Category Archives: Organising

Pantry Overhaul

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Even though my pantry was reasonably organised, I decided to give it an overhaul today.  I had noticed that there were a few things stashed in containers at the front of the shelf that needed to be used or relocated.

This is what it looked like before I started.

2012-02-12 01The photo does not show the top shelf which has 2 tubs of glass jars – ones with pop-top lids in one tub and those without in the other.  I sorted all of the jars, made sure they all had lids, labels had been removed and were ready to be used when I need them.

I took a lot of the stuff out and re-arranged the jar storage system so inevitably things looked a lot worse before they got better.  Here is a view of the kitchen earlier this afternoon.

2012-02-12 02And more….

2012-02-12 03To add some interest to my day, The Duke announced at lunchtime that there were 3 branches that needed trimming of the lime tree but they were laden with fruit.  He was prepared to leave them for the time being but since the tree is never completely dormant I decided now was as good a time as any.  I picked a 10 litre bucket full of limes and cut the offending branches off.  So, in the midst of the pantry project I juiced the limes and have frozen them – some in ice-cube trays and some in 400ml blocks.

I moved a couple of things from the pantry to the sideboard so we cast a critical eye over the contents of the sideboard.  The Duke and I agreed that a few things could go.  A true minimalist would probably get rid of almost the entire contents but that is not my style.  However, it is good to refresh your memory of what is actually stored and I have resolved to use some of my ‘good’ things more regularly.

My op shop bag is now full and ready to go when I am next going to town.  I also have a bag of a few items for Belle.  I always offer anything which I think may be useful to my daughters before I consider sending it to the op shop or Freecycle.  However, they understand that there is no compulsion for them to accept it and I will not be mortally wounded if they say no.

I have finally finished revamping the pantry and this is the result.

2012-02-12 04Bottom shelves

2012-02-12 05I threw out a couple of bits of foodstuff – a few crumbs of powdered mustard in a tin that must be at least 10 years old, some jam that had gone mouldy and a handful of glace cherries that  were over 12 months old and were all dried and shrivelled.  I had about 3 bottles with a tiny bit of oil in each so that was all decanted into the current bottle.

I now know that everything in the pantry is useful, in working order  or fit to be eaten.  I also know exactly what is there and can work on using up some of the odd items which are not part of my regular basic stores.

Remember Lazy Brownie?

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Early in January, I wrote a post about my Christmas plans for 2012.  It is here.

As I suspected I did not get everything done on 25th January as planned but I am making progress.  Here is what I had on the list.

January

  • Sort and file Christmas cards and letters – DONE
  • Make sure any contact details are updated in address book – DONE
  • Update Christmas card list – DONE
  • Set up complete contact list for 2012 e-cards – NEEDS A BIT MORE WORK

In conjunction with updating the contact details in my address book I embarked on another project which took me a couple of weeks.  I have made sure that I have current contact details for all of my friends and relatives in my physical address book as well as my email contacts address book and my mobile phone address book.  The Duke checked that he had the relevant ones in his mobile phone and we also have some that we need at our fingertips in the home phone speed dial.  Now all I have to do is make sure that I update all locations when I am given new contact details for anyone.  I really hope that I keep on top of this issue as I do not want to have to do the sorting and cross-referencing of the past couple of weeks.  The memory of that should be enough to keep me on track.

2012-02-09 01I have also been doing some sewing today and have finished making the first 2 of my Christmas gift bags.  They are not for anything or anyone in particular but my aim is to have a collection in a variety of sizes so that I will have one suitable for whatever the gift happens to be.

2012-02-09 02

A Precious Resource

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When we think of resources many would think of water, electricity or the minerals in the ground.

For those embracing a simple life, one of the greatest resources is time.  Time to make your food from scratch, time to repair your possessions, time to refashion clothes, time to spend in the garden growing your own food and so on.

Time is a valuable resource and it is in our best interests to use it wisely.  As some of you would know from previous posts, I am not a great fan of multi-tasking.  Nor do I expect that we should be ‘doing’ something all of the time.  Taking time out to just ‘be’ is as important as any task.

Sometimes it is worth looking to see if you can identify time which is just being wasted.  For me it would be the 2.5 hours I spend travelling on the train each day.  I often use the time to write my blog, reply to emails, plan menus for the week or update my diary.  Sometimes I knit or do some hand sewing.  Today I have redone the hem of a dress for Missy.  I also stitched the facings down as they had tend to roll out otherwise.

Do you have any windows of time in your day that you could use to take the pressure off what you try to fit into 24 hours?  Perhaps it is while waiting to pick up children from school or a sports event?

Another Book

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Tonight I want to tell you a little about a book I read recently. It is an ebook which I found at Extra Organized, by Kim Woodland.  No disrespect to my American friends but it is refreshing to read an organising book written by an Australian author.

The sub-title of the book is, “How to use the best of organizing to shape a meaningful life”.  This sums up the essence of the book beautifully.  Organising is not about buying more boxes to put things in.  It is about using your organising skills to manage all facets of your life and really living your life today, in the here and now.

I love the simplicity and clarity of purpose used in the book.  I have read the book twice so far and I know it will continue to be a reference and source of inspiration for me.

If you are interested in organising to make a real difference in your attitude to your possessions and relationships I would thoroughly recommend this book.  Just pop over to her blog to find out more.

A Quick Fix – Utensil Drawer

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Today I have been working on sorting out my email address book and making sure all of the details for my contacts are current and also that they match my hard copy address book which sits on the bookshelf.  This is an arduous process and I have also linked it to other jobs such as cleaning out the business card folder.

2012-01-28 01This is necessary and even admirable but sometimes you need a job which is small on effort but big on results to give you a boost.  This morning I did that by cleaning out the utensil drawer in the kitchen.  It was a spur of the minute decision as I was putting the clean dishes away.  I noticed that there were crumbs everywhere and it looked rather grotty so I took everything out and wiped the drawer out thoroughly.

In true minimalist fashion everything really had to earn a place to go back in.  This drawer has been seriously decluttered before so there was not much to go – just a corkscrew and multipurpose bottle opener.  Many would say I still have too much but it suits me at the moment.

2012-01-28 02Here is the finished project which gave me the incentive to go on with my other jobs today.

Silent Green Giants – An Update

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In March last year, during the first couple of weeks of this blog, I posted this entry about our ‘big 3’ – the solar panels, solar hot water and rainwater tanks.

Today I finally received our statement from our electricity company for the meter reading which was done back at the end of November.  This means that we now have the statistics for a full 12 month period of having solar panels and exporting generated power, which is excess to our requirements, back to the grid.

In one year of having our solar panels connected to the grid we will receive a refund of $1,244.33 as well as having $0 in power bills.  This represents a total turnaround of costs over 12 months of $2,392.17.  I am really pleased with the result as it was achieved despite one of the wettest summers on record (and next to no sunshine) in the first 3 months after the installation of the panels.

We have a 3.7kW system which cost nearly $14,000 after the rebates.  We anticipated that we would recover our costs (in refunds and no bills) within about 5 years.  We will go close to achieving this and my goal for the next year is to reduce our electricity consumption even further by being more vigilant in monitoring our usage.  I will also endeavour to make sure that more of our necessary consumption is at night, thereby maximising the power being exported to the grid.

I am pleased that we can minimise our costs as well as making a positive contribution to reducing our carbon footprint.

Minimise For Multipurpose

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I know that keeping our stuff to a minimum and simplifying as much as we can is a good thing but sometimes it is difficult to articulate why this is the case.  It is not until something occurs that we are reminded of just how useful it is to live with less.

Last weekend we had 20 guests for a BBQ lunch on the verandah.  About an hour before they arrived, The Duke announced that we could use the folding table as well.  This happens to be my sewing table and it was far from perfectly tidy.

I quickly tossed a few pieces of fabric and UFO’s on the spare bed and almost instantly we had an extra table for our entertaining.  Even though I had to move a few things it was no real imposition.  It makes sense that this table is being used almost every day rather than being folded up and gathering dust, waiting to be used once or twice per year.

This is the spare bed with everything that was on the sewing table.

2012-01-19 01The BBQ is over and the table is back in the room.  Everything is still on the bed as I am going to take this opportunity to sort out a few more things and find proper homes for them.  The table is pretty well bare at the moment apart from my sewing machine.

I will have to get the sorting done before Saturday afternoon when Miss O and Izz come to stay the night as this is the single bed and trundle bed that they use.

Marking Time

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I have been back at work since the New Year and after having had 10 days break it feels strange.  While I was at home I made some really good progress on my decluttering journey, most notably, the scanning of almost 2000 photographs.

Now I am at work each day, I feel as though I am just marking time rather than making any appreciable progress.  The last few days here have been extremely hot which adds to the general lethargy.

However, as I review what I have actually achieved I realise that the constant streamlining and decluttering of the past year or so have really made a difference.  It is easy to do very little and still manage to have meals made from scratch, dishes done and kitchen cleaned, the living room neat and tidy and the washing and ironing up to date.

I have resorted to having the same meal tonight as we had last night.  Conjuring up new and interesting meals is not very appealing in the excessive heat after a long day at work, so it is ham and salad again tonight.  I am looking forward to it as I really enjoyed our dinner last night.

The weather will become more moderate and work somewhat less demanding soon but in the meantime I will coast for a few days and all will be well.

What strategies do you have for when you have limited time or inspiration?  What do you let slide and what is deemed as essential in your household routine?

Just Do It

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I am not advertising Nike shoes.  This is simply a reminder to us all not to procrastinate, most importantly, about making contact with people.  It is easy to think about writing a letter, sending an email or just picking up the phone.  Don’t delay – tomorrow may be too late.

Today I made 2 phone calls, sent an email and wrote a letter.  There is satisfaction to be gained from completing a job rather than putting it off but nothing compares with the delight in the voice on the other end of the line.

Make someone’s day – make contact before it is too late.

A Christmas Plan

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No, I have not forgotten that it is January.

We have all heard the phrase about learning from past mistakes.  While they are not strictly mistakes, past events can be reviewed to see if it is possible to change things with a view to making life simpler and less stressful for ourselves.

Since it is a new year, what better to review than Christmas and the festive season?

My Christmas celebrations are very low-key compared to some.  However, comparison is not the issue here – streamlining the process and having time to enjoy the seasonal festivities is my aim.

Last year we went on holidays in October/November so I didn’t really focus seriously on any Christmas planning until mid-November.  There are also family birthdays at this time – one in November and one in early December.

Lazy Brownie Day is a concept I may have mentioned last year but it never quite got off the ground.  I believe the name comes from a book character, but regardless of the name, the concept is that the 25th of every month is dedicated to Christmas preparations.   While I may not always be able to do Christmas prep exactly on the 25th of the month due to work commitments, I will have a plan and review it each month.  This year I want to make sure that I do a little bit at a time and that there is no mad rush (physical or mental) at the end of the year.

Based on what I did in 2011 I have mapped out a basic idea of what I need to do each month to ensure that I am organised when it gets to December.  I have taken into consideration what worked, what didn’t and what I wanted to do that didn’t happen.

This is what it looks like:

January

  • Sort and file Christmas cards and letters
  • Make sure any contact details are updated in address book
  • Update Christmas card list
  • Set up complete contact list for 2012 e-cards

2012-01-04 01February

  • Make gift bags
  • Plan home-made gifts
  • Make list of gift recipients

2012-01-04 02March

  • Write Q1 review for 2012 Christmas letter
  • Work on home-made gifts

April

  • Work on home-made gifts

May

  • Work on home-made gifts

June

  • Write Q2 review for 2012 Christmas letter
  • Work on home-made gifts

July

  • Work on home-made gifts
  • Make Advent calendar

2012-01-04 03August

  • Complete home-made gifts
  • Check what other gifts to buy

September

  • Write Q3 review for 2012 Christmas letter
  • Buy any extra dried fruit/ingredients for cake
  • Make Christmas cake

October

  • Write Christmas cards
  • Select suitable photos for Christmas letter
  • Discuss plans for Christmas festivities/venues with extended family

November

  • Buy Christmas stamps
  • Make sure Advent calendar is complete and ready
  • Check times and location of carol service and displays of lights

December

Week 1

  • Put up and decorate the tree
  • Finalise menu for meals I am hosting over Christmas
  • Do major grocery shopping to last until after New Year

Week 2

  • Post cards
  • Take Miss O and Izz to carols and light displays

Week 3

  • Send Christmas e-cards/letters
  • Take Miss O and Izz to work Christmas party
  • Buy fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Relax and enjoy

Since Christmas 2011 is still reasonably fresh in mind, I hope I have covered most things.  There will be other small things I do throughout the year.

I am going to print this post and put it in a folder for reference and with the assistance of Lazy Brownie days I plan to have a smooth, non-stressful lead-up to Christmas 2012.

Do you have any particular timelines for Christmas preparations?