A Frugal Mindset – 1

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Posted on June 26, 2016

As promised yesterday, I plan to address the points from the link I posted one by one.

The first point is:

1. Frugal people plan ahead. Planning ahead may not, at first, seem like it has anything to do with money, but it really does. Frugal people plan ahead in many ways. They do things like plan out their meals for the week to save money at the grocery store, or more long term planning like knowing that they’ll need a new roof on the house in several years, and to begin saving for this expense now.

Frugal people live by the mantra that failure to plan is planning to fail. They’ve learned that taking steps now for anticipated future events helps make those future events easier to deal with. And typically those plans make it both easier in both time spent, and in money saved.

Question to ask yourself: What can I do today to make tomorrow and the future easier to deal with?

If you really want use this strategy to its fullest potential don’t just make those plans in your mind. Write them down!

I regard planning as one of my strengths and there is no doubt in my mind that it saves money. It also saves time and my sanity which are equally important to me.

I plan our meals, plan to combine errands in a single trip, plan what I will wear to work, plan what to pack for a holiday, plan future projects at home – there is no end to what we plan.

An example of long-term planning was when we began looking for our current home. This was over 10 years ago and I was still in my forties but one of the things that we considered was that it would have to have at least one point of ground-level access or be able to be relatively easily adapted to meet this requirement. Although we have numerous stairs to reach the verandah we know that this can be altered if required – we have a plan.

We are also changing and adapting our large garden to reduce the level of maintenance which will be required as we age. Putting in the effort now will reap rewards in years to come.

As a result of ensuring that we have sufficient rainwater storage as well as the installation of solar panels means that we are pretty well self-sufficient for water and electricity which minimises the ongoing costs of running our home.

As GMan regularly quotes from Baldrick in Blackadder, “I have a cunning plan”. The difference between Baldrick’s plans and ours is that ours are realistic and generally achievable. Even if things do not go quite according to plan you have a framework with which to start again.

Patience Pays Off

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Posted on June 4, 2016

A few weeks ago I wrote this post about cleaning up the workshop area downstairs. One of the photos showed the old kitchen cupboards which we had been using as storage in this area for the last 7 years. We decided that it was time for them to go as the chipboard was all breaking up and we had eliminated enough stuff to longer require them as storage.

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GMan cut the shelving into smaller pieces and broke down the cupboard shells and drawers. We only have a half size (120 litre) wheelie bin so we filled it with the cut pieces each week for 4 weeks.

Now it is completely gone.

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The alternative was to pack it into the ute, drive 20kms to the nearest rubbish dump and pay about $15 to dump it. The end result is the same – it goes to landfill, which is not ideal but there is really no alternative for this sort of thing. However, we managed it at zero cost to us because we chose to take our time and dispose of it bit by bit.

What I Wear – 6 Month Update

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Posted on June 2, 2016

It is now 6 months since I began tracking what I wear. June signals the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere and we finally have some weather that can be regarded as appropriate for the season in our area. Therefore, some of the clothes I wore in the past month are ones that had barely been touched since I began recording what I wear at the beginning of December.

I have had a net increase to my wardrobe as I added 4 new items and discarded 2. One is not actually new, just new to the list. I can’t believe that I completely forgot to list my turquoise cardigan. Anyway, it is now on the list.

New additions:

The dress was actually bought in April but I had not added it to the tally since I was not sure that it would be a long-term addition. I have now decided that I will keep it. You can read more about it here. The trousers are slim-fitting pull-on tailored trousers that will be the mainstay of my work wardrobe during the cooler months. I like the fact that there are nor buttons, zips or other fastenings to spoil the line of tops worn with them.

Discarded:

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I have now worn 79 of the 93 pieces in my wardrobe. I expect that there will be less than 5 unworn ones by the end of the month.

This is the selection that have yet to be worn during this experiment. They are mostly winter clothes with the exception of the cocktail dress and the formal dress.

I will miss half of the southern hemisphere winter this year as we will be in the USA and Canada for the latter part of July and almost all of August. By the time we return spring will be just around the corner and my small selection of winter clothes will not see the light of day for another 9 months.

What I have discovered is that I can probably streamline my wardrobe further to around 80 items to cover all weather and all occasions and activities. I also know that it is dynamic – an ever-changing process as pieces are worn, discarded and updated.

Until next month………

Behind the Scenes

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Posted on May 27, 2016

Just because I have not posted very much recently does not mean there is nothing going on here at ‘The Castle’.

We have had 2 phone calls in the past 48 hours to confirm that some of our plans are coming to fruition. The first was from a tree lopper to confirm that he will be here early next week to remove a couple of very large trees and mulch them as well as the smaller ones that GMan cleared recently.

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Once this is done we will be able to consider the next step in some of our long-term landscaping plans.

Yesterday we received a quote from the builder for the next major renovations. This will include replacement of some of the verandah floorboards, new railings, cafe blinds and screening and gate to provide added security to the verandah area. Some more concreting to finish the path near the steps and provide a base for an additional water tank will also be done. We will discuss the finer details with him this weekend and hope that the work will be completed with the next couple of months.

It is great to feel that some of our planning to beginning to come to fruition.

Appointments

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Posted on May 23, 2016

Part of being organised is making and keeping track of appointments. This week I have appointments for a dental check up, haircut and mammogram on 3 consecutive days.

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I am lucky because Breastscreen and my dentist both send reminders when an appointment is due. I simply make the appointment and make a note in my electronic calendar at work.

My hair appointments are generally 7 weeks apart and I make the following appointment when I am at the salon.

The dentist and hairdresser both send an SMS reminder the day before the appointment.

My haircut on Thursday was one of 3 that I planned and booked back in February. I did this as I was calculating the intervals so that I could make sure I had my hair cut just before we leave to go on holidays in July. I will have it cut 2 days before we leave so that it will last for the whole holiday.

What regular appointments do you make and how do you manage them? Diary? Electronic notes? Some other method?

Nothing Matches…….

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Posted on May 3, 2016

……..but at least it is tidy. The workshop area contains a mish-mash of storage cupboards and shelving. It does not look particularly pretty but is effective.

Yesterday was the last day of our long weekend and GMan decided to continue his goal of clearing up downstairs. On Saturday he had swept and water-blasted the open concreted area under the house so yesterday he turned his attention to the workshop area. I do not have any ‘before’ photos but here are a few shots of the end result.

The dismantled cupboards in the right-hand photo are from our old kitchen (renovated 7 years ago) which were repurposed as temporary storage. They are now destined to be rubbish as the chipboard is all breaking up and we simply no longer need them. GMan will cut them into smaller pieces and gradually dispose of them via our regular rubbish collection.

Cupboards and shelves were re-arranged. Worn-out or useless rubbish were discarded. Items no longer required were listed on Facebook Buy/Swap/Sell sites. Bits of wood were cut up for firewood.

The area is by no means decluttered completely but we have got rid of some stuff, made sure similar items are stored together and generally know what we have.

As always, it is a work in progress but it feels good to have taken another step towards keeping only those things that we really need.

What I Wear – 5 Month Update

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Posted on May 1, 2016

I have now completed 5 months of tracking what I wear.

When I tallied up the month and moved across to the new spreadsheet for a new month, I found a couple of interesting insights which I would like to share with you.

See if you can guess what these 7 items have in common?

Dark denim jeans
White 3/4 pants
Checked seersucker skirt

Pink tshirt
Old khaki shorts
Black 3/4 leggings
Old striped rugby top

They are the only pieces that I have worn 10 times or more over the past 5 months.

When I review the pieces that have had more wear it is easy to see why. I have a small selection of clothes that I wear at home when working in the garden or cleaning, therefore, they end up on high rotation. The jeans, pants and skirt are probably my favourite ‘bottoms’ and it is interesting that there are no tops in the frequently worn pieces which tells me that I have probably got too many – or at least, that I don’t need any more.

Of the 91 items I have in my wardrobe I have worn 75 of them since I began this project. Many have been worn just once or twice. Some of this is due to the weather now starting to become slightly cooler. However, it is partly because I think I have chosen to wear some things just so that I could say I have worn them. These are the ones which possibly will not make the cut for next summer.

In any given month I wear around 50% of the clothes in my wardrobe and most of those are only worn once or twice.

The weather is finally starting to become cooler and I am looking forward to wearing some of the clothes that have not seen the light of day since last winter. More on that next month.

Built for a Purpose

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Posted on April 11, 2016

A very quick post tonight in between trying to catch on on some housework.

I brought the washing in this evening and folded it on the laundry bench. Now, that may not sound very exciting but I was inspired to take a photo to show you.

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While the bench was not totally clear – a few things in one corner – it was adequate to fold a load of washing. That was my plan when we had these cupboards built not long after we moved in. The reality is somewhat different. There always seems to be a bucket with something soaking in it, handwashing to be done and a myriad of other things. I end up doing the folding on the spare bed or lounge and neither option is good for my back.

I am definitely going to try to keep this bench clear so that it can be used for folding clothes on a regular basis.

What I Wear – 4 Month Update

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Posted on April 4, 2016

I have now completed 4 months of recording what I wear each day. I began this project on 1st December last year with express purpose of trying to understand how often I wore the clothes I had and whether they were truly the best selection I could have. This has evolved a bit more to include a challenge to buy as little as possible in 2016.

I have removed another item from my wardrobe which has brought the total down to 91. It was this long, lacy cardigan which I had bought from the recycle boutique and although I had worn it twice, I found that I consistently overlooked it when making my choices.

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Although it is a lovely Mela Purdie piece it is simply not me so off it went – back to the boutique where I am sure it will find a grateful owner.

We are beginning to see slight signs that summer will not go on forever, although rather than saying it is getting cooler it is probably more appropriate to describe the weather as “less hot”.

So, for the past month it has been more of the same – mostly summer dresses or shorts and tops. There has not been a lot of scope for variation but that will come.

I have now worn 70 of the 91 items in my wardrobe. The remaining 21 fall into 2 categories ‘Winter’ and ‘Special’. The first includes jackets, coats, woollen cardigans and pullovers and long-sleeved tops. The second is a lace cocktail-length dress which I wore to a wedding 3 years ago and would be my ‘go to’ outfit for any similar dressy occasions as well as 2 pairs of travel pants which are exactly that – lightweight trousers that zip off to shorts which are perfect for travel. I do also sometimes wear them at home during the cooler months.

Therefore, I am pleased to say that I have worn everything that is appropriate to the weather during the last 4 months. However, not all of it will necessarily make the cut to next summer. Having a limited selection of clothes forced me to carefully appraise whether I felt an item was really perfect. 2 pieces that won’t make it are these camisole-style tops.

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They are past their best and I am not sure whether the necklines have stretched slightly or I am being a bit more discerning but I feel as though they sit a bit low for my liking. I will buy some more of a similar style but will take the time to look around and find something that is ‘perfect’.

That is it until next month.

What I Wear – 3 Month Update

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Posted on March 2, 2016

Another month has rolled by and the summer weather is still with us. There has been very very little variation in what I wear so the figures have not altered substantially.

The total remains at 92 as I have neither acquired nor discarded anything in the past month. The number of items worn since I started this project stands at 68 – 3 more in the last month. 2 more scarves/pashminas got an airing (mainly to wrap around my shoulders when out in the evening) and an old polo shirt which I wore when gardening.

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