A Quiet Simple Life

Sallie Schaaf Borrink

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Do It Now & Don’t Put It Down

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View Full Post with Embedded ContentDo It Now & Don’t Put It Down

There are two things I’ve endeavored to do more consistently (but not perfectly) in recent years. Both choices have enabled me be more efficient and positive about my homemaking.

First of all, I’ve tried to choose to “Do it now” rather than put off some small task. For example, Caroline discovered today a little bit of mending she needed done. Rather than put it off for another day, I put on a short video I wanted to listen to and simply did the mending while I listened. So many times I let mending needs languish for ridiculous amounts of time. When I finally sit down and do the task, it takes less than ten minutes. In the meantime, I’ve looked at it more times than I can count which has caused me both the stress/anxiety of not doing it in addition to the wasted time spent looking at it and not doing anything. So I am endeavoring to do things now rather than wait for a more “opportune time” when I “feel like” doing something. 

The other thing I’ve worked to do is not put things down to deal with later. An example of this is taking something from my office/homeschool room on the second floor down to the main floor and setting it on the dining room table to take to the basement the next time I need to go down there. I now tell myself to keep walking and simply deal with it. It usually takes less then a minute and then it is just done. So I have been focusing on the need to tell myself to do the task and not leave it for another hour or day. These are usually little quick things that won’t take much time, but if I don’t “feel in the mood” to deal with it then it’s easy to simply make the choice to leave it. 

Neither practice is earth-shattering or original, but they are better habits I’ve been endeavoring to develop. Both are definitely improvements in my homemaking. 

Homemaking In My Shop 

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Gingham Monthly Calendar Printables (September 2023 – December 2024)

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View Full Post with Embedded ContentGingham Monthly Calendar Printables (September 2023 – December 2024)

If you are looking for some pretty printable calendars, I have just the thing! I created two new sets of calendars that feature classic gingham patterns in a variety of colors.

One set is vertical.

The other set is horizontal.

These sets begin in September 2023 and go until December 2024 so you don’t have to wait to use them. 

Click on either one above or below to see more details and download a preview PDF.

In My Shop

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A Quiet Simple Life Floral Art Printables

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View Full Post with Embedded ContentA Quiet Simple Life Floral Art Printables

Yesterday David and I updated this collection of floral artwork in my shop. I wasn’t completely satisfied with them and then realized one day a few months ago that they needed a taupe check background. So that’s what we did!

The artwork was created based on five key ideas I use when writing here:

  • Create Peace
  • Seek Understanding
  • Cultivate Joy
  • Spread Beauty
  • Encourage Faith

Each of the original five printables are available individually. You can also purchase them as a set. If you purchase the set of five, you save.

In addition, we created the full set that has all five sayings in all five floral arrangements. So you can pick the right combination of words and art for wherever you wish to use it in your home.

The taupe background is so hard to show accurately on a computer screen. It might look pinkish or blush on your computer screen. When you print them out, they are a light taupe color. 

If you have The Lifetime Shopping Pass, you can download any of them you wish with your personal coupon code.

If you purchased one of the original versions of the individual printables or sets, you can download the updated file in your account. You can access your account through the link in my website header drop-down menu.

I’ve included a sampling of printables below. You can see all of them in my shop under Artwork. 

A Quiet Simple Life Floral Artwork

A Quiet Simple Life Floral Art Collection

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A Vintage Rhyming Bread Recipe From My Great-Grandmother

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View Full Post with Embedded ContentA Vintage Rhyming Bread Recipe From My Great-Grandmother

This is a vintage newspaper clipping featuring my great-grandmother’s contribution to the Cadillac Evening News from many years ago. I thought it would be fun to share and to keep a digital record of it.

The submission is a unique bread recipe written in rhyme. You can see the paper put it in a special category. Here’s the clipping that was saved. Below it I’ve transcribed the poem.

A Good Bread Recipe

First, mix a luke warm quart, my daughter

One-half scalded milk, one-half water;

To this please add two cakes of yeast.

Or the liquid kind if preferred in the least.

Next, stir in a teaspoon of nice clear salt,

If this bread isn’t good, it won’t be our fault.

Now add the sugar, teaspoon-fuls three.

Mix well together for dissolved they must be.

Pour the whole mixture into an earthen bowl,

A pan’s just as good, if it hasn’t a hole.

It’s the cook and the flour, not the bowl or the pan

That – “Makes the bread that makes the man.”

Now let the mixture stand a minute or two,

You’ve other thing’s of great importance to do.

First sift the flour – use the finest in the land.

Three quarts is the measure,

Use any good brand.

Some people like a little shortening power,

If this is your choice, just add to the flour

Two tablespoons of lard, and jumble it about,

“Till the flour and lard are mixed without a doubt.

Next stir the flour into the mixture that’s stood

Waiting to play its part, to make the bread good.

Mix it up thoroughly, but not too thick;

Some flours make bread that’s more like a brick.

Now grease well a bowl and put the dough in,

Don’t fill the bowl full, that would be a sin;

For the dough is all right and it’s going to rise,

Till you will declare that it’s twice the old size.

Brush the dough with melted butter, as the recipes say;

Cover with a bread towel, set in a warm place to stay

Two hours or more, to rise until light

When you see it grow, you’ll know it’s all right.

As soon as it’s light, place again on the board;

Knead it well this time. Here is knowledge to hoard.

Now back in the bowl once more it must go

And set again to rise for an hour or so.

Form the dough gently into loaves when light,

And place it in bread pans, greased just right.

Shape each loaf you make to half fill the pan,

This bread will be good enough for any young man.

Next let it rise to the level of pans – no more,

Have the temperature right – don’t set near a door.

Be very careful about draught – it isn’t made to freeze.

Keep the room good and warm – say seventy-two degrees.

Now put in the oven; it’s ready to bake,

Keep uniform fire, great results are at stake.

One hour more of waiting and you’ll be repaid,

By bread that is worthy 

of “A well bred maid.”

This recipe was taken from a cookbook I received 65 years ago.

Mrs. Klaas Schaaf
110 Pine St.
McBain

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Creating Work Zones In My Kitchen

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View Full Post with Embedded ContentCreating Work Zones In My Kitchen

I finally accomplished my goal of cleaning out the kitchen cupboards and changing the functionality of it. David and Caroline were a big help and we’re all pleased with the results.

Compared to most houses you see online today, we have a relatively small kitchen in a relatively small house. Every bit of cupboard space must be carefully used. There is one smallish pantry cupboard to my left as I’m taking this picture that I didn’t include in the pictures. It’s technically more in the dining room area. We use that for food. 

We cook two meals at almost every mealtime. David and Caroline eat what they eat and I eat what my EoE requires. Because of this, we use different ingredients, different tools, etc.

So one of the big changes was to assess which tools in the kitchen they use and make sure they are all in one area. All of the things I use are in another area. I know this seems rather obvious and it is. We simply hadn’t gotten around to doing this.

For example, I never use the cheese shredder because I cannot eat dairy. But the cheese shredder was stored in the left part of the kitchen where I do my meal prep which meant any time they needed it they had to come into where I was doing my food prep. The same thing with the liquid measuring cups. We have different cutting boards so I don’t get cross contamination from their foods, but their cutting boards were stored in the lower cupboard where I am usually standing. We have different pots and pans which were stored in two different areas and intermingled. We know which ones are mine and which ones are theirs, but we didn’t have them in separate zones which we do now.

So David and Caroline now have all of their regularly used meal prep items primarily in these cabinets in this corner. They work on the counters to the left and right of the sink. 

All of my things are in this corner.

There is still some overlap since they have many more tools than I do. For example, the spices are in my zone even though I don’t use most of them. A lot of their bakeware is in my zone. I also have the flour, sugar, and oats in my countertop space, but it makes the most sense to keep them there on the counter even though the only one I use is the sugar. If we had a bigger kitchen, we would have more options but we make the most of what we have. 

Yes, we do have two toaster ovens and two coffee makers due to the risk of cross-contamination of my food.  

The one thing we did not do in our big clean out and rearrangement was switch out the shelf liner. I would have liked to have done it, but I knew it would slow down the process significantly. So for now we simply wiped down all the shelves, washed everything, and organized things where they made the most sense.

I’m really pleased with the results and this is a huge item done on my to do list! 

Homemaking Inspiration In My Shop 

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Make The Most Of Your Pantry

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View Full Post with Embedded ContentMake The Most Of Your Pantry

David and I spent most of the weekend moving things around in the basement to put all of the pantry items in one place. The freezer was in one room. The refrigerator was in another area. The pantry shelves were in a third area. It was not efficient and we knew it. But we also knew in order to make it the most efficient would entail a great deal of change and sacrificing space we had allotted to other things. We finally decided it was time.

So now everything is in one room and has been freshly organized. When we return from the store, it will be much easier to put things away. (We have to keep a basement pantry because our kitchen is rather smallish and doesn’t have a lot of cupboard space.)

Now that everything we have is nicely organized, I’m using my Master Pantry List from The Prudent & Prepared Homemaker to go through and determine what I am missing. While reorganizing all of the shelves, I noticed I have more of some things than I realized and less of other items. I think this is typical of most people who keep a pantry so I didn’t feel badly about it. I simply saw it as a problem to be rectified.

I was pleased to see that we didn’t have any surprise past-dated foods. I’ve tried diligently to stay on top of this the past couple of years. Part of this is due to the fact that we write the expiration date on everything using a black Sharpie pen before we put it on the shelf.

We are consistent in where we write the date so whether it is David, Caroline, or me writing it on there, we all know where to look for it.

It makes it much more efficient and no more squinting to find expiration dates.

I’m especially taking a look at holiday needs right now. I heard that Hershey had announced this week that they were not going to be able to produce their normal amount of Halloween and Christmas candy this year due to supply issues. I suspect this will be repeated across many companies. So I’m looking at the ingredients I need for Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking now.

(If you are ready to start thinking about Christmas, A Cozy Christmas Planner is now available.)

Next up will be cleaning out every area in the kitchen. I know there are many dishes and cookware pieces in the cupboards we do not use very often. They need to be relegated to a cupboard in the basement pantry. Some things will get donated.

I know my spices are in a real need of a going over. The way we cook around here changed drastically when I was diagnosed with EoE. We don’t use spices like we used to and I’m sure the collection will clearly show that. (It’s a task I’ve put off over and over again.)

How are you making the most of your pantry? If you haven’t spent much time thinking about this, I encourage you to go through all of the posts that are relevant to your life in the series starting with 3 Reasons To Become A Prudent & Prepared Homemaker. There are worksheets and such to go with that series. If you feel overwhelmed, just take one step at a time. Every step you take is progress forward!

If you have any great pantry tips, I hope you’ll share them in the comments!

In My Shop

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