Category Archives: Organising

Sunday Stuff

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Today I continued with my sewing and sorting our some more of the stuff that was on my sewing table.

I have all but finished the apron I am making.  Just a bit of handsewing on the waistband and buttons and buttonholes to attach the neck strap.

2012-04-15 01This is what the neck strap and buttons will look like.

2012-04-15 02Finally, the pocket detail of which I am rather proud.

2012-04-15 03I really hope my apron partner likes it.

The next things I am working on are 2 summer tops for myself.  I know I will not need them for several months but it will be nice to have them finished and hanging in my wardrobe, rather than cluttering up space on my work table.

Now that the space is cleared I can see exactly what else I have to sew.  There are several Christmas gift bags as well as fabric for a reusable shopping bag (I am going to copy an existing one for a pattern).  I have other fabric earmarked to make a skirt for my niece, summer pyjamas for my granddaughter, a dress for Belle and a couple of polo shirts for The Duke so there is plenty to keep me occupied.

My plan is to do some sewing at least one each week and gradually work my way through the ‘To Do’ list.

On other matters, I have done a menu plan for the week for both lunches and dinners.  I have been rather slack lately and although we have not resorted to takeaway or eating out, my planning has been a bit haphazard.  I am back on track and hopefully this will make the morning rush a bit less rushed.  Tomorrow we are having leftover lasagne and salad and this is all prepared and in the refrigerator ready to grab and go in the morning.

I like to spend some time on Sundays getting organised so that I can have a headstart on the coming week.

Are you prepared for the week ahead?

Working Smarter – Laundry

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Increasing productivity and working smarter seem to be a constant catchcry in many of our workplaces but have you ever thought about working smarter at home?

I have been doing the laundry in our home for over 30 years but a few weeks ago had a ‘lightbulb moment’.  Who said that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

We have 2 laundry hampers in our home.  This one in the bedroom.

2012-04-12 01The other one is in the cupboard in the laundry.

2012-04-12 02These are not for any specific items.  They are located for convenience, depending on where you are.

We have a front-loading washing machine and have done for almost 20 years.  The only downside that I find is bending to load the clothes into it.

I have realised that I can easily upend the first hamper of clothes onto the bench.  The hamper is easy to lift as it is nylon mesh.  The second hamper has a cloth bag liner which lifts out and I tip the contents on to the bench as well.

2012-04-12 03I can then easily sort the clothes on the bench with no bending.  I then toss the pile to be washed onto the floor, kneel down and load the machine.  This way there is no bending to drag clothes out of hampers or bending and twisting to load individual items into the machine.

I cannot believe that I had not thought of this before.  Simple, effective and kind to my back.

What tips do you have that make a difference when you are doing physical tasks around the home?

Perfect For The Kitchen

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Today we picked up 4 chairs for our breakfast bar.  A friend was selling them since she is moving house and they are not the right style for their new home.

The are perfect for ours and the fabric even matches with colours in the benchtop.

2012-04-01 01Our previous ones were black vinyl ones on a chrome base.  They had an adjustable height but 2 of them have lost the gas in the adjuster.  They will probably go on Freecycle.  The other 2 have gone to Belle who has just moved and has a small breakfast bar so they will be perfect for her children.

We have spent the weekend helping her to move house and also sort out and declutter lots of ‘stuff’.  Things are looking much clearer and more streamlined and I know she is happy with the result.

As well as giving our stools to Belle, we have brought some things home that are useful to us.  One is the lawnmower, which originally belonged to my mother but was no longer required when she moved into a unit.  Now Belle has moved into a townhouse and is no longer responsible for the garden maintenance so the mower can now replace ours which recently died.

With family at all different ages and stages of life we often find that furniture or other items that are no longer required can be passed on to another family member.

Project 333 – Ready, Set, Go….

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Well, it is almost April 1st so I spent some time today getting ready for my first involvement with Project 333.  See this post to find out what it is all about.

Here is my cupboard with most of what I have chosen for my project.

???????????????????????????????There are 2 pairs of trousers missing as they are currently in the laundry basket.  This makes a total of 32 items so I thought I would keep a spare space, in case I thought of something else.

Here they are listed.

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

I will be putting other clothes back in the wardrobe as I don’t want to move them to another room.

I have put aside 5 pairs of shoes to go – I will try to sell them on Gumtree but otherwise they will go via Freecycle.

I have not culled many clothes as I do not have a huge collection.  However, a few things will be re-homed.

2012-03-30 02This is a black polar fleece vest which I re-modelled from a hand-me-down and it is really too big so out it goes.  The shirt is a cotton sleeveless one but the colour is not particularly flattering now that my hair colour has changed significantly.

2012-03-30 03This pile are a bit too tight so I have decided to put them in a bag and if they are still too tight in 12 months they will go.  There is a skirt, pair of trousers and 2 jackets.

2012-03-30 04This shirt has been well-worn but has lost its sharpness of black and white – looking decidedly grey.  I love the style so I plan to de-construct it to make a pattern.  Off to the sewing room for this one.

I will endeavour to update my progress each day.  Hopefully there will be more successes than failures.

If you are joining the Project 333 challenge please feel free to post a link to your blog in the comments.

Shuffling the Deckchairs

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When I was dusting and cleaning in the living room I realised that although we have six chairs in our dining suite only two of them are used regularly.  In fact there are four at the table.

The table extends to an oval and then seats six people when required.

2012-11-25 02

One of the extra chairs is used in my sewing room.

2012-03-20 02

The other is in the corner of the dining area.

I have decided that in order to keep them all in good condition I will rotate the chairs at intervals of six months.  This will ensure that there is not one in the corner which consistently exposed to the sun and also that the same two do not get constant wear and tear whereas the others are rarely used.

Do you have things that you rotate so that they all wear evenly?

I also rotate the bedsheets (3 sets), bath towels (4 sets) and teatowels.  I always take from the top of the pile and replace the freshly washed ones on the bottom.

What Shoes to Choose?

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As part of Project 333 I need to include footwear in my 33 items.  This is my real challenge as I have 19 pairs of footwear in my cupboard.  That does not include my slippers, gumboots, old sneakers for gardening and old Birkenstocks for around the yard.

There were 2 pairs of dressy black heels which were given to me – virtually brand-new.  After more than 12 months I have worn one pair once and never worn the other pair.  They were not even in my wardrobe but in the cupboard in the guest room.

Here they are.

2012-03-26 01And the other pair.

2012-03-26 02

They are both destined to go to someone who can wear them and benefit from them today rather than sitting in my cupboard with me worrying about them going mouldy in the humid weather.  These are the first ‘casualties’ of Project 333 – Autumn 2012.

The rest of the shoes do get worn, albeit some not particularly often as they are specialty items.  These include high-heeled knee-high boots, hiking boots and hiking sandals.

If I am not going to blow my 33 items on footwear I am going to have to choose carefully.  At the moment I think these will be the ones that make the cut.

2012-03-26 03Black heels which I wear with my skirts.

2012-03-26 04Ankle boots to wear with trousers in cooler weather.

2012-03-26 05Everyone needs a pair of red shoes, don’t they?  These are the most comfortable shoes in the world and I wear them with my jeans/travel pants.

2012-03-26 06Sandals which I wear with summer skirts, dresses, shorts and 3/4 pants.  I need these as the weather is still quite warm and could be for another month.

I still have a few more days before I have finalise the list so there will be plenty more soul-searching yet.

If you are joining the challenge please post a link to your own blog or feel free to post a list of your items in the comments section.

Project 333

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I have signed up for Project 333, a challenge to have a wardrobe of just 33 items for 3 months.  I will be starting on April 1st so now is the time to start tweaking my list.  You can read all about the project here.

I have started my list and here are some of the items I have selected.  I wonder if they will all make the final cut?

Black/white striped shirt
Pink cardigan

Shirt and pink cardigan

Black cord jacket
Pink and black striped top

007

Black striped top
Pink vest

004

Black/cream blouse
Pink suede jacket

006

Dusty pink top
Black jacket

005

Black top with squares

002 (3)

Grey trousers
Black 3/4 trousers

008

Black skirt

009

Floral skirt

010

That is 14 items so far which should just about cover work and going out wear.  I still need some casual wear and shoes.  I suspect the shoes could be my undoing!

I know that the 3 month period will include a couple of days at an outdoor music festival as well as a celebration dinner at a swish restaurant as well as all of my usual activities.

It is interesting to note that most of the items are between 3 and 8 years old so they have stood the test of time already.  In fact the top with the square pattern on it is over 10 years old.

I will definitely add jeans and travel pants as well as a rugby top and polo-neck knit top.  The definitive list will be posted in the next week or two.  There will also be regular updates on my success (or otherwise).

Will you be joining in?

Home Sweet Home

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There is nothing I enjoy more than a weekend at home without any major commitments.  After a busy week (and this week has been busier than most) I am ready to take my time doing simple tasks at home.

My plans were thwarted slightly this evening as the train is running late.  This was due to congestion from an earlier police incident at on of the central city railway stations.  I made a conscious decision not to let this stress me but I have used the extra time to catch up on some internet reading and now writing my blog.

I am tired after a full week of work and a late night last night, as we went to see Ross Noble, a very funny and irreverent comedian.  I have an easy dinner planned, we will be eating baked potatoes topped with bolognaise sauce and served with some salad.

Tomorrow I intend to get the house back into order now that the bathroom is finished.

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last couple of days along with the brevity of this one as well as no photos.  I promise I will make amends over the weekend.

Have a fun and fulfilling weekend.

Press Play

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I feel as though I have had the ‘Pause’ button on as everything has been on hold while the bathroom was being done.  Now I can see the things that I want to do.  These include:

2012-03-20 01

  • Dust and polish the furniture in the front entry
  • Replace the ornaments and china from the sideboard (these have been residing on my sewing table)
  • Sort out the other clutter that has also accumulated on the table
  • Get back to doing some sewing (including more gift bags which I have cut out)
  • Sweep and wash the verandah – this has some sawdust remnants from the building work

2012-03-20 02Mention of the gift bags reminds me that I did not do an update post for Lazy Brownie Day in February (25th).  I hope to have lots to post for March and get back on track to have a planned, organised Christmas.

Yesterday I picked up some crochet cotton that a friend bought for me in a sale.  I am going to use this to knit some dishcloths.  There are lots of patterns available but I think I will start with the one that Rhonda has in her book, ‘Down to Earth’.

2012-03-20 03I am also pleased to report that almost everything that I listed on Freecycle under the generic heading of ‘Handyman Materials’ has been collected.  I love the fact that someone is going to be able to use these things and it has freed up some space in the workshop.

I am busy at work this week (working off-site for the next 3 days) so it will be the weekend before I make much progress.  Tonight I have finished folding the washing that dried on the indoor airer over the past few days and now it is time to catch up on some ironing.

Going, Going, Gone….

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Today we have spent the day at home catching up on several jobs.

The Duke painted the ceiling of the bathroom and I did the edges of the cornices and also the new architraves on the window and doors.  The ceiling is finished but the architraves need another coat.  We have had the dehumidifier running in the bathroom for most of the day to get the paint thoroughly dry.

Here is a photo which shows the new lights and also the painted ceiling and window frame.

2012-03-18 01I also sorted out various things in the workshop and space under the stairs.  Then it was time to list some things on Freecycle.  Sometimes I do not have much success and other days everything is wanted.  Today was a good day as I have found new homes for 3 small tins of paint, 2 spraycans of paint, a bathroom stool, the old showerscreen, some excess tiles from the laundry, tiling materials (adhesive, grout etc) and some timber slats.  It is great that other people will be able to use them and we have freed up a bit of space.

We moved the cupboard that had previously been at the foot of the stairs and it is now ensconced in the workshop.  All of the paint and painting equipment is now sorted and stored in the cupboard.

As is often the case, the re-arranging is a work in progress so is actually looking worse than when we started but that will soon change.

The showerscreen and mirror should be installed tomorrow so I am looking forward to that.  It will mean that I can then replace all of my china and ornaments back on the sideboard.  These were removed before the bathroom renovation so they would not be damaged when equipment was being brought in and out of the house.  Things will soon be back to normal.

As Poppet would say, ‘what is normal?’