Welcome to Homestead Sunday, where we share what we have learned, what we do on a regular basis, and what projects we are building, rebuilding or working on. Who are we? We are a three generation family living on six acres in South Eastern Texas.
And while we have only been in Texas a short time three years, we have had the homestead mentality while living the lifestyle for quite a few more. Starting out with our time living in Montana. And, although we are not experts in any way, I hope that what we share with you with this series is helpful, as well as inspirational for you and your own homestead journey. Or even with your own home and yard in the suburbs. Because to homestead is an much an action as it is a lifestyle.
Surprising Uses for Steel Wool...for Homestead Sunday.
A pad of steel wool used to sit on the side of the sink right by
the bottle of dish soap in many kitchens, when I was a girl. I would use it to scour a pan that had a bit of cooked on food, among other uses. Like scrub out the sink when the dishes were done. It would in time rust and be tossed out and a new pad of steel wool would be put in it's place. In time one manufacturer began soaking small round pads of steel wool with soap, to make scrubbing your pots and pans, easier. And to be honest steel wool was easy on the pan in the same way that a pad of steel wool is taken to a rusty tool in your shop. It cleans without taking off the surface of the item being scrubbed. And for the most part, steel wool is easy on your hands as well.
But I have another use for steel wool that I am sharing today
and it helps with bug and other critter control. During our years as National Park Service Volunteers we gathered a lot of good ideas and they were not just about travel, and how to make the most of it. We also had to learn the hard way about keeping bugs (and mice) out of our RV. Which as it turns out is still an issue here on our homestead. But trust me, this tip is quite helpful for your stick built home as well. Why? Well the truth is bugs and mice live everywhere. Even in cities and the neighborhoods, right where you live. I know they live in my neighborhood, because we live smack dab in the middle of almost six acres of trees and the perfect habitat for all the wild life in East Texas! With full time living in an RV increasing, I thought this would be a worthy piece of information to share.
We use steel wool to fill in any crevices where bugs and field mice
might easily enter. I do understand this is more of an issue in an RV than most stick built homes. But if you have an older home with a bit of settling, which is completely normal by the way. This tip may prove useful for you as well. All the areas under our sinks, have steel wool stuffed into any small space around the pipes and the hole drilled for the pipes. Especially the basement area of the RV! Where just to be extra diligent, I also have electric noise maker to keep them out. Here recently we had reason to do a bit of repair to our Tiny Home when the water heater sprang a leak and had to be replaced. After pulling back the floating vinyl floor in the kitchen area and letting the subfloor dry and inspect for damage (thankfully, none was present!), I did notice something....
The kitchen has a slide room that holds the propane stove and the refrigerator.
I am not certain why the construction is a bit different than the other slide rooms, possibly it is how the carpet is finished off. But it did not seal as tightly as I would have liked. So it was time to get out the steel wool and take up the slack between the slide room where it meets the kitchen floor. Come and take a look at how easy steel wool is to work with, for the record we had 004 size steel wool that we used for this project:
I removed the pads of steel wool from the package and began to unroll them.
I unrolled as many as I thought I might need.
On the long side, roll up jelly roll style into a cylinder.
Place sections of the rolled up steel wool along the edge of where you need to fill in the opening.
Cut any extra off or cut a specific piece the size you might need to finish out the job.
Simply use your hands to push the steel wool under the edge and take up the slack It is that easy!
And done! I did push it back far enough so the broom as well as the mop will not catch it and pull it out.
You may also enjoy: 
#wholefoodingredients
#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily
#HomesteadSunday!
Thanks
for stopping by!
We
offer new and delicious recipes as well as DIY ideas for your home, regularly.
Feel free to drop us an email request for any question or recipe you may be
looking for. In addition, like all our guests, we invite you to come for a
visit again and again for new recipes, and my down-home take on frugal ways to
keep your home in tip top shape.
Hey
you, don’t miss a post! Please consider following Scratch Made Food! & DIY
Homemade Household. To follow by email, and/or by RSS feed, complete the
application located on the right-hand side of the blog. Please Note,
some posts may contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting Scratch
Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household.
PS,
friends, and family who love good food and household ideas might love us too!
Tell them about us, and thanks for the referral!
You
may also enjoy, Creative
writing From the Heart... stories of life, living, and family.
Now, From the Heart Vol II can be found here.
Scratch
Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household proudly shares with these generous link
parties featured here.
