Category Archives: Organising

One Thing and Another

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The main bedroom and the guest bedroom have been pretty well arranged since we first moved in, however, the 3rd bedroom has not been quite so lucky. It has tended to become a repository for everything that is pending a permanent home in another part of the house, partly restored furniture, pictures that are yet to be hung and various things that we are looking to sell or give away.

When we assembled the restored chest of drawers for our bedroom (see previous blog post), I could actually see what else was in the 3rd bedroom. The temporary chest of drawers which had been a fixture in our walk-in wardrobe were now surplus to requirements. For a short while it looked as though they were going to end up, at least temporarily, in the 3rd bedroom.

Thankfully, GMan decided that he could use them for storage in the shed so we spent a full day moving and rearranging things in the shed. While the overall shed storage is still a work in progress, it was good to get the drawers in position and create some more functional storage. The tall cupboard was also relocated from our walk in wardrobe and repurposed a few months ago.

Meanwhile, I could then work on the pile of assorted shopping and saved bags. I managed to quite quickly change it from this:

To this.

They are sorted into the shopping bags I regularly use, extra tote bags, saved plastic bags and saved paper bags. I can now find exactly what I want at a glance.

On the floor of the cupboard are 3 spare plastic storage tubs. I previously had another 6 empty storage tubs. I had been given some and used them for packing when we moved and the previous owners had left a couple behind. I decided that I really did not need them all and was debating who might be able to use them. It was rather fortuitous that there is a Community Pantry being set up and they put out a call for lidded plastic tubs for storing some of the donated foodstuffs so I was delighted to be able to help out by giving them the ones I did not need. A couple of the tubs had no lids and they have also been given away.

I am pleased to have sorted another small space and rehomed a few items plus been able help out someone else.

Another Week

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I was contemplating writing this post yesterday and the first step was to consider what I had actually done in the past week that was blogworthy. I have been neither particularly busy nor lazy but just meandering along.

On Thursday we went to Melbourne to see Tim Minchin. It was a terrific show and we made the most of the trip by going shopping during the day. It was mostly stocking up on some food as well as buying descaler for the coffee machine and getting a key cut. Saturday evening was more socialising as we went to see a local band at a small bar in our town.

In other shopping news, I stocked up on some bulk items. I have managed to arrange to collect bulk olive oil from the farm gate about 30km from where we live. We picked up 2 x 20 litre drums of new season organic olive oil which we share with several friends. It is an economical and efficient way of purchasing a premium local product.

My other purchases were online. I have previously bought all of my dishwashing and laundry cleaning products from Kin Kin Naturals, a family business located in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. As it was relatively close to where we lived previously, I was able to buy directly from the manufacturer. I decided it was time to research my options for these products and found that I could buy bulk quantities online from Australian Organics so I stocked up. This was an easy decision as they offered $9.50 flat rate shipping. I found that the shipping costs often make online shopping an uneconomic proposition so this was a great find.

I have also ordered a 15 litre drum of hair and body wash from Envirocare which should arrive in the next day or two. This is another product I am familiar with using and it makes sense to buy a substantial quantity in one go.

Why do I buy in bulk? There are several reasons that make sense to me. It saves time, money and packaging as well as protecting against supply chain issues. I know it is not for everyone as you need to have space to store the larger quantities as well as money available for the upfront costs associated with buying bulk amounts. These are a couple of the reasons that I am happy to share the olive oil with some like-minded local friends. Perhaps I will extend to co-operative buying approach to some of the other products as well.

From This……….To This

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It is just over 5 months since we moved into this house.

One of the first pictures was of our lounge. This was 6 days after the removalists placed the majority of things in this large front room.

It was the last room to be sorted out as we had no furniture for it apart from the already attached IKEA television cabinet and glass-fronted wall cabinets. We ordered furniture which had a lead time of nearly four months but it was worth the wait.

The room is very large – it was originally a double garage. Although we had some ideas about how to configure it, we were not prepared to make any firm decisions until we had the furniture for a little while to see how things worked.

After a month of using the room we decided to bite the bullet. Some of the contents of the glass-fronted cabinets has been relocated to the sideboard in the dining area. You can read about it in this post. The remaining items did not need 3 double-door cabinets so we kept two and sold the other one. We also decided to move the cabinets to another wall. This allowed the sofa to be positioned where the cabinets had been. This important as the wall where the blinds are is fully glass sliding doors and faces north. We want to keep the furniture away from that side of the room.

The single chairs are positioned facing the television which is the default position when there is just the two of us here. However, they can easily be moved so that they face the couch for a more cosy conversation space. Likewise, the cedar trunk can be repositioned between the seating as an occasional table.

Once the furniture was in place, we turned our attention to the artwork and hung them today. My final task is to source a floor lamp to go beside the glass-fronted cabinets. Back to Marketplace………… It may take time but I feel confident that I will find the statement piece that I have in mind.

The Mundane Stuff

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Apart from the one-off things like new-to-us furniture, there are lots of mundane tasks that are required to keep things ticking over smoothly.

When we moved in I unpacked the refrigerated items from our camp fridge into the existing refrigerator which we had purchased with the house. This was convenient as we had sold our refrigerator with our previous home. This one is a little different to what I was used to so the positioning of various items is somewhat different. Where everything belonged had just evolved without a great deal of thought.

Yesterday, I cleaned the interior of the fridge and rearranged things a bit more thoughtfully with respect to where, when and how often I use them.

There is plenty of space in the body of the refrigerator. The top shelf which is a bit high for me to easily reach is reserved for GMan stuff – sourdough starter, ground coffee, beer mugs and beer.

The right-hand door is my ‘go to’ space for milk, juice, assorted condiments and ingredients used regularly in meal preparation.

The left-hand side is mostly taken up by the reservoir for the chilled water/ice dispenser so a block of cheese and container of yeast are the only occupants.

I find that by keeping items in a logical and consistent location means that things are much less likely to be forgotten and end up being wasted.

As a result of tidying the refrigerator and refreshing my mind as to the contents, I was able to plan meals based on ingredients (particularly perishable ones) for several days.

While I gave up diligently menu-planning when I retired from paid employment, I still generally have a rough idea of meals for at least a few days. As well as using up ingredients it helps to ensure a balance of meat/vegetarian meals and also not having the same carbs for successive days.

The current plan looks like this:

Monday – Baked potatoes with refried beans, sauteed mushroom, onion and capsicum and coleslaw
Tuesday – Grilled sausages and vegetables with cheesy cauliflower sauce
Wednesday – Zucchini quiche and quinoa tabouli
Thursday – Stuffed capsicum with coleslaw
Friday – Chicken, mushroom and spinach pancakes

A Wish List

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Numerous posts have mentioned some of my various op shop finds. In fact, in my last post GMan went with a specific goal in mind and found exactly what he was looking for. Sometimes you can be lucky. More often than not, you have to be patient if you have a specific item in mind.

Most of my op shopping for clothes is generally just good luck. Having a relatively streamlined wardrobe means that I know exactly what I have and can quickly identify something that will work with existing pieces. This method has generally stood me in good stead and I have very rarely made an unwise choice.

Excessive shopping can happen when op shopping just as it can if you are choosing brand-new items from retail outlets.

It is almost 5 years since I made a rather brave declaration that I was not going to buy any brand-new clothing for 5 years. Have I succeeded? Almost. I bought this navy dress to wear to my niece’s wedding in early 2021. It was massively reduced in price to $21 and I have worn it many times, including today. It was cold and we were headed to Ballarat so I added this warm scarf which I picked up when op shopping last week. I had really thought that it may not get an airing until next autumn but the weather today dictated otherwise.

During the afore-mentioned 5 years, my circumstances have altered considerably. I have retired from full-time work and relocated from south-east Queensland to regional Victoria. While most of my existing clothes will continue to be worn there will be some rebalancing of seasonal items required.

So, I have decided to take a leaf out of the book of my dear late friend, Mimi, who was a dedicated and successful op shopper with what appeared to be a knack for finding the perfect item. However, it was quite clear that she shopped intentionally and with purpose. I have begun creating a list of gaps I have identified in my wardrobe so that I do not wander aimlessly or feel overwhelmed when entering an op shop.

Some of the things I am searching for are:

Slim fitted trousers in both black and navy
Hip/thigh length winter coat
Navy cardigan
Dark blue slim fit jeans
Small backpack style handbag

My other criteria is to search by colour, fabric and pattern.

Colour – red, navy, blue, white, black, grey, emerald green
Fabric – natural fibres – cotton, linen, wool
Pattern – plain, spots, stripes

I will let you know how I go with this new strategy.

Creating Space

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You could be excused for assuming that this post is about more of my decluttering efforts. However, it is not.

We arrived home a couple of days ago after a brief road trip to Sydney to attend a family wedding. The outfit I had made worked well and we had a delightful day. It was very special to be able to spend time with all of my siblings, children, niece and nephews as our family are ‘scattered to the four winds’. In fact, it was the first time that we had ever all been together.

The wedding was a significant event and the latter half of this year has been neatly divided, at least in my mind, to ‘before the wedding’ and ‘after the wedding’. This leads back to the title of the post.

Rehoming physical stuff is not the only type of decluttering. There is also digital decluttering which I have mentioned in the past. This link will take you to several posts on the topic. Then there is mental clutter.

I have found that ‘to do’ lists seem to get a bit of a bad rap recently. They are deemed to be everything from non-productive, inhibiting mindfulness and inducing guilt and sleeplessness. I guess it depends on personal use and expectation of any list, however, I have actually found the exact opposite. By writing things down/creating a list it releases the necessity for me to remember things.

As a retired person, I do not have the time-frames, constraints and expectations of being in a paid job and answerable to an employer. Everything I do is my own decision and choice, however, I do not choose to drift aimlessly through my retirement years. I am not driven by deadlines and certainly do not beat myself up if everything on the list is not finished by a certain time.

I enjoy the knowledge that I have recorded tasks/projects and I am not wasting mental energy on recalling or prioritising them. I add items as I think of them or they come up in conversation with GMan. It is nothing fancy – just a simple list in the notes section of my phone. I add and delete items almost every day. Some are extensive and long-term, others will be completed within the next 24 hours. But most importantly, I do not stress about tasks achieved (or not) nor let the list dictate my life.

Here is a sample of some of the items currently on my list.

Tidy sewing room
Clean fridge
Make marmalade
Make new cover for dog bed
Mend socks
Update Google calendar

Some of these have been on the list for well over a week and I am not losing any sleep over them not being completed. They will happen one day. Meanwhile, we are heading out this evening to listen to some live music at a small local bar.

Wedding Outfit

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I have been meandering along with sewing an outfit for a family wedding on Saturday but in the past few days I have put my head down and it is now finished and ready to wear.

The dress and jacket are both made from existing patterns which I modified. In the case of the dress, the pattern was originally for a button up shirt.

It went from this.

To this.

The jacket looks pretty much as per the pattern apart from being shortened to a more cropped style, 3/4 sleeves instead of full length and some discreet shaping in the back and side seams to create a slightly less boxy silhouette.

Here are the 2 pieces together.

The dress fabric had been given to me some months ago and I had added it to my stash with no real idea of how I would use it. I did buy the linen for the jacket and by using the dress fabric for the bands on the jacket I think I have created a cohesive look. I am happy with the overall result. The best part is that I am not hemming it on the morning of the wedding!

Last Boxes

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We unpacked almost all of the removalist boxes within the first week or two that we were here. However, there were nine boxes of books which remained. They were stacked in the lounge room as we were not 100% sure of where we actually wanted them and there is nothing worse than packing and unpacking books.

After living here for a few months and with the impending arrival of the new lounge furniture, we decided to unpack the books into the shelving units in the office. Office is probably slightly too grand a description as it is essentially a walkway through from the hall to the laundry.

The books take up all of the glassed-in upper shelves and about half of the lower ones. The remainder is storage for some stationery items and other miscellaneous bits and pieces.

Finally, this is the view from the family room through the opening to the office.

Worth the Wait

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Some things just take time.

We moved into this house 4 months ago and one of the first things we did was to order some furniture for our large loungeroom. We were advised that the wait time would be over 3 months as it is all custom-made.

There was great excitement on Thursday when the furniture was delivered. There is a 3 seater sofa and two super-comfortable armchairs and footstools. The chairs are able to both swivel and recline for maximum comfort.

Although it is somewhat dictated by the placement of the television, we have yet to decide on the exact configuration of the furniture in the room. There are also pictures to be hung and decisions to be made about other pieces of furniture it is definitely a work in progress.

Meanwhile, we are making some adjustments to the location and positioning of other items and furniture. Watch for more details in upcoming posts.

Easily Distracted

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Today was one of those days where one thing led to another.

After putting a load of washing in the machine I decided to put the recently delivered carton of wine away in the wardrobe in the third bedroom. Yes, that is our wine cellar at the moment.

One thing led to another and I put away the deflated air mattress from when we had houseguests several weeks ago. I put the folded blankets away in the drawers in the base of the guest bed and discovered some curtains I had stashed in there. They are the semi-sheer ones which were previously in the family room. I replaced them when we first arrived as provide neither privacy nor thermal comfort.

There are 8 narrow drops and I decided that I should probably give them away rather than hoarding them, however, GMan suggested that they could possibly be used in the 2 guest bedrooms. They are really a decorative addition as there are already honeycomb blinds. The rods were already in place as the previous owners had taken their curtains with them and just left the blinds.

So, I unpicked the hems and one side seam of each drop, sewed two drops together and rehemmed them to the correct length. I have finished the set for one spare room and am working on the ones for the other room. By sewing two drops together they are wide enough to draw across if desired but in the meantime they definitely create a more finished look to the room.