Domestic Goddess » Four Against Two

Canning Queen Or Not So Much?

Busy, Domestic Goddess, It's all about me!, Summer Fun No Responses »

Aug 082012

I’m canning this summer. I canned salsa, pizza sauce and pasta sauce two summers ago and really liked the results. Last year I had no desire to can. This year I got the itch once again. I’m still on the fence about canning and if it is worth it or not.

I like knowing exactly what is in my food. I like picking fresh ingredients and the satisfaction I feel when I see the jars in the cabinet. I don’t usually feel that satisfaction with domestic activities. When I clean a room I think of how it will be dirty again quickly. When I do laundry I hate putting it away. I do feel satisfaction when I walk out of a nursing mama’s room and feel I have helped them. I feel satisfaction when I see my girls make good choices or succeed in something. I remember feeling a sense of pride when I had clean diapers waving in the sun, so maybe my domestic genes are just picky.

This year I am canning pizza and pasta sauce, pickles and salsa. I’m also planning on freezing some zucchini stuff for bread and muffins. So far so good. I hate how my kitchen is overwhelmed by food processors and jars, but I think it will be worth it.

I also donned my apron again for kicks and giggles! Who knows how I’ll feel next summer, but this summer I’m liking it.

What domestic activities make you feel happy?

Countdown To Earth Day: Thanks To A Greener Product And Company

Domestic Goddess, Earth Friendly Ideas, Reviews, Stuff No Responses »

Apr 202012

I don’t pretend to know all about everything. Okay, to my kids I pretend to know all about everything, but here I just like to write about things I care about. As a blogger, even a small one, I get contacted by companies and sometimes get freebies to check out products and to write about them. This is a fun part of being a blogger I assure you, who doesn’t like to try free stuff? Oh course I am honest. I have received a few products that just weren’t my time, energy or integrity to blog about.

However, on this countdown to Earth Day series, I did recently get contacted by 3M. You know3M the company that gives us all the neat little tools to make our life easier. Think post-it notes, stickies, scotch tape and more. They have graciously donated several rolls of their new Sustainable Scotch® Greener Masking Tapes to my local school district.

Masking tape is a must around children. Think labels, repairing game board or boxes, painting over stained and messy walls. Not to mention the crafty side of masking tape. Now we have the opportunity to buy it made from recycled and renewable resources. An Easy-Peasy choice if I do say so myself.

I know that many a environmentalist curses at big business and big companies, but as consumers we have told said companies that we want a better, more responsible product. We vote with our dollars. This product is evidence that 3M is listening.

Here is a quote with the stats that are interesting:

SAINT PAUL, MN – April 16, 2012 – Today, 3M announced the introduction of Scotch Greener Masking Tapes which are designed to provide the same great performance as other Scotch Masking Tapes, while creating less waste and conserving paper resources. The new tapes are made with 56% renewable resources*, including paper backing made with 30% post consumer recycled content and adhesive made with natural, regenerating latex harvested from rubber trees. The tapes are manufactured using solvent-free and water-based processes. The tape core contains 87% post-consumer recycled fiber and the shipping cartons are made with 100% recycled fiber.

The tapes can be found just about anywhere, including Wal-Mart, Target, K-mart and Sears for about $5.

(Disclosure: I received several rolls of the about mentioned masking tape to donate to my local school district. I think the art teachers and maintenance people will be happy!)

Dear World, My Kids Do Have Clean Clothes

A Mom's Job, Domestic Goddess, Family, Frustrated Mommy Moments 2 Responses »

Jan 192012

Dear World,

My kids do own clean clothes. They also have coats and gloves. They own and have demonstrated proper use with a toothbrush and a hair comb.

I recently made a pledge to myself to send my children off to school with more love than nagging. Thus instead of my normal “It’s January in Ohio, get over it and where your heavy coat” song and dance I have been trying to say things like, “Mommy loves you and doesn’t want you to be cold.” In a soft voice that is much like Mary Poppins or Ma Ingalls.

This recent pledge has backed me into a corner and given me little room to maneuver or manipulate. So you may see my almost twelve year old wearing her pajama shirt today,”No one will know it’s a pajama top mom.” Says Her. Little does she realize that everyone who has been to Walmart after Christmas and seen the 50% off pajama section will know. I did complement the shiny, red sequined head band she is wearing with said pajama top.

I know that the announcements the schools send out go to everyone, but I see them as personal failures.

” Dear Parent, please make sure your children have appropriate cold weather wear so they can play outside.”

“Dear School, I have provided cold weather outerwear for my kids and send them off to school with it. Check the backpacks and pockets for the items you need that they say they don’t have. I’m not sure why but my children feel the need to be cold. Please feel free to speak with them on this subject as they cannot hear my words on the subject, it must be a communication flaw.”

I’m not sure what I am doing wrong/different from the parents who get their kids to wear not only appropriate attire, but matching and cute attire as well. Pants, shirts and head bands that match and coordinate? How do you do such a thing? Is it genetic or maybe you torture your kids? Am I cursed because I refused to wear a dress for my mother from the ages of 3-14? Or maybe because I wore all black for three years and threatened to shave my head bald? Or maybe it is because I used to change at school into my shirts with skulls and crossbones that my mom wouldn’t let me wear? Or maybe it is because for a few years as a pre-schooler I claimed I was a boy?

I hope the curse will end soon, or my kids will learn to like being clean and warm. Until then, take pity on me and ignore what my children wear today to school. Please? I will owe you one.

Sincerely,

A mom who is trying not to nag

Do Spices Ever Really Expire?

Cleaning, Domestic Goddess 3 Responses »

Apr 032011

Apparently, yes, spices do expire. I settled in today to clean out my pantry. A job that has been screaming at me since at least Christmas, if not earlier. Every time I would open up a door to get a seasoning, it would yell “Hey lazy lady, clean me.” It really happened in my head.

I have three doors to my pantry. Each door has 4 shelves and a bottom space (aka dust collector spot) and all sixteen shelves were in bad shape. I started with the spices. I cannot believe how many spices were duplicated or outdated. It was shameful. I usually make fun of my mom and mother-in-law for having outdated stuff and here I am with outdates myself. My head is hung in shame and I will await the teasing calls once my moms have read this. The worst offending item was a unopened bottle of sage that expired in 2006. This is horrible. We moved to this house in 2008. I moved expired stuff with me!

After sorting out all my things and realizing that I had four canisters of bread crumbs I was ashamed of the waste I had been apart of. I tried to recycle the containers, and keep the lids for a project Meg is working on, but it was still weighed heavy on me.

So in the spirit of my goal this year to become more organized, I have decided to make a list of all the spices I have in the cupboard and have it handy, that way when I see a new recipe I can check my list. This will keep me from buying new items because I was to lazy or to unorganized to find out if I had them or not.

The rest of the pantry turned out fine. No big messes to clean, no traces of mice. It looks nice for now and it is up to date which gives me a happy feeling. I dropped off a bag of items I don’t use anymore at the Goodwill and feel all reusey now. A real word I swear.

So fess up. What is the most expired item you have ever pulled out of your cabinets? I know that my mom in law had ipecac syrup from the 1980′s in 1999 (shhhh, don’t tell her I told you!).

Wrinkle-Free My A**

A Mom's Job, Domestic Goddess, It's all about me! 3 Responses »

Mar 242011

I don’t iron clothes. I have zero experience with this. I grew up with a mom who treated ironing like an Olympic sport. She loved to iron, so I let her iron all of my clothes. I have driven to her house to have her iron things for me (Not in the recent decade though as I have grown up a bit.). I am sure that she tried to teach me. I am also sure that I didn’t even try to listen as when I was a teenager I treated ignoring my mother like an Olympic sport.

Hubby used to iron all his own clothing. Then he started buying wrinkle-free clothes and I made sure to get them from the dryer in record time so I could just hang them up and not worry about it. He recently bought some new shirts from Kohl’s. He is normally a JC Penny guy, but I had major Kohl’s cash from buying my Dyson. These new shirts claim to be wrinkle free. I beg to differ.

For two weeks I have had three of these shirts hanging up, a reminder to iron them. I ignored them for as long as I could, then realized that they were not going away. I donned my trusty Domestic Goddess Apron ( it gives me confidence to try all things homey. I even canned in it last year.) and set up the ironing board. I brought the board and iron up from the basement as I didn’t want to be stuck down there in the dark, dreary room on top of having to iron and I channeled my grandma.

I thought about how all clothes had to be ironed back in the day and how my grandma with seven kids must have ironed a lot. Or made her seven kids do it…I should check on that one and put it to use in my own home! Anyway, I set up in the kitchen, turned on the iPod to U2 and got to work.

Or tried to get to work. After filling up the steam resivor, it leaked everywhere. I don’t know if this is normal or if the iron is broken, but everything was soaked. I dried it all before plugging it in as I didn’t want to do any “Death by ironing” that day.

I ironed the shirt. It looked just as bad as it had before, which is the normal to my ironing forays. This time though I got mad, I mean how hard can this be? I did what my grandma never would have thought of doing. I got out my laptop and found a YouTube video on how to iron a shirt. There are several out there. Some annoying, some helpful. One lady with a British accent was good, but she different names for the parts of the shirt and I got all messed up.

The older girls got home from school while I was ironing and looked at me in amazement. They couldn’t believe that I didn’t know how to iron. They thought it was a riot that I was learning from a YouTube video. They treated me as if I was as old as a grandma.

Their time is coming. Once I get the hang of this, I will gladly pass the talent on down the line.

All in all, I learned something. The shirts look okay enough to put in the closet, but next time they will be better. Next time I’ll try this starch thing and see how it works.

Are you an ironing queen or do you have to dust the ironing board off every time you use it? Be truthful now!