Easy Ways to Freshen Up a Room for Very Little or No Money, Part 1

When I have worked w/ friends by going into their homes and helping them take what they have and use it to redo the room there are several decorating mistakes or missed opportunities that I commonly see. Just by tweaking, a room can be given a facelift that costs very little, if anything.
1. De clutter you space! Take everything off the walls and all small objects and books off of shelves. Remove all toys, magazines, pillows etc. Pile them in the middle of the room if you have to. Then decided what goes back into the space. Only put back in the space what you truely use, like and enjoy. If you have too many books (my constant problem) go through and see what you can part with and what might be able to be stored in labeled boxes in a closet (old textbooks you haven't looked at in five years, double copies of your favorite classics, paperbacks you read but now years later know you're not likely to reread). If toys are taking over you living space allow only what will fit neatly into a nice basket or two to be in the living space and store the rest in bedrooms (more on toys later!). Store these out of plain view so the room can become a grown up space in the evenings. Of course, if you have a new baby there will probably be a swing or jumper/play center somewhere in the room for the first 8 months or so, but try not to store too much baby paraphernalia in plain sight. A basket for diapers, wipes and toys tucked to the side of a couch looks much better than having things stacked on a coffee table. It's really not about how things look so much as the emotions you experience when entering an uncluttered, visually pleasing room versus a cluttered, unappealing one.
2. If painting is an option, it gives the most bang for you buck. A gallon of low VOC paint is about 30.00 and the average living/family room should take about two gallons if you are not dramatically changing colors. If you've never painted before there are online tutorials. Painting is not difficult but does need to be dome with care and precision.
3. With all pictures off your walls rethink how you have them hung. The rule of thumb is that the middle of the picture or print should be at the average persons eye height which can range from about 5 feet to 5 feet 5 inches (remember it's eye height not head height). Over a couch  you can place prints or painting where the bottom of the frame is about a foot from the frame of the couch - unless the couch is very low ( sit on the couch and check head clearance). The top of the frame/s should still be about eye height or a bit above. Many people hang picture way too high on their walls so they look disconnected to the furniture. Arrange the pieces on the floor to get a sense of how a grouping will look or take the time to cut newspaper or brown wrapping paper into the size and shape of your pieces and play with their placement on the wall w/ tape to play with arrangements.
4. Play with furniture placement  and also evaluate whether you have too much furniture stuffed in a space or too little for your needs.
5. Look around the rest of the house to bring in new elements. Swap pictures around, re purpose a small table or chest. Switch out lamps, etc.
6. Use new pillows and throws for a pop of new color at a reasonable price.

Laundry Day .2

I got back from a trip last night which always means I have laundry to catch up on which made me think about  a few emails from friends I've gotten and some facebook posts I've seen about making your own laundry detergent. The recipe is pretty simple and I tried it once years ago. It worked ok but gathering the washing soda, borax, large air tight container and the soap I wanted to use took several trips to different stores. I only did it once. As it seems to be making a resurgance in popularity I wondering if anyone has done a load to load cost comparison between homemade and Charlie's Soap? Charlie's Soap a NC company so for those of us in NC it's buying local and at Whole Foods an 80 load bag of powder is right at 10.00. if you add NC sales tax (I approximated at 8 cents per dollar) it's 13.5 cents a load. It works well and clothing comes out soft. Another thing I've noticed is lack of static cling this winter. It might be the Charlies Soap or it might be that fewer of our clothes are synthetic. They also sell a liquid soap.

If you've made your own detergent and have noted the price per load please comment w/ how much per load your detergent cost.

Real Texas Chili for a Cold Night

It was supposed to be 17 degrees here last night. That's about 15 degrees lower than the average winter night temp for this part of NC. When it's cold like this I always like to make Chili. Between the temperature of the food and the heat of the chilies it is very warming. Since my husband is Texas born and bred I make Texas chili. When we lived in TX if you went to any kind of chili contest or casual chili supper there are two things you didn't find in a native Texan's chili - beans and chicken. That's not to say that Texan's don't make a white bean chicken chili - they just don't bring it to a chili cook off event unless they have a very thick skin.

Back in the 80's when we still lived in our hometown of Longview, Texas an elderly man at our church decided that I needed a lesson in chili making (maybe because I was a transplant from New York). He proceeded to verbally describe a chili recipe quite different that the typical ground beef, tomato and spices. He told me that real Texas chili not only never had beans in it but it shouldn't have ground beef either. He described a recipe that had me running to the store after ingredients as soon as possible. That's why I call this Real Texas Chili. Another thing about chili is that it is fun to play with. Over the years I've tried some pretty funky spices and chilies. When you get this chili made it has far less tomato presence and more of a beefy, meaty flavor than regular chili recipes.

Real Texas Chili

2 pounds of chuck roast or already cut up stew meat (I use low fat grass fed beef), cut into bite sized pieces

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, diced

3 good size cloves of garlic, diced

4 cups of chicken stock (you may use water, but stock does add to the richness of flavor)

In large stock pan brown the beef in oil, add onion when meat is about halfway browned and garlic when it is almost browned on both sides. Add stock cover and simmer on medium low for about an hour (or place in crock pot with all ingredients except cornmeal and cook on low for 6 hours). Check beef to see if it is starting to break apart easily when pushed with a fork, if not give it a few more minutes. Add;

1 large can of crushed tomatos

1 can of Rotel tomatos

1 teaspoon of chili powder (add more to taste if desired AFTER tasting chili. Chili powder can vary widely in hotness and flavor)

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, optional (this is my secret ingredient)

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons salt

You might also want to add;

extra green chilies, hot sauce or diced jalapeños just be sure to go slowly and taste between additions. I make my chili medium hot and place bowls of chopped jalapeños and bottles of hot sauce on the table for those who really like it flaming hot.

Simmer chili for about 30 minutes on low to combine flavors. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cornmeal over the top of the chili and then stir it in. If using a crockpot this should be done about 15 to 20 minutes before it will be served to give cornmeal time to expand. Stir well breaking up any clumps w/ back of spoon. This is the thickener that takes the chili from a soup to a chili. Add more cornmeal if you'd like it even thicker.

Serve w/ cheese to sprinkle on top and either tortilla chips or cornbread on the side.

To Paint Apple or Heath

I've been looking at paint samples for the last few months trying to decide what color green to paint my kitchen. It has been green for the last five years or so and I really like the color, but since we are taking the popcorn insulation off of the ceiling in the kitchen and breakfast room I need to repaint. I like to paint. It's the quickest, cheapest way to change and freshen a room and there is something therapeutic to me about rolling this fresh, new color over the old (or over a coat of primer if the color is very different). This kitchen has taken me forever (well at least since October) to decide. I like to bring the paint samples home and tape them to the wall to see how the light at different times of day effects the color. Then when I've narrowed my choices down or if I think I've found THE one I go buy a sample of the color and paint it on a strip of the wall. I then walk around looking at it for a few days and usually know very quickly whether I want to commit. Not this time. For some reason I am vacillating between the very popular greens that have quite a bit of yellow in them and a more neutral green. I brought a color card home called jalapeño and even went so far as to try it as a sample and then go buy a gallon. I really like the color, but for some reason I just couldn't use it in the kitchen. So now our upstairs bath is jalapeño green and it is very becoming with the white bead board we have up to chair rail height. This of course means I'm back to looking for the perfect green. I picked up more samples this week, apple and heath, hmmmm.

One thing for sure when I do pick a paint it will be a low or no VOC. VOC is short for volatile organic compound and a paint that is formulated not to have VOCs or be very low in VOCs makes painting a much more pleasant experience; no more strong smell that lasts for days and of course that means it is much healthier for you. So far I have used both Home Depot and Lowe's with good results. I painted my bedroom this last summer and was very pleased with being able to sleep in the room that night, after a day of painting, with no detectable paint odor.

Some Lessons Learned

The first few days if 2010 have got me in both a look back and look forward mode. When I looked back over the last year I thought about some of the things I have discovered or tried sometime in the last twelve months and thought I'd list a few of my favorites in no particular order.

1. maryjanesfarm.org This is a wonderful site that I found after discovering the magazine Mary Jane's Farm back in October. This could keep me occupied for hours and I've only had a chance to mine a little of the information.

2. I can live w/o paper towels (although I'm not sure all of my family member can). I tried not using paper towel and found it really wasn't very difficult to make the switch to using more cloth kitchen towels. I tried to figure out how much money I could save and in this family of six and buying in bulk, I figure I was still spending over 150.00 - just on paper towels. I also was not recycling them so they were just going to the landfill. I have not totally changed out the paper towel habit. We still have them, but I personally have cut way back and we will be easing into an almost paper towel free life soon.

3. Shepherds Pie. Somehow I missed the whole shepherds pie debate of the last few years (whether it's authentic shepherds pie if you use cheese). My daughter Kristin introduced us to the dish last winter. I actually made it tonight. It's got to be close to the top on the comfort foods list. You can find all kinds of recipes for it. I've opted for a low fat ground beef version made with only beef, onion, celery, carrots, stock, potato starch to thicken and then mashed potatoes. I did make my daughter Alyssa (who's a vegetarian) a broccoli, cauliflower, carrot version w/ cheese on the mashed potato topping. Here are several recipes http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,shepherds_pie,FF.html

4.You can plant a garden in a bag of dirt. In looking through gardening information I ran across a plan to lay a bag of soil on the ground, slit the top in a cross pattern and plant seedings or seed right there w/o the work of digging up anything. My daughter Rebekah and I opted for a slightly different version of this at her house when we built 2 wooden frames 4 feet by 8 feet w/ 2 x6's, laid 5 layers of newspapers in the bottom and filled them with a mix of compost and topsoil. We planted all kinds of things and then mulched heavily for an almost instant garden.

5. Alyssa is not only a vegetarian but also has both corn and wheat allergies that were discovered last spring after repeated trips to the Dr. for rib pain. I've been discovering how to bake and cook w/o these two ingredients that are in almost everything. It's caused me to think about food in different ways. I've been experimenting with baking and also w/ using grains and vegetables. It's been a challenge and I'll share some of the recipes I've found or have converted this year.

Happy New Year!

One of my daughters requested that I send her my scone recipe so I thought I'd post it here. I owned a coffee/tea shop a few years ago and developed this recipe for my tea room. We served an English Tea when requested and the scones were popular both in the tea room and in front in the coffee shop. The dough refrigerates and even freezes well when made into rounds, wrapped and then frozen. Let it come to room temp, cut the scones and bake. Use cream for special occasions, but half 'n half makes a nice product too.

Sips English Cream Tea Scones

375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes

(This recipe doubles easily)

2 cups unbleached flour

¼ cup sugar (I use raw)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into chucks

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup cream or half ‘n half

If using food processor; place flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in bowl. Add cut up butter and process until well blended. Remove to bowl. In 2 cup measuring cup measure cream, add egg and vanilla and blend w/ whisk or fork. Pour over flour and mix gently. Knead in bowl just two or three times. Half dough for smaller scones or make one large round for large scones. One well floured board shape and flatten dough into a circle about 1/2 to ¾ inches thick. Cut circle into eighths. Brush tops w/ left over cream, egg mixture (or cream alone). Sprinkle tops w/ raw sugar if making sweet scones or just cream for savory. Repeat w/ other half of dough. Place scones on cookie sheet (parchment paper under is nice but not necessary. Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Add Currants, chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts, or cheese to dough after mixing in liquids for flavored scones.