Simple Living Sunday 42

It was a hot and sunny weekend in my part of the world so not ideal for gardening. We also had the boys's regional athletics competition on Saturday which was an all-day event. The four boys did well and got through to state for all five of their events - looks like I am off to Brisbane again in December. Yesterday was spent harvesting, tidying and catching up on jobs...plus I did manage to declutter my wardrobe and purge more of Paul's stuff from the top of the wardrobe which made me feel really good. Every box I fill is comforting in some way.

It is lovely to see more variety in my basket now. I still pop a pumpkin in because I still have about 20 in storage which are keeping really well. I was so pleased to harvest a zucchini as these guys were elusive for me last season. My other squash did really well but I only got a few zucchini.

This second plant is not faring quite so well but I do need to plant more flowers to attract the bees to this side of the garden.

I harvested three cucumbers and left this one on a little too long so it is yellow. It won't be great for salads as the taste will be bitter but I will pickle it to avoid wastage.

This is my largest squash plant, in the food forest. I harvested a couple of small ones which had dropped off but now have a few large ones which have taken off.

In front of the squash is my one and only thriving LabLab bean. It is now knee high so I expect it will start producing soon.

I also have two healthy pigeon pea, despite planting a whole row. They are now thigh high and thriving.

This is Paul's pink trumpet tree which has recovered well from the frost and is looking better than it ever has.

The arrowroot has taken off near the Jaboticaba tree and is almost as tall.

I was fascinated with the growth of brussel sprouts. I don't think I will harvest many due to pests...

...but I love how they just bud all along the stem. I never knew that.

Happy to see I have an eggplant growing. This plant is from last season and I left it in to see what would happen.

Another shot of my cape gooseberries. There are heaps of them now, all in a row.

Finally, I found this little forgotten fellow under the lemon tree. Not a great position for it...the chooks went mad over the soft capsicum.

So, there is my quick garden tour for the weekend. When the sport settles down I will be looking at updating some previous simple living posts and projects, as well as getting stuck into some more. As a single mum, my boys are always my first priority. Bring on my two weeks off over Christmas!

So, what have you been up to at your place? Is your garden growing well?

A-Z Simple Living: D = Declutter

This topic is a tough one for me to conquer, simply because I live in a house with four clutterers. Every time I try to create some sort of order amongst the chaos, someone always comes along and undoes my hard work. So, it's hard to be vigilant when it comes to decluttering unless I want to spend all of my valuable spare time on it...and the rest ranting and raving at everyone to put things back where they got them from - several years of doing that have not yielded 100% results...so I have made a few 'compromises' to keep my sanity.

1. If they choose to keep their bedrooms untidy and cluttered, and believe me they do, then that is their choice. When they can't find clean undies or socks to wear, because they have been shoved under the bed all week, that is also their choice...and if they miss the washing cut-off of Friday night in the laundry basket, then they do it themselves. So that's one compromise right?

2, The other is that everything in my kitchen has to go back to where it was taken from...no excuses. So, when my husband makes a masterchef dinner, whilst having a few glasses of wine, I have chosen to accept the chaos rather than harping on about it...and I move everything back the way it was after he is finished. It is important for me to love my kitchen, and to know where everything is...it is one of my many havens and I do have certain drawers and cupboards dedicated to me, such as my preserving and cheese cupboard. No-one touches it :)

So, I am not the best example of decluttering but I am cutting down on the amount of stuff we have and getting rid of things we don't use. Less clutter = less stress. Some things that may be repurposed are kept outside until I decide whether they will be of use. But, if you really want to know how to declutter then I suggest you visit these blogs:

1. The Organised Housewife. I absolutely love this blog and aspire to be the perfect housewife, apron and all, that these posts conjure up. There are printables you can purchase to assist with your organising, and a 52 week declutter challenge to follow.

2. Me and My Ready Made family. I love this blog because Sheridan Anne inspires me to organise my home  better and to continue with my meal planning which I have let slip lately.

3. Duchess Declutter. A wonderful lady who started a blog about decluttering, and there are some great posts on this topic, but she covers gardening and life topics as well.

4. Home Life Simplified. Deb is currently on a mission to declutter and improve areas of her home...she also has amazing e-books with step by step ways to simplify your entire life. Well worth checking out.

So, the sixty four million dollar question is....are you a clutterer or a declutterer?

Wardrobe Declutter 2

Today I feel like a Hollywood star. My new wardrobe is the stuff of dreams, like the ones featured in movies with perfectly organised clothing hanging in ordered rows. As a bonus I can even walk in and out without falling head-first into the chaos of discarded wrong-sized clothing. Ta-dah (drumroll)....here it is!

Hardly looks like the same space I posted yesterday. The shoes have all been matched (and a dozen pairs culled). Even had room to put Paul's shoes on the racks too. The rug was my Hollywood glamour touch and looks far more inviting here than it did leading into our ensuite bathroom. It also feels beautiful and soft beneath your feet.

I was particularly fastidious (some would call it anal) with my side of the wardrobe and ironed all of my skirts and pants. I tend to favour tops that don't require ironing and dresses that don't crease as I spend a lot of time sitting at my desk at work.

The area under Paul's jackets and pants is now completely cleared, and one of the shelves utilised for his vitamins which were cluttering up his bedside table.

I now know exactly what is up the top of my wardrobe. Everything was sorted and culled of useless clutter.

I even labelled boxes of clothing - too small, too big (yay! but will still keep just in case) and winter items.

 I like to do this every year - get in to the habit of storing my work clothes as outfits, complete with matching jewellery. It takes the indecision away, and the throwing on the floor of clothing that doesn't suit or doesn't fit. With my work dresses included, I now have twenty co-ordinated outfits hanging on one side of my wardrobe - that's four weeks worth! I knew I had a lot of clothes but until I lost weight I was only wearing one or two pants and skirts. I am now reaping the benefits of the gym work and the best thing is I don't need to spend a cent because so many of these outfits have not been worn for years.

To save space I have hooked the hanger for the top onto the hanger for the skirt/pants. This makes it less bulky on the railings and the outfit stays together.

So there you have it. The results of eight hours work. A happy contented mum with her posh wardrobe and a grateful Salvation Army who will be the beneficiary of six bags of quality clothing and shoes. What a load off my shoulders. I feel so unburdened that I am already planning next weekend's declutter.

Do you do a spring clean? How do you organise your wardrobe?

Cheers
Tanya

Wardrobe Declutter Part 1

I am ashamed to admit that this is the inside of my walk in robe. It is a never ending battle to keep tidy and as Paul and I are losing weight, we have far too many clothes. Every year I do a big spring cleanup, try on all my clothes, store the winter ones up the top and take a few bags to the op shop. We both have professional jobs so most of our clothing is work wear.

This is my side of the robe. I have four shelves for fold ups, two-tiered shoe racks and two rows of hanging space. Winter jackets and work suits take up a lot of room. There are also way too many pairs of shoes that I don't wear any more - some I have never worn :)

This is Paul's side which is way out of control. Because we both work full time he does his own ironing. I usually just hang the un-ironed shirts up for him to choose from and he irons every morning as part of his routine. However, he has so many shirts now that we need to do a major cull.

This is our storage area for unused items and momentos. Everything has just been tossed up there haphazardly and needs to be sorted.

I don't even know what is in these boxes...better get cracking.

I love the feeling when a job like this gets completed. It will save me time in the mornings getting ready for work and will increase my wellbeing just by walking into an uncluttered space every morning.

Will post my end result. I can see many hours of work here.

Cheers
Tanya