Category Archives: Organising

Sharing the Bounty

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We try to grow enough food so that we can share some with our extended family.  Some of our efforts are more successful than others.

Here are some mandarins and avocados that I took to Belle.

2012-06-16 01We usually have plenty of eggs, although this depends a bit on the season.  At the moment we have an abundance so I can give them away to various family members.  There are always many more lemons and limes than we can use so I have taken to putting them in the wheelbarrow outside the gate with a sign on a piece of cardboard indicating that they are free.

One of my planned projects is to make a more permanent arrangement using a sandwich board style of sign with the option of changing what is ‘advertised’.  I hope to be able to show it to you once I get around to making it.  Don’t hold your breath waiting, though!

It is great to be able to share.

Outdoor Organising – Woodshed

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The cold, wet weather of the past couple of weeks forced me to do some outdoor organising.  Our only form of heating is the wood-burning heater and this is fueled entirely by wood collected from our own land.

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We have an area next to the chicken coop which we use as a woodshed, however, this was mostly small branches suitable for kindling.

There are several piles of large pieces of wood that are out in the weather to season before being split into pieces that are suitable for the fireplace.  They have been there for at least a couple of years so are well and truly ready for use.

One of the problems with our wood storage system – if you can call it a system – is that it is stored directly on the ground and over a period of time this will degrade into soil.

After much thought over the years I was finally galvanised into action.

Most of the medium-sized pieces had been used last week to keep us warm and to dry the clothes so there was space cleared on the right-hand side of the shed.  I raked up the remnants of kindling and then used a couple of offcuts of corrugated iron to make a ‘floor’ and stacked some pieces from the outdoor pile against the side wall of the woodshed.  Now that the wood is undercover they will be able to dry out and be split ready for use.

We have a spare half-size wheelie rubbish bin which I filled  with small pieces of kindling.  That is now in the workshop and there are also 4 black tubs in the shed stacked with small to medium wood.

This definitely a work in progress but I am determined that the pile of large, wet  and well-seasoned logs in the backyard will be a a stack of dry,split firewood that is ready to use and easily accessible from the house.

The first step of the process has been taken towards this goal.  That is often the most difficult.

Do you have an overwhelming jobs that you do not  know where or how to start?

Project Streamline – Skirts

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Following on from my earlier posts on trousers, shorts and dress, here is the latest instalment of Project Streamline – skirts.

2012-06-11 01Grey patterned skirt with lining and ruffle
PROS – I love the style, always get positive comments
CONS – slightly too big in the waist, only one top that I can wear with it
DECISION – keep and continue to wear, alter the waistband to improve the fit, consider this skirt when buying more tops

2012-06-11 02Black skirt with lining and ruffle
PROS – I love the style, plenty of options of what to wear with it
CONS – the style is not as obvious in plain black, I have another black skirt which I prefer
DECISION – keep and continue to wear, probably would not replace it as I really don’t need 2 black skirts

2012-06-11 03Black crepe skirt
PROS – length, weight and style
CONS – NIL
DECISION – keep and continue to wear

2012-06-11 04Black and floral skirt
PROS – good fit, nice fabric, pretty
CONS – only suitable to wear with one top, 7 years old and I am just about sick of it, some of the embroidery is starting to catch and unravel small threads
DECISION – will probably be the next thing to go

2012-06-11 05Black and white striped denim skirt
PROS – good fit, comfortable
CONS – nil
DECISION – keep wearing it in the warmer weather

2012-06-11 06Floral skirt
PROS – good fit, get positive comments, I like it
CONS – only have 1 top to wear with it
DECISION – buy/make more tops to wear with it

2012-06-11 07Pink cotton skirt
PROS – bright colour, comfortable
CONS – several years old, won’t last forever
DECISION – keep it and continue to wear

My skirt collection is all about what I wear in public – unlike my trousers!  I have not included a skirt which I put aside when I first started Project 333 back in April as it most likely will not go back in the wardrobe.

Much and all as I have loved the floral embroidered skirt I think it is almost time to let it go.  Other than that the rest will stay for the time being.

Firepower

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The only heating we have is our wood heater and since we are out of the house most days it does not get used a lot.  It costs us nothing to run as the only wood we use is fallen branches from trees on our property.  This weekend it has been wet and cold so the fire has been on for the best part of each day.

While any heating is designed primarily for heating the room to a comfortable temperature it can be used for other purposes at the same time.

2012-06-10 01I put the kettle on top of the heater to heat some water and you can also see the wood drying out which will be added to the fire later.

2012-06-10 02Our wood fire is very versatile and will dry the clothes as well.  I have a clothes dryer which I use from time to time but the fire is better as I can even dry knitted and delicate items which I would not normally put in the dryer.

So the humble fire can keep the room warm, dry out the firewood, dry the clothes and heat water – all at the same time!

Can your heating do double duty?

Taking Care

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One of the most important things you can do is to take care of the possessions that you have.

This can come in many different forms such as sweeping and vacuuming floors regularly so that dirt does not get ground into the floor-covering or washing clothes using the appropriate method such as handwashing woollenknits.  Another is keeping your shoes in good condition.  You can extend the life of them significantly and keep them looking good with a few simple tips.

  • If they get wet, stuff the toes with some scrunched up newspaper while they dry so that the shape is maintained.
  • Polish your shoes regularly.  This reduces scuffing and maintains the suppleness of the leather.
  • Have heels and soles repaired or replaced before they get too worn.

2012-06-09 01This is our shoe cleaning kit which we keep in a lidded container in the cupboard under the laundry sink.  There is an assortment of brushes, rags and different coloured polish for our various shoes.  We also keep a couple of sets of spare shoelaces so that we have some on hand if we break a lace.

2012-06-09 02Here are my shoes and boots to be polished.  I always remove any laces before polishing so that I can effectively polish the whole shoe, including the tongue, without getting polish on the laces.

2012-06-09 03Polishing my shoes regularly is a routine which we were taught as young children.  Every weekend our school shoes had to be polished ready for the week ahead.  Some things never change.

Decluttering – How & Why

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Tonight I have copied a piece I wrote and posted on the forum at Simple Savings.

I was intrigued at what seems to be a sudden and exponentially increasing interest in decluttering.  This does not seem to be confined to a particular generation or socio-economic group.  I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

I am not sure of the reason but lately there have been many, many posts from people wanting to declutter or who are overwhelmed by their stuff and do not know where to start.

I have written this in order to lay out my thoughts and experiences in a logical manner. I am also happy to answer any questions.

  • I am not a professional organiser
  • I have had a cluttered, messy house in the past

I started my decluttering journey in a very small way about 10 years ago with 2 teenagers still living at home. We have moved house in that time and now there is only The Duke and I at home so our circumstances have changed significantly.

Recently, I have read several books on minimalism and decluttering as well as numerous blogs on the subject. I would strongly recommend that you read at least one. If you have a Kindle, download a book or otherwise borrow it from the library – you don’t want to be bringing more stuff into your home.

Here are a few to get you started.

  • Winning The Clutter War by Sandra Felton
  • The Joy of Less by Francine Jay
  • Simplify by Joshua Becker
  • Basics of Minimalism by Janice Becker

They are all good and have their place but my personal favourite is ‘The Joy of Less’. As well as gentle, practical advice there is a good deal about the psychology of stuff and actually changing your mindset to enable you to let things go. I found this particularly useful.

There are a few things that were important for me to consider.

  • I did not throw things out as I consider this wasteful and would rather take my time and use things up and not replace them.
  • I re-homed things that I no longer required – via either the op shop or Freecycle
  • Making money was not important for me but you may choose to list things on E-bay or Gumtree
  • Do not fill up the space that you create with more stuff – this is why it is important to read and understand the psychology of keeping stuff.

The big question is always ‘where or how do I start?’

This really depends on your circumstances and why you want to declutter. Is a particular thing getting you down, such as children’s toys? Or is it years of accumulated papers? Do you have to eat dinner on your lap because the dining room table is covered with piles of clean washing waiting to be folded?

Whatever the reason, you need a 2-pronged approach. As well as decluttering you need to maintain the regular daily chores such as washing dishes, preparing meals and washing clothes. If the clutter is impacting on your ability to do the basics you will need to address that as a priority. Do one small thing first and work from there.

Whatever you decide only tackle an area big enough for you to actually complete. There is no point in emptying out an entire wardrobe only to find that you run out of time or inspiration and you are left with piles all over the floor. It is better to do your underwear drawer and enjoy the feeling of opening it and seeing everything folded and in its place. Then you maintain the order in it and you will find that you want all of the drawers like this so gradually you will work through until it is all done.

Organising goes hand in hand with decluttering but is not a replacement for it. Stashing things into umpteen boxes and crates is not the answer. I understand that it is difficult in some houses with minimal storage space so you will have to come up with some creative solutions, however, best of all is to ask yourself whether it really needs to stay in your home.

There is a lot more I could write, but it is over to you, now.

What is your story?

Project Streamline – Shorts

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I know it is almost winter (and the temperatures definitely reflect that fact) but today I am going to review my selection of shorts.  Perhaps it is easier to be rational about clothes in the opposite season?

SHORTS

Once again, I will catalogue everything that are shorts regardless of the state of them.

2012-05-28 01Good casual shorts – 3 pairs – black, white and khaki in the same style.
PROS – colour, fit
CONS –none
DECISION – they all stay – basis of my summer casual wardrobe

2012-05-28 02Rugby knit shorts x 2 – grey and red
PROS – comfortable, worn at home
CONS – 11 years old, paint-spattered
DECISION – keep wearing until they wear out

2012-05-28 03Refashioned shorts from some hiking pants
PROS – super comfortable and lightweight
CONS – generally worn at home or locally
DECISION – keep wearing them

2012-05-28 04Board shorts
PROS – hardly worn
CONS – not sure how much I will wear these
DECISION – reassess my swimwear/board shorts when it gets closer to summer

Today I heard of someone planning an overseas trip who thought 1 pair travel pants, 3 pairs jeans, 3 pairs cargo pants and a skirt was a reasonable number of ‘bottoms’ to pack.  I don’t even own 3 pairs of jeans!!  When I hear stories like that I know that I do not really have a lot of clothes.

Frugal at the Football

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Today we went to the football and were going to be out for most of the day and it was quite a cool day.  Last night I cooked up a big pot of pumpkin soup so that we could take some with us.

2012-05-26 01Here is what I got out ready to pack.This is a glass-lined wide-necked thermos which belonged to my parents.  I am not sure how old it is but probably nearly as old as I am.  It is perfect for keeping the soup hot.

2012-05-26 02I also used an old towel to wrap the thermos and an insulated bag.  We bought the bag at a supermarket in New Zealand when we were on holidays last year.  There are also 4 mugs and soup spoons.

We bought 6 rolls at a bakery near the train station for $3 and also took some muffins and apples from home.  The soup stayed hot and the warmth and nutrition was welcome.

We did not spend any money on food of average quality and inflated cost at the match so the only cost was our tickets.  There was also no waste created from disposable containers.

Organising On The Run

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Just because I am away from the house does not mean that the organising has to be put on hold.

There are all sorts of small things you can do while you are out and about, particularly while commuting.

Digital files are one of modern life’s organising challenges and they turn up in all sorts of places.  Whether it is lists on your computer, contacts for your mobile phone, songs on your iPod or books on an ereader you need to keep them in some sort of order so that you can locate them when you want them.

I do not have a huge number of books on my Kindle yet but I have decided to develop a ‘filing system’ for them before it becomes too overwhelming.

This is before I started.  I had 4 pages of books that I have downloaded so far.

2012-05-22 01Once I completed the index, it is now much easier to find a particular book, especially as my Kindle library expands.  I may add more categories as time goes on but these are definitely enough to get started.  The categories I have chosen are all condensed onto one page and the books are sorted into the relevant collection/folder.

2012-05-22 02What digital files have you organised?

Project Streamline – Dress

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Did you notice the singular – dress?  That is correct, I own 1 dress.  I have had this dress for 3 years and during the summer it is worn at least once per week.  It works well at the cusp of the season with a cardigan, too.  This is a perfect example of everything an item of clothing should be.

Relatively classic style
Versatile
Good quality
Comfortable

It is also fully lined, 100% cotton and made in Australia.

When I first tried it on I realised that it would require some alterations as it was too long in the waist and too deep in the armholes for me.  I was able to do this by removing the collar and lifting the shoulder seams before replacing the collar.  Even if I had to pay for this to be professionally done, it would have been worth the expense.

So, no decluttering in this category.  The dress stays and has pride of place in my wardrobe.

Black dress with white spotsI want to make a couple more dresses like this one so that I can wear a dress and sandals to work each day during the summer.  The existing dress is still way too good to consider deconstructing it so I may have to use a combination of a commercial pattern and the measurements from the dress.

There are no other categories  in my wardrobe which contain only a single item, so next week I will be back to justifying my various collections.

Meanwhile, I am creating a list of things I would like to buy when we are overseas.  The first things on the list are 2 pairs of trousers that are suitable for wearing to work  and an outfit for a wedding at the end of March in Canberra.  I have no idea of what I want for the wedding outfit so it will be a matter of looking to see what I like.  The other criteria will be that it is versatile enough to be able to be worn for other occasions.