Self-sufficiency...

I love to read blogs.

Cooking blogs...sewing blogs...friends blogs...blogs of people I don't even know!

One blog lead to another and I found myself ENTHRALLED with a particular blog written by a mother of two kids. She talks about her life with her family in a small cabin. A simple life full of self-sufficiency. Her and her husband both work from home and they homeschool their kids. They make everything homemade from their own bread to their own toothpaste. To me there is something so HOT about being able to make your own products whether it be groceries or household cleaners. I am so drawn to this lifestyle she shares with the world through her posts. John and I often joke about moving to a small town and we have discussed our ideas for homeschooling our kids. This is the life we joke about and here is a family making it work!

I am constantly trying to learn how to decrease our home expenses. I am jealous of people who get into the whole coupon thing. You know the ones, they get 100 items for $10. I have tried this but we simply do not use the items that you find on coupons! Many of them are processed or "instant"...you never see vegetables on coupons. So this will be my way of trying to save some money and at the same time encourage simplicity and self-sufficiency. I am going to start making our own products. Now the toothpaste for me may be a tad overkill...(my very open and patient husband may not be up for that! I need to lay low with too many new things since I introduced him to parsnips which were less than a hit). I am getting really excited about this. I am taking it on as a challenge. Today I will be making olive oil mayonaise (healthier than the regular and minus the chemicals) and laundry detergent that will allow me to wash each load for under $.05. Wish me luck!

Has anyone else stumbled upon blogs that inspire them?