Green Acres Is the Place To Be!

We have been living in Missouri now for almost a year and a half. I must say, I actually really like it here! Many people over the years would ask "Do you want to be stationed in Fort Leonard Wood?" My response was always "No way!". I am not sure why I had such a negative opinion of this area, I guess I believed we would be in the middle of hicksville, with little means to entertain ourselves for very long. Now I admit, the town I live in is rather small, the only main store is Walmart (which I have a love/hate relationship with), and few other places to really shop. I have discovered this has actually been a good thing, I can no longer go out and mindlessly spend money on frivolous things just because I want to escape from the house.
 When we did not receive our rent money from our house in Washington for over a year, I had to find creative ways to save some money. One was to make my own laundry soap. I also made my own dishwasher detergent. The laundry soap actually turned out quite well, but the dish washing soap, not so much. But it was fun to at least try! I have now bought cloth napkins to help with reducing waste and money. They are a lot nicer to use anyways, and cute! I have started using cloth hand wipes for when the kids wash their hands, instead of that one hand towel that get drenched in water and yuckiness throughout the day. I still buy paper towels though, because there are some messes I just want to toss in the garbage.
I have discovered different ways to buy my food. I now receive eggs from a local lady in a nearby town who raises her own chickens. Best eggs ever! I now buy most of my produce from organic boxes that come every week. What a difference! One of my favorite things has been buying a quarter cow from a nearby Mennonite family. Delicious! I even bought my first gallon of raw milk from a local Amish family. I now make much of my own bread in my new bread maker. I am still intimidated to do it all on my own yet. :) My last experiment was making my own ketchup, it was easy and super yummy.
I am proud of my changes I have made over this time period, it has been a great growing experience and a great way to start depending on my own solutions instead of items off a super market shelf.  Although there are still a few items I will never give up.... store bought toilet paper and store bought feminine products, I am not THAT country! :)