New For Old

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Apart from consumables such as food and to a lesser degree clothing, I do not have a need to buy a great deal of stuff.  Household items sometimes need to be replaced and I think this purchase falls into that category.

I bought a set of two china mixing bowls from Aldi for the princely sum of $10.  It bothers me a bit because how something can be produced, transported across the globe and sold at a profit defies logic.  Someone is losing out and I suspect it is the worker.  This is a good reason to minimise your purchases, particularly of cheap, imported products.

2015-03-02 01They are to replace these two bowls which have seen better days.

2015-03-02 02The white bowl is a Tupperware one which came to me from my grandmother about 37 years ago.  The surface is crazed and discoloured.  The yellow bowl (36 years old) is more of a salad bowl and not ideal for mixing and it has a crack in the surface which makes it impossible to clean properly.  It is time for them both to go and make way for my shiny new bowls.  I hope they stand the test of time as the others did.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 8

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Sadly, I have not done any sewing this week.  I had a particularly busy week at work this week so the weekend was mostly devoted to household chores like washing and ironing.  I probably could have squeezed some sewing in today but instead I helped The Duke build another raised garden bed.  More about that another day.

2015-03-01 01I have also been working on re-installing the photos into all of the old posts.  It is a slow process but I am making progress.

So, I lieu of any new sewing projects I thought I would share this blog post from 2012.  It sounds as though nothing much has changed – I am still trying to tidy up my sewing room and complete some projects!

Tracking 2015 – February

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At the end of January I wrote a post about tracking our spending for the year.

It is now the end of February and we have continued our diligence in order to create an accurate picture of our variable spending.

BudgetingThere was no more holiday spending and our grand total for February was $1,620.92 which is almost exactly $1,000 less than the total for January (excluding bookings for our holiday).  Many, but not all categories were substantially less.  This was not because of any concerted effort, but rather, is an indication of how our costs fluctuate on a month by month basis.

Food made up a much smaller proportion with a spend of $233 in February compared to $633 in January.

Most importantly, if the food and transport costs for the first 2 months of 2015 were averaged out over a 12 month period they work out to slightly less than the figure I put in our budget estimation late last year for the financial planner.  This makes me feel as though I have a pretty good idea of where our money goes and how much it costs us to live.  The proof will come later in the year if the figures continue to stack up.

Get Growing

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If you live in a location with a reasonably warm climate, there is one thing to grow that I cannot recommend highly enough.  Sweet potato.  It is a nutritious, versatile vegetable that will grow with the minimum of fuss.  There is a heap of information here.

I have had them growing for a couple of years and there are almost always some available to harvest.  This is my latest haul.

2015-02-27 01Sweet potato can be boiled, baked, steamed and mashed.  You can make chips or soup.  I grate it coarsely and stir-fry it and serve instead of rice or pasta with chicken stir-fry or bolognaise sauce.  You can even use it to make chocolate brownies.

Keeping Things Tidy

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I saw the following question posed on an internet forum the other day.

“What room do you always like to keep tidy?”

The answers were as wide-ranging as there are people.  My favourite was probably, “The guest toilet – the family are banned from using it”.

Of course then there is the small matter of interpretation.  What do you regard as a tidy room?  Pristine?  Basically clean?  No clutter?

A tidy room in a home with a number of children might be vastly different from a single or two adult household.

The 2 rooms that are always clean and tidy at our place are the bathroom and the guest bedroom.  As one clever person observed, no-one actually ‘lives’ in a bathroom, therefore, therefore it is easier to keep tidy.  After having lived with 2 teenage daughters I would dispute that assertion in some instances.  Our bathroom now is small and sparsely furnished and requires only a quick wipe to look fresh and sparkling.

003I find it interesting to note that the 2 rooms that are the most difficult to keep tidy are the study and the sewing room.  I don’t think that it is any coincidence that these are the areas that still require more decluttering.

001Remember, the more stuff you have, the more cleaning, tidying, storing and organising it will require.

Tables should be clear surfaces ready to be used.

Dining tableThis is the shelving unit in the living room.

2012-11-21 01I always try to keep the bedroom as clear as possible as an uncluttered, calm room is more conducive to good sleeping.

2013-04-18Move the unwanted stuff out and the house will be easier to keep tidy and you will have more time to spend doing the things you enjoy.

What rooms do you always like to be tidy?  What are the challenges you face?  Are there rooms that defy even the best of intentions?

I would love to hear what you think and perhaps we can work together to make some progress.

 

Upside Down Hook

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As I have mentioned before, it can be the smallest things that can make a real difference to organising your home.Here is an example.

I keep the clothes hamper in the laundry cupboard and the small step-ladder fits beside the hamper.  The only problem was that every time I pulled the hamper out to sort the washing, I would have to hold the ladder and then re-position it to stop it falling over.  One day I thought of a solution so the next time we were at the hardware store I selected a large hook which is designed for hanging things in a garage or workshop.

I calculated where it needed to be positioned and The Duke attached it to the dividing wall in the cupboard.

2015-02-24 01You can see that the hook is upside-down compared to how it is designed to be used.  My idea was for it to retain the step-ladder so that it would not tip over when the clothes hamper was removed.

2015-02-24 02It works perfectly and does not impede getting either the ladder or hamper in or out of the cupboard.

This does not look like much but it has saved me an endless amount of frustration.  The key is to think laterally and look for solutions that may be a bit ‘out of the box’.

Do you have any unique organising tips to share?

Basil Day

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Six months ago, while we were overseas, our housesitters bought a small pot of basil as it was actually cheaper than buying a bunch of basil.  When we arrived home I planted it in the ground.  It is now doing its best to take over the garden!!

I took this photo yesterday morning.  The rain had finally stopped and the sun was shining.  You can see the ‘lake’ in the background.

2015-02-23 01I knew it was collapsing everywhere so I had intended to cut it right back and use as much of the leaves as possible.  When I got closer I discovered that the bees were loving the flowers so I could not destroy their fun so I have left the flowers and just picked lots of leaves.  Mind you, it is hardly noticeable where I picked them from.

I could afford to be picky so I chose only the best leaves and rinsed them thoroughly.

2015-02-23 02Then spun them in the salad spinner.  As an aside, I only bought this quite recently as I had never really seen the need for one.  After seeing my sister use hers, I realised that a salad spinner could be quite handy and I was delighted to find one at Aldi soon after.  It cost the princely sum of $6.99.

2015-02-23 03Next step was to chop the basil in the food processor.

2015-02-23 04I had about 2/3 can of chopped tomatoes in the fridge so that was added to the mix.

2015-02-23 05Then I used a small spoon to fill ice-cube trays with the basil and tomato mixture.

2015-02-23 06Finally, I double-bagged the trays in re-used bread bags and sealed them tightly before putting them in the freezer.  The basil blocks will be useful for when there is no basil growing.

 

Sew My Stash Sunday – 7

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Here we are back at Sunday evening again so it is time to share what sewing I have done this week.

Firstly, this is what I have finished.

A pair of bloomers as part of summer pyjamas – Size 4.

2015-02-22 01A pair of boxer shorts for pyjamas for me.

2015-02-22 02

I have been working on my next skirt.  I can’t do anymore until I get the zip.  Then it will just be the facing and hem that need to be handstitched.

2015-02-22 03 I mentioned in this post that I had discovered that the polo shirt I was making for The Duke was too big so I would have to recut it.  I tried that today but unfortunately it was not successful as even when I got the width of the body right, I was not happy with the shape of the armhole and sleeves.  I decided to cut my losses and that is going to the op shop in the hope that someone else is the right shape for it.  In the interests of my sanity, the pattern is going as well.  If it did not work this time it will not be any better in the future.

My next foray was more successful.  This is a piece of fabric I bought about 6 weeks ago so it is not strictly part of my stash but if I don’t make it up soon it will end up being added to the pile.  I bought it to make a top for myself.  It is a knit fabric but not super stretchy.  I found a basic pattern to use in the pattern-making book. and here is the result so far.2015-02-22 05The original pattern had a round neckline but I prefer a vee.  I have done the basic construction and now need to finish the neckline and hems on the sleeves and lower edge.

All in all, I am pretty pleased with the results of my sewing for this week.  I wish I had more time to sew as have so many things planned and I am just itching to get started.

Welcome & What’s New

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A warm welcome to all my new readers.  Please leave a comment and say hello.  I would love it if you would tell me a little about yourself and your interests.

This blog is wide-ranging and reflects what happens to be on my mind.  It can be anything from mending, gardening, sewing, cooking, decluttering or anything else that catches my fancy.

I am currently posting a series titled, “Sew My Stash Sunday” in which I am showcasing what I am making from the fabric I already have.  Do you have a stash?  I’d love to hear if you are trying to reduce it and what you make.

I have also changed the settings on the blog which should mean that you never see any ads on the blog from now on.  If you do, could you please let me know?

This week has been a bit unsettled with the approaching cyclone and then some very wet weather.  Hopefully, I will soon be back on track with lots of news and tips to motivate us all in our quest for a simpler, organised life.  If you have anything that you would like me to focus on, please let me know.

2011-09-29 02Meanwhile, take some time to smell the roses (or any other flower that you have in the garden).

The Backyard & Dinner

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We have been lucky here so far because while we have had a lot of rain of the past 48 hours we have not lost power.  There has been a bit of wind but nothing of any consequence so I am hoping that continues to be the case.

The rain eased off for about an hour this afternoon so I shot this video of our backyard ‘lake’.  I was standing on the verandah.

The view at the beginning of the video is where the water comes out of the drain which runs under our driveway.  It is not much more than a trickle when I took this but earlier in the day you could have white-water rafted from the top of our driveway to the rainwater tanks if you were feeling adventurous!  While some of this water is what falls on our property, the majority comes from the top of the escarpment which forms the rear part of our property, via a couple of substantial waterfalls, then heads down the roadway until it reaches a low point – the puddle near the western boundary of our place and the neighbour’s property and thence into the lake.

The ‘lake’ exists because the driveway of the property to the east of us creates what is essentially a dam wall.  In 2011 the volume of water flowing into our property exceeded the available space and overflowed down the road, damaging the surface and creating problems for properties on the low side of the road.  Ah, the joys of living on the side of a mountain!
Enough of the weather and floods.  It is highly likely that we will get more rain over the next couple of days but as long as we do not lose power that will be fine.  I have plenty of sewing to keep me occupied.
At the end of the working week it is time for a quick and easy ‘takeaway’ meal.  Here is one of the pizzas I whipped up with some home-made bases that I partly cook and freeze.  A few things from the fridge and here it is ready for the oven.
2015-02-20 01And 15 minutes later, dinner was ready.
2015-02-20 02Do you have a favourite takeaway meal at home?