March... In like a lion, out like a lamb?

Whew! What a blustery beginning we had to March! Okay, technically it was an end to February, but in my book it still counts. Here in good ol' upstate NY they say that March is the craziest month for winter storms, but after this, spring begins to pop up. Ah spring! This will be our first spring/summer on this all natural lifestyle, and I've gotta say I'm SO excited! There are just so many things that you can do that you cant really in winter. Marcus and I are going to be starting our "self sustaining" journey this summer - we plan to do the "easy" stuff - you know, Tomatoes, Peppers, Carrots, Garlic, Herbs, Strawberries, Raspberries, etc. It also marks the beginning of really good produce at our local Farmers Market (which just so happens to be right down the road!). It's open year round, but lets face it - who trusts red peppers in the middle of winter that are actually "local"? Not I. In fact, my hope is to grow enough produce to either jar or freeze so that I can use them throughout the year and not worry about buying them from the stores. I think a good way to go about this is by purchasing local organic fruits and vegetables from someone else during the summer months, and canning/jarring/freezing all of our self grown produce to use during the winter. I use lots of tomatoes so that will be on the top of the list for sure. I also want to be able to make my own jam, so it's going to be a summer full of experimenting! Hopefully the end of the year will also bring about some bulk meat purchasing from Lindsay at Smoke Ridge Organics - which means we will be working on the farm as part of her Co-Op plan. It should be good times! Also, we soon hope to make it out to the country to purchase raw milk, as we have yet to do so, and I very much want to.

Another step we've taken is one to eliminate chemicals and junk from our home by purchasing Soap Nuts. These are exactly what they sound like! All Natural little soap nuts that grow on a tree and are harvested. You can use them from everything from Laundry to all purpose spray - really the possibilities are endless. And if you buy them in bulk, they are SO affordable! Marcus and I purchased the 5lb bag and intend to use it for laundry. You throw 5 of the little soap nuts into the wash bag it comes with (all natural fabric, of course!) and throw it in with your laundry. No detergent, no fabric softeners - it does it all! Typical life of a batch (5) of soap nuts is apx 5-6 loads in hot water, and up to 10 loads in cold water. That means if you use mostly cold water you could get about 1400 loads out of the 5lb bag - and it costs 48 dollars. Break that down - it comes out to about 3 cents a load! I think I can handle that! Not even the store bought detergents are that cheap! We haven't used them yet so I cannot vouch for their effectiveness, but once we get them in and use them, I'll be sure to let you all know!

We're going strong together and I feel better about myself and our life every day. And I can totally notice now when I eat something "unnatural" - my body is beginning to reject it, and its almost hard for me to stomach now. This lets me know I am on the right path and my body will thank me for it for years down the road. I hope you're all doing well out there! I'll be sure to blog again soon :)

May God bless you and keep you and your family safe in His arms!