5 Domestic Habits to Break

5 Domestic Habits to Break 

to Improve Your Life

I don't have my crap together, I imagine a lot of people don't. Here's a beginning list of bad habits I personally have that I know breaking will improve our lives.

1. Leaving the dishes for later

• Dried on food is a pain. Moldy dried on food is the worst. At least giving a quick rinse to dishes will make it faster should you decide to put it off. You can soak dishes, but if you're like me, they'll “soak” for 2 days

2. Setting things down on the kitchen table/end table by the door

• A big no no for us. We can't find our kitchen table. Why? It's one of the first surfaces when you come in the door. This is a GREAT way to lose mail you should have opened. This is also lost usable space. We've all read or at least seen the articles on eating at the table, so if you have a table, don't just use it for a garbage dump. You'll also feel better about having guests over. Sitting around the table is an awesome interaction space. You've now opened yourself up for so many more activities! Board games, card games that, sure, you could play on the floor, are so much less back breaking and relaxing at a table. Let's not forget you can start hosting like the almost-adult you are. 
  
  
  
  
  

3. Leaving dishes, cans, and bottles around the house

• Just pick it up. You don't even need to make an extra trip. Take it with you when you get up. Unless you've grown to the furniture, you're going to get up eventually. Save yourself from scrambling around because suddenly it's recycling day and most of your recycling is still laying around the house. You'll feel better when you don't need to shove 5 empty soda cans off to the side to find a coaster.

 

4. Cleaning “whenever”

• Make a schedule for cleaning certain things. It'll help you avoid those sudden realizations that EVERYTHING needs cleaning. Not only will you not have a massive cleaning come due, but cleaning on a regular interval whether it really needs it or not helps decrease the amount of effort it takes to clean. You avoid nasty build up and keep your environment healthier. Don't wait for cat hair tumbleweeds on the carpet to vacuum. And guess what? You don't need to be a doctor or scientist to know that with a clean environment you won't just feel healthier, you'll BE healthier. If it isn't growing in your house, you are less likely to breathe it in.

5. Not planning meals

• We all wing it from time to time. Deciding to order a pizza is A-okay! The thing is, you COULD live that way and be alright, but we aren't looking for “alright”. Planning your meals if nothing else is COST EFFECTIVE. Plan both what to eat and how much time it takes to make it. Having the time to make your food saves you on those pre-prepared food costs. Knowing what you'll be eating throughout the week saves time and gas. One trip to the store is the goal. You can stay on budget better because you aren't popping back into the store and picking up those little impulse buys we all love. If you do forget something vital, make Quick In- Quick Out your mission and stick to it! The longer you spend in the store, the more likely you are to buy. So get in, get out!

So now we have some goals. Are they easy? In concept, absolutely. In execution? If they were, we'd all already be rid of habits like these. And that's exactly what they are – habits that need to be broken. We're all somewhere in this domestic adventure. Some us aren't climbing adult mountain yet and are sitting in base camp enjoying our college age style of living. That's okay too, just know that there are some foothills like these to beat and for some of us, they're a gnarled path of bad habits. Maybe adult mountain is easier than the foothills. To each their own. Good luck and Godspeed.


Pictures in today's article provided by pixabay and PEXELS

Garden Walk

Posted from 09/01

Let's take a little trip around the garden today, shall we?

I'm proud to say I managed for the very first time to grow gladiolus. I tried growing them last year but they never bloomed.
The name of this variety I believe is “Mi Amour”. I'll be trying to save the bulbs this year. We won't find out until next summer if it worked! I did my first cutting of them and gave them to my mother as a thank you for all of her continued help.

 

We also had some beauties that have been developing in the garden. Most of the garden is now left for the winter but there are a few plants still producing. My Roma tomato I let go for the year. There were a few casualties but nothing to cry over. I plan on planting more roma plants next year to up the amount of tomato sauce I can process. I may or may not be shooting for canning next year.

We had a huge problem with deer nipping off the blooms of the burgundy beans last year so the crop was small. We hadn't anticipated that they would bloom on 3 separate occasions unhindered by hungry deer. We caught the first 2 harvests of them but were oblivious to the 3^rd and only discovered them now that they're too far gone for eating. I was thinking of leaving them on the plant and harvesting the dried beans to save for next year. We'll see how much gumption I have for that.

I managed to grow a few carrots this year, but to be frank, I didn't much care. My first year with my garden boxes, I grew so many carrots I was giving away bundles. I even managed a homemade carrot soup! I used more of the space this year for my beans and my sugar snap peas. I still enjoy a few carrots though and snagged a few out a little early. I like to plant a kaleidoscope heirloom variety. Tony thinks they're more flavorful than what we buy at the grocery store and I can't really disagree. I think we're biased though because everything tastes better when you grow it yourself.

We have some up and coming zucchinis that I plan to hand over to my mother. This year, she'll be teaching me how to make zucchini into those sinfully delicious cakes I love so much. Our zucchinis are one of the plants we did not start from seed this year. I love starting from seed but I decided this year would be a year for doing a lot of soil conditioning and I work slowly - far too slowly for seeds to be planted on time. We planted zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant from a started plant. It felt dirty at first, like I was betraying myself but the production and size really can't be denied. I still prefer seeds, but I will never knock anyone again for starting their garden with plants.

The thing that Tony and I have been so excited about though? Our peppers. I myself loathe peppers. I can't handle the heat, even of a green bell pepper. Tony LOVES anything with spice and heat so those are for him to eat. He's started fantasizing about what he'll make with them in his wok. He likes to adventure in the kitchen himself from time to time and I'm all for it. My excitement comes from the color. If you hadn't figured that out yet, my garden is COLOR COLOR COLOR. 

Orange Blaze

Merlot

I love how much we got from our garden this year. The thing is, we didn't really try either. Tony and I put in the effort of weeding them clear and then tilling in better soil. After planting we mostly just let them go. I only really had one good day of weeding and that was the day I dug out my purple potatoes. It feels so wonderful to go out with my canvas bag and go shopping in my own garden. I get to see what's “on special”. I'm not receiving any payment for this, but this is my favorite tote to bring out in the garden.

I bought this tote from Earthbound Trading Co. located in the Bay Park Square Mall in Green Bay Wisconsin. I don't believe this particular print is available anymore but they have an amazing and unique selection of reusable totes,purses, and bags including this mushroom print reusable tote for $6.95 that anyone can feel free to pick up for me!

 

I can't express how excited I am this time of year. So many of my favorite flowers are coming into bloom and vegetables are just about ripe. My sunflowers are getting lots of attention from our insect population including those wonderful bees we want to keep around.

The apples are starting to redden (even if the ones in our tree aren't really edible) and the staghorn sumac is ready for making tea. The air smells fresher, feels cooler, and makes me feel better. I'm so over the oppressive sticky heat of summer. I'm watching the leaves start to hint at fall and I couldn't be happier about it. 

 

So there's our super amateur little garden. To find out more about how actual farming gets done on a large scale, slide over to the blog Caffeine and Diesel for an insight on large scale commercial planting and harvesting and some really great pictures from our own beautiful country.

Home grown love, friends,
Amanda

Potatoes O'Burnt

Posted from 08/23

Welcome back! Or welcome for the first time. Either way välkommen. So what's been happening? Well Tony and I have been enjoying ourselves mostly. We play Pokémon GO! so we took an adventure down to the Neenah, Wisconsin area to a park that's hopping with activity. It was a good day to decompress and think about our week to come. On our way home we made sure to pick up groceries. That's right, folks! No last minute ideas about what to eat, we've got this week all settled. We made it a fairly easy week too. Fast fixing food I like to call it. It's that mix between cooking and boxed meals. The hope is that it will cut down on food preparation time for a little while so that I can throw myself more into getting the house clean the way we want because it's still a far way off. You'd think it would make life easier.

You'd think.

Monday's (8/22) meal should have been simple. Breaded and baked haddock fillets, seasoned baked fries for me, and Potatoes o' Brian for Tony. The fish got done way too early (that timing business again) so by the time the potatoes were done... and I mean DONE... the fish was luke warm at best.
Tony had reheated haddock and potatoes o' burnt. He assured me the “char” was really great and I assured him that I'm not going to burn it on purpose in the future even if his assurances made me want to test him on it. I'm not a wicked woman so he dodged a bullet on that one!

The fries I threw in a little later for myself and grazed on through the night. It worked out well for me since I had of course, another headache. We aren't talking migraine levels here, but we are talking a bleh day. I managed some dishes and to not make the house worse. Generally the day was a flop.

I'm really not going to complain about it though. That's just how the day went, it wasn't great but I can't bring myself to see it as a failure. It can be recorded as a misadventure 100%, but a failure? No. If burned potatoes constitutes a failure, boy oh boy have I got my life together! A little thing like that?

Pish, friends. Pish.

So I have a bad habit I'd like to address.

I forget to thaw meat ahead of time.

You can plan all the meals you want but if you're using a type of ground meat for your meal and forget to thaw it, you'd better figure out a new plan real quick. Today (8/23) was another day that I managed to forget the meat. I could have just kept it in the fridge for the day and a half we've had it but I'm so in the habit of not being able to cook meals that I automatically put meats in the freezer. Ah, well. Another piece of our lives that needs adjusting.
Throughout this process my mother has been so amazingly helpful. Today she came to the rescue in the form of brats. My original plan had been to make Tony a boxed meal you add ground beef to and he'd have some for dinner and the rest for his work lunch. Now it was looking like a meal with all carbs. Not ideal for someone with a physical job like his. Well my mother being the wonderful woman she is had already set aside 4 bratwurst for him just because she thought he might like them. With 2 for work and 2 for dinner with the meatless dish I made, he's all fed and ready to go.

Appreciate your mother, folks.

Accept Your Success

Hey guys! I haven't posted in about a week. I've been pretty busy. By pretty busy I mean I've been enjoying what I feel has been the start of Fall. I've been working on a project for Halloween and have been compiling that for a future post, so look for my Halloween DIY post later this month! For now, please enjoy this short post about chronic illness.

Posted from 08/18

Homemaking. Home. Making. We take the word for granted. I cannot express the change in how I feel about my home. While Tony and I would like to own a home, it makes whatever place we are able to live in so much better. After the past few weeks, I've come to appreciate how much better our home feels. It no longer feels just like the place we come to to pass out. It feels like a real home. Everything I do here helps to improve the feel of our home. I really am making this place ours. Even on the days I struggle most, I can still feel satisfaction in our (slowly) improving home.

And struggle I do. “The struggle is real, bruh.” I suffer from chronic migraines so everything is always extra fun. Last year I FINALLY had a care provider listen and was implanted with an IUD which has so drastically reduced my migraine days. I used to have a migraine every day for 2 weeks straight out of the month, and have now reduced to maybe 10 migraines a month. Still not wonderful considering there are some magical unicorns in life that have never experienced a single migraine. But we do what we can, because I'm more like a narwhal in life; unique enough some people think they don't exist, but legit an actual living creature if not commonly seen. Note* I don't have a horn and also don't stab people.

Bubbles watches over me when I'm sick

My chronic migraines are no joke when it comes to being a functioning human being/narwhal. I spent the last day and a half with an on/off migraine with the “off” being a downgrade of a bad headache. I took that time as a green light and did what I could. I did a few dishes but I have to tell you the pile in and around our sink has reached near catastrophic proportions. I've taken a before picture but I will not be showing it until I have a satisfactory after picture. So that's what I did in 2 days. I managed to wash a few dishes and cooked a single meal. The meal I cooked was a boxed meal but I'll take it as a success.

Sometimes the successes we accept for ourselves are failures for other people, but who cares? They don't live here anyway.