Kendrick Family Life and Adventures

I know to most out there this sounds weird, but to my fellow frugal/prepping/getting back to nature/tired of chemicals friends, this may interest you. This coincides with my reasons for making my own laundry detergent (which by the way the Orange oil in this batch I made the other day smells wonderful still) The main reason for trying this is because of the skin sensitivity of my daughter and I. She is getting to the age young girls get too when it is time to wear some deodorant. A friend of a friend posted this recipe a few days ago and I just so happened to be running out of my own deodorant, so I decided to make this today. The ingredients are: 6-8 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (I was able to find this at the grocery store next to the Olive Oil) 1/4 cup Baking Soda 1/4 cup Arrowroot powder or Cornstarch Essential Oil (optional) I did a little reading up and arrowroot powder is preferred because some people get irritated by the cornstarch. I am using co...

How many of us hate throwing away a holey pair of jeans? I know I do. It seems that with the money we spent on them they should last forever and I hate throwing them away. I saw a very cute idea on how to turn your old jeans into a gardening apron and since it is gardening season I thought this was an appropriate recycle use of them. All you need to do this project is 5 minutes, your old jeans, and a pair of good scissors. 1. Once you have all of that lay our your jeans back side up and cut off the legs of the pants leaving the seat (butt) of the jeans intact. 2. Turn jeans over to front side and start cutting just under the waistband... cutting above the zipper but below the button...cut all the way to the side seam and repeat on the other side. When done you should have two "straps" that consist of the waistband with button and button hole. 3. Next, cut down along the side seam, essentially removing the rest of t...

Well, today was supposed to be laundry day but I ended up having to run some errands outside the house today. I did manage to make my soap however. I have been making my own laundry soap for about 3 years now and I have only had to make about 5 batches. Yes, you read that right. Each batch normally lasts me around 6 months or so and this last batch lasted 8 months! Most ask, "Why make your own soap?" There are several reasons I make my own: 1. Skin sensitivity - my daughter and I have sensitive skin. We tend to break out from items that have too harsh chemicals or fragrances. 2. Cheaper! - It is much, much cheaper to make my own than to buy it from the store.(I will break down the price below.) If I purchased the skin sensitive detergents I would pay an arm and a leg! 3. It is easy! - When I first entertained the idea of making my own laundry soap I thought, "There is no way! It has to be hard!" Boy, was I wrong. It took me about 30 minutes from s...

Hello All, As most of you know, by now, I am starting worm composting for several reasons. Reason #1 - Compost! Worm compost is GREAT for your garden! Worm compost, also called worm castings, is a great additive for your garden. Reason #2 - Minimizing what my family adds to the landfills That's a lot of "crap" hahaha get it!  Worms are great at taking many things and turning it into rich compost. I have learned through researching that worms will eat almost anything! Fruits and Veggies, newspaper (not comics, no colors), cardboard, even coffee grinds (filter and all) but add eggshells to balance out PH in bin, and tea bags (remove staple). I have even heard that they will turn dryer lint into compost! What!?! Who would have thought that? Reason #3 - Its cool! Love playing in the dirt! I don't know about you but I know I loved playing in the dirt when I was a kid. Even now, why do you think gardening is so enjoyable? Adults love playing in th...

Hello All, I hope you all have enjoyed, are enjoying, or will enjoy your spring break! We just finished our spring break and had a good week. Some exciting things are happening at the Kendrick Residence! We are making a big push towards our self sufficiency...we have been "low-key", low-scale preppers for a couple of years now but are ready to take things to another level. We will be starting our garden this month and I have just place my order for my starter set of worms! Yes, you read that right worms! We will also be starting our first small flock of backyard chickens to provide us with fresh eggs in the next few months. (Don't worry neighbors! We do not plan to have any Roo's just a group of ladies for the eggs.) This is not my garden but my boxes will look like this. Farm Fresh Eggs! Can't wait to start our flock! Worm's are nature's best recyclers! In this post, I want to focus on the worms however: Raising worms for compos...

Hello All, It has been a long time. As we all know life gets busy sometimes. Today I am reflecting on us being here for almost a year now. It does not seem like it, but at the same time it does. We like it here as far as the community and it is a great place overall to raise a family. I am really missing our family and friends though. That is the hardest part. I have yet to find a person or people that I am close too but I know if it is meant to happen it will. I am looking forward to this next year and what it will bring. Hope you all are doing well and are looking forward to this new year. Miss you all and know that even though we may not talk as much as we want, I think of you all often.