Growing up, my grandma taught me a lot about creating a haven for others. Here are five of her lessons...
We tend to make hospitality so complicated! The lost art of inviting people over has been replaced by expectation.
Homemaking skills help anyone turn a house into a home, no matter where they live. These skills are still relevant, and they deserve renewed attention.
The 30 Day Minimalist Challenge
Homemaking may not be the first thing you think of when considering French culture. Let's dig in and see what we can learn about homemaking French style.
Things change and adjustments are made. Moving in and of itself is an adjustment to make. A transition that some children (and adults!) handle better than others. The move, away from family, to a c…
A house walk will solve all those unorganized, cluttered areas in your house. By doing this walk you will put your house in order.
Wartime housewives had many challenges and can teach us a lot about frugal living and sustainability. Much of their wartime living homemaking advice is still helpful today.
How many times have you said, "Everything I do ends up undone!" {Please tell me it isn't just me.} In fact, this is the very reason I like projects. I like things that have a
Learn how to be frugal with these frugal living tips from the Great Depression! These ideas for living cheaply and saving money still apply today!
Not sure how often to clean every area of your home? Keeping things clean can feel like a constant chore but having this guide on hand (bookmark it right now!) will help you get your cleaning schedule under control. Pair it with our efficacious, delightfully aromatic home cleaning solutions and you can go ahead and consider yourself a master of the cleaning craft. Shop The Tools You Need Home Cleaning Starter Kit Packed with our top-selling home cleaners, these efficacious and aromatic solutions will put a pep in your cleaning step. Shop Now Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth Use this reusable cloth in tandem with your home cleaning solutions to wipe down surfaces for the ultimate clean, shiny finish. Also great for dusting and spot treating carpet, rugs, and upholstery. Shop Now Home Spray That just-cleaned home smell, in a bottle. Freshen up the air and soft furnishings with lush, herbaceous notes of pine, eucalyptus, and lavender. Shop Now
Do you remember when going to the mailbox was exciting?
"Every wise woman buildeth her house..." ~ Proverbs 14:1a Good morning, afternoon or evening, ladies! Thank you for joining us fo...
Today is the very first post in a new and ongoing series on our site called Home Ec. Inspired by the classes some of us grew up taking, these new posts will be about simple ways to keep your home func
Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women over a hundred years ago, but the novel has timeless wisdom for modern-day homemakers! Here are 5 essential homemaking lessons from Little Women. Millions
I'm so excited to share this with you today. This post, in a three part series, has been a work in progress. It comes to you after much study and personal experience. It's my wish that the information will inspire as well as educate. I believe that God has not only given us plants as nourishing foods to strengthen and feed our bodies, but I also believe that He has given us the gift of plants for our health and healing. As I've discovered, these plants are to be used with skill, thanksgiving, and respect. The use of herbs in every day wellness and home health care is very appealing to me. For one thing, I love plants and all that gardening entails. I love having a role in helping people heal. To know and demonstrate through the loving care I give, this gift of "the Healer's Art" isn't something that comes naturally. I want this blessing, especially in my role as a mother; a role I take very seriously. I want to do all in my power to take care of myself and my loved ones. Being self sufficient, knowledgeable, and prepared is something in which I'm constantly engaging in and striving for. Sometimes, I think I was born in the wrong century! Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate the blessing it is to have modern health care. I am grateful for the services that allopathic medicine has and will provide for my family. However, I'm finding it a little disgruntling that most medicines seem to mask the symptoms, don't seem to really heal the cause, and leave questionable side effects. Why the focus on disease instead of prevention? That's why I find herbs and natural medicine so appealing. These things are so accessible and affordable for the common man. I'm looking for something that will strengthen, cleanse, nourish, and heal my body. And all that comes proactively, mostly by the things I do on a daily basis: what I feed myself and my family and the ways in which we honor and treat these bodies. So, let's get down to the nitty gritty, shall we? May I present to you a little bit of what I do in my home to bring this about: The Herbal Wellness Pantry or the Home Apothecary This is my new shelf (the one that almost broke my foot ) that I've organized in the last few days. Can I tell you how much I love this new kitchen addition? Top Shelf: ~small lidded basket for the essential oils I use in the diffuser, in homemade household cleaners, ones that are handier in the kitchen. ~mortar and pestle to grind herbs, flowers, spices. ~wooden bowl with muslin bags used in herbal baths. ~White clay for facial masks, bath salts. ~Poppy seeds: culinary use, facial scrub. ~Marshmallow Root: used in teas for sore throats, diarrhea, constipation, bronchial inflammation. ~Calendula flower petals: used in soap making, hair rinse, nourishing and soothing for skin. Middle Shelves: ~Dried Elderberries: used in infection fighting/immune strengthening syrup. ~Catnip: used to help bring down a fever, calming and sedative/ digestive aid tea. ~Dried Rosehips: high in antioxidants, vitamin C, iron; used in infection fighting/immune strengthening syrup. ~Echinacea: used in infection fighting/immune strengthening syrup, tinctures, capsulated. ~Comfrey: amazing tissue and bone healer used in poultices, burn ointment and skin salves. ~Cinnamon sticks: warming to the body in hot drinks, used in infection fighting/immune strengthening syrup. ~Whole Cloves: warming to the body in hot drinks, used in infection fighting/immune strengthening syrup. ~BF&C (Dr. Christopher's Bone, Flesh, and Cartilage formula) used is fomentation or teas (soaking) for injured or damaged tissue or bone. ~Calcium Tea: a blend of nettles, oatstraw, horsetail (a whole food based absorbable form of calcium and other minerals I drink as a tea to strengthen my bones) ~Lavender: used aromatically in pillows, sachets, in bath water. Aids in alleviating stress, tension, insomnia. ~Bay Leaf: culinary and aromatic uses. ~Chamomile: used as a tea for treating colic, nervousness, infections, digestion. Also nice addition to the bath. Can be used as an eye wash for conjunctivitis (pink eye). ~Peppermint: my favorite tea. Helpful herb for digestion, stomach cramps, nausea, stimulant herb. ~Yarrow: used in a hot tea or bath water to help induce sweating and lowering fevers. Can be applied to cuts or wounds to disinfect and stop bleeding. ~Red Raspberry leaf: wonderful tonic herb to aid and regulate women's reproductive system, high in iron; helpful in times of sickness and fever. ~Cayenne: powerful and stimulating to the circulatory system by equalizing the blood pressure. Will stop bleeding if sprinkled on a wound, as well as stop a bloody nose (take 1/4-1 t. in a glass of water, or capsule or tincture dropperful). also an aid in shock (same procedure as bloody nose) and head ache. Energy bringer (I take some before I go running; great endurance and speed help in my races). Used in ointment that we have in the first aid kit. You get used to the kick after time. ~Slippery Elm: inner bark powder helpful for soothing inflammation, burn, sore throat or cough (used in homemade lozenges) diarrhea (mix a tablespoon with a bit of oatmeal in a gruel), constipation. ~Mustard powder: used as poultice for respiratory issues or in bath water when there's a fever (sweat inducing). Other things I store in my kitchen: ~fresh garlic cloves: super infection fighter and antiseptic, stimulating to the immune and circulatory systems. Used in poultices, infused in olive oil to rub on lymph nodes, chest, feet. Eaten raw. ~ginger root: very helpful made in a tea for stomach and digestion disorders; very warming to the body, helpful in inducing a sweat (fevers). ~fresh lemons: used in a tea with honey and ginger root when feeling ill. Cleansing to the body, especially the liver. ~apple cider vinegar: used in washing the body (diluted) after breaking a sweat when fevering. ~raw honey: taken (not those under 1 year old) by the spoonful (or simmered with onions in a natural cough syrup, used in immune strengthening/infection fighting syrups. Helpful for seasonal allergies. ~onions: will break up congestion when baked or sauteed and then placed as a poultice on chest. Herb Drying Rack: (All grown and harvested from my garden!) ~Thyme: infection/fever tea ~Marjoram: culinary (Italian seasoning blend) ~Stevia: homegrown sweetener ~Lavender: I can't seem to grow enough. ~Lemon Balm: sedative, calming, and anti- depressive herb used in teas or bath soaks. ~Oregano: infection fighter, culinary (Italian seasoning blend). Stay tuned for tomorrow's Part 2: The Tackle Box First Aid and Wellness Kit and Thursday's Part 3: Essential Oils in the Home
Before you were married or had kids, did you think homemaking would be an easy gig? I mean, dishes, laundry, sweeping, meals - it seems pretty basic. But
When I started looking into minimalism I went onto YouTube and started searching! Here is a list of minimalist channels and simple living channels.
March is here, which means that winter is finally on it’s way out! The other day I got off the train after work and looked up to notice the last warm fingers of daylight still touching the to…
As we ponder what fabric to choose for new pillows, what color to paint the walls, or a new purchase for our house.... Here is something el...
Thank you to Infuse for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own, but I did receive product and compensation for this post. I never work with brands that I don’t use myself and Infuse is a brand that I...
If you are looking for an EASY weeknight Instant Pot recipe, you need to try my Black Pepper Beef Stew. Super TENDER and delicious Black Pepper Beef Stew is one of my favorite easy weeknight recipes. The beef is cooked till fork-tender, and the potato and carrots soak up all the delicious gravy. Make extra rice and thank me later!
Are you an introvert? People often mistake introversion for being a snob. This post explains how you can be a charming introvert and connect with people.
Bree couldn't contain her happiness, shedding tears of joy while sharing the news with her father.
94 p., ill., 28 cm., trade catalog
I’ve been really sick lately (pardon my disappearance), and I’ve been doing a whole lot of nothing. Although, I did get the office repainted before this cold kicked my ass to the couch. Luckily I’m…
Since it’s a month of decluttering [https://www.theartofsimple.net/declutteringtruths/] here on AoS, today we thought we’d inspire you to get that fire lit under you with a few visuals, a few quick things to read, and a few virtual high-fives. Light, bright, and airy: [http://cupofjo.com/2016/05/copenhagen-house-tour-nana-hagel/]Photo source [http://cupofjo.com/2016/05/copenhagen-house-tour-nana-hagel/]A word of wisdom, from one of our contributors [https://www.theartofsimple.net/author/alysa/
Rituals play a big part in creating rhythm. Rituals are the repeated actions of our lives. The little details that bring something considered and thoughtful to a moment in the day. Those little details become rituals as we repeat them. We may not remember to repeat them each day, we may only remember sometimes, and …
"Frugality is founded on the principle that all riches have limits." ~ Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797) My daughter and I just finis...
