Just can’t leave it alone…

My lounge that is! For about the tenth time in six months I’ve moved the furniture around – slightly. I still can’t get it to how I want it though. I have always like how in decorating magazines they have photos grouped together. Until today I hadn’t been brave enough to try it.

My beloved desk (under photo grouping) was once a bright green student desk I found on Trade & Exchange for $10. I stripped it back roughly and liked what I found – that was about 6 years ago. I wish I had time to start some projects but will wait until Elijah has settled into kindy.

I think I may have successfully killed the plant that was a birthday present from my Aunty Janet – I’m hoping it will come away now that its not in direct sunlight. This is ‘my’ space in the lounge and I want it kept clutter free. The vase, although an odd shape, was a Christmas present from Elijah and the colour is in keeping with my (unintentional) brown colour scheme.

I am in a rental so there is no point painting - it would be too much work. the walls are in such bad shape anyway that it would probably have to be re-gibbed. So its down to decorating with accessories really. And it has to be on a budget – which is why I love the local op-shops.

I just bought the latest Your Home & Garden so am off to have a cuppa and a quick read before having a bit of a tidy up. While changing the lounge around the rest of the house was neglected – its so easy to slip behind but I’m finding FlyLady makes it a whole lot easier to get back on track.

So here are a few ‘before’ pics. I’ll be working on the lounge, kitchen and dining first – I’d like to actually be able to use the dining room for dining. At the moment I have four boxes of ‘stuff’ to sort sitting in the lounge next to the TV which I have to add to my ‘To do’ list

Right off I go to find some inspiration!

To Do

Paint bedside cabinet (bought from Salvation Army for $12) – still undecided on colour but I think it would look pretty white

Repaint the small set of drawers blue to go in Elijah’s bedroom

Sew new curtains for the lounge from a plain fabric

A cluttered society...

I remember when the first $2 shop opened in Hamilton.  We walked in oohing and aahing over all the cheap stuff.  I filled my basket with a whole lot of 'stuff' that I didn't really need and walked out $50 poorer!

From there I seemed to be on a downward spiral.  I can't begin to tell you the amount of 'cheap stuff' that has passed through my home without ever being used.  Everything from sunglasses to plastic containers to craft materials - they seem like a good idea at the time but really it's just clutter I don't need.

Think back to your childhood.  How many toys did you have and how many do you actually remember playing with?  What was your favourite activity?  Was it an outdoor or indoor activity?  I know as kids we had wood offcuts that we used to make whole cities out of and we spent alot of time outdoors.  I remember having Barbies but really nothing else stands out in my mind.

In the last six months I have managed to slash Elijah's toys in half without him really noticing anything missing.  We have it down to a few quality toys - two types of Lego (Duplo & regular),  four Thomas the Tank sets, four Little People sets, a tonne of Hot Wheels cars and a track to go with them,  a few Little Tikes toys and a few other things.  I expect most of these to last at least a couple of years.

I now try to avoid $2 type shops - I always feel like I can't walk out empty handed especially when you have two pairs of eyes following you around the shop!

Another money drainer would have to be fruit bars and biscuits - basically any type of junk/convenience food.  I bought a pocorn maker last year and I love it!  Of course I like caramel corn but Elijah has his plain.  This way costs about a tenth of what it costs for a bag of microwave popcorn.  I very rarely buy biscuits now (as I've probably mentioned in another post) but I find it easy to bake once a week and once its gone thats it - we wait until the following week to make some more.  And fruit bars - well they are just fancy biscuits cut into strips and wrapped in plastic - convenient yes, good for you, probably not!

Freebies & Giveaways - there is probably a reason they are being given away!  Alot of the freebies I have received over the years have gone straight in the bin - so why did I order it???  Because it was 'free'.  Now I see it as just another form of clutter.  And its not just the tangible freebies either - think of all the newsletters etc you've signed up for via email.  Do we really want to read 20-30 newsletters every time we check our email?  I dare you to go now and unsubscribe to at least one newsletter that usually arrives in your email that you would usually just delete.

Wow thats enough waffling for today!  Mmmm speaking of waffles, I do have a waffle maker - I wonder if I can make up a batch and freeze them?  I guess google will be able to tell me the answer to that.

If you've managed to read through this, a big thank you.  If you're feeling in a bit of a rut, I hope you will join me in reclaiming yourself :)

Making progress...

In the few weeks since I last posted I have been busy working on the little things. As I look back on my last post I have kept most of my goals: I set up APs for all my household bills as well as pocket money for Elijah, I now make my own dish washing liquid and laundry liquid although I haven't been using the short cycle on the washing machine - no excuses its just easier to press Start and let the machine figure it out. I’ve been drinking my Twinings leaf tea (of which I have a huge supply) and I haven’t bought biscuits or fruit bars. Elijah is enjoying home baking, especially the fruit muffins which makes such a huge batch it lasts about two weeks (with most of it kept in the freezer). We have cheese puffs in the oven as I write this and they smell soooooo good. I think the last time I made these I was in primary school. Weird, but I like mine with honey!

Elijah wasn’t a fan – actually he had decided he didn’t like them even before he had seen them. Sometimes I wish he wasn’t a fussy eater but in a way it sometimes makes life easier. I know what he likes – anything that is close to natural state. I can sit him down with a plate of carrots sticks, cucumber rounds, and chopped capsicum and he will eat the whole lot. Meat, on the other hand, is much more difficult and the closest I can find that he will actually eat are chicken nuggets/loopies and cocktail sausages (begrudgingly) with dippy sauce.

Two weeks ago I started on the FlyLady Baby Steps – well I skipped a few but I think I get the gist of it. Every night and every morning I shine my kitchen sink. I make sure the bench is always clear and it makes being in my kitchen a lot more enjoyable. I really hate my kitchen – its small, the cupboards are really ugly and the bench could have been replaced a few years ago. But it is a rental so I just have to make do for now until I’m ready to move again (which won’t be anytime soon). Every morning I do a Swish & Swipe in the bathroom, and the beds are ALWAYS made. My only downfall would be the washing pile, which gets stored in the hot water cupboard until I can be bothered putting it away!

Elijah (3) has been getting into it too. He puts away what he’s been playing with before getting something else out. He’s happy because the spare room has been transformed into a library/playroom with a spare TV (which rarely gets turned on). I’ve noticed a huge improvement in his behaviour now that the house is finally in a semi-organised state. We still have a little decluttering to do but for the most part it is tidy and clean.

Last week I managed to file favourite recipes and hints into clearfiles and sorted through the thousands and thousands of Elijah’s drawings and glued a selection onto sheets of paper to go into clearfiles.

Our little vegetable garden is coming along nicely. We had a problem with birds, slugs and cats though. I didn’t really want to but I laid some slug bait – you should have seen the size of the tiger slugs ewwwwwwww. Elijah and I covered some small rocks with aluminium foil which should hopefully scare the birds away (because the tin cat with marble eyes clearly isn’t working!) and we cover it with netting at night to stop the cat pooping in it.

There are a few sites I would recommend to friends and family if they want/need to save money and for those looking at organising the home:

http://simplesavings.co.nz you don't need to join up - they send plenty of tips through weekly emails

http://flylady.net a long time running site with proven results

http://declutterclub.blogspot.com a recent blog with room by room accounts of how to declutter - good for motivation!

http://cluttercut.blogspot.com a bit of saving and decluttering all on the one blog - some great reading here

It's the small things........

So I was thinking of all the small things that I could easily change without any real inconvenience. Some to make my life easier and others to be kinder to Mother Nature. SO my list so far includes:

*ditching tea bags this year and using leaf tea instead
*limiting the use of internet to after 11am (which means all the housework can be done in the morning)
*use short wash cycle when washing clothes - its not like they get that dirty anyway!
*bake once a week (as opposed to baking when craving something sweet!)
*use unscented vegetable based soap as an alternative to dish liquid (too many icky chemicals)
*auto payments for power and phone (which I have been meaning to set up since I moved in August 09!)

So those are the first few 'improvements' on my list. I'm sure there are many more so I'm taking note as I think of them. Would love suggestions though!

I'm still on a decluttering mission but I feel like I'm failing on so many levels! I think I'm on top of it all then I look in my bedroom which has become a dumping ground *sigh*

A New Year, A New Start..... hopefully!

Wow! Who can believe its 2010 already??? No matter how you say it (two thousand and ten or twenty ten) we sound soooooooo far into the future!

The year has started off ok - not brilliant though. We lost a family friend on Christmas morning which was very sad and unexpected. His service was New Year's Eve so by the time we got back all I wanted to do was sleep. So I didn't see the New Year in :(

I am yet to write down my NY resolutions but I have a fair idea in my head what I need to do. Of course I am desperate to shed some kilos but somewhere amongst my clutter I have lost my motivation. I must say I am getting there in the clutter clearing department having taken 1 1/2 car loads to the Salvation Army and sending back all the stuff my Mum and sister's have so lovingly given me that don't fit my 'vision'. Yes! I have been watching reruns of 'The Big Stuff' lol but it does wonders for motivation. Maybe I should watch 'The Biggest Loser' more often!

Elijah has recently turned three - who would have guessed three years ago he nearly didn't make it? He's itching to get to kindy although I'm not sure he realises that I won't be staying there with him. That should be interesting as he has never been in any sort of care. He has only ever stayed with my Mum and my sisters (and a day with a friend - thanks Mel) - guess who has a few trust issues ;)

So, time to brag! It's been a while so here is a list (short one) of Elijah's development
*can count to 20
*can recite alphabet properly when he feels like it - otherwise he has his own rendition
*fully toilet trained and close to being dry at night (mostly dry but has the occasional wet night when someone gives him a drink too close to bed time)
*dresses and undresses himself
*operates the television better than his Dad does
*constantly draws cars, diggers, dump trucks, tow trucks, people, houses with chimneys and paths and gardens!
*knows how to write most of the alphabet and can recognise by sight all of it (although he still seems to get s and c muddled)
*knows his address and phone number
*starting to learn Urdu
*generally only needs to be told once to remember things
*can pedal a trike, do forward rolls, climb over structures safely (thanks to a term at Jumping Beans)
*loves raw veges (carrots, capsicum, cucumber etc) and fruit (will try anything) but still not a great meat eater, is a biscuit fiend just like his Mum so we don't buy them anymore!

So here's to a great 2010! I tell you though it cannot be any worse than 2009!