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Top 30 Homemaking Blogs

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Whether you learned the art of homemaking sitting at your grandmother’s table, mimicking your mom or studying at school, the internet is now where you go to find the answers to the little things. This is especially helpful if you are up in the middle of the night baking cookies for tomorrow’s bake sale and it’s too late to call your mom about a substitute or how long to bake something.

Here’s a list of 30 top homemaking blogs to get your started.  Tell us your favorite in the comments.

  1. 3 Boys and a Dog – Based out of Mobile, AL, 3 Boys and a Dog provides homemaking and homeschooling tips, tricks and freebies for busy moms.
  2. Frugal Family Home – Based out of the Pacific NW, it provides easy recipes, homemaking tips, simple and frugal living advice, as well as sprinkling in a few gardening tips and easy DIY projects too.
  3. This Old House – Provides expert advice on home improvement, renovating, gardening and decorating. Its mission is to demystify the home improvement process and to celebrate the fusion of old world craftsmanship and modern technology.
  4. The Hippy Homemaker – This a blogger writes about aromatherapy, herbalism, DIY beauty, holistic health, green living, and more.
  5. The Humbled Homemaker – A Christian homemaking blog that encourages women to pursue grace-filled, natural living in mothering, cooking, alternative health, and living on a low income.
  6. Cutefetti – Based in Ocala, FL, Dawn is a creative lifestyle blogger who shares home hacks, food, crafts, DIY and easy slow cooker recipes.
  7. A Cultivated Nest – Based in Georgia, you will find all sorts of frugal living tips, budget decorating ideas, gardening tips, recipes from scratch, up-cycling ideas and more on this blog.
  8. Artful Homemaking – It’s goal is to revive the art of homemaking, and inspire women to live beautiful and creative lives. It provides DIY tutorials, free printables, and help for your home and life.
  9. Homemaking Organized – Here you will find a little bit of homemaking advice, some deals and sales, and all the in between. It also provides resources for keeping your home organized.
  10. Welcome to the Woods – Based in Minnesota, this blog features decor, DIY projects, crafts, and design tips for your home on a miniscule budget. It also includes many ways to save money, financial advice and parenting tricks to improve your overall life. If you’re a DIY-er, a decorator, a parent, or just like to save money, you will love this blog.
  11. The Happier Homemaker – Want to make cleaning and organizing your home easier? This blog makes modern homemaking easy, with simple recipes for the everyday cook, household tips and cleaning tricks, and DIY home decor projects.
  12. Heavenly Homemaker – Offer daily encouragement for women in the areas of faith, healthy eating, family friendly recipes, menu planning, gardening, parenting, and fun.
  13. Passionate Homemaking – Based in Portland, OR, the author of Passionate Homemaking and her family are on a mission to be homemakers that cultivate simplicity, grace, joy and being intentional in every aspect of their lives.
  14. The Frugal Homemaker – Based in Atlanta, GA, this blog is your guide to turning your house into a home, one DIY project and yard sale find at a time. Christina is a homemaker at heart who loves all things simple and beautiful.
  15. Raising Arrows – Raising Arrows is all about large family homeschooling and homemaking. Amy Roberts is a blogger, author and conference speaker.
  16. Awe Filled Homemaker – Join the family of Laura Prater in their crazy awe-filled adventures from homemaking, parenting, homeschooling and military life.
  17. A Proverbs 31 Wife – You will find posts on homemaking, natural living, marriage and motherhood. Kendra’s goal is to uplift and inspire Christian wives and Mothers.
  18. Homan at Home – Provides simple and budget-friendly ways to make your house a home. The author of this blog is learning to make things nice for her growing family with the skills (and the budget!) she has.
  19. Domestic Deadline – Domestic Deadline is all about attempting to learn the art of homemaking and all the crafts that get in the way.
  20. Brooklyn Homemaker – A blog about home decor, interior design, an obsessive love for furniture & pretty things, entertaining & party planning, schnauzers, marriage, amateur photography, product reviews, rants, raves, strong opinions, cocktails & drunkenness.
  21. Imperfect Homemaker – Imperfect Homemaker is all about Christian homemaking, homeschooling, and natural living.
  22. Mrs. Happy Homemaker – Crystal is a blogger who covers mostly food, but she also shares posts with diy, lifestyle, & anything else she cares to throw in between.
  23. The Laidback Homemaker – Based in Minnesota, get great ideas for recipes, organization & cleaning tips, lifestyle hacks, crafts & restoration ideas, do it on the cheap ideas, and much more!
  24. The Latina Homemaker – Jesenia Montanez shares homemaking tips, frugal living advice, recipes and more.
  25. Gluten-Free Homemaker – Linda Etherton provides recipes & tips for the gluten-free diet. She loves to share gluten-free recipes from a variety of bloggers as well as her owns. You’ll also find links to other related content such as menu plans and relevant news articles.
  26. Biblical Homemaking – Biblical Homemaking is a website about desiring to glorify God in everything women do. It focuses on living for Jesus through homemaking, marriage, parenting, home remodeling, fitness, food, and more.
  27. Humorous Homemaking – Because Managing a Home shouldn’t be dull. Humorous Homemaking will help you learn to manage your home without losing your mind!
  28. Vintage Kitty – Vintage Kitty is a blog that celebrates a fun, hands-on approach to homemaking that marries traditional elements with modern style. Let’s play house!
  29. Simple Made Pretty – Melanie is a homemaker, DIYer, craftaholic, home organizer, minimalist, writer, thirty-something mom of two amazing children, a fur-baby, and wife to an incredible husband of 8 years. She strives to create simplicity in homemaking tasks while providing DIY ideas that spark creativity.
  30. The Seasoned Homemaker – The Seasoned Homemaker is where Leslie helps you find balance and beauty with a needle and thread.

Happy Reading!

 

Making Spring Cleaning Kid Safe by Making Your Own Cleaning Supplies

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heinz vinegar egg dyeI have to be honest, I’ve never been overly concerned about what was in disinfecting agents or cleaners. As long as they did the job and made my house smell clean I didn’t care much about what they may possibly contain in terms of anything hazardous. Things have changed though since having our daughter last year,especially now that she’s crawling and getting into everything. I’m more aware than ever about  the chemicals I use in my home.

 

Why Choosing a Cleaning Chemical Matters

Our nine month old’s favorite thing to do is pull herself up and practice standing. While watching her pull herself up this weekend, using the newly cleaned glass-top coffee table as leverage, I noticed she was also putting her mouth around the edge of the table. Forget that it wasn’t the safest thing for her to be doing,  just minutes before, I had cleaned the table using a regular brand named glass cleaner. Though the table was dry, there’s no doubt in my mind she consumed some yucky and potentially dangerous chemicals by licking the table.

Even the most attentive parents will tell your their kids get into stuff they shouldn’t. It got me thinking about having to lock our cleaning supplies up.  While it is important to start child-proofing my home, I have decided to start making my own cleaning supplies, packaged clean-scent be damned.

 

Making Your Own Spring Cleaning Supplies

To ‘make’ my own cleaning supplies, I will be using a combination of these ingredients. All recipes compliment of a phone call to my aunt, the green-cleaning queen!

  • Vinegar 
  • Water
  • Baking Soda
  • Regular Dishwashing Soap

A combination of these simple ingredients will clean almost every surface of your home and contain no harsh chemicals. Though it may not taste very good,  if your child or pet gets into these supplies they won’t be harmed.

  • A diluted mixture of water and vinegar (equal parts of each) makes a safe surface cleaner and disinfects! Once the surface dries the vinegar smell goes away.
  • If you have extra tough grim to get off, a mixture of baking soda and water or baking soda and dish soap will cut through it easily since baking soda is an abrasive. Approximately six tablespoons of baking soda to every one to two tablespoons of water or soap, whichever you use.
  • Vinegar and hot water can be used to clean hard-surfaced floors as well. Approximately one cup of vinegar for every gallon of water.
  • Baking soda and dish soap mixture is great for cleaning both ovens and microwaves as well.
  • To clean and disinfect your toilets, pour full strength vinegar in the bowl, scrub with brush, leave sit for a few minutes (15-20) and flush!
  • Scrub the bathtub soap scum away with baking soda and water (or dish soap) paste mixture.
  • To freshen carpets pour baking soda into the carpet, let sit at least one hour, though ideally overnight, and vacuum up.

I don’t know why I waited so long to come to this decision. Not only is it safer for my whole family (pets included!) I’m sure to save a few hundred a year not buying fancy nice-smelling, commercial cleaners.

Do you make your own household cleaners for spring cleaning?  Any tips for a beginner? 

10 Ways to Save on Your Next Grocery Bill

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Save money when filling your grocery bagWe are all looking for ways to make our dollar stretch further. I shared some ways to save money at the pump a few weeks ago; today we’ll look at ways to save even more money but in a different area of your budget. Are you saving all you can on your grocery bill? Do you clip coupons, and shop sales, but still feel like there might be some other ways you could still save? I have some some tips to share that I hope will help you spend less and save more.

1. Have a snack before heading out

You can save money at the grocery store simply by eating, before you go. You are less likely to pick up items that are not on your list, or items you don’t need, if you have a full tummy!

2. See if your favorite store price matches

If you go to the grocery (or any other store for that matter) and know that an item is less expensive elsewhere, many store will honor the competitors price. This is fantastic because it saves time and fuel — so just ask!

3. Plan your meals and make a list

Okay —  this tip consists of two things, but they do go hand-in-hand. If you plan your meals in advance you will save later on. Maybe you won’t see the savings at the grocery store, but during the week you won’t be eating out, or making unnecessary trips to the store — where you’ll end up spending even more money. After you plan your meals, if you make a list and stick to it, that will also help you to remain focused on the items you do need — then you be less likely to over spend.

4. Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season

We all know that fruits and veggies that are not in season usually cost a lot more and often times, they don’t taste as good as when they are in season. If you want something that isn’t in season, buying it in the freezer section is the next best option.

5. Buy in bulk — but be sure to compare prices

Sometimes buying in bulk can save you money. We actually buy pasta, rice, and spices in bulk and we save a lot of money this way. If you buy at the big club stores like Costco or Sam’s Club, be sure to compare what you are getting there with what you find at your regular store. Often times you can save money but sometimes, it can actually cost you more. Another thing you should always do is to look at the price per unit on the grocery self. This lets you know if buying the bigger bag is really the best deal. It also helps you compare prices between different brands. When buying meat you want to compare price per serving and not price per pound.

6. Go meatless a couple of times a week

If you can make a couple of meatless dishes during the week, that can help save money too. Need some yummy ideas? Delicious Vegetarian Recipes

7. Say no to drugs

Of course you should, but I’m talking drugstore items. Many times over the counter drugs, cosmetics, shampoos, etc. are more expensive at the grocery store; so do your research before buying those items.

8. Cut out soda and cut back on juice

For kids, you can water down their juice – which is better for them anyway – and it makes the juice last twice as long. Cutting back or cutting out soda is good for your budget and your health. Drink more water and if that bores you to death — put a lemon or cucumber slice in it for a tasty addition.

9. Do it yourself

Instead of buying grated cheese, sliced and peeled carrots, cookies, muffins, etc.  – if you have the time – do it yourself. It can save a lot of money in the long run.

10. Buy store brands

Store brands have come a long way. Many of them are just as good as some of the higher priced name brand products BUT some are not so proceed with caution. It’s worth a try though because you can save quite a bit if you do end up switching.

How do you save on groceries?