Is Simplicity the New Black?

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Posted on December 14, 2012

“Cherishing what you have, not want, is the key to contentment” So runs the headline to an article on page 4 of today’s Courier Mail, Brisbane’s daily newspaper. What a revelation!!

So the mainstream media are beginning to pick up on what many of us already know, you cannot buy happiness.

Will we begin to see people trying to outdo each other in the simplicity stakes – sort of a reverse ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ or will they really understand that simplicity takes a range of guises and it is definitely not a competition?

Is voluntary simplicity the realm of those who can afford to make the choice?

Let me know what you think of this article.

I would also like to say a huge welcome to those of you who have visited today because of the link Rhonda posted at Down to Earth. I hope you will find something here that is of interest and that you consider coming back and perhaps joining as a follower.

Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing.

Made to Measure

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Posted on December 9, 2012

There are all sorts of things that you can make to measure. Clothes are just one of them.

Today I modified a game so that is more suitable for our granddaughters. Miss O is keen to play a game of ‘Animal Memory’ which we have had since our children were small. There are 36 pairs of matching cards which feature adult and baby animals which need to be matched up. She manages quite well, however, tends to lose interest after a while so I have decided to modify it slightly.

I sorted the cards and selected 18 pairs for each set and placed them in ziplock bags. We now have 2 smaller versions of the game. These can be combined later on if we choose.

This also means that we can play 2 games concurrently.

Have you got any tips for making games or activities more age appropriate?

Community Service

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Posted on December 5, 2012

This morning when I took the rubbish bins up to the roadside this is the scene that greeted me.

We live on a quiet, semi-rural road and our driveway is opposite a minor road junction. The rubbish truck does not go down the side road so each rubbish collection day the bins from the side road and a few surrounding properties are lined up on the verge near our driveway.

This morning one bin was open and several items were scattered around. I am not sure how this happened but I know that with the automated collection of the ‘wheelie’ bins the remnants would be left behind. I grabbed a bag, collected up the loose items and put them in the bin. This ensured that we were not left with a mess on the verge.

Here is the same scene a few minutes later. It is a small but worthwhile job and keeps the area clean and tidy. Much better than whinging about the rubbish lying on the footpath.

New and Not So New

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Posted on December 2, 2012

I have been busy with my sewing today and wanted to show you what I have done.

This morning I started on the blouse which I cut out earlier in the week. I was on target to have it completely finished today, however, the sewing machine decided to misbehave. The automatic buttonhole function is not working, I do not know what the problem is and have tried all of the usual trouble-shooting ideas – re-thread the machine, reset the buttonhole settings, clean the bobbin case etc but all to no avail. I will have to ring the sewing machine shop tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is a sneak preview of the blouse. It is all done except for the buttons and buttonholes.

The next project is another skirt but I decided to have a short break from making new things and set about repairing/refashioning this bag.

This bag belongs to my daughter and it previously had rope handles which were knotted on the inside. The holes were finished with large eyelets, however, one of the eyelets had pulled away from the fabric. In order to repair the bag I removed all of the eyelets and made new handles.

I used some scraps of chocolate brown fabric which was lurking in my stash. I had to join a couple of pieces together to get enough length for the handles. The straps are double-stitched to allow for heavy weights that may be carried in the bag. You can still see the eyelets holes on the inside but all in all it is a functional bag again. It is great to be able to give items a new lease of life.

Welcome Back Summer!

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Posted on November 18, 2012

I have been away for a few days in Melbourne for a combination of work and pleasure and arrived back late this afternoon to the second consecutive day of wild summer thunderstorms. Luckily, we have not had the worst of it – just some much needed rain. The humidity is off the scale and everything is damp.

I have done one load of washing and the second load is in the machine. There is no point in hanging it on the line in this weather – even though it is under the verandah. The clothes will just hang limply in the damp air, so it is time to resurrect the indoor clothes airer and dehumidifier.

Here is the airer set up in my spare/sewing room. It is a rotary one and the outside lines are high enough that I can hand jeans/trousers or even sheets on them.

The load of washing is hung and there is plenty of space for a second load.

I will have the dehumidifier running overnight in the closed room and the washing will be dry in the morning.

My Choices

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Posted on November 7, 2012

This afternoon I left work early (3pm) and did the shopping on the way home. Simply Good where I buy most of my dry goods (flour, seeds, nuts and dried fruit) is only open until 5 pm on weekdays and 9am – 12md on Saturday. I am happy to support these traditional opening hours that allow retail staff to spend time with their families, however, I do have to be organised as it is about 40km away from where we live. Since it is on my way to work I decided to drive my car to the railway station nearest to the shop and then do my shopping on the return journey.

I stocked up on all of my usual supplies as well as a couple of extras for some Christmas cooking and I am hoping that I will not need to go again until the New Year. Aldi supermarket was my next stop and I was particularly to find that the cat food (fish varieties) was back in stock. Finally, a few things from the fruit and vegetable stall and I was home. By this time it was almost 6pm but still daylight for another 40 minutes.

When I arrived home I checked for mail, collected the rubbish and recycling bins that had been emptied. Next it was down to the backyard where I let the chickens out for a run, watered the vegetable gardens and weeded the small bed where the lettuce seedlings are becoming established. I picked lettuces, collected eggs and organised fresh feed and water for the chickens.

Collect the washing from the line, turn the plastic bags which were drying on the airer, unpack the groceries and decant the loose nuts, seeds etc into their relevant jars.

Then it was time to cut up the chicken and vegetables for the stir-fry and make the sauce.

While I was doing all this it occurred to me that most of these chores exist because of choices I have made, but I would not have it any other way.

I could throw out the plastic bags, put the wet washing in a tumble drier, buy my eggs and all vegetables from the supermarket, buy ready-made prepared meals and convenience foods but I choose not and I am very happy with my choices.

House Extensions & Other Projects

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Posted on October 21, 2012

Not our house……the hen house is being extended with an outdoor run for the 5 chickens. They have previously free-ranged over about 3/4 acre of our land but the current chickens are an adventurous bunch and constantly feel the need to find gaps in the fencing (or dig under it) and free-range in the neighbour’s yard where they are not welcome. I have patched up the various spots where I thought they were escaping but 2 in particular do an excellent imitation of Houdini.

Yesterday we went to Bunnings Hardware to get some materials and we have made a start on an enclosed run for them. It is not as good as letting them free-range but in the interests of maintaining a reasonable relationship with the neighbours we have decided this is the way to go.

Here are the posts all positioned and ready. We have designed it so that the existing gates can be latched in the ‘open’ position to completely enclose the run. We will let the posts settle before attaching the wire next weekend. I will post some more photos when it is complete.

This is only a temporary measure as we will eventually be building a new chicken house and large run (including the orchard) when we re-do the front fencing and permanently fence the entire vegetable garden area. Like many things around here, it is a work in progress.

The other work in progress is building more raised garden beds. Unlike the chicken run we have not bought any new materials. Here is some of the leftover iron from the wall cladding of the house.

The Duke is using rivets to join some of the smaller pieces together.

The supports are some steel posts we inherited and even the rivets and screws are leftovers from other people’s projects. We built one bed last year and used a hardwood post (from Freecycle) as the supports. Because these beds will be used for growing vegetables we do not use treated timber as the chemicals leach into the soil.

This is the first bed we built. This picture was taken when it was first done. We put cardboard down, then filled it with mulch, leaves, shredded paper and grass clippings. This eventually decomposes and we now have a productive bed full of rich soil at no cost.

We have a productive weekend and there will be more coming up.

Mysteries of the Universe

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Posted on October 20, 2012

One of the great mysteries is how the utensil drawers get so grubby when the utensils are clean when they are put away. If anyone can throw some light on this I would appreciate it, but in the meantime two of my kitchen drawers are clean again after a blitz yesterday.

I decluttered this drawer a few months ago so everything in it stayed, even though there are a couple of things that only rarely get used. The contents include:

Electric knife
Rolling pin
BBQ tool
Tongs
Cleaning brush (for the juicer)
Avocado slicer
Chip cutter
Garlic press
Cherry stoner
Apple corer
Pineapple peeler/corer
Scone cutter
Cheese slicer
Jar opener
Ice-cream scoop
Vegetable peeler
Grapefruit knife
Fine bladed knife
Citrus zester
Tea strainer
Tea infuser
Knife sharpener
Spaghetti measure
Egg rings
Measuring spoons
Corn cob holders
Wine aerator
Wine vacuum seal
Corkscrews x 2
Can openers x 2 different styles

This is in addition to the knives in the knife block and 2 jars of utensils which are on the bench. Everything in the utensil jars gets used at least once per week.

This is what could probably be described as a ‘junk’ drawer, although nothing in here is junk – it is all useful.

Matches
Notepaper (an old desk calendar)
String tin
Jar of rubber bands
Black felt-tipped pens x 2
Wind-up torches x 2
Set of small screwdrivers
Compass
Calculator
Scissors x 2
Sticky labels
Brown paper
Zip-lock bags (rewashed)
Muslin
Worn-out tea towels (for covering defrosting food etc)
Bag of twist ties
Bread bags (rewashed)
Cling wrap                   }
Alfoil                            } – these have been sitting here for at least 10 years
Freezer go-between }    will not be replaced whenever I use them up
Baking paper – I bought this last week as it is apparently essential when
baking grain-free
Cut milk container of bits – homemade plant labels, spare O-ring for the breadmaker, labels for homemade cordial etc.

I regularly clean a drawer/cupboard or two each week, so although it seems like a never-ending merry-go-round it is never a huge job.

Wool Wash

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Posted on October 16, 2012

I use relatively simple, non-toxic cleaners for everything, whether it be dishes, clothes, our bodies or general cleaning. Here is a recipe I found on the internet for washing woollens. I have adapted it slightly but you can also read the original here.

Rather than using soap flakes, I grated Sunlight soap.

I used my food processor with the grater attachment.

Here are the utensils I used.

The ingredients

and

Wool Wash Mixture

2 cups grated soap
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup methylated spirits
10ml eucalyptus oil
1 cup water, extra

Grate the soap into a large bowl and add boiling water. Blend thoroughly.

Add methylated spirits and eucalyptus oil and blend a bit more.

Add 1 cup of cool water and mix again.

Allow to cool a little before pouring the mixture into a suitable wide-necked container. I used an old Napisan container. It does need a wide neck as the mixture is quite firm when it sets so you need an old spoon to scoop it out.

To use the mixture I put about a tablespoon of mixture in a bucket with some hot water and mix until it is dissolved then add add more water until it is tepid and use this for washing woolen knitwear and other handwashing.

**EXTRA FRUGAL TIP**

Make sure you have some items ready to wash before you make up the mixture.

Rinse all of the utensils used in a bucket of warm water and the residue will be sufficient to make a solution of wool wash for your waiting clothes.

Re-fashioned and Ready

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Posted on October 12, 2012

The last few weeks have a bit of a struggle blogging-wise as there seems to have been limited material that I have felt like writing about and most of it did not really lend itself to adding photographs.

In the spirit of simplicity I have been working on my sewing room – finishing some projects and working through my ‘to do’ list. Yesterday I finished the last 2 tablecloths which I had set aside to alter from rectangular to oval to fit my current round dining table when it is extended. You can read my initial post about this project here.

After the success with the damask cloths I decided to do the same to a plain pink cloth and a polyester lace one that I use as an overlay. The pink one was fairly straightforward but the lace one was a little trickier.

I ended up cutting the hemmed edging and then re-stitching it onto the re-shaped cloth which worked well.

I am now looking forward to the opportunity to use these pretty and functional items.

The only thing that remains to be done is to finish sorting and re-organising the linen cupboard which was the activity which precipitated this project in the first place. More on that one with before and after photos tomorrow.