It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:
Hi Mavis. I have been a Looong time follower of yours and I miss some of the old posts. I don’t know how far back you have archived. I loved your old posts about the teen birthday parties where you gave out shampoo as party favors. And the frozen t-shirt races. I work in a middle school and can see this as a hysterical gift. Wish I could go back and re read some of those golden oldies.
~Laura
Ahhh, The Frozen T-Shirt Game! So much fun! I miss those crazy teenagers! Lucky for you I have all of my old posts archived. You should be able to find them by typing in whatever term you’re looking for in the search box in the top right hand corner. To find that post, I simply searched “teenager party” and it pulled it up. Hope that helps!
My daughter and I are getting a new puppy (Cockapoo) mid-January. What are your best tips on raising a puppy, puppy proofing (the house), puppy training, etc. We are total “newbies.” Thanks and love ya Mavis, your blog rocks and always brings a smile to my day. Thank you!
~Beth
When we got Lucy a few years back, we were rookies, too. We had no idea what we were doing. Since we only have that one experience, I’m no expert, but I learned a few things. At the beginning, we would take her outside every 2 hours, then bring her in and play for about 15 minutes. We were told to crate train her for the first couple of weeks so she could get a routine down and to help potty train her.
We’d place her “reward snack” in her open crate and hang out with her for a few more minutes until she settled in. After that we closed the crate door and she took a nap. We initially kept the crate in the office where at least one of was during the day. We did get her a proper doggie bed, but we were told the crate training method, when done properly, is more of a “happy place” for the dog. If and when they need to be transported {to the vet or on a plane} they won’t freak out because the crate is a familiar place to them.
Hopefully some experienced readers can chime in! Good luck and enjoy your new pup!
Netflix recently released a documentary called “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things.” I just finished watching it and I think you will love it!
~Mona
This minimalist would love that. Added to my list. Thanks for sharing! P.S. It’s free on Netflix right now.
I came across an idea that started saving me money immediately! I recently moved into a new house. The backyard had old dead solar lights around the pool. I decided to go purchase some new ones. As I was assembling them to stick out in my yard, I had an Ah Ha moment…what if I take them and put them in the sun to charge them up, then bring them in, in the evening. I’ll have light all evening long!
I first did this in my master bath so I wouldn’t trip in the middle of the night. Then I put some around the rest of my house. I now, very rarely use my regular lights at night. I also figured out another thing. I flip a mason jar upside down and put a solar light under it facing up. I disperses the light all over the room.
Finally, I have several windows that face south. I put solar lights on top of mason jars and put them in my window sills. Now, every day they charge during the day and at night I have light without having to do anything! Unfortunately, all the rest of my lights I have to take outside each day to charge them back up, but still, they work great and save me lots on my electric bill!
~Jim
This is an AMAZING idea. Brilliant! A little work for a whole lot of savings. That is so awesome. Thanks so much for sharing!! I happen to know of some lovely flamingo solar lights that would look mighty adorable in my house! 🙂
Hi Mavis! Thank you for all you do for your blog! It is absolutely my favorite blog. I have a question for you… or am looking for some advice. This year I really want to grow a significant part of our produce for my family of 8. We have always had a garden, but it has been hit or miss in terms of output. So my questions: how do I even know how much to plant? How do I help increase production? What are your best suggestions and advice tips on really ramping up production? I am the type of person that needs a plan to work with.
My ultimate goal is to grow enough to eat fresh and preserve our fruits and vegetables each year. We have quite a few blueberry bushes, and I plant garlic and ‘potato’ onions… but the rest seem to just flop each year. Thanks for your help!
~ Delores
When I set out to grow 2,000 lbs of food in my backyard a few years ago, I read THIS BOOK first. I highly recommend it. This really comes down to how much space you have, time do you want to invest and money are you willing to spend on seeds and supplies! I used 16 raised garden beds, a greenhouse, a raspberry patch and a few more planting beds sprinkled throughout our property. I invested a LOT of time and over $500, but the rewards I reaped more than made up for it!
I say, if you have the space, utilize every last bit of it. You can read my guides for tips on hundreds of produce items. Check out my Growing Guides and get all sort of tips and help on growing all sorts of fruits & veggies. That should help a little. Good luck with your garden. I LOVED having a large one!
Have a question for me? Submit them HERE and I’ll try to answer them.
~Mavis
Jeanie says
Puppy Training. I have a few tips as I have two well trained black labs and have had many dogs over my lifetime.
First, I am a firm believer in tether training. Basically for the first few weeks, when you are home, you attach puppy to your belt loop with a leash. Where you go, pup goes and where pup goes, you go. This way you will be able to catch puppy before an accident occurs and remove pup to the proper potty spot. I have never had to do this more than a couple weeks and have had great success with dogs that are absolutely House broken with nary an accident.
Second, I have always crate trained my pups but have to admit that by the time they are big dogs, no crate is big enough for them to move around comfortably and I don’t really care where they sleep at night. The older dog usually sleeps in our bedroom and the younger one downstairs.
Third, always remember that a well exercised dog is a tired dog. Most dogs need a lot of walking and play time to keep them out of mischief.
Good luck with your pup! My dogs are a huge part of my enjoyment of life.
eliz says
Solar lights. Great idea! I don’t have any. Would love a link for the solar lights Jim puts under mason jars.
Delores says
Thanks, Mavis!
ann in E. oregon says
LOVE, love, love the solar light idea, Jim! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Gayle Tompkins says
Could you find out how Jim anchors the solar light in the cannng jar? Mine have little plastic stems that I have now way to remove! Thanks!
Teresa says
I too have trained many dogs with crate training. The crate is their “safe place” nothing bad can ever happen in the crate. I added a ‘tap-tap’ to the top of the crate each time my dogs went in to receive their treat. Now all it takes is the ‘tap-tap’ and in they go treat or no treat. NEVER yell at your dog and place them in the crate for punishment. It is their safe place. They can go in when stressed about strangers, fireworks or ‘the unknown’ and know nothing bad will happen while crated. My kids and I learned this technique through 4-H training. If you have a local 4-H, might be worth checking out. Good luck!
Peggy Ann in CT says
I watched the minimalism documentary last week. It was a great kick start to my goals this year to purge more and be content with less. I hope by getting rid of the chaos around me it will help me calm the chaos in my head.
Hoping for you Mavis, your readers, my family and myself that good things come our way in 2017.
Connie says
Don t use yard solar lights…..for a few dollars you can get small solar lanterns that can hang and are very bright. Use for camping too.
Heather in Idaho says
Where can I purchase solar lanterns for a good price? Thanks!
K says
Depending on how much light you want, Dollar Tree has them sometimes. I don’t think they would be real bright but ok for a night light
Carrie says
I adopted a 6 week old Australian Cattle Dog puppy last August. She is now 6 months old. I crate trained her so my house wouldn’t be ruined then I came home. She sleeps in her crate at night too and will put herself to bed when she’s tired. My advice is to stick to a schedule as best you can. We walk every weekday morning and she will pester me if I am lazy and want to sip coffee in my PJs on the weekend. I usually make it up to her by going somewhere different for a walk or on a long car ride 🙂
When my Ellie was 6-12 weeks old she needed to go potty every 30-60 minutes when I was home (although she never went in her crate). I was constantly taking her out but she wasn’t having any accidents. Don’t ever punish for accidents either but praise and give treats when pottying outside. Ellie now will “go potty” on cue since I repeated my phase while she peed and gave her a treat.
Ellie is still a chewer and will destroy any shoe, sock, gadget charger, wool blanket (the most expensive ruined item to date) that is left out. She will even chew on my door mats. You have to be good about putting your things away or they will be discovered. I give her a variety of chew bones/treats/toys to satiate that need. She likes bully sticks, raw bones, Himalayan cheese chews (last a long time!!), Zukes Z-bones, and is mildly interested in a sheep horn and cow hoof. She never liked the Nylabone chews that my vet recommended but I hear some puppies love them.
If your puppy ends up being hyper active I suggest making your dog work for their meal. I use a Kong Wobbler and it’s a dream. Ellie bats and noses it around to get her meal out. It keeps her busy while I cook and eat my dinner. I also use the regular stuffable Kongs with some food and peanut butter in them when I run out of chew bones and need her busy. Ellie just got a Jolly Ball for Christmas – it’s a hard plastic ball that won’t deflate. She herds it around the house and yard. It’s been an amazing source of entertainment!
Do not neglect to socialize your puppy with other dogs and all kinds of people. Find a friend, family member or neighbor with a well bahaved dog and have the dogs visit weekly. I take Ellie over to my mother’s on a weekly play date with her dog. I met a neighbor who likes to walk her dog and sees the benefit of having a “pack walk” every now and then. We just stated a puppy class at PetCo which is great for socializing and learning new commands and tricks.
Puppies are fun but a lot of work. Good luck!
Leslie says
Whoa- can we talk about the solar light idea some more? What a game changer! I love this idea and I’m going to share it with my penny-pinching sister!
Heather in Idaho says
Another wonderful book that helped me get started many years ago when I moved to the Seattle area is Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, by Steve Solomon. The newest edition is the most accurate.
Thanks for the John Jeavons tip, he’s great too!
Connie says
Solar lanterns I got were fron Amazon . About 6 inches tall but very bright.
NCJill says
The Nesting Place (on special deal through Kindle) is AWESOME, especially if you need help with decorating and are a novice like me. Myquillan (The Nester) is a friend of mine but I would highly recommend her book even if she weren’t.
Kathie S. says
Puppies need a schedule and stick with it to house train them. I would also recommend seeing if your local community center or parks & rec offers puppy/dog training. The classes are often reasonably priced and teach you the basics. Our trainer was great and offered many tips as we trained our puppy. Good luck!
Katherine says
New puppies are a joy! That being said, I highly recommend puppy training classes at Petco or PetSmart. They are beneficial to both pup and owner and encourages bonding. I’d never survive my 5 dogs without training. My dogs sit and wait for us to “release” them to eat, I can’t imagine the chaos if they had not been taught this. All of mine were crated only until they were housebroken. Having a fenced backyard and doggie door is also a big plus.
Alicia says
I LOVED following your posts as you grew 2,000 lbs of food in your backyard! That was so much fun and I learned a ton. I’m planning on weighing and keeping track of everything I grow this year so that I can better plan in the years to come just how many plants I need to start to get the amount of food I want/need. Up until now I’ve just indulged my addiction to tomato plants and then filled the remaining space with a little of this and a little of that. haha! Hopefully being more intentional will help me reduce my grocery bills!
Sharon says
Mavis: Could you sometime speak to the subject of container gardening? While in the past I gardened as you did (in the backyard) I presently live in an apartment with only a balcony to “farm”, as well as an Aerogarden for growing herbs, etc. I think it is important to raise as much food as possible, and have purchased the tools to do so (GrowBoxes, seeds, etc). What is most perplexing is 1) when to plant, 2) how much to water, and 3) how to space seeds or transplants, recognizing that containers have special needs. Any wisdom you could impart would be gratefully received! Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes! I will work on a post.