Monday is a Busy day

Phew! What a busy day.

Monday is the day I do all my running around. I start the day with what I call a 'home blessing'. It is where I do my normal morning jobs but add in a few others like vacuuming, washing sheets, dusting etc. I then sit down and write my menu plans and organise my shopping list.

By 11am I was done and headed into town for my usual routine. I stop at the Post Office and withdraw my budget money then I head to the petrol station and put in the weekly allocated amount for fuel. Then I do any errands that need to be done and finally I do some grocery shopping.

By 1pm I'm home and unpack the groceries and have some lunch. Then I have my 'office day' where I pay bills, organise any correspondence, update the budget categories etc etc. Today I met a friend online to test a 'virtual classroom'. It was very exciting. In this process I donwloaded Skype and 'found' my sister in Queensland.

At about 3pm I started the dinner and I then headed up to the back room for some therapeutic ironing. I really love ironing. I set up a little nest in our granny flat that usually consists of a DVD playing on the laptop and a cool drink. I then iron away. Lately I have been working my way through The Waltons - let me tell you it's very inspiring !!!

About 5.30 I headed back into the kitchen and made some lovely lasagne sheets. This is the first time that I have made fresh lanasage sheets. We have made fettucine before and it was magnificent. I am looking forward to tasting the lasagne. The eggs were given to me from a friend who is VERY proud of her new chickens. The plain flour is 91c a kilo and I used 400g and the mince was about $3.69. So, this is a very cheap meal indeed!

I am about to put tea on the table and then it will be showers and reading for the boys, a few extra jobs for me and then I will fall into my latest book that awaits me eagerly.

A busy day, but a joyfilled day! There is much joy to be had from working hard.

Reviving Hospitality

Yesterday I was with a group of ladies who are all my Mum’s age. We had a lovely morning tea at one lady’s home. The hostess laid the table out beautifully. Each place setting had a small plate with a napkin on it and on top of that was a tea cup and saucer with a lovely spoon. There was a selection of yummy things to eat as well as a nice sugar bowl and milk in a jug. The reason I am telling you this in such detail was because it really struck me as being quite beautiful.

The layout of the table made me sit straighter, pour my milk delicately into my cup and give a little tinkle tinkle with the spoon and then sip it oh so lady like. (I’m sure I even poked out my pinkie finger as I held my beautiful cup!). We said please and thankyou as we passed around plates with yummy snacks.

The ritual was really lovely. The actual beauty of the scene shaped our behaviour. It slowed us down and made us engage in the setting.

Hubby and I have often spoken about the loss of this tradition of having people over for morning or afternoon tea. Hubby speaks about his two old aunts. As a child he loved going over to visit because in a minute they could put together the most wonderful ritual of afternoon or morning tea. The house was always tidy and organised and they never had to jump in the car and run to the shop because they were out of milk!

I have very fond memories of going to my other Nanna’s house ( she died in 1999) She was actually my Godmother, but she was always treated like a Grandmother. Every time we visited her we were made to feel very special indeed. She ALWAYS laid out the table cloth and got out the “good cups” and in a few seconds could put together a spread that most of us would be in awe of. She could make the most amazing sponge cakes, all cooked in a wood stove. She was so amazingly resourceful. She even knew how to chop particular types of wood for different things she was cooking. I always remember her chopping ‘scone wood’.

Whenever anyone came to her house that knew her they always came to the back door. The back door opened onto a small veranda area and then you stepped up into the house. On the left just off the corridor and leading into the bathroom was the old concrete twin washtubs and her old washing machine. Not once on my entire life of going there did I ever have to step over her washing that hadn’t been done. Can you imagine if the main entrance into your home required your guests walking into your laundry – would you be proud of cringing ? Not once was her home messy, or she hadn’t washed up or had piles of ironing or the beds unmade. Even if we turned up unannounced!!!

In my generation, no-one does the ‘afternoon tea spread’. Although I do have some frugal friends that do coffee and home made goodies, generally speaking no-one my age even has anyone come to their home for a cup of tea !!!! If you want to catch up with friends you have to go to a coffee shop.

I believe that we have lost the art of hospitality. We can’t have anyone come over without two hours notice so we can tidy up! I’m not saying that this is everyone, it is just what I observe. We have all the labour saving devices yet we get so little done.

Before the days of mobiles and telephones, people used to go ‘visiting’ and just drop in on their friends. It was a usual occurrence. Scones were the usual accompaniment to a cup of tea because they were quick to whip up. Can you honestly say that if visitors dropped in unannounced you could whip up a batch of scones ? LOL How times have changed!

So...... In my quest to revive the old traditions I am going to revive morning or afternoon tea. Lots of people drop in for a coffee here, but I am going to make them feel that little bit more special. I will put down a table cloth ( oooooohhhhhhh) and use the ‘good cups’ (ooooohhhhhh) and my sugar and milk jug. I am not the scone maker in the house ( Hubby is) but I generally have some baked goods on hand. If not, there is always the trusty frozen biscuit dough already shaped so I can have cookies in about 12 minutes.

Everyone thinks, “oh, don’t go to any trouble”, but gee it is nice to “play ladies” it changes our behaviour and in a world where everyone is only looking out for themselves, it is nice to spread a little kindness and joy!

Are you a household that has lots of drop-ins who you are always prepared for or are you cringing at the thought of anyone knocking on your front door. I would love to know YOUR thoughts. Please leave a comment.

Thinking About Christmas ( but not presents)

Recently I have turned my mind to Christmas planning and I don't mean presents.


We take it in turns to have Christmas here or over with Hubby's parents. This year I am very excited because everyone will be coming here.


The reason I have been planning for Christmas so early is because I need to make sure my garden is ready for the BBQ season. My aim is to be able to create as many things as possible from scratch and from the garden.


When I hear people talking about the Christmas countdown I think about what plants will mature in that time. I think about what plants take 16 weeks to develop or 12- 14 weeks ? Then we plant out, hoping for a Christmas harvest.


Because it is Summer in Australia it is salad and bbq season. My aim is for us to be producing the following things:


lettuce, tomato, cucumber, capsicum, shallots, corn, beans, potatoes and a good range of herbs. I also want to make sure there are plenty of blueberries.


I am very excited about how the corn plants are going. The seeds that I planted have powered ahead and are much taller and stronger than the seedlings I planted a few weeks before. It will be a joyful day the day I can pull some corn from the plant and cook it straight away. Hopefully that will be Christmas Day !!!!



I am also preparing other things for Christmas. I am experimenting with bread recipes and cookies and cakes to make sure that I have it well perfected before the day. There are also napkins and placemats to be sewn, decorations to be made, edible gifts to be perfected and Christmas Irish Cream to be made!


It is all very exciting!


I have written before about the joy that comes from the 'doing' of things. Maybe the true joy of the season comes from hand making things to give as gifts. The recipient will be overjoyed receiving something so precious, and you will experience their joy! JOY JOY JOY - there you go ! Is that why when Christmas is all about BUY BUY BUY we don't feel the joy of it and all we worry about is the headache of the credit card bill coming in January.


As I write this there are 62 sleeps, five hours and two minutes until Christmas Day. That's over 7 weeks. What can you get up and running to feed your guests at Christmas ? Can you start with some herbs, put some lettuce in a pot? Can you start to make some handmade gifts? - you don't need great skill, you just need ideas - google for ideas!


My challenge to you is to bring some joy back to the Christmas season. Give JOY not STUFF.

Detailing A Simple Life - our budget

I have been getting more and more emails asking for assistance in the areas of simple living, home management and budgeting. It gives me great joy to know that my writing is actually assisting you! Please keep the emails coming. I try and address them with detailed responses, just be aware that sometimes it takes me a couple of days to get through them all. I will also try and give more specific details in each of the posts I create.

In return, I ask that if you gain some benefit from my writing you put a link on your blog or send all your friends a link to the site and ask them to tell their friends!

At the moment I have turned my mind towards tightening our budget. I think it is because of all the news coverage about the current financial climate. I really feel for small businesses who are the first to suffer when there is less work around for people. It is okay for us to say we will cut out non-essentials like coffees, magazines, restaurant meals etc - but what if you are the owner of the restaurant, coffee shop or news agent who has to put food on your table. It really is hard, because the truth is, that in difficult times it becomes a case of 'everyman for themselves', meaning, if I don't have extra money to spend I am not going to eat at your cafe. The good thing is that the economy works in cycles, we just need to ride out this downturn.

So if I can't help you by spending money at your cafe, the only thing I can do is, as I have said before, swap you spinach for eggs, or jam for beans. This is the great Australian way - swapping the pickles over the back fence. We just need to re-establish these traditions.

I have just re-done our family budget again. Partly because I want to reduce it and partly because it changes every season because of changes to our entertainment and eating habits.

As my regular readers know I am an envelope girl. I have little bags for each area where money is required and withdraw the correct denominations of cash each week. Recently I have changed this from plastic bags to a little mini accordion file with labelled compartments.

I include not only amounts that I know we spend each week like food, fuel, entertainment but also include seasonal categories like clothing, holidays, Christmas birthdays. Whenever we need something I just go to that category and pull out the cash. This really works for us and it gives me tremendous joy knowing that we always have the money there for things that we need or if we want to go and do something as a family. There are from time to time expenses that I haven't thought of but because I have been doing it for many years I have it pretty well worked out.

Hubbie needed new shoes today ( I have begged him for weeks to replace his ones that were just about needing sticky tape!) and he was able to go and get the cash out of the folder. Number One son has a birthday party to go to on Saturday and I know that there is money there for a present. If the kids bring home a school excursion note or we want to hire a movie or go out for tea, the money is there. We don't have to worry about the guilt of knowing that we can't afford it but stick it on the credit card anyway to worry about "later".

We now allocate $365 per week, down from $449. The categories are:

Fuel

Holidays

Christmas

Birthdays

Groceries

Clothing/ hair

boat fuel

school

entertainment

pocket money

sanity money

kids banking.

This is separate to the amount I have for bills and savings. I always take savings out first and have a bills amount worked out by adding them all up over the year and dividing by 52.

Notes:

The kids pocket money is $5 per week. They use it to buy treats and save up for things.

The sanity money is $10 each that Hubbie and I have that we just blow or save or whatever we feel like. I allocate $150 per week for groceries but never spend that much. I usually spend under $100. I collect the extra money and blow it in holiday times or when we have visitors or at Christmas time etc. Sometimes I have to buy things out of that amount if they breakdown, like a toaster or something.

I love having Christmas already paid for. I love having our yearly resort holiday already paid for. There is great peace.

Having cash on hand is extremely powerful. I love the concept of poverty by choice. I like shopping knowing that I have a set amount in my pocket. It makes me really consider each purchase.

Are you a cash person ? Or do you have some other fabulous way of staying within your budget ? Do share !

Flo's Lamington Cake

.... I was a bit too slow to take a picture.

This is a recipe for lamingtons. I only made the lamingtons once because it was too fiddly. Perhaps it was because I had a seven year old assistant that I declared 'never again'. Don't get me wrong, they tasted lovely! The next couple of times I made the recipe I just poured it out into a slice tin and it became 'Flo's lamington slice'. But, by far the best incarnation has been 'Flo's lamington cake', where the secret is to pour the mixture into a round cake tin. (amazing isn't it!)

For my non-aussie readers. A Lamington is a square of vanille cake dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in coconut. Flo is Flo Bjelke-Petersen the wife of a rogue premier of Queensland many years ago who was famous for her pumpkin scones. ( She has a fabulous cookbook by the way!)

I whipped the cake up yesterday for some friends from Sydney who were coming to stay. It was quick and easy.

Ingredients:

125g butter

125g sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

250g Self Raising Flour

pinch salt

1/2 cup milk.

1. Cream the butter and sugar really well. Add vanilla

2. Add eggs one at a time

3. sift the flour and the salt together.

4. Add flour and milk

5. Cook for about 30 mins on 180 degrees.

Icing

250g icing sugar

6-8- tsp cocoa

1 tsp butter

vanilla

mix with boiling water to the correct consistency ( not too runny) and smooth on icing with a wet hot knife. Sprinkle with coconut and there you have it!

- note to self. Take photo before kids get home from school.

Wash on Monday Iron on Tuesday.............

I never thought that I would find comfort in routine and rhythm. It used to annoy me that old people would wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday etc. I thought it was ridiculously old fashioned and heck, I needed my freedom! I didn't want to be tied down to any routine. I didn't need a day of the week to tell me what to do !


Instead of finding freedom in lack of routine I found disorganisation. Ironing became five minutes before I needed to put something on ( often running late) washing..... well it usually happened when I ran out of underwear and it would take all day to do it, not to mention the weeks of clothes laying around in baskets.

Over the years I have tried many 'systems' to be able to get things done. I would go ok for a while but then fall off the wagon and be back to old habits. Once I was married and added children to the mix it became increasingly important to have things organised.

Let me tell you that I still fall off the wagon from time to time, but it is a whole lot easier to climb back on again. The difference is that ( and I almost hate to admit it) have set days for set things. If I have something on a adjust things or do a simplified version of the day, but generally I stick to the pattern. Now don't think I can't come over to your house because Monday is my washing day or anything, I am completely flexible, but Oh the Joy of having things done and getting ahead and knowing that I just do a few things each day rather than spend a whole day trying to clean the house.


You will laugh when I tell you that my days are also colour coded. I use my calendar in OUTLOOK to work out all my tasks and put in appointments etc. It works fabulously for home management as well.


So...... At the risk of sounding completely obsessive here is the breakdown of my days in detail for those of you that have asked for this via email.


The basis of the whole system is having a strong morning, afternoon and evening routine. These tasks are done regardless of what is happening on a day. If I will be out all day or am doing a days work I still do the tasks, I just do them a little earlier to get through them.


MORNING ROUTINE - walk, shower/dress, load of washing/ breakfast / tidy kitchen/ make beds / sweep floor/ wipe the bathroom over.


AFTERNOON ROUTINE - iron washing/ organise dinner/ homework.



EVENING - clean up from dinner/ bath (sometimes) skincare/ PJs/ reading.

There is a lot in the morning routine only because I have slowly got there. I would NEVER have done this to begin with because it was setting myself up for failure. I think five good morning tasks is enough to create a habit.


Then I have a basic weekly plan that looks like this:


MONDAY - Home Management day ( mine is green). I do a ' home blessing' ( flylady.net terminology) This means I add a few jobs to my morning routine. I add vacuuming and dusting each room, wipe over screens and mirrors and mop the floor. I then go to the local Post Office and withdraw my money in cash. I fuel up the car on the way to town and do my errands which usually consists of going to the library, getting photos printed and then grocery shopping. When I get home I unpack and do up my budget books, pay bills and general office jobs.


TUESDAY - is my GARDEN, BAKE and MAKE day. ( Green) This is the day I work in the garden to plant new seedlings, move plants. build up beds, regenerate soil, bake goodies for the week like bread, biscuits both sweet and savoury and make dough and things for the freezer for times when I am too busy too cook. I have also made this my 'make' day for when I need to make soap, ginger beer, sewing etc etc



WEDNESDAY - is my business day. ( blue) I prepare classes and workshops to teach and make teaching resources and try and do some sort of training or personal development.


THURSDAY - A Vision Splendid day. (Pink) This is when I write my articles, respond to emails, update newsletters etc.

FRIDAYS - personal day ( purple) - I often update my scrapbook albums, teach a class if I have one on my books and I also do more baking to get us through the weekend.

SATURDAY - family fun day. ( yellow) We usually go to the river with friends and spend the day skiing, tubing, swimming etc. We often catch up with friends for dinner and have a bbq or something. In the winter my sons play soccer.

SUNDAY - day of rest! - whatever takes our fancy. We often do a bit more gardening, laze around, read the newspaper, play with the kids etc.

Overlayed over the top of that is the focus area for the week. Each week of the month has a different room allocated to it. for example, Week one might be the front two bedrooms, week two the kitchen etc etc. The idea is to spend 15 mins or so doing a job in that room. Soon you get to the stage where there is nothing to do in the room, for example, your bedroom where you just keep it maintained each day or week and there are no huge tasks that need to be done, except maybe cleaning fans and windows seasonally. Other rooms, like the kitchen, often need a focus clean once a month because the second drawer breeds extra utensils and the tupperware cupboard has a way of messing itself up each month.


Sounds rigid doesn't it! - Well, it's actually freeing. Once you get up and running a routine actually gives you time. I would much rather spend 30 minutes each morning doing a few jobs rather than a whole weekend trying to get a house in order.


Please don't send me emails saying it will never work for you because you work a 90 hour week and commute two hours in either direction. This is MY routine. When I was working it was quite different. The idea is to do what you can do throughout the week to free your weekends for fun and relaxation with your family. It really only takes 45 seconds to wipe over your bathroom in the morning. If you leave it for a week or two it will take you half an hour of scrubbing. The choice is yours!


So..... there it is....... not quite wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, but just as rhythmic and it gives me tremendous joy and peace knowing that my house runs smoothly and that I am up to date and when my friends from Sydney call ( as they did today) and say they will be arriving tomorrow I can relax in peace and turn my mind to the wonderful meal I will prepare for them to make them feel welcome.

Emergency Fund - but how ?

Every where you look there is talk of economic down turn. The news today is that there are predictions that there will be about 200,000 jobs lost in the next 12 months. I am wondering how you will weather the storm. will you be okay ? Do you live paycheck to paycheck ? Do you have an emergency fund? If you lost your job, do you know how long you could survive without an income ?

How can you start or add to your emergency fund ? I think the very first area to look at whenever you need to find some funds fast is your grocery bill. A few changes to meals and cooking habits or switching brands can result in huge savings. It is a question of what you are willing to forgo in order to have financial peace. I am a big believer in small things that make the difference. Everyone dismisses the smaller purchases as "just $2" here and there, but these purchases add up to hundreds of dollars every year. Even a saving of $25 per week can equal $1300 per year. The trick is to physically put the money somewhere. A bank account with no fees and high interest is good, or you can always stick it in a sock in your undies drawer!

There has been much talk comparing the 'recession' of today to the Great Depression. I have always believed that the true state of the current economic times is concealed somewhat by the availability of credit cards. If we all worked in cash the true problem would be much harder to mask, because people would literally have no money to pay for things.

I constantly think of my Grandmother telling me that they rode out the Depression quite well. She says that because they had their own fruit and vegies and had their own meat they were somewhat insulated by true hard times.

I think if there was a true Depression this time around it would have a tremendous impact on our families. My reason for this is that there is an incredible lack of skills now. I am 36 years old and my friends and I comment that we are the first generation who's mothers burnt their bras and went to work ( and yes I realise how much I am generalising here). As a result we did not learn many of the skills that have been handed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Now, even baking batch of cookies is beyond the ability or interest of most mums my age. I do agree that there is a growing group of frugal, green blogging mums, but generally speaking no-one cooks! There are very few people that I know that sew, except those brilliant quilt makers that learnt this fantastic hobby. I would bravely suggest that most mums don't even sew a button back on !

We could insulate ourselves somewhat by becoming more self sufficient and think in a cooperative manner e.g. I will trade you my spinach for a few of your eggs. Actually having someone 'working the home' often results in more savings than if both parents work and spend the majority of the second wage on child care and convenience products!

If one parent in the family decides to stay home and look after young children and run the house it can be a huge money saver, but you must have skills. Cooking and gardening would have to be the two most important ones.

If you can't cook - google it !!! That's the extent of my advice. You can find detailed sites that show you photo by photo how to do basic things. You can borrow books from the library or tune in to a cooking show. There is nothing stopping you.

When it comes to gardening my best advice is to just try it. Once again google it or borrow a book and take one small step at a time. A good place to start is with sprouts on the window sill. Then venture into some herbs in pots. Even a small balcony can grow some tomatoes, lettuce and carrots in pots!

Many of the answers to today's problems lie in the old fashioned ways. Think like it's 1940 and you will reap huge rewards in health, finances and of course the joy factor !

After Storm Glow

The last two afternoons we have been blessed with good soaking rains. In the past we might have cursed an afternoon storm, usually arriving at the time when school is coming out and things are thrown into chaos. Now we are grateful for the rains that stop us from having to water the garden with the hose. What is it about rainwater? What is that magical ingredient ? Why is it that you can water daily, but as soon as there is a little rain water the plants stand up and come alive. Mother Nature certainly has the recipe worked out well.

After the storm this evening there was an amazing glow. The photos certainly don't do it justice. It was a strange green/yellow colour. Everything came alive! Even in the house there was a strange glow. It was truly lovely. I grabbed the camera and took some shots in very poor light so they are quite blurry.

We recently started daylight savings, meaning that we had to wind our clocks back one hour. I hate the change over. I value my mornings because that is when I get the most done. To suddenly lose an hour was very painful. It has taken me a little while to naturally wake up early again. I don't use an alarm clock. I generally wake up naturally just after five anyway. You can imagine my horror when this turned into six ! Anyway, I am almost back to my 5am rising.



Thank you to those of you who have been sending me emails. I value the feedback, especially the questions because they give me ideas of what to write about.
I would like to write more about managing a home on a budget, and creating a joyful, simple life especially with kids! Do you have any questions or issues you would like me to address? Just send an email or leave a comment. I would be happy to share ideas.

Busy Playing....on our STAYCATION.

Today is the last day of the school holidays for our boys. School starts back on Monday.

It has certainly been a busy time, hence the lack of blogging.

The holidays have been terrific. We had one overnight trip to Sydney, but the rest of the two weeks we have had a STAYCATION - that is, you holiday at home. A Staycation allows you to do some wonderful things. The STAYCATION family activity list has so far included building cubby houses under the dining room table and then sleeping the night there, playing tennis in the front yard, riding bikes down the road and being attacked by the nesting pee-wee and butcher birds, watching a family movie, spray painting a home made hut, making comic books, cooking, building bike jumps, making a smash up derby arena with a series of boxes, swimming in the local pool, waterskiing and swimming at the river, scrapbooking, going to friends' house for a play date, putting on a 'Star Wars Show' in the garage (lol!)

There are many benefits to having A STAYCATION. Firstly, it costs very little. If you calculate the cost of a week in a holiday apartment and then add meals,fuel or airfares and entertainment the cost can be beyond many families. Why not do the sums and then decide to spend one quarter of that amount during your STAYCATION. That money may allow you to do something special for the family like a restaurant meal, bowling, movies or whatever else is a 'treat' in your household.

The Second benefit of a STAYCATION is that it gives you the opportunity to explore where you live. Often we don't see advertising about our area because it is targeted elsewhere. If you go to your local tourist Information Centre you will be able to see what the area has for visitors. Pretend you are a visitor in your own region. There may be sight seeing walks, waterfalls, historical buildings, wineries, fishing spots etc. It may be a real eye-opener.

The third benefit of a STAYCATION is the total peace that comes from going nowhere and doing nothing! Have you ever have a great week's holiday, finally relax and then have to spend 10 hours driving home in ridiculous traffic only to have to front up to work on Monday morning ? You need a vacation just to recover! Having a STAYCATION will allow you to totally unwind, sleep well in your own bed and be at peace with the world!

Remember that the success of a STAYCATION depends on the mindset. Do something different to remind yourself that you are on a STAYCATION. Lay in the back yard with a book. Wear that Hawaiian shirt, make yourself a cocktail at dusk and watch the sunset. Turn the phone off and put the 'out of office' reply on your email. Paint your toenails, do some yoga or meditation, lay in a buttermilk bath with a glass of champagne.

 Think TOTAL RENEWAL.

ahhhhhh........... I am relaxed just thinking about it.............................

Give it a go ..................... you may just fall in love with the concept.

Where We Live

We have been away. A trip to Sydney. It is always great to head down to the ‘big smoke’, but it is even nicer to come home.

When we are driving home we get a view of our beautiful valley. It really is a wonderful sight. There is the ocean on the right and the mountains on the left with a meandering magnificent river that winds its way through the valley.

The river is our main source of entertainment throughout the warmer parts of the year. Families come together and we ski, swim, tube, kneeboard. We love it. Each weekend we pack up our picnic baskets, our air pots and baked goodies and head to the river. Early in the morning the water is like glass and makes for perfect skiing.

The children play on the river bank, exploring, making up stories of yowies in the bulrushes and digging holes in the sand. They take turns in going on the tube, often two at a time and their little faces say it all !

Families that play together stay together! A friend’s father told me once that having a boat was a great thing when their kids were growing up because it kept the family together. Instead of their children going off with mates who the parents hardly knew, their kids friends came and played with them and didn’t get into mischief as they got older. I agree with this idea. Hubby’s family also grew up boating and picnicking and I think he wants to give our boys the same experience What a wonderful pastime to share together as a family!

The Secret To A Long Life.............

When my grandmother turned 101 in July she gave an interview to the local Newspaper. She told them that the secret to a long and healthy life was keeping busy and not worrying.

She failed to add that she grew all her own food, never smoked, and didn't drink. I guess if you are busy going about your daily work you don't have time to get old. Daily work keeps you mentally active and physically active. It is funny how no one went to the gymnasium in 1940 ! doing a hard days work was just part of life.

Now..... advertising tells us that work or effort is bad. We drive 1 kilometre to the shop, we have a clicker button that changes the channels on the TV because, lets face it, we don't want to have to get up and take three steps! We are so sedentary because we have machines that do everything for us. As a result we are completely out of balance as human beings. We are overweight, take medication to reduce our cholesterol and more medication to keep our blood pressure down.

Maybe if we took the 1940s approach to life, things would fall back into balance. Walking to the shop, digging in the garden, growing and eating our own food would reduce our waistline, our blood pressure and our cholesterol levels. The work would give us a tremendous sense of satisfaction that money can't buy and the changes we make would improve our family budget.

Then we would be as humans are meant to be. Balanced. Are we the only mammal that is self destructive?

Hubbie snapped the photo a couple of days ago. It is entitled "why do you ask?"

Family Eco Challenge

When we first began this blog, one of our focuses was our Family eco Challenge . We designed areas of focus and worked hard at reducing them. That was 18 months ago. Many of the things we were struggling with back then, have now become every day activities.

Now it is time to take it to the next level. We will do another Family Eco Challenge and try and improve our numbers once again.

The original areas were:
Energy

Water

Transport

Garbage

Consumption

Here are the original ideas that we brainstormed:

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.

When I look back at this list it looks so easy, but when we first start out it was quite a stretch.

Now we will move to the next level.

We haven’t had our family meeting to brainstorm ideas yet, but I am thinking of possibilities like:

Can we make more and buy less ?

Can we drastically cut electricity usage ?

Can we not set foot in a supermarket for a month ?

Can we go ‘zero waste’ for a week or (gulp) a month ?

Can we run tank water through the whole house?

I look forward to what the family will come up. Children are so open to new and exciting ideas!

Are you interested in doing a Family Eco-Challenge ? What do you think your family could do ?
I would love to hear some feedback from my readers. I am not sure if I am just talking to myself here LOL – drop me a line!

Splendid Tomato Staking

We are attempting something a bit different with the tomatoes this time.

Firstly we have moved them to the side of the house, right along the driveway.

 They face west and get lots of afternoon sun. S

econdly, instead of staking them up with stockings or scraps of materials, this time we are using a technique that Hubbie saw at a tomato farm.

They loop a piece of string under the heaviest part of the plant and tie it to a frame above. As the plant grows the string is tightened. The frame is made from tomato stakes with a whole drilled in each end and a cable tie looped through the holes to keep it together.

It seems to be working magnificently.

The plants are doing really well and have lots of flowers.

Garden Update

One head missing...... for the stir fry tonight!

Making The Most of Your Waiting Time.

Today I had some waiting time.

Waiting time often catches us by surprise. We rush to an appointment only to sit for half an hour waiting. We are meant to meet someone and they are late...so we wait.

I used to hate waiting time. I would constantly look at my watch. I would subconsciously practice the narrative in my head “My appointment was 1pm. It was half past by the time I got in” The more I looked at my watch, the slower the hands moved. I would memorise every poster in the room.

Now I am always ready for waiting time. I secretly love it!

Today during my waiting time I pulled my tiny notebook out of my wallet and began writing my lists. You know that I love a good list! Sometimes I can’t think straight until it is down on paper in front of me. My tiny notebook is made with a few pieces of paper about credit card size, cut up and stapled together. I have little tabs that break up the ten or so pages.

Today was very productive waiting time. First, I wrote out things that I wanted to add to my ‘sustainability’ list. You know, making more soap, growing loofahs, planting out the cucumbers, cutting up the towels for cleaning cloths. Next I got on a complete roll and began mentally going up and down the aisles of the supermarket writing down things that I could make instead of buy. Next I made a list of all the activities I could do with the kids in the school holidays- things that cost nothing or little but will be great fun. Then I made a list of jobs for my morning, afternoon, and evening routine , revamped my basic weekly plan and listed what jobs should be done during my weekly home blessing hour. In the time I had left I brainstormed all the places that I could go to get my goods and services locally avoiding the chain shops and trying to support local businesses.

By the time the waiting was over I was very pleased with my efforts. I had mapped out so much and developed a plan out of the fog that was floating in my brain.

Sometimes it is nice to wait. All I need is a little notepad, a great pen and my brain, then I am off.... a million miles away...... who’d have thought such tremendous productivity could happen right there in the waiting room. Give it a go... it beats a trashy magazine hands down !

10 Useless Pieces of Information About Me.

1. My signature coffee is a vanilla latte on skim milk.





2. I have a stationery obsession. Nothing excites me more than a good notebook, matching pen and coloured tabs in a folder.





3. I am a visual/ kinaesthetic learner- meaning to take things in and remember them I have to write or draw them – Visual to remember the image or notes and kinaesthetic meaning I remember by the movement of writing it down.





4. I write lists. Then I collate lists and write a list of all the lists I have.





5. My first car was a 1978 Mazda 323. When I drove along the keys used to fall out of the ignition and if I tried to turn a corner the steering lock would come on. This made for many fits of laughter in my uni days and kept my speed to 40 kilometres an hour.





6. I play the piano, but I don’t have one in my home. Our family piano is at my mums. If I go somewhere where there is a piano I sometimes pour out my soul into a long sonata and then feel fully cleansed and ready to face the world again!





7. I met my husband when I was assaulted by a gang of 10 juvenile criminals on a Sunday afternoon in the main street of town. He was my blue eyed policeman who came to the rescue. I believe that we were destined to cross paths. I have learnt through this that my greatest blessings come from my greatest adversities.





8. When I am nervous I say the most ridiculous things. It started when I was bitten by a bee at the town pool in Scone where I lived when I was eleven. I had to tell the manager because I was starting to swell up. He was a cranky man who said “ where did the bee bite you?” I replied “ up the deep end” He screamed “where did it actually bit you?” I cried and said “ on the second step on the ladder up the deep end” He screamed “DID IT BITE YOUR ARM, DID IT BITE YOUR LEG?” between tears I had a bit of a chuckle and showed him my finger!





9. For about eight years I was a school teacher. Now I see young men and women around town who remember me and say “ you taught me in 3rd class”. I go to the mirror and check my wrinkles. Surely I haven’t changed at all in the last 14 years.




10. When I was pregnant the first time my other Nanna who died in 1999 told me “when that child is placed in your arms you will feel a love like you have never known before” It is my single handed duty to tell this quote to every pregnant woman I come across.

Are You Fun To Live With ?

Poster from allposters.com



I was at an event recently where the keynote speaker opened her address with this question. It nearly knocked me off my seat.



Are you fun to live with ?



It really got me thinking. Am I fun to live with ? What would my family say about me if they answered the question honestly? If my husband was interviewed without me present, what would he say about me ?



I am asking you to ponder the question about yourself. Are you fun to live with ? Are you easy going, reliable ? Do you speak to your family respectfully? Do you model behaviour to your children that when they mimic it back to you they get into trouble for being cheeky and disrespectful?




Or, do you save your best manners and behaviours for strangers – because let’s face it, you don’t want people to think you’re rude and not like you ! Why do we serve up our worst behaviour for those that we love the most?



How can you be more fun to live with?

The Family Company - the best one to work for.

Our Family Boardroom.

No company could survive if they constantly missed deadlines, didn’t pay bills, had more outgoings than incomings, had staff that constantly yelled at each other, no filing system, no records. Can you imagine the picture? The company would fail for sure. It would be extremely stressful to work there and for the owners the burden would be unbearable.

Managing your home is no different to managing a company. Think of your home as your family company. If you were the CEO then all of your actions would be centred towards the betterment of your company, not any other company. Your company would come first.


How is your company running at present ? How is the monthly budget looking. Do you even know how you went this last month ? Do you know how you went this past year ? What are your filing systems like ? Can you put your hand on a piece of paper in under 30 seconds? Can you locate your tax summary for 2006 or your child’s immunisation records? How about a manufacturer’s warranty card or the insurance papers for the house ?


Does the company run smoothly? Are there standard operating procedures? Does each company member know what their job is ? Are tasks being performed or are deadlines being missed.


Is your company solvent? That is, are you financially viable ? Is your company going down the gurgler – is it falling behind year after year? Are the outgoings each month more than the incomings?

Who cleans the offices? What recognition does the caterer receive? When is the next board meeting and what is on the agenda?

Your family is more important than any other company in the world. Where do you priorities lie ? Do you give more to your workplace than your own home ? I am sure that you have heard the saying 'on your deathbed, no-one wishes they spent more time at the office'.

Here are some points to improve your family company.

1. Start a good filing system: even if you can't tackle the back log, from now on file every piece of paper that needs to be kept in a place where you or anyone else can find it in under 30 seconds.

2. Have a system for house cleaning and management. Develop a basic weekly plan. Break up tasks so you don't spend your weekends doing housework or washing and ironing. Remember, there are many jobs that fit into the 'stitch in time saves nine' category.

3. Grow some of your own food: Start with some potted herbs and move to planter boxes with a few vegies and then to garden beds. Growing food is economically sensible for a family, it is a fantastic activity to get children involved with and gives a tremendous sense of satisfaction that cannot be reproduced by any 'shopping activities'.

4. Finally take charge of your finances. If you are 'blocking' the truth, it is time to face your financial facts! You can't do anything about the problem unless you identify it and take charge! Work out where you are now. Look at my 'stop think do' programme on the left hand side for more tips. Taking charge can be extremely empowering.

5. Work on your logistics: Stop rushing around. Plan Plan Plan to alleviate chaos and bring peace to your household. Look at what you need next week or next month and do it now so you are not rushing around at the very last minute making everyone stressed. Group errands, minimise outside commitments and prioritise your home and family as Number One.

6. Work on your Family Relationships: If a company has disharmony in the workplace, they would call in an expert and do some personal development and team building exercises to improve workplace relations. Every company knows that when staff are happy and harmonious productivity goes up and staff turn over comes down. People are happy to come to work. Invest some time into improving your family relationships. Spend time together, schedule activities and outings. Have a family movie night where you make home made pizzas beforehand - each member of the house can contribute like a production line. Even a two year old can sprinkle mushrooms! Play a board game without the TV on or play a game in the yard or park. You will be surprised how it slowly changes thing if you invest the time.

7. Have a family meeting regularly. Kids love this, no matter what their age is. At the family meeting you can plan holidays, discuss behavioural expectations, talk about pocket money, discuss job allocations, give recognition for jobs well done. This is something you have to try - especially if you have children. They thrive on this sense of contribution they feel. When we first did this it was a little 'tongue in cheek' for me but once we got going I saw how fabulous it is. Now there is excitement when we announce a family meeting, or if things go off the rails wit behaviour, jobs etc we say 'I think we better call a family meeting' In our VERY serious voice LOL.

Try these steps and let me know your thoughts. Afterall, our family company is the best one to work for !

Hello Sweet Pea

A Sweet Additive Free Treat

Number Two son was looking for ‘something special’ because Number One son is away at school camp for three days.

That’s when I remembered Mr B ( my friends’ husband who is a stay-at-home Dad) raving about the marshmallow slice he made. It is based on those LCM Bars – the ones that are bars made out of rice bubbles with all sorts of bits on top that are hugely expensive.

The recipe is from Sue Dengate’s Failsafe diet. If you haven’t heard of Sue she is an Australian advocate for removing certain colourings, flavourings and preservatives from the food we eat. I attended her seminar a few years ago and it was life changing. If you or your children are unsettled, moody, tired or have challenging behaviours I suggest you visit her site at http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/ and read some of the material. She also has a couple of books. One which I bought called Fed Up and a cookbook and DVD that I borrow frequently from the library. Some readers may have seen Jamie Oliver’s School Dinners programme which also features in Sue’s presentation.

So here is the recipe:
200g white Marshmallows (Pascalls are Failsafe)
80g butter

4 cups rice bubbles.

1. Melt butter and marshmallows slowly, stirring constantly.

2. Pour goopey mixture into rice bubbles

3. Stir even goopier mixture until well combined

4. Plop out goop into lined baking tray. Slap goop until smooth and refrigerate until set.

5. Cut lovely marshmallow bars into beautiful rectangles.

6. Serve with a big smile and a joyful heart.

At forty thousand calories and two cholesterol points per slice, it’s an absolute gem of a recipe. Lucky school camps are a one off event! LOL

Blessed Are the List Makers....For They Shall Inherit Peace on Earth.

My first born son who recently turned ten headed off for school camp today. Here he is marking off his list.

His teacher ( the most organised woman on the planet) gave them a list of what to pack, but ( God love him!) he had to type his own list and put coloured headings and pictures so he could cross the items off as he packed his bags.

His father cannot understand the need for a list, but we all know that the world is divided into those people who love a good list and those that don't understand. God love the precious child - he has inherited my 'list gene'.

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine.

This is a popular proverb whose origin is unknown, but was apparently made famous by Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. There are various interpretations of what it actually means. There is the literal interpretation, that is, if you mend the tear when there is a small hole with one stitch it will save you having to mend it with nine stitches when the hole eventually gets bigger.

A more philosophical interpretation is one of avoiding procrastination. Do the job now before it develops into a huge black cloud that hangs over you and is much harder to do.

I like a practical interpretation. To me, A Stitch In Time Saves Nine means 'wipe the shower screen over a few times a week or it will take you 45 minutes of scrubbing mould on your hands and knees". Or what about " tidy each room, each morning, or it will take you hours of cleaning to get your house back under control" .

Whichever way you look at it, it comes down to a choice. You can do things as you go, or you can make your tasks much more difficult for yourself. I know which one I would choose. Last time I took ages scrubbing out the shower I promised myself ' NEVER AGAIN!'.

The Consumer World Thrives on YOUR disorganisation.

There is no doubt about it. Being disorganised costs you a lot of money. There are whole industries which would crumble if everyone was to actually get their act together and have some sort of order in their lives. Of course, none of us have order all the time and if you are anything like me you have times of being highly organised and then backslide into total chaos. My theory is that you have to have the occasional backslide into total chaos so that you can climb out of it and appreciate how good it feels when you are organised. A bit like joy – you have to experience the lows so you can recognise and appreciate the highs.


If your life is fast paced and chaotic and you have children, you will know what I mean when I say that being disorganised costs you money. In fact it will often cost you in other ways as well. Here is an example.

It’s 6pm. You’re on your way home from children’s after school sports and you have nothing organised for dinner. You remember the ad for some fried chicken in a bucket which tells you to buy it because it’s quick and easy and the family will love you for it. ( even though your arteries and your wallet won’t!) You call in and pay an amount which you know is the equivalent of about 5 meals made at home. The ad was right , the family does love it and there’s no washing up. ( actually the family loves it until about 40 minutes later when Dad has a gall bladder attack, the kids are ‘hypo’ and you’re left feeling grossed out and heavy)

There are many other ways that being disorganised costs you money, apart from eating unplanned takeaway meals. How many times have you lost something and bought another one, only to find the original one a few days later? Have you had to purchase something because you need it straight away and you know you cant’ wait until the next sale? Have you gone somewhere with the kids and spent a lot of money just on drinks and snacks because you didn’t have anything with you for everyone to snack on.

Here are my thoughts to alleviate the problem.

1. Schedule based Menu Planning: If you know that you are home late on Tuesday nights, have meals that are quick and easy to prepare scheduled for that night. You could also make a double batch of something on Monday night knowing that you will have left overs ready to heat up for Tuesday nights.

2. Start your Evening Meal in the Morning: Take 10 minutes out of your morning to cut up vegies ready for a stir fry that you can just ‘throw together’ when you walk through the door. If you are really organised you could even have the chicken or meat marinating in the fridge.

3. Always take snacks and drinks with you. This is important especially if you have children that seem to need ‘refuelling’ all the time. It takes very little time to pack some drink bottles, some fruit and some home baked goodies. It is extremely expensive to go to the cafe near a park and buy everyone a drink and a snack.

4. Have a ‘gift cupboard’. Buy things when you see them on sale for Christmas and Birthday presents. In the back of my diary I have a list of who I buy presents for. Throughout the year I scribble down ideas that come to me about what I would like to buy or make for people on my list. If I see an item or the makings of an item that are on sale or a good price I will buy it and put it away in the ‘gift cupboard’.

5. Pay Your Bills on Time: a lot of service providers now have a late payment fee if payments are not received on time. Our system for bill paying is very simple. When a bill comes in we write it on the calendar and clip it to the “bills to pay” clipboard that hangs on the wall in the office. On my ‘office day’ I look at the bills that are due that week and pay them. The money is in our bills account because we total up the years bills and divide the amount by 52 and put that aside each week throughout the year.

6. Group Your Errands: Save petrol by making less trips to town. Have a list of things that need to be done or purchased while you are in town. Running back to the shop for one or two things you have forgotten is a costly exercise.

7. Avoid The Supermarket: If you go to a major supermarket for your shopping try and go there less. Every time you go in ‘just to grab a couple of things’ you will come out with more than what you went in for. Why is milk at the back of the store and bread at the other end ? It is to seduce you as you walk around. If you are currently a ‘drop in’ shopper try to menu plan and shop once a week. If you are a weekly shopper try to move to once a fortnight. If you are a fortnightly shopper – can you be a ‘super planner’ and only go there once a month ? This is my aim. A once a month supermarket trip and the rest from fruit and veg suppliers, farmers markets and the local fish co-op.

8. Return your hired DVDs on time. We hired some DVDs for our sons sleep over last month. When I went to pay the lady she said “ you really should go and get one more because these will cost you $13, but if you go and get another one you will get them for $9 because of the deal we have”. I reluctantly went and got another movie. National Treasure 2 for the grown ups to watch . I say reluctantly because we had already been in the shop for 40 minute while we persuaded five 10 year olds to agree on movies that we deemed suitable. The slumber party passed, the grown ups didn’t get a chance to watch the movie and kept it for the next night to watch, which didn’t come off either. By the time I took the DVD back I had to pay $5 for the late fee for a movie that we didn’t watch and didn’t want! LOL. ( .... and we still haven’t seen National Treasure 2!)

9. File your Warranty paperwork When your kettle stops working, can you remember whether it had a one or two year warranty? In our ‘throw away’ society we seems to replace these appliances all the time. A couple of times now we have had items like toasters and kettle replaced for free because we still had the warranty card which guarantees the product for 12 months or two years and didn’t quite make it over the line.

10. Know you tax deductible Items. Do you have a good working knowledge of what deductions you can make ? There is no point waiting until the end of the financial year to find out that you should have kept receipts for your spending throughout the year. For Australian readers, the tax office has an occupation guide for most jobs that points out the deductions available. Know your list and make a file of receipts and paperwork to maximise your deductions and reduce your taxable income as much as legally possible.

These are only a few tips. I am sure that you will be able to come up with many more. Why not share a lesson you have learnt ? How has disorganisation cost you money? Or what is the best organisational tip that saves you money? By sharing ideas we can all progress in this area.

Will the Real BusyWoman Please Stand Up......

Spring Garden Update - Messy Peas and Harvest Joy

The soil warms and the plants SPRING to life.

Last week and the week before we had awful weather. Our peas, which were about 5 feet tall were laying flat on the ground because of the terrible winds that we had been having. We also had a huge amount of rain which seemed to last for days and days. We thought we may lose all the peas so we decided to just pick the whole lot up and tie it up as best we could. It appears today that some pieces which were broken or bend have started to die, while others still have good fat pods on them

The plant is a huge bundled mess, but we will just let nature takes it's course


The rest of the garden is coming along well and we are very excited about the temperature of the soil rising. Beans which he had given up on have now awoken and since the rain the corn has doubled in size

Last night we went to a bbq with friends. Our contribution was the salad and it gave us great joy to go and pick a lettuce from the backyard. We joked about our 'harvest ceremony' and of course, had to take photos.




We had to add 'bought' capsicum, cucumber, tomato, carrot and red onion. We live in hope for the day when the whole salad will come from the backyard. If we keep getting great days and steady rains it may not be that far away.

A Vision Splendid Newsletter

Thank you for your emails. I really enjoy reading them and am so glad to be able to help many of you. I also love the feedback and assistance that you are giving me!

If you had previously subscribed to the VISION SPLENDID newsletter and have not received it, you will need to send another email with 'newsletter request' in the subject line.

We had our computer rebuilt and it appears that a lot of contacts have dropped off the list. The email address is on the left. I look forward to hearing from you.

The Perfect Father's Day Meal*

Last Friday my favourite radio programme Life Matters ( ABC Radio National) ran a programme on the topic of the decline of eating at the table. This is a topic I have read about in the past. I can recall reading some research that came out of the USA that suggested that kids from families that ate at least four meals together a week had better school grades, fewer teen pregnancies and limited drug use. My sons are only seven and ten but I can guarantee you that eating at the dining table as a family will prevent either of them falling pregnant in their early teen years. LOL

The photos are of the table that my sons set for the father’s day meal. I cooked a lamb roast with so much rosemary that when I first put it in the whole house smelt like the Catholic Church from my childhood! LOL ( must have been a sort of incense smell).

We eat 99.97% of our meals at our kitchen table. We have a small cottage style house and the table is slap bang in the middle of the kitchen. It seems to be the ‘hub’ of the house and I believe it when people say ‘the kitchen is the heart of the home’.

I believe that eating at the family table has a myriad of benefits for our family, probably some that I am not even aware of and could probably never articulate, but these are some thought that come to mind.

1) It is a TIME OF GATHERING – we are all busy and it seems as the boys get older, that pace continues to increase. Meal times are an opportunity to gather together as a family unit.

2) It is a time to COMMUNICATE – we have a similar conversation each night at the table. It usually starts with ‘ what was the best thing about your day ?’ or ‘How was Miss Taylor (teacher) today ?’ Even when they were tiny they loved to contribute their five cents about something that happened that day. Even if it was a couple of disjointed words at the age of 18 months, it was still their contribution.
 As they have gotten older their contribution has become increasingly articulate and I love how they recount narratives about their day. It makes me laugh that the ten year old’s contribution usually involves some funny anecdote about the day, about who said what that made the whole class laugh. The seven year old’s contribution usually starts with ‘ do you know what?’ and we all have to say ‘what??’ to which he replies ‘well……’ with terrific expression in his voice! Even the grown ups have to contribute what was good about their day. It often makes us think. When I am in an awful mood, it is the conversation that usually turns me around! I am hoping that as the boys get older a platform is built for open communication and sharing of concerns and issues.

3) A time WITHOUT TELEVISION. Even if the television has been on I always turn it off when we sit down to eat. I seems that the meal time is a special time. The switching off is like some great ceremonious gong that announces ‘ let the sharing begin’.

4) A time of STRUCTURED MEALS – combined with a menu plan it is a great way of looking at what the kids are eating. I have one son that eats absolutely anything and another that eats very blandly – rice chicken pasta peas saos apples and rice crackers could get him through the year. Laying meals out on the table lets me keep up with what we eat.

5) It makes me feel a bit WALTONISH – lol. Remember the show THE WALTONS? I have the compete Series One on DVD and I love it. It’s kind of strange and hard to articulate but I love the old fashioned values, the simplicity of life, the hard times, the family values and I love that they sit around the table and debrief over beautiful home cooked meals.

I know that as the boys get older and get cars, mates, girlfriends, part time jobs and hormones that this romantic notion of the family meal will probably go out the window so for now… for this season I will enjoy it while it lasts.

I ask you this………. Are you swapping the opportunity for better family relationships, a stronger family unit and greater communication for the evening news and gossip or the latest soap opera ?? Food for thought I guess………

STOP FOOD WASTE...... If you remember.

Imagine the scene.




I am at my supermarket. I unpack my groceries from the trolley. The young girl scans them and places them lovingly into my 'green bags'. I pay. I smile. I push my trolley out to the car park and load four of the five bags into the boot of my car. I take the fifth bag out of the trolley and walk over to the nearest bin and pour the contents in. Unopened cereal, a carton of milk, half a pumpkin, three oranges and a beautiful bunch of shallots!


....... what a crime ! I hear you say. What a complete and total waste! ..........



The fact is that Australians waste $6 billion each year by throwing away food. A 2007 study found that on average we throw away 4.2 kilograms a week! According to Planet Ark founder and environmentalist John Dee, the reason we throw away so much is because we are forgetful.



In our house in the past we have been extremely guilty of this. Treasures of archaeological significance have been found lurking in that space at the back of the rarely used for anything important middle shelf.



There seems to be some sort of weird mentality when it comes to the fridge. Last week the shallots took up residence in the front row, top shelf, - proudly sitting there ready for that Jamie Oliver cooking adventure. The cooking adventure gets postponed, or worse still we only need three snippets for a garnish and the shallots are put back into the fridge with the best of intentions I am sure ready for ....... not really sure of that ...... but will think of something good.......





Next week we bring home the avocado, half a rockmelon and the freshly seasoned, organic, free range chicken for the dinner party.After the party we clean up and put all the leftovers into plastic containers, because we can't let good food go to waste. In three weeks time when we are making way for the giant fruit platter that Aunt Marion has made for the family get together, we HAVE to throw out the left over chicken AND the plastic container because it has taken on a life of it's own and after all it's too unhygienic to use that container ever again.



Although we have the best of intentions, the truth is, if we can't SEE IT, we don't remember it.



Saving money on food has been a very important part of this new frugal lifestyle we are adopting. Here are some tips relating to leftovers.



1. MENU PLAN - work out what you are eating and shop accordingly. Plan your menus around your schedule. Easy meals on busy nights and adventurous meals when there is more time. Write your plan on a whiteboard on the fridge as a visual reminder for every one in the house. There is great peace knowing at 7am what you are eating that night and being able to defrost the meat in the fridge through the day.



2. PROGRAMME LEFTOVERS INTO THE MENU PLAN: - Make a meal one night and deliberately make extra for the next night. We often do this when I make lasagne. If there are leftovers after the second night I cut it into single portions and freeze it for lunches.



3. MAKE VISUAL REMINDERS: - I write a list on the whiteboard of things that have to be eaten or used up. If I use some chicken stock, for example, and pour the remainder into ice cube trays to freeze, I put it on my 'must use' list.




4. MAKE SMALLER MEALS: - My Grandmother always said "your eyes are bigger than your belly" meaning, you think you want to eat a certain amount but when it comes to it, you can only eat half of it. We often discuss the old fashioned idea of having much smaller meals and if you're still hungry then have a slice of bread and butter.



5. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS AND USE LESS: I really noticed when I made my cereal yesterday that after eating all the 'bits' I had a lot of milk left over in the bowl. After measuring it I found it to be 1/3 of a cup. Multiply that by seven days and I am pouring out half a litre of milk a week! This morning I overcame my phobia of having cereal pieces that weren't 'wet enough' by stirring thoroughly in less milk before eating. Simple!!



6. COMPOST: When you do have food scraps put them in your compost bin. This will turn back into soil which can then be used to grow vegies or herbs. This is the best form of recycling as studies have shown that about 40% of household rubbish is compostable food scraps. There are now bench top composters available if you live in an apartment.



You wouldn't throw away one in five bags of your groceries each week. You wouldn't cut up a twenty dollar note with a pair of scissors and throw it in the bin, so think about how much food you are wasting and how much rubbish you are producing as a result.


Making these small changes has not only helped our budget, it has also made a huge difference to how much rubbish we put in our bin each week.


If you would like more information on the Stop Food Waste Campaign you can visit the article from NOTEBOOK magazine http://www.homehints.com.au/great+recipes/1267/reading/food+waste+in+australia