I can still smell a hint of the essential oils from this weekend’s Green Cleaning party in my kitchen. My dining room table is sparkling from the natural furniture polish that Sue and Kathy made for me. I am challenging my husband to trade the nasty can of phony lemon-scented polish that he loves for […]
Rustic Poplar Benches
November 12, 2010
I love these rustic poplar benches! It seemed like a tragedy that a beautiful poplar had to be cut down in our front yard. But, safety necessitated it. Limbs had started falling from the dying tree. My husband salvaged much of the remaining solid wood into a half-dozen benches. He used his chainsaw to carve […]
Smart Moms on Christmas Consumerism
November 11, 2010
I wanted to share more with you from my conversations about Christmas consumerism with two smart moms. The surprising thing these two moms have in common is that neither one has Santa leave gifts on Christmas morning. Their diverse personal reasons for that had little to do, they said, with consumerism. Assistant University Professor Shannon […]
Ready, Set, Shop!!!
November 9, 2010
Ready, set, shop! Here we are, two and half weeks away from Thanksgiving — several weeks longer until Christmas — and we’ve already been served a full helping of holiday marketing. Did you notice how quickly the red and green candies replaced the aisles of candy corn and other Halloween goodies at local stores? Haven’t you heard […]
Continue Reading By FlourSackMama on November 9, 2010 in Christmas, conscious consumerism, frugal, thrifty
Rustic Wooden Bridge
November 5, 2010
We’ve developed a renewed appreciation for the little foot bridge that my husband built a while back. It spans a small drainage ditch along a short forest path on our property. During trick-or-treating festivities, he dressed as a troll and handed out prizes to the kids after they answered his riddles and math questions. The […]
Holiday Sugar Substitutes
November 4, 2010
I’m guessing I’m not the only mom out there who strategizes between Halloween and the Christmas season on how to minimize the damage from candy. I’m always looking for holiday sugar substitutes, and I don’t mean artificial sweetener. I find myself eventually throwing away bags full of candy that I’ve hidden from my children at […]
How Clean are Your Reusable Shopping Bags?
November 1, 2010
Does anybody remember when grocery store baggers used to ask if you wanted “paper or plastic?” I recently needed some old-fashioned grocery store bags for a children’s craft project, and realized at the last minute that I no longer had a stash of them in my pantry. I think it’s been about ten years since […]
Continue Reading By FlourSackMama on November 1, 2010 in conscious consumerism, frugal, green, recycling, thrifty
Most Schools Not Testing For Radon
October 28, 2010
Do you know if your child’s school has tested for the invisible gas that is the second leading cause of lung cancer? Few public schools and day care centers have tested for radon, and only a few states require them to. If your child is attending a relatively new school, chances are better that building […]
Appalachian Heritage on Display at Heritage Day
October 16, 2010
Fall Student Heritage Day offered several opportunities to sample the culture at the Museum of Appalachia this October. Two resident mules took turns doing the heavy work of squeezing juice out of sorghum cane. Then, Mark Guenther and his crew from Muddy Pond Sorghum (Monterey, Tennessee) showed how the cooking process turns the juice into thick, sweet sorghum syrup.
Storing Up Christmas Treasures
October 16, 2010
Another gorgeous autumn morning gave my family the perfect opportunity for a leisurely few hours of tag sale treasure hunting. I’m always on the lookout for great buys on seasonal décor that I would not pay retail for. This particular morning, we found ourselves at two different sales offering Christmas decorations. The first sale we […]
Continue Reading By FlourSackMama on October 16, 2010 in Christmas, conscious consumerism, frugal, thrifty
