5 Tips to Slay Your Mountain of Laundry and Not Lose Your Mind

Are there piles of laundry on your bed waiting to folded and put away? Are there piles of clothes oozing out of the hamper, and spewing onto the floor of the laundry room?

You are not alone!

As a busy mom to 4 kids twelve and under two of them being boys I know oh ‘to well the daily maintenance that is required in order to not drown in “mount clothes”.

Get your kids to help! Yes, they are completely capable even our 5 year-old is expected to do his share, and help with the laundry monster.

Here’s how I get my kids to do laundry without whining or complaining.

Our boys (5 & 7) help separate laundry into the appropriate hampers, and help transfer wet clothes to the dryers. They have also been instructed on “how to” load dirty clothes into the washer, fill the soap dispenser, and hit “start”.

You would be amazed at how well they do, and how excited they get when they get to help mom. It may only be saving me a couple minutes (switching loads, etc. ) but, minutes add up to hours.

Our girls (9 and 12) are expected to do a bit more. I will also add, we do not give our children a weekly allowance.

But, we do have “chore cards”. When a child is asked to preform a specific task; usually for the girls it is folding and putting away a load of laundry – I,

1) Ask “said child” to perform the chores (once they have been properly instructed on how to do so)

2) If “said child” is available, willing, and able he/she will do the chore when asked without whining or complaining

3) Mom inspects the work of “said child”, and signs off on their “chore card”

4) After a child has filled their chore card they may redeem their card for a $10 “pay day

5) Everyone wins!

More Laundry Slaying Tips From One Busy Family to Another…

I wash ALL of my kids clothes together – I know, gasp? Take a deep breath – yes, I do not separate my kids clothes.

Most of their clothes have been washed countless times, and for the most part fall under the category of “lights/darks”. If there is a particular outfit that requires special care then, I will set it aside and treat appropriately. But, for the most part 99% of our kids’ clothes are washed together in one to two giant loads.

Our kids have a large community hamper located in their bathroom. At the end of the day all clothes are to make their way to the community hamper (and, not to be placed on the floor) or, mom is likely to get angry.

We also have a separated hamper system (lights, whites, and darks) located in our master bedroom. The separated system helps me recognize the clothes that may need to be pulled for stain treatment and/or special temperature care.

Fold clothes as they come out of the dryer. Handle once, not twice! There are few better things on a cold winter day then, folding warm clothes. Remember wanting to snuggle in the basket as a kid?

Over the years I have tried to limit the “amount” of clothes that come into the house as well. If there are only so many clothes to choose from then, the loads of laundry are that much more manageable. Think about it, if you have enough pants that you don’t need to do laundry, but once a month – what in the world would that laundry mountain look like – huge, right?

Fewer clothes, means a more manageable mountain.

And, lastly having a “family closet” is pretty much amazing! If you can figure out “how” or “where” to put one – do it! Gone are the days of running around, and putting clothes away in six different locations. Once our clothes are washed, dried, and folded – into the family closet they go. I will share more on this system soon, but for now if you don’t I have one already – I would start thinking of where you may put one.

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Homesteading, Homeschooling, and Where Have We Been?

Wow- where have we been? In short, we have been busy homesteading, homeschooling, and  making the best of what each day has to offer. It’s been quite sometime since I have last been in this space. In some ways it almost feels a bit foreign while in others, it feels a bit refreshing.

It would be nearly impossible to bring you all up to speed with everything that has gone on here at my happy homestead this last year+. So, I am choosing to move forward and not look back – taking you all along for the ride with us! We have lots of fun things up our sleeve after taking a good long sabbatical.

Who’s ready for some good old fashion homesteading, homeschooling, home cooking, and homemaking? I know I am and, I hope you are too!

Here’s just some of what you can look forward to in the weeks and months ahead –

Homesteading

Coming soon myhappyhomesteadshop on Etsy for the latest “My Happy Homestead” handcrafted and homemade goods. Looking for unique gifts ideas, handmade goods, and scrumptious treats?

Looking for a bit of rustic farmhouse decor, custom homemade gifts, and homestead supplies then be sure to check out “My Happy Homestead Market“. Come shop with us and thanks for supporting our little homestead!

Homeschooling

Looking for a bit homeschool encouragement, craft ideas, book lists, game recommendations, and curriculum reviews? Then you have come to the right place! #myhappyhomeschool isn’t always pretty but, we are in this together.

Check out some of our latest family fun adventures on YouTube! Remember to “subscribe” so you never miss a thing.

Home Cooking

I’m always cooking up something new in the homestead kitchen and, have a plethora of new recipes to share. From delicious refreshing smoothie recipes to gluten free, allergy friendly treats – there will certainly be something for everyone in the months ahead.

Health has been a life long passion of mine and helping others achieve their optimal health goals lies at the root of all I do, believe in, and work for.

Need a bit of hand holding, extra help with meal planning, and nutritional guidance? Fill out the contact form below to schedule your free initial healthy living consultation today  – I can’t wait to help you achieve healthy living success, save time, and money one meal at a time.

Home Making

Home is a place of refuge, grace, love, and productivity.

My Happy Homestead is full of good, bad, and ugly. It’s not a place where I need to prove to you that I am some great home maker. I make mistakes, yell at my kids (I know, right? The nerve.), and struggle to find the beauty in each day. I am a sinner living in a fallen world and, hope you will join me on the journey towards home.

“The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own HOME!” ~ Harold B. Lee

How Much Should You Plant In Your Garden for a Years Worth of Food for Your Family

How Much Should You Plant In Your Garden for a Years Worth of Food for Your Family-2

How much should you grow in your garden for a years worth of food for your family?

I don’t know about you, but every year I feel the cool air quickly turn to spring and all of a sudden (insert panic) I can’t seem to remember how much of anything to plant.

And, every year I seem to ask myself the same question; “how much do I need to plant in our garden to supply my family with enough food for the winter?”

Are you trying to figure out how much you will need too?

Well, I’ve gathered up some of my favorite resources and I’m hoping to break it all down for you. So, you can take the guess work out of your garden planning and spend more time actually gardening.

If you are new to My Happy Homestead you can ‘meet our family here“. We have not always lived in the country; in fact, most of our lives we have  lived in the city. So, growing all of our own food was not really an option in the past; although, we certainly did the best we could with what resources we had available at the time.

We had strawberry gardens, a raspberry garden, a small scale garden, and picked local seasonally ripe food from area farms whenever possible. We ordered a cow, a pig, and shopped at local famers markets on a regular basis. You can check out how I shop for our family of 6 once a month here.

All that said, our ancestors did not have the luxury of having a grocery store on every corner they depended solely upon growing a garden, having a farm, saving seeds, and preserving their harvest for survival. A garden was not a tiny, pretty little space in a perfectly manicured back yard – the garden was the entire yard. There wasn’t weekend dance classes, sporting events,  and weekly parties to attend. And, there certainly wasn’t countless vacations to be had. Life was the farm, and the farm meant survival.

Since I only shop once a month for our family of six I am keenly aware of how much food we consume. I pretty much have it down to a science {now, that goes with out saying as the kids have gotten older I have had to make some adjustments}.

But, I know we need 5-6 six packs of yogurt, 5 cans of each kind of bean {kidney, black, pinto, etc}, 1 Costco size sour cream, 3-4 gallons of milk, 2 lbs of ground meat for every meal, 8 packs of waffles, 3 bags/boxes of cereal, and on, and on.

How Much Should You Plant In Your Garden for a Years Worth of Food for Your Family

So, just how much ‘How Much Should You Plant In Your Garden for a Years Worth of Food for Your Family’ {disclaimer some of these we still have not grown but, this is based on my personal experience and research}

Asparagus 1-4 plants per person

Bush Beans 10- 15 plants per person

Pole Beans 10-15 plants per person

Beets 10-15 plants per person

Broccoli – 8 plants per person

Brussel Sprouts – 4 plants per person

Cabbage – 5 plants per person

Carrots 20-30 plants per person (100 seed pack would/should feed a family of 6)

Cauliflower – 5 plants per person

Celery – 4-8 plants per person

Corn – 20-40 plants per person

Cucumber – 5 plants per person

Egg plant – 1 plants per person (plus an additional 2-3 per family)

Kale – 1 5′ row

Lettuce – 10 -12 plants {obviously you can no preserve this over the winter months but, you can stagger your growing to harvest most of the year)

Onions – 30 plants per person

Peas – 30 plants per person

Peppers – 8 plants per person

Potatoes – 20-25 plants per person

Pumpkins – 1 plant per person {1-2 additional for the family}

Rhubarb – 2 crowns per family

Spinach – 10 -20 plants per person

Summer squash – 3 plants per person {there’s nothing like shredded zucchini already prepared for quick breads)

Winter Squash – 2 plants per person

Sweet Potatoes – 5 plants per person

Tomatoes – 5-8 plants per person

Another way to figure out how much your family would need to grow for the winter is think of how much your family consumes and research the approximate yield on a given plant.

For example; if it was estimated that a 10 ft. row of bush beans would yield 3-5 lbs. yield then, I know I would need approx. 100+ ft. row to sustain my family over the winter as we consume approximately 5-6 lbs. of green beans per month.

Of coarse this could not be broken down into an exact science since weather, natural disaster, and pests can all affect yield.

What I can tell you is this – plant what you like to eat and plant what you will use. If you are short on space plant what you can with what room you have available.

Do you have room behind your garage? That’s where our berry garden used to be. Try planting food where you would plant flowers – replace the dying tree in the corner of the yard with a fruit tree instead of an ornamental piece.

And, start learning about harvesting your seeds – there is nothing more rewarding than knowing you grew something from a tiny seed and you were able to save the seeds for next years harvest thus, repeating the cycle of life.

Hungry for more gardening goodness check out these (affiliate links) –