Greening Up Self Care and Soap

Hello gentle readers. Today I am writing a slightly different post. For those who know me, one of my other interests is my attempt to be an Eco-holic so that I can try to do my part to become environmentally conscious and responsible. To begin, I would like to introduce you to 2 great environmental web sites and organization that have the planet's and humanity's interests at heart. The first is the David Suzuki Foundation and the second is the EWG. Both of these groups are working to make the world a better place. 

David Suzuki is the co-founder of the David Suzuki foundation, a non-profit foundation which is a group that works with government, businesses and everyday Canadians to conserve our environment and find solutions that will create a sustainable Canada through science-based research, education and policy work. Essentially, the goal is to help us see what we can do to stop destroying our world. He has spent a life time devoted to educating people about the wonderful ways of nature. He has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and provide solutions. 

The EWG is a non-profiit and non-partisan organisation dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. The EWG focusses in 6 general areas: toxics, food, agriculture, children’s health, energy, and water. Both of these groups and those that are committed to working with them are working hard to make our planet cleaner, safer, and sustainable.

If you have been following my blog, you know that I have been working to improve what goes IN my body, both for health, ethical, and environmental reasons. Today, I would like to write about what goes ON my body. Over the past few years, I have been a lot more mindful of the scary things found in our self-care/beauty products. I find it astounding that this industry is not regulated in North America. The institutions that are supposed to protect us from questionable ingredients and products are turning a blind eye and letting the Maybelline's, P&G's and the Johnson and Johnson's of the world sell us products that are harmful to us and the world in which we live. Making money and a handsome profit is paramount regardless of the end results.

It is important that we work diligently to adopt a greener lifestyle. One of the areas to do this would be to green up your beauty and self care products. I try very hard to avoid ingredients found on the "Dirty Dozen" chemical list: ingredients that are strongly suspected of being endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, or causing cancer. Many are harmful to fish and other wildlife. There are chemical fragrances linked to cancer and neurotoxicity, and the list goes on. The side effects of these ingredients don't sounds so great to me, and it's perfectly OK for companies to put these ingredients in your lotions, soaps, and make up. YIKES! I think I will take a pass and look for better, greener and more sustainable choices.

Unlike Europe, the beauty and self care industry is unregulated in North America and the manufactures of these products can put almost anything in them. I wonder why there is such a difference in what is considered safe. Certainly our scientists are just as clever as the ones overseas. Then why are they not standing up to say the chemical additives in our beauty and self care products are bad for us? I don't have the answer, but it certainly is puzzling.

It is also mind boggling to go down the soap and shampoo aisles at the store. I can't get over the sheer volume of products just to clean ourselves, which I daresay are pretty much the same products no matter the brand; just minor differences and packaged in a different plastic bottle. And let's not forget about all that plastic. Why is it that soap has to come in a plastic bottle anyway?  Is it really that difficult to rub a wet bar of soap in your hands to lather up? I guess what I'm trying to say is, an easy way to green up your self care and beauty products is to consider the packaging. Is it plastic? Is it excessive? Are there better alternatives? Green beauty is as much about HOW it is packaged as it is WHAT is packaged.

Unfortunately, many companies hide behind the terms "trade secret" or "proprietary" so that they don't have to share the ingredients with those of us who would really like to know what we are slathering all over ourselves. If you are interested in finding out how safe (or unsafe) your favourite shampoo, lotion or mascara is, I highly recommend the Skin Deep database run by the EWG. It will give you the low down on what is in your products and how safe it is.  By the by, EWG also has a database for your favourite cleaning products too. Sadly, most of these are pretty scary. Myself, I'm a firm believer in white vinegar, baking soda, and castile soap. Please check out Queen of Green on the David Suzuki Foundation site! Anyway... that is another topic. Back to the beauty and self care.

The main purpose of my post today is to ask each of you to invest some time to learn a little more about the dirty secrets of the beauty and self care industry and check out a few of the links I have shared. Weigh the pros and cons of greening up your products and see what you can do to minimize your health risks and make better choices regarding what you put on your bodies. 

Once you have decided to do a little green cleaning, there is good news! There are more and more healthier and safer self care/beauty care products available on the market. Just be mindful of "green washing". Sadly, many of the conventional manufacturers of beauty and self care products will say their product is "natural" or "contains natural ingredients" just to snag business from those wanting safer ingredients. Although there may be natural ingredients, you will still find many scary chemicals in the product as well. As with food, reading the labels will be the key to successfully greening up! Remember to stay away from the Dirty Dozen!

Yes, natural or eco-friendly products have slightly more expensive price tags than the conventional ones, but I am a firm believer that the quality of ingredients is BETTER and SAFER and worth the cost. As with the food industry, food that is ethically and organically raised/grown is generally a little more expensive, but the end result is better food and better for your health, better for the environment and it allows for a kinder world. Safe shampoos, makeup and lotions, at a slightly higher price points equals better health and ultimately, a better planet. A WIN for all! 

I have touched on why I think it is important to consider the benefits of green beauty. Better and safer ingredients means less cancer and illness; less pollution; ethical sourcing and ultimately, a healthier planet. It's only the tip of the iceberg and I welcome you to investigate this topic in more detail for yourself. Please, check out the EWG and the Suzuki Foundation. I also highly recommend the books written by Adria Vasil. Adria also has an excellent web site too. Join me and become and Eco-holic too - even if it's only part-time. A little something is better than nothing. There is so much more to saving our planet than just the blue boxes and the green bins.

Michelle's Go-To Soaps

My first step to green up my beauty and self care products was to fix up my soap. We have always been a ZERO body wash family in my house because I couldn't stand the idea of all that plastic. Over the past several years, I have stocked a variety of  better bar soaps so now the ingredients are better for me and my family as well as the planet.

My absolute favourite brand of natural soap is Ground Soap which is available on line and made in Cornwall, Ontario. I really LOVE these soaps! They are luxurious, gentle on me and eco friendly. They make so many different kinds, you can find one, or two or three that work with your skin type or your specific needs.

Upside: Canadian Made, minimal and re-useable fabric packaging that you can save for crafts or whenever you need a small square of beautiful fabric, natural vegetable ingredients, the products are 95% to 99% certified organic, and natural essential oils are used for scent. There is even a bar that has no added scent at all. These cold pressed soaps are paraben, sulphate free and cruelty free and completely biodegradable. Wow! Ground Soap bars are a generous 6.5 ounce size and last a very long time as long as you don't float your soap or let it sit in water for long periods of time. 

As an aside, cold process is the method of soap making that Ground Soap uses. It allows for all of the moisturizing and healing properties in the ingredients once the the soap is made. A definite plus!

Downside: I really haven't found any, but because these are made with natural ingredients, these soaps "melt" a little faster than conventional soap when they are allowed to stay wet or sit in a pool of water. For this reason, I have a separate soap dish for them that we take in and out of the shower with us.

Aum Bar -  INGREDIENTS: Organic Olea Europaea (olive) oil, Organic Cocos Nucifera (coconut) oil, Water (aqua), Organic Mangifera Indica (mango) seed butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (shea butter) fruit, Theobroma Organic Cacao (cocoa) seed butter, Pogostemon Cablin (patchouli) oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (orange) peel oil, Allantoin, Prunus Serotina (wild cherry) bark powder, Pogostemon Cablin (patchouli) leaves, Vanilla Planifolia (vanilla) powder

 

My second go to brand is made by The Soap Works. When I first started looking for a soap alternative, I discovered The Soap Works brand at the Bulk Barn here in Ontario, but I believe they are available in Bulk Barns across Canada. The Soap Works also has places to buy on their site. I initially chose this product because of the lack of extra packaging and price point. Upon further research, I was happy to discover that these soaps were free from a lot of the toxins I had been reading up on, so I have continued to use this soap regularly.

Upside: Canadian Made, minimal packaging and you buy what you need; no phosphates or lauryl sulphates; better ingredients than conventional manufacturers, phosphate free and not tested on animals. Years ago, I emailed them with a list of bad ingredients found on the "Dirty Dozen" chemical list and with 2 exceptions, a clean bill of health. A great starting point to green up if you suffer from sticker shock when looking at the BEST alternatives. These bars cost a little more than the conventional and over-packaged offerings on the market, but much cheaper than the higher quality and organic offerings. An excellent way to test the waters so to speak or for those on super tight budgets who would also like to use safer products.

Downside: The sourcing of ingredients is not as pristine as I would like and many of their products use palm oil, which of course encourages clearcutting and habitat decimation for Orangutans. NOT a good thing! The sourcing of the of the sodium tallowate is ecologically questionable as well. Some, but not all, of the product offerings contain artificial colour and coal tar extract.

Overall, a decent option, not a great option, but certainly better than P&G's Ivory Soap which has been greenwashed to be "natural". This soap, like so many on the market is filled with petrochemicals, hormone-disrupting fragrances and preservatives as well as rainforest-razing palm oil. YUCK.

In our house, we primarily use the Tea Tree Oil and the  Chamomile soaps.

The Tea Tree Oil soap is an excellent bar for every day showers. It is particularly good to clean "stinky guy" after he has toiled outside for the day and "teenager feet" due to the astringent, antiseptic and antifungal cleaning properties of Tea Tree oil.   

Tea Tree Oil Bar - INGREDIENTS: Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Palm Kernel Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Melaleuka Alternifolia (Australian Tea Tree Oil) Leaf Oil

The Camomile soap is especially good for oily and acne prone skin, but not overly drying.   

Camomile Bar - INGREDIENTS: Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Palm Kernel Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract (Chamomile flower), Beta Carotene Colour, Yellow Iron Oxide, Parfum (Orange*, Clove*, Cedarleaf*, Rosemary*) *essential oils

A great way to store your soap is in beautiful canisters in your bathroom. 

My goal today was to pique your interest and open your mind to the idea that we should all look a little deeper into what companies ("family company" or not) are selling us, especially the companies that are part of unregulated industries like beauty and self care. We need to be knowledgeable and pro-active and deserve to know exactly what we are putting ON or IN our bodies. I truly hope you will give Ground Soap a try. This is an amazing company with wonderful product. If you aren't ready to dive into the world of handmade soaps, the Soap Works brand is well worth your time and may fall into a more comfortable price point. There are many varieties from which to choose. Whichever brand you choose, I think you will agree that this is a good first step to green up your beauty and personal care products!

Eat In, Eat Real, On Budget & Chicken Stock

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Muffins, perfect to make ahead and freeze. Recipe on the blog!

When I went from working part time to full time. I started doing a lot of the planning things so that I could maintain my sanity. I knew that eating real food was non-negotiable. There was no way that I was going to buy made for me meals in the grocery store or do take out. Sadly, I also found that working everyday really cut into my cooking hobby. In order that I continue to love cooking, I needed to get super organized. Over time, I worked out my meal planning and shopping system. I became diligent at keeping track of what is in my freezer, fridge and pantry and I started to do a great deal of meal prep work one day of the weekend. It's so nice not having to think about "what's for dinner" while driving home... I already know! It's nice to know that I have everything I need in my house to get meals together for the family and that we will be eating real food and on budget. So yes, I actually do the things I talk about in my blog! A little time spent organizing and planning is time well spent when it reduces stress and makes coming home after work a breeze! For those of you who find cooking to be a chore, trying these strategies may result in you finding out that cooking can be a little more enjoyable and definitely less stressful.

 

Last June, my full time contract ended and I was, again, unemployed. We were back to a single income household. As I told you before, I am the queen of saving and frugal, perhaps, to a fault. I am happy to say, that my great-grandmother would be proud of me. You see, she raised a family of 3 children, on her own, and through the Great Depression in a drought on the Canadian Prairies. She told me stories of how thrifty she had to be, just to get by. My dad told me that my grandfather use to say "it's not what you make, it's what you spend". Apparently, penny pinching is in my genes, so with job hunting not going so well, it was time to see just how much pinching I could do with my pennies (I guess that's nickels since we don't have pennies in Canada any more)! Don't get me wrong, my family and I are not in dire straights or anything, but it seems to me that with all the price increases and uncertainty of our economy, that it wouldn't hurt to figure out how to save money and stretch that dollar as far as possible. With that said, I think that no matter what your income or socio-economic background, you owe it to yourself, to the Earth, and to future generations to be budget conscious and not wasteful in all that you do... and not just the kitchen.

Food Management Strategies
On my last post I talked about preparing a meal plan for the week based on your sale items in the flyer and what you already have on hand. When doing up your meal plan and shopping list, it's easy to take a quick peek to see what you already have in the pantry and fridge. The chest freezer may be another story all together. If you are like me, you may lose track of what food you have in the freezer because older foods get buried at the bottom and then forgotten. To overcome long, lost food, I organized my freezer into food category zones like lunch snacks (banana bread, muffins, cookies, and the like), meat, veggies, fruit, bread, etcetera. I also started to keep an inventory list of all items in the freezer. When I use something, I cross it off the list; when I put something into the freezer, I add it to the list. I like to make my freezer inventory list and date it. To help make this system work, it is key to make sure my additions and deductions from the list are accurate, otherwise, I will have to root around in the freezer regularly which is such a time waster!  Also, I make sure to date the freezer items so that I use the older items first. If one stays on top of what is in the fridge, pantry, and freezer, it will be so much easier to plan the meals and do the weekly shopping. With proper tracking, you won't end up with unnecessary extras because you buy something "just in case"; freezer items won't get forgotten and freezer burned; and all the fresh produce in the fridge will get used before turning into biological experiments. Ultimately, you won't over spend on needless extras; you will save money because you are buying exactly what you need, when you need it and you won't be wasting food because it got forgotten and spoiled.

 

Although my freezer inventory list isn't completely fool proof, it does help a lot! I usually do a complete inventory every 6 months or when I have to defrost my freezer since I have to empty it anyway. This helps keep the inventory list accurate to compensate for items I occasionally forget to add or subtract.

How you track your freezer inventory, or write your menu plan, or write your shopping list is up to you. Using a good old fashioned pen and paper list works well, or even a check list app on your smart phone. Ultimately, you need to find what works best for you. Perhaps it's 100% pen and paper; perhaps it's 100% digital or something in between. Whatever you decide upon, remember you need 3 things accomplished: 1) A menu plan for the week, 2) A shopping list for only the ingredients you NEED, and 3) To use up the ingredients you have tucked away in your fridge, freezers, and pantry. Bottom line, the idea is to make a menu plan that uses up what you have in the house before it spoils and to take advantage of sale items in the weekly grocery flyer. This way, you save money because you don't waste food AND because you take advantage of sales.

 

Just a quick comment about your fridge and pantry. I highly recommend that you take some time and go through your fridge and panty and do a serious edit and purge. Toss out any expired items or items you know you will not use. De-cluttering is therapeutic and it allows you to see what you have on hand more efficiently. Anything to make meal planning and shopping easier is a WIN for you!

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Take advantage of "cook once, eat twice or even thrice"! This strategy saves both time and money. It doesn't cost a whole lot more in utilities or time to cook a double batch of something. YAY to saving money on the household bills too! It can be a great time saver and money saver to plan a Sunday meal that is large like a roast of pork or a couple of chickens or a double batch of marinara, or two lentil/walnut loaves or two chicken stews. Plan to serve your super sized meal again later in the week as is, or "ditto" as we call it in my house. You can make it new again with some new side dishes or re-invent it as another dish all together. For example, a roast of pork can be served as a Sunday dinner with a mix of roasted veggies like potatoes, beets, carrots, and butternut squash, a side of steamed broccoli, apple sauce and gravy. Later in the week, you can serve this meal again by reheating the main components in the microwave or carefully in the oven and warming the gravy on the stove top OR you can make a veggie stir fry and toss in the leftover roast pork, cubed to reheat at the end. Perhaps one of your planned weeknight meals is pasta with marinara sauce and sautéed veggies.

Make a triple batch and split amongst containers. You will have one for the meal this week, one to freeze for another night next week or when you are especially rushed and then divide the remainder in 1 cup servings to be used for homemade pizza. I usually simmer this marinara further till it thickens enough to "mound" on a spoon. You can make your own pizza dough or use store bought whole grain pitas. I recommend Pita Break pitas made by Ozery Bakery because they don't use preservatives or miscellaneous chemicals. If you have made a second lentil/walnut Loaf, you can crumble the second one up for Taco Tuesday or stir some into your marinara for a vegan spaghetti meat sauce. You can add a few more mixed frozen veggies to the chicken stew, thin it with a little more chicken stock and serve it up as soup. Oh, the possibilities by planning ahead!

 

Meatless or Reduced Meat Meals

There are so many reasons to consider more meatless meals. Some of these include that we are not getting enough veggies and far too much animal protein in our diets, or our quest for an abundance of meat has resulted in unethical factory farming practices or excessive greenhouse gas production, just to name a few. However, more relevant to the theme of this blog post, plant based protein is SO economical, especially in comparison to even the most economical meat in the grocery store. A bag of beans or lentils can provide a lot of really affordable protein, a lot of bang for the buck I would say! Even if you aren't ready to dive into 100% plant based meals, stretching your animal protein with some plant based will also help stretch your grocery dollar. When I make my traditional Québécois Tourtière, I <shudder and gasp!> sneak in a little green lentil; when I make a spaghetti meat sauce, I sneak in a little quinoa or red lentil with a whole lot of diced veggies; when we have burritos, I make sure that there are some re-fried beans to accompany the half batch of seasoned ground meat. In addition to mixing plant based protein with meat, we also eat completely meatless meals. Introducing meat free meals to an omnivorous family can be a challenge, but I have found a handful of completely plant based meals that please the palates of my omnivorous family. Even a vegetarian based meal like a veggie frittata (Italian egg omelette), easy on the cheese, is a welcome and budget friendly option. If you are looking for cool ways to incorporate more plant based protein into your recipes, check out Canadian Lentils. They have a wonderful website that shows you how to add these little Canadian grown gems into your diet. You can never go wrong by saving some money AND getting some extra fibre into your family!

 

Your Freezer Is Your Friend
One of the easiest ways to help stay on budget is to not waste food. Embrace your freezer and take advantage of preserving raw and already cooked foods. It's a good thing we just talked about keeping a freezer inventory list!  Freezers are great to stock up on really well priced sale items, assuming your weekly budget allows for it. Just remember to date and keep a good inventory. Meat, cheese, certain fruits, herbs and breads all freeze well, just be mindful to use the oldest items first. As we talked about, cooking larger amounts and freezing part of it for another day is a great way to save time and money, but don't underestimate the value of your freezer for preserving leftovers.

 

Don't throw out those smaller portions of gravy or the single servings of meat or spaghetti sauce! Save these small portions in your freezer. Sometimes I have a little gravy left over after making a Sunday roast. Ok, for those of you who have witnessed me making gravy, I ALWAYS have leftover gravy, and lots of it. Instead of tossing it out, I freeze it in my silicon muffin cups and then put my gravy pucks into a freezer bag or sealed storage container. This allows me to have add gravy to a simple weeknight meal or to a casserole. I also do this for apple sauce, pesto, marinara, and even cheese sauce. Place the silicone cups into a muffin tin. Spoon in what you would like to freeze, smooth out the tops and freeze. Pop the pucks out of the silicone cups and place them into a plastic container or a freezer bag. When I need a condiment for a weeknight meal, I just have to grab however many "pucks" out of the freezer. SO convenient, made at home and without the chemicals too.

 

If I have single servings of never frozen before chilli, spaghetti or marinara sauce, I freeze and label it accordingly. This way, for occasions when a quick single serving is required, I have one on hand.  Even shepherd's/cottage pie can be put into a container upside-down for a single serving in the near future.

When I have a little extra chicken or turkey leftover, I chop it up, spread it out and freeze it on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. Once the meat is frozen, I can package it in a freezer bag. The meat cubes are loose and individually frozen so I can grab as much or as little out of the freezer to make chicken salad, or wraps, or whatever my heart desires. This also works with some kinds of fruit, including pineapple, berries, and bananas. I've even frozen apple slices, after a quick dip into a vinegar/water solution to prevent browning.

Another of my favourite freezer tricks is to use my scoops to freeze tomato paste and hummus. For the tomato paste balls, I use approximately a 1 tablespoon size which works out well since many recipes call for 1-2 tablespoons of it!

 

I usually use larger scoops for my hummus so each scoop is about 1 small serving. How convenient!

 

At Christmas time, I use a lot of egg yolks in recipes for our Christmas Eve Feast. Instead of throwing out those egg whites, I put them into a 500 or 750 mL jar for storage. I leave at least 1.5 inches of headspace and store them in a freezer. I label the jar to indicate how many egg whites are in it.

Sometimes I have a jar that only has two egg whites. As time passes, I occasionally prepare another recipe requiring only egg yolks, so I continue to add egg whites to the jar (adding fresh egg whites on top of the already frozen). At some point, perhaps 10-12 months later, I usually get a hankering for angel food cake, which takes 11 egg whites. Now I have the egg whites that I need to make the cake. I thaw these egg whites in the fridge overnight. When they have thawed, I leave them on the counter to get to room temperature for optimal whipping. No fuss... no muss!

 

Last, but not least, I love to make chicken stock. I used to make a large stove top stock pot full so I would have to save up my chicken carcasses. Where you might ask? Why, the freezer of course! Now I prefer to make it in my slow cooker.  I can fit 2 small carcasses plus veggies in my 3.5 L slow cooker. I end up with about two 750 mL jars and two 500 mL jars, with sufficient headspace, to freeze.

As of late, I have discovered that I can save up my scrubbed carrot peels, tops and ends of my celery and onions. I keep these bits in a bag in the freezer and use them in my stock. This way, only have to add a small amount of fresh veggies to the stock. Ultimately, I am minimizing the waste and using as much of my food as I can... even the scraps!

 

Not the prettiest of posts, but certainly it will be tasty in 12-24 hours or so!

 

I could go on with what and how I freeze things, but I think you get the idea. Take a look at what kinds of food you prepare. You may find several items that will freeze well, either as a make ahead meal or the leftovers. If you would like a tip or suggestion on freezing something specific, leave me a comment below or click the Ask Michelle button on the homepage of my blog. For now, I leave with you my Slow Cooker Chicken Stock.

I have a 3.5 L Cuisinart programmable slow cooker. If yours is smaller, you may only be able to use one chicken carcass and less water, but don't chintz out on the veggie scraps. There is a lot of flavour in them!

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

 

Ingredients

2 chicken carcasses

3-4 cups of saved up veggie scraps (onion ends, celery ends, carrot ends & thoroughly scrubbed carrot peels, garlic bits)*
1/2 fresh carrot, cut in thirds
1/2 fresh onion (depending on how many onion ends in the scrap bag)
1/2 stalk of celery, cut in thirds
2-3 peppercorns
6 sprigs fresh parsley **
2 fresh thyme sprigs **
2 bay leaf
2 tbsp raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar***
8-10 cups of water, or enough to completely cover the ingredients just to the ledge the lid sits on.

 

*    I use whatever "fits" in my slow cooker with the chicken carcasses, and the fresh veggies. Press everything down before adding the water.

**  In a pinch, when I don't have fresh herbs, I have used 1 tsp dried thyme leaves and 1 tbsp dried parsley. The dried herbs get caught in the sieve.

*** The raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar I like to use.

  

Method

 

Place chicken bones and apple cider vinegar in the slow cooker. Add thawed veggie scraps, fresh onions, celery, carrot, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Press down firmly. Pour in 8-10 cups water. Cover and cook on low for 12 hours. Sometimes, I even slow cook my stock for 24 hours.

 

Discard chicken bones, to the green bin if your community has this service. Strain stock through cheesecloth-lined sieve into large bowl, pressing vegetables to extract liquid. Ladle the stock into mason jars, leaving at least 1.5" of head space. We don't want any cracked jars. I like to use 750 mL jars, but if you would rather fill several 500 mL jars, that works too. Put the lids on and refrigerate until fat congeals on surface, about 8 hours or overnight if you wish.

 

Skim off the fat and discard. This can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month or so. If you don't use cheese cloth, make sure you are using a really fine meshed sieve to strain your stock.

You can use this stock in your favourite soups, stews, or stir fries. Just freeze the stock in the quantities you use most. Pictured below is a Shepherds Pie Soup from Canadian Living. I used my chicken stock instead of the beef broth called for in the recipe and snuck in some hidden healthy lentils too. Super tasty either way!



 

 

Eat In, Eat Real, On Budget & Ranch Dressing

I have always been quite frugal. As a child, I managed to keep my Christmas candy until almost Easter, my Easter candy till at least June, and my Halloween candy till Christmas. I managed this great feat not because we were given so much, but because I savoured each piece and wanted to make it last. Later, this saving thing extended to my piggy bank and ultimately to my bank account. I have always been budget conscious and not one to spend more than I made... I am a real saver, sadly, sometimes to a fault, but that is another story!

During my starving student days, I learned that cooking at home was far cheaper and better for me than eating out, despite the fact that my mom told me so, I had to discover it for myself. Stretching a dollar in the kitchen while not losing out on the quality of my meals became a badge of honour, even way back then. Now, while all grown up, with a family income far better than that of a starving student, my budget conscious self reigns supreme in my kitchen. I don't have to use a calculator while grocery shopping anymore for fear of spending more than the actual cash in my wallet, but I work diligently to stay within my budget while providing healthy meals and snack choices for my family.

Groceries are expensive and we have seen a drastic increase in the prices of real food. Sadly, a couple of red peppers, organic or not, cost more than the cardboard, sugar and chemical laden Pop Tarts in the breakfast aisle. Because my health and well being are important to me, I prefer to eat whole foods found in the perimeter of the grocery store. I buy very few processed, made for me foods, but when I do, I try to minimize the chemical additives and make sure these items have good nutrition profiles. Some of my go to products would include coconut, olive and grape seed oils, some breads, pitas and wraps, plain yogurt and a few condiments.

Given that food is becoming more expensive, I try very hard not to waste any of it. If I buy it, I want to make sure to eat it. Not wasting is one of my strategies for staying on budget. Buy it and use it, or just buy what you need. "Waste not; want not", I believe is the saying, and it is as relevant today as it was years ago when my parents used to say it to me. Mom and dad, I'm not rolling my eyes anymore!

Over the next few blog posts, I will share my favourite budget and time saving tips for eating real, not made in a factory kitchen, food. If you are the person in charge of meal making, and would like a glimpse into how I stretch a dollar in my kitchen and make time to prepare mostly real food, the next few posts are for you! Let me share my time saving and budget friendly tips with you.

My Top Tips To Eat Well and Stay on Budget - Part 1

ONE: Set A Budget
Set a monthly and weekly food budget. Your food budget is part of your variable household expenditures and the amount you set is dependant on how much of your family income is left after fixed costs like rent/mortgage, utilities, house insurance and car payment and insurance. The remainder of your monthly earnings is divided amongst variable expenses like transportation, groceries, medical/dental, clothing, entertainment/eating out and miscellaneous/other expenses like pets, charities, interests and hobbies. For more information on setting budgets, please visit my budgeting and family financial hero Gail VazOzlade. She has an excellent web site and some excellent books on balancing your budget, getting out of or staying out of debt!

While on the subject of budget, you should also get a feel for the cost of your usual grocery items. I know prices change, but getting a "feel" for how much your groceries cost will help with your budgeting process. Decide ahead of time what items need to be organic, or fair trade, or just conventionally grown/raised. Know that organic or fair trade will cost a little more, so it is important to take this into consideration. Realistically, a family of 6 will need a higher food budget than a family of 3. If you are dedicating most of your grocery dollars to real food, little to no money on take out or convenience items, you should be able to meet budget requirements if you work hard on getting the most bang for your buck by shopping the sale items, buying budget friendly foods (for example, ground beef instead of steak or house brand vs national brands for the occasional made for you products) and buying only what you need.

TWO: Know What's In Your Culinary Toolbox
Take some time to write down all the meals in your cooking repertoire. Prioritize them based on how much your family enjoys them and how long it takes to prepare. For example, the best loved and the speediest to make should be at the top of your list. You should also categorize these best loved meals based on weekend vs weekday meals, make ahead or make ahead components or super speedy (30-40 minutes, start to finish), and of course low, medium to high price points. It is also helpful to know which meals you can throw together off the top of your head. These are the meals you reserve for nights you need to be fast if you haven't got a made ahead meal or some of the components ready ahead of time and in the fridge. I have always found making a meal referencing a recipe takes a little longer to prepare than the ones I have committed to memory. If you have meals that you use a recipe for, I recommend that you copy them onto recipe cards or recipe binder and stored in one place. This will make your recipes easily accessible when you need them and assist in your planning process and during preparation time.

I do a general repertoire for breakfasts, lunches - both packed and stay at home lunches as well as snacks and desserts too. The better you know ALL the meals in your arsenal, we can call this your "culinary toolbox", the easier it will be to make your meal plans, prepare your meals and stay within budget.

THREE: Simple Can Be Better
When figuring out your meal repertoire, don't underestimate how simple meals can be satisfying and tasty. More importantly, cooking simple meals may also help keep you on point sot that you cook real food and are not tempted to order in because time is short. Healthy and satisfying meals don't have be fancy and all gourmet like on those cooking shows either, they just need to taste good and be nutritionally sound. Sometimes a simple meal of a roasted chicken leg or broiled pork chop served with two steamed veggies (at least half your plate for veggies) is all that you need. You can fancy it up a bit with a quick spice rub or condiment for the meat, perhaps some apple or cranberry sauce, or a dollop of pesto. Even some leftover gravy can make a bare bones meal feel like Sunday dinner! Don't forget, a hearty soup and sandwich or salad can be most satisfying too!

FOUR: Prepare A Weekly Meal Plan

Once you know what's in your culinary tool box, your next step is to make a meal plan for the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Create a weekly meal plan based meals in your culinary tool box AND the whole food items on sale in your grocery flyer and the items you already have in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer (always shop your pantry first!). Choose your favourite store or the store offering the MOST deals that work with your menu plan. I know some folks visit a variety of stores but I think the extra gas to drive around and value of my time to shop in a number of stores just chew away any money saved.

Below, I have prepared a sample menu plan for a week that was based on the items on sale in my favourite grocery store and the items I already have in my pantry, fridge and freezer. This allows me to put only the items I need on my list. Also, remember that your meals can be warmed up versions of a previous meal.  For example, in my Sample Meal Plan, one of the breakfasts was warmed up pancakes from a previous Sunday breakfast. I am assuming that I made a really big batch and froze enough pancakes for a quick week morning breakfast. I can also do the same for the Sunday French toast breakfast on the Sample Meal Planner. You could also make a bunch of extra pita pizzas and freeze them for a future boxed lunch for the kids too.

FIVE: Weekend Prep
Spend some time on the weekend to prep your meals or some of the components. If you have something that requires lengthy simmering like a pasta sauce or some assembly like a lasagna, or even the sauce or marinade for a stir fry or slow cooker recipe, take care of some or all the prep on the weekend. The more organized you are for the week means that meals can be put together quickly and easily so you won't feel the need to do take out or eat factory made food to simplify your life.  

Some of my examples for weekend prep include:

Plan to make a batch of easy cookies, quick bread, muffins or granola bars for the week. These are excellent in lunches and freeze well. No need to buy the icky junk in the grocery store bakery or the boxed cookies.

When I have bananas that are really spotty, I will make banana bread to freeze for the upcoming week. My family loves banana bread for a lunch or anytime snack or dessert. In fact, I think my family ignores the fresh bananas on purpose, just so I will make it!

Making sauces, marinades and condiments like apple or cranberry sauces or pesto ahead is a great time saver. For instance, I like to make my stir fry sauce and store it in one of my many 500 mL mason jars. This way, all I need to do is give it a shake and pour it into my stir fry! Who needs bottled sauces? Sorry VH!

I often make a batch of my favourite spaghetti sauce and then transfer the finished sauce to a plastic container or a 750 mL mason jar. If refrigerator space is tight and spaghetti isn't on the menu until Thursday or so, I will often freeze my sauce. If you decide to do this kind of thing with your make ahead meals, make sure you allow for the appropriate head space in your freezer containers, especially if you are using jars. I generally leave at least 1.5 inches to prevent the jars from breaking.




My family loves a Canadian Living recipe for Slow Cooker Pulled Pork which I serve on top of brown rice instead of a bun. As an aside, slow cookers are another great way to make sure you eat home cooked meals. Is there anything better than coming home to the smell of dinner already cooking? Anyway, the recipe has a sauce which I prepare and refrigerate in a mason jar.  In the morning, I do a quick sear on the meat (if I have time, but it's not critical in my opinion), pour some sauce in the slow cooker, plop the meat in and smother with the rest of the sauce. I use wide mouth jars so I can get a rubber spatula in to scrape out every bit of sauce. 10 minutes in the morning, and dinner will almost be ready when I get home! Make the rice, chop the raw veggies garnish and prep my steamed green veggie and dinner is on the table in 30-40 minutes (faster if I've cooked the rice on the weekend!).

If a soup is on the menu, I make it on the weekend and store it in a glass jar. Then all I have to do is warm up the soup and whip up the side - maybe a sandwich or salad and biscuits! "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy"!

Pictured below is a sample dinner of broccoli soup (made in advance and warmed up) with a little cheddar cheese, a mixed green salad with strawberries, sliced almonds and a little goat cheese (I freeze smaller chunks of goat cheese to thaw and use as a salad garnish), and some seasoned cheese drop biscuits (measure the dry ingredients on the weekend and store in a sealed container for when you need it).








I try to have a salad at least twice a week with dinner. Greens, organic if you can, are so good for you! Add extras like red pepper, grated carrot or not! Even a handful of raisins, dried cranberries or some fresh fruit make the salad a little more special. I also find the addition of dried or fresh fruit helps to encourage the kids to eat their greens!

I haven't purchased bottled dressing in over a year now because I have found that with the right recipe, homemade is so much better. To make it a little more convenient, I make up a couple kinds and store them in my mason jars. It only takes about 5 minutes per dressing and then you have the convenience of ready made that tastes a whole lot better with fewer or no chemical additives. WIN-WIN-WIN, hurrah!

Homemade Ranch Recipe

My husband and youngest are big fans of Ranch Dressing. This being the case, Ranch Dressing was the first dressing I worked on. The catch was to make it "taste" as close as possible to the Kraft version to appease the taste buds of my fussy teen. I've come pretty darn close. You will see that I use store bought mayo in this recipe, but it is something I have not been brave enough to try, especially since it requires raw eggs. Perhaps one day I will give it a go. I also use plain organic 2% to 3.5% fat organic yogurt. I find it makes for a lovely dressing and also some amazing homemade fruit yogurt cups for lunch.

I store the dressing in my 500 mL mason jars and pour from them too at serving time. If you want to make serving time a little more pretty, use a little jug or a put a small ladle in the jar. In the picture, I made a half recipe of the Ranch Dressing and used a 250 mL mason jar.





Ingredients
1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise, regular fat is best
1 cup plain yogurt
2 pinches of onion powder
2 pinches of garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried dill or 1 tsp fresh***
1 tsp, heaped, dried parsley
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
A few grinds of pepper
4 tsp water

Method
Put all the ingredients in a 500 mL wide mouth mason jar and whisk well. If necessary, add a few more drops of water to get a pourable consistency. It's THAT easy!

This dressing will need at least an hour for the flavours to develop. If you want a more pronounced flavour, add a little more of the seasonings after letting the dressing sit for a few hours. You can always add more onion powder, garlic, parsley or dill, but do so gradually. I learned the hard way not to add too much garlic or onion powder, because the dressing got stronger in flavour after chilling over night. Keep in mind that the shelf life of your homemade dressing will depend on how old your yogurt and mayonnaise are. If your yogurt and mayonnaise are fresh, your dressing will last for 7 days, but because it is homemade, try not to let it hang around too long. Make what you need for the week.

Feel free to play around with the quantities of seasonings. Make the flavours more pronounced by increasing the amounts of seasonings. You can make it yours. My recipe was designed to mimic the bottled stuff... A win for this mom, but perhaps not flavourful enough for your tastes.

***BUDGET TIP!***
Sometimes I have fresh herbs like thyme, parsley or dill in my fridge. If I don't think I'm going to use them before they spoil, I carefully dry them on a clean dish towel and then store them in a freezer bag in the freezer. I can grab what I need when ever I require that particular herb.

Recipe Books; Bolognese Sauce, Marinara & More

 

Over the past few years, I have prepared special cookbooks for a few family members. These cookbooks were a collection of recipes that were particularly enjoyed by the recipients and catered to fit their lifestyles. The first collection was given to my sister. I had gone to her house years ago to do a bunch of meal prep for her before her daughter was born. I spent an entire weekend cooking up a storm in her kitchen and freezing several months worth of dinners. She was thrilled with the meals I had prepared, and so for Christmas that year, I made my first recipe book gift. This book included all the recipes I had prepared for her, plus a few more that I thought she might enjoy. Each recipe page had special tips ranging from budget to preparation and substitution. I later made one for my oldest daughter. Her recipe book was geared to a student's life and had some of her family favourites; tips for shopping, staying on budget, substitutions and how to do some "make ahead" meals. In both cases, my recipe books were put together in such a way that I could add recipe pages down the road to reflect changes in preferences or life circumstances. A gift that keeps on giving and one that can only come from me. My latest Christmas recipe book gift was to my niece.  I put together a collection of budget friendly and easy meals that a young mom with a growing family could use plus some super healthy meals that reflects eating more plant-based.

Making homemade Christmas gifts like this lets me use my creativity, hone my desktop publishing skills, AND give a meaningful, heartfelt gifts, perhaps the closest thing I will get to being "published", HA HA HA! Today, I thought I would share a couple of pages from my recipe books. Let me know what you think!

Just as a heads up, this blog post looks best on your desktop or lap top or tablet.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Clean Up - Part 2 and A Gluten Free Flour Mix

In my last post, I told you about my pre-Christmas cleanup. I didn't get it all done, but we are well under way and things are looking pretty darn good. It's amazing how the fresh paint and the decluttering made things so much better!  Everything in my downstairs has a place and when I get a chance to finish up with my labeller, I will be able to actually find all the things that have new homes! Ha ha ha!  

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes when one is busy with a project. November was gone in what seemed to be a blink! Before I knew it, December was here, so I had to switch gears and get back to Christmas prep, which leads me to the food portion of my Christmas clean up. 

I would like to share with you some of the things I did to make many items on my Christmas menu a little healthier while addressing special dietary requirements. I am learning that small changes in your usual recipes can make your life easier and healthier while accommodating those folks at your dinner table with special dietary needs. No one wants to make two different meals to accommodate dietary needs or exclude anyone either.

This was the second year we served an organic and pasture raised turkey. The flavour was better and we know that the bird had a better life before giving his so that we could feast.

I made my mashed potatoes dairy free by whipping them with a combination of homemade almond milk, oven roasted garlic, a generous pinch of Himalayan pink salt, freshly ground pepper and a glug of olive oil. Yep, these mashed potatoes rocked! They were flavourful, and we didn't miss the butter.

A little orange juice, orange zest, a shake of cinnamon and nutmeg were whipped into our baked sweet potatoes. We didn't miss the sugar or the cream!

My gluten free flour mix thickened the gravy instead of my usual all purpose flour.

I used a combination of fresh and frozen fruit in the jello fruit salad. I'm still working on a healthier option to replace the store bought jello, perhaps next year. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I am pleased to say, I found easy ways to do a little cleaning up on my baking. To begin with I have switched to unbleached flour and my baking is still white/neutral in colour when it needs to be. Fewer chemicals is a win! I also cut the sugar in half for my sugar cookies since we always decorate them with royal icing. I think it worked well. Now if only I could find a beautiful non-chemical green food dye and I would be over the moon!

I made half my shortbread cookies naked this year so only some had the artificially coloured cherries. The naked ones were pretty too! These were not dairy free, but I don't think ii can wrap my head around coconut flavoured shortbread if I substituted the butter for the coconut oil. I'm not even sure it would work. Thoughts? Has anyone tried?

 

I made my own candied orange and lemon peel. Not a whole lot of work with a lot of yummy bang for my buck! My homemade candied peel had no preservatives or artificial colourining and great flavour. I even used organic oranges and lemons which made them even better! I used these peels plus other goodies to fancy up my store bought mincemeat and in my Holiday Bread that we enjoy Christmas morning. 

In addition to my homemade lemon and orange peels, I used a combination of chopped dried cranberries and apricots to replace the commercially made mixed peel that were added to the raisins. Again, I decorated with a few commercially prepared red and green cherries, but at least the artificial ingredients were kept to a mini,um.  Perhaps next year I can convince my youngest that cranberries and pumpkin seeds will be a just as pretty!

 

This is the second year I have made 2 versions of Magic Cookie Bars. I make the conventional kind made with the sweetened condensed milk and a version that is gluten and dairy free. For my conventional ones. I made my own graham crackers this year... no store bought ones with mystery ingredients. I was thrilled with the results. I will definitely continue to make my own. They are SO much better...sorry Honey Maid! In order to further clean up the conventional ones, I used half sweetened and half unsweetened coconut AND my unsweetened coconut was sulphite free. These bars are very sweet and I think I could use all unsweetened coconut next year without a family uprising. 

 

I used two recipes from Oh She Glows to make my gluten free diary free magic cookie bars. For the gluten free graham crumbs, I made Gluten Free and Vegan Graham Crackers and for the magic cookie bars I used OSG recipe for the Lightened Up Magical Cookie Bars but I used the regular coconut milk instead of light coconut milk. The traditional cookie bars are on the left and the dairy and gluten free ones are on the right. Both versions were very good.

 

 

I used my gluten free flour mix in my Date and Toffee Pudding Cake this year (another recipe from Oh She Glows). Last year I used Bob's variety but all I could taste were the beans in the flour mix so I experimented this fall with my homemade mix and was pleased with the results. Keep in mind, when using my mix, the cake is better the next day because it is a little "grainy" when it is fresh. After a day in the fridge, the "graininess" disappears. Since my daughter does eat some eggs, I added an egg and reduced the almond milk by a quarter cup in the recipe which provided a more familiar texture in the end product. Don't get me wrong, the cake as it is in the original recipe is marvellous, but I am balancing the palates of those who still prefer more conventional baking. The goal for me is to be able to cook/bake something, preferably, a single dish, that will please all! I made the cake a few days ahead and stored it in the freezer. The cake and the sauce froze and thawed beautifully and both warmed up just fine too!

 

And finally, the pièce de ré·sis·tance, I made gluten free and dairy free pastry using my homemade GF Mix and a recipe from Canadian Living for the pastry. You can find the pastry recipe here - just scroll down past the filling part for the Gluten Free Apricot Fig Tarts. I substituted some of the GF flour called for with oat flour and added a scant 1/4 tsp of Xanthan gum extra to the mixing bowl when making this recipe (see below for complete instructions). It was a huge success. The recipe originally called for butter, but since I couldn't use the butter I used Crisco to keep it dairy free. Lard would work too if it isn't necessary to keep it vegetarian.

 

The pastry worked in my baby mincemeat tarts and for our Christmas morning quiche. The top picture shows my GF tarts and the bottom, my traditional ones.  BOTH were YUMMY!

 

Last but not least, our traditional smoked salmon, goat cheese and dill quiche was delightful. I was trilled that the pastry was light, tender and flakey; a HUGE success! I didn't put the cheese in part of the quiche so that those who can't eat dairy could enjoy the quiche too - another successful example of one dish to serve everyone at my table!

I would like to leave you with the recipe for my Gluten Free Flour Mix. I have been experimenting with it over the past year and have successfully used it in a few muffin recipes, date squares, in my date pudding cake (by Oh She Glows), in pastry (by Canadian Living), in fruit crisp topping, and as a thickening agent. Keep in mind that I like to add a some homemade oat flour into the recipes I use it in (except when it's a thickens agent). I do this for the same reason I sneak a little whole wheat flour into my conventional baking... just to add a little nutrition. For example, in a recipe for raspberry muffins I use, the recipe calls for 2 cups of AP flour. I use 1 cup of the mix and 1 cup of oat flour and the muffins are as good as the original recipe with all regular AP flour. For my gluten free pastry, I used 1/3 cup oat flour with 1 cup of the GF flour mix and a healthy pinch of Xanthan gum. Trial and error is the way I figure out exactly how much oat flour can be added without messing up the end product. Personally, I wouldn't use more than half oat flour in any recipe with the GF mix because I think the end product might end up too heavy with an unappealing texture. I have yet to try this mix in a cake or cupcake recipe. I would love to hear about recipes in which you successfully use this mix. 

 

Gluten Free Flour Mix

 

2 cups brown rice flour

1 cup white rice flour

3/4 cup potato starch

3/4 cup tapioca starch

3 tsp Xanthan gum

 

1. Spoon the various flours into the measuring cup and then level off with a knife. This ensures that you were not packing the flour when you measure.
2. Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
3. With the wire whisk, whisk all ingredients thoroughly to make sure you have a homogeneous mixture.
4. Store this in a sealed container in a cool place.

**I have used this flour mix for muffins, fruit crisp toppings, and date squares. When I use it in the previously mentioned items, I usually take a look at the original AP flour requirements in the recipe and then use HALF GF flour and HALF oat flour.

**I have  tried this GF flour mixture in pastry using a Canadian Living recipe with great success. I did add 1/3 cup oat flour to 1 cup GF mix and a scant 1/4 tsp more of xanthan gum. I have yet to test with a cake recipe.

**I have used this flour mix successfully for thickening gravy and making béchamel sauce (cream sauce) with NO oat flour; wherever AP flour is called for as a thickening agent.

Pre Christmas Clean Up Project

Welcome to 2016! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration. Finally, things are quieter and I have a chance to blog. I have been away for a while and now that I am sitting at my keyboard, I must say, I have truly missed it. In today's post, I have decided to catch you up on a recent project that has absolutely nothing to do with food. It does, however, have a lot to do with making me feel better. I hate clutter and mess. It drags me down. On the flip side, I can be really good at creating clutter and mess, especially when I let our "stuff" get the better of us and accumulate. It had been at least 6 years since I've tackled a major purging of things we have outgrown or moved on from and the result has been a basement that was starting to look a little junky. It was time for a therapeutic sort, edit and purge AND to get our basement ready for Christmas.

In November I wanted to work on getting our rec room and TV rooms finished. We started this project 10 years ago and since I am between jobs right now, I decided it was high time to move this longstanding work in progress forward. Quality projects take time, but this was getting ridiculous! So, step 1 of my Christmas Clean Up was to find my long lost basement and rejuvenate it to be an inviting space again. I had a lofty goal of getting 90% of my project completed before Christmas. Sadly, the second week of December hit and I ran out of time for this project. Completion would have to be put off until the new year, but I would like to share what I've done so far!

There was much editing, organizing and super cleaning required first and foremost. Then, armed with my hole filler, sanding pad, paint and assortment of brushes and rollers, I set out to colour me beautiful, one wall at a time! The inspiration for my wall colour was from this beautiful cuddle quilt my mother-in-law made for me. 

 

Several years ago, my husband built a cabinet to house our electronics. He chose a gorgeous espresso coloured stain. Then he built a shelving unit above our TV and the cabinet. This shelving unit remained a natural wood colour for many years. Finally, this unit got painted! The espresso coloured paint closely matches the stain too. Our entertainment centre is finally looking polished. Now, I want two more cabinets to finish the project. For now, it's coming along now and I'm pleased with the results so far. 

 

Even though I have purged a whole lot of "stuff", I found that displaying a lot of unrelated things, no matter how neatly, still looked junky and felt cluttered. In order to make my shelves and cubbies look cleaner, I used a variety of bins, baskets and boxes in which to store my stuff. Then I grouped similar baskets, bins and baskets together to help give a more streamlined and uniform look. The only thing that would make this better would be to use only one kind of basket or bin, but I've been trying to do my basement cleanup on a tight budget and make use of what we already had.

 

This bookcase is another project my husband made. It is still a natural colour and I am thinking it will stay that way (it matches the natural wood kindling box he made too).  Again, I have tried to create some continuity with similar baskets and bins on the shelves to hide a variety of items including my beloved mason jars in a variety of sizes; office items like files, taxes, and paid bills; an assortment of Frisbees, sidewalk chalk and miscellaneous outside toys; a collection of housewares I'm keeping to hand down to our youngest when she leaves the nest; plus a whole lot more. Before I tackled this bookcase, the contents used to be arranged on the shelves, and even though I kept things neat, it looked so busy and cluttered. I am pleased with the results and I think it looks so much more "together" and orderly.
 

Since most of the things are neatly tucked away in bins, baskets, and boxes, I used my favourite organization tool... my Brother labeller!  This allows me to attach labels to the box , bin, or on the shelf. Now I have visual cues to help locate items, not to mention, now my husband and daughter can find their stuff! 

 

It's still a work in progress, just not as much work left. Only a little more painting and a little more carpentry required; things are feeling more ordered and I am feeling a little more at peace! 

 

Budget Tip: If you know that the contents of a bin or box is going to be temporary, use green painter's tape to label. The label tape is expensive, so I reserve it for permanent labelling.