• The Nuclear Family
    • Kids and Family
    • Mothering
    • Marriage
    • Neighboring
  • Self-Sufficiency
    • Hunting
    • Foraging
    • Self-sufficiency
  • Money-Saving
  • Side Hustles
    • Facebook Marketplace
  • Productivity
  • In The Kitchen
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Side dishes
    • Snacks
A Productive Household

A Productive Household

Recovering the family that creates value together

  • Blog
  • About
  • Shop
  • Contact

About Us

Tweet
Share
Pin
0 Shares

Hey there! Thanks so much for joining us and for checking out the about us page! We’re a family living in mid-Michigan. We spend our days raising our kiddos and enjoying the good gift of work and productivity–both inside the home and out.

Why ‘A Productive Household’?

As a family, we’re grateful for the opportunity to produce value – especially when we get to do so together. We’re on a mission to continually transform our home into a place of value, productivity, life, action, and connection.

We’ve felt discontented with the norm of how society sees the home. Sadly, the outside of the home is often seen as no more than simply a status symbol. The inside is merely a place to take respite from daily mundane labor, satiate the desire to overindulge in any comfort that will distract from real life, and bide time before the cycle of work begins again the next day. Because of this, individuals and families end up bored and lacking direction. They miss out on enjoying the family and the good gifts given by God.

In the fourth commandment, we are told to rest from our labors one day in seven. The implication of this is that the other six days are given to us that we should work.

Work is a natural, necessary, and even morally good part of the creation order. It is not a result of the fall that we must work. Even before the fall, Adam and Eve were told to work the earth and to subdue it. The difference now is that post-fall, we labor and eat by “the sweat of [our] brow” (Gen 3:19).

About Us – What We Believe

We believe that the family unit is a vital part of a productive society. The family was designed to work together to create value, subdue the earth, and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The home is where this starts!

We approach this issue (and all others) from a distinctively Christian worldview within the confessionally Reformed and Presbyterian tradition. This is an implicit part of how we discuss and think through the concept of a productive household. If you find yourself here without sharing that worldview, we hope that, by God’s common grace, you can still glean helpful insights into making your home a center of productivity and value.

What To Expect From Us

We know what it’s like to feel frustrated by a home that seems directionless or a family that feels like it’s constantly in the midst of a rat race. That’s why we’re striving to migrate our lives closer to the home and family.

The ways in which we write about having a productive household are somewhat broad in scope. From everyday recipes to practical tips on how to make and save money at home, we hope that the things we’ve found helpful for our family will be helpful for yours.

By no means have we ‘arrived’. On the contrary, there are so many things we wish to learn and grow in at home related to raising a family, producing food, generating income through our home, and balancing our leisure with our work. However, there are many ideas and concepts we’ve come to utilize that we feel can be helpful for others pursuing the same goals we seek to achieve. This blog is an attempt to share those ideas, concepts, tips, and tricks we’ve learned thus far in our mission to be A Productive Household.

Tweet
Share
Pin
0 Shares

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

We’re glad you’re here!

Hello! We’re the Finches. We’re here to share what our family is learning about using our time to create value through the homefront. Join us!

You can read more about us here.

never miss a post!

By subscribing to our newsletter, you consent to receive new post updates and occasional promotional emails related to our company.

Latest on Instagram

aproductivehousehold

aproductivehousehold
The other day, I spent the afternoon making yogurt The other day, I spent the afternoon making yogurt and baby food and homemade lemonade while listening to @dr.ashleyturner , and I couldn't help thinking about what a gift it is to be constantly learning.

Especially during this time of year, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by how MANY opportunities there are. There is so much that I could learn, cook, preserve, do. So many people offering free vegetables that I could do something with. 😂

But time and resources are limited, and that is okay! It’s okay to say no to things that may be good but not BEST.

I’d love to make pickles, but there are other foods that my family eats more and would be a better use of my time. 

I’d love to grow all the fall crops, but I don’t have the space or time.

I’ve become totally okay with saying no to some opportunities and not feeling guilty. There are always more opportunities to learn and grow. 

Do the next thing and keep learning a little each year!

#aproductivehousehold #homemadebabyfood #homemadeyogurt #foodpreservation #onethingatatime
10-MINUTE DATE ENERGY BARS I'm always looking for 10-MINUTE DATE ENERGY BARS

I'm always looking for healthy snacks that we can take in the car or that I can feed to the kids quickly without making a mess (or with minimal mess at least). 

I made these date bars the other day with some of our favorite ingredients, and they were so easy. I actually made them out of slight desperation and laziness because I was so tired of rolling peanut butter energy bites into balls. (Does anyone else make these and extremely dislike a bunch of messy, sticky peanut butter on your hands?)

Anyway, I wanted to share the recipe with you here!

10-MINUTE DATE ENERGY BARS 

Ingredients:

1 cup dates
1/2 cup apricots
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup walnuts
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon

To make:

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse
2. Line a 9" x 9" pan with parchment paper
3. Press mixture into pan to form into a square
4. Lift parchment paper out of pan to cut energy bars
5. Store cut bars in a plastic container in the refrigerator (use strips of parchment paper between the layers to prevent sticking to each other)

That's it! Let me know if you try them!

I also posted this on the blog with more ingredient ideas. I love that you can totally use whatever ingredients you have or like best, just as long as there's enough dried fruit to make them really stick together.

https://aproductivehousehold.com/10-minute-date-energy-bars-no-sugar-added

#dateenergybars #nosugaraddedsnacks #healthysnacksforkids #healthysnacks #homemadesnacks #datebars #energybars #easysnacks
"Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for a "Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."

from A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Our green beans were struggling this year, so we started a few more a week or so ago. They're growing well, so hopefully we get some green beans after all!

What part of your garden is doing the best? Did anything you planted not work out this year?

#longfellow #poetry #aproductivehousehold #planting
I am too excited about these pillow covers. I've I am too excited about these pillow covers.

I've been wanting to replace our old, non-matching throw pillows for months (years?), but geez, pillows are expensive! And that's just not something I was excited to spend money on.

Instead, I found the simplest, most forgiving way to make throw pillow covers. I literally forgot my measuring tools in the kids' rooms while they were asleep and eyeballed the cuts on a bunch of these, and they still turned out great. 

And the best part was that I made all 7 of them for about $20 total! 

They were so easy and so fast and so cheap, and I am way too stoked on throw pillow covers now.

Here's the pattern if you want to make any yourself! ⬇️

https://aproductivehousehold.com/how-to-make-pillow-covers-without-a-zipper

(or just click the link in our bio)

#diythrowpillowcovers 
#diypillowcovers 
#nozipperpillowcovers #envelopepillowcovers 
#envelopethrowpillows
#handsewnpillowcovers #aproductivehousehold
#homemakingonabudget
We’re out in the country enough that we have no We’re out in the country enough that we have no phone service or internet when we’re in our yard.

I love being able to go outside with the kids and not have to even think about my phone going off. It feels so great to be able to just play with them and not be interrupted by notifications, and the kids definitely feel the difference too.

What do you find are some of the best techniques for using your phone as a tool versus a constant distraction during the day? 

I’ve been working on being very intentional about what I’m doing; only getting on when I have a good reason (though this does not always happen). Also, leaving it in one spot until I really need it rather than carrying it around the house.

Anything else that works really well for you?
DIY Outdoor Play Area (swipe to see the 'before' DIY Outdoor Play Area

(swipe to see the 'before' pic)

We really wanted to create a play area that would make mowing around the swing set easier and make the yard look a little bit neater. 

Unfortunately, most of the designs for play areas similar to what we wanted either cost a lot or were super time consuming. We got this play set for free last summer, so making a big investment in the wood chips underneath it was not on our priority list. Haha.

However, Garrett figured out a way to make this in half a Saturday for about $50! Pretty exciting stuff, honestly. 

It's kept the weeds out, looks so much better, and makes mowing a ton easier. 

We shared on the blog exactly how we did it and what materials we used. Link in bio!

#diyplayarea #outdoorplayarea #cheapplayareaforkids
Load More Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Anchored Theme on Genesis Framework · Privacy Policy · WordPress · Log in