Finding the Freezer

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Posted on May 7, 2015

Well, it wasn’t the actual freezer – more like the contents!.

Today I was working from home and late this afternoon I went looking for a chicken casserole in the freezer to have for dinner. I do not keep an absolute inventory of the contents of the freezer but generally have a pretty fair idea of what is in there. I could not even remember what type of container the casserole was in but I eventually found it.

While I was looking for the casserole I found a few odds and ends that needed to be used up and the drawers needed cleaning as well.

Here are the contents of the top drawer.

The drawer was washed and ready to repack.

Organised and ready to replace.

The bottom drawer finished as well.

This was the freezer section of my main refrigerator in the kitchen. We also have a small bar-sized freezer downstairs. There are are few food items but it is mostly frozen water which we stored during the storm season. This could be thawed and used and the remaining food transferred to the freezer in the kitchen. I will do that on the weekend and then defrost the small freezer.

This is what I have in the freezers at the moment.

Salmon – 6 serves
Chicken – 4 serves
Diced beef – 4 serves
Mince – 2 serves
Sausages – 8 serves
Bacon – 6 rashers
Frozen peas – 1.5 packets
Home-made bread – 6 slices
Tomato pulp – 500ml
Honey/soy sauce – 100ml
Broccoli stalk – 1
Zucchini slice – 2 serves
Cherry tomatoes – 2kg
Chopped basil and tomatoes – 2 ice-cube trays
Ground coffee – 500g
Mango puree – 1.2 litres
Guava puree – 1.5 litres
Berry juice – 800ml
Pumpkin soup – 5 serves
Celery soup – 2 serves
Crushed bunya nuts – 2 kg
Ice – 10 litre

When I re-read the list it is evident that my freezer contents are mostly meat and storage of some of the things we grow – cherry tomatoes, basil, mangoes, guavas, bunya nuts and pumpkins. Sometimes I have more prepared meals.

How do you keep track of what is in the freezer? What sorts of things do you store.

Between Bags

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Posted on April 27, 2015

I have never been a fan of handbags because I simply cannot see the point of having several items that perform the same function. Mind you, shoes are a different story entirely!

The main reason that multiple handbags are not appealing is the fact that things need to be constantly moved from one to the other and the chances of not having the item you need are substantially increased.

You may remember that I recently bought a bag for work that would hold the laptop as well as anything else I need to take to work. Here it is with the everyday contents.

This has worked well and I have not even used my regular handbag since buying this one. If I am going grocery shopping I just grab my phone and purse and toss them into the tote bag I use for groceries.

This all changed last week when I went to a funeral and neither my work bag nor a shopping tote were appropriate. I retrieved my black handbag from the shelf in the wardrobe. The only items in it were a mini tape measure and a pen.

I added my purse, phone (and charger) and keys and I was ready to go.

I realised that everything else was really only applicable to work so it made swapping bags relatively simple.

Flashback Friday

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Posted on April 10, 2015

Here is one I whipped up earlier. Four years ago, in fact. This post with a video of how to fold plastic bags is one of my favourites. Please let me know what you think. Do you use this method? Will you give it a try? I find one of these takes up next to no space in my handbag and it is useful to have one on hand.

In the first days of this blog I posted a link on ‘How to Fold a Plastic Bag’ Here it is again for anyone who missed it. This really captured my interest. I have two bags hanging inside my laundry cupboard where I store reused bags which I use constantly but I had another lot in the cupboard in the spare room which needed a better way of storing them.

I decided to try my new-found skill on this lot.

All folded on the bench – now for how to store them.

The only thing left to do is to put the box back in the cupboard.

Marie vs Me

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Posted on March 24, 2015

Over the past 6 six weeks I have become increasingly aware of the name, Marie Kondo. For those of you who feel like you have been living under a rock, she is a Japanese decluttering and tidying guru.

One of the things that seems to have captured people’s imagination is her method of folding and storing t-shirts and underwear. When I first read about this, I dismissed it because I figured I did not have enough t-shirts to warrant having a special method of folding them. Origami, anyone? Anyway, my clothes fit quite nicely into the available space.

All of the hype got the better of me tonight so I resorted to Google. There are many links but here is a Youtube video on folding underwear.

As far as I can see there is nothing particularly startling about that. I do know that I would go insane if I had to unhook my bra every time I went to get dressed!

Here is my version. Unfortunately, no video, just a couple of still shots.

This is one of the small drawers from my dressing table. I have put it on the floor for this view.

Back left – 6 bras
Front left – 6 pairs of knickers
Back right – 6 pairs of stockings
Centre right – 3 pairs thick socks
Front right – 11 pairs of ankle/lightweight socks

I have more socks than I need but I see no reason to throw any out. I will keep them until they are worn out and not replace with as many. There are already about 6 pairs that have gone in the past couple of years.

This is a closer view with the drawer back in position.

My underwear drawer is the top left-hand drawer. The other top drawer holds my pyjamas, scarves, bathers and sarong. The lower two drawers are full width and contain shorts, travel pants, tops (short and long sleeved), cardigans and my home and exercise clothes.

Nothing is over-stuffed and I am happy with the way everything is folded and fits in.

I will probably have a bit more of a look at what Marie Kondo has to offer but I don’t think I will be changing how I fold and store my clothes anytime soon.

Are you a Marie Kondo afficionado? Should I set up my own decluttering business? 🙂

Project 333 – A New Beginning

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Posted on March 3, 2015

Some of you may remember this post from 3 years ago when I first dipped into the world of Project 333.

This is the list of what I chose for that first round.

~~Floral skirt~~
~~Black skirt~~

~~Grey trousers~~
Black 3/4 trousers
~~Jeans~~
~~Narrow-leg jeans~~
Charcoal travel pants

~~Pink suede jacket~~
Black cord jacket
Pink quilted vest

Turquoise cardigan
Black cardigan
Grey/cream polo-neck jumper

Turquoise striped shirt
Blue/white pinstriped shirt
Black/white striped shirt
~~Black/cream patterned shirt~~

~~Black/pink striped top~~
~~Black/pink squares top~~
~~Pink top~~
~~Red/white striped top~~
~~Black/white striped top~~
~~Black/white striped top~~

Navy rugby top
Navy/striped rugby top

~~Bronze/pink scarf~~

~~Black handbag~~ (not shown)

~~Black knee-high boots~~
~~Black ankle boots~~
Black shoes
~~Red lace-up shoes~~
~~Sandals~~

Of the 32 items listed, only 13 remain in my cupboard. The black handbag has been replaced with another as have the red shoes and the sandals. I grew weary of some clothes and others wore out. My style has evolved over time and some of the remaining items may yet be culled.

I have almost a month to finalise my autumn list as I intend to participate in the next round which will begin on 1st April. Even though it is officially autumn (fall) we can still have quite warm days so my challenge will be how best to manage a selection of clothing to suit the change of seasons. Dresses and light jackets or cardigans are a good option for work.

Here are some of the pieces I am considering.

What do you think?

Keeping Things Tidy

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Posted on February 25, 2015

I saw the following question posed on an internet forum the other day.

“What room do you always like to keep tidy?”

The answers were as wide-ranging as there are people. My favourite was probably, “The guest toilet – the family are banned from using it”.

Of course then there is the small matter of interpretation. What do you regard as a tidy room? Pristine? Basically clean? No clutter?

A tidy room in a home with a number of children might be vastly different from a single or two adult household.

The 2 rooms that are always clean and tidy at our place are the bathroom and the guest bedroom. As one clever person observed, no-one actually ‘lives’ in a bathroom, therefore, therefore it is easier to keep tidy. After having lived with 2 teenage daughters I would dispute that assertion in some instances. Our bathroom now is small and sparsely furnished and requires only a quick wipe to look fresh and sparkling.

I find it interesting to note that the 2 rooms that are the most difficult to keep tidy are the study and the sewing room. I don’t think that it is any coincidence that these are the areas that still require more decluttering.

Remember, the more stuff you have, the more cleaning, tidying, storing and organising it will require.

Tables should be clear surfaces ready to be used.

This is the shelving unit in the living room.

I always try to keep the bedroom as clear as possible as an uncluttered, calm room is more conducive to good sleeping.

Move the unwanted stuff out and the house will be easier to keep tidy and you will have more time to spend doing the things you enjoy.

What rooms do you always like to be tidy? What are the challenges you face? Are there rooms that defy even the best of intentions?

I would love to hear what you think and perhaps we can work together to make some progress.

Upside Down Hook

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Posted on February 24, 2015

As I have mentioned before, it can be the smallest things that can make a real difference to organising your home.Here is an example.

I keep the clothes hamper in the laundry cupboard and the small step-ladder fits beside the hamper. The only problem was that every time I pulled the hamper out to sort the washing, I would have to hold the ladder and then re-position it to stop it falling over. One day I thought of a solution so the next time we were at the hardware store I selected a large hook which is designed for hanging things in a garage or workshop.

I calculated where it needed to be positioned and The Duke attached it to the dividing wall in the cupboard.

You can see that the hook is upside-down compared to how it is designed to be used. My idea was for it to retain the step-ladder so that it would not tip over when the clothes hamper was removed.

It works perfectly and does not impede getting either the ladder or hamper in or out of the cupboard.

This does not look like much but it has saved me an endless amount of frustration. The key is to think laterally and look for solutions that may be a bit ‘out of the box’.

Do you have any unique organising tips to share?

A Laundry List

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Posted on February 16, 2015

Tonight I want to share a germ of an idea that has formed gradually over a period of time.

Some people have an ongoing shopping list to which they add items as they find that they are required. Others keep a list of what is stored in the freezer and cross things off as they are used.

I am thinking of creating a laundry list. I have this cupboard in my laundry. On the left-hand side are the assorted brooms and the vacuum cleaner (not shown), hangers for knitted items and dispensers for plastic bags as well as the racks on the inside of the door for laundry liquid and presoak and the rag-bag.

The right-hand side has the laundry hamper with shelving above. This holds various cleaning items as well as spare light globes, batteries, rubbish bags and shopping bags. However, the door is clear and this is where I could put my list.

I envisage a write on/wipe off board and am thinking of making one myself from a sheet of coloured A4 card and laminating it.

So, what am I going to write on this list, I hear you ask? It will basically be a reminder of extra jobs that need doing such as ‘stain on white trousers’, ‘scrub cuffs of mauve shirt’, ‘hem of black skirt’ or ‘darn striped sock’. They will be all the little things that seem obvious at the time but by the time I am doing the washing/ironing it can be overlooked.

What do you think? How do you keep track of the extra laundry jobs?