Krueger's Journey to Simplicity

Blog Hoppin!

Sorry friends. I have decided to go back to blogger. I like homesteadblogger.  I just like blogger better.  PLEASE update your blogrolls.  I promise this will be the last move for a while!!

 NEW BLOG

Soap and Son

The soap arrived this morning. I already have some laundry soaking. It smells soooo good. To me it smells like citronella and Ivory soap. Now I have to find a spot in my small laundry room to store it all. My washboard should arrive any day now. I really can't wait. I wish I had a camera! I want to know what I look like scrubbing and plunging clothes ;~)

A more important issue

Please remember my 3yo(almost) in your prayers. He has had some kind of digestive problem since birth.

This problem causes him to vomit and to have diarrhea. It started when he was about 2 weeks old. I would nurse him and a few minutes after he was through it would ALL come back up. We had an upper G . I. to see if it was acid reflux. The results were negative, No reflux. We tried a few different medications with no results. We took him to the doctor and ER numerous times, only to have to Doctors tell us nothing was wrong with him. I know the ER doctors probably had too many parents bring their children in for nothing. There WAS something wrong with him. Why can't they help? I left the hospital in tears so many times. I just wanted to know what was wrong.

We decided to give him time to "grow out of it". He wasn't getting dehydrated. He weighed normal and was developing fine. After he turned one and started eating solid food on a regular basis it stopped. Or so we thought. Around this time last year he started vomiting. A lot of time had passed since we had to worry about this problem, so I thought it was a stomach bug. This stomach bug went on for three days. He couldn't keep ANYTHING down. Derek and I decided to take him to the emergency room. They admitted him. They ran test, poked, and prodded. Nothing! He wasn't sick. They couldn't find anything. Our pediatrician finally told us she didn't know what was wrong and couldn't help us. She referred us to a specialist. We went, got some good news, and some medication to try. This problem slowly faded away. We thought we were in the clear. Life went on. We got back to our normal routine.

This problem,what ever it may be, will sneak in on us every once in a while. Just like last night. He started vomiting and we had a long night of, well, you know what its like.

There are a few weird things about his condition. When it flares up it starts after he goes to sleep. It has a AWFUL smell. I know that all vomit stinks. But this is totally different. I can't explain it.

We have been to the specialists, changed our diet, and cut out lactose. NONE of which has helped. We switched Doctor's after the spell in the hospital. Our current doctor has helped more than any of the others. He is not quick to prescribe drugs and has a genuine concern for my child's well being. He has assured me that we will figure this out. It will just take time. Please pray for my son.

Zote and washboard

Redneck Garden

Not feeling well

Homesteaders Best Friend: Salt

Homesteaders Best Friend: Baking Soda

Baking soda, also known as Sodium Bicarbonate, has numerous uses. You can use it for cooking, cleaning, personal hygiene, gardening, and playtime. It is economical, natural, and 100% safe for use in every area of your home.

Cooking use includes:

• Vegetable wash/soak-Add a couple tablespoons to water.

• Wild Game-Add couple tablespoons to water and soak to remove gamey taste.

• Butchering Chicken- Add to scalding water. Feathers will come off easier and the skin will be whiter.

• Bean soak- Add to soaking water. It helps with digestion.

 Cleaning uses:

• Use soda as a scoring powder to clean stoves, bath tubs, sinks,and toilets.

• De-odorize carpets, rugs and cloth covered furniture.

• Soak pans with burnt on food in baking soda and hot water before washing.

• Sprinkle some in litter boxes to help control odor.

• Add 1/2 cup soda to your laundry for a booster.

• Polish silverware with dry soda and a damp cloth.

• Sprinkle soda on BBQ grills, let soak and rinse.

• Sprinkle soda on spilled oil/grease for easy clean up.

• Make a paste with baking soda and vinegar to remove light rusting.

• Soak your mop in a mixture of baking soda and water to help with odor.

• Soak shower curtains in mixture of water, soda, and vinegar to clean.

• Clean jewelry.

• Make a thick paste to use on tiles and grout.

 Garden uses:

• Deter ants.

• Sprinkle on lettuce, cabbage, and etc to keep rabbits, slugs, and snail away.

• ?

Health/Hygienic uses:

• Underarm deodorant

• Brushing teeth and Mouth wash

• Shampoo

• Couple tablespoons in baby's bath water helps irritating diaper rash.

• Wind and sunburn

• Applying a thick paste to bug bites can provide relief from itching.

• Skin softener

• Soaking in a soda bath helps relive itching due to measles, chicken pox, poison ivy, or sumac.

Playtime uses:

I don't have any experience with soda and children, here are a few links to get you going.

• The Many Scientific Uses of Baking Soda

• Just for Kids

• Baking Soda Bubbles

This list is just the tip of the ice burg. If you have any tips or tricks you would like to share please comment.

Laundry Challenge: The End

Tomorrow will conclude the week long challenge of no machine laundry washing. We have decided to sell the washer and dryer. There will be no need to keep them now.

I will be using a bucket similar to the one below

and to the replace the agitator from the washer we will use this handy dandy tool.

I am using store bought powderd detergent. A few tablespoons per load works for me. In the past I have made my own and didn't like the results. We have very hard well water, and the homemade detergent did no justice.

Our clothes, surprisingly, are very clean. I soak our whites and heavily soiled clothes over night then wash.

The one thing I have a hard time with is: hand ringing. We are planning on purchasing a wringer. I haven't a clue from where. Anyone know of a good place? Lehman's has a good selection; they also have a good price. 

The best thing about it: I have more fun doing the laundry!! 

Laundry Challenge: Day 4

Laundry Challenge

Appliance Alternatives: Washing Machines

   In my research I have come across many alternative ways to handle that pesky pile of laundry. I found this article last night.  Wash Day  I thought it was rather intresting. If I had one of those 30 gallon cast iron kettles I think I would give it a shot tomorrow.With out the kette you could just use some tubs and a washboard. I think this plunger type thing would come in handy for some dirty jeans.

I found Wonderwash a while back through another blog. It can't handle  large loads like a convential washer. However, it will get your laundry clean with little water and soap. On the site it say that it can do 2 to 3 pair of jeans. If you were organized and washed frequently this would be a great gadget to have around. My friend over at Sinner Saved bought on not to long ago and did a review here. Check it out.

Ok so if you are not convinced that you CAN do laundry without a washing machine you could always get dear hubby to rig this up.  Hey its double duty!

Appliance alternatives: Refrigeration

I commented that I would post about what alternative WE are looking to replace the eletrical ones with. To begin lets start with:

Alternative for Refrigeration

Derek and I haven't fully discussed this. Nor have we decided anything. We do know that we would like a root cellar/basement one day and that is one option. It was the storage method of our ancestors. It would be a great way to keep multiple things fresh until use. Not to mention it could be a cool retreat(if big enough) in severly hot weather. We rent as of now so we can't start digging. 

If we really had to have a fridge then I think we would buy a mini fridge and run it off of alternative power(solar or inverters).

We know that there are gas/propane fridges out there. We don't see them as an option because that would mean that we would have to keep a supply of gas on hand to run it.

Just last night Derek and I were dicussing storing meat. The question: "How would we process and store any animals we butcher?"Answer: Can it. Keeping it fresh until it's all canned we haven't figured out yet. We could do the butchering in the winter months but, to process and can a whole animal would take a while! UNLESS you have more than one PRESSURE CANNER.

Other options is to keep it on ice until it can be processed or maybe a family member(if close enough) wouldn't mind letting you use a little space in their fridge in excange for some of the meat. We also thought about using a frezzer or fridge "part time". Meaning only use it to keep the meat cool until it's processed .

Question: If we buried a frezzer in the ground with only the lid left above ground and had ice in it would it stay cool? If so how long would the ice last?  I think this would work with a horizontal or vertical type frezzer. Anyone with experince?

Here is an article that has some suggestions  Keeping your food cold: Solutions to refrigeration when electricity is scarce . It had a lot of info on converting refrigerators which did me no good because I haven't a clue what he was talking about but towards the end he list more alternatives.

Eletrical Burdens

**Originally posted on my other blog.

Just to keep myself motivated I thought I would make a list of all the electrical burdens we have gotten rid of.

OUTTA HEAR
Dryer
Microwave
Hair dryer
Curling Iron(2)
Straight Iron
One T.V.
Swimming Pool (had a electrical filter pump)
Blender
Electric skillet
Coffee Pot ( it died)
Freezer (sold)

We would like to add these to the list

Toaster(rarely use it. Have no clue why we have it!)
Crock-pot
Hand held mixer
Refrigerator
Lamps
Alarm clocks(replace with non electric type)
Phone chargers
Computer chargers
Washing Machine

Most of these are just waiting for us to replace them with alternatives.

I wouldn’t mind getting rid of these for good:
*TV
*VCR
*DVD player
*Air Conditioning

Derek hasn’t fully decided on these so we just move along until.

Computer
We both think we could easily keep our computer with no electricity. We could use a car or solar charger to keep the battery powered. As far as Internet goes there are various way to connect to the web. We BOTH agree that the computer is a luxury that WE COULD live with out. When the time comes we will decide on its fate. Until then I Research!!

Just ME

I have had an account here for a while now. I was getting tired of the old blog so I decided to start completly over with this one. So far everything seems fine. Except I don't see a spell check.   Oh well. I will just have to stop being lazy.

I would do the whole introduction of self and all except I ramble. I get side tracked. I will type up a big long post and find it really does no jucstice at all. 

In as little words as possible... 

I am a born again child of the  ONE & ONLY TRUE GOD. I am married. We have 2 sons. We also have temp custody of my two younger siblings. We live in Central Alabama. We have many many intrest. We are in the begining stages of full time homesteading.

There in as little words as possible.

This is not all of who we are. NOT by a long shot. Just keep checking for updates and Get to know THE KRUEGERS! Who are as follows: Derek=Dad, Jennifer=ME, Shelby=12yo sister, Hayden=8yo brother, Canyon=7yo son, Trenten=2yo son.