Sew Your Own Cloth Napkins!

We have been using cloth napkins instead of paper napkins in our house for some time. We started to use them to cut back on paper. I would buy them on sale at various places. World Market, TJ Max, and other discount home good stores are great places to stock up. There is always the debate on whether cloth napkins are better for the environment than paper. I like to think so. We have not purchased a package of paper napkins for over four years. I have also had some of the same cloth napkins for the past four years. Some argue that it is not environmentally friendly because you use energy and water in washing them. First, I never have so many used napkins that I have to do a load of just napkins. They are so small and light, I simply add them to other loads of laundry I am doing. Also, because they are so small and light they dry very quickly. When the weather is nice, I usually hang our clothes up outside. Even if I do use the dryer, they dry very quickly. Overall, I enjoy using cloth napkins. They are much better and absorbent than paper napkins. Cloth napkins are also a great way to dress up the dinner table.

So, I recently got a sewing machine. I have never sewn, but I wanted a project that would be an easy beginner project. We could always use more cloth napkins, so I found this adorable fabric on sale for $4/yard. I had enough fabric to make 6 napkins. I even have some leftover for another easy project. I also make a pin cushion for myself. Since these napkins are just for us, I wasn't very particular in making sure they were all equal in size.

The best thing about this project was it only took about an hour of my time. Give cloth napkins a chance. You won't be disappointed!!!


First, cut fabric into squares then iron the fabric.

Pin edges of fabric.

Sew away!!!

See my new pin cushion!

Homemade Egg Rolls

I love egg rolls.  They are always a nice treat when eating out.  The other day I saw egg roll wraps for sale in the store.  They were very reasonably priced (around $2), so I thought it would be worth trying.  I followed the recipe on the Nasoya Egg Roll package as close as I could.  I even made my own sweet and sour sauce.  We served these with rice, they were amazing.  We baked them instead of frying, so we didn't feel as guilty.  These are definitely worth trying.  You can adjust the recipe very easily to your likely.  They are  also great as leftovers!

Here is Nasoya's Recipe 

My changes...
I did not add any ground pork, we kept ours vegetarian.  Also I substituted regular onion (minced) for the green onions.  We didn't have any sprouts so those were left out.  Also, we didn't have oyster sauce, not something we keep in our frig.  But we do always have fish sauce for curries, so I used some of that in it.  The ginger really makes these, so double it if you like.  Also, we added purple cabbage, garlic and a little salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste (we like our food spicy!). If you bake them, I recommend flipping them after they have cooked for 7 minutes or so.  Also, I bake my longer about 15 - 20 minutes total.

Ingredients:
1 pkg Nasoya® Egg Roll Wraps
1 lb lean ground pork
1 tsp minced ginger
2 cups cabbage, finely chopped
1/4 lb bean sprouts
1/2 cup carrot, shredded
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
Canola oil if frying
Non-stick cooking spray if baking
Olive oil as needed if baking
Optional Sauce for dipping

Preparation Method: Stir-fry meat and ginger in skillet over high heat until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots and green onions; cook 2 minutes. Stir in oyster sauce. Let mixture cool. Use 2 tbsp filling for each egg roll. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners. Brush top corner with water and roll up wrap tightly to enclose filling, sealing roll with top flap.

Frying Option: In a large skillet, heat oil to 350° F and place rolls flap down, a few at a time, turning occasionally, until golden, 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Baking Option: Heat oven to 400° F. Place rolls on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly brush the tops with olive oil and bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar

2/3 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 tablespoons cornstarch (or flour to thicken)

Directions

1. Place the sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, ketchup, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil.  Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened.

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Heating Our Home

Luckily our home came with wood stove in our living room and a wood furnace in our garage.  Seeing how heating oil has risen to close to $4.00/gallon, I find it to be beneficial to have alternative sources to heat our home.  The picture below is of my partner, Dan, using the chain saw to cut up some of the wood that came with the house.  This was seasoned wood that we had to cut and split.  This wood we use in our wood stove.  The wood stove is wonderful.  We use it every night and it really heats our house well.  So far we have purchased 3 cords of wood, we have used about two cords and the last cord should get us to the summer.  One of the cords we purchased was split and delivered.  From now on, I think we will just buy it like that.  By the time you cut it, split it (rent a splitter), I don't think it is worth the $20/cord you save.  The average cost for a cord of seasoned wood split and delivered ranges from $200-225.  For logs of wood it is around $175-200 a cord.  I would compare a cord of wood being equivalent to 100 gallons of oil.  So you can see there is definitely a price difference in oil and wood.

I mentioned we also have a wood boiler furnace.  Unfortunately this broke on us at the beginning of winter.  Due to being on a tight budget after moving, we decided to wait and have it fixed this summer.  We know nothing about wood boilers and want to have it fixed right.  You don't want to mess around with it.  The photo below is of the 3 cords of wood we purchased for the wood boiler that is stacked in our wood shed.  We haven't used it, but it will be well seasoned by next winter and we will split it for our wood stove probably.

We have had to purchase oil to help with heating this winter.  So far we have only gone through 200 gallons.  We are getting ready to purchase another 100 gallons that will easily get us to summer.  This summer we really want to insulate our house better in a few areas.  We are pretty conservative with our heat and keep our house temperature low.  We are both gone 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week.  I don't see the purpose in having the heat up for that time.  Usually our thermostat is set at 50 degrees.  When we come home and fire up the wood stove that will raise the house temp to between 60 and 70 degrees.  We are comfortable with the house temperature like this, I am sure not everyone would be.  If you don't have a wood stove or pellet stove, I would recommend looking into one.  It is amazing how well they heat, it is a different feeling of warmth, really wonderful and comfortable.  Plus I think it is good to find alternative ways to heat your home.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I hate spending money on laundry detergent.  I always get the cheap brand because I can't justify spending $10 on a smelly soap just to wash my clothes.  Plus, I often wonder what is in that stuff and is it good to dump in our water?

So I came across this recipe for homemade laundry detergent.  It is VERY simple and easy.  I have used it and love the simple clean smell, and it does a great job of washing our clothes.  I have only made a couple of batches of this and have stuck to this recipe because I had the supplies.  I might experiment and try different bars of soap, but I have enjoyed the Ivory and Fels-Naptha mix so I might just stick with it.

Recipe...

1 Cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda

1 Cup Mule Team Borax

1 Bar Ivory Soap

Simply use a grater to shave the bar of soap.  Mix with the Borax and Washing soda.  I doubled the recipe the first time to try it out.  You can also make large quantities.  I also used half a bar of Ivory and half a bar of Fels-Naptha.  I purchased a glass jar to store it and use 2 tablespoons for each load.  Some recipes I found also call for Oxi-Clean.  I have found Oxi-Clean fades some of my clothes, so I opted out for that one.  Also, I read an article that Borax is not good for you.  For now, I will continue to use it, but I will be searching for an alternative.  I read somewhere that this only costs $1.56 for 56 loads of laundry.  I haven't done the math myself, but I can definitely see the low cost with this.  I spent about $9 for all three ingredients and I didn't use all of the ingredients either, just enough to fill my container.  I think I will easily be able to make another doubled or tripled batch with my remaining ingredients.

Also, this has sparked an interest to make my own dish washing soap and fabric softener.  I recently purchased the items to make them.  I will update you soon after I have made them and tested them.

My inspiration - Pineterest

About a month ago, I started a Pinterest account.  This is my new addiction.  I think it has cut my facebook time in half if not more.  Pinterest is amazing!  I would kiss the person who invited it.  I would always see great ideas online for recipes and DIY projects.  However, I am awful at bookmarking things and often forget about things.  Pinterest is a site where you can share your great ideas, and see your friends great ideas, and "pin" them to different boards.  You create the boards, so they can be organized and categorized however you like.  I have found so many creative ideas from there, and tested them out.  I will share them on here.  Pineterest has motivated me and inspired me to live more simply.  I have found many different ideas that are easy and simple to do.

Welcome!

I love Maine!  I love everything about this beautiful state.  The people, the towns, the scenery, the beaches, the mountains, I could go on and on.  Recently my partner and I purchased a home in the countryside here.  It is an old renovated farmhouse and we have truly fell in love with it.  We love it so much, we find it hard to leave.  We live there with our dog and two cats.  Now that we are settling down, we want to find ways to live more simply.  This blog has been created for us to share our tricks and experiments as we try to simplify our lives here in Maine.  We have no intentions of living off the grid and going to the extreme with this.  There are little things that can be done to live simply, whether through gardening, sewing, cooking, or reducing some of the things in our lives.