Category Archives: Organising

Harrowing Times

Leave a comment

To say that I have been busy for the past couple of weeks would be an understatement.  I feel like a farce as my life has felt anything but organised lately.  However, I know that at some point I will get up and dust myself off and find my direction again.

Candles
Unfortunately, there are others who are not so lucky.  The last week has seen the media awash with awful events from the school shooting in Pakistan to an armed siege in Sydney and finally the tragic deaths of numerous siblings in Cairns today.  It is impossible to try to make sense of these events and it is easy to be consumed by the media coverage which I do not believe is beneficial to anyone.  My heart goes out to the friends, families and all affected by the terrible tragedies.  May the souls of those who have lost their lives rest in peace.

 

More Material

2 Comments

Last weekend I spent a fair bit of time in the sewing room.  I am working on a project that I cannot show you for another week so more details then.

I have also been cleaning up and sorting out material – yet again.  Much of what I have is relatively small pieces so I have prepared some of them for future patchwork projects by cutting them into 5 inch squares.  The remaining pieces are bundled according to colour so that I know where to look if I need a specific colour.

001

Today I was given a couple of bags of material.  It is mostly substantial sized pieces which will be suitable for making entire garments so I am off to have a closer look at them and dream of some future creations.

002

A Gadget

4 Comments

Tonight I want to share a small gadget that we have had for a couple of years.  I don’t even know what you call it.

2014-11-01 02
This small device plugs into a standard power point and then you can plug any appliance or powerboard into it.  It comes with a remote control which you can use to turn the power on and off at the switch without actually having to manually reach the switch.  We have two of these.  One is in the lounge room and has a powerboard plugged into it.  We have the television, DVD player and hard drive plugged in so that with a single press of the remote control everything is turned off at the power point.  It is completely turned off – not on standby.  Did you know that any appliance where there is an illuminated light glowing is only on standby and is continuing to draw power even when it is not in use?

The other device was in the office where we had the computer and associated peripherals plugged into a powerboard. Both devices are programmed to the one remote control.

We realised recently that we had not been utilising the remote control to turn these devices off as the computer has some serious issues when you turn it off and try to turn it back on again.  The problem may be terminal but we have solved it for the time being by leaving it turned on at the power point.  So we removed the remote control device so that we could continue to turn the television off when not in use.  The question then arose as to where we could use the spare device.  We routinely turn all of the appliances off when not in use so it seems superfluous.

Last weekend when we cleaned out the top of the cupboard in the office I found this powerboard but did not have a use for it so put it downstairs in the workshop.

2014-11-01 01
This morning I worked out a way that I could put both of these items to good use.  I have a long sewing table in the spare room, however, the power point is under the table which necessitates me clambering under the table every time I want to plug in the sewing machine or iron.

2014-11-01 03
So, I plugged the gadget in and then the powerboard into it.

2014-11-01 04
The powerboard sits on the tables where it is an easy matter to plug in the sewing machine, iron or anything else.

2014-11-01 05
The individual power outlets on the board have their own switches so even if the main switch is turned on due to the remote control the individual outlets can remain turned off unless they are being used.

I am so glad that I came up with this solution as it is infinitely easier than crawling under the table to turn the power on and off.

Project 333 – Black & White

4 Comments

From time to time I set myself mini challenges to force me to push the boundaries of my streamlined wardrobe.  I decided that this week would be entirely monochromatic – a black and white theme.

The forecast for Monday was hot so I reached for this old faithful which I have owned for 4 years.  There is so much to love about it – 100% cotton with a collar and cut away armholes AND made in Australia.

Black dress with white spotsTuesday was nearly as hot so another 100% cotton dress was a good option.  This is the one I bought a month ago.

2014-10-26 01On Wednesday the temperature was more reasonable so I opted for black 3/4 pants with this blouse from the recycle boutique.  I have worn it several times since I bought it a few weeks ago.  It is destined to become a firm favourite.

2014-10-26 02Today I tried a previously untested combination.  The black 3/4 pants got another airing but this time I teamed them with a black sleeveless fitted top and this blouse worn unbuttoned over it.  The blouse is a very fine fabric and needs an appropriate coloured bra underneath it and as I only had a black bra clean I decided to be a little creative.  While the outfit looked perfectly acceptable, it just did not feel right to me.  I will keep the blouse to be worn as it was designed in future.  I also think that I prefer this particular blouse teamed with my straight black skirt rather than trousers.

BlouseTomorrow it is going to be quite warm so I plan to wear white 3/4 trousers and this shirt.

Shirt2013-02-27 03
I have plenty of other black and white options but I will save them for another time.  Here is a selection.

2013-02-27 01Dress and jacketSleeveless top2013-02-27 02

Organising Finances

2 Comments

I have been at work all day so nothing much to report on the home front.

However, we are currently working on a long-term financial plan as opposed to the day-to-day budget.  There is so much to consider – transition to retirement, salary sacrifice, superannuation options and so on.  We have sought professional guidance but the final decision is ours and we have to be comfortable that we have a workable and sustainable plan.

Retirement

Do you have a retirement strategy?  Or are you already retired from the workforce?

The Culling Continues

6 Comments

I have not written much lately about my decluttering efforts but that does not mean that it isn’t happening.

Today we finally got around to collating the documents we needed to have our tax returns done.  The Duke scanned these and emailed them to the accountant.  On thing led to another and I ended up cleaning out the filing cabinet as well as sorting and tidying the shelves in the cupboard.

We have one completely empty drawer in our 4 drawer filing cabinet and the others are sorted and tidied up.

2014-10-25 01There is a lot less stuff in the top cupboard.

2014-10-25 02The desk is spotless.

2014-10-25 03It is difficult to see but you will have to believe me when I say that we got rid of quite a bit of stuff.  All of the paper has been recycled.  Some went in the recycle bin but most was torn into strips and added to the the leaf litter in the new raised garden bed.  We topped it with a layer of mulch and watered it in well.  This will break down over time.

Things that have gone include:

Tax returns more than 5 years old
Bank statements more than five years old
A huge pile of scrap A4 paper from my old job for which I will never have a need
Old mobile phones
Old phone and computer cables
Empty boxes
Old ‘things’ that add no value to our lives
Warranties and instructions for appliances we no longer own
Information relating to previous jobs
Etc, etc, etc…………………….

Paper is one of the most difficult types of clutter to keep under control so it requires constant work to win the battle.  There will be more to do but I feel that we have made some real progress today.

This Time Last Year………….

1 Comment

……….well almost.  It was actually 15th October 2013 that I published  this post which was the beginning of a series based on Francine Jay’s book, “The Joy of Less”.

I re-discovered it recently when I was working on adding back the photos to my earlier blog posts.  The series is now complete with photos and I would encourage you to take the time to read all of the posts.  I think there are about a dozen of them.  Even though I wrote them, there were some revelations which have inspired me to keep going on my journey to let go of more ‘stuff’.

The original catalyst for the series was the purchase of a new refrigerator and the fact that it required me to open the door of the overhead cupboard every time I needed to access the refrigerator.  We did have the doors re-modelled and this is what it looks like now.

2014-10-10 01

Mini Moments

Leave a comment

My focus has been on the real world rather than blogging over the past week.

We have had a long weekend here and a house-guest which was lovely.

Much of the time was spent chatting and being social so not too much housework was done.  However it is interesting to look around and see that there was not too much that needed doing.  I think that the trick is to do a little bit frequently.

It only takes a moment to get a few small jobs done.  As you know, we do not arrive home from work until after 7pm.  Last night I made salad while The Duke cooked the salmon on the BBQ. After dinner I hung out a load of washing that I had done before I went to work and brought in the dry clothes from the line and folded them.  I also cleaned the vanity and mirror in the bathroom and re-made the guest bed.

Vanity

This morning I unloaded the dishwasher and tonight will bring in the washing plus finish the ironing.  There are only about 5 items as I did most of it on the weekend.

Hanging rack

I simply do not have the time or inclination to spend huge chunks of time on housework so this method works best for me.  It also means that my weekends are kept reasonably clear for spending time in the garden or more time-consuming jobs like preparing several meals.

A Different Giveaway

2 Comments

This is not a regular blog giveaway.  This is a personal advertisement to any reader who may be interested.  If you are interested please contact me either via the comments or email listed the ‘About Me’ page.

Details: Handmade christening gown and petticoat. I made this from the fabric offcuts of my wedding dress and it was worn by both my daughters and granddaughter but no longer required. Perfect condition. Fits baby approximately 3kg – 7kg (newborn to 6 months).

Pick-Up: I can post this anywhere worldwide. Postage is payable by the recipient.

 

Hello Again

Leave a comment

I think I am finally back on track and hope to have regular blog posts for you most days.  I have finally caught up and replied to all of your comments.  There has been a lot going on and I am working on a few different projects as well as the routine stuff and a full-time job.

Since I buy a large percentage of my groceries from bulk bins and bring it home in reusable bags, I decant it all into sealed containers in the pantry.  Even though it is all in reused jars I like the idea of having matching containers.  In order to achieve this I have tried to limit myself to just a couple of different jars and I am quite pleased with how it looks.  The labelling has been a bit hit and miss though.  The Duke finds it a bit intriguing that the raw sugar lived in a jar labelled ‘Quinoa Flakes’ and so on.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been working on improving the labelling.  The catalyst was the fact that we will have housesitters staying here while we are on holidays in a couple of months.

I have not finished it completely but enough is done to give you an idea.

Pantry storage
I have also labelled the spray bottles in the laundry that have pre-wash spray, diluted clove oil and window cleaner in them.

It amazing what we just accept as the norm in our own homes but it is an interesting exercise to stop and think about how a stranger would view your ‘systems’.