Are you a do-it-yourself kind of person? Do you like to see the steps in the whole process, know the ingredients, and tweak the end product to make it your own when you create a recipe, craft or cleaning item? It really is amazing how many things we can do ourselves! Being self-sufficient can save money, give you a feeling of satisfaction and make your families happier and healthier.
Yeah the obvious reason. Save money!
Kids are expensive. When we had 4 kids at home we liked to have pizza night on Friday nights Often we had their friends here and that was a lot of pizza. It was fun to get them in the kitchen helping to make our crust. Looking back it saved us TONS of $$!
Many times making a meal or part of a meal from scratch will help stretch the pennies in your grocery budget. Another expensive food item that I like to make is Greek yogurt. It is so easy to do and I love knowing that there's no added sugar!
What are your favorite items to make from scratch in the kitchen?
DIY projects are so satisfying & handmade gifts mean more!
It absolutely drives me CRAZY to spend $4-5 on a birthday or anniversary card that the recipient will probably throw away. In my opinion that money is better spent on a gift to go with the card or on a special coffee date to spend time chatting with the birthday friend!
I like to use my Silhouette cutting machine that I use for scrap booking and in my crafting business to make the cards I am sending.
It means that I can give a personalized card to that friend or family member. And they might keep or at least value the card a little more when they open it. If you have a Cricut, it can be used to make cards too! My friend Pam has tons of card ideas over on her blog P.S. I love crafts.
You don't need to limit your self to cards! Love to knit or crochet? Skilled in woodworking? Like to sew or bake? All these skills can be used to make handmade gifts!
What are your favorite projects or gifts to make?
Often it isn’t about saving money but being healthy
We are blessed to grow a garden and have fruit trees on our 6 acres of land. This privilege allows us to grow and preserve the foods that we love each year. Knowing that the food we grow is organic is priceless. The health we gain from time spent outside and from eating excellent produce is also priceless.
Do you grow a garden, fruit or herbs?
Creating something unique and special
When I got married, my grandpa refinished a cedar chest for me and hubby’s grandma gave us a quilt that she made. Those are treasured items now that they are gone. I like to craft unique rag rugs and crochet many things(it's an addiction lol). Someday those may be treasured items as well.
When my husband gets to use his woodworking skills he seems to walk taller. You can tell he’s proud of the skills he’s learned over the years and enjoys getting to use them. He built these bookshelves and an awesome window seat for me. It is one of the best things about our home!
What skills are you proud to use to “do” things from scratch?
HOW can we learn to be more self sufficient and do things ourselves?
Take it slow and steady
There are so many skills I WANT to learn and do but experience has taught me that I must take small strides if I want to do more myself.
Learn it well
Try not to do it all at once. It's easy to get overwhelmed. Our family often takes on 2-3 new things each year and we try to learn the "how" really well before we move on to a new skill. For instance the first year we lived on our new property we learned to take care of our pool, started mowing 4 acres and enlarged the garden. That was almost too much because both take time. We did learn our lesson because the next year we only started strawberry plants in raised beds and waited a couple of years then got going on raspberries.
Talk to the experts
Nothing is better than getting your questions answered by those who have experience! Talk to your friends and family.
Often the older generation is a fountain of knowledge if we just ask. My father-in-law and mother-in-law have helped our family with MANY projects. I love knowing that my children or I have learned something from them because it creates such awesome memories for us both!
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