Lots of organising today ...

There has been a lot of this going on lately! You see - I am almost halfway to my weight loss goal, and after dropping almost 14kg so far and two dress sizes I NEEDED to buy new clothes!

Which then leads to another need. Getting rid of the stuff that doesn't fit. Which is at least half my wardrobe.

It has been a busy day - with a lot of interruptions but I am almost done - and hoping that my "too big" wardrobe is a real blessing to someone else in need

Fun things coming!

There has been too much talking and not enough organising and creating on this blog lately!

This could be due to a busy time of the year, starting a new job, shift work, ... a whole heap of reasons really!

But I have some fun ideas ready to go! I'll start putting them up tomorrow. They involve some knick knacks from the $2 ... and a whole lot of spray paint! And a few of them are perfect for the upcoming holiday season!

Thanks for your patience guys while I went off track their for a little while.

Ribbon storage

I found this at Big W this morning and it makes me happy. No more tangled ribbon for us!



It's in amongst the Christmas supplies ... but since I buy plain paper on markdown after Christmas for birthdays etc through the year, it's nice to have an easy way to store our ribbon to dress gifts up.

There is plenty of room for large rolls, and room to store spare rolls and scissors at the back.




Love it!

Why??

When I am so far behind and have about 12 hours work to do before bed do I decide it is a good time to organise and tidy my drawers????

Just wondering!

Bath toys ... again!

I hate bath toys. Hate hate hate.

Stupid untidy things that get all mouldy and slimey if you're not careful.

HATE them!

I did a deal with miss e today - I would buy her a set of mermaid bath toys if she got rid of all the gunky yukky ones. Worked ;) Mummy knows her girl!

To make it easier for her to pack them up where they can drain and dry I am trying this bath caddy from the 3M command range.




Just like the hooks, it adhears by tape to the tile, and it pulls off easily if you want to move it. Unlike the hooks it is suitable for wet areas.




So far so good!


Little does she know that any toy that is not put away in the bath is going to become mummy's. Somehow I think that will work when she loses her first mermaid!

Things I love - Organised mums!

Expect to see a few posts featuring products from Organised mums!

They seem to have gotten right inside my head and designed a range of diaries, calendars and stationary that works the way I do! Makes my heart sing!

One big issue we have in our home is making sure everyone is in the right place, at the right time with the right stuff. I am a part time stay at home mum, part time shift worker. Miss E is a busy 5 year old with a demanding school schedule already ;), and several after school activities. And daddy is working pretty full on days at the moment ... and sometimes needs a hand remembering what we have to take on what day and where.

Enter this! The Magnetic Family Organiser from organised mums!




I love that it sticks right onto my fridge (it is basically one huge magnet) and I love that I can change it every week depending what we have on. Life here is never the same, I work different days and the shifts I work vary. It helps to be able to be flexible.

It does come with magnets for reminders and events. This is my only complaint. There just does not seem to be enough variety of magnets. I would have loved to at least seen some for dance, sport, library, interest item ... the basic things that most families have going on.




At the moment I have the 5 columns set up as "Mum, dad, school, afterschool and menu planning"




However - I think I am going to change this by heading them "mum, dad, miss e, menu and exercise". That way Paul and I can each mark out when we want to work out and try to fit it in so we both get time and can work around Miss E and each other.

The size of this calendar is great - and it seems to be really good quality. What I intend to do is use a 3m Command hook to stick on the fridge for each of us to hang our keys on. This forces us to check the calendar as we are going to leave. It also means we can check what is for dinner that night and make sure *someone* has remembered to defrost the meat!

I think this is going to be a really useful tool. The Australian distributor is McMillan press. I believe they are available now.

Organising Hair accessories

I didn't really have it in me for any big organising jobs this weekend. So instead I did a little job I have been looking forward to doing.

Miss E loves cute things in her hair! And she loves too match.

We decided to bring some order to her many, many hair accessories!

School coloured bands and clips are kept in the bathroom in a small ikea lidded container for ease of use. However, I wanted to make the fun ones easy to see and handy to access.

We used a Small jewellry organiser from the storage section of Big W.



I love the small pockets and that each row is zippable to stop the contents falling out.

And this is a work in progress. It's not finished because Miss E wants to do it herself (and bedtime caught up with her!)

As always, I used the command hooks to hang on the inside of her wardrobe door. I love that I can remove them with no marks or holes in the wall! They are my most favourite thing ever! In fact I think they deserve their own post one day!

Ready for summer sandal season!

Manicures aren't my thing. In my employment I can't have painted nails, it is an infection control risk.

But toes ... that's another matter! And in summer you are only half dressed without pretty toes - right!

I found this great little clear draw organiser in amongst the kitchen baskets etc at Big W. It was inexpensive and means all my manicure and pedicure items are together and easy to grab when I get a second spare.



In the tray I have my nail varnishes, cotton buds, nail files, clippers, scissors, polish remover and hand cream. Oh - and I've added heal balm since I took this photo!

It makes my heart happy to see it all ready and neat and tidy!

Being organised for kids after school activities

Somehow I don't remember being this busy as a kid. At least not at age 5.

Since I often work right up until school pick up time, it is important for me to be ready for any after school activity and not have to run around looking for lost swimmers, goggles, shoes etc.

For each activity Miss E does I have a suitable bag. These hang on the inside of her wardrobe. As soon as she gets home from ballet or swimming, she puts her clothes in the wash and I repack goggles, ballet shoes, hair things etc into the appropriate bag. As soon as the clothes or togs are dry they go back into the bag, and then the bag is rehung in her bedroom.

The night before any activity day, I grab the bag, add a snack and water and put it in the car so we are ready to go.

This works really well for us, and saves that last minute scrambling for a forgotten item (or two!)

Our first planet box lunch

Strawberries (fresh from a roadside stall in Maleny of course!)
Vege sticks (with hommus in the little dipper)
Orange segments (from our tree)
and a Chicken pasta salad. Which by the way is easy. And YUM.

I think I like this new way of being accountable for what I eat. Sure beats a jam sandwich.

Things I love - the planet box!

We do our best to reduce the amount of plastic we use in our home. I know the use of plastic for food storage has a big question mark over it, and with some of the health problems I suffer I just like to reduce the amount we use, and especially for Miss E.

We also like to pack lunches without using a heap of cling wrap and plastic baggies. They cost a lot of money - they are wasteful - and contribute to our rubbish problems.

I was so excited to get to try the PLANET BOX




On their site they describe it as a "Lunch transportation system". The different sections encourage you to pack a balanced lunch (One for sandwich/pasta etc, one for fruit , one for vege, and the teeeny tiny centre one for the occasional treat)

The containers seal well, and as long as you don't pack liquid they seem to keep the food where it should be.

They also come with two sealable individual containers, for yogurt, dressing etc ...




Magnets on the front allow you to customize the planet box and are a fun gimmick for the little ones!




I love the concept so much, I am going to use it to pack my lunch for the next day, even though I stay at home most days. That way I can plan what I want to eat in advance, and it is easy to eat when I want to. Hey - now that the weather is beautiful I can even grab a book, my planet box and coffee and go outside or to the park!

So far I am thrilled with the planet box. It's a great organisational solution for lunch for us. I'll post pics how we use it as time goes on!

Organised camp cooking ... the dream pot

I so wish I had a better picture. Check out the website Dream Pot for better pics.

Basically, reminiscent of the old hay box cookery theory, the dreampot is a thermal cooker. You start the cooking on a stove/fire/gas burner, get heat into it, then put it into a big thermal container for up to 8 hours while it cooks.

It's like a slow cooker without the electricity - but better! No burning round the sides like a slow cooker (cause there is no heating element). And the flavour is better. More like the flavour of something slow cooked in a slow oven for hours on end.

We made stews, a mexican mince dish, with a side of brown rice, baked custards and creamed rices.

It was perfect to help us eat healthily, but not waste a lot of time cooking.

And yes - after 8 hours it was still PIPING hot.

I loved this! So much that I will keep using it at home. Watch this space, I'll post recipes as we try it!

Pack well!

We don't have a big car. In a campsite that is over run with 4WDs and motorhomes, our car is a bit of a novelty. (actually - our car IS unusual here in Australia, and it IS a novelty!)

I know it amuses my parents every time we pull up in our overrun car, but trust me ... it IS organised!

There is a place for everything ... and as long as I pack the car then I know it can all be found if and when we need it. And I am getting closer to getting it right. We used almost everything I packed this time.




My greatest compliment this trip was from an old bushpoet who we sat around a campfire with on the final night.

He said "you rolled up in this funny car and dragged the tent out ... and we thought we'd get a laugh at you city folk. But then it was like MAGIC. The tent went up ... and everything came out. It was magic."

He went on to say "And the next morning you and your daughter got up and I realised you even packed the gumboots and you somehow had room for them!"

I laughed. It's gympie. When it rains it turns into a mudpit. Of course we packed the gumboots.

We are HOME!

It's been a fun, cold, warm, dusty, dusty (did I say dusty?) week with just a little mud thrown in for fun.

Where from? The National Music Muster in Gympie!




I'm tired and just veging out tonight (while doing copious loads of laundry) - but I can't wait to share our adventures ! (and some tips while I'm at it!)

Be back tomorrow with the goss!

Getting ready for camping - Tip #14 - TEST IT out!

NEVER. I repeat NEVER take new equipment camping without testing it first.

Trust me - arrive late to a campsite and have to put a new tent up in the dark or the rain and you will believe me!

Test every piece first - and if it's an old standby you haven't used for a while - check it again before you leave!

Getting ready for camping - Tip #13 ... be ready for laundry!

You know you will have laundry. After a week camping in the cold, the heat and the dust we get LOTS of laundry!

I cannot stand clean clothes going in a bag with dirty laundry - even if it is in a separate bag.

I use the Super sized storage bag from Clearly Organized bags.

It held our whole families laundry for a week, and meant I could get a load on easily the second we walked in the door.

Getting ready for camping - Tip #12 -Plan where to unpack

You know when you come back you will be tired, dusty and wanting to just jump in the shower and ignore the mess.

Before you go, plan where you will unpack. Is there a space in the shed/garage/attic where the camping gear lives? Plan to put it straight there and avoid double handling.

You will be over run with laundry, so have your washing up to date, and dryer and washer free so you can throw loads in the machine as soon as you get home.

And plan an easy dinner. Or takeout. No one is going to want to cook.

A bit of planning now will minimise the pain later! And make sure your WHOLE family is in on the plan and knows - car unpacked first - no exceptions

Getting ready for camping - tip #11 - plan for your drive

Activities for kids - check!
Water ? Food? Check!

Pillow for my back ? Wouldn't be without it!

Something else I've planned this trip is to download an audio book for us all to listen to ... Charlie and the Chocolate factory - here we go!

Ipods are updated with our fave music - I think we are SET!

Getting ready for camping Tip #10 - go for a test drive!

Unless you are camping just down the road ... while you are doing that final check of the house send your better half (and the kids!) for a test drive.

Get them to turn the radio OFF and listen to any clangs, bumps or other noises, and check for items that shift in transit.

Better to find out now than when you are on your way! (plus it will give you 5min peace to get your head together!)

Getting ready for camping - tip #9 - Recharge stuff

Mobile phone?
Camera?
Ipod?
Kindle?
Video camera?

OK - you don't need all this stuff - but some of it is great for the drive ... some for creating memories ... some for safety .. some just cause.

Don't forget to charge it! And make sure there is room on your camera etc!