Thrifty Thursday ~ My Canning Adventures

My new obsession... CANNING! I never thought that I would be a "canner", but I really do enjoy/love it! It's kind of like I get in my own little zone and just can away.

These are a few things I've canned so far.. green beans or bean greens as Olivia calls them, peaches, plum jelly, sugar free peach preserves, salsa and tomatoes. I'm wanting to can some pickles, tomato juice and maybe some more jam/jelly.

I have found great canning resources thru the web and one of my favorite sites has been PickYourOwn.org This site is stocked full of anything & everything canning. Definitely check it out if you are interested in canning. You won't be disappointed.

I will say canning sugar free items compared to sugar items is totally different. My dad and my Pap Paw are both diabetics and they both love peaches so I canned some sugar-free peach preserves for them. They didn't quite "jell" like my plum jelly did, but I think they turned out pretty good. 

My plum jelly is one of my favorite things I've made so far. It has a great sweet/tart taste and it's perfect on some warm toast. All in all, my canning adventures so far have been great. This year since I've had to invest in my jars, lids, equipment, garden, etc. Canning has cost me money, but in years to come I will end up saving money and enjoy the "fruits of my labor." I have to say there's nothing more satisfying then knowing you grew something and canned it and ate it. No middle man, No Wal-Mart, just home grown good food. If you haven't tried canning, go ahead, give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed and it's a lot easier than you may think.

Thirty Thursday ~ DIY Fabric Softener

I found this DIY recipe here. It was a starting point for me, but I tweaked it a bit because it seemed to work a little better. You will first need: 

6 Cups of Hot Water, 1&1/2 cups White Vinegar & 1 bottle Suave Conditioner (your favorite scent). I used Lavendar.

Pour your hot water and bottle of conditioner into a small pot. Bring to a boil and stir until competely dissolved. On The Frugal Girls site they just mixed everything together until it dissolved, but I found that if you boil your water and conditioner together first it mixes better.

Stir in your vinegar. Mix well.

Pour into empty fabric softener bottle or milk jug or whatever you have on hand. Use 2 tablespoons per load during rinse cycle or pour into your downey ball and throw in the machine. I've been using this fabric softener for a few weeks now and I really like it. Plus it's so easy to make and so much cheaper then buying it in the store. I think the conditioner cost $0.98 and I had the vinegar and water on hand. So for an average price I'd say maybe $1.50-2.00!! You can't beat that for fabric softener. Let me know if you give it a try.

Happy Thursday!