Welcome!

Simplicity, Creativity, Self-Sufficiency, …..Minivans

Whether you’re a seasoned DIY-homestead-green-frugal lifestyler or a totally newbie to the fact that corn isn’t born in a can, this page will help you orient yourself on our site and find a good place to start.

Why buy expensive factory-made products when you can reduce your costs and increase the quality of your home spa experience with an easy recipe? Try our lotion bars, head to toe clean, herbal sugar scrub, stick deodorant, sunscreen, or lip balm.

Homemade cleaning concoctions save you money, headaches, and time staring at shelves of chemically-laden nonsense. We have well-tested laundry detergent, Swiffer hacks, and many other easy cleaning and laundry solutions

Whether you build, soap, crochet, or knit, crafting skills can take you a long way. It can increase the quality of your gifting and dramatically reduce your presence in the most expensive aisles in the discount store. Try out our Gardener’s Soap, Seedling Tray, Handmade Gift Planner, and TL’s Gee-Haw Whimmy Diddle!

Growing your own food seems like MAGIC. I still haven’t gotten over how amazing it is that I can eat stuff from the yard. Dirt + water + sun + seeds = food? Bananas! Start your own delicious backyard magic with newspaper seedling pots and our printable Spring, Fall, and Herb Garden guides.

Finding uses for “waste” products can reduce your costs and give you a big boost of self-reliance, not mention a feeling of accomplishment that you’re conserving natural resources. Check out 7 Far Out Ways to Recycle, How to Compost, and TL’s super-gorgeous Aluminum Can Ornaments.

We all know that cookies can be made at home, but did you know that you can make your own dairy products, extracts, and syrups? Spoil yourself with easy homemade cheese, 7-minute butter, the easiest pie crust ever, or the best breakfast sausage of your life.

Hens are low-maintenance, inexpensive pets and a great education for the kids. They need no roosters, minimum space, and pay for themselves in breakfast food! Check out Secrets of Raising Backyard Laying Hens for the ins and outs of a backyard flock.

Trying new things is about not being afraid. Not being intimidated is about laughing at Ivory and TL’s screw-ups. HA! See our dead zucchini, bad beer, sticky soap, crashed trellises, pitiful potatoes, and…well, I’m not even sure what this is.

But if all of this just seems like a lot of hard work for no reason, be sure to check out Why DIY? for some compelling reasons to at least take a stab at it!

Welcome!

Ivory and TL