Category Archives: Homemaking

Mysteries of the Universe

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One of the great mysteries is how the utensil drawers get so grubby when the utensils are clean when they are put away.  If anyone can throw some light on this I would appreciate it, but in the meantime two of my kitchen drawers are clean again after a blitz yesterday.

2012-10-20 01I decluttered this drawer a few months ago so everything in it stayed, even though there are a couple of things that only rarely get used.  The contents include:

Electric knife
Rolling pin
BBQ tool
Tongs
Cleaning brush (for the juicer)
Avocado slicer
Chip cutter
Garlic press
Cherry stoner
Apple corer
Pineapple peeler/corer
Scone cutter
Cheese slicer
Jar opener
Ice-cream scoop
Vegetable peeler
Grapefruit knife
Fine bladed knife
Citrus zester
Tea strainer
Tea infuser
Knife sharpener
Spaghetti measure
Egg rings
Measuring spoons
Corn cob holders
Wine aerator
Wine vacuum seal
Corkscrews x 2
Can openers x 2 different styles

This is in addition to the knives in the knife block and 2 jars of utensils which are on the bench.  Everything in the utensil jars gets used at least once per week.

2012-10-20 02This is what could probably be described as a ‘junk’ drawer, although nothing in here is junk – it is all useful.

Matches
Notepaper (an old desk calendar)
String tin
Jar of rubber bands
Black felt-tipped pens x 2
Wind-up torches x 2
Set of small screwdrivers
Compass
Calculator
Scissors x 2
Sticky labels
Brown paper
Zip-lock bags (rewashed)
Muslin
Worn-out tea towels (for covering defrosting food etc)
Bag of twist ties
Bread bags (rewashed)
Cling wrap                   }
Alfoil                            } – these have been sitting here for at least 10 years
Freezer go-between  }    will not be replaced whenever I use them up
Baking paper – I bought this last week as it is apparently essential when
baking grain-free
Cut milk container of bits – homemade plant labels, spare O-ring for the breadmaker, labels for homemade cordial etc.

I regularly clean a drawer/cupboard or two each week, so although it seems like a never-ending merry-go-round it is never a huge job.

Challenges – An Update

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We are now more than halfway through the month of October so I thought it was time I posted an update of my progress with my twin challenges of ‘Frocktober’ and ‘Stoptober’.

Frocktober is going well.  I have worn a dress or skirt and top every time I have left the house, apart from a couple of weeks ago when it was quite cool and I wore jeans for our casual Friday.  I have managed the additional challenge of not wearing an identical outfit twice in the month so far.  Hopefully, I can get to through the next 13 days as well.

Stoptober has been less of a stellar success, possibly because I started it on a whim and did not have any great plans.  Mind you, I think it is a bit of a fruitless exercise if you buy up big the month before in order not to spend during a particular time.  We have continued to buy modest amounts of groceries as well as fruit and vegetables.  I have thought carefully about what I needed and bought only the basics.  Our ‘essential’ spending has included a doctor’s appointment for me as well as a trip to the dentist for The Duke.  He has a follow-up appointment for more treatment next week.  On the weekend we bought some wire to fence the vegetable garden, seedlings and more grain for the chickens.  I see these purchases as an investment because the returns will always outweigh the outlay.

Our one real ‘failure’ was a decision to eat out last Friday.  We went to the local pizza restaurant and I tried the gluten-free bases which were very acceptable.  We have taken our packed lunches to work each day and I managed to dodge a couple of lunches at work which has meant that I have saved the money but also have not had to confront the issue of what to eat while maintaining my grain-free, sugar-free eating plan as much as possible.

The mortgage will look a bit healthier with the additional money saved!

Wool Wash

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I use relatively simple, non-toxic cleaners for everything, whether it be dishes, clothes, our bodies or general cleaning.  Here is a recipe I found on the internet for washing woollens.  I have adapted it slightly but you can also read the original here.

Rather than using soap flakes, I grated Sunlight soap.

I used my food processor with the grater attachment.

Here are the utensils I used.

The ingredients

and

Wool Wash Mixture

2 cups grated soap
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup methylated spirits
10ml eucalyptus oil
1 cup water, extra

Grate the soap into a large bowl and add boiling water.  Blend thoroughly.

Add methylated spirits and eucalyptus oil and blend a bit more.

Add 1 cup of cool water and mix again.

Allow to cool a little before pouring the mixture into a suitable wide-necked container.  I used an old Napisan container.  It does need a wide neck as the mixture is quite firm when it sets so you need an old spoon to scoop it out.

To use the mixture I put about a tablespoon of mixture in a bucket with some hot water and mix until it is dissolved then add add more water until it is tepid and use this for washing woolen knitwear and other handwashing.

**EXTRA FRUGAL TIP**

Make sure you have some items ready to wash before you make up the mixture.

Rinse all of the utensils used in a bucket of warm water and the residue will be sufficient to make a solution of wool wash for your waiting clothes.

The Linen Cupboard

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As promised in my post from yesterday, I have finally finished the linen cupboard that I started back in about July.  It was not a huge task as I tend to regularly check my linen and cull any excess that cannot be otherwise used, either by me or someone I know.

I finished it all apart from the 3 tablecloths that I set aside to refashion to fit the oval table.  This is how I left it.

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Most of it looks fine, apart from the 4th shelf with tablecloths, placemats and serviettes in no particular order.

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Here is the close-up of the shelf to be done.

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All finished – the tablecloths are in 3 piles.  One pile of cloths for the table when it is round, one for the extended oval table and one pile of ‘other’ cloths.  These are 3 small square one suitable for afternoon tea as well as 3 bigger cloths for the outdoor table and 2 folding tables which we sometimes use if we have a bigger gathering.  The serviettes are on the same shelf as the tablecloths while the placemats are on the shelf below.

Now I am off to make some more wool wash and hope to post the recipe and instructions here tomorrow.

Re-fashioned and Ready

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The last few weeks have a bit of a struggle blogging-wise as there seems to have been limited material that I have felt like writing about and most of it did not really lend itself to adding photographs.

In the spirit of simplicity I have been working on my sewing room – finishing some projects and working through my ‘to do’ list.  Yesterday I finished the last 2 tablecloths which I had set aside to alter from rectangular to oval to fit my current round dining table when it is extended.  You can read my initial post about this project here.

After the success with the damask cloths I decided to do the same to a plain pink cloth and a polyester lace one that I use as an overlay.  The pink one was fairly straightforward but the lace one was a little trickier.

2012-10-12 01I ended up cutting the hemmed edging and then re-stitching it onto the re-shaped cloth which worked well.

I am now looking forward to the opportunity to use these pretty and functional items.

2012-10-12 02The only thing that remains to be done is to finish sorting and re-organising the linen cupboard which was the activity which precipitated this project in the first place.  More on that one with before and after photos tomorrow.

Do you re-fashion or re-purpose linen in order to extract the maximum use from it?

Owl or Fowl

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Are you an ‘owl’ (night person) or ‘fowl’ (morning person)?  I am definitely a fowl.  I generally get up at 5am to leave for work by 5.40am but even if I have no specific commitments I am often out of bed and rearing to go well before 7am.

It is so much more efficient to plan your day so that you get the maximum benefit from your prime time.  I can achieve more in 30 minutes in the morning than I can in 3 hours of an evening.

This evening is an excellent example – there is a basket of clean clothes to fold, some ironing to do, sewing to work on as well as sweeping and mopping floors.  I will not be doing any of it tonight but once I have had about 8 hours sleep it will be finished in less than an hour.

When do you do your best work?  Do you have different times for different activities?  How do you structure you day and what needs doing?

Still On Track

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My tandem challenges for October are both still on track.

Frocktober – I have accepted the challenge to wear either a dress or skirt each time I leave the house.  In order to add a degree of complexity to the challenge I am trying not to wear the same outfit twice during the month.  So far this is going well.

Stoptober – in conjunction with Frugal Queen I am endeavouring to spend as little as possible this month.  In addition to my haircut and fruit and vegetable shopping which I mentioned in an earlier blog, I bought some hem binding to complete a false hem on a skirt for Missy.  My total spend in 9 days has been $59.70.  The Duke has ordered a new DVD player online since our old one simply ceased to work.  He searched for a good deal and this one is less than $5o, including delivery.

My organising has been fairly limited recently but I am working on completing mending and sewing projects.

I am busily making lists of what I need to achieve before Christmas which is only 11 weeks away.  Composing my Christmas letter and writing cards are things that I like to get done fairly early so will be starting those soon.  I am also keeping an eye out for recipes to include in our Christmas menu.  It will be a little different this year as I am eating a gluten-free diet.  I try to make it grain and sugar free as much as possible, too.  Creativity will be the key.

Have you started thinking about Christmas or do you have your head buried firmly in the sand?

Frocktober – What I Wore Last week

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I promised I would post photos of what I wore during the week as part of my personal challenge to wear only skirts or dresses during the month of October.

2012-10-07 01Unfortunately, there was not time to take photos each morning  but here is my outfit from Thursday.

On Friday I wore a black and white striped denim skirt with a red t-shirt.  On Saturday evening when we went out the spotted skirt was given another airing with the red t-shirt.

I am enjoying the fact that my planned pieces are truly versatile and can be worn as several different combinations.

Spending for Stoptober – $35 for haircut, $20.75 for fruit and vegetables.  Tomorrow I need to buy some olive oil and also look for some vegetable seedlings.

I will report back tomorrow after I have been to the shops.

Balancing The Ledger

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I have now completed 4 days of no spending for ‘Stoptober’. It has not really been particularly difficult because I often do not spend money during the working week.  I do not drink coffee or buy magazines  so these are not challenges that I have to give up.

Today I will be spending money but it is all planned.  I need to get my hair cut ($35) and buy fruit and vegetables for the coming week (about $15) as well as renewing my annual Simple Savings subscription ($21).

The upside is that this week I have taken steps to make some money as well.  I sold 1.5 dozen eggs ($6) and have arranged to sell 2 dresses ($20) and a pile of books ($30).  While this does not equal the expenditure, every bit helps.

The other good news (for our mortgage) is that following the announcement by the Reserve Bank of a 0.25% cut in the official interest rate, our mortgage provider will be lowering the variable home loan rate by the same amount.  I am not sure when this is effective from but it is another opportunity to reduce our debt a little faster.

Project 333 – Frocktober

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It must be because the name of the month lends itself to corruption, but as well as my participation in Frugal Queen’s  ‘Stoptober’ I have also taken up the challenge of ‘Frocktober’.  This is an initiative of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation here in Australia to raise funds for and awareness of ovarian cancer.

As those of you who read this blog regularly will know, I only own 1 dress/frock and I am not quite ready to embark on a challenge of the magnitude of ‘One Brown Dress’.  This was one woman’s personal challenge to wear the same dress everyday for a year.  Although the original blog no longer exists the link gives an idea of the project.

I have not registered officially for ‘Frocktober’ but plan to make a donation to my friend who has registered.  I have broadened the scope slightly to include skirts and tops and my goal is to wear a skirt or dress to work every day this month and also whenever I go out socially or just to the shops.

To add some interest I am planning not to wear the same combination twice during the month.  This will test just how versatile my wardrobe items are.  When I started Project 333 about 6 months ago I had to seriously consider what I had in my wardrobe.  I decided that everything I kept needed to earn its place and be able to be worn as part of several different outfits.

At the end of the week I will post photos of the outfits I wore.

On another note, today was another no-spend day and in fact, I even made money.  I sold 1.5 dozen eggs for $6.  I also received an email advising that someone wanted to buy 2 dresses that I had offered for sale (a closed group) for $10 each so that will be a bit of additional income also.  I had not worn the dresses for several years and they no longer fit me so it is better that someone else gets the opportunity to wear them.