I'm a little bit of a fire-bug. We have a huge fire pit outside with a big burn cage and a fireplace in the house. I'm forever burning something. There is only 1 thing I don't like to burn and that is fire-starters. Well, not really all fire starters....it's the boxed ones we buy in the store that I hate to use. I just don't get it.

Why do I want to buy something just to burn it? I just see it as burning money! My husband loves the things and always tells me "just put a fire starter in there" as I struggle to light the fire, ripping up newspaper and cardboard to try and get things going. *sigh* It's a problem, really.

Truthfully, all that paper and cardboard isn't that good for the chimney. Apparently it burns at too low of a temperature and can contribute to buildup in the chimney. Those guys are expensive when they come out to clean the chimney! So it's best I burn as little paper as possible.

Make your own fire starters

I think I have it figured out though. I made my own fire starters! I used dollar store cotton pads and the wax I was going to throw away from the wax burner. You know how you use wax melts and after awhile they stop smelling? That's the old wax I used for this project! 

I also added the scrapings from some container candles that were too low to burn anymore. I put that concoction in a glass baking cup, melted it, dipped the pads and voila! They don't smell fancy, but they get the job done.

Growing Cat Grass

I was in the pet store the other day and saw some pots of "cat grass". They were $4 each. I looked inside the pots and read the labels. There was no dirt. It was nothing but wheat seeds growing in there (the label even said so!) Now I ask you, how is this worth $4? It's not! You can do it much cheaper. Growing cat grass is super easy to do, plus your cat will love it!

Of course if you want to grow cat grass for your cats you should probably go the whole nine yards and get a cute pot and put some dirt in there so it grows longer. It's still going to be cheaper than the stuff at the pet store, and will probably last longer.

Cats naturally like to nibble on greens. Growing your own cat grass keeps them from going after your house plants which may be toxic. According to Purina cats eat grass for the nutrients, laxative properties or to relieve an upset stomach. Providing cat grass keeps them from getting outside to get at regular grass which may have been treated with chemicals.

Growing herbs indoors

I love fresh herbs. I use them for food and medicine. I just can't bear to be without fresh herbs in winter so I always have a bunch of different herbs growing in my house. It just makes sense to have herbs growing right inside my kitchen where I'll be using them, right? The kitchen is the perfect place to grow herbs since it's often warm, generally has high humidity and is right where you'll be using the herbs! The only other thing you need is a sunny window.

There are at least 11 medicinal herbs that grow well indoors, and plenty more culinary ones, so it's not hard to find herbs that do well indoors even in winter. I am such an outdoors 'always in the garden' person that winter is the hardest for me and I just have to grow some plants indoors. 

Plus you can't beat the taste of fresh grown herbs when cooking!

One of the great thing about growing herbs indoors is that they can be grown hydroponically or traditionally and they taste exactly the same!