Recent Articles - Page 125 of 125

What You Need to Know to Get Your Christmas Shopping Done Early

Early Christmas Shopping. Why you want to. Why you need to. Why you should. Tips to save money, time and stress. Easy Christmas Shopping. Shopping done early. Less stress. Less hassle. Save money. Enjoy your holiday season.

Call me crazy, but I'm already starting my early Christmas shopping for this year! With our second baby expected at the beginning of October, I'm trying to get ahead on all things fall and winter. This includes Halloween costumes, garden and yard work, meal planning and, of course, Christmas preparations!

Yes, I'll admit that every year I have great intentions of shopping throughout the year to lighten the expense at Christmas.

This has previously backfired on me.

I'll forget what I've bought, or found “better” gifts later on. Sending our budget into a tailspin.

I've developed a few tips to help [myself] with the early Christmas shopping. I'll also list some reasons why you should start! Even if you're not expecting a fall or winter baby.

How to Hand Wash Cloth Diapers Quickly + Easily

by Hampers and Hiccups

Why you should hand wash your cloth diapers. Hand washing cloth diapers saves you money, time, resources. It helps the environment, is better for your diapers, and saves you lots in the long run! Find out how to handwash your cloth diaper stash here, and why you want to!

“EW! There is no way I am going to hand wash poopy diapers!”

This was my reaction when my mother suggested a vacation washing method.

Continue reading to find out how I overcame my disgust, what I did to learn more about how to hand wash cloth diapers, and my personal hand washing routine. Plus all the benefits along the way!

How to Make Simple and Delicous Homemade Croutons

by Hampers and Hiccups

DIY Croutons. Make your own croutons for cheap. frugal croutons using leftover bread

Today I'll go through one of my go-tos for using up bread ends: homemade croutons.

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Where to Start

A few days ago we picked up our new stand up freezer. Happy Dance! I finally got a chance to fill and organize it yesterday. While doing so, I came across my full bag of bread ends that I'd been ~~ignoring~~ forgetting about for the last while.

When we made the switch to strictly homemade bread, I found I was always left with the end pieces. We usually cut as little off the ends as possible to maximize the actual loaf for toast, fresh slices, etc. Not wanting to throw these pieces away, I decided to put them to good use.

Simple Tips & Tricks to Preserve Your Garden Harvest

by Hampers and Hiccups

Garden preserving. Tips, tricks, ideas for a stress-free, easy, efficient preserving season. garden. harvest

As I mentioned here, once the first of the produce starts getting close to being harvested, I'm busy planning for garden preserving!

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Garden Preserving – A Marathon, Not A Race

This means from the middle of July until about the end of September, my kitchen looks like a (very ill-managed) factory! The canner takes up permanent residence on my stove and my dishwasher is constantly loaded with all sorts of garden preserving utensils.

How to Harvest Your Garden Efficiently!

by Hampers and Hiccups

It's getting to that time of year when we're all closely monitoring our gardens in great anticipation of that first harvest of some yummy produce. I'm talking the stuff we have to really wait for – beans, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, corn and potatoes – not the quick-to-grow veggies like lettuce and radishes!

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The Harvest Issue

It seems to take FOREVER to get everything in to harvest and process! From about mid-late July until we pull the last of the potatoes out in September or October, I'm busy picking, blanching, freezing, canning, and preparing. Phew!
Since we try to use every last bit of produce and not let any go to waste, it can get pretty crazy 'round here trying to get the harvest done and processed before it spoils.

Over the years, I've slowly become more and more aware of the craziness, and more and more adamant about efficiency (in every aspect of our lives). So, I've figured out a few ways to save some time and stress during garden harvest.