Category Archives: Homemaking

One Thing and Another

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The main bedroom and the guest bedroom have been pretty well arranged since we first moved in, however, the 3rd bedroom has not been quite so lucky. It has tended to become a repository for everything that is pending a permanent home in another part of the house, partly restored furniture, pictures that are yet to be hung and various things that we are looking to sell or give away.

When we assembled the restored chest of drawers for our bedroom (see previous blog post), I could actually see what else was in the 3rd bedroom. The temporary chest of drawers which had been a fixture in our walk-in wardrobe were now surplus to requirements. For a short while it looked as though they were going to end up, at least temporarily, in the 3rd bedroom.

Thankfully, GMan decided that he could use them for storage in the shed so we spent a full day moving and rearranging things in the shed. While the overall shed storage is still a work in progress, it was good to get the drawers in position and create some more functional storage. The tall cupboard was also relocated from our walk in wardrobe and repurposed a few months ago.

Meanwhile, I could then work on the pile of assorted shopping and saved bags. I managed to quite quickly change it from this:

To this.

They are sorted into the shopping bags I regularly use, extra tote bags, saved plastic bags and saved paper bags. I can now find exactly what I want at a glance.

On the floor of the cupboard are 3 spare plastic storage tubs. I previously had another 6 empty storage tubs. I had been given some and used them for packing when we moved and the previous owners had left a couple behind. I decided that I really did not need them all and was debating who might be able to use them. It was rather fortuitous that there is a Community Pantry being set up and they put out a call for lidded plastic tubs for storing some of the donated foodstuffs so I was delighted to be able to help out by giving them the ones I did not need. A couple of the tubs had no lids and they have also been given away.

I am pleased to have sorted another small space and rehomed a few items plus been able help out someone else.

Clothes Storage

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When we left Maleny we chose to sell 2 large vintage silky oak dressing tables with plenty of storage in drawers as well as a large cedar chest of drawers. We correctly surmised that these would neither suit nor fit in the bedroom of our new home.

We now have a large walk-in wardrobe which will be reduced in size somewhat when we eventually use part of that area to remodel and enlarge the butler’s pantry. After a bit of searching on Marketplace we found a long, low chest of drawers with a more modern profile. They had been given a fairly quick makeover but we decided to put our own touch on them. GMan completed all of the painting a couple of months ago but we had to wait about 6 weeks for the knobs that we ordered.

Yesterday we attached the knobs and completely reassembled the chest of drawers. I am so pleased to have these finished and the opportunity to finally arrange all of my clothes in some sort of order.

There is plenty of space for all of our clothes which are folded up apart from underwear and socks which are in the small bedside chests of drawers. They are the next thing on the restoration list as GMan intends to paint them white (top and sides) with navy drawer fronts to match the large set. You can see them in this photo.

Once we set up the lounge room with the new furniture, the cedar chest was relocated to the lounge room for use as a coffee table. You can see it here.

Another Week

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I was contemplating writing this post yesterday and the first step was to consider what I had actually done in the past week that was blogworthy. I have been neither particularly busy nor lazy but just meandering along.

On Thursday we went to Melbourne to see Tim Minchin. It was a terrific show and we made the most of the trip by going shopping during the day. It was mostly stocking up on some food as well as buying descaler for the coffee machine and getting a key cut. Saturday evening was more socialising as we went to see a local band at a small bar in our town.

In other shopping news, I stocked up on some bulk items. I have managed to arrange to collect bulk olive oil from the farm gate about 30km from where we live. We picked up 2 x 20 litre drums of new season organic olive oil which we share with several friends. It is an economical and efficient way of purchasing a premium local product.

My other purchases were online. I have previously bought all of my dishwashing and laundry cleaning products from Kin Kin Naturals, a family business located in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. As it was relatively close to where we lived previously, I was able to buy directly from the manufacturer. I decided it was time to research my options for these products and found that I could buy bulk quantities online from Australian Organics so I stocked up. This was an easy decision as they offered $9.50 flat rate shipping. I found that the shipping costs often make online shopping an uneconomic proposition so this was a great find.

I have also ordered a 15 litre drum of hair and body wash from Envirocare which should arrive in the next day or two. This is another product I am familiar with using and it makes sense to buy a substantial quantity in one go.

Why do I buy in bulk? There are several reasons that make sense to me. It saves time, money and packaging as well as protecting against supply chain issues. I know it is not for everyone as you need to have space to store the larger quantities as well as money available for the upfront costs associated with buying bulk amounts. These are a couple of the reasons that I am happy to share the olive oil with some like-minded local friends. Perhaps I will extend to co-operative buying approach to some of the other products as well.

Deconstructed and Reconstructed

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I knew that the collar of my rugby top was wearing out but when I was folding the washing I noticed that it was really in need of some repairs. The top is 24 years old but still in surprisingly good condition apart from the collar. It has faded but is excellent quality so I decided to replace the collar.

Past generations would have simply unpicked the collar from the collar stand before turning and reapplying it. Because it was so worn I chose to make a new collar using some remnants of a hotel-quality bed sheet which is a super strong cotton fabric.

As I was unpicking the collar it became obvious that the collar stand was also worn-out as it began to disintegrate. The job became a little more extensive. I had the collar made and decided I could go no further until I had bought some heavy cotton tape to replace that which had been used for the collar stand. Then I realised that it was just two narrow strips of strong cotton fabric so I could make my own by using strips of the same fabric as I was using for the collar.

I carefully pinned the collar stand to the neckline of the top and then attached the collar. I ended up with a functional garment sporting a brand new collar and I expect that I will get plenty more wear from it yet.

Meanwhile, I have been doing some other deconstruction. Apart from my stash of new fabric pieces, I also have numerous garments, which I have acquired from various sources, that I am planning to reuse the fabric. Here are 3 that I have unpicked, washed and ironed in preparation for making into new garments.

The blue piece was a wrap skirt which I rescued from an op shop discard destined for landfill. It is 100% rayon and I hope to make a pair of loose, lightweight trousers. The green is quite a heavy cotton brocade which was a skirt that belonged to my mother. I plan to make a top with it. Finally, the black and white spotted fabric is also a 100% rayon op shop discard. It was a fairly short shift dress which I am going to refashion into a top.

There are many ways to step away from fast fashion. Invest in quality items where possible, buy secondhand items, take care of the clothes you have to make them last longer, mend/repair existing clothes to extend their life and repurpose existing fabric to create new items. Not all of of us can do all of these things but everyone can do at least some of them. Together we can honour the time and resources required to create fabric and garments by making a stand against fast fashion and the disastrous contribution it makes to landfill and pollution.

Quinoa Tabouleh

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Today I am adding a new ‘recipe’ to the blog. It is tabouleh with a twist – made with quinoa rather than the traditional cracked wheat which makes it gluten free. The fresh, clean feel to this dish makes it perfect for summer meals. Unlike many salads, it can also be made a day ahead. In fact, I think making it beforehand allows the flavours to develop even more.

This is a rather loose interpretation of a recipe as the quantities are variable and can be adjusted according to taste.

The photo shows the tabouleh served with a piece a zucchini quiche for lunch.

QUINOA TABOULEH

Ingredients

1/2 cup tri-colour quinoa
2 cups water
1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
I cup curly leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 small cucumber, diced
1/4 red capsicum, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Ground black pepper
Salt

Method

Cook the quinoa in boiling water with stock powder added. Watch carefully and stir as required. Aim to absorb all of the liquid and not overcook the quinoa. Spread cooked quinoa on a tray, fluff with a fork and allow to cool thoroughly before adding the remaining ingredients and dressing.

From This……….To This

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It is just over 5 months since we moved into this house.

One of the first pictures was of our lounge. This was 6 days after the removalists placed the majority of things in this large front room.

It was the last room to be sorted out as we had no furniture for it apart from the already attached IKEA television cabinet and glass-fronted wall cabinets. We ordered furniture which had a lead time of nearly four months but it was worth the wait.

The room is very large – it was originally a double garage. Although we had some ideas about how to configure it, we were not prepared to make any firm decisions until we had the furniture for a little while to see how things worked.

After a month of using the room we decided to bite the bullet. Some of the contents of the glass-fronted cabinets has been relocated to the sideboard in the dining area. You can read about it in this post. The remaining items did not need 3 double-door cabinets so we kept two and sold the other one. We also decided to move the cabinets to another wall. This allowed the sofa to be positioned where the cabinets had been. This important as the wall where the blinds are is fully glass sliding doors and faces north. We want to keep the furniture away from that side of the room.

The single chairs are positioned facing the television which is the default position when there is just the two of us here. However, they can easily be moved so that they face the couch for a more cosy conversation space. Likewise, the cedar trunk can be repositioned between the seating as an occasional table.

Once the furniture was in place, we turned our attention to the artwork and hung them today. My final task is to source a floor lamp to go beside the glass-fronted cabinets. Back to Marketplace………… It may take time but I feel confident that I will find the statement piece that I have in mind.

The Mundane Stuff

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Apart from the one-off things like new-to-us furniture, there are lots of mundane tasks that are required to keep things ticking over smoothly.

When we moved in I unpacked the refrigerated items from our camp fridge into the existing refrigerator which we had purchased with the house. This was convenient as we had sold our refrigerator with our previous home. This one is a little different to what I was used to so the positioning of various items is somewhat different. Where everything belonged had just evolved without a great deal of thought.

Yesterday, I cleaned the interior of the fridge and rearranged things a bit more thoughtfully with respect to where, when and how often I use them.

There is plenty of space in the body of the refrigerator. The top shelf which is a bit high for me to easily reach is reserved for GMan stuff – sourdough starter, ground coffee, beer mugs and beer.

The right-hand door is my ‘go to’ space for milk, juice, assorted condiments and ingredients used regularly in meal preparation.

The left-hand side is mostly taken up by the reservoir for the chilled water/ice dispenser so a block of cheese and container of yeast are the only occupants.

I find that by keeping items in a logical and consistent location means that things are much less likely to be forgotten and end up being wasted.

As a result of tidying the refrigerator and refreshing my mind as to the contents, I was able to plan meals based on ingredients (particularly perishable ones) for several days.

While I gave up diligently menu-planning when I retired from paid employment, I still generally have a rough idea of meals for at least a few days. As well as using up ingredients it helps to ensure a balance of meat/vegetarian meals and also not having the same carbs for successive days.

The current plan looks like this:

Monday – Baked potatoes with refried beans, sauteed mushroom, onion and capsicum and coleslaw
Tuesday – Grilled sausages and vegetables with cheesy cauliflower sauce
Wednesday – Zucchini quiche and quinoa tabouli
Thursday – Stuffed capsicum with coleslaw
Friday – Chicken, mushroom and spinach pancakes

More Furniture

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Today I am able to unveil a piece of furniture which I first acquired several weeks ago. I had decided that I needed a piece of furniture to separate the dining area and casual sitting space. Of course, it also had to be functional. So, after a bit of searching I found an upcycled solid timber sideboard.

We collected the item and while the piece had been upcycled, it was not completely finished to my satisfaction. The top had been sanded back and was completely raw so I applied 3 coats of clear finish. I also needed some more matching paint to do a final coat on the rest of the sideboard.

Because I am using this as a room divider as well as for storage, the back of the sideboard needed to be finished as well as possible. As with the most furniture that is designed to go against a wall, the back of this piece is simply lightweight board which is stapled on. However, a couple of good coats of the dark paint is sufficient to make it satisfactory to face the casual sitting space.

The reason I chose this particular piece of furniture was that it would provide storage for the good crockery and glassware in close proximity to the dining area. The good cutlery as well as some platters and table mats are in the drawers.

Shopping for Summer

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We went into an op shop when we were out and about on Thursday as GMan was looking for a Pyrex casserole dish. He found this one which was marked as $5 but as a bonus there was 50% off all glass and kitchenware so $2.50 was an absolute bargain.

Meanwhile I thought I would cast a quick look over the clothes to see if anything caught my eye. I was in luck as I found three pieces – a top, a dress and a scarf.

The top is perfect in every respect. It fits perfectly, a pretty colour and 100% linen fabric. Additionally, I love the scoop neckline and interesting bias-cut rolled collar.

The dress is crinkle cotton and will be perfect for hot summer days. The bias-cut and frill on the lining add interest to an otherwise very simple dress. I lifted it at the shoulders as I almost always have to do with dresses and it now is ready to wear.

The final item is not for summer but I could not resist this pretty ombre blue scarf. I am sure it will get plenty of wear but I think it will go perfectly with my navy winter dress.

Wedding Outfit

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I have been meandering along with sewing an outfit for a family wedding on Saturday but in the past few days I have put my head down and it is now finished and ready to wear.

The dress and jacket are both made from existing patterns which I modified. In the case of the dress, the pattern was originally for a button up shirt.

It went from this.

To this.

The jacket looks pretty much as per the pattern apart from being shortened to a more cropped style, 3/4 sleeves instead of full length and some discreet shaping in the back and side seams to create a slightly less boxy silhouette.

Here are the 2 pieces together.

The dress fabric had been given to me some months ago and I had added it to my stash with no real idea of how I would use it. I did buy the linen for the jacket and by using the dress fabric for the bands on the jacket I think I have created a cohesive look. I am happy with the overall result. The best part is that I am not hemming it on the morning of the wedding!