$21 challenge Meals

As regular readers will know, we have been gathering meal ideas to be able to carry out the $21 challenge from Simple Savings ( see the link below right).

Here is last nights dinner. - Home made wraps which I have posted the recipe of before. ( see recipes section)

As you can see from the picture - the wraps are not perfectly shaped like the ones you buy in the packet, but believe me they are much tastier and they roll without breaking. They are also very filling. You would be pushing it to eat more than one. You can fill them with whatever you have. Last night we marinated some chicken strips and had some salad with them.

....And the costs ? Well....... difficult to calculate -flour, salt, warm milk, vegetable oil. Hmmmm probably about 75 cents for the four wraps. The extra cost comes in the filling, so about $2.50 for the chicken strips (250g) and the salad is difficult to estimate because you use the same items for many meals.

It is certainly a meal to add to the list for the challenge. It's also a very healthy one.

An Entrepreneurial Spirit

As you would have ready earlier in my blog I am fascinated by the ways of my Grandmother who is now a healthy 100 year old. I believe that we have lost many of the good things about this style of living.

 I am not saying that it would be nice to go back to having no electricity and no running water but I think we can implement many of the ideas and philosophies from that time to benefit our modern lives.

One thing about the old ways that I love is the entrepreneurial spirit.

That is, the ability of people to create their own incomes. I am certain that it wold not have been viewed in such a romantic light back then, it was more a case of survival.

 If you wanted to eat then you needed to either grow it yourself or make some money doing something in order to buy your food.

There were no credit cards. If you didn't have the money then you didn't buy the goods. I often think that if it wasn't for credit cards and redrawing on mortgages we would be living almost like the Great Depression days.

How would you go if you got your weekly income out of the bank, held it in cash and new that it was all you had to sustain you for the week, or new that you had to actually save some of it to buy more expensive things?

In times gone by people created their own money without a job as such. Lots of people worked for themselves - the old idea of the butcher, baker, candlestick maker. My Grandmother worked hard to save money when it came in from selling wheat and wool. She also made money through extra things like selling eggs and turkeys.

Have we lost our Entrepreneurial Spirit ? Would we be brave enough to sell our services or goods for money ?
Would we be brave enough to know that if we worked hard we would make more money but if we were lazy we would make less?

Something worth thinking about.

The Declutter Has Begun

As mentioned earlier today, I am on a mission. A mission to revamp, simplify, declutter and reduce.

I have started with one of the bookshelves. I asked myself - what do I no longer need ? What would someone else now benefit from ?

Here are the results of the first purge. I have listed a couple of the items on my ebay site http://search.ebay.com.au/_W0QQsassZvisionsplendidQQfrppZ50QQfsopZ1QQfsooZ1QQrdZ0

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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

Busy Busy Busy........What's Been Happening ?

Christmas: Organising, shopping, making.

We take turns each year of going to my husbands family or having them come to us. This year it is our turn to head West to a little town on the North West Slopes and Plains of NSW, population 3050, soon to be 3054 for a couple of days. Santa, therefore, needs to be completely organised beforehand so that presents are there on Christmas Eve without little eyes spotting them. Santa says..... God Bless Australia Post.


Family Fun: We have been having terrific fun down on our fabulous local river. Early in the morning the water is like glass and perfect for skiing.


Local Entertainment: We went to a play night in a little country hall up in the mountains. The local "players" put on a play a couple of times a year and different community groups do the catering as a fund raiser. 

On the night we went the local Rotary group catered and the food was delicious. Serving 130 people is a big job !




And to my readers....Thank you for all your emails. I love the feedback.

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.