You Must Remember This…..

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Posted on February 4, 2014

Remembering, memories and shared experiences all combine to be part of what we are today.

The past helps to shape the future.

For many people, our memories seem to be inextricably linked to things from the past. It may be the souvenir trinkets you bought on holiday last week, your college sweater from 30 years ago or great-grandma’s fur wrap.

What would happen if you removed all of this stuff from your life? Would the memories disappear? The memories will remain because the human brain is so smart that we do not need physical reminders of events and people from our past.

Let us take the college sweater as an example. Does it add value to your life by being stashed in a box in the attic. Perhaps it is sharing a box with some old text books or the corsage from your debutante ball and the suit you wore to your first job interview? If you got rid of the sweater, corsage and suit would that mean that you did not attend college or your debutante ball and the job interview didn’t happen? No, of course not. Moving items such as this along will not destroy the memories which you have kept alive, despite having no day-to-day physical connection to the item.

The holiday souvenirs are insidious. The Eiffel Tower keyring, leprechaun fridge magnet and so on – are these the ‘real’ memories of your visit? Did you need a keyring or fridge magnet? Will you forget that you visited France and Ireland if these things are no longer stashed in a shoebox in the top of your wardrobe? Time to move them on and remind yourself not to be sucked in to buying these knickknacks in the future. Save your time and money for things that really count and add value.

Then there are the family heirlooms such as that fur wrap. Do you wear it? Can it be refashioned into something you will use? If the answer to both these questions is no, then perhaps you could ask other family members but if no-one wants it perhaps it is time to let it go so that someone can gain some benefit from it. Think of the alternative – the wrap sits in that box in the attic, gathering dust and probably deteriorating until you depart this earth and someone has to go through your possessions. It will be tossed out without a second thought.

If you are struggling with decluttering stuff, stop and put yourself in the shoes of your children (or others) who are sorting through your stuff when you are gone. Ask yourself, “What would they do with this?” Better still, ask them if they would like the item now. If they don’t, you can be rest assured that they will not want it in 10, 20 or 50 years time when you are gone.

I am not saying that you need to get rid of all of your possessions but rather, we need to evaluate what we have and keep that which is useful, we truly love and which adds value to our lives. Anything that has been stashed in a box or cupboard for more than a year needs a careful re-assessment. Depending on what it is, put it on display, use it everydayor refashion it so that it fits with your current needs. If none of these actions are right, move it along to someone who will love and use it.

Don’t let your memories hold you back. Let go of some stuff, free up time and space, go and create new memories. Enjoy!

Making Ends Meet – The Essentials

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Posted on December 11, 2013

In an earlier post I identified the essentials for life as shelter, food and clothing.

I talked a bit about food and how you can immediately reduce your costs by creatively using what you have on hand and also the importance of not wasting precious food.

Now for the other 2 essentials before we move back to food.

Shelter

I know it is unwise to assume, but for the purpose of this exercise I will make the assumption that you currently have somewhere to live. This means that you will most likely have the expense of either rent or mortgage payments. These need to be your first priority when you are accounting for money and if you are unable to meet this payments then your situation is very dire. You should seek financial counselling as soon as possible.

It is not a good idea to try to sell or move to another rental property when things are really tight as there are costs associated with moving house, so, if it all possible, it is best to see if you can possibly maintain your current location by cutting back in other areas. If it is absolutely essential that you move, you could consider moving in with other family members as a temporary solution or sharing with another couple or family to reduce the costs. All of these strategies have been done before, and whilst not perfect, they are better than ending up homeless.

Clothing

“It is interesting, because I often don’t think of clothing myself as an essential. When I was trying to save for a deposit for a house, that’s the category I set to zero (save for a three week holiday I budgeted for overseas, and within that budget I was allowed to buy whatever, which happened to include lots of clothes!). Admittedly, most people have clothing, so can skimp for a while. And there’s free clothing, through hand me downs, swaps and freecycle. Or there’s op shops. Still, very interesting reading!”

This was a comment in response to my post where I placed clothing in the ‘essential’ category. Having clothes to wear is essential – we are not in the Garden of Eden – but buying new clothes is definitely not essential! In fact, like Sarah’s comment, in tough times the clothing budget should be set to zero.

Think about this: You had enough clothes last week and nothing has changed so there is no need to go and buy more. Children’s clothes can be let down, patched and created from refashioned adult items. Check out websites and you will find many references to challenging yourself to buy no new clothes for a year. It can easily be done.

A final tip: Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.

In my next post I will look at what meals I can create using the list of contents of Sarah’s refrigerator and pantry.

Woodshed – Finished

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Posted on November 17, 2013

As you know, we demolished the old chicken run a couple of months ago but left the woodshed which was attached to the end of the run. There was only chain wire between the coop and the woodshed and this was removed during the demolition process, leaving the woodshed without a side wall. We had plenty of Colorbond sheeting which we salvaged from the demolition and yesterday The Duke created a side wall. We also had to add a narrow strip to the roof and then finished it off with some metal angle, also salvaged.

The finishing touch was to plant a climbing vine that we bought yesterday. It is a Richmond Birdwing Butterfly Vine. I have been meaning to plant one for ages but have not really had the right spot.

I finally finished tidying and sorting all of the wood in the shed. The wheelie bin is also full of kindling. All of the wood is now in one place instead of various spots around the garage and under the house as well as the woodshed.

This is the area where the chicken run was so we are planning on extending the area which is planted with heliconias, gingers and bromeliads. These are currently on the embankment to the left of the photo and we will extend it into the vacant space. I plan to move some rocks to create a defined edge to the area . The ground has lots of leaf litter as well as chicken manure and composted vegetable scraps so I don’t think we will have any trouble getting them to grow.

Just to let you know that starting from tomorrow I will be doing a series of posts about the practical applications of having a smaller selection of clothes. Please join me then.

Furniture Restoration

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Posted on November 16, 2013

I do not have photos of each piece but The Duke and I have been busy today, working on 3 different pieces of furniture.

The main piece is a silky oak chest of drawers/dressing table which we finally got around to beginning to stain. We bought it unrestored a couple of years ago and the Duke worked hard to strip all of the paint and sand the individual pieces. The oval mirror which attaches to the top has been dismantled and that was what was holding us back. We needed to have it resilvered and there always seemed to be something more pressing to do. The Duke searched on the internet and found that a large glass and mirror business in the city no longer do resilvering as it is cheaper, easier and more accurate to cut a new one, no matter what the shape or if there are bevelled edges. We will have the frame stained and take it with the old mirror next week to get a new mirror cut and fitted into the frame. Once it is finished it will replace the current pine chest of drawers that I am using.

On the left-hand side of the photo is what was originally our TV cabinet which was used by our daughter for a few years and then found its way back home. Today we have sanded and undercoated it and the finish will be gloss white enamel and it will go in the guest (Air BnB) bedroom instead of the small decoupage desk which is there at the moment.

Finally, there is a pine blanket box standing on its end in the background. We plan to use this as a storage box on the verandah. It will hold BBQ supplies and tools and will be painted ‘Woodland Grey’ which is the colour that we will be using for a lot of the exterior trim as well as all of the fenceposts. We have had this box for over 30 years but it has been superseded in our bedroom by an antique cedar chest. It had heavy rope handles which we removed and are replacing with metal handles. We bought them some time ago from Paddington Hardware along with all the new handles for the chest of drawers. The holes where the rope was attached needed to be filled so I sanded a piece of an old broomstick and cut it into pices to plug the holes. We overfilled them with Plastibond and tomorrow will sand the box including the Plastibond.

It may take us a couple of weekends to finish them all but I am looking forward to taking photos of the finished articles to show you.

Make & Mend – Shelving

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Posted on November 15, 2013

My latest project is something completely different. I designed and made a piece of furniture. ‘Furniture’ is probably a slightly too grand to use as a description for the rustic shelving unit which is made from vintage wooden crates and lengths of undressed pine.

This creation is the culmination of much discussion over a number of years. When we first moved into our home in a country town in South Australia we discovered that the large shed held numerous old treasures that had been collected, perhaps even hoarded by previous owners. Amongst these items were 5 solid wooden crates which had been used to hold explosives. This was evident from the markings on them.

Over the years we have moved house twice, downsized and decluttered many things but the crates, which were someone else’s cast off stuff always managed to make the cut. The Duke would vaguely suggest that we could use them for shelving and they have often been simply stacked one on top of the other and used to store various things in the workshop. I had always had a rough idea of a design for shelving which would make the best use of the boxes that we had. After (yet another) clean-up in the workshop the other weekend my plan finally became clear. I found 2 identical pieces of undressed pine in amongst the odds and ends of wood. The Duke said that they were part of the packaging on the roll of fencing wire we had bought when we were building the chicken run. I needed 8 matching pieces for my planned shelving so I asked at the local farm supplier from whom we had bought the wire. He was happy to give me 6 more pieces that were sitting on a bench out the back of the shop. The pieces of pine would make the ends and legs for the unit.

The Duke trimmed the pine to the length required and we then set about assembling the shelving unit using my design which I had roughly sketched on a piece of paper to convince him that it was feasible.

The only cost was $7.00 for some screws. Some were from our stash but we needed to buy more to complete the project.

The shelves will provide some additional storage in the workshop and were a practical way to use the boxes which had been deemed as too good to throw out. By the way, I checked on eBay and found that similar ones were for sale at between $20 and $60 each. What is my designer original shelving unit worth? I would say that it is priceless!

Project 333 – Winter Wardrobe & Wishlist

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Posted on May 28, 2013

Since it will officially be winter in 3 days I thought a post about my winter wardrobe was in order. We live in a relatively mild climate but it still gets cool enough to need more than summer-weight skirts and t-shirts.

Over the last 10 months I have lost 8kg so that has necessitated moving a number of items along as they were simply too big. This has pared down my wardrobe even more. However, a bonus is that I can now wear these 2 jackets.

They were a neat fit when I bought them a couple of years ago and a little over a year ago they were destined to be given away.

I also have a black cord jacket and a pink suede one.

One of the few things I have bought for this winter is a new pair a tailored black trousers as I did not have any trousers suitable for wearing to work in winter. I gave my only pair away at the end of last winter as they were too big. Last week I had to buy a belt because even my new trousers are a bit on the loose side. I did try the next size down but they were a bit too tight.

I generally wear a collared shirt (3/4 sleeve) under the jacket to work as I don’t want to be rugged up because I work in an air-conditioned office. I have 5 striped shirts. There are also these 2 lightweight knits.

A couple of sleeveless vests, 2 pairs of jeans, 3/4 sleeve tees and a couple of rugby tops pretty well round out my work and casual winter wardrobe.

My shoes are 2 pairs of flats – red and pewter, red lace-up casuals and RM Williams boots.

Now for the wishlist:

Black skirt – purchased and waiting for me to shorten the length
Grey patterned cord skirt – waiting for me to refashion it from a skirt that is too big
Plain black lightweight knit – in the cupboard but need grey skirt to wear it with
Grey/charcoal trousers – need to buy
Black flat/low heel court shoes – need to buy
Black low heel boots (knee-high) – need to buy to replace the high heeled ones I have given away as they were too high and I did not feel confident walking in them
Black stockings – need to buy
Scarves – I would like some lightweight plain coloured scraves – probably black, fuschia and red with possibly mint green or purple as well. Just need to go looking.

I need to try on some boots to see whether they will suit me as I am not overly tall.

I have 6 pairs of grey stockings (most unworn) that I bought last year in the USA and after wearing them a couple of times I have decided that I do not really like the colour, hence I need to buy some black ones.

Recently, I bought 2 pieces of cotton lycra fabric which I hope to be able to make some 3/4 sleeve tees. One is black and cream striped (narrow stripes) and the other is plain in a raspberry colour.

Now that I have written it all down, my plan seems quite realistic and doable. What do you think?

Growing Girls and Large Hems

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Posted on May 14, 2013

It is easy to forget how quickly children grow. I made this dressing gown for Miss O in June 2011.

By July 2012 I was writing about letting the hem down here.

Now it has been handed down to Izz and the hem taken back up.

A few weeks ago I took Miss O to Spotlight and chose the fabric for a new dressing gown. It is red with black and white dogs on it. She gave the princess, fairy and other girly fabric a glance but this is the one that caught her eye. The fact that we have a Border Collie (black and white) may have influenced her choice.

Once again, I have put a large hem on the gown and it is still quite long so I expect this one will easily last a couple of years.

Something as simple as a hem that can be let down is not an option on a ready-made garment but by making clothes you can customise them to suit your needs and generally extend their usefulness.

The Great Giveaway

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Posted on March 6, 2013

I do not usually do 2 blog posts back-to-back but while I was writing my previous one Sarah posted a comment with this link about the giveaway that she received.

I had not previously had a giveaway on this blog as I did not feel that giving away more ‘stuff’ was necessarily in the spirit of what I write. However, I thought that the milestone of 500 posts was worth celebrating and the my readers (or at least one lucky one) would be the winner.

The bag is modelled on this one and can be used for a variety of purposes – pegs, cleaning rags, dirty laundry or even children’s toys. I would love to hear of other creative ways you could put a bag like this to use.

The giveaway, as Sarah correctly surmised is made from the remains of a doona cover and pillowcase which I bought a couple of years ago from the op shop. While they did not have tags on, everything pointed to them being unused and they were made from a strong cotton fabric. I have made a tablecloth, ironing board cover and now the giveaway from this fabric.

I am glad that Sarah is pleased with her surprise and as an added bonus, it matches her decor!

What do you think of giveaways on blogs? Surprise or not? Conditions applied? Items supplied by sponsors /product endorsements?

I am in the process of creating a pattern and instructions to make this bag yourself so if you would like a copy please let me know in the comments and I will work out how best to share this information. Granny, I have not forgotten you – just a bit busy these past couple of weeks.

Slow Living – February

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Posted on March 3, 2013

This is my second month of joining in the monthly round-up at Slow Living Essentials and already I seem to be struggling with what to write. A couple of things seems to have conspired against me – it is a short month – is it really the end of the month already? and the weather! Since the dry spell broke on the Australia Day weekend (26th January) it has rained almost constantly which limits our activities somewhat

Here are the Slow Living categories:

{Nourish} With the onset of some cooler weather with the rain it was an ideal time to pull out the slow cooker.

I made a batch of pumpkin soup and and beef casserole.

{Prepare} We had an excellent crop of figs.

As well as eating lots of them fresh from the tree, I was able to dry some. This was very successful so I am hoping to have enough to do again next year.

{Reduce} This is always a hard one as we do this each and every day. I turned a singlet of mine that was too short into one for Miss O.

{Green} The weather has brought out the mould but I am keeping things clean and smelling fresh with the use of clove oil. You can read a previous post here.

{Grow} The warm, dry beginning to the summer meant that we had about 8 mangoes on our small tree. We planted it about 4 years ago and this is the first time it has fruited. I suspect that it is generally too cool for them here but this year’s crop has made it worthwhile. They are some of the best mangoes I have tasted and the flesh is as smooth as anything with no sign of stringiness.

Last weekend we had a rare fine day so we bought and planted some vegetable seedlings. They have more than doubled in size in a week.

{Create} Since my sewing machine has returned from being serviced I have got quite a bit of sewing done. I am working through my stash of fabric as well as some pieces I have been given. Here are some of the results.

Winter and summer pyjama bottoms.

A new lining in my skirt.

{Discover} I don’t think I have read anything this month but in a different vein I did discover some fabric to be used when I was sorting out my stash.

{Enhance} We gave away the used fencing wire via Freecycle. I also shared some of the many self-sown cucumber seedlings with neighbours, work colleagues, blogging friends and also on Freecycle.

It is a shame that I did not take some photos of them. Not so much for the seedlings but the innovative packaging. I used some excess egg cartons that I had been given and each seedling and its soil was packed in a space in the carton.

An internet friend sent me some fabric and I used some of it to make a dress suitable for an 18 month old. I will send it to her for her granddaughter who was born last week.

{Enjoy} We travelled to Melbourne and spent a weekend with our daughter who moved there recently. We saw her new home, sampled food at some local establishments and shopped.

I bought this dress to wear to a wedding in a few weeks. I just need to finalise accessories.

The slow living this month has been heavily weighted towards sewing and I guess that is not entirely unexpected with being stuck indoors due to the weather.

Now I am off to check out some of the slow living blogs.

Til next month………..

Weekend Work

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Posted on February 24, 2013

We have had a busy and productive weekend but it was not without some recreation as well.

Yesterday was the one bright spot, according to the weather forecast, in an otherwise wet couple of weeks. We set off early and headed to the markets at Yandina, which is about 40 minutes north of us. Our main goal was to buy some seedlings for our vegie garden. There is a great stall there and this was our first stop. We bought cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, beetroot, bok choy and lettuce seedlings.

The main focus of this particular market seems to be plants and The Duke always checks out the fruit trees and yesterday we bought another mandarin tree. I cannot remember the variety but it was not one had heard of, although the stallholder said she finds it is one of the sweetest varieties. We are happy to give it a try.

Once we were back home our next project was to hang the gates to complete the new fencing. I also did 2 loads of washing. After lunch the Duke mowed the lawn. I was very thankful that the weather stayed fine and windy so the washing was all dry and I got the ironing up to date.

It was easy to stay focused on what I needed to achieve as we had decided to go to the movies last night to see Quartet. It was the first screening by the Maleny Film Society back in the revamped Community Centre. We also had dinner there before the movie and had a fun night out. The meals are catered by Pomodoras on Obi, a local restaurant and function venue which also has on-site accommodation.

Today the weather has not been quite as pleasant, and we had some rain this morning, but it has not deteriorated as predicted yet. I have made some progress with several sewing projects. Three pairs of trousers for The Duke have been shortened as well as a new skirt I bought in Melbourne.

I have put a new lining in a skirt and am working on the waistband.

Here is the lining attached to the skirt.

And the right side with the waistband partly attached.

The reason I relined this skirt is because the original lining was straight and very narrow and I had split the side seam on it. I find this disappointing and annoying when I pay for a good skirt and find that they have skimped by making a lining that does not match the shape of the skirt. I am confident that my alterations will work well and I am looking forward to getting plenty of use out of the skirt. I also did some sorting of my fabric and have some ideas for several pieces so there is plenty to keep me going for a while.

Finally, this afternoon we topped up the soil in the raised garden bed and planted the seedlings. There are no photos as it was getting late and the light was not good. I hope to post some later in the week. It is now raining lightly so the seedlings will be enjoying that.

I am still waiting to hear from SarahN to claim the giveaway. Once I send it I will share what it was with you all.