Homeschool Field Trip: Peachy Keen

Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of Mother Nature’s bounty and look beyond the walls of your home for some fantastic homeschool lessons. For clans with students of varying ages, a field trip to a u-pick farm can be a real treat.  Most states feature fields, orchards and sprawling acreage designed to give city folk a taste of country life.  These green spaces are bursting with seasonal produce including corn, strawberries, tomatoes and my daughter’s favorite—peaches. Picking sweet, juicy, tree-ripened peaches lends itself to a slew of hands-on lessons.  For starters, a field trip to a peach orchard … Continue reading

Staging Your House for Less

Something about spring makes me start watching all of those home shows. You know the ones where couples and sometimes singles look for the perfect house, fix up and put their homes on the market or just do some renovations. Maybe it is because spring is the most popular time of the year to list a house and get a buyer. While the housing market has promise of turning around, there is still quite a lot of “stock,” houses on the market. This means that in order to make yours sell, it needs to shine. One thing that helps house … Continue reading

10 Money Saving Ideas for Your Home

Spend less, save more, and make your house a home with the following ten money saving ideas. 1. Buy Less Most of us have more stuff than we need, and we continually add to it all of the time. Think about borrowing instead of purchasing, and evaluate what you really can’t live without in your home. You’ll save money and have a more peaceful environment. 2. Learn to Make Repairs A simple change of a washer will cost you just a couple of dollars if you do it yourself, but if you call a plumber, you will be given a … Continue reading

Home Based Business Opportunity : All’asta

Today, I found an interesting twist on the direct sales home – based business. The business opportunity is called All’asta, which is also the Italian word for auction. Think of a home party, with a host, a consultant, and guests. Instead of selling items from a catalog, the buying and selling at this party takes the form of a silent auction. The items that are being auctioned are actually items contributed by the host and the guests, so this home party is eco – friendly in that it promotes reuse. One other appealing thing about an All’asta party is that … Continue reading

Light Your Home for Less: 4 Ways to Save

The lighting of your home is so important. The proper lighting schema can make tasks easier to do, create a mood, highlight artwork and the wonderful features of your home, and keep your home warm and inviting on even the darkest days. New strides in technology has made it easier than ever to save money on lighting costs, but to really save, you’ll need to employ a little knowledge, too, or you may actually spend more money in your quest to save money. Here are four ways that you can light your home for less. 1. Off or On? Many … Continue reading

Researching Major Purchases

It’s that time of year when you start thinking about all the big projects that need to be done around the house. When I first bought my house I woke up one rainy day to a drip in the attic. I went up there and found the roof was leaking. When the rain stopped I did some research online and patched the roof but I needed a new roof. I know nothing about the roof of my house, I’ve never actually given it much thought but suddenly it was all I could think about. I needed to find someone to … Continue reading

Playing Phone Tag With the Insurance Company

I recently began yet another attempt to find affordable health insurance. In a previous blog I wrote about the details that made a particular health plan look promising. Today, the insurer called. If you ever had any doubts about how inefficient health insurance is handled in this country, try going through the process of attempting to purchase an individual health insurance plan. It brings certain difficulties into sharp, clear, focus. The last time I had health insurance was when I was working as a teacher. My job came with employer sponsored health insurance. It wasn’t incredibly difficult to fill out … Continue reading

Homeowners Insurance Won’t Cover Damages From Dead Birds

There are specific types of things that a homeowners insurance policy will cover. Problems arise when a person files a claim for damages that come from unlikely, or unusual, sources. A couple in Texas learned that their homeowners insurance won’t cover damages done by dead birds. A homeowners insurance policy is designed to give you some financial protection in case certain types of damages happen to your home, garage, driveway, or the contents of your home. It also can provide some financial assistance if someone comes to your home and gets injured. (That part would be covered if your policy … Continue reading

Christian Women in Business: Vintage Handmade Soaps

At Vintage Handmade Soaps we strive to make quality soaps using natural oils consisting of Castor, Coconut, Olive, Palm, Sunflower, and Shea Butter; as well as Silk Milk for added moisturizing effects. We scent our soaps with both natural essential oils and fragrance oils. We will always state under each bar whether or not it has been scented with a natural or fragrance oil. ~Heather Knopp, Owner Heather is the owner of Vintage Handmade Soaps and author of the blog, Raising Mighty Arrows. She is a minister’s wife and mother and devoted woman of God. To fulfill the call on … Continue reading

Homemade Wrapping Boxes

Before you throw out or recycle your food packaging, consider repurposing it into festive boxes and wraps for the holidays or containers for your wrapping things. You’ll save money and a couple of trees, too. Potato Chip Tube You know those tubes that potato chips come packaged in? They are just perfect for packing cookies. You can even mail them, too. Take a clean tube and cover it in scrapbook paper, wrapping paper or even comics or newspaper. Add a ribbon and a gift tag to complete the gift. Soup Cans Turn soup cans or coffee cans into planters. My … Continue reading