Tag Archives: housework

A Mixed Day

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Like so many days, today was a mix of assorted small jobs that I managed to tick off my list.

The weather was overcast and we even had some very light rain but I had some handwashed items to dry. I used the very convenient extendable rack in the laundry to hang them up.

I also had a couple of cooking jobs. I had cooked some dried Great Northern beans some time ago and frozen them. I thawed them yesterday in preparation for turning them into my version of baked beans. We had some for lunch today and the remainder have been divided into single serve portions and are ready to be frozen. I ended up with 16 portions for relatively minimal effort. The recipe for my baked beans is here.

The other cooking job for the day was to make a slice for a conference we are attending tomorrow. This is the slice before I iced it this evening. It is easy to turn into a gluten-free option with a straight substitution of gluten-free flour for the regular wheat flour. The recipe is here. I added some cinnamon and ginger this time to spice it up and the icing was made with lime juice and the addition of more powdered ginger.

I am feeling rather accomplished because as well as things I have mentioned here, I have also taken up a new pair of trousers and mended a pair of jeans – both for GMan and ironed a few items from the washing of the past couple of days.

It is good to have everything pretty much up-to-date before we are in Melbourne over the weekend.

Fresh Eyes

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We arrived home yesterday and I am working my way through the washing.

We had housesitters staying here while we were away so naturally I left the house clean and tidy for them and they did likewise for our return. Nevertheless, it is really interesting to come home and look around the house after having been away.

It is 2 years since we moved here and it is mostly set up the way we want it. Our home is definitely not cluttered but there are still some spaces that have too much stuff or are not adequately organised for my liking. Other spaces tend to become a bit of a dumping-ground so I need to be more vigilant about leaving things where they should not be. I have returned with renewed enthusiasm to sort out some things. As always, one thing tends to lead to another and can turn into a bigger project than planned. A quick tidy up can become a major rearrangement of storage options but that is OK because it usually has a better long-term result.

Here are a few photos of some things I want to tackle. I will share how I do it and the results in future posts.

The guest bedroom. There is nothing desperately wrong with it. The bed needs to be remade and I really need to sort out what bed linen is required at the moment for both this bed and ours. I find this time of the year difficult as the overnight temperatures vary widely. The other thing that is bothering me about this room is the bed. We chose to buy it from the previous owners and while it is a good bed in excellent condition, I can honestly say that I hate it. The storage drawers are useful but not having any space underneath increases the difficulty of making the bed. The wide timber surround is also unhelpful. So, I am determined to search for a more user-friendly bed secondhand. The trade-off will be the loss of the underbed storage but although I do have some linen in the drawers it is definitely not essential.

The 3rd bedroom which is still trying to work out what it is but otherwise known as a junk room. It tends to be a collection of things that I am certain do not belong elsewhere. The wardrobe in this room is wine storage, suitcase storage and some items belonging to a community group where we volunteer. I do intend to set up the exercise equipment better so that it can be used more readily.

Our walk-in wardrobe. This is not a massive space since we purloined half of it to extend the pantry. We only recently added the shelves and hanging space and it is more than adequate for our needs. The box on the floor is administrative stuff for our volunteer work which I put here while we were away. That is overdue for sorting and rearranging and it needs to find a permanent home in the 3rd bedroom. I also want to look for a small seat which would be useful when putting on shoes and socks.

Chest of drawers. We do not have a dressing table as such as I use the large mirror in the adjacent ensuite bathroom. This large chest of drawers is shared by GMan and me. Our folded clothes are in the drawers and the top is a shared dressing table although it can be a bit of a dumping ground. Time for a clean up and decide what belongs here or not.

These jobs will take some time but I will share my progress of each space in upcoming posts.

An Average Autumn Day

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Although I often post about the significant and eventful happenings here, there are many days that just hum along as we do the things we do. I find this particularly so during autumn as the extreme heat and occasional storms of summer are behind us.

Autumn weather brings a benign mildness as the leaves begin to turn and we continue to harvest the last of the summer produce.

An outdoor view.

Picked from the garden.

The tomatoes I grew were from gifted seedlings from 3 different sources. I am not sure of all of the varieties but some were definitely ‘Beefsteak’ which is now my favourite tomato. So, when I discovered that one of these tomatoes had been attacked by some wildlife I decided that it was the perfect specimen from which to salvage some seeds.

Tomato seeds drying on some paper towel.

I did two loads of washing which included our bed linen. I remade the bed with the freshly laundered linen after it had dried in the warm sun and breeze.

An inviting bed at the end of the day.

Feeling Satisfied

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I am feeling rather pleased with what I have achieved today. I did 3 loads of washing, including the bed linen and towels. Everything dried quickly as it was quite windy. I have done all of the folding AND the ironing. I am trying to minimise the amount of ironing that I do as it plays havoc with the sciatic pain in my leg, however, most of our cotton and linen summer clothing still requires ironing. There were only a few pieces to iron from today but I did have a bit of a backlog from the holidays and last week.

One of the pieces that I did iron was a ‘new to me’ pair of jeans that I bought in a recycle boutique in Brisbane while we were on holidays. They are NYDJ brand and look to be in perfect condition so I was very happy to pay $30 for them as they are around $200 full price. They are a perfect fit and I am looking forward to getting plenty of wear from them.

I have spent the remainder of the day checking that all of the old slides have been digitised and gradually sorting them into chronological order and labelling each photo so that it is relevant, especially for future generations. It is a huge job but one that I can do a little at a time and feel that I am making progress.

Happy Anniversary

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I received a notification yesterday from WordPress that advised me that I have been writing this blog for 11 years. Although I sometimes wonder what to write about I intend to keep going for the foreseeable future. Thank you for reading along.

Meanwhile, the day went on with regular jobs. I did 4 loads of washing, ironed and folded everything, stripped and remade the bed, swept all of the floors and made another batch of spreadable butter. When I cooked the rice for dinner I did extra and have 2 more batches in the freezer.

Tomorrow is another day…………………..

Recovering

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As I mentioned in my last post, GMan and I have been unwell. Yes, we did have Covid and despite being a relatively mild dose, it was not much fun.

It is only in the past couple of days that I have managed to do much other than potter around in the sewing room and throw together an evening meal.

This morning I cleaned the window above our bed and the associated insect screen. It is quite a treat to see it looking so clean. I am embarrassed to say that I could have just about written my name in the dirt on the screen.

One thing I have realised since being sick is that I am really going to have to rethink how I tackle tasks around the house. The days of cleaning half the windows in the house in a single day are probably behind me. A much better idea is going to be to do a little bit more often. I might even clean another window tomorrow.

I hope I am back on track to have a new post for you every day or so.

Day In, Day Out

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Some days I wonder what I could possibly write that would be of interest to my readers. It may be because I have been fully occupied with social activities, didn’t feel like writing or simply that there was nothing that I felt was noteworthy.

Our lives are not a constant stream of highlights. Much of is is quite humdrum, repetitive and very ordinary.

So, today I want to share some of my everyday tasks.

Each day I make the bed, wipe down the sink and mirror in the bathroom and sweep the kitchen.

Preparing meals is also a daily task. I do not wash or shop on a specific day but I assess and attend to them on an ‘as needs’ basis. Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping and ironing also fall into this category.

I am very fortunate that GMan also contributes every day as he is in charge of the dishes – loading and unloading the dishwasher as well as any that need handwashing.

Before and After

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It is now almost a week since we arrived back home from overseas.  In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago.  We went back to work on Monday and after 4 very busy days it feels as though I have never been away.

I managed to do some washing last weekend and prepare meals for us but that was about it until today which was my day off.  We have 3 Air BnB guests arriving tomorrow and that will necessitate the use of both of the spare rooms.  The second bedroom is always set up as a guest room but third bedroom also doubles as my sewing room and ironing space.

So my focus today was the third bedroom.  It had been used for packing and preparation for the trip so there were a few random things left from that.  I stripped the bed and washed the bedding during the week.  There was ironing piled on the ironing board.  Then there was the small matter of the sewing projects that had got out of control and been abandoned in the lead-up to the holiday.

This was what I had to tackle.

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I started by moving the bed and vacuuming that side of the room as well as removing the inevitable cobwebs and cleaning the skirting boards and picture frames.

The bed was made and put back in position.  I had also cleaned the window by the time I took this photo.

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From there it was simply a matter of working my way around the room – and doing the ironing.

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I managed to fit the small cabinet of mini drawers into the bookshelves rather than having it standing on the table.  I am happy with the change.

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This bookshelf hand been swapped over with the one that we now have in the office.  However, I had not organised my sewing things properly so it was a good opportunity to do some rearranging.

Having a major clean up of my sewing things has meant that I have rediscovered some UFO’s (unfinished projects) which I have earmarked to do.

I even tidied the contents of the wardrobe.

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I have never been completely successful in getting this room organised but I am hopeful that my effort today will be the basis of keeping it under control.

The thing that I am looking forward to most is getting back to doing some more sewing.  I am reminded of the comment that Francine Jay makes in her book, Miss Minimalist, that having clear surfaces simply affords opportunity.  Whether it is a table to eat your meal, a bed to sleep in or a craft table to work at, you need a clear surface.  It really makes a lot of sense.

 

(Dis)organised

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I have said before that this blog real.  What you see is what you get.

These are the views that greeted me this morning.

The ironing board is under this pile.

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This is my sewing/ironing/spare bed room.  There was more on the bed and even clothes in the basket to be folded.

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And more on the sofa in the living room.

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This was all washed early in the week but a busy week at work has meant that I didn’t complete the task by finishing the folding and ironing.

The total time taken to complete this was about 2 hours, however, this was interspersed by breakfast, a phone call and going to Maleny to pick up movie tickets for tonight.

The end result is here.  Shirts, trousers and dresses hanging up.

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Everything else folded.  This is a mixture of items that were ironed and those that were simply folded.

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And the bed and sofa are clear once more.

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The next project was to shorten and hem 2 new pairs of trousers for GMan.  I have done one pair but the others will have to wait until tomorrow as they are black and dark navy. The afternoon light is fading and I need bright daylight to be able to handsew dark fabrics.

 

 

Like a Duck

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I have been feeling a bit like a duck lately – all calm on the surface and paddling furiously beneath the surface!

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Work is busy and I have deadlines and targets to meet before Christmas.  I am hopeful of achieving them but I can only do what is humanly possible.

On the home front it is about the mundane things – washing, ironing, preparing meals as well as keeping the house in reasonable order.

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A menu plan written on the weekend is a must to keep me on track during the week.  Tonight was Mexican quinoa and while that was cooking I steamed a chicken breast fillet in preparation for tomorrow night.  In the morning I will take a tub of sweet and sour sauce and some rice from the freezer.  Tomorrow evening will be a simple matter of shredding the chicken, adding to the sauce and heating along with the rice.  Dinner will be ready in no time.

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Last night I did some ironing and tonight the folded clothes were put away.  A little bit each night helps to keep on top of the ordinary tasks and leaves me time for extra jobs on the weekend.

On Sunday we cleaned up the vegetable gardens and planted some new seedlings.  I hope to have some photos of the progress in a couple of days.  We also picked several kilos of cherry tomatoes which are washed, packed and frozen for later use.