I probably should have posted this last weekend. Today I’m prepping to bake a turkey. Before I do any baking, I make sure that my oven is clean—especially when baking something for a really long time like a turkey. I want you to go look at your oven. Is it clean? I try to keep mine clean all the time. When it’s cool, if I know something spilled, I clean it up right away. And before I turn on the oven, I give it a once-over visually and a scrub if it needs some scrubbing before I begin to bake. I have done this for decades so it is a habit and it doesn’t ever get really dirty. I have that time ..read more

This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day. Have you ever thought about the origin of Mother’s Day? Well, the Internet makes that easy to find these days. So, I checked it out. Be sure to read to the end. There is a surprising twist to the Mother’s Day story, and my thoughts after that. The History of Mother’s Day The first recorded celebration or holiday of sorts was the Christianization of a holiday held by the Greeks and Romans honoring their mother goddesses. The Christian holiday was held on the fourth Sunday in Lent and originally honored only Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Later it extended to ..read more

I’ve been reading about “stripping” your laundry for a year or two now. I’m sure you’ve seen it somewhere. If not, just Google it. It involves putting towels, sheets, and other clothes that just don’t seem to get clean in the bathtub and soaking them in a variety of cleaning agents: washing soda, borax, etc. I Wondered Why I wondered why anyone would  this. But after some thought, and especially after buying some washing machine cleaning tablets that did nothing, I realized my old-school habits keep my clothes and washer clean. Old-School Laundry Techniques I grew up in an era where my g ..read more

When I homeschooled my daughter, we had a number of field guides and bird identification audio CDs. It was such a fun thing to do. And there are so many ways that you can tie appreciating nature with learning. It won’t even seem like learning. Kiddopedia has a YouTube video that’s very straightforward – a picture of the bird, its name is spoken, then their song. The sound quality is very good. I cat tested it. My cats came running and one of them wanted my phone. He just knew I was hiding a bird behind it (he’s now watching “Cat TV” – YouTube videos of birds by Paul Denning). Learn at Home W ..read more

The Industrious Homemaker is a Prepared Homemaker. I did a post on creating a document for pet care earlier this week. Today the document I want you to prepare is one that lists all your monthly bill-paying data in case someone would need to step in and manage your finances. Banking Information I created a spreadsheet that listed all my banking information. Why a spreadsheet? Because I don’t “touch” any of my normal bills anymore. Almost everything is done directly through auto-withdrawals or bank checks. Someone besides me needs to know what bills are paid automatically, when, the amount, and ..read more

Today it’s raining in my area, so I won’t be going outside and doing anything outside. My garden area was cleaned the other day in the sun and warmth, but today I’ll be inside. Time to turn to indoor activities. Fun For All Ages The internet wasn’t around when my daughter was small, and it was still in its infancy while she was a teen. But today you can find loads of things to do online. Some of them aren’t good, but others are educational and fun. Because I homeschooled, I can think of many ways to make seemingly time-wasting activities educational. Today I want to introduce you to two very ..read more

Nicole over at Gardenary will be doing a workshop TODAY at 2 PM Central Time called, Kickstart Your Kitchen Garden. Here’s a teaser of what she will be teaching: In this LIVE Workshop, Nicole Burke, author of Kitchen Garden Revival will be sure you know exactly how to: Choose the best location in your own yard Discover the simplest way to set up your garden Create great organic soil & support for your garden Plan quick win crops to grow right away We’ll be LIVE together this Wednesday, March 25 at 2 PM. Nicole will teach you a clear four-step process to set up your kitchen garden and gi ..read more

In the wake of the “Stay at Home” orders that some states or communities have issued means that many more people are working remotely. There are some safety protocols that Staying Safe Online is recommending. Plus some experienced Working From Home (WFH) people have offered some advice for working from home. Staying Safe Online Recommendations Stay Safe Online has a PDF tipsheet of ways to stay safe while working from home. Click on the link below. Security Tips for Remote Workers Do These Recommendations Apply to Me? Some may apply to you and some may not. When I had to work remotely, I lo ..read more

A great homemaker is a Prepared Homemaker. While no one was really prepared for this Corona Virus – Covid-19, a prepared homemaker has systems in place for the unexpected. When Covid-19 hit our area, I heard about two cases in the next county over. The next day I learned they were my second cousin and his wife. My second cousin was in the hospital with it. That got me thinking about being even more prepared just in case I suddenly had to go into the hospital. Caring For Your Pets Today we’re making a prep list for our pets. I keep a petsitter list on my computer. When I go on vacation, I just ..read more

While the kids are home, it’s a great time to teach them some cooking skills. My friend Katie at Kids Cook Real Food is offering 2-month membership for just $19, starting with two weeks totally free (she said that the software requires them to take a credit card right away, which stinks, but you can cancel with one click of a button before 14 days). This class uses professionally filmed videos with kids in them, all sorts of ages, to teach your kids stove top safety, the nuances of reading and following a recipe well, and even how to cook dry beans and rice (one of those skills that might se ..read more