I grew up on a farm surrounded by corn fields, so as I teenager I got familiar with field plants and full-sun dry soil plants. Now I live in a more swampy, woodsy area, and I enjoy learning about the plants that thrive in these conditions. I found the above-pictured Spring Beauties on the side of the road, on the edge of a deciduous wooded area. You may be able to find them in any wet, shaded, wooded area.


The other day I took my camera on a walk and took pictures of three new plants to identify. Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a pretty, white Spring-blossoming flower. It is small with light pink-striped petals on a blossom 1/2" - 3/4" wide. The leaves look like blades of grass.

As fate would have it, these flowers grow tubers underneath- tiny "fairy potatoes" that you can dig up, boil and eat. From what I have read, they taste like a yummy cross between potatoes and chestnuts. You know how much I like foraging for wild edible and medicinal plants! However, these were not growing on our property, nor had I talked with the property owner. In addition, the plant's numbers have decreased because so many people were digging up tubers and eating them. So I just enjoyed the flowers as they were growing and took a picture to share with you all. If you really want one of these plants, there are varieties that you can buy at nurseries and garden centers.

What are your favorite Spring time flowers?

As part of my "Bookshelf-Only Reading Challenge", I recently finished up John Adams, a biography by David McCullough. (A full review can be found on my Goodreads page.) I was reminded of how powerful a biography is in teaching history, even to old married folks like myself.

Why is a biography more effective than a history textbook? One word: STORY. In a biography, you really get to know a person. You sympathize, rejoice with, cry with and laugh with the characters, which conveniently happened to be real people. You get a feel for that person's character, philosophy of life, and how he or she made decisions.

In reading about John Adams, second President of the United States, I didn't just read about John Adams. That would have been incredibly boring. I also got to know his wife Abigail, children John Quincy, Charles, Thomas and Nabby... his best friends and political enemies. I got to see the old, lazy side of "early to bed, early to rise" Ben Franklin in France. I became more acquainted with the spendthrift side of Thomas Jefferson, who, at the end of the book, died $100,000 in debt. In addition to these "characters" I also got to know Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, Samuel Adams, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Marquis Lafayette and his wife, John Paul Jones, and even bad guy King George III to a point where they were no longer just names to me, but real people.

Those things, places and events that had previously been floating around in my mind somewhere under the file "1700s" (John Paul Jones, the French Revolution, the Federalist party) have now been more nicely arranged to where I can understand and better appreciate that which took place. And I can also better appreciate our second President, who I doubt many of us can even name.

A Better Homeschool Curriculum
I have no authority to say what works or what doesn't work as a homeschool mom, but I do have years and years of experience as a student, which I will be happy to share.

I don't remember having any history "curriculum" at all after 7th grade. None, nilch, nada. Instead, I had a ton of great historical fiction, biographies and autobiographies at my disposal (read: library!) and the occasional tourist stop at some place of historical significance. My teacher-mom didn't really appreciate history as much as my dad, but gave us plenty of opportunities to not only read about history see and touch it. For example, as I read about Monticello this month, I could remember the hilltop where it stood, the gardens, slave quarters, and family cemetery out back. I remembered Jefferson's octagon-shaped "cabinet" room with curious scientific instruments and an adjustable desk that he bought on his trip to France (a.k.a international shopping spree). Was I alive in 1800? No, but I did get the opportunity to visit Monticello as a teenager. (No time or money for an in-person visit? Many of these places offer online virtual tours for free.)

And don't think you have to start your third-grader on a mammoth 650-page book about a man that most kids have never heard of. Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books are a great way to introduce biographies. I was only in elementary school when my mom read these to my sister and I, and we were able to see most, if not all of the historical sites after reading the books. Obviously I had little knowledge of history at nine or ten years old and don't remember as much about it as later trips, but it was a fun introduction.

I think it's sad that our schools- public, private, and home schools- cause history to be a boring, unimportant but necessary school subject instead of the fascinating, meaningful story that it is. History is not about memorizing names, dates and places. History is about learning from the past, and if nothing else, it can sure be entertaining!

Maybe this is the inner better-than-thou homeschooler coming out of me, but I can't stand it when people get their centuries mixed up. Or they get World War II mixed up with World War I. We're not talking about presidents here, laws, shoe styles or small minutia like that. We're talking about grown adults, who have sat through many a history class, not knowing the 1820 from 1920. I think there is something messed up about the way we are teaching history. 

So there's my rant, and here's my challenge: if you want to cultivate an appreciation of history in yourself or someone else, throw all your textbooks in the nearest dumpster. There are plenty of good biographies out there to enjoy, and if you're not a reader, there's this great thing called the History Channel, which has many documentary offerings on Netflix. And it doesn't stop there. You can buy historically-dressed dolls and paper dolls, history-themed games like Axis and Allies, go to presidential mansions... it's a slippery slope that gets more fun as you go down. 

Do you enjoy reading biographies? Why or why not?

Well, Hubs and I took in our second big load of ditch-picked cans this week, more than doubling our earnings for this year (see the sidebar for this year's total). We were talking to someone at church and mentioned returning the cans. The other guy said, "So I'm not the only one that does that!" Turns out there are a lot of people that enjoy recycling roadside cans, from the casual can collector to the hard-core fills-up-bike-trailer almost-looks-homeless guy.

You know you're a can collector if you can relate:

1. Brand Loyalty. Drinker or not, you know every brand and label out there: Budweiser, Milwaukee's Best, Bud Light, Busch, Beer-Rita, Twisted Tea, Smirnoff, Redd's Apple Ale, Angry Orchard, Blue Moon, Heineken, Samuel Adams... and on it goes. You learn to look for certain brands in certain areas. And what's more, you form an opinion of these drinks based solely upon their packaging. 

2. Automobile Regret. You feel a bit wistful just leaving it there, but it's not quite worth backing up, getting out and tossing it in the back seat. Just sometimes...

3. The Providential Can. When you get off your bike to pick up a can, and there happens to be another one nearby. Or when you stop to get a drink/identify a plant/ admire the scenery and there- RIGHT where you stopped- is a bottle. Almost as if someone put it there just for you.

4. Bonus Items. Golf balls, highlighters, medicinal plants, hand warmers, bird eggs, CDs. 

5. Gatorade Annoyance. And water bottles and Peace Tea, and other non-refundable beverages that litter the roadside. How's a water bottle different than a Pepsi bottle, anyway?

6. Crushed Cans. WHY? I know it feels manly to crush a can with your two bare hands, but why not crush a non-refundable water bottle? At least leave the barcode readable.

7. Cans and Money are Interchangeable. You start thinking in terms of, "How many cans does this cost?" and when asked how many you normally find every week, you respond "About three dollars."

Are you a ditch-diving roadside recycler? Can you relate?

Today I'm going to wax eloquent- or not so eloquent- on the subject of home-based businesses. I think far too many women get sucked into the trap of being a "business owner" or an "entrepreneur" and waste a lot of money on home-based businesses that go nowhere. I'm not trying to judge, but speaking from experience of wasting time and money on fantasy businesses. Be smart before jumping into any business, especially one that seems too good to be true.

As Springtime rolls around, I'm looking at all of these seedlings that I started and I'm wondering... what am I really going to do with 50 pepper plants? You could sell them at the farmer's market! You could cook them all into pepper jelly, mark the price way up and make hundreds of dollars!!!



Fantasy Business Alert! Just because something SOUNDS like a good idea doesn't mean it is. Just because other people are doing it doesn't mean it's a good idea. Just because you "invest" lot of money up front doesn't guarantee a return. And just because an idea has the potential to make money doesn't mean it will.

In the past I would get an idea and really convince myself that it would work. I would buy business cards and a domain name, make a website and even go so far as to make some products. But then I would never follow through, because I came up with another idea without being diligent with the first one.  

And then of course there were the times when my "businesses" operated at a loss. Like the time I was cleaning house at $6 per hour and it took most of my profits to pay for gas to get there. Or when I bought a bunch of video-making equipment because I was going to earn thousands making how-to DVDs. With this idea I actually followed through and sold... three DVDs.

Have you started any fantasy businesses? It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, and with good reason. Home-based businesses are an excellent opportunity for housewives like you and me to make some extra cash on the side, in our free time. Unfortunately, however, many of these new home-based businesses are operating at a loss. Check out the following example:

Wanda's Business
Wanda loves to arm knit. It's fast, easy and fun. She decides to start a business selling arm-knit scarves.
Supplies: $2 per scarf x 25 scarves = $50
Craft show booth: $40
Driving to the craft show: $6
Time spent: 10 hours knitting + 6 hours at the show = 16 hrs. x $10 per hour = $160

Just to break even without a profit, Wanda would have to sell each scarf at $10.24. Wanda doesn't think people will pay $10 for a scarf, so she prices her product at $5. If she figures her time is worth $0 because she enjoys doing it, Wanda may make a small profit of $1.15 per scarf. If all the scarves sold, she might be able to buy pizza for the family!

There are two major problems with this fantasy business.

1. There is a tiny profit margin. 
2. The market is flooded, so making sales will be difficult. Things that have flooded the market: soaps, cupcakes, baby products, American Girl doll clothes, scarves, soy candles. Everyone makes these things because they are easy, cheap and enjoyable to make. It's not the soap-makers, cupcake bakers, seamstresses or knitters that get rich off these products- it's Wilton, Hobby Lobby, and Etsy.

A Hobby, Not a Business
How can you call something a BUSINESS when you can't sell anything and it doesn't make any money? I think Wanda, in this case, really likes making scarfs, but she knows it would be silly to make dozens of scarves for fun. So she attempts to make some money at it, or at least call it a business to justify her fun.

Is there anything wrong with a hobby? No! But I know from experience that fantasy businesses can be financially destructive (and habit-forming, if I do say so myself.) At least hobbies don't require farmer's market booths, business cards, conference registration, or domain names.

A Real Business
What is a real business? It's some kind of activity that makes money... even if you don't have business cards. Business cards are not what make a "real" business. So how does a housewife go about starting a real business? It doesn't look like a "real" business, but it does make money.

1. Use your time to make some money with your own hands. Teach music lessons, clean up someone's yard, babysit, whatever. Do this at home or close to home, so there are no hidden costs like gasoline. 

2. Use the money you made to invest in some kind of product or service that you can sell. Seeds to grow flowers, new pruning shears so you can prune other people's trees, etc.

3. Never "invest" more money than you have made in step #1.  As a rule, don't invest more than half of your profits*. This rule will keep you from running your "business" at a loss. And DON'T subsidize or "help" your business with your husband's salary or other household money. That's not making money, that's getting a loan. 

You will know right away if your business is a profitable idea when you stop subsidizing and keep track of how much everything costs, and subtract that from your actual profits. Don't say, "Well, it's only been a week/month/year since I started.... NEXT year I'll make some profits." Demand a profit right from the start.

What if it IS a Fantasy Business?
So you've discovered that making and selling arm-knit scarves isn't profitable. After receiving this sad news, you box up your knitting supplies and resign yourself to only making one scarf every year. Not so fast! You can still keep on making scarves and lots of them... AND still be ahead financially.

Many people have a set amount of money each year that is used on gifts. They spend $5 on birthdays, $20 on Mother's Day, $30 on Christmas gifts, etc. If you have this budgeted anyway, why not replace some of these gifts with your homemade scarves? Looking at it this way, your scarf-making habit would be SAVING money, which is even better than earning it!

$10 birthday budget - $2 per scarf for supplies = $8 "profit"!
$8 profit x 25 scarves = total savings of $200!!!

Gifts are a good way to bridge the gap between "hobby" and "business". Gift-giving can also jump-start marketing for a real business. "You know Sally, who makes those amazing bacon cookies?" If people rave about your gifts, then you know it's a good product. If nobody says anything... well, at least you didn't invest hundreds of dollars.

***

Have you started any fantasy businesses? 
Have you started any profitable home-based businesses? 

I look forward to sharing my experience with side-hustles, micro-businesses, and making money as a housewife.

*I know that many successful business owners use leverage to start profitable businesses. But those people are usually not frugal housewives.

I estimate that I spend about 30 minutes to an hour, five days a week washing dishes. That's 240 hours - ten entire DAYS per year- at the sink. Here are some ways I've found to make dish washing faster and more fun.

1. Rubber gloves. I bought mine ($2 at Walmart) for making mozzarella cheese, but one morning I went to do dishes and realized that I had several cuts on one hand. Putting a glove on the maimed hand, I finished washing without a problem. I decided to glove both hands, and kept doing so even after my cuts had healed. The dishes get clean faster and better than ever before. The gloves protect my hands, enabling me to use hotter water instead of constantly readjusting temperature. They also grip dishes better than my wet fingers which allows me to go faster and not splash water so much. They keep my skin from drying out, and I no longer have to wipe my hands (and therefore dirty towels) so often.

2. Ajax soap. This is the best brand we have found so far. It is second cheapest at Walmart, but keeps suds for a long time.

3. Washcloth hanger. I never knew these things existed, but they allow you to use the same washcloth over and over without it stinking. Simply rinse the towel and hang it up to dry between dish washing sessions. You can also hang bottle brushes and drying clothes on it.

4. Jar brushes. These are a couple dollars at Walmart- definitely worth it if you eat a lot of home-canned foods like we do. It's a lot faster than using a fork/washcloth combo, and jar brushes are more sturdy than bottle brushes, which have more delicate bristles.

5. An old toothbrush. I use this to clean around the hardware on pots and pans, and to clean other small areas.

6. Something to listen to. I almost look forward to dish-washing time, because it gives me an excuse to listen to some of my favorite podcasts, which include but aren't limited to Michael Hyatt's "This Is Your Life" and Joshua Sheats' "Radical Personal Finance". There are a TON of podcasts to chose from. The other day I listened to "The Anarcho-Yakitalism Podcast", by a 16-year-old yak farmer. Seriously?? Really, you can find anything out there. If the internet isn't working, I pop in a garage-sale CD: beginner Spanish, audio book, audio Bible, motivational speaker, or other interesting thing. Sometimes I listen to classical music or NPR. 

What are your dish washing secrets?

Hey everyone! In honor of tax season (it's all due next Wednesday!!), I've written a post about how to save money on taxes. It's probably not what you think.

The Smiths
The Smiths make $80k a year between husband and wife. Mr. Smith makes $50k per year as a computer technician. Mrs. Smith makes $30k per year as a florist. They have two kids in daycare.

The Smiths are doing very well... or are they? 

Average Income per month: $6666  

Housing costs (mortgage payment and insurance)- $1500
Food-$700
Clothing -$100
Gifts -$100
Transportation- $420
Medical- $420
Savings- $666
Charitable Giving- $300
Entertainment- $140
Daycare- $1300
Utilities, Phone & Internet- $140
Income Tax- $1667

Total Average Spending per month: $7453

Did that last item surprise you? Taxes aren't what you normally see on the budget, but Uncle Sam shouldn't be ignored. It's a real eye-opener to see how taxes, as an expense, compare to other items in your budget. The Smiths are in a 25% income tax bracket*.

The Smiths realize that they can't afford to keep going on like this. They are continually running short on money; $787 short each month, in fact. Even with modest housing and other costs, $80k per year isn't enough for this family of four.

In a surprising turn of events, Mother lost her job at the flower shop. This set the Smith family back $30k per year- a drastic cut, especially because they were so short on cash already. 

Interestingly, the Smith family's income tax went down by 66%, even though their income only went down 37%. When Mrs. Smith lost her job, there was less income to tax, but it also brought the family into a 15% tax bracket.
Because they have two kids and a newly-lowered income, the Smiths are now eligible for more discounts, benefits and programs from the government. Although the Smiths are $30k poorer, the tax savings of $13,500 plus daycare savings of $15,600 leaves them only $900 per year poorer than when Mother had a job. If Mother clips some coupons and saves $100 a month (14%) on groceries, this difference is easily made up and the Smith family is richer making $50k than when they made $80k. 

Don't Forget Sales Tax
 For every new shirt or disposable diaper or restaurant meal you buy, there's a 6% sales tax. It doesn't sound like much, but if the Smith family goes through $7000 worth of taxable purchases per year, they are spending another $420 in sales tax. When Mother makes her own goods, shops second-hand at garage sales or utilizes scavenging, she's massively saving money on the product itself. But don't forget the extra $420. 

A Better Way to Earn
Instead of Mother going back to work, the Smiths have decided to save money with gazelle intensity. Their savings will be put into mutual funds and other investments. These investments will allow the Smiths to slowly increase their yearly income without paying half of it back to the government, because investment income is taxed differently than job-earned income.

***

If you're making way more money than you need, paying taxes is no big deal. But if you're spending more than you make, like the fictional Smith family, it may be time to re-evaluate your earning situation.

*Though the Smith family has standard and child deductions, they also pay Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) taxes on top of 25% regular income tax. This pretty much cancels out their deductions.

Happy tax-paying!
-Bethany

As I write this, it's cold and dripping wet outside. If you're doing laundry, it's a good excuse to use the dryer, right? Not so fast! There are still ways to get by without a dryer.

One lady I know hangs clothes on the line all winter. She has a line strung on her front porch as well, which gets used when it's raining. I'm not hard-core enough to hang wet laundry outside in the dead of winter, but there are other options.

1. Use a wooden drying rack. These are great but they don't hold a lot, tip over easily (in my experience) and aren't cheap.

2. String up a line indoors. I know of one girl who strung a line right through the middle of her double wide like a big party banner!

3. Put an extra shower curtain rod in your shower. Put clothing on a hanger and hang it on the extra shower rod. This is how I dry indoors. It works well if I don't have too much laundry and if neither of us are taking a shower during that time.

4. Hang a homemade drying rack on the ceiling and dry clothing on hangers. I got this idea from a really cool mom (you know who you are!) and I think it is the best of all options. After the clothes dry, you don't even have to hang them up- just move the (plastic) hangers into the closet. Unlike the standing drying racks, you can dry a LOT more clothes, and you don't have to coordinate clothes drying with shower time. Nor do you have to handle wet clothes in the dead of winter or run a huge underwear-ridden party banner through the largest room in your house. 

This hanging rack was made from the sides of an old crib. 

According to MomOnTimeOut, a load of laundry can cost $0.44- $1.32. Let's say it costs $0.75 to be fair. I only do about two loads per week, but even so I'm saving $1.50 per week, equal to $78 per year. With my two loads of big-people clothes and some socks and underwear, it probably takes me 5-10 minutes to hang the laundry each week. Not a big hassle. If you were doing loads and loads of infant clothes it might not be worth it. But then again, if you use #4, you're saving the time it takes to hang up all of the clothes as well. Food for thought.

Do you line-dry indoors? What's your laundry secret? 

The other day I was helping Hubs and got a small hole in my free-box jeans. Today before washing, I used an iron-on patch for the hole. There is a good way and a bad way to use an iron-on patch. Let me explain.

The Bad Way:
1. Wait until the hole gets really big to patch.
2. Use the entire patch, just as it came out of the package, even if your hole is really small.
3. Put the patch on the outside of your jeans where everyone can see it.
4. Iron it on, and you're good to go!

The Good Way:
1. Patch holes as soon as you notice them.
2. Cut your patch to the correct size- I cut mine the size of the hole plus 1/2" on each edge.
3. Iron on the inside of the pants.
4. Hand-stitch around the patch to keep it from coming off. I find that as the pants are used and washed, eventually an iron-on patch will start to peel off. Hand stitching (I do a whip stitch) prevents this. Rounding the corners of your patch will also help.

Above is my completed patch. I forgot to round the corners out... oops! But it still works. I also used this patching method on some jeans that came from the mall pre-holed. I decided to put a patch on these holes for modesty's sake.

Got a cold or cough? Walk outside and get yourself some mullein! It's a great medicinal herb for respiratory ailments.

Mullein leaves are light green and very fuzzy. The first year their leaves grow in a rosette pattern close to the ground, and the second year they send up tall yellow flower spikes in the summer and fall. Both the leaves and flowers are used for medicinal purposes. It's easy to dry the leaves and use them in tea. The flowers can also be dried. Sometimes the flowers are infused in a oil and used for earaches.

If you're looking for this velvety gem, start beside the road in ditches or near fields. It likes to grow in dry, sunny spots.

Mullein has a long and glorious history. It is said that the Romans dipped the leaves in wax to use as torches. Victorian women would rub a piece on their cheek to get a rosy complexion, and American Indians, as well as early settlers, used the leaves in their shoes to help keep warm. 

According to The Herbal Drugstore, mullein can be used for treating asthma, bronchitis, colds & flu, cold sores, pinkeye & sties, pneumonia, shingles, smoking addiction, and sore throat. A great herb to add to your medicine cabinet!