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By eliza_cross, on May 10th, 2012%
 Photo by Jeremy Bronson If you never got around to starting any seedlings this spring and now you’re fretting about the expense of buying vegetable plants at the garden center, fear not! Many vegetable seeds can be sown directly in the dirt, where they’ll happy germinate and provide you with a nice harvest. Here’s a list of easy-to-grow vegetables (most of which prefer full sun) that you can plant from seed now:
- Beans – pole beans and bush beans are easy to grow, and if you harvest them regularly they’ll keep producing.
- Beets – grow in loose, moist soil.
- Corn – easy to grow if you have a large garden plot; corn needs lots of space.
- Cucumbers – bush or vining varieties are both easy to grow, and give them plenty of water so they don’t get bitter.
- Lettuce – plant now! Lettuce prefers cooler temps. If you sow some seeds every week or two, you’ll have a constant supply of fresh lettuce.
- Melons – grow well in hot, dry weather but like lots of water. To avoid crossbreeding, plant melons away from pumpkins, cucumbers and squash.
- Onions – less expensive than buying onion sets, be sure to buy onion seeds suited for your climate and amount of sun. Onions store well, making them and especially economical crop.
- Peas – plant now! Peas prefer cooler temps. If it’s already hot in your area, try planting peas in the fall.
- Radishes – like to be grown in moister soil.
- Spinach – especially easy to grow. Plant in full sun or part shade.
- Squash – zucchini is an easy, prolific plant for beginners to grow, especially if you have lots of friends who like zucchini!
If the danger of frost has passed in your area, prepare your garden bed and amend the soil if needed. Plant the seeds on a calm day at the depth specified by the grower and top gently with a layer of fine soil.
Need a great source for your seeds? These are some of my favorite companies, and they all offer non-hybrid, heirloom varieties:
Happy planting, and I’d love to hear what you’ve got growing in your gardens right now!
By eliza_cross, on January 30th, 2012%
 By PotteryBarn.com Organizing has many benefits. Along with the inner peace that comes from working and living in a calm space, organized living means less time looking for lost items and a visually pleasing, harmonious environment.
Clearing space is a gift you give yourself.
Today’s challenge is to organize one area. It can be a small or big project, depending on how much time you want to devote to it. You could simply take ten minutes to straighten up your desk and get rid of unnecessary papers. Or spend thirty minutes organizing the medicine cabinet. You could clean out your refrigerator. Unclutter the coat closet. Tackle one wall of the garage. Spend a day straightening up the basement. It’s up to you. Just organize a space, and bask in the rewards.
For inspiration, you might enjoy these websites — with tons of tips and information:
Unclutterer
Organized Home
Get Organized
Creative Organizing
If you clear a space and like the result, be sure to let us know about it!
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P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. Even though January is winding down, you can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
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Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift basket chock-full of home and garden goodies plus several books at the end of the month. On January 31, 2012 (that’s tomorrow!), I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on January 28th, 2012%
“The remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served us nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.” ~Calvin Trillin
It just kills me to discard spoiled food that we didn’t eat. One of my goals this year is to make better use of leftovers. The whole concept of “zero waste” appeals to me on so many levels, and utilizing food efficiently is so important.
If you feel the same way, you might enjoy the Leftover Chef site where you can input whatever strange ingredients are lurking in your refrigerator for recipe ideas. Enter ‘turkey, ‘cranberries,’ and ‘onions,’ for instance, and you’ll find an appealing recipe for Turkey Cutlets with Cranberry – Pear Relish.
Do you have stale crackers and chips lurking in the pantry? Refresh them by spreading them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and baking at 300 degrees F for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool and then seal in an airtight container.
What about those stray veggies in the vegetable crisper? Use them in salads or on pizza, or freeze them for your next batch of soup.
Leftover tortillas can be used to make homemade tortilla chips, like this healthy baked version from Savory Sweet Life.
What’s your favorite way to use leftovers? We’d love to hear your ideas!
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
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Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift basket chock-full of home and garden goodies plus several books at the end of the month. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on January 25th, 2012%
 Glass canning jars can be used again and again - photo by GoodNCrazy “In a recession, people are inclined to keep things, but I feel the opposite. The less I have, the richer I feel. Stuff weighs you down.” ~Béa Johnson
Last year I read the most inspiring article in Sunset Magazine, about the Johnson family in Mill Valley, California. The Johnsons have pared down their possessions and live a wonderfully simple life. The family members are so careful about not consuming wasteful packaging, they generate almost zero garbage.
The Johnsons are big on composting, and this is one way we love to reduce waste. I just love the idea of reusing the kitchen scraps in a way that benefits the garden and keeps stuff out of landfill.
What about recycling? Homeowner Béa Johnson says, “So much recycling really goes to waste, so you need to try to reduce that, too.” They are diligent about taking reusable containers to the store for food and eliminating junk mail, and their tidy pantry and closets would inspire anyone to minimize and simplify!
How much trash does your family generate in an average week? If you got everyone in the household on board, could you reduce it by 50 or 75 per cent? Or 80 or 90 per cent? We’re down to about half a can per week, but the recycling bin is full every two weeks when it gets picked up — so we have a long way to go. The Johnsons have motivated me to try harder to reduce our recycling and trash. If they can do it, why can’t we?
For more inspiration, you might enjoy the Johnson family’s blog, The Zero Waste Home.
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
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Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift basket chock-full of home and garden goodies plus several books at the end of the month. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on January 17th, 2012%
“He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Today’s challenge is to think about how you could improve one space in your home this month. Perhaps you’d like to focus some attention on the room where you spend a lot of time, such as your bedroom, your home office or your kitchen. Or maybe the family room looks a little worse for wear after the holidays and you’d like to spruce up the space. Just pick one room to focus on in the coming two weeks.
Notice how the most appealing photos in home magazines and real estate listings show rooms that are organized and devoid of clutter. With that in mind, look at your room with an eye for eliminating Stuff so that you can highlight a few possessions you really love.
Deep clean the room. Mop the floors. Polish the furniture. Wash the windows. Tighten hardware. Dig around under the sink and use some of those specialty cleaning products lingering there (I’m just guessing.) Do what you can with what you have.
Organize the storage spaces. Professional organizers suggest removing everything from the drawer or shelf or whatever area you’re tackling. Next, envision only those things you need in the space to function properly. Carefully add only those items back in, and move or eliminate any things that are left over.
For a new look, rearrange the furniture and artwork.
Try to bring an organic element into the room; this was one of our tricks when I was the publisher of a home design magazine. Something natural instantly adds life to a room. It could be as simple as a beautiful branch, or a large seashell from your vacation, or a tray of found objects that you pick up on a walk.
For inspiration, check out some creative design sites like Apartment Therapy, HGTV’s Design on a Dime and these great tips from Country Living. If you get busy, be sure to let us know about your efforts!
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
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Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift box chock-full of home and garden goodies including a signed copy of my newest book 101 things To Do With Bacon. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on January 15th, 2012%
 Photo by Liz West Back when I was an executive with a generous salary but a scarcity of time, if I was interested in a book I followed a highly efficient routine. I simply visited the website of a particularly large online bookstore and clicked on a convenient little button that read “Buy now with 1-Click.”
Soon we had so many books we had to install custom bookshelves that covered an entire wall of the living room. When we moved a few years later, we hauled 26 cartons of books along with us. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m a writer, and I love books. But one day, I was trying to squeeze another new book on the shelves and realized we had run out of space. I sat down and gazed at all the books and realized many of them were outdated, unwanted — or simply books that I had enjoyed once but was unlikely to read again.
I began giving books away, and decided to be more selective about which volumes deserved a place in our pared-down collection. My new mantra was: I’ll only buy books I really love, I prefer hardbacks if they’re available, and I’ll try to buy books from an independent bookstore. I also decided to pay a visit to the neighborhood library.
Today, if I’m interested in a book I still follow an efficient routine. I visit my library’s website and reserve the book. My library e-mails me when the book is ready to be picked up. I also borrow movies, CDs and current magazines from my library. I haven’t tried downloading a library book on my e-reader yet, but many libraries also offer free downloads of thousands of books for a number of devices.
When my computer died a few years ago, I went to the library and used one of their free computers until mine was fixed. When my daughter was shopping for a used car, she borrowed Consumer Reports magazine and researched the most reliable makes and models. Our library offers a delightful kids’ library and a summer reading program that my son loves, free talks on a variety of subjects, meeting and study rooms, and regular art exhibits.
This year our library partnered with our local power company to loan out portable power meters. We were able to borrow a meter to plug into home appliances and learn how much energy we’re using. Check with your utility company or library to see if a similar lending program is in place.
If you haven’t been to your local library lately, take a field trip this month and let us know what you discover.
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
—————————————————————————
Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift box chock-full of home and garden goodies and a signed copy of my latest book 101 things To Do With Bacon. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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