August | 2022 | organised castle

The title of this post may sound ridiculous but I am truly very happy with my laundry and the functionality of it.

Here is a photo I took the other day.

The hanging rail is perfect for hanging shirts both before and after ironing. I also use it to hang wet washing during rainy weather when I use the dehumidifier in this room to dry the washing.

The bench is used for folding clothes as well as sorting washing to go in the machine. It is also where we polish our shoes.

The metal multi-peg hanger is handy for drying rewashed plastic bags, cleaning cloths and other small items.

The grey corrugated hose is an extension which we can add to the outlet hose of the washing machine to direct grey water onto the garden. We live in a high rainfall area so this is not often required, however, we do have periods of dry weather. Rainwater tanks are our only source of water so we do watch our consumption.

As well the cupboards below the bench there is a tall cupboard on the left-hand side of the photo. These contain the dehumidifier, vacuum cleaner, brooms, cleaning supplies and laundry hampers. All are within easy reach.

Today I have made leek and potato soup. It is winter here in Australia and although we live in a relatively mild climate there is something appealing about a pot of homemade soup on a damp, grey day.

There are plenty of recipes on the internet for leek and potato soup but this is my version.

LEEK & POTATO SOUP

Ingredients

1 medium/large leek
3 medium/large potatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon vegetable stock powder
1 teaspoon dried celery leaves
1 teaspoon rosemary salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1.5 litres water

Method

Wash and thinly slice the leek. Heat oil in a large pot and saute the leek. Stir constantly to avoid it browning. When the leek is soft, add 1 litre of water and the stock powder and other seasonings. Simmer gently.

Meanwhile, peel and dice the potato. Microwave until tender. Reserve about 1/3 of the potato cubes and add the rest to the soup and continue simmering for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. I use a handheld blender for this. Roughly mash the remaining potato and stir into the soup. Add more water to create desired consistency. Check and adjust seasoning as required.

NOTES:

Be extremely careful when blending hot soup.

You may choose more, less or different seasoning to what I have used.

I make the rosemary salt by stripping the leaves from the stems, dehydrating them and then grinding to a powder which I mix 50/50 with a good quality salt.

Soup simmering.