What We Have

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One of the principles of living simply is to make the most of whatever you happen to have.  Sometimes doing this is jolly hard work, especially when you are holding down a full-time paid job as well.

The harvest from our garden recently has been excellent but that has meant that I have a responsibility to use and store it safely and not let things go to waste.

I have made cauliflower and bacon soup.

Juiced and frozen many litres of grapefruit and lemon juice.

Prepared grapefuit for The Duke for breakfast.

Made more lemon cordial.

2011-10-01 04We have also been eating broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and snow peas as part of our dinner almost every night.

I was given about 30 apples at work the other day so those have now been stewed and frozen.  I will use them in apple pies and crumbles.  Here they are ready to go in the freezer.

2011-10-01 05I am struggling to find enough containers to freeze  everything.  I think I will need to get some more at some stage.

What do you do when you have a glut of a particular fruit or vegetable?


Spring has Sprung

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The last couple of days have been quite cool and grey so we are wondering where our lovely spring has gone.  However, we have had a bit of rain today which is very welcome as things are looking quite dry (all relative, of course, as we live in a high rainfall area).

2011-09-29 01Despite the grey weather we are enjoying the display from our flowering shrubs.

2011-09-29 02The birds, especially the rainbow lorikeets, love the nectar in this callistemon.

2011-09-29 03The photo is not the best but these are couple of the flowering shrubs on the verge which now screens the house from the roadway.

2011-09-29 04Finally, here is the liquidamber tree in glorious, fresh green foliage after being bare all winter.

I love my garden and the changes that the seasons bring.  Do you have a special measure of spring, apart from the actual temperature?

Till next time.  xxx

Keep it Simple

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While I will never live a truly minimalist lifestyle, I try to simplify my life as much as possible

Most of us in developed countries use much more than our share of the resources on this planet.  We accumulate ‘stuff’, need bigger houses to store our ‘stuff’ and are so reluctant to part with what we have accumulated that self-storage facilities are a growth industry.

I am on a decluttering journey, but not one that entails hiring a skip and tossing garbags full of stuff into it with no thought as to their destination.  No, I acquired these items and I feel that it is my responsibility to use or rehome things I no longer need or want in an ethical manner.  My aim is to send as little as possible to landfill.

This is my laundry.  It is clear and uncluttered which is good for a utility area.  I took this photo after I had used the bench to fold the clean clothes.

2011-09-28 01The cupboards are well-used but not full to overflowing.

2011-09-28 02I do have some ornaments and decorative items as these next photos show.  Nevertheless, I do not want to feel overwhelmed by lots of things so I have a small number of things that are precious to me.  I think this strikes the right balance.

2011-09-28 03Another view.

2011-09-28 04Behind all of this is my motto – “Live simply, so that others may simply live”.  It is not original but sums up my ideals.

Are you decluttering?  What is your goal and how do you go about achieving it?  I would love to hear your stories and experiences.

Till next time.

What To Do………..

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with a microwave oven that has ceased to work?

Our microwave stopped working a few days ago and now I have the dilemma of what to do with it.  I do not believe it is worthwhile taking it to see if it can be repaired.  Microwaves are certainly not something that can be repaired by an amateur but the thought of it going to landfill is not great either.  It seems hypocritical to be saving every little thing that I can from landfill and then I turn around and dump a microwave.

I cannot think of any uses for an old microwave without possibly compromising the safety of those in the area.

So………..what would you do??

I am going to buy a new microwave because I have realised that I definitely could not live without it – at least while I am working full-time and arriving home after 7pm each evening.

 

Be Thankful

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There are many things for which we should be grateful and I would like to share a couple of things that I have read this week.

Firstly, a blog that I read every day from Frugal Queen.  Froogs could teach many of us a thing or two about living a truly frugal (and fulfilling) life but this post really says it all.

In complete contrast is this article in the Sydney Morning Herald.  Imagine the outrage if people in Australia received a pay cut of 10%.  How many of us would just get on with it and tighten the belt a bit more?

Australia really is the lucky country and it is about time we realised just how lucky we are.

The Recycling Trail

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I read Rhonda’s blog at Down to Earth today about recycling and her suggestion that we link together our innovative recycling ideas.

While recycling is good it is even better to refuse and reduce as your first 2 options.

A lot of the things that we have re-used or recycled her at home are no different to what others do so I have tried to add a couple of more unusual ideas.

Here is my shower cap and a piece of elastic that I salvaged from a dress that I refashioned into a skirt.

The elastic edging on the cap had completely given way so I revamped it using the salvaged elastic.

I made this soap dish from the base of a 2 litre milk bottle.  The diagonal ridge in the base helps to keep the soap dry.

An old school desk has become an occasional table in the guest bedroom.  Decoupaged by Missy when she started high school.

002Cardboard boxes for storing things….a shoebox for stationery items in the office.

Stationery moduleAnother box for newspapers in the kitchen.  I use the newspaper to wrap scraps for the compost.

I will keep the camera handy tomorrow and hopefully capture some more recycling/reusing tips for another post.

Thrifted and Gifted

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In my post on Thursday I showed you the fabric and buttons I had for a sewing project I hoped to do on the weekend.

I have spent the day sewing and have almost finished the dress, along with some other things.

Here is the dress – I just need to finish stitching the yoke facings and turn the hem.

When I was with Belle yesterday she commented that Miss O and Izz needed more shorts for summer and asked if I would be able to make some.  So, today I sorted through my fabric and found enough to make 4 pairs of shorts.  They are not finished – still need waist casing and elastic as well as hemming the bottom of the legs but here they are so you can see what I have been doing.

And some stripes….

Frills on the bottom……

Pink pockets…..

All of these things were made with fabric that was left over from another project and saved in my stash or gifted from my mother, mother-in-law or friend.

I have also set aside two more pieces.  This one is left from the pinafore I made for Miss O and will be enough to make a pinafore for my niece.

I plan to make some summer pyjamas for Miss O with this piece which was also given to me.

Finally, Belle bought this Fred Bare dress for Miss O from the op shop for $8 yesterday.  It needs a little repair to the hem where the fabric has pulled away from the stitching but otherwise it is just perfect.  Thanks, Duchess for the tip about the shop.

Walk to Work

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Yesterday was Walk to Work Day.  Although I did not actually register, I did participate and walked from Albion railway station to my office in Turbot Street.  I don’t know the actual distance but it took me 67 minutes of steady walking (some uphill sections) and my pedometer registered 7,600 steps.

I forgot to take my camera so I could share some of the things I discovered along the way.

Highlights:

The new mangroves sprouting through the mud in Breakfast Creek.

Colonial homes in inner city areas

Small gardens hidden behind picket fences

First glimpse of my high-rise destination from the top of Bowen Hills

Walking is a great way to discover things about your city that you will never see from a car.  I will try to do it more often – maybe a different route.

Ready, Set,Sew

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I have my next sewing project planned which is to make a dress for my niece who is almost 12 months.  She won’t wear it for another 6 months or so as she lives in the Northern Hemisphere.  Tonight I assembled the things I will use and I hope to do it on the weekend.

2011-09-15 01Here is the fabric and buttons I will use.  The floral print fabric was given to me recently from my friend whose mother who no longer sews.  The plain blue came from my mother-in-law’s stash of fabric.  The buttons are ones that I found at the op shop.  Priced at 5c each I buy buttons if I see ones that I think will be suitable for my sewing – particularly on children’s clothes.

The pattern I am going to use is from an Enid Gilchrist book that my mother gave me.  The books are mostly over 50 years old.  I have about 6 of her books and although some of the clothes are a little dated there are lots of good basic designs.

2011-09-15 02I have made dresses several times using this pattern.  This first time was for my sister when I was only 10 years old.  I have made dresses for my daughters and more recently, my granddaughters, from this pattern.

This is Belle, aged 12 months in a dress from the pattern.

2011-09-15 03Here is one I made for Miss O.  She wore it on her first birthday.

2011-09-15 04Even a version for Christmas.

2011-09-15 05

A New Idea and a New Toy

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It is now 6 months since I began this blog.  A couple of previous efforts had fallen by the wayside for a variety of reasons but I was determined to make this an ongoing project.  I decided that the best way to make blogging a habit was to do it every day.  I have managed to stick to my plan pretty consistently except for while we were on holidays and a couple of other glitches.  Therefore, I apologise for the lack of posts in the last couple of days.

I have decided to reassess how I go about maintaining my blog, keeping it interesting and relevant for those who read it and still find time to go to work and do the very things that provide the basis of my blog posts.

So, from now on there will not necessarily be a post every day, although sometimes there will be.  My goal is to generally have 3 – 4 posts each week with a minimum of 2 posts each week.

I know how frustrating it is to go to a blog and find that there is nothing new since last time you visited so here is my suggestion.  Go to the ‘Email Subscription’ on the right-hand side of the blog and click the button marked “Sign Me Up”.  This means that you subscribe to the blog and will receive an email each time there is a new post.  You can change the settings in the future if you wish.  Alternatively, you can be friends with me on Facebook and you will see each new post that I make from the Facebook page.

Thank you for your interest in the blog and comments.

And now, the new toy.Kitchen Aid mixer

This is my Kitchen Aid mixer which I got a couple of years ago.  One of the reasons I chose it was because I could purchase additional attachments which run directly from the driveshaft.  My main interest was the pasta maker attachment. The Duke did all of the research on the internet and found the best price of $285 which compared favourably with the initial price on the Kitchen Aid site of $349.  Whilst it seems like a lot of money I feel confident that it will be worthwhile.

Today the parcel arrived.

So it was time to unpack.

There are 3 attachments – lasagne roller, fettucine cutter and spaghetti cutter.

I have made my own pasta previously but found that the manual pasta maker was too difficult and time-consuming – not to mention that it ended up breaking.  Hopefully, these will be a great success and I will never buy dried pasta again.  The bonus is that I will not have the packets which are non-recyclable.

Watch for a post when I make the first batch – perhaps on the weekend!