Flip-top Bottles at Aldi's

If you enjoy making your own kombucha at home, you need to stop in Aldi's and buy their sparkling lemonade (non-alcoholic) just for the flip-top bottle it comes in. My kids said the lemonade was very good too. (I wouldn't know, as I have been sugar-free on keto for over two years now. 😋) 

These bottles are very expensive to buy in a case. I paid $2.19 for what I think was a one liter bottle. They are glass and well made.

Sealing the bottles of kombucha airtight on the second ferment will produce a fizzy beverage. This is usually when you would add fruit or juice if you want--mixed berries and pineapple juice with ginger were our favorites. I have used pint canning jars with reused metal lids screwed down very tightly. This wasn't always successful. These bottles are perfect for the job.

Recycled Crayons, with Glitter!

This is a little off topic from what I usually blog about, but we were so tickled with the results of this little project that I just had to pass it on.  I know many of you have young children in the home or grandchildren who will love this idea.  It made for a great rainy day project!

All moms know how crayons tend to multiply and turn up in the darnedest places (like in the dryer--with a full load of whites!)  While most young children seem to take immense pleasure from breaking their crayons to bits and peeling off the papers, seldom do they want to color with them again afterward. 

I've been finding little bits of crayons under the table, in the cracks of the recliner, inside of random drawers, here and there.  Usually I just toss them in the trash.  They'll never find their way back to the crayon box again anyway.  Then this morning, I saw the directions for recycled crayons on a blog...someplace!  I went back later and couldn't remember where I found it.  (If it was your blog, let me know and I'll link back to you!)

This is so easy and so ingenious.  My nearly-four-year-old daughter even enjoyed the task of removing the paper peels.  She really had fun sorting them by color group.  Then sorting them into the mini-muffin pan was the best part.

Pick an old muffin pan if you can, large or mini, because you might end up with crayon residue on it and it will have to be dedicated to crafts after that.  Lining the holes with cupcake liners would work too and probably preserve your pan, especially if you don't fill them too full.  You'll need to spray the holes with a vegetable oil spray before proceeding.

Take your crayons and break them into smaller bits and sort them into the holes in eye-pleasing color combinations.  You really can't go too wrong with this.  Pink and brown made a nice combination.  Black, grey and white went well together.  I really loved all the blues and greens together too.

Now here is the fun part.  This I came up with myself.  I took body glitter; the very fine, powdery kind you can use on your face and sprinkled it liberally over the crayons after they were sorted into the muffin holes.  I'd say I dumped in maybe 1/4th a teaspoon of glitter into each hole.  Give the pan a good tap and a shake to distribute the glitter.

We used Wet N' Wild Mega Sparkle body glitter.

Sprinkle generously for lots of bling!

Place the pan into your oven, preheated to 275 degrees and give the crayons about 10 minutes to melt.  Carefully pull it out and set it in a safe place.  There'll be no mercy if you splash it onto your carpet or someplace else you don't want it, that's for sure.

If you like, you can take a toothpick or wooden skewer and give it a little swirl while it's still liquid. Don't get too carried away or you'll loose all the neat swirls.

They don't take very long to set.  Maybe 15 minutes tops.  I put mine into the fridge after they cooled a little to speed the process.  We were very excited to get to coloring with them. 

Once they were set, they popped out of the muffin pan very easily!

We spent well over an hour or two coloring with them and once Ava was done with that, she also enjoyed stacking them into castles for awhile.

They color really well and you never know what color you'll get as you go.  The glitter adheres to the paper nicely.

I think these would make wonderful party favors for a child's birthday party.  I have some silicone fossil molds here somewhere and I think I might make some up as freebies for my summer Creation Club kids.  These will also be nice to carry a couple in my purse for a handy distraction when needed.  No more fuzzy, broken crayons lost at the bottom of my purse.  These are too big to lose!

Ava and her Nana spent most of the afternoon coloring.

These sure helped to brighten up an otherwise dreary day.  Today was so cold and cloudy, it felt more like February than May.

This post is part of "Get Your Craft On" at Today's Creative Blog.
Lots of good ideas there, go check 'em out!

All They Do

...is Eat, Drink and Poo.

The next couple of weeks will find me intensely involved in making sure these Cornish X chickens have a clean bedding and that the feeders don't run out during the day.  It's like a sprint to the finish line.

It can be a hassle and a drain.  I can't lie.  But the whole reason I will put up with these freakish beasties over the next month is for the mouth-watering, healthy, wholesome meat they will provide for my family's table.

It really is unbelievable how fast they grow.

Here is their current progress at four and a half weeks of age.  Note how little ol' Mystery Rooster chick is still hanging in there with the big guys, bless his heart.  I'm kind of glad now that I have him, because it does help to comparatively demonstrate the Cornish X rate of growth.

I am studiously keeping notes on their feed consumption and my other costs involved with their care.  On the last batch we did, I kept track of what I spent on feed and weighed each processed bird.  I used those calculations to discover that with a little bit of elbow-grease on my part, I can put hormone-free, preservative-free, superior tasting chicken on the table for nearly the same cost of buying factory produced chicken at the grocery store at the average going price (not sale priced).

The difference in flavor and texture really stands out.  I put mine in a chicken tractor for grow-out and they do consume some greens and weeds which improves the flavor.  I also can't stand the texture of brined poultry. 

Did you know that part of the price you pay for chicken at the grocery store is for a significant volume of salt-water that is infused into the meat?  Brining equals mushy meat, in my opinion.  A well-raised and humanely processed bird will never require brining to "tenderize" the meat.  Store bought chicken nowadays is also Cornish X birds and they are so young at process time, they can't help but be tender anyways.  I believe they mainly brine them to increase water-weight in the meat.

Anyhoo...off my soapbox.  What I wanted to show you is my new watering set up.

An endless supply of water! 
A reprieve for me from the constant chore of filling the water bottles!

I can now leave the house for more than 4 hours at a time and trust that my birds won't be suffering from dehydration when I get back.

This is a $10 stock tank float valve that I mounted to a little piece of 2x4.  I took a square bucket (left over from my horse's supplements) and cut it off at just the right height to allow the float valve to drop, which still leaves the edge of the bucket low enough for the birds to drink from it.  I slid the valve/2x4 assembly over the edge of the bucket and it holds with a snug fit, but it still allows me to easily remove the bucket for a thorough cleaning.  I hooked it up to the garden hose and put it inside the pen.  It sits up squarely on it's own.

I am so happy with this set up now.  (You figure out something new every year, it seems.)  They were beginning to consume 5-6 gallons of water a day.  That will increase as they continue to grow.

The recycled juice bottles I was using work great while they are small chicks.  Forty birds will only drink 1 or 2 gallons of water a day at that time. 

But once they start to grow...the frantic rate of cellular division requires a lot of water to support the energy expended for growth.  Basically, as much as they eat, they will drink. 

Then they poo.

But that's a whole other post...

While I'm at it, I'll go ahead and show you my nearly FREE feeder system.  No $30 plastic feeders from Tractor Supply for me - it cuts into my profits!

I politely beg free food-grade plastic buckets from my local deli or bakery.  They will throw these out otherwise (I would hope they at least recycle them).  As long as the folks behind the counter are not too busy at the time, they usually don't mind to get the buckets for you, as long as you ask nicely.  Make sure you get the lids too.

Then I hop over to the auto parts store or the automotive department of Walmart and purchase a plastic oil change pan.  These will only run you about $2.50 each.

Take your buckets home and wash them out well.  Then cut a series of one and a half inch diameter holes around the bottom of the bucket every two inches apart.  I use a large drill bit to penetrate the plastic at the center of the intended hole, then carefully cut it out with a jig-saw.  You can also use a razor knife, but I've found that to be too dangerous for my fingers.

Set the bucket inside the oil change pan, fill with feed, put the lid on and there you go.

As soon as the weather improves, I will be putting the meat birds out to pasture in my PVC chicken tractor.  I'll show you that too when the time comes.  I had hoped they would be outside by now, but we are having an unusually cold and damp spring.  For now they are stuck in my garage and they are beginning to stink!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Makes ¢

Photo Credit


I am always looking for ways to save money and to avoid going to the store any more than I have to.  A few months ago, I came across a recipe for homemade laundry detergent and decided to give it a try.  I would have done this sooner, but I had trouble finding one of the ingredients (washing soda), but I'll be giving you some tips on that as well.

There are several recipes for laundry detergent out there, mostly similar, but I will cover two versions today:  homemade liquid laundry detergent and homemade powdered laundry detergent.  Neither one is all that difficult to make.  You will find directions in the respective links above.

For the past month I have been using the powdered version and I love how it gets my clothes truly clean.  My only complaint is that it can be a bit dusty when you are scooping it out.  I have sinus trouble anyway, so I plan to make the liquid version next time.  The ingredients for both are pretty much the same.

• A bar of soap (Fels Naphtha, Ivory, etc.)
• Washing soda (this is sodium carbonate or soda ash, not baking soda)
• Borax
• Essential oil for fragrance (optional for liquid version)

Fels Naphtha is wonderful stuff.  I've used it to wash raw deer hides and was amazed at how it can make even those smell fresh and clean.  It is also good to keep a bar on hand just to rub into stains before laundering.  Fels Naptha no longer contains napthalene (a petroleum byproduct).  I have heard that some people may be allergic to it, but I don't know if that was the old formulation or the current one.  Fels Naphtha works to break down oily residues.  I think it smells great.

Borax is easily found in the laundry aisle.

Now the washing soda, I had a lot of trouble finding that.  Every store clerk I talked to would point me toward baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), which is not the same thing.  I've been told that it is commonly found wherever you buy pool supplies, but I made up my batch of laundry detergent in the winter--no pool supplies to be had.  However, you can convert baking soda into washing soda using simple chemistry.

I bought the 4 lb. box of baking soda that is found in the laundry aisle.  You just dump it out on a cookie sheet and spread it around.  Then bake it in the oven for one hour at 250 degrees.  Simple enough.  The heat acts as a catalyst to break down the sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate and gives off carbon dioxide and water vapor. 

Here's the equation, if that sort of thing interests you, as it does me: 
(2) NaHCO3(s) ----> Na2CO3(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(g)

Had I realized this sooner, I could have been saving money on laundry detergent for months now.  I had the Fels Naphtha and the Borax, but couldn't find the washing soda anywhere.

Ok, there are hundreds of websites out there to tell you how to make homemade laundry detergent, but I want to tell you why you should make your own laundry detergent.  1) It does a better job of cleaning than most anything out there; and 2) you will save a lot of money! 

I like those reasons.  A lot.

Here is a price comparison between the powdered version which I made and some of the more popular detergents that you can purchase in the store.  I will try to keep it apples to apples, since there is an endless variety of brand specialties and additives.  I will tell you this though--you won't be needing Oxy Clean, color-safe bleach, heavy fragrances or anything else added to the homemade detergent in order to get the job done.  It just smells purely CLEAN and it gets stains and grease out better than anything else I've used before.

• Tide Laundry Detergent, Original Scent
• Gain Powder Laundry Detergent, Original Fresh
• Era 2x Ultra Active Stainfighter Formula Detergent (liquid)
• Great Value: Mandarin Essence Laundry Detergent (liquid; this is what I was using before)

So, by switching from Tide to the homemade liquid detergent, you would save about $67.60 annually.  This is based on an average of 10 loads per week, or 520 loads per year.  (I know, I know...TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT, LADIES!  That's a lot of laundry to fold!)

Funny to note how the Gain Original comes out to the same cost per load as the El Cheapo big-box store brand, even though it is far superior.  The homemade powder version comes out less than half the cost per load of the cheaper detergent and cleans every bit as well as the Tide.

Since I switched to the homemade detergent, I've noticed that even my washing machine smells fresh and clean.  There is no goopy residue left behind.  This is also a low-suds detergent and is ideal for front-loading washing machines.

Initially I wondered if the homemade detergent would be too harsh, but after using it for a month I have not noticed any fading in my cottons or any other problems with my laundry.  The homemade detergent is so effective that you only need 2 tablespoons per load.  Washing soda is alkaline, but it is such a small amount that it does not affect the water's pH much.

It's hard enough for a young couple just starting out, but with inflation going through the roof and the cost of grocery and household items constantly on the rise, this is one more frugal initiative I can take to make our paycheck go a little further.

Homemade Dog Shampoo

Well, I finally broke down and bathed the dogs last night.  If I can smell them, then they really do stink!  My husband says they stink all the time.  His nose must be more sensitive than mine, because I don't think they usually smell that bad. 

When we first bought our place and the dogs were allowed to come inside, we had many arguments over bathing the dogs.  I had these dogs before we got married.  I don't hear so much anymore how they are my dogs, but I used to.  Now they are very much a part of the family.  Hairy, stinky, family members who drool.  My husband wanted to bathe them every two weeks minimum.  I think that's a little excessive--I mean really, who has that much time on their hands?  This unreasonable insistance finally died out about the time I was pregnant and could no longer get down to bathe the dogs and he had to do it all by himself. 

As they've gotten older, my dogs have developed rather sensitive skin.  It took a lot of searching, but I finally have found a shampoo that agrees with their skin.  Today I am passing along a recipe for homemade dog shampoo that I have been using for awhile and have been very pleased with the results.  This shampoo is far better than most you can buy (assuming you are like me and would not spend $30 on prescription dog shampoo).  It is so gentle on their skin, rinses completely clean, and deodorizes while you bathe the dog so that you do not have to suffer that horrible, sour-egg, wet-dog smell.  I cannot say enough good things about vinegar's cleaning properties and I believe that is what makes this shampoo so wonderful.  After bathing both of my dogs last night, the tub was actually cleaner than it was when I started (other than for all the dog hairs I had to rinse down the drain).  This shampoo does not leave any soap scum or ring around the tub.  It does not leave behind a residue on your dog's coat that will irritate the skin later.  It gently removes the stinky dog oils and leaves their hair very soft and clean.

It is very cheap and easy to make.  It only takes about 5 minutes to mix up.

You will need:

• 1 cup of Ivory dish soap


• 1 cup of water


• 1 cup of cider vinegar


• 1/3 cup of glycerine


• A 32 oz. clear bottle or spray bottle to mix it in.


• A funnel

A 16 oz.  bottle of glycerine costs about $18, but you will get 6 batches of shampoo out of it.  The other ingredients are very cheap.

Combine all in your bottle and shake before each use.  It's that simple!  I found it helpful to mark a line on the clear bottle as I added each ingredient for quick and easy measuring of the next batch.

This shampoo mixes up to a very thin consistency and I recently found the adjustable nozzle spray bottle perfect for applying the shampoo to the dog without wasting any.  (I found mine in the gardening section of Walmart).  This shampoo doesn't lather as heavily as regular shampoo, but does work up a nice amount of suds.  I drizzle a little water on the dog's back as I go to help make more suds.  For my long-haired chow mix, I also work in a little Mane and Tail conditioner after rinsing.  This makes it easier to brush her out and prevents matting of her thick, wooly hair.  I've often wondered if I shaved this dog in the summer if I would get enough hair to knit a sweater.  She is quite the hairball.