jessicalawson – Page 3 – Life with the Lawsons

October 5, 2019October 10, 2019

5 Quick Cleaning Hacks

I’ve been doing some deep cleaning this week and I want to share with you my top 5 cleaning hacks that really work and save time and effort!

My schedule is always full of appointments and kids’ activities and running here, there and everywhere, but my sanity can’t handle a dirty house! So, over the years I have created a schedule of deep cleaning tasks that I spread around throughout the month and do one or two things at a time. This keeps the chores done without taking an entire day to do everything! Let’s be honest. If cleaning my house took an entire day, the house would never be clean and my family would have to check me into the loony bin!

Here are my favorite tips to keep things cleaner longer!

1. Baseboards:

I clean my baseboards with this lavender scented cleaner on a microfiber cloth. Once they’re dry, I wipe with a dryer sheet to keep them cleaner longer! The dryer sheet keeps dust from sticking to the surface and it buys me more time between cleanings! (This trick also works wonders on wood blinds!)

This stuff leaves my house smelling clean for days!

2. Stained showers and tubs:

Last year we bought a house that is 15 years old. That means 15 year old tubs and 15 years worth of stains! It drove me crazy! I used every cleaner from the store that I could find and I also tried all kinds of homemade concoctions. They would get the shower a little cleaner and smelling nice, but the stains wouldn’t go away. This week, I have found the answer! Bleach gel!

I added this stuff to my “subscribe and save” order so I get a little discount, and I always have it on hand. I use it in my toilets, but I have found when I use it in the tub and shower, it eliminates all stains! It also works great to clean light colored tile grout!

(In the photo below, I just squirted it on and let it run and soak. I wanted to be able to show you the difference before and after just one use! What I did to clean the whole shower was squirt it all over and used a scrub brush to smear it around. Then let that set for a while and rinsed. Easy!

This is after no scrubbing! Just squirted and let it run, the rinsed after a few minutes so you could see before and after results!

3. DIY Carpet Cleaner

My rugs get a LOT of wear and tear. Lots of spills and lots of messes! I use a regular fabric and upholstery cleaning spray from the grocery store for spot cleaning, but sometimes it needs a deep clean.

I prefer to shampoo the rugs ever so often but my shampooer recently played out, so I have found a new way to deep clean them!

I use my Homemade Laundry Detergent and vinegar!

This combo will leave your carpets clean and smelling fresh!

The borax and baking soda sanitize and deodorize, the oxy clean helps with any stains, and the scent boosters make it smell so good for a few days after I clean them this way!

I sprinkle the entire rug with the detergent and I use plain white vinegar in a spray bottle to dampen the rug.

I let this set for an hour or so. (I have to do this during nap time to keep little feet off the rugs!)

The I use my Dyson vacuum cleaner and vacuum the entire area a couple of times to make sure I got all of the detergent up. It smells and looks great!

4. Shower maintenance:

Once I get the stains out of the shower, I keep them out by using a scrubber like this.

I keep one of these in each shower for easy maintenance!

I keep the scrubber filled with the lavender cleaner mentioned above in my shower, and each day when I’m getting out of the shower, I will scrub around the edges and any dirty spots and rinse. This keeps any dirt and stains from setting in and keeps things nice and clean!

5. Microwave

With kids who use the microwave often and don’t cover their food, we have splatters and messes often!

Cleanup is a breeze! I fill a bowl with half water and half white vinegar and microwave for 60 seconds.

I order this from Dollar Tree for only $1! I love cleaning with vinegar!

I then wipe clean with a microfiber cloth.

Easy peasy!

What are your easy cleaning tips?!

Share in the comments below!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. My referral helps you to easily find the products you need, and it helps finance the publishing of these helpful tools and tricks for you!

October 2, 2019

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

In several posts, you have probably heard me discuss budgeting and meal prepping. In our household, those two go hand in hand!

Feeding a large crew like mine can be expensive, but I’ve learned to shop sales and stock up on items that I know can be used in meal prepping. I also know which items are cheaper to buy in bulk, so I take advantage of those items as well.

One of my favorite meals to prepare ahead of time and stock my freezer with is this easy chicken spaghetti casserole.

This meal is super easy to whip up in big batches, throw in these awesome aluminum pans with lids, label and stick in your freezer!

When I know we are having one of these casseroles, I try to thaw it during the day so I can pop it in the oven for 20ish minutes and be ready to go, but life isn’t always perfect like that, but that’s no biggie! These casseroles can be cooked from frozen but it takes anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours to finish cooking if it hasn’t been thawed.

I love having this type of meal prepped and thawed for quick weeknight suppers because they can be baked in the time it takes me to bathe the littles and settle in after a chaotic day of school drop offs, pickups, gym class, dance class, Bible study, football games, or whatever else I’m chauffeuring my kids to or from!

These ingredients can be multiplied as many times as you’d like and mixes up very well in large batches.

Creamy chicken spaghetti

1 pound cooked angel hair pasta
2-3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
8oz sour cream
1 can rotel (I blend mine because my picky kids don’t like chunks of tomatoes)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients except cheese in a large mixing bowl or with stand mixer.

Put into casserole dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, then cover with shredded cheddar cheese.

At this point, you can cover and freeze for later use, or you can bake if you’re ready to eat!

I bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, when cheese is melted and bubbly.

(This post contains Amazon affiliate links to help you find items that I find useful and helpful in our home. When you purchase using these links, it helps fund this site at no additional cost to you!)

October 1, 2019

Homemade Cornbread

I’m getting ready to thaw a batch of my Mamaw’s Homemade Vegetable Soup for dinner tonight, but I cannot have soup without cornbread!

And, of course, I have to cook this awesome southern staple in my Mamaw’s cast iron skillet!

Y’all, this skillet means more to me than most any other material belonging I have! It was handed down to me from my great grandmother and she has had it since the early ‘40’s. Ever so often, it needs a good scrubbing and reseasoning, and it holds up just as well as it did for my Mamaw for all those years! (This is a great cast iron skillet that reminds me of the one I use!)

This homemade cornbread is so delicious! It has that crispy outer crust, that yummy moist center, and is perfect with soup, chili, peas, beans….even a glass of milk! Yum!

This recipe is so easy!

I preheat my oven to 400 with my oiled skillet already inside.

By preheating the pan with the oven, that oil and the pan get super hot and helps make that crispy crust on the outside!

While the preheating takes place, I measure out my dry ingredients in a bowl and stir with a whisk.

I then add the wet ingredients and gently stir, just to incorporate. Don’t over mix this, or your cornbread will be too dense. A few lumps won’t hurt!

Note: if you don’t have any buttermilk, you can use regular milk and a little vinegar! Just pour your milk into a glass and stir in about a tablespoon of white vinegar and let it sit while you prepare your other ingredients. The vinegar causes the milk to sour and turns it to buttermilk!

Carefully pull your super hot skillet out of the oven and pour your batter in.

Place back in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden and the edges look crispy.

Let cool and enjoy with butter or with your favorite meal!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
1 cup white corn meal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Do you like homemade cornbread? Some people even add sugar to make it sweeter. Comment below and let me know!

September 30, 2019October 2, 2019

Toy Cleanup! From chaos to organized in 25 minutes!

Toys, toys, everywhere!

With five kids in my house and two of them younger than school age, we always have an abundance of toys! It can be such a pain to keep everything organized and cleaned up, and if I’m being totally transparent, on the weekends I don’t even try.

That’s why the 6 & 3 year old bedroom looks like THIS! No, don’t worry, there weren’t tornados in Arkansas this weekend, this is just what a few kids can do over the course of a few days!

On week days, I have a pretty consistent routine. We do our morning activities, play, and then pick up toys before nap. Then after nap, we play and do our afternoon activities, but we pick up toys before bed.

On the weekends, it’s pretty much a free for all and the kids feel the need to dump out everything they own!

This is why my Monday morning routine is so important! That is the day where I take the kids to school, do my usual morning chores, and then I clean the kids’ rooms so we have a good start to the week. By looking at those pictures, you’d think it’s hours worth of work, but it’s really not and it is all because of our toy organization.

Every single thing has a place. There are bins for barbies, bins for trains, bins for stuffed animals…and so on. With that being said, the after results aren’t perfect! Not even close! My end goal is a clean place with space for the kids to be able to play without clutter. My house is far from perfect and could use a good purge, but we try to keep it somewhat together!

Because each thing does have a specific place, I cleaned this entire room, changed sheets, dusted the furniture and fan in under 25 minutes and I’ll walk through how I did it!

First I start at the doorway on my hands and knees. I seriously use my hands and rake ALLLLLL those toys towards the closet!

Everything has been pushed to the closet!

Once I make my way to the closet, I can start with the closest items to me and I start putting each thing it it’s proper bin.

Although it looks like a lot, this part takes me around 5-6 minutes, depending on how much they’ve pulled out.

We use a bin like this for stuffed animals that is actually made for duck hunting, but it works great to hold our ever-growing pile of stuffed critters! A hamper, pop up bin, or anything would work. Just find something that will fit your space.

We also use one of these shelving units with canvas bins for toy organization. It isn’t very expensive, easy to assemble, and keeps items separated by type.

I also keep a basket next to me and if I find anything that doesn’t belong in this room, I toss it in the basket and will distribute where it all goes after this room is done.

My little “helper” pulling out what I’m putting away!

After the toys are put away, I strip the beds and spray with Odo-Ban, sprinkle with a little lavender baby powder, and put clean sheets on.

I then dust the fan and furniture and vacuum.

ALL DONE!

In less than 25 minutes! Nowhere close to perfect, but perfect enough for this wild crew!

Truthfully, I probably shouldn’t take this long, but I had a little helper who kept pulling things out as I put them away! Also, if I stuck to my week day routine during the weekend, there wouldn’t be such a mess on Monday, but for now this is what works for us!

September 26, 2019September 27, 2019

Mamaw’s Fresh Apple Cake

With the onset of cooler temperatures, rainy and cloudy days, and hints of fall in the air, I have been craving all things fall and all the nostalgia that comes with it!

One of my favorite things to do on cool mornings is enjoy a hot cup of coffee and a piece of my Mamaw’s Fresh Apple Cake. It’s warm and filling and oh, so delicious!

This recipe is a favorite of many of my family members and I get lots of requests for it this time of year!

It’s a very simple recipe and very easy to make, but will impress folks every time.

I start by peeling and dicing my apples into small bits like this. (And saving the peels, cores and egg shells for my chickens!)

Diced apples for our cake, peels and cores for the chickens to enjoy!

In my stand mixer I use the whisk attachment to mix together the oil and sugar, and then add beaten eggs.

I mix my dry ingredients in my Mamaw’s sifter.

I love using my Mamaw’s tools & utensils!

I then switch attachments on my mixer and fold in the dry ingredients. I do this because this makes a very thick batter, and the whisk attachment won’t mix it well and it will just get clogged up.

Slowly fold in the apples and nuts.

I use a spatula to scoop somewhat evenly into greased bunt pan because this makes a very dense, thick batter. It won’t be perfect, but as it bakes it will even out!

Now it’s time to bake! In my oven it takes just under an hour. I would start checking this at about 45 minutes just to make sure it doesn’t over cook and dry out.

Let cool and dump onto a plate or cake dish.

Enjoy!

Fresh Apple Cake:

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups diced apples
1 cup of nuts (optional, I use walnuts)

What is your favorite fall treat? Comment below and let me know!

(I’m including a link to the KitchenAid Mixer I use. This one is on Amazon and is an affiliate link. If you purchase, I will earn a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you!)

September 25, 2019September 25, 2019

Homemade Laundry Soap

As a momma of five incredibly nasty…I mean precious children, laundry is a big deal. It’s always there! Even when I have tackled it all and the basket is empty, it’s a guarantee there will be something else dirty and waiting to be washed in less than 5 minutes!

Laundry soap is a big expense for my family…or it used to be!

Now I make my own laundry soap. It’s stronger and more effective than standard detergent and it works well in my HE machines and it’s way cheaper!

I’m sure that sounds like a huge undertaking but seriously it’s not at all! It’s super easy, takes me about 10 minutes, and lasts us more than a year, even after washing for our large family, plus sharing jars of detergent with some of our family members.

I start with a box of Borax, a box of washing soda, a bar of fels naptha laundry soap, a bar of zote, a pound of oxy clean, a container of fabric scent booster of your choosing, and a box of baking soda.

I use a hand grater to grate my bars of soap into flakes, and this does save money with a small time investment and a little elbow grease, or you could forego the bars of soap and add soap flakes.

I pour all of the ingredients into a large plastic container with a lid and shake and stir until well incorporated.

(this fancy one used to hold those nasty little cheese balls my kids love!)

For a high efficiency washer with normal clothing, 1 tablespoon is enough for a load. If the clothes are heavily soiled, I will use 2 tablespoons and add some color safe bleach.

I also use vinegar as my fabric softener to cut costs and it disinfects the clothing and leaves them soft and smelling clean!

Ingredients:

1 Box Borax
1 Box Washing Soda (I buy THIS combo from Amazon when I’m pressed for time and don’t want another trip to the store!)
1 small box of baking soda
1 pound OxyClean
1 bottle scent booster crystals (I love how these smell!)
1 bar fels naptha soap
1 bar Zote soap

Have you made laundry detergent before? Share your tips with me in the comments!

September 23, 2019

Easy Three Bean Chili

I love chili! I love that warm and filling feeling that it has on my body and my soul, and I rank it as one of my top comfort foods of fall!

On a cold rainy weekend, for a football celebration, or even for a snow day, chili always wins!

I make chili with beef, deer, ground turkey, or ground chicken just depending on what we have on hand.

I brown my meat seasoned with cumin, fresh garlic, onion powder (because my husband had a huge dislike of actual onions), salt and pepper.

I drain the excess fat off of the meat and add in a couple of cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies (blended, of course, for my picky ones). Stir in your favorite chili seasoning and add beans if you’d like, or none if you prefer meat only chili.

My family loves a variety of beans so I will typically add in a can of chili beans, ranch style beans, and black beans (rinsed).

And that’s it! This can be simmered slowly on the stove top for an hour or so to incorporate all of the flavors, it can be cooked in an instant pot to speed up the process, or can be cooked in a crock pot all day.

I usually make a large batch of chili so I can save the leftovers for an easy meal later on. I have canned and frozen chili with success so whichever process works best for you will be much appreciated on a cold night when you want a quick and hearty meal!

I use my food sealer to freeze my chili. I fill the bag and vacuum seal, then lay flat to freeze so it is easier to stack in my freezer! When you’re ready to serve, you can thaw it in the fridge overnight and heat on your stove top, you can put directly into a crock pot to thaw and cook during the day, or you can put into an instant pot and cook from frozen and it will come out delicious every time!

I have also used my pressure canner to can chili and it tastes fresh and delicious when served.

Does your family like chili? Comment below and let me know your favorite ingredients!

Three Bean Chili Recipe

2 lbs. ground meat (turkey, chicken, deer, beef, etc.)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 clove garlic
1 can ranch style beans
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can chili beans
2 cans tomatoes with green chilis
2 envelopes of your favorite chili seasoning (I use Williams)

September 20, 2019September 20, 2019

Guacamole Live!

I love guacamole!

Anytime we go out for Mexican food, or when my girlfriends and I go out for margaritas, I always order Guacamole Live with our meal!

I have tried multiple times to make a good guacamole, and it’s always ok, just not quite what I want, and now I think I’ve figured it out! I have always bought seasoning mixes and tried various recipes, and they always come out good, just not great.

I really think I was overcomplicating it!

This week on Taco Tuesday, I wanted some good guac, but didn’t have any seasoning packets or special mixes, but I DID have some fresh ingredients I thought I’d try.

I used my pastry cutter to mash the avocados.

I diced up some jalapenos and serranos I grew in my garden, some leftover red onion I had for another recipe, squeezed in some fresh lime juice, and I diced some leftover cilantro from my salsa recipe.

That’s it, ya’ll! I was so easy and it’s my new favorite! I guess I was overthinking and over complicating the whole thing! (I tend to do that!)

Try it and let me know what you think!

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019

What is a homestead?

There’s a lot of talk going on these days about modern homesteading and the desire to be more self sufficient…but what is a homestead? If you’re picturing acres upon acres of row crops, grazing cattle, and roaming chickens you might be right…but not entirely. Homesteading is simply becoming a settler on a homestead…which is a house and it’s outbuildings. That’s it! So homesteading, in my mind, is simply making a home!

In today’s hustle and bustle, everything is super fast paced and tailored to convenience, which isn’t always healthy. Many of us are looking for ways to live more simply, more healthy and frugally. This desire fuels our modern day homestead!

My family lives on a very small homestead that is just under an acre that includes vegetable gardens, fruit trees, chickens, cats, a dog and five kids! We are always looking for ways to cut cost, improve our health, and become more self reliant. I love to share tips on gardening, raising chickens, cleaning and organizing, meal prepping on a budget, canning and so much more!

I love being able to share what works for our family, as well as hear new ideas on ways to make our home run as efficiently as possible.

What is your idea of a homestead? Comment below and let me know!

September 16, 2019September 17, 2019

My Momma’s Salsa

In many of my posts, I’m sure you’ll see me talk about my love of Mexican food, so here is one of the staples in my house that adds delicious flare to all of our favorite Mexican dishes!

It’s my momma’s salsa!

This is one recipe I know by heart and can make in my sleep. Anytime we are invited to a family gathering or cookout, I’m asked to bring salsa!

This recipe can be edited to make it spicier or milder, based on your taste. If you like your salsa with a spicy kick, use a fresh jalapeño and leave some or all of the seeds from your jalapeño in the mix. If you prefer a milder salsa, you can use a fresh jalapeño but omit the seeds.

If you’re using canned tomatoes, you can use a can of mild diced tomato and green chili and not use a fresh pepper.

This recipe is really versatile and can be made with either canned tomatoes or fresh, depending on what you have on hand. When I made the salsa for our taco bar this weekend, I didn’t have any fresh tomatoes so I used canned tomatoes with green chilis and it turned out wonderfully!

For this batch, I used canned tomatoes with green chilis

(If you’re using fresh tomatoes, I do recommend peeling them first for a smoother consistency. I have a super easy method I will share in a future post.)

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until the consistency you like! For super chunky salsa, it only takes a few pulses. For picky eaters like my crew, I blend until totally smooth!

I love to make this recipe in bulk and can it and have on hand anytime we like!

Ingredients:

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
2 Tbsp minced dried onion

3-4 fresh peeled tomatoes
1/2 – 1 small fresh jalapeño, depending on how spicy you’d like it
3 Tbsp of fresh chopped onion

AND

1 Tbsp cilantro or more to taste (I prefer fresh)
1 Tbsp whole cumin seed
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of garlic salt
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Good squeeze of fresh lime juice, to taste