News from the Nest, January 15
Good Morning, Friends!
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the U.S. So many of his words are universal. Here’s one of my favorites.
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wouldn’t the world be such a better place if we all took that sentiment to heart?
Table of Contents
We spent the weekend in Charlotte, NC helping our youngest settle into his apartment. He technically moved in two months ago, but was waiting until I could come up to help him officially unpack. So, yes…he has lived in his apartment for two months without unpacking. Only a guy!
And, it wasn’t just me helping, it was my mom, my daughter, and me giving him organizing and decorating advice! What a lucky young man! 🤔😂 We made a family foray to Ikea, which was quite an adventure. I wish we had been mic’d up as the six of us (our son, our daughter, her boyfriend, my mom, Terry, and I) moved en masse through the labyrinth of Ikea; I think we could have been picked up as a new reality show on Netflix!
All in all, it was a fun and productive weekend!
New on the Blog
- Reusable Beeswax Food Wraps are a fantastic replacement for single-use plastic wrap or aluminum foil. They’re reusable, which means you save money and reduce waste in the long run. And, not for nothing, they are easy to make! This post also gives you printable labels that you can adhere to cardstock wraps if you want to make the beeswax wraps to give away! Such a welcome and useful gift idea.
- If you’ve never tasted Peanut Butter Soup, you might look askance at this recipe, but I encourage you to give it a try. The combination of peanut butter, onions, garlic, spices, tomato paste, and broth creates a fusion of flavors that is hearty and unique, but also very delicious! And not for nothing, if you are trying to limit your trips to the grocery store, you probably have the ingredients for this soup on hand in your pantry!
The 2024 Decluttering Challenge
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For those of you who are participating in the 2024 Decluttering Challenge, how is it going? Remember, that you can join and start anytime, so we will be at different places in our decluttering journey. After I finished working on the kitchen declutter treated myself to some new drawer organization for my big kitchen drawer. In all honesty, it was just a splurge…but I like the way it looks now. Everyone is different, but I find that I am more likely to keep my spaces orderly and uncluttered if they are aesthetically pleasing to me.
I’m getting ready to tackle my craft room, which is a HOT MESS! I feel that I didn’t get it organized well when we moved in 4 years ago and so it just hasn’t worked for me. I know I have stuff that needs to go, so I plan to tackle that this week. I’ve purchased a little reward for myself for getting this done…a door-mounted gift wrap organizer…they are on sale now at the Container Store. It will clear up some space and help my office/craft room be less cluttered.
Once again, you can join the challenge ANYTIME and work at your own pace! Pop on over here to see what to expect and to sign up.
From the Knit Studio
- If you need a knit project to keep you busy during all of this cold weather, I’ve compiled all of my Knit Blanket Patterns in one place for you.
- The Russian Join will come in handy when knitting anything, especially a large blanket!
- Blocking your knitted blanket makes a huge impact on the finished product. It settles down the yarn fibers and imprints a memory of how it should lay. You can straighten the edges and get the correct dimensions for your finished work. You aren’t truly done with a knit project until you have blocked it. Check out this step-by-step tutorial.
From the Kitchen
All of these recipes and tips I’m sharing today are great for your budget and the environment. They go hand in hand with the recipes I shared in the January 1 News from the Nest, From the Kitchen.
- If you have apples that won’t get eaten before they get soft or if you found that the apples you just purchased were a tad mealy, then dehydrate them! Dehydrating is a great way to preserve apples for snacking at a later date. I explain how to dehydrate using your oven if you don’t have a dedicated dehydrator in this post.
- If you are cleaning out your fridge and freezer and find an inordinate number of bits and bobs of various cheeses, do a little happy dance! Blend those bits with a splash of wine, some cream cheese, and herbs and you’ve created the delicious appetizer called Fromage Fort!
- It doesn’t get much more budget-friendly than a big pot of chili. And this Turkey Chili is also scale-friendly!
- Did you know that the average American wastes around 200 pounds of food each year?! Think about a) how bad that is for the environment and b) how much money we throw away by doing that! Here are more than 40 tips to reduce food waste.
- One way to reduce food waste is to make your fresh produce last longer. In an attempt to reduce the amount of kitchen waste my family produces, I’ve done a good deal of research and put in place many of my findings. On the off chance that your family also struggles with food waste, these tips on How to Keep Produce Fresh Longer may come in handy for you too!
- You CAN eat well for Less! Specific, actionable tips and suggested groceries to buy on a budget that are still healthy.
- While we are working on cutting back, for our wallet and the environment, let’s take a look at a slew of ways to make your kitchen more environmentally friendly and sustainable. You’ll find that so many of these tips overlap.
From the Craft Room
- I LOVE (see what I did there?😍) pulling out these Conversation Heart Pillows every February!
Some Fun Finds and Few Favorites
Some of these links may be Amazon affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from the sale of these products to help defray the costs of operating this site, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.
- After several failed attempts, I finally found the perfect-sized brown paper bags in which to give sourdough boules.
- Speaking of sourdough, Terry gave me these heat-proof gloves for lifting the lids off of my cast-iron Dutch ovens when I’m baking. I’ve tested them and they work great!
- These Turkish handtowels are a great price for a little spruce up in your bathroom or for nice gifts as is or with a bar of soap. A huge variety of colors to choose from.
- A pretty pink checked throw.
- If you use bins and baskets to corral and organize, check out these bin clips for labeling.
- Some of you will be targeting your dens and linen closets next week in the 2024 Declutter Challenge. These sheet size bands not only let you know what size the sheets are but conveniently bundle them to keep them neat.
- Container Store is having its annual 30% off elfa sale now through mid-February. I’ve treated myself to this over-the-door Gift Wrap organizer. It’s got me excited to tackle my craft room next week!
Well, friends, I have a quick Valentine’s Day craft I’m working on for you plus some other great content. Once done with that, I’ll treat myself to putting up my new Gift Wrap organizer!
Have the VERY BEST week!
Hugs,
