lots of laundry

This is a permanent fixture at our place these days. And perhaps for a lot of days (weeks, years?) to come. So many tiny clothes to be washed, dried and put away. Most of the time the lines are cleared only to make room for the next load to be hung out.

On numerous occasions I have had wonderful plans of scheduling my washing; towels on Monday, kids clothes on Tuesday, sheets on Wednesday, etc; in an attempt to keep up with it. But I haven't had a chance to think through this properly. Or perhaps my subconscious is stalling me deliberately in an attempt to keep me from becoming way too obsessive compulsive? Also, winter throws things out a bit with our clothes taking days to dry. I'll keep fumbling my way through for now.

I have no trouble putting clothes into the washing machine. Easy! Well, easy, if you aren't a dunderhead who chucks black jeans in a white wash. In fact, I love my washing machine. I love hearing it busily chugging away. Important work is happening and I'm not doing it. It's the rest of the process that causes me to stumble.

I have come across web pages that are dedicated to organising laundry and even tell you how fun it can be. Decorate your laundry with colours! Display antique clothes pins in jars! Play upbeat music while you sort! Yay! Who knew doing laundry could be so much fun? (To be fair, the linked site did also have some practical and helpful advice to offer.)

Fortunately, this enthusiastic take on laundry caused me to think about the positives of doing it:

1. Everyone has clean clothes to wear.
2. While my hands hang clothes, my mind can be thinking up amazing ideas.
3. I've had some priceless conversations with the kids while putting clothes away.
4. The feeling of satisfaction I get when all baskets are empty is glorious!
    (even if it only lasts 10 minutes.)

organising notes from school

I was warned by a number of my friends that we were going to get heaps of notes sent home from school when my eldest started kindy in January. And, boy, were they right! Notes about fees, classroom activities, events, sporting carnivals, login details (fancy!), clubs to join, gardening, working bees, school photos....

So, I got myself another five-tab file to fill! This one has sections labelled 'pay', 'do', 'keep' and two at the back labelled 'info' (eg; logins and weekly news topics). I have also been moving the most important notes into the clear window at the front so I can easily see what is coming up next, or what payment is due soon. I am keeping my two files on the fridge using heavy duty magnetic clips so they are not forgotten and easy to access.

I would love to hear of any other systems that you may be using to keep track of what's going on in school, life, whatever. Please share!

kids room revisited

Our beautiful baby has nearly outgrown her bassinet. So, the time has come to revisit the layout of our second bedroom so we can fit three little kiddies in there. New carpet (yay!). New bunk beds. New shelving. And the sides will go back on the cot before baby sleeps there of course.

Check it out...

fifty shades of stain

That pretty much sums up the original, 18-year-old carpet in our house.
This image is a collage of actual photos taken of our carpet (except for the ink bottle - that was just to complete the effect).
I know. Gross.

And now, I am sitting in my room, listening to the glorious sound of that stain-ridden floor covering being ripped up. Hooray! Our new 'Natural Oak' floating floors are being laid today.

I cannot even describe the state of the underlay and slab underneath the carpet. Too awful for words. I've also just been informed that the slab near our balcony door is in such a bad state that I'll need to pay an extra $240 in cash today so the man can fix it and flatten it out. For goodness' sake.

I don't care all that much about the extra cost, because I know that it's all going to be fixed and finished today. The carpet in the bedrooms will be laid on Wednesday, then we can move on. The place is going to look fantastic. The floor will look clean - and be easy to keep clean! It will be marvelous.

goodbye precious food

After nearly 8 years, I think it is finally time to say goodbye to the sugar flowers that decorated our wedding cake. I've never felt so sad about parting with something edible before.

Now, if only I had the guts to do the same with my wedding dress. I'm never going to wear it again, but I really can't bring myself to part with it just yet.

The flowers are enough for now.

jeans. how many pairs is too many?

After my resolution to buy nothing new for a year, I have begun to sift through the contents of my wardrobe and figure out what exactly is in there.

The first thing I'm honing in on are my jeans.

I currently have seven pairs of full length jeans hanging in my wardrobe (aside from the sneaky pair of jeggings I may, or may not, own). According to a UK study a couple of years ago, this is below average. They reckon that most women have 10 pairs, but only wear three of them! I do, in fact, wear all of my jeans. I just wear some a lot more than others. Here's what I have:

Dark blue skinny jeans - my 'dressy' jeans.
Black skinny jeans - can be dressy or casual.
Blue straight leg jeans - casual.
Grey straight leg jeans - casual, but now with a rip in the knee (adds charm?)
Charcoal bootleg jeans - casual.
Blue bootleg jeans - a bit baggy and faded, but very comfy.
Dark blue wide leg maternity jeans - these may live on indefinitely. I do love them.

I suppose this list could be cut, but which ones need to go?
It's only seven weeks after baby, so once I (hopefully) fit back into all of them I'll be able to properly assess the situation.

How many pairs of jeans do you own? How many do you actually wear?
Have you ever tried to 'cut down'? How did you decide which ones to keep?

(We're getting into lots of deep and meaningful stuff here, people!)

nothing new for a year

It's decided. I'm not going to buy anything new for myself for a year. No clothes, no shoes, no bags, no accessories. And how do I feel about this? Excited!

I'm so thankful to Pink Ronnie for the inspiration. Her "the happy closet" series has given me hope. There is now a light shining down onto the pile of clothes that I find myself drowning in - I just need to swim toward it.

It's no secret that I'm a sucker for sales. I convince myself that I need things or that I should just get it because it's cute and "such a bargain!!" This is actually one of my major struggles. So much money wasted on stuff. The result of this problem is a wardrobe filled to the brim with all kinds of clothes, shoes and bags, yet I still feel like I've got nothing to wear - or if I have decided what I'd like to wear, I can't find it!

Almost two years ago when I started my sorting spree (was it really that long ago?) I did a huge cull in my wardrobe which resulted in six garbage bags worth of clothes, shoes and accessories being given away - or thrown out. SIX! Honestly, some of the clothes I found I wore when I was 18. Why did I still have that stuff? Ridiculous! (The photo below shows some of what I got rid of.)

Last year I gave another three bags of clothes away and I still don't have any space in my wardrobe. It really is a serious problem. Even after this baby arrives and I throw out all of the clothes that have been stretched beyond oblivion, I will still have overflowing hangers and drawers. I'm ashamed.

I am SO ready for this challenge. It may be a struggle at first, but I truly am excited. I'm excited about what I will rediscover in my wardrobe. I'm excited about not caring what I wear - who even notices if I wear the same outfit twice (or even three times!) in a week? I'm excited about the prospect of having the weight of this materialism lifted from my shoulders. I'm excited about finding contentment. I want my kids to see that contentment. I want to set a good example for them. I want to be filled with real joy - not filled with worthless stuff.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13