Coal Burning Stoves

I feel like I am living in the 19th century as I scoop coal from the scuttle and load it into my old-fashioned coal burning stove. I mean really, who burns coal in their living room to stay warm?

Turns out, more than I would have thought -- but still a minuscule minority in this country. According to a New York Times article on Coal Burning, about 200,000 to 300,000 homes in the United States burn coal as a primary or secondary source of heat. Most are in PA, but I live below the Mason-Dixon line.

I love being warm ... and we do save so much money heating with coal instead of electricity or oil. And when it's freezing out, like today, I remember to be grateful for the warmth. But then there's the dirt ... the coal dust on the hearth and surrounding floor, the soot on my hands that I have to wash a dozen times a day.

I find our old-fashioned coal burning stove can be cranky. There has to be sufficient draw to keep the air circulating for proper combustion. The coals need to be fussed over and raked every so often. Adding wood helps with the draw, I've found, and once the coal are all red-hot, I can just add more without raking the bed of fiery rocks.

I do worry about the emissions, but imagine the environmental impact isn't as great as drilling oil a continent away and trucking it to my door. At least, I hope it's not. And I am heartened by the indication that anthracite coal, which we burn, has the least health risks.

I think it would be better (read: cleaner and more simple) if we had a coal stoker stove, as these are self-operating much in the same way as pellet stoves, with an automatic feed and stoker system.

But for now, I'll do my best to keep the hearth tidy and be thankful for my warm little home ... even if I flashbacks to black and white photos of centuries past.

How do you heat your home? Do you like the method?

Financial Help for the Holidays

At church on Sunday, we picked an ornament from the Giving Tree in the back of church. Like many religious congregations, our parishioners will be contributing financial help for the holidays to less fortunate families ... and there are many in this economy with job loss and unsold homes causing strains to so many budgets.

Our construction paper star read, "Crisis Pregnancy Center. Diapers, Sz. 2." The good stars, those for toys and clothes for needy children of the parish and community, were snatched up by earlier worshipers. But diapers are needed, and the other tags left included some for McDonald's cetificates, which I have major issues with buying. So diapers it is.

I've written a series of eHow articles over the last few weeks to help point those struggling financially in the right direction, to get the help they need.

• Christmas Help for Low Income Families
• Where to Get Free Toys for Christmas
• Financial Help During the Holidays
• Emergency Financial Help
• Financial Help During Pregnancy
• Immediate Financial Help

What has surprised me the most is the number of comments from people in seemingly desperate circumstances. There are many sob stories on some of my earlier ones, especially the two on financial assistance and the holidays. Since there is absolutely no way to know how many of those are real and how many are scams, I don't allow myself to become emotionally involved in their stories. Instead, I will focus any financial help I am able to give, to the needy in my community. Which reminds me -- I have some size 2 diapers to buy.

How are you sharing with others this Christmas and holiday season?

Catholic Children's Books: Incredible Amazon Deal

Looking for bargains on Catholic children's books? A few days ago, a friend told me about a deal she found on Amazon. She ordered a few different Catholic picture books and coloring books and was quite surprised to receive 10 copies of each one she ordered. I decided to order them as well, and found that the listings specifically state that they are 10-item-packs.

Part of my order shipped right away, and the rest is shipping as it becomes available (at no extra cost to me).

Here are several of the items I ordered that are still in stock:


Coloring Book About the Rosary 10-pack $1.25

Pray Always (10pk) $1.50

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit (10 pack) $1.50

My First Catechism (Pack of 10) $1.50

It's hard to believe, but this works out to 12-15 cents per book. Once you get to the Amazon pages for those items, you can check out related items to see more of the 10-pack deals.

In addition to the low prices, my order total was made even lower with

• Free super shipper saving (orders over $25, must select this option)
  
• Amazon's 4-for-3 deal (applied automatically at checkout)

Wondering what to do with 10 copies of each book?

• Christmas gifts for all the Catholic kids on your list
  
• Trade on book swapping sites


• Make gift sets for Christmas Gift Tree recipients


• Save extra coloring books for next year


• Donate to your local Catholic school or preschool

Enjoy! Let me know if the deal works for you.

Simple Christmas Gifts

How do you plan a simple Christmas for your family? With a down economy, tightened budgets and uncertain economic future, many Americans are simplifying the holidays--which is probably a good thing.

In my simple home, we'll be celebrating the birth of our Savior as a family ... praying together, going to midnight Mass as a family, exchanging gifts and eating healthy, whole food meals around our table. We'll keep a toasty fire going in the pot-bellied stove, and I'll keep a kettle of hot cocoa made from raw milk on for the kids.

I'm already thinking ahead to the holidays, so I wrote a series of eHow articles about Christmas gifts. I hope these simple articles will give you some ideas for your holidays.

First, you'll need a good Christmas Budget. Then it time to start making, baking and shopping!

• Inexpensive Christmas Gifts
• Good Gifts for Guys for Christmas
  
• Christmas Gifts for Mom
• Gifts for a Writer

While many people prefer to make their own gifts, some enjoy shopping and even splurging for holiday giving, so I included both ends of the spectrum in my articles. Don't forget to wrap your gift elegantly for the best presentation. What's on your Christmas list this year?

A Spring Cleaning Schedule that Works

Why waste the gorgeous weather cleaning? Of course, I want a clean and tidy house, but I also want to garden, chat with neighbors and go for a walk in the beautiful warm sunshine. I've learned that a simple spring cleaning schedule goes a long way to simplifying my semi-annual deep cleaning day. Plan a spring cleaning schedule that works for you and save time sprucing up your house this spring ... so you can get outside and enjoy life.

To start your spring cleaning schedule, make a list of the chores you need to accomplish. Divide them realistically among those on your team – hopefully, the whole family is pitching in.

A typical spring cleaning chore list includes:

• Walls cleaned and dusted
• Floors scrubbed, carpets cleaned, hardwood waxed

• Windows cleaned, inside and out

• Closets organized

• Air vents, heat sources dusted

• Stoves polished

• Appliances scrubbed

• Water filters, air filters changed

• Curtains and window treatments cleaned

Assign each chore a day, working around each person's daily activities as needed.

Transfer the Official Spring Cleaning Schedule to a calendar page (you can find printable planner calendar pages online for free) in a prominent location. Make sure everyone is aware of the chore calender.

A few Spring Cleaning Schedule Tips:

• Be Realistic. If your time is limited each day, be happy to accomplish one main chore.

• Stay on Task. Organizing the closet should not result in hours spent looking through old pictures, unless that's part of your goal for the day.

• De-clutter as you go. The less clutter you keep, the less stuff you have to keep clean and the tidier your house will look.

I'm actually looking forward to drawing up my spring cleaning schedule this year. I have a new house to tackle and clutter to kiss goodbye. Even my most-loathed chore, cleaning the windows, doesn't intimidate me as much this spring.

So ... what tasks are on your spring cleaning schedule this year?

Grocery Coupons ... Again

When my son, now 5, was a baby, I used grocery store coupons to save tons of money on my grocery bill each week. It was not uncommon for my receipt to go from $300 (before sales and coupons) to less than $100 after the savings.

However, I have to admit that what we ate was not always the healthiest choices. But since I could get certain frozen processed foods for free ... well, I bought them.

Now that we have changed our eating habits to embrace natural, organic and traditional foods, I actually buy much of our food through a local natural food co-op and from local farmers. We get our milk from a local Amish family and our most recent side of beef is from a small rancher in nearby Maryland.

However, I still make my way into the grocery store, for a smaller set of purchases than before, about once every two weeks. I buy some organic and natural foods, as well as household goods and things we've run out of from our other sources.

As many others in America are doing as we face a recession, I'm watching my money more carefully. It's not going as far these days, and I have to make every dollar count. I was please to see that The Coupon Clippers website is still offering a simple service: clipped individual manufacturer's grocery coupons, mailed directly to your door.

Rather than spending $2 on a Sunday paper that only has a few coupons you'll use, go to The Coupon Clippers and buy the quantity of each coupon you want. I recently ordered 20 Daisy brand sour cream coupons and several for household goods. Since I'll save over $20 from the coupons, the couple dollars I spent was well worth it. And I didn't even have to pick up my scissors.

I've Started Seeds for the Spring!

My friend Erika very generously shared her bounty of new seeds with me. She went all out with her order -- herbs, vegetables, squash, fruit ... and with the seeds, she gave me an excitement for spring. I am looking forward to the warmth and sunshine, and having my little seedlings already coming up makes me very happy.

As I planted the seeds (thyme, lavender, eggplant and few other early varieties) I documented it for the purpose of making a how-to video for a website I write articles for. I'm including it here as well... my first Blogger video.



Because we have very rocky, clay soil that is hard to cultivate, I will be primarily a container gardener this year. I am also going to make a couple raised beds for the squash and eggplants, that like to spread out with crawling vines. But the tomatoes and herbs will sit in large pots on my deck, a few steps away from my kitchen and ready to be harvested fresh for the night's salad.