Grow

planting a real food garden

Growing a Real Food Garden + Free Printable

by Kristin Marr

questions-ask-getting-chickens

Three Questions Before Getting Chickens

by Kristin Marr

Five Reasons to Not Keep Chickens

by Kristin Marr

Chicken tricks and tips

Chicken Tricks and Treats Every Urban Homesteader Should Know

by Kristin Marr

build-chicken-coop-for cheap

How to Build a Chicken Coop for Less Than $50

by Kristin Marr

Raising Backyard Chickens: How, Why, and What You Need

by Kristin Marr

backyard chickens

Then There Were Four: Chickens, Eggs, and the Start of a Farm

by Kristin Marr

livesimplymom

Listen to and mourn with those who mourn, seek jus

Listen to and mourn with those who mourn, seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly #blackouttuesday “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community" 🖤

May marks the end of the growing season in Florida

May marks the end of the growing season in Florida. We're opposite from most of the country when it comes to seasonal food. Our growing season runs from October-May. I picked up my last farm box today and am counting down the days until October. In the meantime, I'm excited to hear and see what you all are picking up from your local farms and markets. I'm always available to answer questions about how to store your produce and what to make with your goods. Pick up something new this season and send me a DM, together we'll figure out something amazing to make. I'll be living vicariously through you.

TIP: Don't toss the old bread 🍞 ! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
By Friday, I usually have a few pieces of leftover bread from the week. I don't want to waste my precious sourdough (all the sourdough bakers out there know what I'm talking about). Here are my go-to ways to use leftover bread. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#1 Make croutons: Preheat the oven to 375F. Tear the bread into pieces, sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Once cool, top on salad or store in a container for a few days. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#2: Make breadcrumbs: Preheat the oven to 300F. Slice the bread in thin slices. Place on a sheet pan and toast the bread until dry (about 30 minutes). Once fully dry, tear the bread into smaller pieces and pulse in your food processor until you have breadcrumbs. Store in the freezer for a few months. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#3: Make french toast: You can go with traditional sliced bread or tear the bread into pieces or cut in strips. Dip in milk, eggs, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Then cook in butter on the stove-top. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Tell me, what's your favorite way to use old bread?

When it comes to cleaning products, it can be diff

When it comes to cleaning products, it can be difficult to know what goes into a given product. You’ll find a lot of natural and green marketing words used to describe cleaning (and body products) today. These terms have no regulation. Yep, you read that right: Nada! Zilch! None! Full transparency of ingredients is all we have to help us navigate products and make informed choices.
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There are two ways to find the safest, healthiest cleaners…
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#1: Source from a transparent company: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A company should be completely transparent about their sourcing and ingredients, particularly a company that claims (on a website or packaging) to be “natural” or “non-toxic.” There should be nothing to hide. A company should be proud to disclose their ingredients and be willing to tell you what’s inside and why, not just what’s missing. Be cautious about brands that just want to tell you what’s missing from their products and don’t reveal the actual ingredients used to make a product. You can find lists of cleaning ingredients to avoid, so you can educate yourself on specific ingredients. Also, looking up products on the EWG’s website can be a great way to get a feel for what’s inside a cleaner and the health impact of those ingredients. My favorite brands include: Biokleen, Ecover, Better Life, Dr. Bronners, Seventh Generation, Branch Basics.
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#2: Make your own cleaners: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
By making your own products, you’ll know exactly what ingredients are used. Plus, making your own products is usually cheaper than buying store-bought products as many “greener” products can be quite pricey. I don’t make every cleaning product, but there are a few that I continually make at home. You'll find lots of homemade cleaning recipes on the blog and in my DIY cleaning book available on the blog. #nontoxicliving #naturalcleaning #naturalliving #nontoxicfamily #cleaning #clean #home #cleaningproducts #cleaninghacks #housecleaning #cleaningtips #fresh #health #homecleaning

Balanced Microbes = Healthy Skin ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
When it comes to skincare and lifestyle choices, I strive to nourish my microbes (both inside and out--gut, skin...). Eating fermented foods, avoiding synthetic ingredients in makeup products, getting plenty of sleep at night (something I'm constantly working on), reducing stress (another progress over perfection situation), and using gentle cleaners that don't strip my skin (and the microbiome on my skin) are a few of the ways I've been practicing this lately. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Last year, via Marie Veronique (one of my favorite skincare lines--an OG of the clean beauty world), I discovered weekly yogurt masks as a way to apply topical microbes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This mask is so easy to make, just plain full-fat yogurt with several different species of microbes (you'll notice this on the ingredient list--yogurt should contain lots of beneficial bacteria). I also love to add a bit of honey. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Mix, then apply to the skin for 15 minutes. Remove with a warm, damp washcloth! Easy, affordable, and microbe-friendly skincare. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#livesimplyblog #nontoxicliving #naturalskincare #nourishskin #skincare #naturalliving #organicfamily #organicmama #organicskincare #nontoxicfamily #acnetreatment #realfood #skincaretips

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