...a God to serve...a family to love... a work to do...

Author: Sylvia Britton (Page 1 of 110)

Sylvia Britton is a Christian, the owner of the Christian Homekeeper website and mentor to women since 1996. She and her husband Mark live in Tennessee and are the parents of 5 adult children and grandparents to seven so far. They homeschooled their five children from 1991 to 2016. 

Motivation To Get My House Clean

I’ve always been a proponent of cleaning, decluttering and organizing. There are lots and lots of posts here on the CHK blog about those topics. It was important to me as a young wife and mom because I had a house full of people to keep organized and clean. I like a clean house on a daily basis and an organized home helps me feel peaceful.

I never have liked the trend where young moms complain about how they can’t get their home clean and organized and seem to be proud of that fact. It’s as if some of those women want to brag that they’re home is dirty and they’re proud of it.  I don’t understand that mind-set.

What I do understand is how stinking hard it can be to clean regularly and keep a home clean and organized, especially with a bunch of kids in it. Goodness, it is overwhelming sometimes. And sometimes it just can’t be done consistently no matter how much you want to.

It’s just me and my husband at home now.  A couple of grandkids are here in the afternoons after school, sometimes they eat supper here.  So really, there isn’t much going on in the house these days. But I STILL have trouble keeping it clean!

What is up with that?

I guess now it’s because I have less energy, I’m older, I have less stamina and my back hurts like crazy some days.  I dunno.

But still I struggle with keeping it done. So I went looking for motivation. YouTube to the rescue!

I found some videos on YouTube that are very motivating. One is Scandish Home, this lady has her stuff together and I like her home very much. She has two teen boys, a husband, a business and a home to run. She does a good job and you know what? She is minimalist. I am not minimalist but I do admire it. I like her recipes too, they’re very simple and healthy.  It was from her channel that I made the decisions to go back to cleaning with rubbing alcohol and baking soda.

The other channel is Olesya and House. She is in Belarus in the country, she has one son and a husband and they have another channel where they are renovating an old house. Olesya’s world seems to be a small kitchen/dining room and she makes some magic with cooking, cleaning and sewing.  Her personality and home are warm and comforting. I really enjoy her channel and that of her husband where he shows what he is doing with the old house.

One other is Feral Tradwife. Oh my, it bothers the fire out of me that this lady waits so long to clean her house, that she doesn’t seem to keep up with it on a daily basis. She waits for it to get unbearable and then tackles it all in one day. I guess if she didn’t let it get dirty, she wouldn’t have a channel, right? She gets it done though and I admire that.  Anyway, she works hard and her videos are sped up a bit.  I like how she works.  Her marathon cleaning in her children’s rooms reminds me of when I had children at home.

Finally, I watch This Mainer Mom. This is the channel of my friend Karen and she has some great motivation to clean and organize and keep her home working smoothly. Karen keeps it real, she has a way of making you feel like you’re her friend and she really does give great cleaning and organizing advice.

Those channels really motivate me to clean these days. They are part of my morning routine. Feed animals, start breakfast for husband, make coffee, pray, watch videos. Then I get busy in my own home. Sometimes I stop a video and go do something that I need to do in the house!

I made a vow to myself that I would do at least ONE thing every day that I didn’t particularly want to do. And I’ve been keeping that vow.  I have gotten quite a lot done in the house. The videos help me to stay motivated and give me ideas about how to go about cleaning or decluttering/organizing. Sometimes a video will suggest  cleaning/organizing an area that I had not thought of and that is needed in my home.

I know how to do all the things. I wouldn’t have written all these blog posts about it if I didn’t. But it really helps me to have some motivation to actually WANT to get things done. This is just the season that I am in right now.  And right now, these videos are filling that need.

Check them out, I think you’ll like them!

 

 

How To Cook Collard Greens

I was asked at the Christian Homekeeper facebook group yesterday how to cook collard greens. I think it’s something that many people would like to know, so here is my method.

First I wash those greens really well. Three or 4 times is not unusual. Since they are an agricultural product and grown in the great outdoors, they carry some soil and debris on them and that stuff won’t make your collards taste good.

I think collards are a beautiful green and they taste sort of similar to other brassica plants like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, rutabaga, and turnip greens.

After washing them, I cut the big woody stems out of each stalk. Then I stack the leaves up and cut them into strips, then again into smaller pieces. How you cut them isn’t too important but great big pieces are hard to eat.

Collards cook down to about half the size they start out as. So you can over-pile your pot full of greens, fill your pan with water and they’ll cook down and fit the pan.

How To Season Collards

Like anything, seasoning collars is subject to taste. Here is how I like to season them.

I use a piece of smoked meat.  Sometimes it’s pork and sometimes it’s turkey.  For the past several yers it’s been smoked turkey wings.

For a very big pot of collards I use about 5 cloves of fresh garlic. You can use jarlic or even garlic powder if you like.

After you’ve added your smoked meat and garlic, one big onion, chopped, is next.

Then about 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.

Then I add about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.

Bring all this to a boil and then allow it to simmer for 2 or 3 hours, adding a little water if needed to keep the collards covered.

After 2 or 3 hours, they’ll probably be done and some people like to keep cooking them til they’re very soft. I like them to have just a little bite so I don’t cook them til they’re soft.

Taste them at this point and see if they need more seasoning. Sometimes I have added Cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere’s.

I pull all the cooked meat off the bone, discard the bones and add the meat back to the cooked collards.

These collards and a piece of cornbread is a meal for me!  If you have questions about cooking collards or other greens, just ask in the comments.

 

Getting Ready For Thanksgiving

This has been a really different kind of year for us.  Lots of doctor appointments, calls to EMS and health issues for my husband.  He had a stroke September of 2023 and life has not been the same for either of us since.  Add in a few extenuating circumstances of life and it’s actually been a very difficult year for us both. 

But we’re thankful for so much. I have made it a habit to count my blessings frequently through the week and to offer up praise to the Lord daily. He has not been silent in all of this, He has spoken through His Word, His people and our circumstances.  

We had Thanksgiving last year but looking back I feel like I was walking through that holiday and Christmas in my sleep. This year is better, I’m more with-it, more present. 

Today I am getting things ready for Thanksgiving Day. We have our bunch coming and 4 extras. 18 in total which is not the biggest Thanksgiving meal I’ve prepared but it’s plenty big enough.

Two of my sons are getting a table and extra chairs from the place I used to work today. I’ll put the chairs and table in the hallway til Thursday. My house is LITTLE y’all but we usually make it work.

I have the turkeys defrosting. I didn’t realize how good that cooler is. They’ve been in it with some ice since Wednesday, it’s now Saturday and they’re still frozen!  So I’ll work on getting them thawed so I can brine them starting Monday.

Yesterday I washed and prepped all the vegetables that I’ll be using for Thursday’s meal. I usually chop the onions and celery too at the same time but I just washed and trimmed everything. I’ll chop them Tuesday.  I use the food processor for that.

I also cooked some collard greens yesterday. We ate some last night and some for lunch today. They are so very good!  The rest will go in the freezer til Thursday. I’ll reheat them while the gravy is making.

Another thing I do ahead is boil eggs for stuffed eggs. That’s “deviled eggs” for most of you. I don’t mind calling them deviled eggs. Deviling is simply a cooking term for mixing things up really well. But my sweet mother-in-law called them stuffed eggs and I guess it stuck with me.  Anyway I will boil the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks, make the stuffing and put it all in the fridge unassembled. I’ll assemble them Thursday.

I use the Traditional Turkey Brine most years, this year as well. If you make it ahead of time, you can heat the water to dissolve the salt better and the brine has time to cool off. You don’t want to put hot brine on your turkey.

I’ve made dressing today and corn casserole for one of my daughters. She has a company Thanksgiving this Sunday she’s taking food to.  We had some chia seed pudding for lunch. I made it yesterday and we added some frozen fruit to it.

To make the pudding I used 1/2 cup almond milk and 2 1/2 tablespoons of chia seeds, 1 teaspoon of maple syrup and put it all in small jars. I shook it like crazy and refrigerated it. After a couple of hours I shook it again. It was really tasty with the frozen mixed fruit.

I’ll start cooking our meal in earnest come Tuesday. I’ll bake pies,  bake sweet potatoes, chop veggies and put together the dressing to refrigerate til Thursday.

On Wednesday I’ll smoke two small turkeys and roast the big one. After they’re done I’ll carve them up and put them in broth in big pans in the fridge. They’ll reheat nicely on Thursday while I’m baking the casseroles.

That’s my coming week. I hope you’re having a pleasant time getting ready for your Thanksgiving. I’d love to hear from you so please feel free to leave a comment for me.

Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:4

Do all things without grumbling or disputing Philippians 2:14

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23-24

Daily Kitchen Cleaning

If your kitchen is ready for a good heavy cleaning, Here is the link to the Kitchen Spring Cleaning Instructions.

However, if you need a good daily method for cleaning your kitchen, this is the page you need.

Our plan is simple. We want to get a clean kitchen that is as germ free as possible, has no obvious places for germs and vermin to live and is prepared for the next day.

Here are some recommendations for keeping your kitchen cleaner and more orderly throughout the day

Number oneThe kitchen is a work area. There’s nothing wrong with having decorations in one’s kitchen, but if those decorations take up valuable counter space or wall space, best to move them to another more appropriate room.

Set Yourself up to succeedEvery morning, start your day by drawing up a sink of hot soapy dish water. This sink of very hot soapy water will serve you all day long as you clean spills, wipe up after working and keeping the surface areas clean.  You may have to change it once during the day depending on how many dishes you usually do or how much cleaning your do with the soapy water.

Clean as You GoYou’ve heard it before and it’s true. You must clean as you go in order not to overwhelm yourself with cleaning at the end of the day. Teach yourself to wipe down and clean all day long while you are in the kitchen, to put dirty dishes in the sink immediately after using them, to pick up and keep areas clean all day. This is something that no one can do for you, you have to discipline yourself.

Don’t be haphazardYou don’t have to cook that way.  So many cooks have ingredients every where, tools slung here and there. Get all your ingredients out, measure them into small containers before you begin cooking and put away the ingredients as soon as you are finished with them. This will really help you to not only be an organized cook, but will keep your kitchen cleaner, longer and it will be easier to clean up after you’re finished cooking.

Now, let’s start the daily cleaning process. After you’ve cooked and used your kitchen all day long, it needs a good clean.

The first four items on this list are done all together. While you’re putting tools away, you’re putting away food and you’re putting things where they go.

*Take all items back to their place. Organizing and putting things away is probably 90% of cleaning the kitchen. Once everything is put where it belongs, you’ll be surprised how much better it looks.

*Store all food. While you’re putting things away be sure all your food items are stored properly.

*Put all tools that do not need to be washed in their proper places. 

*Pick up all paper trash, dispose of it.

*Place all food scraps in an appropriate container. I like to use a lidded container so that I can take the scraps to a compost bin. Non-compost food is put into a grocery bag or other disposable container and then in the trash. Some “food trash” is actually not trash. I save vegetable peels and trimmings in a container in the freezer to make vegetable broth and soups.

*Dust out dining area chairs and wipe crumbs off table.

*Wash all dishes or run the dish washer. I wash my dishes by hand and I like to give them a final rinse in a disinfectant solution of bleach and water. Dishes disinfected in this way should be allowed to air dry.

*While dishes dry or machine is running, make a pan of cleaning solution and hot water.
Use whichever cleaner you prefer. I have some natural homemade cleaner recipes here.

New Homemade Natural Cleaners

Homemade Anti-Bacterial Scouring Powder

Homemade Natural Cleaners

*Choose a clean rag and begin to wipe down the dirtiest areas first, such as stove tops and countertops. Rinse your rag well between cleaning the surfaces. Change your cleaning water as often as you need to.

*Next, move to the other appliances that you have used this day, such as microwave, toaster, refrigerator and mixers. Give everything a good wipe down.

*Using your cleaning solution, wipe down all tables and other work surfaces. Replace table decorations such as centerpieces or placemats. Don’t forget to wipe down the dining table and chairs, pay attention to the handles on the chairs.

*Put away clean dishes. Make sure that they are completely dry before storing them in cabinets. Moisture encourages bacteria growth and insects. Rinse out your dish drainer if you use one, dry it and put it away.

*Clean your sinks.  I use a scrub-type cleaner that won’t damage my stainless steel sinks.  I have a recipe for it here.

*Sweep the floor.

*Make a mopping solution. I suggest that you find a good container to use as a mop bucket, store it away and use it only for mopping. I like ammonia and water for mopping, but some floors will be damaged by ammonia, so use whatever cleaner you prefer. I mop my kitchen every day. It doesn’t take much time. But it helps me keep the floor clean and grease-free.

*Wash out your kitchen rags with dish soap and rinse them in a bleach/water solution. Just 2 qts of water and 1 tablespoon of bleach will give you a disinfecting solution. Squeeze the solution though the cloths several times. Wring out your rags and cleaning cloths and hang to dry. Or wash your cloths in the washing machine with detergent and bleach.

After you have tweaked this routine to fit you and your kitchen, it will go fast and you can do it every day after your evening meal. it will keep your kitchen cleaner, longer.

May God bless you as you serve Him in your home!

It Happens

Buying things online is a blessing and a curse. If it goes well, it’s great and when it doesn’t….. it can be a real bummer.

I ordered spring and summer clothing from Full Beauty which includes stores like Jessica London, Roamans, WomanWithin and others. It was a lot of money for me, my entire clothes budget for spring and summer. For the store it was too much to loose but they aren’t concerned with me for sure.

Any way, I got an email telling me that my package had been delivered. Nope. I waited all day because sometimes delivery services like Fed Ex in this case, mark their packages “delivered” before they actually deliver them. But it never showed up.

The next day I tried to contact Fed Ex, nope you have to contact the seller. So I contacted Jessica London/Full Beauty.  They said they’d send me an affidavit to fill out and return. It came in my email the next day.

The affidavit also required a police report!  Even though no crime had been committed, the package wasn’t stolen. Guess how I knew?? The photo the delivery person left was not of my porch. No where near.

My Porch

The porch where the package was left

So I filled it out and I called the local police, non-emergency line. Nope, they won’t file a crime report unless a crime has been committed. I knew that. I put that on the affidavit.

Just when I was resigned to having to send the thing today, my neighbor came walking down the road with my package! They had left it at his back door, I couldn’t see that porch from the road so I didn’t know! I did go looking all over the neighborhood for “The Porch”.

I’m so thankful for honest neighbors. Its so nice to know that there are still kind people in my neighborhood. I’m so thankful to have my work clothes finally.

But I still feel a caution about ordering online. I really prefer using Paypal or other service like that because then, you have recourse if something goes afoul. Your number can’t be stolen and you can remove businesses and people from your auto payments at places like Paypal. The business I used this time didn’t have that option.

I had my credit card number stolen a few years ago and used at a Nordstroms.  When the bank called I told them, ‘Uh, I’ve never shopped at a Nordstroms, I can’t afford to go inside a Nordstroms.” She laughed and said her too. The bank refunded my money.

I have never had much trouble at Amazon and I order most everything from them except groceries and the occasional piece of clothing. I once had a cup and saucer come as a gift from a relative and it was broken but it was replaced quickly and no questions asked.

The main trouble I have is with DELIVERY. Wrong address, merchandise never showing up or showing up days and days later after an email says it was delivered. That has happened a LOT.  Never with Amazon though.

Do you shop online much? What have been your experiences with it?

Is there somewhere we should avoid shopping online?? Delivery services to avoid?

And I Helped!

Remember that commercial for Shake and Bake? The little girl with the big Tennessee/Kentucky accent saying, “And I helped!” But it was more like “In ah hayelped!” I loved that commercial. I sounded just like her.

I have always liked Shake and Bake.  I bought it for quite a while. I used it on chicken and pork. Then I started making my own. You can find recipes all across the internet, but this is how I make it.  I think it’s really tasty.

Here’s my recipe for homemade shake and bake to use for pork. This is actually enough for 4 or 5 big pork chops so I’ll use some and store the rest in in a jar. You can double or triple your shake and bake and store it, too.

1 – 1/2 cups plain, dry breadcrumbs

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground celery seed, I crush it using a mortar and pestle

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

If you want to, you can add 1/2 teaspoon of ground sage. It’s very good with pork but I didn’t add it this time.

Mix it well and store it in an air tight container if you’re doubling or tripling the recipe and want to use it later.

To use it for pork chops:

You’ll need about 1/8 cup of cooking oil of your choice, I use avocado oil. You’ll need 2 big pork chops, I use bone-in chops that are thick. Heat your oven to 425*F.

Drizzle a baking sheet with the oil.
Place the coating in a plastic bag.
Wash the chops and let some of the water drain off.
Put one chop at a time in the bag with the coating, shake it around til coated.
Put the coated chops on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 425* F for 15 minutes, turn the chops over and bake another 10 minutes or a little longer so that they’re nice and brown.

Be sure to discard the leftover coating mix after using it.

These chops were extra thick so I checked their temperature, that’s what that metal stick is in the photo. Cook pork to an internal temp of 145*F.

Here On The Hill

Some few days ago, Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring for us.  I beat him by a week or more. Its just a prediction, a prognostication, if you will, but as I passed the front picture window in my house several days ago, there was a sign.

There was still some snow on the ground and it was cold but not frigid as it had been.  It was a balmy 35 degrees F and the snow was melting fast.

There in my front yard were not one, not two, but four American robin birds! These birds are not migratory but they are short-term migratory.  In other words, they go where the food is. The  song of the American Robin is my favorite of all the song bird songs. It is part of all my springs and summers since childhood.

When I see them return after winter, I know that spring is on the way.

Another sign are the rabbits coming to nibble on the new shoots in the yard and garden.  Once they have their babies, they’ll be out frequently and I may be able to get some pictures.

And finally, the most anticipated harbinger of spring here are the daffodil shoots coming up. Some came up while there was snow on the ground.  Now that the daily temperatures are in the 60s they’re coming up fast.

We’re 60 degrees today and I am headed for the deck with a cup of tea. Join me?

Winter Apple Tree

 

“You think I am dead,”
The apple tree said,
“Because I have never a leaf to show –
Because I stoop,
And my branches droop,
And the dull gray mosses over me grow!

“But I’m still alive in trunk and shoot;
The buds of next May
I fold away –
But I pity the withered grass at my root.”

“You think I am dead,”
The quick grass said,
“Because I have parted with stem and blade!
But under the ground,
I am safe and sound
With the snow’s thick blanket over me laid.

“I’m all alive, and ready to shoot,
Should the spring of the year
Come dancing here –
But I pity the flower without branch or root.”

“You think I am dead,”
A soft voice said,
“Because not a branch or root I own.
I never have died, but close I hide
In a plumy seed that the wind has sown.

“Patient I wait through the long winter hours;
You will see me again –
I shall laugh at you then,
Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers.

Edith Matilda Thomas (1854 – 1925)

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