A Hint of Spring - Garden Update.

If you look closely you will see our blueberry has the first hint of blue.

The Lemonade Tree

The peas

The Silverbeet

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 !!!!!

Getting Ahead

"When you have time, you do things for times when you have no time".
This is what my Grandmother taught me about Getting Ahead.

We all seem to be so busy these days that we are always running behind. We are late for work, late home and then have to get something 'quick and easy' to slap on the table for dinner because we simply 'don't have time'. We run our children all over the country side, yelling at them to hurry up.

We flit from one appointment to the next, having quick catch ups with friends on the hands free mobile while swapping the kids from school clothes to soccer gear in the back seat of the car with the other hand.

Why don't we have time ? Over the years have they shortened the length of a day ? Was 24 hours in 1972 longer than 24 hours in 2008 ? If you believe the hype then you would conclude 'yes'.

In the 1950s women were told that they could have so much extra time by purchasing labour saving devices. Clothes washers, clothes dryers, dish washers, kitchen appliances - all saved the housewife a tremendous amount of time. BUT.... where did that time go ? What did we fill it with ? Work outside the house ? Coffee mornings with friends, shopping ?

Our lack of time is a cross between a problem of overscheduling and perception. If you were to make a list of your priorities in life and then compare it to your diary you might be surprised at the results. For example, you might say your spouse is the most important thing, but when you glance back through your diary you may find you actually spent more time having coffee with friends or shopping than quality time with your spouse. Honestly answer the question - do you do too much that is not really aligned with your purpose or priorities ?

The other reason we don't have any time is because of our perception. If you ask anyone, they are busy. It seems to be the standard answer. How many times do you hear people say "i'd love to do that, but I just don't have time". The truth is we all have 24 hours a day.

So, when I do have some time left over I do as my Grandmother says and try and do things for times when I know I won't have spare time. Last week I had planned to do so much in the garden, but the miserable rain kept me from venturing out too far.
Instead invested some time. I made huge batches of biscuits and muesli bars, made soup with leftover amounts and made cordial. I also got an extra loaf of bread on. I have been making crunchy cookies lately as they seem to keep a bit longer. I put them in glass Moconna Coffee jars on the bench -It gives me great satisfaction knowing that I have made them for the family and I know exactly what is in them. I also put a huge batch of dough into the freezer for stand by. I usually always make a double batch so that I can make cookies at short notice

























These muesli bars worked out well. It's the recipe that just uses rolled oats, crushed weet-bix dried fruit orange juice and honey.

 

Making Money - The Entrepenuer in Me.

There is always a lot of talk about saving money. However, even after you have squeezed every last cent out of the budget there are things that have to be paid for - rates, electricity, petrol (!!)

As most of my readers know, I work completely in cash. Each week I withdraw the exact amount I need in the correct denominations. I put it away into categories for times when I need it. Whether the kids need new clothes or we are going on holidays or hiring a DVD - we always have the money there for it. If we don't have the money we don't do it! It is truly wonderful to know that it is only April and your 'Christmas' bag has lots of $20 notes in it already. It brings peace.

My question today, however, is what do you do currently or have you done in the past to bring money into your home. I don't mean your day job if you have one, I mean those extra entrepreneurial things that we often think up. I will start......

1. Tutoring kids

2. Teaching piano

3. Restoring photographs

4. babysitting

5. Teaching Scrapbooking

6. Writing people's life stories.

7. Selling on Ebay

8. Garage sales

9. Selling at 2nd hand stores

10. Markets

I love how in days gone by people made their own money. Lots of people worked for themselves. Small towns and villages had the local butcher baker and candlestick maker. Today we tend to think that we either have a job or we don't. Or that if we're only making a few dollars then it's not 'worth it'.

When you generate your own money - even if it's only $20, you have the satisfaction of knowing that therein lies a few cartons of milk, some fruit and veg and eggs!

So...... the question is over to you: How have you generated income yourself, or what would you love to do if you knew you couldn't fail or you had all the time you needed ?

Post your reply in the comments section or send me an email and I will put together a list for everyone to enjoy. If you would like to tag some friends to participate simply paste the link to this post into their comments section and ask them to post here.

To get started I am tagging:

http://www.sunnycornerfarm.blogspot.com/

http://crazy-mumma.blogspot.com/

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.

The Family That Cooks Together..........

We have just had a wonderful weekend of eating and cooking. I had to go to the Hunter Valley for a work conference on Friday and Saturday and managed to pick up some favourites reds and some lovely cheeses. On Saturday night we had a bbq at a friends house and enjoyed said wines and cheeses.

On Sunday we went water skiing before I had everyone over for a Chef's Toolbox party. If you haven't seen this before, you MUST have a look. I went to a party a couple of weeks ago, somewhat reluctantly, with my Mum. I was so surprised ! It was brilliant, nothing like what I expected from a party plan. Chef's Toolbox is an Australian company that sells cooking equipment and bakeware. http://www.chefstoolbox.com.au/

Catherine, the demonstrator, did a 10 minute talk then all the participants used the demo stuff to prepare a meal. We made a Thai chicken curry and caramel chocolate tarts. One person chopped chicken, another stirred the coconut milk etc. When it was all done we looked through the catalogues, made our orders and then sat and enjoyed the food with a glass of wine ! It was great so I quickly booked a party.

Yesterday we did the same recipes that I did at the first demonstration. I got loads of freebies for being the hostess ! The products are exceptional quality. The cookware is expensive as a one of purchase, but excellent value ( the saucepan I want is $149). They have a lifetime guarantee so I am prepared to save to get them. The bakeware is very reasonable with most pieces being about $39-$49. It suits the needs of all budgets.

I told Catherine that if I had the time, I would become a consultant. It is so aligned with my passion of empowering women and cooking from scratch. I also know that party plans go VERY well in regional areas because we just cannot access the quality products. There are no department stores to duck in to.

After the party No 1 Son made pizza dough in the breadmaker and cooked a great pizza for himself. Not bad for an almost 10 year old ! Today I made a big batch of choc chip cookies and put a big amount of dough in the freezer ready for busy times. Hubbie made rock cakes tonight because he has to go away tomorrow and these seem to have become his signature dish !

The Chef's Toolbox scales allow you to use one bowl for weighing all ingredients. They allow you to press a button and 'zero' the scales each time you add something. This means you only wash up one bowl ! For example, you put the bowl on the scale and then zero it and add 300g flour and then zero it again and add 90g butter and zero it etc etc

So, here is the rock cake recipe:

300g self raising flour

90g butter

1.2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger ( heaped if you want a stronger taste)

2 tablespoons of sultanas

1 egg

3 tablespoons of milk

Method:

Sift flour and rub in butter with fingertips - keep rubbing until the mixture resemables breadcrumbs. (Hubbie says the secret is 'cool hands' - this cracks me up !)

Add sugar and ginger and stir through. Add fruit. Beat egg and add milk. Make into a stiff dough. Place spoonfuls or small handfuls onto a buttered tray and bake at 220C for 10-15 minutes. Turn onto a rack and cool.

Hubbie also makes pretty mean scones - I mean real ones with buttermilk ! The world, in my experience, is grouped into two classes of people - those that can make great scones and those that can't. Last time he made scones he had to ride his motorbike to town because he didn't have any buttermilk. When he got home I saw him laying on the bed reading a water ski magazine. When I said 'aren't you making scones' he told me that he was waiting for his hands to cool down, because his secret ingredient is 'cool hands'. LOL - you gotta love the man- he takes his cooking very seriously !!

The chocolate chip cookies are really easy and the kids love to make them - yell out if you don't have a recipe and want to try mine.

The Stockpile

After a successful shopping trip on Monday the stockpile is up and running again. If you haven't heard of this concept before, my aim is to have enough 'stores' built up in my cupboard that I only purchase things when they are on special.

I have been doing this for so long now that I have a sense of the rotation of the specials, that is, that Vegemite may come on sale every five weeks and during that time my family will use 3 jars so when it comes on special I will buy 4 jars to cover it.

If you're just starting out, take a percentage of your grocery money and use it to build up your stockpile. Each week you can devote more money to the specials and then you are left with a base line of weekly things that need to be purchased. If there are no specials to be purchased in a particular week the money just goes in the jar for next week.

I have found that I save so much money shopping this way and can 'eat out of my cupboard or freezer' any time I need to which is great in emergencies or when you want to save all your grocery money one week or if you are so busy you can't go and do a 'proper shop'. It prevents you from doing 4 runs to the grocery store a week to get ' just a couple of things' which over the week adds up to more than your usual budgeted amount.

Monday Monday ....

Today I am off to do the shopping. Not just any shopping, but my 'extreme shopping'. Frequent readers will know that I take my grocery shopping pretty seriously! LOL http://avisionsplendid.blogspot.com/2007/08/extreme-shopping.html

The good thing about shopping today is that I won't have the children with me, so there's a dramatic saving straight away ! I will also go to ALDI which is about 40 minutes away. I go with a friend and we share the petrol cost. It's also a nice day out to go to a place that has shops that we don't normally see.

I am looking forward to getting my menu planning sorted out, my budget money up to date and re-stocking my stockpile. We let it run down over the summer because we were going to be away so much and I wasn't working, so we used up much of our stores.

I am almost finished updating the sections in my planner http://avisionsplendid.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-planner.html For those of you that asked about it, I will update you on the inside workings of it once I have completed it.

Back to Busyness

My holidays are over and life slowly returns to 'normal'.

On holidays this year Hubbie and I promised each other that we would try and retain that 'holiday' feeling when we got home, that is, to relax and remain calm and contented. Day by day, however, that seems to be slipping out the window.

I have been back at work for one week now and find myself longing for a little bit more time at home to ' get on top of things', although. I am not really sure what those ' things' are.

I did achieve a lot on my three week break. We got through quite a bit of decluttering - something which always feels good. It seems, however, that there is always more to do.

This year I have been fully implementing the GTD or 'Getting Things Done' management system, not only for work but for home as well. I have 'dabbled' with it before, but this time I think I have it set up much better. If you have not heard of this before it is a cult movement based on a book by David Allen. Probably the best place to start reading would be to search in Wikipedia. Note, however, that my version is slightly different and true GTDers might be critical of my sidestepping of the system.

The basis of the whole system is this flow chart:

The first time I looked at and followed it through I thought 'yeah yeah - that's obvious'. But the beauty of this system is fully understanding it all and being able to consistently implement it.

So...... I will give my 'at home' example because if you are a professional you probably have something similar to this running at work.

Step One: CAPTURE or COLLECT.

This is the point where you write down any little ( and I mean little) thing that comes into your head. It could be anything from "buy cat food" to " backpack Europe".
 Don't sensor it, don't sort it- just write it all down.

There is no correct way to do this - digital or paperbased is fine, but you must only have one "collection" point so there is no use having it on your computer if you can't add to it at a moments notice. If you are away from the house or the computer is off it's impractical. I have chosen a gorgeous little notebook with a sturdy cover that is small enough to fit in my handbag. ( BTW I have a small stationery fetish !)

The notebook is your 'mental' inbox and you also need a physical 'inbox'. Start with a tray - but if you are tackling many aspects of your life you may need an 'in box' or an 'in bench'. LOL.

So... the idea is that everything filters through your inbox. So when I am doing something and have a thought such as " I must remember to do the ...." or " I'd really like to put hooks on the back of the doors for the boys' hats" I write it down. The idea is to get EVERYTHING out of your brain.

STEP TWO: PROCESS.

To process the 'stuff' firstly you see if anything can be done with it. Say you pick up a piece of paper from your intray. If there's nothing to do on it straight away - you either trash it, put it in your someday/maybe file and add it to you someday/maybe list or file it for reference.

If there is something that needs to be done you either - do it - if it will take less than two minutes, Defer it - put it on your calendar/ diary for when you will do or delegate it - get someone to do it or deal with it.

STEP THREE: ORGANIZE:

If something has multiple steps to completion it is called a 'project' and needs to be added to your projects group. You also have a series on lists called 'contexts'. So I have lists page headings @SHOPS, @SCRAPBOOKING. @HOUSE, @COOKING. @KIDS, @PERSONAL CARE

@IN CAR @INTERNET etc

So, for example, when I am checking through and processing my list of dumped items from my brain I move the note that says "buy scrubbing brush" to the @SHOPS" list so that when I am at the shops I look at my list and everything is there.

STEP FOUR: REVIEW:

Each week you look through your system and work out your MIT ( Most important tasks). I usually do a daily scan of my notebook - takes about 30 secs. Then work out the next actions for any projects you are working on.

David Allen also uses a Tickler or 43 Folders. The 43 folders are a folder for each day (31) of the month and 12 for each month. If, for example, you want to pay a bill or read an article but not until Thursday 29 March you put it in the 29 folder behind March. Google '43 folders' images and you will see lots of folks using this system.

STEP FIVE: DO

The idea is that when things re systemised, organised and you know what the next action is it will prevent procrastination.

THE STORY SO FAR.......................

As you know I am obsessed with the 6 Principle anyway. Having everything downloaded from my brain is very freeing. I like the way it breaks things into contexts so that I can think in terms of 'boxes' that i can section off my life into rather than having a 'jumble'.

STOP THINK DO: Are You Ready For A Merry Christmas

Most people start complaining about Christmas in October. It often coincides with the appearance of decorations in the shopping centres.

Instead of complaining about how quickly it is sneaking up, be proactive and get yourself organised. Aim to finish all your shopping and preparing by the end of November so that December is stress free and you can really sit back and enjoy this social time.

1. Make a list and check it twice. Never wander around the shops thinking 'what can I buy for my mother-in-law'. I keep a list throughout the year in my diary. I write things down as they come to mind.

2. Can you DO instead of BUY. Are there things that you can make from the heart ? Can you sew, cook or craft. Can you make a scrapbook album or write a poem. Can you give someone vouchers for your time e.g. 10 free lawn mows or foot massages. Be creative - it will make a memorable gift.

3. Less in More As I have said before, we buy 'gifts' from the worlds' most useful gift catalogue. You can buy a goat for a village, sink a well, buy school books or medicine.

4. Create Strong Family Traditions Traditions give us a framework to pin our memories to. We always put the tree up on 1 December and wear Santa hats and play old fashioned Christmas music like Jingle Bell Rock ! The kids always look forward to it ( and funnily enough, so do I)

5. Plan Plan Plan Get out your notebook and make your list. What are you eating, where are you going. What can you do now to make things run smoother for busy times.

Christmas is a season of joy, not stress. Remember.... don't fall into the habit of busyness.

STOP. THINK. DO. Take this time to celebrate the joy in your life.

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

When Disaster Strikes..... It may not be what you think !

I have always loved the idea of 'being prepared' as you know, but I have a certain amount of complacency.

 After all, I tell myself, we don' t live in a hurricane area, nor a flood area and I often think that I should probably be ready in case the small airport we are close to ever has a terrorist attack or we are evacuated because of an explosive threat, but then I get side tracked and it goes back on the ' must do one day ' list.

Now my thinking has changed, and no, I am not burying weapons in the backyard or building bomb shelters. I don't know what the disaster is that I am preparing for which greatly changes the way I prepare.

The biggest disaster we all face is personal. It could be that the breadwinner becomes ill and is no longer able to support the family, it could be a dramatic change is your small business, it could be that family member becomes ill and requires a full time carer. Sometimes you could never have seen the 'disaster' coming.

Hubby and I were talking about this recently with the horse flu virus that has invaded our state.

 It has meant that all racing has been shut down and no horses are to be transported.

I didn't think too much of it at first, but it had now stretched on and the flow on affects must be terrible. What if you were the man who worked behind the bar at racing events, what if you bake bread for the canteen, what if your charity group runs the coffee stand at the local pony club. The flow on effects are enormous.

My point is..... we never know when disaster will strike, so we always need to be ready. Disaster may be on a large scale like a flood, hurricane, power outage or it could be on a personal level, like losing your job. It may be an instantaneous event or it may be a slow steady change.

Rhonda from Down to Earth recently wrote about the ABC interview she heard on the subject of peak oil http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2007/2028694.htm If you tune in, the story starts about half way through this audio programme.

We may not notice the changes too much at first. As they say, drop a frog into boiling water and it will jump out. Drop a frog into cold water and slowly increase the temperature and it stays there, oblivious to the danger, until it is cooked. The moral is be responsive to gradual change.

But wait...... what if I'm wrong ! What if peak oil is a myth, what if climate change is a myth.... what if I make all these positive changes for nothing ? LOL If I'm wrong, we have made our selves healthier wealthier and wiser for nothing ! ( read sarcasm) The reality is that you are a winner, whichever way it goes.

So, on a practical level, how do we make these changes. After all, not all of us are lucky enough to retire to the coast on acreage with just ourselves and our partner (like the lady in the ABC story). Some of us have to still educate our children, pay off houses, work to put food on the table and build a future. So we need practical advice.

Stay tuned.... and send this site address to your friends and family so that we can create a network of support, for simple ideas that families can implement easily.

Feeling Personally Organised

Do you ever feel that you can’t keep up with life and that it just happens while you run to keep up with the pace.

The idea is to take control so that you become proactive instead of reactive. This means that you will be prepared for events beforehand rather than reacting to them when they become urgent or important.

The tools you will need to feel personally organized are:

1. A diary
2. A calendar
3. Menu Planner
4. Shopping List
5. Budget Book

The calendar needs to go on the wall at home and the diary needs to be big enough to write in yet small enough to carry around.

In order to get ahead you need to set up your diary. Remember, you start where you are. Don’t think you can only start doing this at the beginning of the year.

Firstly, birthdays. Fill out a list of all the birthdays for the year. Then go through and mark them in your calendar. When you go to mark them in your calendar/diary you will need to firstly mark the date and then secondly put a note in the week before that says “send off card” or “ buy present” or whatever you do for that person. It may just be that you send a special email on the day.

Mark in any other dates. I, for example, mark in all the school holidays and try and plan when I will take leave throughout the year.

Now whenever you receive notification of any events you need to not only put them in the diary but put a reminder a week or two out from the event depending on what sort of preparation is needed for.

I have discussed the concepts of menu planning, budgeting and shopping before on the website and you can scroll down to the category searches if you need further information.

The idea is to be dealing with things before they become urgent. The more ' ahead' you are the less stressed you are.

What can you do today to be prepared for something that is on you horizon ? If you deal with things on the horizon they are the size of ants. If you leave them until they get closer and closer those ants become elephants and you will be trampled.

Please let me know different ways that you do things in advance. It could be as simple as making lunches the night before, buying Christmas presents in January or once a month cooking, I would love to hear from you.Please also let me know if you require more detail. Would you like to see the charts and forms I use in my home management binder or mu budget books/ menu planner etc. Do you need a copy ? Please email me. My address is in my profile.

Extreme Shopping

You've heard of extreme sports, well I am into Extreme Shopping. Now don't misunderstand me, I don't spend hours clothes shopping and wandering the malls. In fact I hate that sort of shopping. I am into extreme shopping for things I have to buy - and let me tell you I LOVE it!

It started quite a few years ago when I was expecting number one son. I spent a lot of time obsessing over our budget working out how I could afford to not go back to work once the baby was born. I soon worked out that saving 20 cents here or there could really make a difference and I have been totally obsessed with the concept ever since.

Now I am sure many of you are thinking that you can't be bothered shopping around, or that the extra time involved is not worth it, but take a look at this little equation.

Lemonade: I usually buy two bottles for a week. It comes on sale and I can save $1.25. Multiply this by two and then by 52 weeks for the year and the saving is $130. Not much you reckon ? Do this across your grocery list and you 'make' enough savings to take your family to a resort for 10 days every Christmas. (well that's what I choose to do - you may choose something else like pay your credit card off or use it for birthdays etc )

So.... the question remains. Is it worth the time and hassle ? Only you can answer that question. The actual question is.... how much time are you willing to invest to have a holiday/ pay off credit card etc ? ... one hour..... three hours ......5 hours......

Here's how I do it.

Firstly I went to the supermarket I usually frequent. As I did my normal round I took a calculator and worked out the best buy by using the unit price method. I divide the price grams/ litres etc and multiply by a common unit to get the price into a usable quantity. Clear as Mud ? Let's do an example. In the supermarket you see two bags of sugar.

The first is 2kg for 2.49 and the second is 3kg for 3.79. Here are the steps

2.49 divide by 2 = 1.245 per kg

3.79 divide by 3 = 1.263 per kg

so the 2kg is the better buy. Don't be fooled though, the answer is not always the biggest quantity and this example doesn't really show a clear saving.

Here's another: Toothpaste 110g for 1.29 or 175g for 1.89

1.29 divide by 110 X 1000 = 11.72 per kg

1.89 divide by 175g x 1000 = 10.80 per kg

I convert the smaller numbers to kilos or litres to make it easier.

It tool me about an extra 40 minutes to do the shopping that day and I recorded the prices in my price book. The next week I shopped at the other supermarket and did the same. Then when I came home I compared it with a docket I had from a trip to ALDI.

I then made a master list of what to buy from which shop. All up I think it would have taken me about 3 hours to do the whole thing over a number of days. Now when it comes to shopping day I don't run around to every shop and waste my time. Because I used the stockpiling principle, that is I buy enough of something when it is on sale to not buy it again until it comes on sale again , that I simply buy what I need depending on which shop I go to.

The extreme shopping starts (oh I crack myself up - this is so sad ! ) when I see catalogues and can do a quick calculation as to whether or not the shampoo is a good buy and how much I will save.

Every time I laugh at myself and think I have REALLY become obsessive compulsive about my grocery shopping I just think of that holiday.

We have been going there for 9 years now. Who'd a thought it ! Most people can't be bothered. But I'm sure if you stood on the street corner and handed out $2000 they'd jump at the opportunity.

Well, people, your opportunity is already under your nose. You just have to ask yourself whether you are willing to invest the time. After all, in this world we either spend money or we spend time.

Are you an extreme shopper ? I'd love to hear your story !

The 6P Principle

6Ps = Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

I have written before about my Grandmother's ' one up' principle, that is, you have a spare of everything in the cupboard and as you finish one off you get another one to replace the spare so that you never run out of anything. 

This week I have made a list to fully prepare my stores cupboard.

I have worked out my usage, for example, I know that at all times I want a container ( 3kg) full of flour as well as 4 1kg bags in the cupboard.
This will take me some time to finish because I will only stock up when the products are on sale. The overall aim is to never pay full price for anything again.
If you watch the sales you will see, for example, that Vegemite may come on sale every 6 weeks and you may know that you go through 3 jars in that time, so I would buy 3 when they are on special.

If you let your items run out or run low, you will have to buy them when you need them rather than when they are on sale.

If you use the store cupboard idea of stockpiling, you will eventually get to the position where you only buy sale items each week.

This will cut your grocery bill dramatically. If anything unforeseen happens you always have your insurance policy.
 We all think that a ' disaster' will not happen to us, but sometimes it is the simplest thing that can cause problems, like blackouts from storms or floods.

 If there is no power, the doors of Coles can't open ! I wonder how many people were caught by the flooding around Newcastle - not caught by flood waters but caught by the shut down of services.

 The moral of the story always comes back to the 6P's.

The 6 P principles is the answer to how can you get ahead and work towards never paying full price for anything ?

Cooking From Scratch

As you have probably noticed, I REALLY enjoy cooking from scratch.

It brings me joy to put the effort in and be rewarded with tastes that far surpass that of the bought alternative. There are health benefits, in that I don't add any 621, 379, 202 or any of the other ingredients I see on packet foods and there are financial benefits, meaning it is so cheap to cook.

Over the weekend I made the following:


- chicken and sweet corn soup


- special garlic bread ( as No 1 son calls it. Th picture is of him helping to make it. )


- chocolate self saucing pudding


-orange cordial

- coriander and cashew dip for a dinner we went to.


and thoroughly enjoyed it.


In keeping with the local food challenge, something we really struggle with, I can say that the only local food was the oranges. Sad, but true.

Getting Ahead

" When you have time, you do things for times when you don't have any time". 


This is what my Grandmother taught me. 

The idea, in my words, is to get ahead that is, the 6 P principle. Prior Preparation and Planning Prevent Poor Performance. So... how does this work in real life ? Well...

Have a planning day. On my planning day I usually write out my menu plan based on our family schedule for the following week. I then write my shopping list from that plan. I also work out what I will wear for the whole working week (Tuesday to Friday ) and get those clothes ready. I also organise school uniforms ( although we still need to wash and iron through the week because the boys only have two shirts and two sets of trousers)

Have a cooking day. This can be simply 40 minutes of your time that you set aside for the purposes of getting ahead. I often make up a triple batch of cookie mixture ( usually Anzac biscuits) and only cook a few. I then roll the rest of the dough into balls and freeze. That way I can have fresh biscuits at 10 minutes notice. This picture is what they look like when they come out of the freezer. I just lay them on the tray and they still spread nicely, even if they are frozen solid.

Look Ahead: Don't spend today working on something that you need tomorrow. Anticipate your needs. Look at your calendar for next week or next month and do today what is required in the future. That way, if something happens and your time doesn't go to plan you can be at peace because you already have yourself organised. Believe me- if you can win at this one, it brings great peace but when you don't do it you are so cranky with yourself for leaving things to the last minute!

If you can get ahead, the rest time that you have will feel great! You can sit back and watch a movie, go out with friends or have a weekend away knowing that you don't have any black clouds hanging over you because you have the peace of being ahead. So next time you go to do something, think of what you can tack onto that job to " get ahead".