Look, Ma, No More Paper Towels!

It's official: the Travnik household used up their last roll of paper towels six weeks ago and haven't bought another roll since.

There wasn't really any particular reason why we stopped using paper towels. Well, Ok, maybe there was. Being the frugal zealot that I am, it's always thrill to save a buck here or there....Anyways, we ran out and I didn't really feel like buying more, so I thought we'd give a paper-towel-free lifestyle a try.

In place of the paper towels, we're using old receiving blankets. Some receiving blankets were quartered while others were cut into sixteen smaller squares. I then zig zagged around the raw edges.

The larger squares are used for cleaning the bathroom and the smaller pieces are used for spills or wiping out our cast iron pans after they are seasoned.

I use newspapers and a vinegar/water solution to clean our glass and mirrors at home. I've always done this because newspapers give the best streak free shine!

You know what? At the end of these six weeks, I haven't missed the paper towels once. I'll be making a trip to the second hand store sometime soon to pick up used receiving blankets to make into more wipes for the bathroom. Thanks to a potty-training, I have learned you can never have too many rags for bathroom cleaning.

I know that Kindra has also cut up old receiving blankets to use as baby wipes.

Now, I just have to convince Nialle that it would be really cool to make up our own reusable "toilet paper" out of receiving blankets! :)

Seeds for Christmas

I love a challenge - especially when it comes to penny pinching. While Nialle and I aren't always the greatest at saving money, I particularly make an effort to try and cut costs when it comes to Christmas gift giving. Christmas is one holiday that can not only blow our budget, but can get us into debt.

This Christmas, one of the gifts I'll be giving to acquaintances and close friends alike is packets of seeds. I harvested the seeds from the flowers in my backyard. If this is something you'd like to try, there's still time to go out and pick seeds before the snow flies.

Gathering seeds from your garden is easy and it allows you to give your loved ones seeds from flowers you know do well in your area. As a bonus, it doesn't take a lot of work or money to do either!

First, make sure that your seeds are ready to be picked. Here is a picture of some of my Giant Delphinium's seed pods. When the pods turn brown, feel crispy and have split open, you know they are ready.


If you're worried that your pods will burst and scatter the seeds on your flower bed before you get a chance to harvest them, you can pick the 'green' pods as they form and let them dry in your house.

Here I have done just that and spread some pods from Delphiniums, Onion Chives and Maiden Pinks in a cardboard box.

Handle the box and pods with care to make sure you don't lose too many seeds...and to make sure you don't mix up the pods either - that could spell disaster. Use separate boxes for each type of flower if you want so that the seeds don't get mixed up. I like using cardboard boxes because they absorb moisture and speed up the drying process.




When you're ready to extract the seeds from the pods, put the pods in a spare paper envelope. Here I have placed some dried heads from my onion chives into an envelope.




Pressing firmly on the outside of the envelope, roll the pods around to remove the seeds. If that doesn't work, you can also shake the seeds out of the pod into the open envelope. Pick out the empty pods once you think all the seeds have been removed.

Look, there's seeds for some onion chives. Yum

To make sure my seeds are dry, I usually keep them in the envelope for a few weeks and store it in a safe, dry place (away from nosy husbands, children and pets). Making sure everything is dry (and stays dry) is essential as moisture will rot the seeds.

Make sure to label the envelope!

Now comes the fun part! Package your seeds in a creative way - add a personal touch. The simplest of gifts become the most meaningful when the recipient sees how much work and thought you put into their present.

Here I did a watercolor of a Giant Delphinium and added some information on the plant. You can always add more information such as how to plant the seeds, interesting uses or a fascinating bit of history. If you don't like to paint, make up small cards with scrapbooking materials, or download cute labels from the internet.

I stapled a small envelope with the delphinium seeds in it to the back of the card. Include a grain or two of rice in this small envelope to help absorb any extra moisture from the seeds.

Place your seeds in an old basket with some gardening tools, gardening magazines or slip it in a Christmas card and you have a one-of-a-kind gift!