Tag Archives: ornaments

Running Repairs

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I feel as though I could open my own repair cafe at the moment.

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Yesterday I repaired the cover for my iPhone rather than buying a new one.  I have a tiny tube of supa-glue and I managed to re-attach the plastic case to the cover and also re-join the split along one side of the plastic case.  I did such a good job that it is not really visible in these photos.  Unfortunately, I did not get any ‘before’ photos as the battery for my camera was flat and I had to recharge it.

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Tonight I did the second step of the repair when I replaced the small magnet which actually secures the closure on the case.  I had lost the original one some time ago so it did not actually fasten.  The replacement magnet was salvaged from the cover of a little notebook.  The notebook had become detached from the cover and my grand-daughter was ready to toss the cardboard cover so I retrieved the magnet before she did so.

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While I had the supa-glue out, I also repaired a Christmas ornament which had a mishap when being hung on the tree.

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The antler and the oar back in place.

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Finally, this is a dress which belongs to my grand-daughter.  It is strapless but not really practical for a 9 year old.  It needs some shoulder straps and I have found some black fabric which I will use.  I will do the sewing on the weekend during daylight hours as I find it too difficult to sew with black fabric and thread at night.

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Clean and Uncluttered

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Last weekend I was doing some general housework and I cleaned and polished this small table.

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The furniture polish I use is a quantity of the cheapest vegetable oil I can find with a few drops of essential oil to create a pleasant odour.  I use either lemon or lavender oil.  I put a small amount of this mixture on a soft cloth (old t-shirts are good) and apply to the timber then rub it in and buff.

I washed and ironed the doilies and then replaced the ornaments.

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I love this table which I have had for about 20 years and all of the ornaments are special to me.

I keep most things fairly simple but do not subscribe to the minimalist style of an almost bare room.

I prefer the mantra of, “Keep only those things which you use or love”.  These are things that I love.

Use It, Don’t Store It

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The rain continues to pour down here with more flooding predicted.  This is our third round in less than 4 weeks so I think the only ones enjoying the weather are the ducks.  Extreme weather events make life a bit more challenging so we just manage the bare basics.  The systems and organisation that I have in place make it reasonably easy to get by but there is no denying that I do long for a bit of fine weather.

Our lake

In the meantime, I wanted to share something small with you.  We do not have a toothbrush holder as a permanent fixture.  At one stage we would put them on a shallow tray in the cupboard but I decided that it would be easier to have them accessible on the bench so I cast around for a suitable container.  I wanted something stylish but did not see the need to rush out and buy one so I re-purposed this vase.

2013-02-26 02It is the right size and shape as well as being stable and quite heavy so is unlikely to be knocked over.

I was involved in an online discussion recently regarding how many vases people had and where they stored them.  I found that I had 5, including this re-purposed one.  None of them are stored as such.

This one which came from my mother is a piece which I love and it is the centrepiece on my dining table.

Two of the others live on the sideboard and are essentially decorative, although they can be used for holding flowers as required.

The final tiny vase which I was given for my 21st birthday is an ornament on my dressing table.

Do you have vases and how do you store them?

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.