Summer family project time!

This week is a themed week for Works for me Wednesday. It is the "Mom, i'm bored" edition. This is something that we all dread hearing. After a long summer break i'm sure it's bound to happen at some time. I used to hear it all the time. Of course I always loved coming up with creative ways to make the children stop telling me every five minutes that they were bored. I could always help them not be so bored by scrubbing out the trashcans or by dusting the baseboards. You get the point. It still got to be tiring though, so we changed things up a bit for them.

First thing I want to say is that we homeschool. It is a bit different for us since we don't follow the typical schoolyear schedule. We take off one whole month in the summer (this year we are taking off the month of June), and we take off the whole month of December. I have found that just having a shorter summer break cuts down some on the "Mom, i'm bored" cries.

Now you know it would be too easy if that's all it took, but of course I still used to hear it pretty often. That's when we took it a step further and implemented a few summer changes around here. It has made a huge difference and it's actually quite fun.

First thing to go is the TV. We turn it off every summer, for the whole summer. There is nothing on but reruns anyway, but I find that the kids whine about being bored more if they sit in front of the TV everyday. So, off it goes.

Every year the children also attend one camp. The last three years it has been a music day camp at one of the local churches. It's fun for the kids and it takes care of one week. Plus it's free!

The big thing we do though that has made the most difference is complete a family project together every summer. Last year we built a chicken coop together. If you want to read more about our chickens, you can do so here. This year we have been working on checking off Mom's nesting list. Baby should come at any time now so it's got to get done. We have painted a few rooms in the house, built a loft bed, and we are about to start expanding the chicken run.

Including the children is something we love doing and we never hear, "I'm bored!" It also helps them build skills that will help them later on in life. Most importantly, it helps build our relationship with our kids and it makes great memories. If you don't have any big projects to do, do something small. Build a birdhouse, plant a flower garden. Lets the kids pick. It works for us!

To get more great ideas on how to keep the kids entertained this summer, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

What doesn't work for me: Homemade dishwasher soap

This week is a themed week for What Works for me Wednesday. It is, What DOESN'T Work for me. Well, the one thing I have tried unsuccessfully over and over to make work is homemade dishwasher solution. It does not work!

I love saving money. I love using as many chemical free cleaning supplies and I love making my own laundry detergent. You would think that I would love making my own dishwasher soap. Nope! I have tried at least 3 different recipes and none have worked.

The problems I have had, are a thick film left on the dishes, and the solution not cleaning the dishes well at all. I have tried using vinegar as a rinse aid, which is fine, but it does not help. So this frugal, natural kind of momma is sticking with Cascade! If you're thinking about it go ahead, but for me it was a waste of time.

Of course, if you have any tips that I may have looked over on how to get it to work, i'd love to hear about them. And of course for more things people have tried and found does not work for them, visit Rocks in my dryer.

Inexpensive and healthier eggs! Great fun too!

I said that that this week would be devoted to some of the frugal things we do as a family. A few of the things we do will seem quite different than what the norm is, but I figured it would be fun to share regardless.

I thought I would introduce one of the things that has saved our family a good bit of money for my Works for me Wednesday post. What works for me is chickens!

Yes, you read right. I did say chickens. Most people think "No way, not me, we live in the city," or they think that chickens are dirty animals. Well, we have had 2 laying hens now for about a year and I can tell you that they are great pets! They are docile and very peaceful to watch.

The 2 girls we have now give us right at about 1 dozen eggs a week. That would be plenty for the average size family. They only need housing about the same size as an average doghouse.

Many people that have chickens have what's called a chicken tractor. It is basically a portable chicken coop. You move it around your yard every couple of days so that it doesn't kill your grass and gives your chickens access to fertile feeding grounds.

When you have a tractor, the chickens eat the bugs in your yard, fertilize your grass, and give you free range eggs. With the cost of eggs at $2.50-$3.00 a dozen now it is more affordable to have your own chickens and healthier too! We pay right at about $10.00 every 3 months or so for feed. That is for about 12 dozen eggs!This year we have added on to our small flock another 8 baby girls. By the end of the summer we will be getting, on average, 8-10 eggs a day. With our larger than average sized family we will use a good bit of this for ourselves, but we do have a waiting list of people that want to buy the rest. This will pay for any feed we have to buy so it will make our eggs free!

If you live in the city you may still be able to have a couple of chickens. We live right in the middle of town and are able to have as many birds as we want as long as they are penned up. You need to check your local ordinances or call your local animal control to see if your city allows them.

Our girls are really easy to care for. I'd say they are much easier than a dog or cat because they don't need as much attention. No grooming fees, no walking, no chewing up your shoes, no jumping up on your children. Just keep their area clean and give them fresh food and water.

If you're interested in learning more, The City Chicken or The Backyard Chicken are two great places to start looking.

Is there anything more beautiful?