Summer Housekeeping -- Pests

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. Matthew 6:19-20



Don't you love summer? The sunny days seem to bring one delight after another: garden bounty; picnics; flowers; vacations; etc.

We're not the only ones who love summer. As I mentioned in an earlier post, a number of insects flourish during the warmer months. For those who live in tropical or semi-tropical climates, these can flourish almost year round.

Two common summer pests are ticks and fleas. A few years ago, I attended the loveliest outdoor wedding I think I've ever seen. Alas, after the ceremony was over, several guests found shade underneath a beautiful tree. Two of the guests later came down with Lyme disease from tick bites.

Your first line of defense against fleas and ticks -- at least as far as concerns the inside of your home -- is to treat any pets that go in and out of doors. Today, there are many safe medications on the market. The best are those prescribed by veterinarians. If you do use something over the counter, be careful which you choose. I once applied a supermarket brand of tick and flea medicine to two cats, both of whom had a terrible reaction. When I called the vet, the vet said that they had encountered many problems with pets who were treated with this brand, as it can affect the nervous systmem. Fortunately, our cats survived, but I will not use that product again.

If your pets go outside, you are quite likely to have a flea infestation in your home, even if you do not realize it. Good housekeeping can keep the number of fleas in your home to a minimum, and you might not even notice them. However, if you were to go away on a trip for a week, you might come home to find that the few living fleas have multiplied in your absence. So, it's best to treat your pets before you see a problem.

Having said that, your second line of defense is to vacuum thoroughly and frequently. If your vacuum is the type that has bags, be aware that fleas can survive in the bag. Change bags frequently. If you know you have an infestation, change bags every time you vacuum.

Be sure to pay extra attention to the area around your pet's bedding and in any area where your pet lounges. Vacuum these areas thoroughly. Wash your pet's bedding on a regular basis -- even more frequently if you know you have a flea problem.

If you don't have pets, it's still possible to bring in a flea or tick infestation. Whether you have animals or not, check yourself and your children for ticks when you have been near or in wooded areas. Check after camping, hiking, or picnicking. Check pets for ticks, as well. Also, you might want to check your carpet occasionally to see if fleas have made their home there.

A third method of defense against fleas and ticks is to keep your lawn mowed and yard trimmed. Of course, if you live on a farm or if the area surrounding your house backs up to natural areas, you will not be able to keep down fleas and ticks simply by mowing. Again, it's wise to do vigilant checks to make sure that your family members and pets are not bringing fleas and ticks indoors.

If all else fails, and you find yourself fighting a stubborn problem, consult a pest control service that is both aware of human health and environmental concerns.

Being able to enjoy the outdoors is a delight for both people and their pets. If you take a few simple precautions, you can have fun under the summer sun without bringing unwanted ticks and fleas indoors with you.

Another summer pest is the chigger. When my husband and I were in our first year of marriage, we rented a home, and the yard was infested with chiggers. One Saturday, we hosted a cookout for quite a few people from our church. Being the newlyweds that we were, my husband and I were so excited to host our first outdoor gathering as a couple. The next day, everyone at church was itching! Our new little yard was infested with the little critters.

Here's an article which provides information about chiggers. Here is another resource.

When I was growing up, a typical home remedy for chigger bits was to brush them with clear nail polish. The belief was that this suffocated the chigger. It seemed to work just fine. However, modern thinking is that the chigger does not actually burrow into a person's skin, but only bites and leaves behind saliva. It's the saliva that actually makes you itch. So, solutions such as nail polish are not the best treatment for the itching.

Some pests do not bite living beings but prefer to dine on fibers. One way to avoid moths, silverfish, and the like is to make sure that you keep your clothing clean. Whenever you store items for a season, make sure that they, too, are clean. One way to do this is to air and brush fabric items before storing them. Bugs are attracted to soil in clothing.

One of the most persistent of summer pests is ants. Here's a useful article about managing fire ants. Here's an article about dealing with the type of ants that invade the home.

Of course, the most famous of summer pests is the mosquito. Here's a resource that details seven methods for dealing with these pesky insects.

Happy homemaking!
Elizabeth

Water and Weeds

Resources for learning about hard and soft water:

http://www.hardwater.org
http://www.water-research.net/hardness.htm

While we're talking about water, here's a discussion about bottled water, tap water, and filtered water.

Some people who use filtered water do so in order to take out chemicals such as flouride and chorine. So that the water will not be completely depleted of healthful chemicals, such as magnesium and calcius, they then add mineral drops to put these helpful minerals back into the water. I've never tried this, so someone who has might want to leave a comment with information about this.


Gardening: Weeds

It's half-way through summer, and, by now, you've probably done battle with seasonal weeds. Even if you don't have a garden, you probably have plucked a few weeds in your landscape beds, containers, or other spots.

Loosely speaking, a weed is simply a plant that is growing where it is not wanted and where it was not intentionally planted. Thus, grass is a desirable plant in your lawn, but a weed when it sprouts in your flower bed. Of course, there are plants that are generally labeled as weeds, such as dandelions or thistles or crabgrass. Even these, however, have acquired their weedy reputation because they commonly encroach in areas where they are considered to be undesirable.

While you might not be happy to see a certain plant taking root in your garden or yard or field, you might find that it serves a beneficial purpose. For one thing, weeds are a good indicator of the type of soil you have. Certain weeds appear when there are particular deficiencies in the soil, when there are certain PH levels, levels of salinity, etc. Also, weeds can actually add minerals and trace elements to soil which has been depleted. Weeds send down deep roots, and, through soil capillary, they can enable domesticated plants to endur drought better than they could alone. Weeds can also prevent erosion and depletion of minerals in soil that is not covered with grass or purposeful garden plants. Some plants that are typically regarded as weeds can be used for food both for people and for livestock.

And, by happy chance, you might find that you enjoy the look of a wildflower that has found its way to your corner of the world. You might also enjoy the fruit of a weed. I knew a family who found a watermelon plant growing in their yard after they had cut and eaten a seeded watermelon outdoors. While it wasn't planted deliberately, it produced another watermelon. The plant -- though it might be considered a weed by the definition above -- provided some fun for the family, as well as a tasty treat.

Having said all of that, it's obvious that weed control is necessary for maintaining a planted field, a garden, or a yard. When allowed to proliferate, weeds choke out more delicate domestic plants. They can ruin the look of a pretty flower bed or garden, as well.

Of course, there are many strong synthetic chemical solutions designed to control weeds. However, most of us either want to reduce the need to use such strong sprays and granules or eliminate the need for them entirely.

Two common methods of eliminating weeds naturally are to use mulch or to lay down plastic or other weed resistant materials. If the plastic is layered underneath the soil, holes allow the desired plants to grow, while the plastic smothers weeds. There are also organic sprays and solutions, as well.

Of course, there are always the methods that Great Grandmother used, such as using a gardening hoe or a Dutch fork.

For more specific information abou weed control, check out the following.

Resources:
Managing weeds with a light touch
Organic weed control
Weed control
What do your weeds say?

Happy Home Keeping!
Elizabeth

Here are two unusual, but useful links for the home keeper:

The Soap and Detergent Association -- articles about cleaning products, hygiene, cleaning to prevent certain illnesses such as swine flu, environmental concerns, health and safety, etc. This organization represents manufacturers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products.

Accessible Threads -- supplier of threads for people with special needs and handicaps.

Do you have hard water? If so, this will affect just about every cleaning process in your home, from laundry to personal care to dish washing.

There are specific classifications of hard water used in the water industry, and these categories range from soft water to very hard water. The hardness of the water depends on concentrations of certain minerals in the water.

If you would like to know just how hard your water is, you can ask your local water supplier or even your health department. Another way to find out is to have it tested by a home treatment company, but do be aware that this company, naturally, would like to sell you their service. A way to make an educated guess is by agitating water or toothpaste in water. These substances lather easily in soft water but not in hard water.

What might you notice if your water is hard?

A ring might develop around your bathtub or around your bathtub drain.
You will have trouble getting soaps and detergents to lather well.
Your hair might have a residue on it and might look dull even after washing.
You might find it hard to completely rinse shower doors so that all of the soap scum is gone and they look shiny and clean.
Your laundry might come out feeling stiff instead of nice and soft.
Your fabrics might look dull and gray.
Sediment could build up in your hot water heater.

On the other hand, it is a good thing to have some minerals in your water. The minerals that make water hard can actually be good for your health, especially for your heart. Minerals in the water can also be beneficial to plants. For that reason, it's not wise to drink only distilled water or use only distilled water or even softened water on your lawn or garden. Also, if you change water sources, you might notice that your body has to make some adjustments to new concentrations of minerals.

Certain methods of softening water raise the sodium content. This can be a problem for those who must restrict sodium because of high blood pressure, kidney problems, or other health issues.

The question is "How hard is too hard in order for you to keep a clean home?" Surprisingly, you might want to consult your physician when considering various methods of softening water, particularly if you do already have some difficulties with your heart or circulation. It is possible to use methods of water softening that bypass your kitchen faucets, so that your drinking water does not become overly saturated with sodium.

As mentioned above, distilled water is not the best for drinking. However, it is great for using in your iron. This will keep mineral residue from building up in your iron.

More about water in the next post.

Elizabeth

Hot weather home keeping -- Part II

Cannot people realize how large an income is thrift? ~Cicero

This is a great time for me to be thinking about hot weather home making, as our heat indexes say it feels to the body like we're up in the 100's right now. If you live in a more temperate clime or are in the Southern hemisphere (with winter now), file this information away in case you need it later:

1) Did you realize that a clogged dryer vent or hose will blow hot air back into your home, raising the overall temperature? That is something I learned today and had never thought about.
2) Also, did you realize that if you plant a shade tree near an outside air conditioning unit, it will work more efficiently? I hadn't thought about that one, either. I learned these two hints -- appropriately on Father's Day -- from a site called Frugal Dad.
3) In the nineteenth century, changing rugs, bedding, and curtains at the turn of cold weather to warm or warm weather to cold was an important part of housekeeping. People changed from fabrics that were warm and richly colored to lighter weight, summer colored fabrics. Also, some applied light colored slip colors to furniture in hot weather and took them off in winter or threw down grass-cloth mats over their floors during prolonged periods of rain or dust. Since the advent of central heat and air conditioning and three-season type fabrics, that custom has largely fallen by the wayside. Of course, people still generally throw an extra blanket on the bed during winter and pull it off in the summer. And, people use picnic cloths for outdoor eating in warm weather. Other than that, however, changing from heavier curtains to lighter ones or pulling up heavier rugs for lighter ones is not as much of a tradition as it once was. For the modern home, it can be a boon not to have to keep up with different sets of bedding, curtains, etc., for each room. However, if you would like to give your home a cool and comfortable feel in the summer and a warm and cozy feel in the winter, this is something you might try. Also, throwing slipcovers on couches during the active summer months can not only protect your furniture, it can be a way to change a richer fall color to a fresh summery color for the season. It all depends on what your family needs and likes. Do be sure, though, to attend to the comforts of the beds. Your family will sleep more comfortably in summer if the bed linens are breathable and light.
4) Every child should be creating wonderful summer memories to look back on. In order to help summer be fun for children, it's helpful to establish summer routines and rules upfront, rather than to tussle about them as you go along. For example, will your children have a different chore routine during the summer, when there is less homework to do inside and more work to do outside in the garden? Do you need to establish a place by the door where children can place outdoor shoes, toys, and sports gear, as well as a time in the evening to put it all back in its true home? Do children need to remember to put sunscreen on at prescribed times? Do you need to help children learn how to play outside without running in and out every second? Do you need to encourage them to play creatively, rather than spending too much time with a WII? What supplies do you need to have on hand to make summer fun for children? What safety guidelines and boundaries do your children need to keep in mind while playing outside? What are expectations for a child's personal devotions and family devotions? You and your children will have expectations for the summer months. It's best to discuss these so that everyone will arrive at a common understanding for the warm weather months. While it's important to talk such things out at the beginning of the summer, it's best not to go to the other extreme and over-schedule or over-manage your children. Children do need some structure for the summer. However, they also need plenty of time for wholesome play. If you provide the right environment and loving supervision, your children's creativity and joy will flourish.
5) Update your home medical kit to take care of skinned knees, bug bites, poison ivy etc. Also, consider what foods you need to keep in the pantry and fridge to accommodate family and guests during the summer.

Happy home keeping!
Elizabeth

Back to the books...

Thrift is not an affair of the pocket, but an affair of character. ~S.W. Straus

Well, after taking a long break from blogging, I'm back!

In the meantime, I've had lots of medical tests for little ailments, company in the home, summer fun and summer chores. How's everyone doing in taking your home skills higher?


Here's a no fail marinade sauce formula: about a third to a half of fat (butter, olive oil, etc.), a third to a half of some type of acid (vinegar, lemon juice, pineapple juice, etc.), and some salty liquid and/or seasonings -- such as soy sauce, mustard, garlic, etc. You can make this over and over again, using different ingredients for variety.

Check list:

When was the last time you washed brushes, combs, makeup brushes and sponges, etc.?
When was the last time you cleaned out your purse and any carryalls you might use?
When was the last time you eliminated outdated files from your computer and deleted any emails and email folders that are no longer applicable?
When was the last time you wrote notes or letters and mailed them?

Hot weather Home Keeping part I:

Hot weather brings its own home keeping joys and challenges. On the plus side, your house or apartment is probably at its loveliest. Likely, you are enjoying beautiful sunshine streaming in through windows, happy times in your yard and/or garden, and more fun time with neighbors and family. Perhaps, your family will even travel or have special guests. If your climate is mild enough, you may be enjoying open windows, with wonderful breezes floating in.

On the negative side, if you live in a damp and humid climate, you may be locked in a continual battle with such pests as silver fish, wood roaches or cockroaches, Mediterranean centipedes, fruit flies, or ants. Perhaps, you are experiencing more mildew of clothing, textiles, or showers. Or, if you live in a hot, dry climate, your challenges might be dust, dust, and more dust, as well as insects such as scorpions. Wherever you live, you might need to care for a few more skinned knees and bumps and bruises, as children will be happily playing outside. If you do not have adequate air conditioning, you and your children may be feeling tireder or be tempted to be irritable.

With a little care, summer problems can be cared for so that you can focus on summer joys.

Here are a few tips to get started:

1) Sugary drinks -- such as lemonade, iced tea, or fresh fruit juice -- can be delightful on summer days, and your family will appreciate it if you serve them a refreshing glass or two of these items. However, be aware that these do not meet all of your body's needs for liquid during the summer, and, if consumed to excess, they can actually work against your ability to stay hydrated. Be sure to offer your family fresh water along with these drinks.
2) Staying on the theme of adequate hydration, you may need to keep a watchful eye to make sure that you and your family drink enough water. Thirst is usually a good indicator of how much water you need. However, on busy summer days, it's easy for you and your family members to ignore the initial and subtle signs of thirst. There are lots of ways to counter this. Take a cue from traditional table setting, and provide your family with a water glass in addition to a glass for whatever other beverage you might be serving with the meal. Set out a pitcher of iced water in the morning to remind yourself to drink water and to offer water to your family members. Take along water with you when you go on picnics, to activities, or when traveling. Remember that air travel is especially drying, so be sure to drink enough water when taking plane trips.
3) Don't fall into the trap of thinking that exposing lots of skin is the way to stay cool yourself or to keep family members cool. Breathable fabrics -- such as cotton or linen -- with a bit of room for air to circulate will keep you quite comfortable, even in humid and hot climates.
4) Don't let damp items sit for long periods of time. Hang up damp towels in a way that lets the air dry them. Make sure children put damp, sweaty play clothes in a properly ventilated hamper and hang up wet bathing suits. Face the fact that you simply may have to do more laundry in the summer to make sure that damp items are properly cleaned and dried quickly. Whatever you do, don't let damp clothing sit in the washer for too long. In the winter, I often get away with putting a load of wash in right before bed and drying it the next day. In the summer, the clothes will sour more quickly.
5) Throw borax or baking soda in the wash to prevent mildew and sour smells. This is especially helpful for keeping towels fresh.

More tips in the next post...

Happy home keeping!

Child Development:: Fostering Respect for Marriage and Opposite Sex

The home is a training ground for a child's adult life. In most cases, marriage and raising children of his or her own will be a part of that child's adult life. In other cases, a child may remain single. Either way, lessons learned in the home will either benefit or hinder a child in establishing a successful adult life. Learning how to inter-relate with members of the opposite sex and also to have a high view of marriage and rearing a family is an important piece of that equation.

Of course, we begin with the assumptions that the child is being taught to know, revere, love, and obey the Lord, as well as to depend on the Lord's grace and wisdom in all things. Next to that, we assume that parents are teaching their children to respect and obey them, a commandment with a very specific promise of long life attached to it.

Here are some other things that can help:

1) Let the child see that your life is properly oriented toward God's priorities. Your relationship with the Lord should come first in all things.
2)Speak with respect to and about your husband. If you have a disagreement with your husband, handle it in a godly way. Pray for a heart filled with love for your spouse, and put to death bitterness, unforgiveness, disrespect, the habit of always knowing better, and a negative outlooks. Your child will model what he or she sees in you.
3) Teach children how to handle conflicts between siblings in godly ways. The depth of these lessons will change over the years as children mature. Young toddlers may need very simple instructions in how to share.
4) Strive for an atmosphere of good nature, clean fun, and pure joy in the home. If home is not a fun place to be or if children feel that you are more burdened by your worship of the Lord than filled with joy, they will develop negative attitudes about both God and family life.
5) While you strive to make your home a fun place to be, do not allow coarse joking, derrogative comments, or bickering. Children will have issues that need to be dealt with. Not all of their feelings will be immediately godly. (Are ours?) However, help them work through these things i a way that builds their faith and that builds others up.
6) Speak well of marriage, having children, and the joys of being a woman. (I'm assuming in these articles that most of the people who read my blog are women, of course.)
7) Enlist your husband's help in creating an atmosphere of respect. A husband's gentle word goes a long way toward helping a teen overcome a disrespectful way of thinking and communicating, especially if that should be directed toward the mother.
8) Listen to your children. Respect them as individuals created in the image of the Lord. It is your responsibility to be the parent and not just the buddy. However, that does not mean that you should not treat them in a way that builds them up.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Children -- The Growing Up Years -- Sons

Helping Sons Grow Into Manhood...

Just as our daughters transition from girlhood to womanhood, our sons naturally grow from boyhood to manhood. Many of the challenges of growing up are exactly the same for boys as for girls. However, there are obvious differences, as well. Because we, as home managers, have experienced life from a woman's point of view, we may be more in tune with how to help our daughters than we are with how to help our sons.

It is important for a boy to have a man of good character in his life to help him through issues surrounding puberty and his developing sexuality, as well budding manly character and growing physical strength. Of course, in a two parent family, the father is the one who guides the boy into manhood. Single moms may need to enlist the aid of a trusted male role model, such as a grandfather or uncle, to help her son with certain issues.

Though a boy does need a man's guidance, a mother also plays an essential role in the son's transition, however. Here are some areas in which the mother can be very helpful to the son's development:

1) In our culture, many women enter marriage and motherhood either with negative attitudes about men or with a naive lack of understanding and appreciation of men. If they fail to overcome these things, they will inadvertently manifest a negative attitude toward their husbands and even toward their sons. A friend of mine once walked her children to the school bus stop in her suburban neighborhood. Many other mothers were there with their children. They were women who, on the surface of things, had happy marriages and families. Yet, my friend was surprised and dismayed at how much of the conversation consisted of complaining about husbands. This was in the hearing of all of the children. Mothers who want to raise secure children, especially sons, must be careful about how they speak of others -- especially of their own spouses -- in front of their children. Mothers do well to model a high view of marriage. If a mother is always putting her husband down, she is, in essence, also putting the son down, as well. If she favors her son over her husband or one son over another son, she is doing her boy no favor, either. A boy intuitively thrives when he sees his father being tender and thoughtful toward his mother and his mother being respectful toward his father.
If we allow our sons to be unduly influenced by our culture, he may pick up on our culture's mixed-up signals about things such as what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman, what it means to have a marriage, and what it means to be a family. One of the best things we can do for a son in this day and age is to model respect for our husbands, as well as to have a positive and encourage attitude about the fact that our son is growing up to be a man. A single mom can model a positive attitude, as well.
A mother can model what it means to be a woman with noble character. Of course, none of us have reached perfection in this area! We may be conscious of our many faults and sins and of our need for grace. However, our sons will pick up on the values by which we live our lives, even if we do goof from time to time. If we do not grow weary in well-doing, our sons will see that. A mother with a high view of God and of His purposes for her life can have a profound impact on her son's character, sometimes without her even realizing it in the moment. At the very least, such an example encourages a son to treat women with respect, rather than to judge solely by superficial standards.
3) A son needs affection and words of affirmation from his mother. For some boys, it's true that they may go through a time of being finicky about hugs from mom, especially in front of friends. As moms, we need to understand and respect that. However, we must also know that, deep down, our son does appreciate little gestures of affection and encouraging comments. My son is grown and happily married, and he still greets me with great big bear hugs whenever we see each other.
Actually, a son needs affection and affirmation from both his father and his mother. A single mother or the wife of an undemonstrative man can bridge the gap, with the Lord's help. However, boys do thrive if they know that they are loved and valued by both of their parents.
Girls, also, need affection from both parents, as well as encouragement. A girl especially thrives if she feels loved and valued by her father.
Just the right amount of of proper parental affection and encouraging comments strengthens our children. If they do know how deeply loved they are, they will be less vulnerable to negative peer pressure. They will also be less vulnerable to sexual temptation before marriage. They will be better prepared to establish a healthy marriage when it is time for them to start a family of their own.
4) A mother can recognize and encourage the milestones in her son's life as he takes steps toward manhood. It may bring a pang to her heart to realize that her little boy is no longer so little. However, it is healthy for him if she allows him to mature into manhood at the pace he needs to. Since we mothers can be overprotective of sons, we may need the help of our husbands to help us know when we are holding on too tightly and when we truly do need to be protective. Single moms can consult some trusted man, such as a father or brother for advice in this area.
Often, our fear makes us want to overprotect our sons; this is where trusting the Lord is so important.
5) A mother can help a son's physical development by providing nutritious meals, as well as plenty of fresh air and wholesome exercise, sports, and activity. This is important for both girls and boys, but boys have an extra need for healthy physical activity in order to grow into healthy manhood. The glory of young men is their strength. Proverbs 20:29. Also, healthy play and healthy work help a boy manage his natural abundance of strength, energy, and drive. I believe that some boys who seem to be hyper-active simply may not be getting enough physical activity.
6) Boys sometimes do not realize the power of their physical strength, especially if they experience sudden growth spurts. They may feel and act clumsy, and they may inadvertently be too rough and tumble at times. They may not know the line between friendly roughhousing with Dad and the boys and how to treat mothers and sisters. A mother's gentle instructions can help a boy learn how to be gentle with women. Of course, a father's instruction and example is important, as well. A mother can also be patient with a boy's clumsiness and teach his sisters to be so, as well. This can help him through any awkward stage he may experience.
7) Mothers can point out a father's hard work and other things she appreciates about her husband. This can inspire a boy to follow suit. She doesn't need to do this in a way that makes her young son feel that he is being compared to his more mature father, but she should simply be appreciative of the things in her husband that a son would do well to imitate. This is something we, as wives, should be doing anyway, but a son benefits when he sees that we do appreciate these things.
8) A mother should encourage her son to fulfill whatever responsibilities have been assigned to him. In this way, she will help him grow into responsible, unselfish manhood.
9) A mother may despair of her young son ever taking an interest in keeping himself well groomed. There will be a point when this suddenly becomes important to him. Perhaps, though not necessarily so, this will be at a much later age than a girl usually manifests interest in her appearance. Until then, she may need to help him take care of his health and appearance.
10) It's a good ideas for computers and video games to be used in public areas. This helps protect a boy's purity.

Happy Homemaking!
Elizabeth