Category Archives: Organising

Nothing Matches…….

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……..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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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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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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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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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.

Firm favourites

When I look at the figures, these pieces are clearly some of the most versatile and popular ones.

By the time I do my next update at the end of March I hope it may have begun to cool down a little so there may be some different pieces being worn.

It is now less than 5 months until we head to the USA and Canada for 6 weeks so I have started thinking about what I will be packing for the trip.

A New Desk

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post in which I mentioned getting an adjustable desk.

Well, it arrived last week, was set up on Friday morning and I have been happily using it ever since.

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Apologies for the photo quality.  I was in a rush late this afternoon and quickly took this one on my phone.

I have been standing most of the time and am finding it really good.

The mechanism makes it very easy to lift or lower in a couple of seconds.

I re-arranged several aspects of my workspace to improve the flow of work and access to various items.

I would love to hear from anyone else who uses a sitting/standing workstation and what you think of it.

The Best Laid Plans……..

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…..can sometimes go awry.

Today I planned to deep clean my pantry – wipe down the shelves check for anything that needed to be discarded, wipe the outside of all of the storage jars and lids and generally make sure everything was in working order.

I had removed the contents of one shelf, cleaned about half of them, discarded empty oil bottles and an empty bottle from apple cider vinegar when the phone rang.  It was my daughter and she suggested that she come to visit and we could sort out the photos of the grandchildren that she and I have on various digital devices – computer, laptops, and phones.

So, the pantry actually looks worse than when I started.  Although I have not finished sorting all of the photos of Miss O and Izz, I am well underway.

Apart from the 3 empty bottles from the pantry, I have also manged to declutter 2 large lidded boxes that were in the cupboard in the guest room.  I had kept them from when I acquired them at work a few years ago.  My intention was to cover them with contact to make memory boxes for Miss O and Izz to store the schoolwork that they wanted to keep.  My daughter happily took them to finish the project and hopefully the girls will appreciate having a designated space to keep their work.

One thing leads to another and I found 2 large block mounted posters – of an echidna and a wombat which we have owned since our daughters were at primary school and I intended to hand them on to the grandchildren.  However, my daughter pointed out that she simply does not have the space for them so we decided that she is going to offer them to the class teachers at school.  The pictures are still in the cupboard at the moment but may be on their way to a new home before too long.

Here are a few photos that we enjoyed ‘finding’ as we sorted them out.

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It could be next weekend before I get back to the pantry but that can wait.

 

What’s the Obsession?

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I am intrigued.  I read various posts from Facebook groups, blogs and various forums on the internet and am constantly amazed by some of the questions posed and resultant discussions.

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There are many questions about saving money and bargains to be had.  But is it really a bargain if you did not intend to buy it and more so if you have no idea of what you are going to do with it?  An example is, “Help, I bought a box of bananas for $5, what can I do with them?”  Invariably, there are lots of useful responses and I sincerely hope that the person manages to use them wisely and does not end up wasting their money.

It is even more odd when I read, “What else can I use shampoo for?  I have 4 bottles in the cupboard.”  I am tempted to reply with, “Use it to wash your hair”.  It seems that people stock up on an item and then want to use it up as quickly as possible.  I want to make things last as long as possible.

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I think too many people are seduced by the crowd – shop for a bargain, stockpile, use it up, downsize, declutter.  Whatever the catchcry of the day, they seem to feel the need to jump on the bandwagon.  It is no wonder they feel confused.

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My advice is to think independently, decide what works for you, make your own choices, forge your own path and don’t be sucked in by the crowd.

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The only things I buy are what I know I will use.  I buy larger quantities of items where I have to travel some distance or out of my way simply to avoid having to do that every week.  I have enough food to feed us for weeks, or in some cases, months.  Fruit and vegetables are bought locally each week so I try to buy only what I need in an effort to eliminate any waste.  If there is cheap produce, I will buy it if I have the time and skills to prepare and store it.

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What is your experience?  Do you stockpile or keep the bare minimum?  Have you changed your shopping habits/philosophy over time?

Clean and Ready

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My workspace in the office is pretty well uncluttered.  Even though I often have piles of papers that I am working on during the day it is all packed up at the end of the day.

This is pretty much how I leave it every night.  The laptop is packed away as I also work from home on some days.

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I am quite excited as I am getting an adjustable Varidesk next week.

This is what it will look like.  It sits on the existing desk and can be adjusted to be used in either a sitting or standing position.

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I am really looking forward to the option of standing for at least part of the day and expect that moving around will be one of the positive benefits.

The limited amount of stuff on my desk means that I will easily be able to accommodate the Varidesk with almost no interruption.

Loads of Laundry

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We live in a relatively high rainfall area and I have written before about the challenges of getting the washing done, and more importantly, getting it dry.   I do have a clothes dryer but choose to use it as little as possible.  Apart from the power required to run it, the wear and tear on your clothes is significant and can result in substantially shortening their lifespan.

Despite the high humidity and showery weather, I needed to do the washing today.  Much like women of previous generations, I spent the day doing the washing.  However, I was not slaving over a scrubbing board and copper.  I was kept busy trying to make the most of the intermittent breeze and small snatches of sunshine.

I hung some of the smaller items on the airer.

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I had to race out and move it under the verandah every time a shower of rain started but I did manage to get it dry.

The rest of the clothes were hung on the line under the verandah.

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I also did the ironing from the washing I did last weekend.  When the atmosphere is so damp, I do not like to put them away in the cupboard until they are absolutely dry.

I use the portable dehumidifier in the bathroom and close the door.  Within a couple of hours the room and the clothes are warm and dry.

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I also have a portable rotary clothesline and in the cooler months I hang washing on it and the airer and set them up in the lounge room in front of the fireplace.

There are many options for drying clothes.  What are your creative solutions?