Category Archives: Blogging

Family Comes First

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My complete lack of blogging for about a week has probably left some of you wondering if I am OK.  I am absolutely fine but have busy with other facets of my life.

Last weekend my mother spent the weekend with us.  Whilst this is not unusual, we had a weekend full of activity although it was limited somewhat by the heavy rain (190mm or almost 8 inches) on Friday and Saturday.  We managed to dodge the worst of the rain when we went to the local Agricultural Show.  There was dairy cattle judging to see, poultry breeds to check out, gorgeous alpacas and one of my favourites – the wood-chopping events.  We spent a lot of time viewing the various fine arts and crafts and also the produce section.

The washing doesn’t end just because it rains for a few days but it does become a more challenging task.  Hanging it on an airer in front of the fire meant that I just put a few things in the dryers for a short time to finish them off.

I cooked and prepared food for meals on the weekend and also for future meals and snacks.  Cooking from scratch really does give you an appreciation for the food you eat when you know the time and effort that has gone into the preparation.  I made pastry (and a steak and kidney bean pie), Lemon Delicious, pasta (to freeze) , orange and poppyseed muffins and pumpkin scones.  The Duke squeezed a bucketful of oranges from the tree and made bread.

There was plenty of time for relaxation, too.  We played several games of Scrabble and learned lots of new words in the process.

Then it was back to work on Monday and for the last couple of days I have been staying with Belle and help to look after Miss O and Izz before and after daycare while Belle has done some extra work.

I will be home tomorrow and get back into blogging in earnest.  Thank you for staying around – there will be some interesting posts and photos coming up.

What has your week been like?

Project 333 – The Ripple Effect

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I have been contemplating what to write tonight when it occurred to me that reducing the clothes that I wear for the next 3 months to just 33 items is really the tip of the iceberg.

The concept of living with less stuff can be applied to many other areas of your life.

I find myself thinking critically about all of my stuff and wondering what we really need and how much is enough.  The concept of enough is an interesting one and it is very personal.  Each individual’s circumstances and experiences can lead to very different ideas of enough.  It is important to find what is right for you.  Books, backpacks, pens, CDs, glassware are all on my radar.  I may not actually get rid of anything but I am certainly giving thought to our needs.

In the meantime, back to Project 333.  Here are some other blog posts about the project.  If you find any others that interest you, please add them in the comments.

Crosswalk

Zero Waste Home

Chi Garden

Project 333

The Gardener’s Cottage

Thank You & Snippets

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I cannot reply to all of your individual comments but please be assured I read them all and am touched by your support and kind wishes.  Thank you for taking the time to comment and I am looking forward to a fabulous second year of blogging at Organised Castle.

Things are pretty quiet here on the home front as I have been busy working.  However, by having the house reasonably decluttered and keeping things simple it is ticking along well.  We had a simple but delicious meal tonight – grilled salmon with lime and sea salt on potato mash with peas, carrots and broccoli.

We have also started some preliminary holiday planning for later in the year but more on that another day.

The decluttering continues – every day I usually manage to move at least one thing into the op shop bag.  I have 2 bags full to drop off tomorrow when I go into town to pick up some supplies.

Til next time.

Time to Celebrate

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It is one year ago today that I started writing this blog.  I am really pleased that I have managed to stick at it for a whole year.  It is due, in no small part, to my dear readers.

Your regular visits that keep that little stat counter ticking over, the thoughtful comments and the inherent knowledge that there is someone out there in cyberspace waiting to read the next installment of my ramblings are the things that inspire me to write another post.

The stat counter is about to hit its own milestone.  By this time tomorrow the will be 20,000 hits.

The WordPress platform has proved to be much more to my liking than Blogger which I used for my previous couple of short-lived blogging attempts.  I know that many bloggers of long-standing use Blogger but I am happier with WordPress.

Speaking of WordPress, they have just introduced statistics by country which is very interesting.  I knew I had some readers from the USA but have discovered that I have had visitors from no less than 36 countries!  WOW!  Please introduce yourself and where you are from.

Finally, although he has no idea idea who I am, I must also thank Bryan Allain for his book, “31 Days To Finding Your Blogging Mojo”.  This little volume which I downloaded to my Kindle helped me to understand why I was writing this and what I wanted to achieve.

I will continue to write and hope that you will continue to read and join me on my journey to a simpler, more sustainable and organised life which leaves space for the things I really love and value.

Until tomorrow.

Pinterest – Friend or Foe?

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I am probably way behind the times but about a month ago I took a look at the latest phenomenon sweeping the online world – Pinterest.  I became aware of it because of several threads about it on the forum of Simple Savings.  I had a browse and I just didn’t get what all the hype is about.  I discarded any ideas of Pinterest as an inane waste of time with no redeeming features.  I thought nothing more about it until I stumbled across 2 blogs in the last week.

Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist took a close, first-hand look and came up with this post about the pros and cons of Pinterest.

Yesterday, one of the ‘Freshly Pressed’ featured blogs on WordPress was from Never Contrary about the same subject.

Please read these links as I think they probably put their thoughts far more eloquently than I will but here are my thoughts on Pinterest:

It can be addictive – this is almost the first comment from anyone who has joined.
The concept feeds unrealistic aspirations and can easily promote jealousy and envy.
It is an insidious form of clutter.
There could be serious legal implications.
It promotes consumerism and the acquisition of stuff.
Like everywhere else on the internet the advertisers are tracking your every move.

I have not joined and do not envisage being sucked into this unrealistic, time-wasting world of pinning.  The blogs I have linked to have helped to crystallise my views.  I would rather be creating something of value in my own home than be living vicariously through random images on the internet.

Have you joined Pinterest?  What are your thoughts?

 

Space When You Need It

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I have previously written about the benefits of living with less.  By having less stuff in our homes we immediately benefit by having less maintenance – less washing, less dusting, less cleaning and so on.

Doing less allows us more time and freedom to choose what we do with that time.  This can be time to volunteer, exercise or indulge a variety of passions.

Sometimes things that are completely out of your control happen that require time and attention from you at relatively short notice.  This has happened to me and I have been able to easily adjust my schedule to accommodate these changes.

It made me think how much more stressful these situations would be if my days were completely crammed with commitments and I had to struggle with finding the time for important things that require my attention.

Do you have spaces available and what would you do?

As an aside, I will try to maintain my blogging routine but please bear with me if there are some interruptions to the regular service.

Are You Hiding?

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Slowly but surely more of you are choosing to follow this blog.  Some I know through your blogs but others of you remain a mystery.

Then there are those of you who are not followers – please consider subscribing.  To subscribe you can just click the button ‘Sign Me Up’ on the right hand side of the blog.

The best part of the blog is being able to have a conversation with you about topics that are raised and share ideas.

So, my challenge for you today is to post a short comment and introduce yourself.  Information you could share may be:

  • How you found this blog
  • Your location (in general terms)
  • Ideas for future posts
  • Your interests

I look forward to hearing from you and creating a dynamic community where we can learn and share.

What are you waiting for?  Just click on ‘Leave a Comment’. 🙂