Baby Steps Baby Steps!

Well, I'm slowly working my way back into the homeseading lifestyle. After a LONG break, I realize I've really got to go slower. Its hard though. I want to do everything RIGHT NOW.

I canned some peaches the other day. They were not good peaches. End of season, looks good on the outside, but dehydrated and brownish on the inside, kind of mushy. The first batch I bought were so bad, I threw them in the compost pile. I took a couple of them with me back to where I bought them and got my money back...no questions asked! Great place, that little roadside stand.

Then my husband brought home a box of peaches that looked absolutely luscious. Well, they were almost as bad as the other batch. I hated to throw them away, and they were a LITTLE better than the last ones. I decided to can some of them and see what happens. I figured, with a medium to heavy syrup, it might turn out ok. I canned half of the peaches. The other half were the lesser of the less desirables. So, I froze them. I'll use them for smoothies or add them to canned applesauce I guess. Or maybe I can use them for baking.

Also got some tomatoes canned tonight. 6qts of tomatoes. I found with the last tomatoes I canned that I didn't put enough in the jars. They *looked* like they were full but after they were canned, they floated to the top and the jars are HALF full with water! So, this time I really jammed lots of tomatoes in, and found I hadmore tomato juice to use too.

This time, I also discovered a gasket missing where the pressure canner's gauge is. Because of the missing gasket, it wouldn't build pressure, and the gauge got all this condensation in it. Guess I'll have to replace the gasket. I had to water bath can the tomatoes instead, which takes 5 times as long considering there is a lot more water to get to boiling before you can even begin the timing.

I also did a load of laundry. It was a BIG load, so the fact that I used the top load washing machine is somewhat justified I guess. I did actually hang the wash up to dry though instead of using the dryer. We've had nothing but rain here the last few days, so I hung them up in the basement. My husband has strung new wash lines in the basement and they look great. Its actual washline this time instead of rope.

AND I cleared off the top of the filing cabinet finally. So, I'm getting there, little by little.

For anyone who has a chaotic home like mine, I recommend flylady.net. The last time I actually *used* flylady, I was astounded at how decluttered AND clean my home became, and I was only working 15 min/day. It really does work. The trick to maximizing the effect of doing "a little at a time" is to make it a HABIT. And thats where it all falls apart for me!! its that old "all or nothing" mentality that sabotages me every single time! SO. I'm going to start over tomorrow.

Wish me Luck!