The silver lining to a bad day at the office

Reply

Hello Friends,

Short post tonight as my eyes are very tired.  I’ve had some really tough days at work recently with today being the mummy and daddy of them.

As I came home on the train from Birmingham it occurred to me that perhaps there was a silver lining to all the stuff that’s been going on.  It is supplying me with the motivation to keep going in my quest to simplify my life and dump habits, jobs and people that no longer work for me.

I know it won’t happen overnight, but I’m keeping going a little bit at a time.

Have you ever found that something unpleasant has given you the motivation to do something good?

Until next time, Tawney x

Focus on the cleaning

1

Hello Friends,

At the moment I’ve got loads of energy and I’m making the most of it.  I’m really determined to get on top of the house once and for all so I’ve spent today doing some deep cleaning.

I spent an hour cleaning the cooker this afternoon.  I just used some bicarbonate of soda mixed up with lemon juice.  This gets all those brown spatters off the glass and cleans the inside nicely.  You have to use loads of elbow grease, but it works well.  I have used oven cleaners in the past, but to no greater success, and I don’t like the idea of using something noxious near food.

Next I went on to the shower and gave this a thorough clean too so that the tiles, tray and showerhead are all gleaming.  We’ve now got 4 of us at home again – Edie is back from her year abroad and both she and Bee will be helping out in bringing things under control and keeping the home clean and tidy.

It might be a funny way of spending a Saturday afternoon, but it’s nice to know I’ve got just a couple of areas sorted out at last.

What are your favourite home cleaning remedies?

Until next time, Tawney x

Looking at habits from the outside

4

Hello Friends,

I’ve been away for a few days and a bit of space has allowed me to look at some of my habits which don’t work very well.

I was only able to take a small amount of stuff with me.  This meant that I didn’t have to wade through mountains of stuff to find what I wanted, and things stayed much tidier.  It is clear that as a family we just have too much stuff.

Second, because I was tired at the end of each day, I found myself getting ready for bed earlier.  This gave me time to put clothes away, rather than just dropping them in a pile and not sorting them out and hanging them up.

In the morning, before I went out, I made sure I had time to tidy my room and make the bed.  I washed up any cups.  This meant I came back to a nice tidy room in perfect order.

The challenge now is to bring these new habits into my home life.  I think I can do it if I can cut down the amount of stuff we have and set aside time to do a little bit of sorting out first and last thing.

What habits work for you in keeping your home tidy and uncluttered?

Until next time, Tawney x

Hoping for more fruit and veg

Hello Friends,

I’m back again – had a bit of “stuff” going on over the last couple of weeks including a break in to our garage.  Bee’s bike was stolen and this has left us all a bit out of sorts and rattled and not up to posting.  Several other outbuildings locally were targetted – we always think we are safer in the country, but we are now looking at increased security.

Life is getting back to normal now and here in Derbyshire things are just beginning to grow.  I think everything is about 3/4 weeks behind last year.  My runner beans, pumpkins and tomatoes have all germinated.  The rhubarb and blackcurrant bushes I put in a couple of weeks ago have taken and are beginning to grow.

IMGP3393 IMGP3394I want to put some more tomatoes in and some courgettes as soon as I get 5 minutes to do this.

The plum trees are beginning to come into blossom.  Each day there seems to be a little bit more, and I’m hoping we will have a better harvest this year.  Last year I didn’t get a single plum off the trees, whereas the year before I was able to make enough jam to last for months and months and gave some away.

IMGP3392How are your fruit trees looking?

Until next time, Tawney x

Food goes up

Hello Friends,

Is it my imagination or are food prices going up and up?

I had a few months where I though I was getting on top of the food bill, and in fact it was dropping, but this month I’ve just done my figures and we seem to be spending just as much as before.  I’ve used up almost everything in the freezer and cupboard, I’ve batch cooked and we still seem to be spending more.

I’m beginning to think it might be worth driving to a cheaper supermarket, but I’ve got to factor in the cost of fuel and the car general running costs and my time, which is very limited.

One thing I am going to do this next month is to make a more comprehensive meal plan.  The idea is that this will stop me from emergency trips to the shops.  I also want to vary our diet a bit more, rather than just doing the same old things because they are easy.

Have you been able to keep your food costs down over recent months?  Have you changed your food shopping habits?

Until next time, Tawney x

Monitoring spending

Hello Friends,

One of the challenges I’ve faced since trying to live a simpler life is how to monitor my spending.  I started off a long time ago using a little notebook to record my spending and then added it up at the end of th month.  Later I moved on to spreadsheets on the computer and have kept these up so I have several years records of where the money has gone.

This is fine, and helps to plan ahead, but it hasn’t helped me to know how much I’ve got available.  I spent some time early this year trying to design a spreadsheet to help me know where I am on a daily basis.  I think I’ve finally got there and now have 3 spreadsheets on the computer.

The first is my regular spending record.  The second is a record of our household account so I know exactly how much is available at all times.  It means I’ve accounted for spending, even if cheques or other payments haven’t cleared the bank account.

The final spreadsheet brings both budgeting and spending together.  It sets out my spending plan for the month, then I have a column at the top of which is our total income.  As I spend against the budget, I enter the amount and this is taken off our income so I can always see what is left.

It all sounds a bit complicated, but seems to be working and is easier to track my money.

How do you keep on top of your budget?

Until next time, Tawney x

Planting at last

Hello Friends,

After such a long cold winter, I’ve finally managed to get some seeds in this weekend.  I had some garden vouchers for my birthday, and yesterday I went to the garden centre and bought seeds, potting compost, some strawberry plants, two blackcurrant bushes and a rhubarb plant with them.

I’ve put the strawberry plants into a big tub on the patio.  It’s sunny there, so they should do well.

IMGP3384The blackcurrant bushes and rhubarb are sitting behind the garage waiting to be put in the border by the wall.

IMGP3385I also planted some pumpkin seeds, runner beans and tomatoes.  Last year I still planted too many seeds.  This time I’m going to limit the number of plants I grow and keep the seeds left over in an airtight box ready for use next year.

Have you been able to get out in your garden yet?  What have you been planting?

Until next time, Tawney x

The Queen of Procrastination

Hello Friends,

That’s me.  I’ve got a number of jobs I’ve been putting off right now – they are now getting seriously niggly and I’ve got to get a grip and just do it.

Top of the list is getting online and sorting out Bee’s student loan.  Unfortunately I remember spending an afternoon sitting down with Edie to do this 3 years ago.  I’d rather do something else with my time.

Next I’ve got to help Bee to work her internet savings account – the trouble is they make everything just a bit too complicated.  “Enter the 23rd, 14th and 3rd letter of your 86 digit pass word”.  Hmmm….

I’ve also got a pile of mending – buttons off trousers, a torn shirt sleeve from one of my work shirts, tights with holes in etc, etc.

Somehow I just can’t get started, but it’s all beginning to hang over me a bit.  I’m going to have to get tough with myself.

What are your best ways of getting started on the things you don’t want to do?

Until next time, Tawney x

A quick paper de-clutter

Hello Friends,

I’ve got a lot of ‘home admin’ jobs hanging over me at the moment.  I’m saving up the joys of Bee applying for student finance until the weekend (memories of two hours on the computer with Edie are etched into my memory).  Tonight I decided I had to find Edie’s tenancy agreement for next year so either she or I can set up the standing order – either way, OH and I will be paying her rent when she comes back to the UK for her final year at uni.

This was a job I’d been putting off for several days.  I had a vague idea of where the agreement was.  I have a shelf with lots of folders and a couple of magazine files on it.  I tend to stuff things that I don’t know what to do with in them and on the shelf.

I decided the best way to find what I wanted was to work my way through the magazine boxes and then along the shelf and this would be an opportunity to go through all the paper clutter.  I spent about an hour going through everything.  I got rid of loads of bits of old paper for recycling and shredding, reducing two magazine boxes to one.  Even better, just as I finished the second box, I found the tenancy agreement on the shelf.

I did a little bit more, but then decided to stop while I was ahead.  By this stage I had about half a dozen different piles of paper – things I wanted to keep like photos, cards, school reports and concert programmes, recycling, shredding, bills, bank statements and important bits of paper like my job contract from when I was promoted about 18 months ago.

I allowed myself enough time to deal with all these piles rather than getting overwhelmed and forced myself to make decisions about everything and put it all away at the end of the session.  I ended up recycling lots more than I expected, and I’m thinking about starting a scrapbook for the things I want to keep so that they are in one place rather than constantly floating around the house.

How do you deal with paper clutter?

Until next time, Tawney x

Frugal fast food from the freezer

Hello Friends,

It’s been a busy weekend.  We’ve made the most of the sunshine and we’ve been getting out and about.

Yesterday we went for a walk up in the Peak District.  Snow was still lying in places – we walked along walled paths where it was 3 feet deep still.  Today OH went out for a bike ride this morning.  I drove out and met up with him and we then went for another walk.  It was just great to be outside in the sun at last.

By this evening I was shattered – lots of fresh air and exercise.  I didn’t feel like cooking from scratch, so I had a rummage in the freezer for something to eat and found a vegetable stew.  Things seem to improve in flavour when they’ve been in the freezer.

It’s only in the last year or so that I’ve started cooking larger amounts and freezing extra portions, but I’m finding it a real time saver.

What are your favourite quick freezer meals?

Until next time, Tawney x