The Daily Sweep

If you told me 12 months ago that I would be sweeping everyday I would think of it with dread. The hallways and loungeroom used to be covered in a lovely cream carpet which we chose when our first born son was a baby, not knowing how ridiculous it was to have cream carpet and a young family. When we closed in the back area of the house and reclaimed the laundry as living area we put flooring through all the areas except the bedrooms and office. As a result I now have to sweep everyday.

Rather than being a chore, I actually enjoy my morning ritual. It is quite shocking the amount that is actually swept up. All that dust and dirt was soaking into the carpets before because I certainly didn't vacuum every day.

I like the simple repetitive act of sweeping all the dirt and dust out the front door and back into the garden. I love that the simple act doesn't require any electricity or the latest state of the art vacuum cleaner. I love the feeling of satisfaction that I get when I walk back in and it is all clean once again.

There is joy in the simple rhythms of life.............

There's More To Life Than Money ?

There’s more to life than money. We hear that saying all the time but for many people money is at the centre of their existence and I believe, rightly so.

If you are thirsty and dehydrated you can think of nothing but water. If you are starving you can think of nothing but food. So it is right to think that when you are out of money or you have money troubles then that is all you can think of.

Poor money management creates tremendous stress. There is stress because of guilty feelings of over spending. There is stress not knowing how bills will be paid for. There is stress in knowing that you are going backwards. This stress is often the basis of many disputes and marriage break ups.

The only way out is to WAKE UP from the CONSUMER NIGHTMARE.

If you are unhappy with your present financial circumstances then you must make changes to your relationship with money or things will not improve or they will get worse.

1. WORK OUT WHERE YOU ARE FINANCIALLY – list everything you have and everything you owe. A total clean sweep – right down to that 10c on your bedside table and the 20c coin in the glove box of your car. Gather it all up and FACE YOUR FINANCIAL TRUTH.

2. LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE – If you are in debt, look around your home and ask yourself ‘was it worth it’. I remember seeing a TV programme once where a finance expert was in someone’s home and they opened up the storage cupboard and just started counting - $30, $25, $75 etc as they were pointing to board games, hairdryers, DVD collections, toys etc. How much of your money is just sitting around in cupboards. It’s a VERY scary thought.

3. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU NOW DON’T HAVE: Think about this- if you have a mortgage and you haven’t paid it off in ten years, ask yourself where that money went that could have been used for extra repayments. The answer is – thrown out! You have spent thousands of dollars that could have got you out of debt on things that you have bought and thrown away. How many clothes do you have that are more than 5 years old ? We buy them then they go out of fashion and we throw them away. We also buy popcorn makers and electric slippers, music CDs, storage baskets, doona covers, computers, TVs, lounge suites. We have them for a while and then they become old, boring and unfashionable…. So we buy new ones. So instead of now being debt free, we accidentally spent the money that we could have put towards extra repayments on …… things that we thought were good at the time.

4. KNOW THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE: Advertising is seduction. The sooner you understand this, the better you and your money will get on together. Don’t believe what you see. No face cream will make you look younger, no car will improve your life, no office furniture will increase your income. What will really make you feel great is being financially free, having positive relationships and finding your ‘JOY FACTOR’ – that is, something that truly gives you joy in life. Think about why companies offer - BUY NOW PAY LATER type deals. It is because they know that the majority of people don’t pay on time and they will make extra profits.

5. IF YOU HAVE A POOR TRACK RECORD, DON’T TRUST YOURSELF: I have heard people say, I can’t carry cash because I just spend it. In my experience it is a lot harder to part with cash knowing that you only have $30 in your wallet than it is to hand over your credit card and convince yourself that this is a justifiable one off purchase that you will definitely pay off at the end of the month. BE REAL – carry cash and be creative about not using it.

6.BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF: We get into trouble with money because we are lying to ourselves. We won’t accept the cold hard truth that we cannot live our current lifestyle on our current income. It’s as simple as that. If we were HONEST we would think differently about how we spend.

7. RECOGNISE THAT RECREATIONAL BUYING GIVES A SHORT TERM BUZZ: - Sure, it’s exciting when you bring something home from the shops but the buzz wears off, sometimes too quickly and you have to buy something else to get that sense of excitement. – If it were any other substance you were abusing it would be called a drug addiction !

8. START IMAGINING A BETTER WORLD Day dream about what your life would be like if you were debt free. Would it mean that you could take holidays, real, soul renewing holidays. Would it mean that one of the parents could ‘come home’. Would it mean that both parents could work part time. Would it mean that you could stop working to pay for debt and start working in an area that you are passionate about that may mean a lesser salary. Would it mean that you could leave work all together and work for yourself, create your own income or do volunteer work ?

9. WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO TRADE YOUR TIME FOR: If you are working to create income, then everything you buy you have worked for. If your hourly rate is $30 then to buy a $60 pair of jeans you have to work two hours. You may be quite willing to do that. Ask yourself, however, whether you are willing to pay for other things – Are you prepared to work 20 hours per year to pay for cleaning products that you simply pour down the toilet or the sink ? If not, use vinegar and bi-carb. Are you willing to work 26 hours a year to pay for a subscription TV service that you miss most of the time anyway. If not, borrow DVDs from your local library. What about working 40 hours just to pay for the finance charges on your credit card which are in addition to working to pay for the things that you purchased that created the finance and interest charges. Maybe the answer to some of these questions might be ‘yes’ but it’s worth asking the question.

10. PLUG THE HOLES AUDIT: Go through all your bank statements, receipts, bills etc and see where your money goes. Don’t dismiss any small amounts. If you seriously want to make some changes then plug the holes in your ship. The small holes draining away your potential savings could sink your ship. Look at every option and try to work about how to save $5 here and there. You might find cheaper house insurance that cuts $10 a month off your bill, what about grocery savings by menu planning and shopping with a list, what about using cash only when you’re out. How about driving less or changing brands of deodorant, bread or internet provider. There are THOUSANDS of hints and tips waiting for you out there when you are ready to make the change.

THE RESULTS: Having your family budget under control means that you have freedom. You can sleep at night without financial stress. You can spend freely, knowing that you have amounts in spending categories already there in your money tin when needed. If the kids have an excursion, need new shoes, are going to a birthday party or are playing sport, you can be confident that there is money to cover it. You know that planning your meals and squeezing your grocery budget is worth it for the end of year holiday that you have each year. When you have the money aspect of your life under control it frees you up to think about chasing your joy and living a more sustainable, family centered life.

The Joy of Soapmaking

Here is the result of my first soap making efforts. I am very pleased with the outcome, although some of them are a little bit crumbly. Although I left them 24 hours before turning them out of the moulds, I feel they could have been left longer.

My recipe uses copha, olive oil, rice bran oil and lye. I added a pure lemon myrtle oil as fragrance and for it's medicinal properties. I stamped them with a fancy M because it's the only stamp I had.

The soap takes 4-6 weeks to 'cure' and I can't wait for them to be done. Just washing the containers, the soap feels very creamy and moisture rich.

I loved making the soap because of the joy factor. There is joy in knowing that I can produce something like this from scratch and there is joy in knowing exactly what is in it. There are no petrochemicals here!

It struck me when I was making this soap that it is not as much 'work' as I thought. Being more self reliant does take time, but it's time here and there. About half an hour to make the soap and I won't have to do it again for some time. I will work out how long the cakes last and time it so that I will always have lots on hand.

How exciting having another thing under my belt in this quest for self reliance. Bring on the cured soap so that I can grate it to make washing powder !!!!!

Feel the Rhythm.....

Can you believe I have made ten Chinese Lanterns tonight because the boys wanted to "celebrate the Olympics"? Personally, I am not into the Olympics - there's that whole Human Rights issue that spoils it a bit for me, along with the whole - money for entertainment while millions starve, but, I keep that to myself ! LOL

It is so lovely to be home for the afternoon/evening routine. When I was working and would come home late I would REALLY miss this, even though I have the best husband in the world that would do homework, cook tea and bath the children, I always felt that I was missing out.

Kids thrive on rhythm and so do adults. It provides stability and security. Life seems to run smoother with a daily, weekly, seasonal and yearly rhythm. That's the way nature operates.

Today confirmed for me that I have made the right decision in leaving my legal career and choosing my family instead. It's really funny that most mothers agonise over the career/family decision when the children are small. It seems funny that I was home for 5 years when they were young then went back to work for about 2.5 years then made the decision to 'come home'. I remember my sister, who has children a lot older than mine, was talking about mothers 'coming home' when the children where in their later teen years, especially when they were in the senior school years because that's when they were needed most. At the time of hearing this I was dreading the idea because you tend to think that as they get older they become less reliant on you. As my children grow I realise that the reliance remains, it is just in a different format.

Another wise woman told me once that there are seasons in life. This is my season to nurture. I don't know how long it will last, but when I feel ready I will return to work. I have a really great boss who sent me an email today updating me on one of our cases and telling me to let him know when I get bored ! lol.......... We'll see when the season changes.

We Apologise for The Break In Programming.....

The past two months have been a huge transition time in my life and in our house.


I have decided that I will leave my paid employment and come home. The reason it is such a huge transition is this. I used to be a teacher. While I was off work on maternity leave I did a law degree and in October 2005 I began working for a large law firm. I was admitted as a solicitor in 2006.


Working as a lawyer is really a great profession, despite what stereotyping may tell you. I worked in an area of law that really helped people in crisis. The best thing about helping them was that it didn't cost them anything. I enjoyed this because I enjoy helping people. I get a real 'buzz' from empowering others.


Over the last couple of years I had been questioning my priorities. Making money is a very good thing, as it gives you choices. But making money doesn't do it for me. It sounds like such a cliché but money doesn't necessarily bring me happiness. The lack of money ( and I have been there too) gives me anxiety where as the middle ground brings me joy. The problem with making good money in a job is that you constantly trade your time for the money. Throughout my life it always seems a shift between having lots of money and no time or having lots of time and no money. So I have been on a quest for the middle ground. What if I could design my life the way I want to. After all, nothing is permanent. If I make the wrong decision I can go back, can't I ? There are thousands of sheets of notepaper laying around this house with lists. When the going gets tough, the tough make lists! Lists of pros lists of cons, lists of values, lists of qualities, lists of strengths, lists of weaknesses, lists of assets and lists of liabilities. Lists of goals, aims,objectives. Not that I am into astrology but apparently I am the typical Libran- weighing it up all the time.



Then on the 19th of April I got a call to say that a friend from work had lost her husband all of a sudden. This was a lady who is a real role model to me. She has two children about 18 and 21 and they were a very close and loving family. I looked at her son and hoped that I would be able to raise my sons to be fine young men as well. There she was in her mid 40s - a widow. She had lost her beautiful husband so suddenly. As I sat at the funeral I realised that life is as delicate as a butterfly's wings. It clings to us like a fine spider web that is gone in a breath of wind. Yet we treat it like it is permanent, like it is set in stone, that somehow it is our right to have it for as long as we demand. Truth is, it can be blown away with any breath of wind like a dandelion seed.


With this new found perspective I listed on yet another list what really brought me joy and how I really wanted to design my life and how I really want to raise my children. It always comes back to the way of the old days. How did they afford to live ? Of course they didn't have many of the 'luxuries' that we call every day items, but human needs have not changed at all in the last 50 years. We still need water, food, shelter and love. The only thing that has changed is our unquenchable need for items introduced to us via advertising. We buy because we have a need to fulfill. The items fill that need for short period but then we need something else to fill the void. What is the void we are trying to fill ? We needs in our human psyche are not being met ? The great philosopher Epicurus surmised that we need friends, freedom and an analysed life, that is, to discuss the philosophy of life with friends, while sharing good food. I think I tend to agree with him.


So... once I made the decision there was no turning back. Suddenly there arose a further list of very important things. A To-Do-List of the mammoth proportions. Firstly, secure food. As I have always thought, my Grandmother would never have had only some parsley and coriander in the garden and told the kids to get in the car and take them to McDonalds! Of course there was no McDonalds and no car ! LOL


It was just taken for granted that there would be things to eat in the garden. So..... we built more garden beds and started studying up on when to plant and when to harvest etc. At the moment, there is not much to show for our efforts because it is winter, but the seeds are sown for a wonderful spring.


I have been doing quite a bit of reading. I have stated many times before that no matter what perspective an article is written from it always adds up to the same conclusion to me. Whether it is about green living, peak oil, permaculture, frugal living, voluntary simplicity etc etc it always comes back to living like it's 1940. So I will take on many things from the past whilst keeping the treasures of our modern society.


Only my closest friends can truly understand my reason for living my career, that is, "that I have an overwhelming need to till the earth while my children are young" LOL ! I am sure that many will believe that I have had some sort of breakdown. If you remember the very first episode of "The Good Life" you will be laughing now I am sure.


I guess this means it is time to put my money ( or lack of it) where my mouth is and commence the experiment. Can a thoroughly modern mum live freely in a modern world. Can she produce food? Can she cook from scratch? Can she knit socks(gulp!)? Can she raise chooks for eggs? Can she learn to sew properly (gulp!) and........ can she still afford to buy the occasional vanilla latte on skim milk that has become her signature coffee ?


I believe that my user name "BusyWoman" is about to become an extremely accurate assessment of the days to come. I look forward to it with a sick sense of excitement. I hope you will stick around for the journey.

10 Tips for Reducing School Morning Stress

Tips for reducing the morning stress.


1. Have all clothes ironed and ready the night before.


2. Put children's clothes in a place where they can easily access themselves. We put our boys clothes over the same chair every day so when they go to get dressed everything is there.


3. Prepare notes the night before. We have a thin folder for communications between school and home


4. Have lunch boxes out ready to be packed. Depending on what foods you include, some can be prepared the night before.


5. Have an early bed time. Reduce stimulation well before bed time – have quiet music, relaxing baths, turn of TV, read aloud etc


6. Start early in the morning. Don’t leave everything until the last minute when you have to run around madly.


7. Have children do their ‘morning jobs’. Kids thrive on rhythm and routine. Depending on their age they may be able to do their own jobs such as making the bed, tidying their room etc.


8. Get yourself ready early. Get up before your children so you have a head start on the day.


9. Take the time to have a good breakfast.


10. Turn off the TV in the mornings. Time always go slower when the TV is off.








If you can implement these things it will bring peace to a very busy time of the day.

Our Simple Life

In keeping with Rhonda at Down to Earth's challenge, I am writing a post that summarises our approach to simple living.

The whole basis of our lifestyle is captured in my blog tag " - Live Simply, Live Joyfully. Follow the old paths, they are tried and true". The 'Vision Splendid' is the ideal that my family and I are trying to move towards. We are far from it, but the journey is a lovely one.

There are four of us. Me, Hubbie, and two sons aged 6 and 9. I work outside the home 4 days per week and hubbie is now the stay at home Dad. Because we avoid commercial TV we find that we live in a parallel universe. We have no idea about trends, sales and gadgets! We think it is quite funny.

Our underlying philosophy comes from old fashioned living as we saw with our grandparents.

We LOVE the sustainable way of living in the 1940s. We often chat about how our families were 'self sufficient' without really knowing it because everybody was ! They had their own water supply, grew everything, raised their own meat. cooked everything from scratch and never had a garbage truck come to collect all their rubbish each week!

We believe that there is a lot to be learned from the old ways. By applying this philosophy we keep our lives simple and joyful. We have jumped off the treadmill of constantly acquiring stuff to make ourselves feel better and then constantly having to work to keep up. We have less income now but more savings because we don't need 'stuff'.

In practical terms this means the following:

1. Living within our means in a small house with no debt

2. No commercial TV

3. Cooking from scratch
4. Finding old 'sturdy' items second hand rather than a constant supply of cheap 'made in china' items that need replacing every 12 months
5. Spending quality family time together
6. Baking our own bread
7. Brewing our own beer
8. Fixing things ourselves
9. Growing what we can
10. Doing our own renovations
11. Using the town library as a resource
12. Buying local produce
13. Composting our food scraps
14. Minimising plastic packaging on foods
15. Avoiding petrochemicals in products
16. Work on a completely cash budget
17. Changing all lights to CFLs
18. Line dry the washing
19. Menu planning
20. Buying Australian grocery items where local not available
21. Stockpiling

22. Managing my home in a single binder

23. Getting ahead by applying the 6P principle

24. Having a planning day once a week

25. Having a cooking day once a week

26. Work hard at 'saving' through the year for an annual holiday

27. Using old fashioned items and remedies - e.g. washup with sunlight soap, put eucalyptus oil on your hankie if you feel a cold coming.

28. Wear an apron to keep your clothes clean
29. Turn the TV off and read out loud to my children
30. Wear hand me downs
31. Avoiding food additives and chemicals

We also formulated our own family eco-challenge after watching the Carbon Cops series on the ABC last year. Here are the areas we focused on:

1. Energy

a) Turn off lights when not in use

b) turn off appliances at the wall

c) Have shorter showers

d) install energy efficient light bulbs

e) use re-chargeable batteries

2. Water

a) shorter showers and water saving showerheads

b) catch cold water when waiting for hot to come through – use this to fill water bottle and kettle

c) wash up in the small sink

d) flush when necessary

e) install water tanks

3. Transport

a) Ride bikes to school and work
b) Limit trips to town – by planning and grouping trips

c) Get Dad to ride motorbike to town for smaller items/ errands

d) Walk

e) Find cheaper fuel, drive more economically

4. Garbage

a) Compost Food Scraps

b) Stop Getting Plastic Bags

c) Buy items with less packaging

5. Consumption

a) Don’t buy unnecessary things

b) Work on a cash budget

c) Use things sparingly-

d) Do instead of buy – make it yourself.

This is an ever growing and changing list.

Restoring The Vision Splendid

I have been doing a lot of reading lately on a number of topics - green living, frugality, additive free eating etc. I have said this before...... whichever way you turn it comes back to the same thing for me..... live like it's 1940.

Here's what I mean. If you decide that you are going to approach things from a green living perspective then you might group your trips to town to save petrol, shorten your showers to save water and money, save electricity, grow your own food, buy non processed foods, buy foods with limited packaging, buy second hand, not use disposables etc

If you are approaching life from a frugal perspective you will cook from scratch, work on a 'cash only' budget, make things instead of buying them, not spend money on non-essentials, barter or share with friends etc

Whenever I read these ideas for living I think that it all comes back to how people lived in 1930 or 1940. It seems that they had things pretty well worked out!

My Grandmother built a house in 1936 which was made with solid concrete using sand from the creek. There were two water tanks at the back of house, for rainwater or water from the well on creek bank when there was no rain. There was a well which was spring fed and crystal clear. My mum tells me it tasted better than bottled water. There was a big tank that was put up in the 1950s. It was for watering the garden and was filled from the well

All vegies were home grown as were the fruit trees and grape vines. All excess fruit and veg were preserved and made into jam and pickles.

A sheep was killed about once a week or maybe a fortnight for meat. Beef was shared with the neighbours. They also had ham and bacon which was salted and smoked in a square tank with sawdust. There was also chooks for meat and eggs

In so far as rubbish is concerned, nothing left the property. All scraps went to pigs and dogs. All packaging that was re used. My mum tells me that there was also newspaper in the dunnie!!!!

So... in today's terms you would call it ' self sufficiency', 'green living' 'frugality' 'the Good life' etc. I call it 1940s.

I think we can all learn something from this way of life.

Nurture

See them jump when I announce " who would like me to scrub their feet in the bath?" It works so much better than screaming " get in the shower NOW !!!!"

I light the candles, set the mood.

They lay back, relaxed, and enjoy the pampering. I scrub their feet with a peppermint scrub that's crunchy and smells great.

They love the attention. Little do they know I am hypnotising them, slowing them down, preparing them for bed.
They get out, we read together and they go to sleep so easily and quickly.

 Little do they know of the hypnotic, soothing effect of light and water.

I think I will try it myself.

Reading Aloud

At the moment we are reading the Spiderwick Chronicles. The boys are really enjoying it. As I was reading to them last night I had 'a moment'. We were tucked up in our queen size bed, me in the middle. Each boy had hold of my long hair and were twisting it through their fingers. This is something that they have done since they were babies. It still amazes me that Number One son will be ten in August and he still twists my hair {(:>) joy of joys!}

As we sat reading I remembered back to my training as a school teacher. There was something called the nuerological impress method of learning to read. It's where an adult reads aloud to a child and the child tracks or follows along with their finger. There were studies at the time that showed that kids really responded to this style of learning and picked up reading quickly. They also learnt all the intonation, that is the ups and downs in your voice, or the expression.

But... you know what I reckon teaches children to read ? ......

LOVE. Snuggling them up, taking the time, immersing them in rich stories, that special togetherness that probabaly can't be studied scientifically. It's probably called 'modelling' or 'osmosis' but to me it's the love quotient. - making reading a fun, intersting, magical world of escape rather than a punishment, chore, or something you have to do so you don't get in trouble for missing your homework at school.

Teach them to LOVE it. Reading can take them on many adventures in life.

What Is Simple Living To Me ......Thinking Out Loud.....( Thinking Allowed)

This is Hubby's sister's property in NW New South Wales.

I have really been thinking about what I mean when I say that we live a simple life. Simplicity is different for every person. For some it may be as little as a way of thinking or philosophy whilst for others it may mean complete self sufficiency. We are all at different stages and phases in our lives and no one way is correct. So my question to you is.... if you say you live simply, how do you define it ?

Over the years since our first child was born we seem to phase in and out of our simple living mode. It seems that we are on track for a while then slowly drift off the path until we have totally lost the plot and then we have a giant revamp and get it all back on track again.

When we first started trying to be more frugal and live a bit more old fashioned I used to joke about how I could close the front gate and feel as though I was on 30,000 acres. We used to laugh and say our family motto was "peace, love and vegetables".

Over time the idea of simplicity has changed somewhat, particularly as the children got older. When I think of living simply now I think of the following things that suit us as a family:

1. Cooking from scratch - for that 'old fashioned feeling', less food additives and much cheaper and healthier.

2. Working with a cash budget

3. Planning Menus

4. Not watching commercial TV - minimising advertising exposure

5. Playing together as a family

6. Living in a home that we own - not living beyond our means

7. Working part time

8. Growing what we can

9. Reducing belongings and clutter

10. Eating locally where possible

11. Having a grocery stockpile

12. Making our own bread

13. Composting our food scraps

14. Riding our bicycles instead of using the car

15. Thinking before we buy anything

The list goes on. I guess the biggest thing for me is a sense of control. Not feeling as though we are adrift in the ocean being knocked around by every wave that comes in.

I believe that when you are living a life authentic to your inner values you will experience a sense of peace. Once you have this feeling, it is easy to know when you go off the path and it's great to have that sense of peace return when you are back on track.

I would love to know your thoughts on this. Drop me a line.

Joy Joy Joy .......down in my heart !

The Christmas Season is over for another year. We had a really lovely day. We went to my Sister and Brother In Law's house. They live on a property about 10 minutes from a little town in north west New South Wales. The weather was really kind to us in that it wasn't too hot.

We had quite a lean Christmas.

We made a real effort this year to buy our boys things that they could use rather than heaps of toys with thousands of parts that are broken by New Year. We also tried to avoid over priced licenced merchandise, you know the ones, where the price is doubled because the item has a picture from some movie. For the grown ups this year we did a 'Secret Santa' - where everyone's name goes into a hat and you buy just for one person.

On Boxing Day we headed off on our holiday and stayed at our favourite resort. It was VERY relaxing. We really took the time to wind down. We also spoke about our goals and plans for 2008.

Now we are refreshed and ready to tackle the new year. I love the new year time. It's a chance to draw a line under everything that's happened and start afresh.

New Floors Down

The floors are down and the furniture is slowly going back to where it should be. The floors need to be polished a little as they are a bit flat and have a powdery coating.

The next step is to complete my 'VISION SPLENDID'. My vision is of a well maintained, organised house with a place for everything and everything in it's place. Clear of clutter and unused items. A place where our children can grow and learn in a simple environment free from the distractions that the world puts in our way (read consumerism!) I believe that when children have too much and are never bored, they don't ever develop their imagination. It is the child who is allowed to become 'bored' from time to time who builds a cubby house, creates a 'shop' or sits down to sketch and design.

So the task of decluttering, simplifying and creating peace continues.

Not A Vision Splendid

Last night we had to move everything so that the timber floors can go down. FINALLY !

We have done a lot of work to this little house over the past few years. It has grown as our needs have grown. The latest project involved closing in a back cement veranda and reclaiming an over sized laundry for living area. We then updated the bathroom and combined the laundry with the bathroom because the bathroom is a good size and we use a front loading washing machine that doesn't take up much space.

Now it's time to put timber flooring down - all the way through the house except the bedrooms. Hopefully it will cut down on dust and will be easier to keep clean.

I am looking forward to putting things back and minimising all the clutter. I will create my Vision Splendid, that is, I will design it exactly the way I would like it to be !

A Facelift and A New Mindset

You have all seen this picture before. I snapped it one morning when I felt that Spring was trying to break it's way through the cold winter mornings.

This is the main hallway in our home.

You will notice that we have cream coloured carpet.

It was a good idea at the time. Number one son was a newborn baby and we had no idea what life would be like in the future with cream coloured carpet and two young sons. My father-in-law suggested that we get black carpet and paint the walls black up to a height of four feet until the children are about 12 years old. LOL

Next week we are having the carpet replaced with timber. This is something we have been saving up for, for a while now.

We are really looking forward to a total clean sweep of the house. Since renovating the bathroom and building a back room onto our house many of the normal spring cleaning jobs have gone out the window, so we a really looking forward to a re-vamp.

Part of the re-vamp involves a massive clear out. We are going to reduce our belongings dramatically. We have so many things in this house that we never use and the freedom that comes from decluttering is long overdue.

I was reading an article recently about setting up home for the first time. It listed things that are required for each room. As I was reading it dawned on me that we really don't need too much else than what was listed.
For example, under laundry it said:

___ Iron
___ Ironing board
___ Detergent
___ Bleach
___ Fabric softener
___ Laundry Basket
___ Stain Remover
___ Sewing kit
___ Hangers

What else do you have in the laundry that may not be necessary ?

When we go away each year to our holiday unit we always comment on the simplicity of it. You open the cupboard and there are only 8 matching glasses, plates, bowls etc.

The cutlery is all matching, the second drawer only has a few important utensils. All so simple, so peaceful and so easy to maintain.

So...... a change of mindset...... simplify...... differentiate between needs and wants.......declutter and reduce belongings drastically.

Are you interested in a clear out ? Would you like to follow along and revamp your own rooms one by one with me ? Send me an email or a comment and jump on board!

P.S. One woman's trash in another women's treasure. I will post a link to my ebay site when the process begins. LOL

365 Ways to Simplify Your Life

In our last swap, my partner Dee sent me a little calendar with a simple hint on each page. Here are a few of my favourites:

1. When you're finished with something, put it back where it belongs.

2. Work out what cards you need throughout the year and make them, or buy them, in advance

3. Keep receipts in one place

4. Walk away from gossip

5. Buy clothing you can mix and match

6. Keep a list of odd jobs to be done

7. Lay your clothes out the night before

8. Have everyone have their own bath towel and beach towel

9. Shop for Christmas all year round

10. Keep your car clean and full of fuel

11. Sort your groceries as you put them in your trolley and as you put them through the checkout to make unpacking easier

12. It's easier to stay healthy than to try and reclaim your health once you are ill

13. Buy extra when things are on sale

14. Plan ahead

15. Use a family calendar

16. Establish a plan for emergencies

17. Re- wear your clothes if they are not dirty

18. Teach your children to manage their own money

19. Have a gift wrap box

20. Have an annual retreat to renew your soul