Having a Break

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Today my organising was in the form of emails and phone calls.  We have recently changed our banking arrangements to reduce the fees we incur so needed to contact various businesses regarding changes to our direct debits.  The Duke did some last night and I finished them off today.  I also booked the car in for a service next week, changed our telephone provider for the landline and 1 mobile as well as purchasing a new mobile phone handset to replace the one we have had for about 10 years.

After 3 long days at work I am having a rest tonight – I have done nothing apart from make dinner.  We had bean tacos and salad which were nice and easy.  I picked the first of our lettuces from the garden for the salad.

Tomorrow I will be doing some paid work from home  as well as some other jobs.  The Duke has a day off so we need to head into Maleny for a couple of appointments as well as going to the butcher, post office and picture framer.  Then there is the car tyre which needs to be repaired and piles of things to take to the op shop.  I think I had better make a list in the morning so that nothing gets forgotten.  Since we live 8km from town we try to do everything in one trip to save on fuel.

I am looking forward to having some time later in the day to do a bit more sewing on the quilt, finish the last few bits of ironing and a bit more sorting in the sewing room.

What do you organise?

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My organisational goal is based on the old adage, “A place for everything and everything in its place”.  I have not got there yet but am working on it.  My ‘thing’ is hooks to hang things on.  Suction hooks in the bathroom for my shower cap and exfoliating gloves, a hook on the side of a cupboard in the workshop for the key to the roller door, a hook in the kitchen to hang my plastic cutting mats on…….and so the list goes on.

There are lots of other things I try to do in order to make my life more streamlined.  Over the coming weeks I hope to post some photos of some of the ‘little things’ that I find really make a difference.

In the meantime here is a short video that has come to my attention.

Till next time…………..

Organised……….maybe?

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If I am going to inspire Poppet to be organised I had better set an example.

Every night during the week we do not get home until after 7pm.  Tonight I had dinner prepared – just heat and heat.  I also managed to get a load of washing off the line, fold it up and put it all away.  The dishes are washed – air drying in the drainer, benches wiped down, some papers relocated from the desk to the recycling bin, lunches made for tomorrow, 2 serves of vegie casserole and rice in the freezer for lunches later in the week.

2011-03-14 01Yesterday I found a dress which Belle had put in a bag for the op-shop but I retrieved it and have started unpicking it.  The fabric is cotton and gorgeous colours so I am planning to make something, possibly for Izz as she is growing quickly and Miss O’s cast-offs barely fit her now.  I will take it on the train with me as it is over an hour trip to work and I can use the time productively or sometimes I have a sleep, particularly towards the end of the week.

I have also planned what I will wear to work tomorrow and now it is off to bed.

Home Sweet Home

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After what seems like weeks of rushing around helping others we have finally had a weekend at home.  The Duke and I really appreciate the time to be able to work in and around our haven.  It is so refreshing after the weekday madness of commuting and working in the city.

Today I have washed, ironed, sewed and this evening done some cooking.  I made pizza dough in the breadmaker – which makes enough for 2 pizza bases , so half is now in the freezer ready for when I next need it.  I sliced and roasted some pumpkin which went on the pizza, along with tomato paste, mixed herbs, capsicum, onion, mushrooms and cheese.  There was enough pizza left to pack for our lunches tomorrow.  I made pear and sultana muffins – 4 over-ripe pears in the fruit bowl as well as a muesli slice so that is our snacks catered for the next week or so.  The slow-cooker is now simmering away with a vegetable casserole in it which will be dinner for tomorrow night – served with some rice which is already cooked.  I have not done a menu plan for this week yet but am confident that I have enough to create meals for the week.  I will post the recipes mentioned on the recipe page another day.

The Duke has mulched some of the piles of tree branches that have come down during the summer storms as well as one he lopped last weekend.  We now have some decent-sized piles of mulch ready to spread around the native gardens on the verge.  The mulcher is worth every cent we paid for it and saves loading tree prunings up to take to the green waste disposal at the dump.  Front lawn is mowed so it is all looking pretty good.

Doona Cover

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I am still trying to figure out the formatting of photos in my posts but in the meantime here is a picture of the patchwork I have been working on.  There is a sequence to the placement of fabric but I didn’t want it to look too contrived.  I am happy with how it is turning out.  I know Miss O will love it – Dora is her favourite!

A Fresh Start

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This is a brand new blog, so here goes.

Come and join me on my journey towards an organised, sustainable existence.

This will be a random selection of happenings at ‘The Castle’ which I hope will prove to be both informative and interesting.  Please comment, make suggestions and generally let me know what you think.

I expect that there will be photos, recipes, hints and tips as well as some more personal thoughts.

Today I have been working on making a patchwork doona cover for my grand-daughter.  A few weeks ago I found that someone was selling a piece of ‘Dora the Explorer’ fabric online so that was too good an opportunity to pass up since Dora is a firm favourite with Miss O at the moment.  I bought some plain fabric from Spotlight to go with it and am very happy with the effect so far.  There is also a small pile of mending to be done so I might try to get that done tomorrow.