The Time It Takes

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Posted on November 13, 2016

Well, it has been a while since I wrote a proper blog post. I have been busy in the real world as things seem to speed up towards the end of the year. At least some of it was of our own making as we chose to go to Adelaide for 3 nights about a week ago.

I managed to have the housework pretty well up do date before we left last Saturday but I have not had any free time since arriving home on Tuesday evening to an almost empty refrigerator and the prospect of long days at work for the remaining 3 days of the working week.

It would have been easy to say that I had no time but it really was a matter of making time. Have you ever considered how little time it actually takes to do some of your regular household tasks? It only takes me about 6 minutes to hang out a load of washing and about 2 – 3 minutes to get a load of washing off the line.

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So, during the past 5 days I have managed to unpack a suitcase, do a couple of loads of washing, including hanging, bringing it in and folding, plan and prepare meals as well as getting myself to work each day.

Things I do to create time where there does not appear to be any include preparing at least part of the evening meal for the following night while dinner is cooking, putting a load of washing on before I go to work, wiping over the mirror and vanity when I get out of the shower.

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Housework does does not need to be an enormous undertaking. By doing a little bit often you can keep things humming along with very little time. Other jobs that take a couple of minutes are unloading the dishwasher, wiping down the sink, cleaning a single shelf in the refrigerator, dusting a polishing a table and so on. Every small task that you can slip into your routine is one that does not build into an overwhelming project.

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Did you notice the one thing I have not mentioned? Ironing! I need at least an hour of clear time to get stuck into a pile of ironing and make it worthwhile.

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How do you arrange your housework into the time available?

Planning For Christmas

Ferreting in the Freezer

Stockpiling

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Posted on October 12, 2016

This blog post is copied from a post I wrote in another forum. I am interested in your thoughts.

Is stockpiling a saving or ‘dead money’?

I do not stockpile to save money as such but I do have enough basic foods and essentials such as toothpaste and toilet paper to see us through a minimum of 4 weeks and in most instances, much longer. I am very confident that I could feed us for 3 months. There might be some odd meals but we would be fed.

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Why? It is generally acknowledged that supermarkets carry 3 days worth of stock and rely on ‘just in time’ deliveries. As we endure more severe and frequent weather events it is prudent to consider being independently responsible for your wellbeing during and immediately after these events. You will never find me queuing for fuel, buying bread or filling gas bottles as a cyclone approaches. It is already done as part of our day to day routine.

It can be something as simple as being unwell or busy at work and you can feed yourselves from what you have on hand. Some years ago I was snowed under at work and barely had time to do the basics so each week I would grab some fruit and veg and everything else came from the freezer or pantry. I did this for 7 consecutive weeks!

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By having enough on hand you will be less likely to pop into the shop and grab unnecessary items while you are there = savings.

Remember the mantra – “eat what you store and store what you eat”. In other words, do not store ‘special stuff’ for your stockpile. Do not keep 100 tins of baked beans if your family do not eat baked beans.

Whatever stock you have should be rotated. I keep 2 large tins of tuna in my pantry. When I use one I buy another. I always place the new can on the bottom of the pile.

Consider using a permanent marker to write the purchase date and month on bottles and cans eg: 10.16 for October 2016. This means that you can see at a glance what needs to be used first.

Keep track of what you have by doing a regular stocktake.

Make sure you have suitable storage containers and conditions. Food which deteriorates is a waste of money.

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My recommendation is to try to store enough food to feed your family for 2 weeks beyond your normal shopping cycle. Start small and add an extra can or packet as you can afford.

Stockpiling may save you a little money but in the long run, I think the time and sanity savings are far greater as well as the peace of mind of not being totally dependent on the vagaries of the supply chain.

Downsizing by Design

2 Comments

Posted on October 9, 2016

For the past couple of weeks I have been working from the Microsoft Surface Pro which we bought before we went overseas. I looked long and hard but in the end we opted for it instead of an iPad. The main reason was that it has a USB port (so that I can connect my camera to download photos) and a keyboard cover which functionally turns it into a laptop in addition to the features of a tablet.

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The main desktop computer had really reached the end of its useful life so we went to our local computer shop to buy a new ‘tower’. In the process we discovered a ‘mini’ computer which is 10cm square and about 5cm deep. Obviously, it is not suitable for everyone as it would depend on how you use your computer. We decided to purchase this little box and had all of the data and files from the old computer transferred over.

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We picked up the new computer on Saturday and intended to sit it on one of the small shelves above the desk. Imagine our surprise when we unpacked it and found that it could be mounted on the rear of the screen.

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Since the tower is no longer in the cupboard on the left-hand side of the desk and requiring ventilation, we have replaced the door and relocated the boxes of computer-related manuals and accessories from the top of the linen cupboard. The battery charger for the rechargeable batteries is also in there.

I decided that the small desk that was beside the computer desk could go in the guest room and I re-arranged the armchairs. Finally, I moved the office chair out and have temporarily replaced it with a ‘spare’ dining room chair. The office chair had arms on it which consistently banged the front of the desk. Since the chair could not be rolled in under the desk, it took up a lot of space in what is essentially quite a small room. I am going to replace it with another office chair without arms.

The office/library decluttering has been a long journey but it is interesting to contrast the photos from today with this one from a little over 5 years ago.

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No Excuses

3 Comments

Posted on October 5, 2016

I enjoy sewing and for the first time in my life I have an (almost) dedicated sewing room. However, despite my grand plans I have done very little sewing in recent times.

There always seems to be something more pressing to do – cooking meals, washing, ironing, gardening and so on. When I sew, I like to do it to the exclusion of the everything else so I have tended not to do it. The ironing always takes precedence over sewing, especially since I have the ironing board set up in the same room.

Anyway, there can be no more excuses as I have finally got the space pretty much as I want it.

The bed is completely free from any piles of clothes waiting to be folded or ironed.

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The wardrobe is cleaned and tidied.

All of my sewing stuff is sufficiently ordered that I can locate what I need. The iron and ironing board are ready to use.

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The sewing table looks untidy but much of it is projects waiting for some action.

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My first priority is mending (socks) and some alterations. I need to take up the hem of trousers I bought in Canada as well as shorten a top I bought there, too. Next, I will complete 6 pairs of boys shorts which are partly made and are destined to be donated to those who need them. There is plenty more after that, including, finishing a long sleeved blouse for my daughter, the cover for the mattress on the day bed and dresses and tops for myself.

I will make time to sew.

Four Fabulous Days

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Posted on October 3, 2016

I have had the most glorious 4 days at home. Friday was a well-earned day off followed by a long weekend. Most weekends I am left with the feeling of wanting a couple more days to try to catch my tail. I would not say I have done everything but I do have a degree of satisfaction that I have made some progress beyond the basics of washing and meal preparation. The best part is that I have worked steadily but not frantically for some of the time as well as simply doing nothing at other times.

Here is a snapshot of what I achieved:

Washing and ironing – the first 3 days were brilliantly sunny with a breeze so all of the washing was done and dried which left me with a pile of ironing. I tackled this with enthusiasm since I was armed with a new iron as well as the ironing board cover that I made on Friday.

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Shopping – most weekends I buy enough fruit and vegetables for the week as well as a few things from Aldi and Saturday was no exception. However, I also drove a bit further to go to Morayfield so that I could stock up at Simply Good, where I buy all of the flours, dried fruit, seeds, nuts and legumes that I use. I do this every 4months or so. Spotlight is nearby so I took the opportunity to have a look and found the fabric to recover the mattress for the day bed.

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Decluttering/recycling – as we change and re-arrange furniture there is often some to move along to someone else who can use it. This weekend I listed 4 outdoor chairs and a large pine chest of drawers on our local Buy, Swap, Sell Facebook page and they have now gone to new homes. I also tidied and sorted the shelves in the wardrobe in the sewing/spare room and put a few things in a bag to go to the op shop.

Gardening – when I was at the market buying fruit and vegetables, I noticed a neighbouring stall selling seedlings. I bought and planted out basil, beetroot and capsicum seedlings. GMan mulched the shrub we cut down a few weeks ago and planted out several native trees and shrubs.

Outdoors – we have taken a few more steps towards finishing our outdoor living area on the verandah. The newly painted table is back in position as is the day bed, albeit without the mattress yet. I spent a good portion of today cleaning up the large concreted area under the house. This is a lovely cool area in summer and I am trying to make it more useable. I sorted and stacked various building materials so that they are in a logical order and easily accessible.

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What a shame that I have to go to work tomorrow – there is so much more that I could do here at home.

I will some more details of some of the things I have mentioned tonight in upcoming posts this week.

Time to Plan

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Posted on September 18, 2016

Even though we have been home for 3 weeks since our holiday the legacy lives on.

We returned fresh and invigorated with lots of ideas and plans.

I don’t know about contempt from the phrase, “Familiarity breeds contempt” but I do know that being away from your normal environment allows you to consider things with fresh eyes. We had time to really ponder and discuss all sorts of possibilities including what we want to do in the garden, future holiday plans and retirement activities as well as some of the smaller things we hope to achieve around the house before the end of the year.

There seemed to be so many times in conversation that GMan would comment, “We need to do/get/make……….” that I would simply respond with, “Add it to the list”. Although we did not have a physical list, we certainly remembered plenty of things and have actioned several since we have been home.

3 new chickens bought
Clear at least one vegetable garden and plant seedlings
Empty compost from compost tumbler
Ordered and installed a new modem for the computer
Taken the computer to be repaired/replaced
Painted the outdoor table (a work in progress)
Repaired the washing basket
Taken a bag of bits and pieces to the op shop

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I know there have been others but this gives you an idea.

Then there are others which are earmarked to be done this week.

Gather tax info to send to tax agent
Buy a new DVD player – DONE today
Buy a new batter charger – DONE today
Remove dead shrub from front garden – DONE today
Advertise some furniture which is no longer required
Follow up on a rejected refund claim
Contact electricity provider re solar refund

By planning very specific small projects/goals it is very satisfying to work through the list.

I wrote this post last night and today we managed to cross 3 more items off the list. I am sure there will be more to add by tomorrow.

Keeping it Clean

4 Comments

Posted on September 17, 2016

While I do not have huge areas to declutter or sort out there are always ongoing jobs to do. Some are so small that they are barely noticeable but 5 minutes can literally make the difference.

My clothesline is 5 parallel lines under the verandah. Every few months I wipe down 4 of the lines with a damp cloth to remove any dust and grime. The last line does not get done because I have 12 hanger holders positioned along the line.

Yesterday I took the hooks off because I was washing a couple of sets of sheets and needed the extra hanging space. I realised the hooks were very grubby and the line was filthy. I wiped the line thoroughly before I hung the white sheet on it and then washed the hooks. A quick soak in some warm, soapy water then scrubbed with an old nail brush before I spread them out to dry.

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