Meal Plan Monday – August 16-August 22
Breakfasts will consist of fresh juices, smoothies, toast, hot/cold cereal, eggs….
Monday~ L: Leftovers D: Applebees crispy orange chicken bowl
Tuesday~ L: Veggie wraps D: Nachos
Wednesday~ L: Leftovers with corn on the cob D: Spaghetti, garlic toast, salad with cucumber
Thursday~ L: Tuna salad and fruit D: Chicken stirfry with cookies for dessert
Friday~ L: Hot dogs and corn D: Pizza (homemade crust with veggies and herbs from the garden)
Saturday~ L: Boiled eggs, garden salad, fruit salad D: Turkey sandwhiches and chips
Sunday~ We will be out of town. Will be either picking up easy things to eat from the grocery store or eating out.
For more meal ideas, visit The Organizing Junkie!
Sunday Morning OM
I have brought out the Buddha statue and put it on the table amongst fresh cut herbs or other pickings from the garden. Over dinner one night, James taught Val “Buddha says OM.” Randomly now, she will say it. ”Buddha OM” or “Mama OM.” Just yesterday she said it as I was putting her into her car seat. What a great way to come back to the moment and take in what *is*.
Taking from her, I have been saying OM out loud when I need a moment of peace. OMMMMMmmmmm…one brief and fleeting second to get my wits about me so I can stay present in parenting her.
Cloth diapers. How much will I save using cloth diapers?
I have done a cloth diapering series with posts that cover what kinds of cloth to use, how to wash and strip the diapers, and how to keep them organized when storing them. Now it’s onto a big reason to use them – to save money and save the landfill from TONS and TONS of diapers.
How much will I save using cloth diapers?
It really depends on what kind you use, if you supplement with disposables, if you have an HE washer, and if you line dry or not. But, for comparisons sake let’s just say we compare the cost of using prefolds and covers from newborn to 2 1/2 years of age to the cost of using disposables…….
You will save…..
Approximately….
$2200! Yes, you read that right. TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS!
Statistics and many more were found here.
Will it save the Earth if I use cloth diapers?
This is a heated debate, but according to this site in 1988 (that’s quite awhile ago) over 18 billion disposable diapers were sold and essentially thrown into the Earth. In a household with a diapered infant who uses disposables, over 50% of their trash is just diapers! Disposable diapers are the third largest consumer item in landfills – now that’s a lot of poo!
But, when we use cloth we use water to wash them… disposables don’t use water, do they? According to the same site, the “manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth.” Wow!
This series is not over yet, be sure to check back for another post or two about why I love cloth and how I can help you love the fluff too! 
If I haven’t convinced you to use cloth yet, what questions do you still have?
And for more Frugal Friday ideas, please visit Life as Mom.
Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Kitchen Gadgets
What kitchen gadgets do you use?
Blender? Can opener? Coffee pot? Juicer?
Within the past few weeks we have upgraded our veggie juicer and our coffee pot. The juicer we did have we got for free from my sister who wasn’t using it. It worked fine, but it was a pain to clean. I was at the point of not juicing because the clean up was such a hassle. But Alicia Silverstone (author of The Kind Diet) recommended this Waring Pro Juicer for the same reason.
We do love this juicer. The pulp is much drier than from the other juicer, which means it’s extracting more juice and it is super easy to clean. Everything can be cleaned in the top shelf of the dishwasher too!
Another item I have upgraded is my coffee pot. I don’t drink a lot of regular coffee, but I make my hot water for tea in it almost daily. I wanted to get an espresso machine but having two machines seemed kind of crazy to me – until I found this duo by Mr. Coffee.
It is small, inexpensive, but it does a great job. It is perfect for a few lattes a week and daily use for my tea (and would be great for a coffee drinker as well). The espresso side was easy to learn how to use and clean up is super easy. My only complaint is that the frothing wand is short and you have to hold your cup up into it to get it to froth. It is something I can *so* live with to have a homemade latte (or frozen frappe) and not spend $5 and time running around for one.
I am loving my upgraded kitchen gadgets!
Happy Wednesday!
{These are links to an Amazon Affiliate site. If you were to purchase any of these items from my page, I would make a small amount on the sale.}
Cloth diapers. How should I organize my cloth diaper stash?
It’s up to you! Just what you wanted to hear, right? :)
Well all of our cloth diaper stashes are so different that our set-ups are going to be equally as unique. Here are a few suggestions though. 
Baskets!!! A basket for covers, a basket for prefolds, a small basket for snappis, and a basket for cloth wipes under the changing station. An organized mommy can’t pass up baskets! This is the method that I use, and it is so easy this way. My diapers are on display, but they are organized and easily accessible.
Cloth diaper storage ideas:
Cloth diapers in plastic bins
Cloth diapers in baskets
Cloth diapers in plastic drawers
How do you store your cloth diapers?
Meal Plan Monday – August 9-August 15
This meal plan is working out great for us so far. There may be a few changes each week, but the next 3 weeks will look very similar.
Breakfasts will include eggs, toast, fresh juice, smoothies, and cold/hot cereal with homemade almond milk.
Monday~ L: Wraps and soup D: Burgers on the grill with steamed carrots on the side
Tuesday~ L: Wraps and chips D: Burritos
Wednesday~ L: Hot dogs and peas D: Spaghetti with salad
Thursday~ L: Leftovers D: Steaks and corn on the cob
Friday~ L: Out D: Pizza with steamed broccoli on the side
Saturday~ L: Orzo pasta and fruit D: Sloppy joes and steamed cauliflower
Sunday~ L: Leftovers and tuna salad D: Chili in the crockpot
For more meal plan ideas, visit The Organizing Junkie!
Sunday Morning Links
As you start a relaxing Sunday morning with your coffee, tea, or breakfast here are some things that made me think a little deeper this week.
What have you been reading or watching that inspired you?! Please share!!
- 45 minute video about vaccines. It’s a must watch! I want to know more now so if you have vaccine information, please share below.
- An interesting perspective about “overachievers” by TheOrganicSister. James and I have used the words, “They just like such and such better than you” a few times since reading it. Great shift of the mind or as I said the other night the “flip switched” – think about it!
- It’s International Breastfeeding Week so there have been a few things I have loved. Flash mob, comic, and how it’s not all about the food.
- Don’t miss out on this read about our education system, which was written by a valedictorian of his senior class. Way to get the ball rolling on change!
Happy Sunday!
Caramel Frappe Recipe
Happy Frugal Friday!!!
I just recently got an espresso machine and these hot summer days have been great for making cold coffees. I am loving my new Caramel Frappe Recipe (and saving money by making it at home).
Caramel Frappe Recipe
- 2 cups ice
- 1 cup espresso (or strong brewed coffee), chilled
- 2/3 cup milk of choice
- 1/4 cup caramel syrup
- 2 T. sugar
Blend in the blender. Top with whipping. Serve and sip.
For other Frugal Friday ideas, visit Life as Mom.
Cloth diapers. How do I clean them?!
In this post, I talked about which cloth I preferred to use. Now I’d like to share how I wash them and strip them.
When dd dirties a diaper, I use these hanging bags to put them in and when we are out and about I use these bags. When she was little and strictly breastfed, I didn’t even have to clean off the poop from a diaper because breastfed baby poop is water soluble and just washes away in the washer. Now, I either dunk them in the toilet or shake the poop off into the toilet before putting them into the bag.
On the third morning, I wash them. There are certain detergents you can and can’t use with diapers because you don’t want build up of suds, fragrance, but you want them clean. Having build up with cause stinky diapers, rashes, and leakage problems.
You can find a list of detergents to use here. I highly recommend Rockin’ Green because it’s made specifically for cloth diapers.
To wash in an HE washer (specificially my washer), I do a cold short wash to rinse them off. Then I do a hot wash with detergent on the heavy cycle with an extra rinse followed by a short hot wash with no detergent. Sometimes I put vinegar in to help with breaking up any build up. But I only use a little bit because goes a long way.
If your baby is getting rashes, the diapers are leaking, or the diapers are getting stinky you can strip them. I wash them normally, then I do a hot long cycle with a drop or two of Dawn original dish soap. Followed by cold rinses until I can no longer see suds in the water.
They can be air dried, line dried (sun is a natural bleach if you have stains), or dried in the dryer.
If you use cloth diapers, what have you found works best as your “washing routine?”
Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Downsizing
The mission of downsizing continues as we now have a buyer of my Volkswagon Beetle. I will be sad to see it sell, but it was more of a luxury car for us. It’s cute, and it’s great on gas mileage but it just isn’t a useful vehicle for us at this time.
It was hard to get V into the backseat and buckled in and if we were to use it for long trips all of our luggage wouldn’t fit in it. It is just the right time to pass it along. Keep your fingers crossed that this man will be buying it on Friday for his wife and bringing it to her with a big bow on it. (Yes, really! What a sweet guy!)
We will have only one vehicle for awhile – our van. We may buy a small truck or another small (but much cheaper) vehicle that is good on gas so that no one will be at home without a from of transportation, but I’ll keep you updated.