Category Archives: Organising

Transformed

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What a difference 75 minutes can make!  Yesterday I showed you my small bit of organising.  I had sorted the tangle of unironed clothes from earlier in the week into piles of shirts, skirts, t-shirts and so on.

2013-02-14 01This morning I caught the slightly later train so I decided to get as much of the ironing done as possible.  There is no doubt that, not only am I a ‘fowl’ (morning person), I do perform better when I am working to a deadline.  I knew that I had a window of 75 minutes, so naturally the challenge (in my head) was on to get as much done in the allotted time as possible. Here is the result.

2013-02-15 02 All I have left to do are the 3 pairs of trousers for The Duke which are on the left-hand end of the ironing board in the photo.

2011-07-10 02Because I use a steam iron and we live in an area of high humidity, I always hang the ironed clothes to air and dry thoroughly before putting them in the wardrobe. Ironing seems to be a universally hated task, however, I actually do not mind it – especially once I get started.  I find a great deal of satisfaction in having crisp, clean clothes hanging in the cupboard ready to wear. I know many people choose not to iron most of their clothes and some do not even own an iron.  That is not an option for me as both The Duke and I work in a corporate environment and almost all of our clothes are either 100% or primarily cotton/linen. There are stories of people who iron everything – including underwear and bed linen.  I think that may well be from a time when clothes dryers were not commonplace and it was a way of ensuring that everything was totally dry.  I do iron handkerchiefs, pillowcases, tablecloths , serviettes and teatowels which some would regard as extreme but I guess it is a matter of each to his own. What is your ironing story?

Small Steps

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During the week I do not have much time to do housework but some of the smallest things can make a difference.

I have managed to do 2 loads of washing since we arrived home on Sunday evening.  The folding is done and put away but I have not got near the clothes that need to be ironed.

2013-02-14 01Last night I quickly sorted out the pile which had been upended on the single bed in my sewing/ironing room into piles of similar items – The Duke’s business shirts in one pile, my skirts in another etc.  It now looks much more manageable and I plan to do at least some it tomorrow morning before I catch the slightly later train in the morning.

Do you have any tips and tricks that make a task seem less daunting (and look more organised in the meantime)?

Project 333 – Clothes Shopping

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One of the things I did while I was in Melbourne was to buy some new clothes.  I bought 3 skirts, 2 dresses and a jacket but they were not just random pieces.  Each had to earn its place in my wardrobe and be able to be worn in a variety of ways.

Here is one of the skirts.

2013-02-11 01I wore it to work today with an existing black top.

2013-02-11 02These are the dresses I bought.  They are the same style and can both be worn with the red jacket I bought.  I also have a black cardigan and a pink cardigan as well as a black jacket so there will be several options.

2013-02-11 03I will show you some of the other items another day.

On the weekend, I hope to have time to go through my wardrobe and decide what I need move out.  I am definitely getting closer to having a selection of clothes that I love, fit me well and can be worn in a variety of ways.  I prefer to have a small number of quality pieces than a cupboard bursting at the seams with ‘bargains’.

Chasing My Tail

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It does not take much to get the organisation out of sync.

On the weekend I spent most of the time outdoors.  I was helping The Duke with the fencing and my hands and legs bear testament to having done battle with the wire.

Fence-building

So, naturally the the jobs which I normally do on the weekends were neglected.  I still cooked meals but the kitchen was not properly tidied.

Dinner

The washing was done but not the ironing. Ironing board

Floors were swept but not mopped.

Floor

I made a concerted effort last night and this morning and have mostly caught up.  Now I need to give some thought to packing as we are going to Melbourne for a few days.  There may be a couple of gaps between posts while I get on with my ‘real’ life but I will be back on track soon.

Dinner Module

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I have previously mentioned the concept of having modules to contain items fore a particular purpose.  It helps to set limits so that you cannot begin to store more of a group of items than what will fit in the container.

Modules are also a useful concept to keep all of the things that will be used for a project in one place.  It is this theory that I applied this morning in my kitchen.

Before I left for work I began the preparation for dinner.  We will be having stuffed capsicums (red peppers) so the peppers are de-seeded and washed.  I also thawed some rice which I will use when I make one for The Duke and there is grated sweet potato for the stuffing of mine.  I have not finalised exactly what else I will use but there will definitely be mushrooms in the mix.

So, I grabbed a large plastic container (and lid), put all of the partly prepared ingredients in the tub and popped it in the fridge.  Now it is all ready to go when I get home so I can quickly finish the preparation.

2013-01-24 01

The Power of One

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This morning I opened  a drawer in the sideboard – it was empty.

Empty drawer
Surprised?  I was about to put away the things that I store in it – the vinyl cloth for the outdoor table and the net food cover.  The drawer was empty because I had been using these items and I only have one of each of them.

Tablecloth & food cover
This started me thinking about other things of which I only have one.  Do I need more than one of them?  Are there things that  could be reduced to a single item?

Here are some things that I own a single item whereas I know many people have multiples.

Dress
Washing basket
Pillow per spare bed
Television
Sheet set for for single bed and trundle bed
Camera
Mascara

I have also managed to just have 1 bottle each of conditioner and shampoo.  We both use the same and have no need for an array of fancy specialist products.

I am working towards having 1 bottle of body lotion and 1 lipstick (have 2 at the moment) but that will take time as I prefer to use things up rather than just toss them for the sake of it.

We are not so good with other things, such as:

2 laptops as well as a desktop computer
2 sets of good tablemats
2 mops
3 hammers (all the same size)
I could go on but this just gives you an idea of some of how easily we can acquire (and keep) multiples of various items.

What is limited/streamlined at your place and what seems to multiply?

Doubled-Up No More

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We have been given a large number of titles for our Kindles so on the weekend I decided to check if some were double-ups of hard copies that we already owned.  Sure enough, there were over 80 books that we already had on our bookshelves.

2013-01-15 01Here are some of the books which we will be letting go.  It will mean less to store, dust etc.  We will even have some empty shelf space.

2013-01-15 02I have listed some of the books to give away on a couple of sites including Freecycle but have not had any luck.

If any of my Australian readers have suggestions as to where I can give them away where they will be appreciated that would be great.  In fact, if you are interested in any and live in south-east Queensland or are prepared to pay postage please let me know and I can send you a list of the available titles.

Clear The Clutter

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I have spent several years gradually decluttering in an effort to simplify my life.  I am not sure what the end point of this journey looks like, or even whether there is a destination.  Since I have most areas in my house fairly clear and streamlined,  I am certainly at the point where it is easy to recognise potential clutter before it becomes entrenched.

It is important to identify things before they become clutter.  An example is a plastic water jug that was in our refrigerator.  It had obviously developed a hairline crack because I discovered a pool of water on the shelf where it was standing.  Until yesterday this was a perfectly functional item in our kitchen, today it will not hold water which is what I use it for.  So, I have thrown it in the garbage.  Some people would suggest that it could be used to store/display non-liquid items or be refashioned into something else.  I am all for minimising the amount of stuff that goes to landfill, however, I do not need this jug for any other purpose other than holding water, so out it goes.

Do I need another plastic water jug?  I am trying to use more glass and less plastic in the kitchen so my plan is to look for a suitable glass jug.  It is not desperately urgent so I may check out the op shops when I have time.

My sewing room is one area where I still have quite a bit of ‘stuff’.  I am gradually working through it so tonight I did a little more.  Just before Christmas it was a bit of a mad flurry to get the sewing table (folding) cleared so that I could fit bedding for 4 children in this room.  I have previously resisted stashing things away without sorting them properly but as time was limited I carefully folded the remaining fabric and half-finished projects into 2 lidded boxes.  I put the boxes in the wardrobe but as soon as Christmas was over and the table re-instated I brought the boxes out and placed them on the table as a reminder to me that I had to sort through the contents.

2013-01-06 01There are several garments which I had bought from the op shop last year with a view to using the fabric for my patchwork.  I had begun unpicking this blouse which was in the box so I decided to finish that job.

2013-01-06 02Here is the material that I have for use in my patchwork project.

2013-01-06 03The buttons have been salvaged and are now in my button collection.

2013-01-06 04The scraps of fabric have been discarded.

2013-01-06 05I now have 1 less thing in my ‘to do’ pile.  Here are another couple of garments which are the next things I plan to deconstruct and use for patchwork.

2013-01-06 06By having the things confined in a box I can easily see that I am making progress in clearing them out.

Do you have a particular room or type of items that present a decluttering challenge to you?

Project 333 – A New Dress For Christmas

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Do you remember the excitement of getting a new dress for Christmas or your birthday?  It was really exciting because it was a rare occurrence.  Now it is relatively cheap and easy to buy a new outfit whenever you please and I feel that this detracts from the excitement.  Is it the fact that we are trying to recreate that excitement that sends people back to the shops to buy more and more clothes and shoes?

Black dress with white spotsActually, I did not get a new dress for Christmas, in fact I did not receive any gifts of clothing nor did I buy any clothes during the Christmas season.  This is the only dress I currently own.  It is about 3 years old and I wear it at least once a week for about 8 months of the year.

2012-12-03 01I did not feel any need to rush out and buy something new for a special occasion.  I have enough clothes at the moment to cover my needs which are the same as they were a few months ago.  I did make this skirt before Christmas and wore it to a Christmas lunch with my work colleagues as well as on Christmas Day with my family.

One of my sewing projects is to make a new lining for a skirt so that I can wear the skirt to a wedding in March.  The wedding is in Canberra so it could be quite cool so I want to make a jacket, probably black velvet and my sister has offered to lend me her black pashmina as well.

Although I am not strictly participating in Project 333 at the moment, I am constantly reviewing the clothes I own and deciding what may be the next thing to go and whether or not it needs to be replaced.  Even though we still have the hottest part of the summer ahead of us, I am already considering what I will need for winter.  I have lost weight in the last 6 months and I am managing to continue to wear most of my existing clothes but one of the first casualties was the one pair of grey trousers which I wore to work.  I had been wearing them for several seasons and they were looking a little past their prime.  I sent them to the op shop when I discovered that I could pull them down over my hips without undoing the fly.  I must admit that they were always a little on the large side.

Shopping is definitely not a pastime for me but I will have to make a concerted effort to find some nice fitting trousers.  I would like 2 pairs, perhaps a charcoal grey and a lighter grey.

I like good quality clothes that are a flattering cut and colour for me but I do not feel the need to have a bulging wardrobe.  I am getting closer to my goal of only having items that I wear regularly and being able to mix and match most, if not all of the pieces.

If you haven’t heard of Project 333 then here might be the place to start.  You can also check out some of my earlier posts on the subject by typing 333 into the search function on the right-hand side of the page.

Do you have any hints or suggestions for minimising the contents of your wardrobe?

Back to the Bathroom

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I know the old adage about housework being a never-ending job but I am pretty sure that decluttering falls into the same category.

Even though it does not seem that long since I went through the cupboard and drawers in the bathroom vanity I have just done it again.  The catalyst was a small bottle of rosehip oil that the rubber top of the dropper had perished and stuck to the side of the drawer.  I noticed this before Christmas but didn’t have time to deal with it properly then.  I also discovered that the last of my blush compact had crumbled and spilled into the perspex container so I took everything out, cleaned, sorted and tossed before returning everything to their rightful homes.

When I went to refill my tablet dispenser I noticed how grotty it was so I took it apart and washed it.

2013-01-02 01I knew these were in the drawer but when I saw them I decided to make the effort and actually use the foot soak and cream – feels good!

2013-01-02 02But first, I soaked my feet in my home-made remedy.  It is ground rolled oats and safflower oil.  I make it in the food processor  – grind the oats and then add the oil until it is a paste-like consistency.  Store in the refrigerator and add a tablespoon to some warm water and soak feet in it for 10 – 20 minutes.

2013-01-02 03This was originally given to me as a remedy for my daughter’s eczema – use in the bath instead of soap.  BEWARE – it makes the bath slippery and also needs cleaning very frequently.  However, it is worth it as I needed no nasty chemical lotions and potions.  I found that it healed my cracked, dry hands simply in the few minutes I had my hands in it when I was bathing my daughter.