The Formula To Clean

Now you know how to abandon the excess, set up a cleaning plan that will get things done without killing your time or patience and you are ready to clean.  All you need are the formulas to get the jobs done. 

Instead of the overstocked cleaning cabinet or the under the sink chemical hazard wasteland, you probably have at least one of, all you need is a few simple ingredients.  The biggest, and most versatile, ingredient you should have is…VINEGAR!  Vinegar has more uses than paper and if some little tyke gets a hold of the bottle while you are cleaning a sour face is all you have to worry about.  It is chemical free, safe for you and safe on your home.  (http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html#Garden is a great link to many uses of vinegar)

I did a lot of reading and I know there are loads of recipes out there, but honestly I don’t have the time to mess with too much and consolidating is what I do best.  So, for my everyday cleaning, my dusting, my glass and mirrors I use a mixture of 1:1 water to vinegar.  This is just regular old distilled white vinegar I get from any store out there… the cheap stuff here people!  My counters do not need balsamic vinegar treatments.  I use this on all of my surfaces.  I have heard that vinegar can be harsh on marble counters.  I have not experienced this, but I do know someone who has so use cautiously there.  I just saved my Windex bottles from way back when and have been using them since.  I have a bottle under my kitchen sink and one in each bathroom.    

When I mop my floors I do it old fashioned style on my hands and knees.  I use a couple cups of vinegar and a half gallon bucket of HOT water with a few drops of essential oils.  These can be purchased at any natural food store, but are becoming much more main stream and I have even seen them at Meijer.  You can also put a few drops in your everyday cleaning solution.  This not only adds a great aroma to your cleaning, but the oils have great health benefits as well.  I usually use tea tree oil which has an awesome smell and is antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral.  Can’t beat that!  It is also known to be affective on many infectious diseases that are resistant to most antibiotics.  (Just a side note: I brought home a new born baby from the hospital and within 24 hours found that my three others were harboring H1N1.  I walked around the house clutching the bottle of vinegar (extra strength), water and tea tree oil and all was fine.)

Other oils you may be interested in are:

Peppermint- great scent (especially around the holidays!), soothes nausea, fights congestion, PMS, sore throats and helps with headaches.

Lavender- antimicrobial/bacterial/fungicidal, helps headaches, great smell, improves sleep quality and has many benefits in contact application as well.

Rosemary- antimicrobial/bacterial/fungicidal and pleasant smell.

Lemon- reduces stress, helps insomnia while also increasing circulation and has a refreshing smell that can help you avoid midday tiredness and boosts immune system

There are so many uses of essential oils outside of cleaning as well that can help with body functions, skin and ailments.  A great site is:

http://aromatherapy4u.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/20-health-benefits-of-therapeutic-grade-essential-oils/

This site gives a vast array of examples as to what oils help with different things from immune systems to sunburns.  There are many combinations you could use too depending on your preferences and needs in your home.

If I ever have to scrub anything I use baking soda and Castille soap.  These are both inexpensive and can be found at most stores.  I just make it into a paste and go from there.  I use this on showers, sinks and bathtubs.  I have run into some hard to scrub places in the grout and borax (essentially oxyclean) is very handy and fast acting.

Here is a quick glimpse guide to all the formula’s I use:

            - Wood- ½ c. vinegar and a few drops of olive oil

            - Air Freshener- 30 drops essential oil in 1.2 c. water in a mist spray bottle.   

- Carpet Cleaner- borax cleaner according to directions on label (I personally use a borax solution in my steam cleaner and it works wonders… though the manufacturer only recommends its own product line)

- All Purpose- 1:1 vinegar to water with a few drops of essential oils (I use this to do everything! Dust, wipe up spills, clean floors, bathrooms, kitchen… you name it)

- Abrasive- Baking Soda and Castille soap made into a paste and scrubbed with paper towel in whatever surface you are cleaning.

- Tough areas of soap scum, or discolored tiles I use borax and it comes clean right away.

I hope this cleaning series has helped you formulate some ideas of your own with your home and cleaning tasks.  There is no set plan that works for everyone, but the more knowledge we can share with each other the more we can help one other through this crazy road of life.  Let’s face it, cleaning is not something any of us want to do, but it is something we have to do and we mine as well find the best and least complex ways of doing it while keeping our family safe from harsh chemicals and hefty price tags. 

Best of luck out there!

My Secret Recipe To A Clean House

Ok, it isn’t much of a secret, but I do get a lot of people asking me how I do it and I never have the time to really walk them through it at that moment.  So, here it is folks!

A couple of years ago, after listening to a couple of organizing and cleaning speakers, I started putting together my own cleaning plan.  I LOVE a neat house, but I did NOT like to put in the work.  The way we did it before was to pick a weekend, every two or three, and go at it and clean everything.  This took the entire day, the house reeked of chemicals and we were exhausted.  I would rather be stung by a swarm of bees honestly.  It was horrible.  Plus, when you have the daunting task of cleaning everything in a couple of days then those little nitty gritty things never get done because you have to do all the general things first.  By the time that is done you don’t want to clean that random high shelf that you only see from upstairs, or dust the ceiling fans and dust boards.  You just call it quits.

So, how about, instead of cramming all the cleaning into one, or two, days…  you stretch it out? 

“But, I don’t want to clean everyday!” you say. 

Well, who does?  But, I would rather clean for 15-20 minutes a  few days while the kids are finishing up breakfast or watching their half hour of morning tv, than to waste an entire day on it.  Especially a weekend!  Weekends are off limits for cleaning around here now, as are nights.  So, yes, this has gotten my husband out of the majority of cleaning responsibilities and so he loves the plan.  But, he does have one responsibility… even if he only does it about half the time he is supposed to.  It is his.

Since following this, my life has been ever so sweet… as far as cleaning responsibilities go anyway.  I never have to clean for guests because it is already done.  I don’t have the crazy “spring cleaning” because it is already done and I don’t have that looming “Cleaning Day” starring at me on the calendar or the pit in my stomach that would accompany it.  It is all good and planned out.

Please understand that all of this HAS to follow the declutter process I talked about in my last blog.  Without that this would take four times longer than it should. 

OK, so first, I broke down the tasks that need done everyday.  You know, those things that you are constantly doing and can’t usually go a day without. 

Then there are the bigger things that can be spread over a few days like changing sheets, vacuuming and dusting the house.

Finally, I broke my house up into areas.  I am a seven area gal.  I have the kitchen and laundry room, family room and office, playroom and living room, bathrooms, girls rooms, master bedroom and outside with garage.  Walk around each of your own defined areas and see what needs done from the general to the particulars.  Write it all down, talk to your husband about it to see if he has any input (if you want to of course!).  

This might sound like a lot, but take a week, or heck even two!  Just take your time and figure it all out.  This is what my final plan looked like a couple of years ago.

CLEANING PLAN

Daily Tasks

Laundry/ Dishes/ Trash/ Recycle

Make beds

Wipe down Kitchen

Wipe down Bathrooms (counters, toilets, mirrors)

Toys put away

Tidy up

Cat Litter

Weekly Tasks

Monday- Change all sheets

Tuesday- Dust horizontal surfaces throughout house

Wednesday- General Vacuum

Thursday- Mop Kitchen and Bathroom Floors

Friday- OFF

Area Maintenance (Focus on one area each week)

Kitchen/ Eating Area, Laundry Room:

1.        Clean lights, walls, fridge, switch plates

2.        Clean out fridge, microwave, oven

3.        Clean chairs

4.        Vacuum along ceiling, walls, island, blinds, ceiling vents, rugs

5.        Clean windows and sills

6.        Clean inside all drawers and cabinets

7.        Clean cabinet faces

8.        Scour sink

9.        Clean mudroom closet

10.     Clean knives on counter

11.     Clean all counter things

12.     Clean dog food and water bowl

13.     Clean leaf divide in table

Family Room/ Office:

1.        Dust all Surfaces

2.        Empty drawers/ cabinets and clean

3.        Empty shelves and clean

4.        Clean ceiling fan

5.        Vacuum floor, ceiling vents, blinds and couches

6.        Steam clean carpets if needed

7.        Clean TV and electronics

8.        Clean windows

9.        Clean walls, switch plates and all plates

10.     Dust baseboards

Living Room/ Play Room/ Foyer:

1.        Go through toys/ clean surfaces

2.        Go through all cabinets and clean

3.        Clean windows and sills, entertainment center and front door

4.        Dust all surfaces (horizontal and vertical)

5.        Clean all lights

6.        Clean baseboards and wall plates

7.        Spot Clean carpet, chairs and walls

8.        Clean ledge in foyer

9.        Dust Banister

10.     Steam clean carpets if needed

11.     Vacuum the floor pulling everything out, along ceiling, blinds, vents and chairs

Bathrooms

1.        Scrub all tubs and sinks

2.        Empty all cabinets and drawers and wipe out

3.        Clean all mirrors and glass

4.        Clean all metal in Master shower

5.        Vacuum rug, ceiling, vents, blinds and floors

6.        Clean all windows and sills

7.        Clean toilets

8.        Dust all pictures

9.        Clean floors

10.     Clean walls and doors

11.     Clean master bathroom closet

12.     Clean all lights

Girls Rooms/ Landing

1.        Vacuum ceiling, blinds, floors, and vents

2.        Empty all drawers, cabinets and shelves and clean inside

3.        Clean baseboards, walls and switch plates with magic erasers

4.        Clean windows and sills

5.        Dust all surfaces

6.        Clean filters and fans

7.        Steam Clean if needed

8.        Clean all quilts

Master Bedroom and Closet

1.        Vacuum ceiling, blinds, floors and vents

2.        Empty all drawers, cabinets and shelves- organize and wipe out

3.        Clean baseboards, walls and switch plates

4.        Steam Clean if needed

5.        Clean windows and sills

6.        Dust all surfaces

7.        Clean all lights and fans

8.        Clean duvet cover

Outside and Garage

1.        Pull weeds

2.        Trim bushes

3.        Trim under swing set

4.        Clean up flower beds

5.        Put away all things out of place in garage

6.        Sweep garage

7.        Clean playhouse and picnic table

Now, over the years I have been able to streamline this.  On Tuesday when I do the general dusting of the house I also do the heavy and specific dusting for the specific area for that week.  The same goes for vacuuming, so I don’t have to get out the heavy duty vacuum over and over again.  We have a small multi-surface sweeper for the everyday.  I do most of this when my kids are up and it doesn’t take very long (about 15-30minutes), especially once you get a routine going. 

My husband is the one in charge of the everyday bathrooms.  This should only take about 5 minutes.  We keep a covered, discrete, toilet brush in every bathroom with a little bit of old shampoo always in the bottom.  The toilets are given a quick swipe and flush and done.  There is a bottle of cleaner and rags in every bathroom as well to make this easy as can be.  Spray, wipe, throw rag in the laundry and done! 

Laundry is a continuous project around here.  Get ready to gasp…  I do NOT separate my laundry!!!  I know, I know.  I actually got this tip from a maid I used to work with where I was a nanny back in the day.  She used the washing machine AS the hamper and when it was full you run a load.  It is awesome!  I have been doing this ever since I had my first washer.  Now, I do have to say that as a mother of four and always on the go I do not own the fanciest of garments and on the rare occasion I do wear something that needs special attention I give it it’s due pampering, but in general we just fill and go.  I always use cold water as well.  For energy and environmental reasons, and the research I read on the disillusioned benefits of hot vs. cold, it just isn’t worth it.  If I have something that truly needs hot, like sick clothes and blankets etc. that is the exception.

Making beds is simple at our home as well.  We all have a quilt and a fleece blanket under it that is just pulled up to be made and then the pillows put on there.  The fleece blanket and the sheets are what are cleaned every week and the decorative and special quilts are just done during their special weeks.

Every house is different and every person will have their own ways to expedite things that they find over time.  I have a host of little short cuts that I will share as time goes on, but I think this post is long enough today! 

I can really say that in about a half hour three days a week (excluding sheets day because I have to wait on the washer and dryer) I can have this house clean and presentable, but MOST importantly I feel free in it and don’t have the weight of the CLEAN on my shoulders.  My nights and weekends are free to enjoy family time without the stresses.

For all of those that have asked, and those that haven’t, I hope this can help guide you in the direction of cleaning freedom through organization and planning.

I mostly make all of my own cleaning supplies and next week I will share recipes with you and let you know where to go and how to use it.  There are endless companies and advertisements out there to lure you in many directions, but most of everything you need is probably in your kitchen right now!

Living Simply To Simply Live!

This week I am going to walk you through the process I went through in order to simplify the physical chaos in my life… my house!  I will also fill you in on how I continue this practice and how I keep this place clean and visitor ready at all times, even with four kids.  It sounds crazy, but it can be done and you don’t need a lot of time to do it. 

We live in chaos.  The world is pulling at us in all different directions every moment of the day and it isn’t always easy to say no to someone or something.  This leads to over scheduling and exhaustion in many circumstances.  Trying to then raise children on top of the day to day is enough to make a person shut down sometimes.  The last thing we need when we walk in from a busy day, or walk downstairs when the kids are finally all asleep is a muddled mess of a home.  The home is a shelter, a peace of mind and escape from the world out there.  It should be a place you find rest and comfort.  If this isn’t the case maybe it is because you feel like you are encased in walls of stuff.  Maybe you have just accepted this or the thought of going through and tampering with it is just too much and makes your head hurt. 

(Our playroom after a day of play!)

Well, I am here to tell you to buck up and bit the bullet.  The first step to simplifying your life is to declutter, declutter, declutter!!!  Do you still have those wedding gifts that have never been used and your ten year anniversary is coming up? Do you still have bins and bins of baby clothes even though you are done having children?  What about movies and books from the college days that are collecting dust on your shelves?  Or the clothes you have that haven’t fit for the past 5 years or so?  This is all STUFF!!!  This stuff takes up space in your home, is unnecessary and only serves a negative purpose in your life at this point.  Get rid of it!  Chances are you have been building up things for a while and you range from a fairly simple person to someone that is fringing on hording.  The trick is to take a small area at a time.  Pick a room..  and start. 

That is the first and biggest step. 

Just start.

I started with my bedroom and my closet.  My husband thought I was crazy when he came home and saw the Goodwill pile that day.  I think it rivaled his own 6’4” stature.  It was to the point in our closets that I had to push with all I had just to hang things up after laundry and I didn’t wear most of it.  I had size ranges all over the place and styles (oh, the styles) all over the place.  After I was done that afternoon, I could actually move my clothes a good 10” from side to side when hung.  I think I stood there and marveled at that for more minutes than I care to admit and just moved it back and forth. 

Now, I am a person that once I start doing something it is hard for me to stop.  So, I gave myself a month to do this, but was really done in a week and a half with the whole house.  When you start being able to breathe in your own home and see those piles of things leaving it is an addictive drug!  But, you should give yourself a nice cushion of time so that way you can surprise yourself when it gets done before that or just enough time to do a bit a day (and if you miss a day or two it is OK).  My rule was simple…  Does this add to my life?  The exception was, of course, memorabilia.  I have a chest at the end of my bed those mementos and keepsakes fill and I am a sentimental gal, so I am sure it will fill at some point and I will get another.  But, the point is that all of the memorabilia is consolidated to this one area and I know where it is.  I did find, however, while going through it that some things I kept and had NO idea what they were and those I was ok parting with. 

I couldn’t believe how much stuff I had that we didn’t use or need.  It went from claustrophobic to openness over those weeks.

The things I could I recycled, but about 90% of what I got rid of I gave to Goodwill.  I had great tax returns in that donated section that year!  There are many awesome organizations out there, though, that take your new and gently used items.  I keep a Goodwill bin in our closet and as soon as we don’t need something anymore, our youngest has grown out of it or I find something we don’t use it goes in there.  When it is full I make a trip.  This way the clutter is always on its way out and I don’t have to be surrounded by it.  Another way to get rid of things is a garage sale.  The bad side to a garage sale is that you have to keep it until the sale, go through everything and price it and actually sit at the sale.  But, you do get a monetary pay out much sooner than waiting for Uncle Sam to give it to you.  There is always ebay and craigs list as well.  It all depends on your personal taste and patience levels.  My patience wouldn’t fill a thimble and I like the stuff out. 

Look at your tables around the house?  Do you need all of those things on there?  Come to think of it… do you need the table?  Seriously, think simple.  Think what makes you comfortable and what makes things easiest for you.  When you go to dust in your house what is your most troubled spot?  Try and free up some of that.  See if the pictures of Aunt Mildred and the ten pictures of your kids and parents can be put into a collage frame and hung on a wall somewhere or just hung individually.  Then dusting would be easy. 

One of those talks I went to a while back said that you should try and have the minimal amount of horizontal surfaces in your home.  Now, the woman I spoke to said she had hardly any, but I am pretty sure a few are good to have.  I have my dining room table, a small table in my family room and one in my living room and then the desk and those are all the ones in the downstairs of my house (besides kitchen and bathroom counters) and they are mostly empty and easy to wipe down each week. 

For those of you that may struggle with this a bit here is a list I found on a website I found useful called http://www.zenhabits.net/ .  These are ways that may help you along in this process.

1. Declutter for 15 minutes every day. It’s amazing how much you can get through if you just do it in small increments like this.
2. Don’t allow things into the house in the first place. Whether you’ve begun decluttering the living space, or you’ve just completed it, stop bringing in new stuff NOW. Even if that’s ALL you do and don’t start decluttering immediately, if you can only establish one habit at a time, establish the no-more-stuff habit first. This way, when you do get to decluttering the existing stuff, you’ve already stopped making it worse. Think of bailing out a boat with a hole in it. You can bail and bail, but it won’t do anything for the leak.
3. Donate stuff you’re decluttering, so you don’t feel bad about wasting it.
4. Create a Joe’s Goals chart with decluttering on it — either daily, or 3 times a week. Check off the days when you declutter, and you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment.
5. Start at the corner by the door and move your way around the room, doing the superficial stuff first – surfaces, empty the bin etc. Repeat, but do more the 2nd time around – ie. open the cupboards.
6. Whenever you’re boiling the kettle for tea, tidy up the kitchen. If the kitchen is tidy, tidy up the next room – it’s only 3 minutes but it keeps you on top of everything (helps if you have an Englishman’s obsession with Tea as well!)
7. Use the “one in, two out” rule. The rule: whenever you bring in an item, you have to throw away two other items. First you cheat, by throwing out two pieces of paper, but soon you will have to move to big stuff.
8. Make your storage space smaller and more minimal. If you have lots of storage, you’ll fill it with stuff.
9. Clothing rule: If you haven’t worn an item in 6 months, sell or donate it.
10. The One-Year Box. Take all your items that you unsure about getting rid of (e.g. “I might need this someday…”), put them in a box, seal it and date it for 1 year in the future. When the date comes, and you still didn’t need to open it to get anything, donate the box WITHOUT OPENING IT. You probably won’t even remember what there was in the box.
11. Declutter one room (including any closets, desks, cabinets, etc.) before starting on the next one. Spending time in that room will feel *so* good, and it will be so easy to keep clean, that it will motivate you to do more!
12. Keep a list in your planner labeled “Don’t Need It – Don’t Want It.” When you’re out shopping and run across some kind of gadget or other item you crave, note it down on the list. This will slow you down long enough to reconsider. Also, seeing the other things on the list that you nearly bought on impulse really helps.
13. Internalize that your value is not in your “stuff”. It is just “stuff”. And realize that your value grows when you share your “stuff”. Hoarding is a selfish act.
14. Have someone else (who you trust!) help you go through things. They don’t have the (sometime’s irrational) emotional attachment that you might have, but can still recognize if something should be kept.
15. Gift everything. Books you’ve read immediately get recycled among friends, family or local libraries. If you buy a new gaming system, donate your old one – and all the games.

We do not have a basement in our home and we don’t need one, for storage anyway. We have a practically empty attic that has holiday things in it and that is it. Just keep asking yourself “Does this add something to my life?” The answer is a clear yes or no most of the time. Let go and let it add something to someone else’s life. Make a trip to the Container Store and organize those rumpled piles of things in random corners. Once you simplify your living area you can breathe a bit easier and things seem a lot less complicated, your cleaning time is more than halved and you have a peace of mind you didn’t know you could have in your home.

(The good kind of chaos you like to see in the house)

Once you have been through this step of the process you can come up with a plan that continues the simplification trend and eliminates those dreaded cleaning days that steal time and energy from you and your family. I will cover the plan I have used for over two years and how it has changed our family dynamic in many ways in my next blog post.

What are some fun tips you have used to organize a part of your home?

Happy Decluttering!

 

100,000

You came into our lives when I was only 14 weeks pregnant with our first child, on my birthday in fact.  You have been there to usher home our first born and have been covered in hair from our canine child.

You have watched us grow from unaware children to focused parents and blossoming adults.  This was your first home.

Since then we have gone from Chicago, to Bloomington, to Carmel, to Noblesville and a spot is always cleared for you.

You take care of us, shelter us, help us get to all of our vacations, play dates, schools, friends, errands and “just for fun” spots. 

You have made more room for our family as it grew and grew!

You have been a comforting and peaceful place for rest when needed.

You somehow create places to play in some difficult circumstances...

...and serve as a small home away from home.

You have held up beautifully during MANY LONG rides across the states.

You have been there to help our family enjoy time together and just relax for a while.

You have rarely complained in all our years together and been strong when we have always needed you.  Though you have had to be fixed more than a couple times from bumps and bruises you have protected us always.  So, as you pass through this momentous milestone, know that we appreciate you so much and we still need you for many more years to come!!! 

Thank you dear mini van of ours that we never thought we would have.  You have been a welcomed addition.

Sincerely,

Your Family

Get Ready, Get Set, GO!!!!!

I have never felt like I was put here to cower in a corner…to watch as the rest of the world flies by and waves at my idleness.  I am here, I think everyone is here, to experience this world and take risks and adventure.  Discover things, investigate, explore, smile and create relationships along the way.

This past August we went to a fundraiser event at the local airfield and there were planes everywhere!  All sorts of different looking designs and functionalities, but they all flew.  It was incredible. 

One small yellow plane caught my eye and looked like it was taking people for rides.  My eyes called to attention and I stayed there to find out how to do this.  As it turned out my personal excitement could rest because it was only for kids, but I called my 6 year old over and asked, very calmly, if this would be something she would be interested in.  I wanted her to make the decision without me pushing because she has been one to withhold from things in the past sometimes.  To my surprise she said yes before I could finish and there was no hesitation.  She marched up and stood in line with some neighbor friends of ours. 

The next turn was hers.  This little open top two seater was empty and beckoning her to climb aboard.  She stepped in, was strapped in, ear protection was placed on her little head and she gave a thumbs up.  “I am all ready to go mom!!!”  I swear it felt like I was sending her off to college.  “I have done everything I can do mom, I have all my safety equipment on and secure, I am ready, now let me go and see what is out there for myself”.  Dramatic, I know, but it is how I felt. 

We watched her take off and rise into the sky and loop around.  I lost her for a few seconds in glare and clouds, but then saw her again.  I was living every moment vicariously through my kid up there.  I prayed for safety and smiles.  The air on her cheeks was that that only the highest flying birds experience and the sun shone so bright on her up there.

The plane came in for a landing and stopped right before me.  Skyla had a HUGE smile on her face and her hair was in every direction.  She stepped off and said it was amazing.  I was so happy for her and proud of her for taking that chance.  Trin was very sad to find that she was still a little too small, but still reminds me that next time we go she will be able to go up if that man is doing rides again. 

We tell our girls that being shy won’t get them what they want in life because they are too afraid to ask for it, or ask for help, do the work or take the risks and LIVE.  We all have our own path and our own “choose your own adventure” story that we are in, even our children.  Make choices, fail and fail better next time, learn and grow.  If you don’t take that risk you may be missing out on something amazing and if you don’t let your kids step out there and take on some risk they could miss their flight of a lifetime too. 

The Whole New World of Whole Foods

As much as I love the grocery store “Whole Foods” I am not talking about them, per say, I am talking about the idea of Whole Foods.  This is defined, by my good friends at Wikipedia, as “foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible, before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as salt, carbohydrates, or fat.” A world of food exists out there that isn’t mass produced in a factory that spits out pollution, uses up energy stores or packages every minimum quantity in maximum packaging that fills our land fills.  Isles and isles of grocery stores in the United States, and around the world, are filled with crap.  Pardon the frankness, but it is true.  That stuff is as far from natural and God grown as you can get!  But, when you don’t know to look deeper and start to peel away the layers of advertising and misinformation surrounding us, you give in.  You just go and grab those orange cheesy concocted salty snacks or the meats and cheeses produced by the big names.  Everyone else is doing it, why shouldn’t I?  Right?  But, the last part is crucial…  “why shouldn’t I?”  This is what we need to ask.  There is SO much information out there, you just have to look.  The books, shows, documentaries, websites and blogs devoted to this topic are numerous and people, like me, are discovering its benefits.  I have found one website to be very helpful and I thought I would pass it on to my readers as well.  www.100daysofrealfood.com has amazing recipes and information about real food (aka whole food) and the why’s and what can I do and how to do it questions and answers.  Check it out!

I have been blogging lately about our family’s food revolution over the last few years and the Whole Foods idea is our newest venture and it has turned into the biggest, most eye opening one yet.  How often do you look at your food labels?  Not just the fat and calorie count, but the ingredient label?  When you look how many things can you pronounce and recognize?  Is that something, if by itself, you would go and order a glass of and drink it down?   Probably not.  I am guessing it would have a label on it saying “harmful if swallowed” and “keep away from children”.  So, why eat it in our food?  Like I said before we are about a 90% organic household, but even our organics had things in there I didn’t know and a lot of added sugars and natural preservatives that I can do without.  Just because it is organic doesn’t mean it is the best choice for us.  Organic white flour is a great example.  White flour is nothing but carbs and sugar and lacks all of the awesome nutrients of a whole wheat flour.  This was mass produced ages ago because whole wheat flour wouldn’t keep as well on shelves, but guess what guys???  We have refrigerators now!  How cool is that?  We don’t have to sacrifice that anymore. 

Bottom line is you want to know what you are eating.  You are what you eat right?  You get out what you put in and I want the best things going in so I can have the most energy, concentration and effort coming out.  I want to be there for my kids today, tomorrow and as many days as I can in the future and set a good example for them.  There is a lot of information out there and some contradicts each other and it can be confusing, but that is only because there is a lot of research going into this field right now and people are learning more everyday.  Learning that processed foods we have created are not as good for us as the ones nature provides for us.  Keep educating yourself, read and explore you food options and you might find you are ready to abandon some things in your pantry and try some thing new.  

I have found such a weight off my shoulders since we have started adopting this.  I don’t worry about calories and fat counts, non-fat verses low-fat varieties and things because the truth is that we are naturally given a very balanced diet, we just need to use it.  I had a prof in college that I worked for that used the KISS principle often.  “Keep It Simple Stupid”.  I have always remembered his rants on the topic.  Many agriculture companies have gone and made something that is simple much, much more complicated and screwed everything up in the process…including the health of the people and animals affected.  You don’t have to obsess about food, just enjoy it.  Enjoy what the earth provides without the over refining and processing, without the chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.  We, as creatures, are all made a little different as are all the fruits and vegetables in this world.  A basket of tomatoes should include an array of different color shades and shapes and not just cloned monochromatic red#5 globes.    

(Our garden in mid July)

(Lana harvesting some peas)

 

Get out there and plant a garden.  You say you don’t have time?  Neither do I, but we have one anyway and we try.  If you really don’t have a desire for your own garden there are CSA’s (community supported agriculture) that you can become a part of and get local, fresh produce from them on a regular basis.  Check into them for your area.  We can go out in the mornings and pick our vegi’s for lunch that day and my daughters think it is amazing…  because it IS amazing.  To watch a small seed you place in the earth turn into a massive plant taller than daddy is, in fact, amazing.  This year we planted, corn, green beans, sweet peas, carrots, zucchini, watermelon and tomatoes.  My husband and I do NOT have green thumbs, but we are trying and we will continue to try and fail along the way, but that is the only way we will learn.  Before this summer I had no idea how corn grew.  I have passed leagues of corn fields, but I never knew where corn grew on these plants and now I do because I grew some and my girls know too.  Embarrassing I know, but true!

(Our first corn!)

(We had to pull a lot of carrots to make room for the watermelon plants to take over, and they have)

(This was all his idea and making)

(It isn't much, but it is a start!)

We also make our own whole wheat bread now along with tortilla’s, pancakes, noodles, tomato sauce, veggie burgers, granola cereal, granola bars, mashed potatoes, jam and soups.  These are all things we previously bought at the stores and now I make at home.  I have never considered myself a cook by any stretch, but it is because I never really gave myself a chance and I have loved it.  I cook when my girls are awake and I do it with them.  I want to show them what eating is about.  It is taking the things we are given in nature and experimenting and discovering new flavors.  They love it.  The chairs are constantly pulled up to the island counter.

(Brian making some zucchini bread with the girls)

(Zucchini pie from scratch...even the crust!)

(I couldn't even get a picture before pieces were missing!)

This is an ongoing adventure because we are always discovering new things and experimenting with new combinations and challenges.  I am not perfect, by any means, and I will succumb to the industry from time to time when dining out or at a friends house, but as a whole we are transitioning again in our relationship with food to a more wholesome side of life.

(Pajama Pancake Day with some home made granola!)