fun with it. For the most part, it is relatively easy.
So, let’s begin…I will start by going through one recipe with you and offering my steps towards conversion.
Biscuits – Original Recipe
7 cups spelt flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups butter
5 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp salt
1. Evaluate the liquids.
I always start adapting every recipe by evaluating the liquids. This spelt biscuit recipe has 2 cups of milk as the liquid ingredients. To soak, I can simply replace this amount with an acid medium in its entirety or in whatever portion I desire. My acid medium choices: cultured buttermilk, kefir, yogurt, whey, or water and lemon juice.
I have had best success with soaking in kefir, as it imparts wonderful nutrients but also gives a moist light texture to my baked goods. So, I converted 2 cups of milk to 2 cups of kefir. In order for soaking to be effective, you really only have to use at least 1 Tablespoon of acid medium to 1 cup of liquids in your recipe, so I could also use 2 cups water with 2 Tablespoons acid medium. You could also use milk and just add 2 Tbsp acid medium. The choice is up to you!
If your recipe calls for yogurt or buttermilk anyway, that is sufficient to satisfy the acidic medium. You won’t have to add anything to the recipe; just mix the yogurt/buttermilk and flour or grains overnight, then proceed with the recipe as written.
2. Combine liquids with flour.
Secondly, I will combine my acid medium liquids with the flour. To keep a moist texture, I will often thin out the kefir or yogurt to the consistency of buttermilk so as to keep the mixture from getting too dry. Mix the flour and the acid medium together. If the mixture remains very dry, you have a third option.
3. Add the butter or oil to the soaked goods, if necessary.
If there are butter or oil called for in the recipe, you can add it to the mixture as well to help keep the moist consistency. In this spelt biscuit recipe, I wanted to use a combination of coconut oil and butter as it provides such a delicious flavor. So, I melted the coconut oil/butter and added it to the soaked flour/acid medium. I know have a moist consistency.
I will then cover this bowl with a towel and allow to sit on the counter at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Ideally, you want to keep it in a warm place. In the oven with the pilot light on, in a dehydrator, on top of a high shelf, or in a warm bedroom of your house.
After it has soaked, I would kneed in the baking powder and salt. And there you have it…delicious soaked biscuits that will not only rise better because of the soaking but will also be more easily digested by your body. Check out my adapted soaked biscuit recipe.
In other recipes, I also add the liquid sweeteners (such as honey) to the recipe to maintain the moist texture (as in my soaked whole grain bread). There are mixed opinions as to the safety of this practice, but Sue Gregg has used this practice in many of her soaked blender batter recipes, and thus I have not been too concerned about it.
What if there are no butter/oil ingredients?
If there are no oil ingredients in the recipe, add just enough more water to make it slightly moist but not dry. Start with 1/4 cup increments.
What about a recipe that has no liquids?
Here’s an example:
Raspberry Muffins – our family favorite muffin recipe!
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups raspberries, frozen
2 eggs, well beaten
2/3 cup oil, coconut oil preferred
As you can see, there are no liquids in this recipe besides the oil. So, this recipe will take a little more practice and experimentation to avoid drying it out. As you’ll see in my adapted soaked raspberry muffin recipe, I simply combined the flour with melted coconut oil and 2 Tablespoons acid medium (kefir in my case). I add just enough water (between 1/4-1/2 cup) to keep it moist and well combined. For effective soaking, you want to use at least 1 Tablespoon of acid medium to 1 cup of liquids in your recipe. Since this recipe has no liquids, I simply guessed it with the 2 Tablespoons. I really don’t think you can go wrong. The more the better.
As you can also see in this recipe, the original recipe called for sugar, which is easily replaced with a more natural alternative such as rapadura or sucanat. The original recipe also called for canola oil, which I simply replaced with coconut oil.
If through trial and error, you cannot seem to keep the dough from getting too dry and unworkable after soaking, I recommend using sprouted flour (see below).
What if I am dairy intolerant?
I have found best results from soaking with kefir, yogurt, or buttermilk, but it is possible to soak with other acid mediums (lemon juice, apple cider vinegar) if you are allergic to dairy. Read our discussion on Soaking Methods for the Dairy Intolerant.
What about a recipe with yeast?
Since the yeast cannot be added for the overnight soak, you’ll need to withhold 1/4-1/2 cup of water from your recipe with which to ‘proof’ the yeast. Note that I have had perfect success with reserving just 1/4 cup. When you’re ready to finish the dough, mix the yeast with 1/4-1/2 water and sweetener (I use 1 tsp of honey), proof for 5 minutes at room temperature, then add to the dough that has been soaking overnight. Knead and allow to rise as directed in your recipe. You can see this demonstrated in my soaked whole wheat bread recipe.
What happens when the final mixture is too wet?
This happens to me quite frequently. For example, my pizza crust recipe tends to be too wet if I use less than 10 cups of flour in the original soaking mix. It tends to get very elastic and need alot more flour to make it workable and able to be rolled out. In this case, I keep white flour or better yet, sprouted wheat flour on hand.
Sprouted wheat flour is just as beneficial as soaked flour, but is more time consuming to accomplish and more expensive to buy. Buying quantities of sprouted flour or making your own, can help supplement in the case that you need to add extra flour, flour a pan, flour a surface to roll out the dough, etc. When you just use sprouted flour for these supplemental purposes, it can stretch the cost out.
Sprouted flour has already been soaked and dried and therefore has accomplished the process of breaking down the phytates. Sprouted flour is also nice to have on hand if you forget to soak and are throwing something together at the last minute. Just use the sprouted flour and away you go. No soaking necessary! Read more about sprouted flour and my recommended source. I buy 10 lb bags of sprouted grain and they last me forever!
What about cakes, pie crusts and cookies?
You will often find that cakes, pie crusts, and cookies are difficult if not impossible to soak. Either there are absolutely no liquids or the final product is undesirable. I just have not had much success here. In this case, I use sprouted wheat flour. Cookies will not rise very well, so I still use a combination of white flour and sprouted wheat for a better appeal. Pie crusts are similar. The results usually will be crumbly and hard. White flour alone or in combination with sprouted flour again is more ideal. Since these are special occasion items at our home, I really don’t stress over it too much. White flour does make for a lighter texture that nothing else really can fully beat.
I hope this little tutorial was helpful for you and inspires you to work at adapting your favorite recipes to incorporate the benefits of soaking!
Check out my recipe index for many more yummy adapted recipes!
This post is brought to you by Passionate Homemaking’s monthly contributor, Vina.
Chris Denbow
The most popular topics for moms these days seem to be about growing in the practice of motherhood. Few of us enter this holy profession with intentional preparation like we do the careers we choose. Often we stumble our way into it and learn as best as we can how to nurture our little ones physically, emotionally and spiritually as we go. We learn about creating routines, nourishing meals, family mission statements, and so much more. But as much as motherhood is an opportunity to grow the many skills and attitudes necessary to nurture a family and a home, I believe it also a timely gift to grow ourselves through it.
The Gift of Simplicity
“Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy as they are also the marks of great art. They seem to be the purpose of God for his whole creation.” – Richard Holloway
Because mothers wear many hats both inside and outside the home, we quickly learn that we must simplify our lives so we can thrive. For those of us who stay at home, it is imperative that we figure out the essential purpose of our day to day tasks and the meaning behind our everyday mundane, repetitive chores so we can focus on the relationships that truly matter most. We grow in simplicity as a matter of necessity, and not by choice. Or else we drown. Motherhood then becomes a gift to help us learn what we are all about, live simply as we can and we let go of the fluff that often distracts us.
Has this been true of you? What are the ways you’ve seen motherhood change you towards a more simple life? How has it spurred you to seek simplicity in your personal life?
The Gift of Authenticity
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” – May Sarton
There has never been a ruder awakening in my life about my desperate shortcomings other than motherhood. The huge responsibility of nurturing another life gets me thinking of all the ways I don’t measure up to whatever ideal it is I picture in my head. It’s like a magnifying glass over the things I’m incompetent in: cooking, keeping house, self-care, and more. But it is precisely because of this that motherhood offers us a way to grow into the person we truly are. We learn to be painfully honest of our weaknesses while we gratefully embrace our strengths. We daily stand on grace and nothing else if only to keep going in this rigorous task we have been given. The gift of authenticity. No more pretending to be more than who we are.
Have you seen motherhood change you towards a more authentic life? What is your experience like?
The Gift of Creativity
“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” – Albert Einstein
Motherhood is about creating. We’re given a powerful opportunity to participate in creating life, beginning in our wombs, and beyond. As a new mom, I’ve had to learn how to create in the kitchen even when it’s the last thing I would choose to do. I’ve learned to create with my hands things I would otherwise never ever think about if I wasn’t a mom: cloth diapers, dresses, dolls, and more. If I let it, motherhood can draw me back into the creative world of our children who see everything with such delight and wonder. The songs, the dances, the long walks, the colors, the ideas, the interconnectedness of everything they see and experience. Truly, our children are the best teachers for those of us who have fallen out of touch with our inner creative child. A gift of creativity from the inside out is priceless.
Does this resonate with you? Do you feel like motherhood has given you a new opportunity to relive the creative side you may have long forgotten?
Generosity
“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Ghandi
Prior to becoming a mom, I’ve always been drawn to children. I taught 2nd graders at one point when I lived in China after college. But motherhood has multiplied that heart for the little ones ten times and more. When I look at my darling girl, I think of the many other little girls in this world and I want for them what I want for my daughter. I am filled with anger when I hear about little girls being sold into prostitution. My heart breaks for refugee children and orphans who have no place to call homes. Motherhood is continually making spaces for my heart that I thought were already filled. A gift of unexpected generosity, especially when motherhood is already about giving ourselves away to the small people in our lives on a daily basis. And yet, there is more of ourselves to give.
Have you felt motherhood draw you to a more generous life, when you didn’t think you had more to give? In what ways has it stretched you?
We’ve truly been given an incredibly gift as mothers. Everyday we have opportunities to grow in simplicity, authenticity, creativity and generosity. And whether or not we say yes to these opportunities may have more weight than say, learning to cook the best pot roast ever. Because these are the very gifts our children will take with them now, and long after they leave home.
Vina spends much of her ordinary days getting to know her winsome 20-month old daughter and seeing the world through her eyes. She loves learning about everyday simplicity and authenticity, which she shares in her blog, A Nourishing Home.
Meatloaf is one of those warm comforting meal for cold weather, and a delicious satisfying meal at our house. Combining grass-fed beef, homemade bread crumbs, pastured eggs, and raw milk, and you have a full nutritious protein meal. We like to side this dinner with mashed potatoes and a fresh salad.
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup bread crumbs (or make your own)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp rubbed sage
dash of pepper
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup rapadura/sucanat, maple syrup (or 1/4 cup honey)
1 tsp vinegar
1. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk, breadcrumbs, onion, salt, sage, and pepper. Add beef and mix well.
2. Shape into an 8-1/2 in x 4-1/2 in. loaf in an ungreased shallow loaf pan.
3. Combine remaining ingredients (sweetener, ketchup and vinegar); spread the mixture over meat loaf.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until no longer pink; drain.
5. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
This article was written by Passionate Homemaking’s monthly contributor, Ann Dunagan.
I’ve always had this “thing” for baby feet. I pull off darling shoes, and little newborn socks, and just want to kiss each of those tiny toes! I always ponder where a baby’s precious feet will go, and about God’s destiny and purpose for each new life. But speaking as a mother, what happens when our kids grow up, and God perhaps would call our sons, or our DAUGHTERS, to dangerous places?
Ann & daughter, Christi
Our oldest daughter, Christi, recently climbed a mountain barefoot. She didn’t want to wear out her TOMS, which incidentally are shoes produced by a company to help impoverished kids . . . . who don’t have shoes. These dirty feet (pictured above) actually give a pretty clear glimpse of our daughter.
Christi’s always dreamed of daring things for God. She’s grown up on a steady diet of missionary biographies — Amy Carmichael, Gladys Aylward, Florence Nightingale, Lottie Moon, and Elisabeth Elliot; but she’s done more than merely read about godly self-sacrificing women. Christi’s been living-out her own mission adventure story, as she’s also continually dreaming about the future.
The Bible says, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” - Romans 10:15
I want to be a mom who encourages each of my children to completely fulfill God’s destiny — not by my efforts, but by God’s GRACE!!!
My husband and I know that each of our sons, and our DAUGHTERS, have been entrusted by God into our family to be raised FOR HIM and His mission-minded and eternal purposes. We want each of our kids, including each son and each DAUGHTER, to fully obey God’s call and purpose for his or her life. Sometimes, as a caring and loving mom (who remembers kissing my babies’ feet and tucking away their precious hand-knitted booties for the next generation), that can be challenging and stretching . . . but oh, what a JOY!!!!
Our daughter, Christi
Here are a few pictures of our daughter on a mission outreach in East Africa. Christi was instrumental in helping to establish two orphanages in Uganda, East Africa, currently caring for over 700 children orphaned primarily by AIDS. During her last year at home, Christi worked tirelessly in our ministry office, coordinating child sponsors and sharing needs. She’s traveled the globe to share the Gospel and to help others; but her passion for people who need Jesus is just as fervent here in the United States. She loves to mentor young women, to pray for those who are hurting, and to speak out for world missions!
As mothers in God’s kingdom, we need to raise our daughters to love Jesus AND to realize that multitudes of God’s precious daughters throughout the world desperately need all the motherly-and-sisterly-love we can give, along with our sacrificial prayer and help.
Rescuing one of God’s Girls . . . in Uganda, East Africa
When Christi was 15-years-old, she wrote a powerful orphan essay about the needs of one abused girl, named Jennifer, and this essay was only the beginning of God stirring His compassion in our daughter’s heart.
Here is a picture of this rescued girl today (four years after Christi wrote the article). Jennifer continues to live with our dear friends, Naboth and Alice, and is a vital testimony of God’s hand on these orphan children. The most recent report is so beautiful.
Naboth wrote:
Jennifer is now in primary four. She sleeps and “feeds” at our home, and is very bright and hard working. She “leads praising” in Sunday school. Her hope and happiness is restored, as God has healed her wounds.
Ministering to God’s Girls in Cambodia
As for Christi, she’s now in her final semester at a Christian university, writing her senior paper on the horrible issues surrounding child prostitution, human trafficking and the necessary process of healing after sexual abuse. She’s also preparing to be an assistant team leader for an upcoming two-month summer mission to Cambodia, to minister to young girls (our precious sisters in Jesus) rescued out of the sex trade.
Sometimes, we selectively read God’s word. In Proverbs 31, our Bible studies focus on the “lovely” verses regarding beauty and virtue, but miss the need for godly compassion and justice. As virtuous women, our households are to be “clothed in scarlet” (protected by the blood of Jesus, for perhaps dangerous assignments). We’re to extend our “hand to the needy” and to train our daughters — as a voice for the speechless, the dying, and the lost — to fear the Lord.
Here are my favorite Proverbs 31 verses:
“Open your mouth for the speechless, for the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth and judge righteously, and plead for the cause of the poor and the needy.”
Proverbs 31:8-9
As a longtime homeschooling mom (finishing my 19th year) I’m aware of accusations concerning homeschooled children who’ve been isolated and sheltered from reality.
And I confess:
We have protected our children from compromising friends, sinful lifestyles, and wasteful distractions. We have kept our kids “sheltered” in prayer by the powerful blood of Jesus Christ. And we have rejected the reality of low expectations. However, through our homeschooling freedom we’ve actually exposed our children — with oversight and spiritual protection — to horrendous realities in our world. As a result, our older children are now helping to IMPACT the darkness with the light of our wonderful Lord!
Being a godly mother can be a daring assignment.
May we accept our mission in faith, not fear! May God’s goodness flow through us and our family, and through each of son and each DAUGHTER.
May we raise DARING daughters who follow God’s purposes, in complete submission to Him, with fervent love . . . and perhaps, with dirty feet.
And as moms, may we be DARING too!
For what mission are you raising your children to accomplish today?
Ann Dunagan is a longtime homeschooling mother of 7 (ages 9 to 23, with 3 graduates), an international speaker with Harvest Ministry, co-founder of two orphanages in East Africa (caring for over 700 children), and author of several books including The Mission-Minded Family. With a passion for the Lord and the lost, Ann motivates families for world missions.
This was a traditional family breakfast meal during my childhood, and we loved it! I would love watching through the oven door window as these pancakes would puff up beautifully while baking. Served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice and maple syrup is simply scrumptious. Now we have adapted our family favorite recipe for soaking to include the benefit of breaking down the phytates in the grain to make it more readily digestible for your body. Scrumptious! If desired, you can avoid soaking, and simply beat 1 cup milk (in replacement of the acid medium) with 1 cup sprouted flour after beating the eggs. Both methods work well.
1 cup acid medium – whole milk kefir, yogurt, or combination of water and lemon juice (for dairy intolerant) – I have not tried this with the water method, so you would have to experiment
1 cup whole wheat flour, spelt or kamut (as desired)
4-5 large eggs (free range/pastured is our preference), as desired
1/3 cup coconut oil and butter (any combination)
dash of vanilla extract
Combine acid medium and whole wheat flour. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. When you are ready to serve, heat oven to 425 degrees. Place oil/butter in small chunks in a 15×11 inch glass baking pan. Place pan in oven to melt. Meanwhile, beat eggs in a blender for 1 minute. Add soaked flour mixture and beat again for 1 minute. Add dash of vanilla extract. Pull out the baking pan from oven and rotate around to spread the melted butter/oil around to cover the entire bottom of pan. Slowly pour the pancake batter into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown and fluffy. Enjoy!
For the past few years in my pursuit of natural living, I have been stumped by the ever increasing toilet bowl ring stains and water/soap scum buildup in my shower. Natural cleaners just were not working real effectively for me for these issues (and I tried vinegar, oxygen bleach, hydrogen peroxide, etc). I wanted to avoid chlorine bleach or comet, but that seemed like the only solution, otherwise, just live with it, I thought.
I also have had difficultly finding an easy, natural, and effective means of scrubbing my stainless steel cookware clean. And lastly, the stove top loves to accumulate dried food particles that get caked thoroughly on.
My solution? Enter…Stainless Steel Scrubbers. They do not rust or splinter, are frugal ($2.50 for 2 on Amazon), can be easily disinfected (throw them in the dishwasher or laundry), and do not accumulate food particles like so many other scrubbers. With a little elbow grease, these scrubbers rid me completely of toilet bowl stains and shower scum, leaving me with sparkling clean results. My husband was absolutely thrilled. I had no idea how these things had annoyed him so, and yet he patiently endured all my experimenting.
I now keep one scrubber by the kitchen sink for all my dish washing, and one in the cleaning bucket. They will not last indefinitely, but so far mine have held up very well after three months of daily use. I understand they also work well for scrubbing BBQ’s and cleaning garden tools, shop tools, etc. I am sure you can come up with some more ideas. I did not experience any noticeable scratching on my porcelain, but use with caution and test a small unnoticeable area first.
My cleaning bucket has really simplified as of late. A stainless steel scrubber, my enviro cloth, oxygen bleach (for disinfecting the toilet), an old toothbrush (for those nooks and crannies) and a toilet bowl brush. Ahh! Simplicity…
What frugal tools have you found for effective natural cleaning?
The following post comes to you by Passionate Homemaking’s monthly contributor, Kat.
Would you like more time in your day? Would you like to stop nagging your children to do their chores? Would you like a more peaceful home with less effort?
Effective daily routines can make it all possible.
The Power of Routine
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Don’t work harder, work smarter.” Planning and creative thinking allows us to do more with less time and less effort.
Successful people subscribe to the power of routine. Whether it’s an athlete going through her workout routine or a business woman who has developed a process that allows her company to run even in her absence. Every successful business and organization has time tested and finely tuned routines and processes. If we want to be effective and intentional mothers, we need to create systems that work for us.
Taking the time to develop a routine frees up our time and our brains. We can use our routines to easily delegate responsibilities to others and teach our children. Or we can create routines so that our brain power can be focused on other activities like listening to an audiobook, a podcast or our favorite music while we do our chores.
Here are 3 key routines that will reduce your stress and increase your free time.
Get A Chef – Routines for Meals
We have all heard how helpful meal planning can be, but the process of creating all the menus and shopping lists can be quite daunting. For many, it’s hard to stick it out long enough to see the payoff.
The truth about meal planning is that you don’t have to do it every single week. The key is to create 8-12 plans and then just rotate them.
All you need to do is take 1 hour each week to plan your meals. Create your recipe and shopping list and save it on your computer. After 6-8 weeks, you’ll be able to cut your weekly meal planning time by 90% because rather than having to do a full meal plan each week, you can simply grab one you’ve already created and head to the store.
Another option is to have a meal planning party. Invite 8-12 friends over and have each of them prepare a week’s worth of simple, healthy, tasty meal recipes and a corresponding categorized shopping list. Ask them to bring 1 copy for everyone in attendance. At the party you’ll all exchange meal plans/shopping lists and you’ll leave with two to three months worth of meal plans that you can rotate. Voila.
Get A Maid – Routines for Cleaning
Some people clean best in one weekly spurt. Others do it best little by little. The first step is to decide which method works for you. Then write out your cleaning schedule. It may seem silly to write down that you’ll mop the floor on Thursday or dust on Tuesday, but the process of writing down those simple tasks releases your brain to think about other things rather than keep track of the minutiae of cleaning. The more tasks you can get out of your head and into a schedule, the less stressed you’ll be.
First, list the specific chores that make the biggest impact on the peacefulness and presentation of your home. Then highlight the areas of your house that need the most focus.
Too often when cleaning, we get stuck on the task and lose sight of the big picture. For example, we might need to clean the master bathroom and because we have all the bathroom cleaning supplies out, we take the time to clean ALL the bathrooms. In reality, though, that half bath RARELY gets used and doesn’t need to be cleaned at all and that extra 15 minutes could have been used more effectively.
So when creating our cleaning routine, it’s important to really sit down and think about the chores that will have the biggest impact so that we can focus our time and energy accordingly.
With this list in hand, create a core cleaning chart for the day, week, month, quarter and year.
Yes, it will take some time initially (30 minutes to an hour), but it will save you MUCH more time in the long run.
Get A Nanny – Routines for Your Children
This is the set of routines that have helped me the most. I have three young children and directing all of them towards going to school or getting ready for bed can often leave me longing for the peaceful bliss of working the Air Traffic Control tower at LaGuardia Airport on Christmas Eve while all the power is out. Blindfolded.
My children relied on me to direct and motivate them. And it took every ounce of patience I had. And more.
But then (cue skies parting, sun shining down and angels singing) I simply created a chart that walks them through their routines. Now they have discovered the joy of checking things off a list, accomplishing chores and feeling less like puppets and more like grown ups.
Word Of Caution
Just as a hired cook, maid or nanny should not come into your home and disrupt your family or negatively affect your relationships, we need to make sure our routines work for us and not let them control us. Introduce routines in a positive way. Make it fun and exciting and ALWAYS put your relationships above the routine. Be flexible.
Action Step
Mark off a 3-5 hour block of time on your calendar this week (or use your weekly planning retreat time) to work on creating your routines.
Conclusion
When we feel overwhelmed, routines provide a simple way to find our footing again. Routines can literally free up HOURS each week and help you create the warm, peaceful home you desire. It does take time to plan them, but the reward in the long run is well worth it.
What tips do you have to share for creating effective routines?
Kat blogs at Inspired To Action, a site dedicated to helping moms develop the habits and skills they need to effectively manage their homes and raise children who are prepared to change the world. Kat and her husband Jimmy live the great state of Texas and have 3 children ages 7, 5 and 2. Kat loves music, running, technology, Jesus and Tex-Mex food. Not necessarily in that order.
Bread Making Kit ($39.99 value):
Thank you to 
Thank you to FBS Books for your sponsorship of Passionate Homemaking for April!
This was a traditional family breakfast meal during my childhood, and we loved it! I would love watching through the oven door window as these pancakes would puff up beautifully while baking. Served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice and maple syrup is simply scrumptious. Now we have adapted our family favorite recipe for soaking to include the benefit of breaking down the phytates in the grain to make it more readily digestible for your body. Scrumptious! If desired, you can avoid soaking, and simply beat 1 cup milk (in replacement of the acid medium) with 1 cup sprouted flour after beating the eggs. Both methods work well.
