The 365 Declutter Challenge.

 I love a good declutter challenge but find most of them have too many rules or unrealistic goals and tasks.  Life gets in the way doesn't it ?  Then you feel like a failure.

I'm not a hoarder by any stretch of the imagination.  I love order and space in my cupboards and around our home.  It just makes life easier having space and it's certainly easier to clean our floors and do the dusting.

When my Dad passed away last April,  it really got me thinking about how much stuff we have and how much stuff our girls might have to sort out when Darren and I are no longer around.

So last year I set up my own declutter challenge.  Although life did get in the way,  I still managed to get rid of 188 excess items from our home.  

There are only 2 rules to this challenge -

*  Throw out or donate one item every day.

*  Consumable items like toiletries or food do not count.  You'd be throwing out empty packets / bottles anyway. Bits of paper doesn't count either.

It's that simple.  The great thing is,  if you forget a day or two ( or 10 ) you have the rest of the year to make up for it..  You can also start the challenge at any time.

I've roughly ruled a piece of paper with the months down on the left side of the paper.  The total for each month is on the right side and the space in the middle is where you record the amount of items you get rid of.  The plan is to have the same amount of discarded items as there are days in the month.

Here's a photo of my paper for this year's challenge.

My utensil drawer after decluttering

My declutter challenge tally so far.

Will you join me in this simple declutter challenge ?

Reusing Old Plastic Cereal Containers.

 Over the last couple of years I've gradually changed my pantry storage containers from plastic to glass where possible.  This has left me with a dilemma of having lots of plastic containers to find other uses for.  The cereal containers in particular were too good to throw out,  which is not an eco friendly option.   Some were 20+ years old and not BPA free so finding non food related uses proved to be a challenge.

I love neat and tidy organisation in my cupboards and after much thought came up with these ideas for the containers -

*  Storage for clothes pegs.  This has been a fantastic way to use a container.  The pegs don't fall out ( or very few do ) if the pegs are knocked over by accident.  Having a lid on the container keeps the spare pegs dry and clean when waiting for the washing to dry on the line outside.  This will also extend the life of the pegs.

*  Dry cat food storage.  No longer do I have tiny crumbs from the cardboard box fall out on the tiles or in the laundry cupboard.  The little opening in the lid makes it easy to reach in with a scoop to get the exact amount Princess needs to eat.  Portion control at it's best.

*  Plastic bag storage.  I have two cereal containers under my kitchen sink for plastic bag storage.  One holds recycled bread bags that are really clean and suitable for food storage.  I use them many times over to store my home baked bread in the freezer.  When they start to look a little ratty,  I store them in the other container to be used as bin liners.  I can squash a lot of bread bags in those containers and the lid helps to keep them tidy.

*  Storage for kitty litter scoop bags.  I also reuse bread bags to scoop up kitty litter messes.  Having a container in the laundry cupboard makes it easy for quick clean ups..

Under my kitchen sink

Laundry cupboard storage

My new peg ' bucket '.

Have you found other uses for old plastic containers ?

Keeping Busy When Stuck At Home

So many of us are spending more time at home than we ever have.   While some are extra busy juggling home schooling,  working from home and running a house,  others might have too much time on their hands.

I've personally had more time at home due to the loss of some of my cleaning jobs and Darren had no work for eight weeks.  Each day at breakfast we made a plan of what we were going to do that day.  We knew we had to make the most of this unusual situation and use our time wisely.

Here are some ideas to keep you busy,  organised and motivated -

*  Clean out your pantry and make an inventory.  Are there items that need using up ?  Do you have too much or too little of an item ?  Once you've done an inventory,  write out a shopping list for the next few weeks or months.  Being prepared and shopping ahead of time gives you peace of mind knowing you can feed your family no matter what.

*  Take up a craft or hobby  YouTube is a wonderful and easy way to learn something new.  Do you have a craft or hobby already on the go that you could finish ?  If you have free time on your hands,  now could be the time to complete something.

*  Declutter a cupboard or wardrobe.  How many times have you wished you were more organised or had more space ?  Op shops are starting to open up again and would love your unwanted items.

*  Write out your Christmas present list. No matter what's happening in the world,  Christmas is still on the 25th of December and presents will need to be bought or made.

*  Search for new recipes and expand your repertoire in the kitchen.  Megan has cooked a few new dishes for us.  Tuna mornay,  curry beef casserole and chicken pie are now regulars on our menu plan.  I've just made shortbread biscuits for the first time.

*  Start a veggie garden or expand on what you already grow. Veggies can be grown in pots,  polystyrene foam boxes,  old shoes,  icecream containers,  old guttering,  timber pallets or in your garden beds.

*  Watch a tv series you haven't seen in a long time.  With free to air channels expanding their catalogue,  you are sure to find something you like.  I've been watching A Country Practice,  Homestead Rescue,  Hoarders,  Packed To The Rafters ( I've just finished )  and Tiny Homes.

*  Get your filing in order.  Record all your bills onto a spreadsheet to keep track of how much it costs to run a home.   Make copies of important receipts before they fade.  Gather your receipts for tax time.

*  Start your Spring cleaning a little early.  How often do you wish there was more time to get your home really clean before the hot weather arrives ?

*  Clean out and organise your garage, carport or shed.   Are you storing too much stuff that isn't used.

*  List and sell your unwanted items on Buy , Swap,  Sell ,  Marketplace,  Gumtree or Ebay type of sites.

Out in the garden

Being organised

How have you been using the extra time at home ?

Surviving A Kitchen Renovation Part 2

Renovations of any sort can be tiring and stressful.  As you will remember, we had our kitchen and flooring replaced last year.  We had a crazy three weeks last August and I'm so glad I took the time to plan ahead.  Here's what I did to keep some organisation during a time of chaos -

*  Decluttering ahead of time.  When it's time to pack up your kitchen ( before it gets ripped out ),  do a major declutter / throw out.  Have a look at what you are storing in your cupboards and drawers.  Are you using everything ?  Do you want these items in your new kitchen ?  Do you like the colors / style ?  Is it broken / chipped ?  Do you have too many of the same thing ? 

There is absolutely no point in packing up items you just know you'll throw out later.  Set aside a couple of boxes and fill them up to donate to your local op shop.  When it's time to restock your new kitchen,  have another declutter.  You might find that things don't fit in or look right.

*  Having a budget for takeaway.  Even the most organised person will need takeaway during a renovation.  I can remember one day when our house was in total chaos.  Our carpet was being replaced at the same time our kitchen was having the kickboards and end panels installed.  Darren,  Jessica and myself were confined to a couple of metres in the family room.  Darren was perched on a kitchen stool.  I was balancing on a couch arm rest with Jessica sitting on the floor at my feet.   We couldn't access any other part of our home for three hours.  Darren had to make an escape through the sliding door to get Subway for lunch.

A couple of other times we'd had such busy days packing up and cleaning.  My hands were so sore from all the hard work that I couldn't pick up a knife to prepare a meal.  Fish and chips came to the rescue one night and a bought roast chicken for the other night.  Our girls prepared a little salad to go with each meal.

*  Cleaning as you go.  Yes the house will get really messy and dusty.  I tried to clean up the dust and bits and pieces off the floor at the end of each day just before dinner.  Jessica and I suffer from allergies so regular cleaning was important.  By doing this each day it kept the cleaning job to a manageable timeframe.  I'm a neat freak,  so knowing  parts of the house were clean helped me relax somewhat.  I used our old vacuum cleaner to keep the floors reasonable.  There was no way my brand new Dyson was coming out of the box until the renos were completed.

*  Preparing the house for renovations.  A renovation doesn't just happen.  It takes months of planning.  I used this time to declutter other rooms in our home.  The week before our renos started  I filled the toilet roll holders,  cleaned the bathrooms from top to bottom,  refilled all the Miracle Spray bottles,  paid the bills and got the finances and filing up to date.  These tasks might seem a bit odd to do just before a reno but when your house has been turned upside down,  you don't want to be searching for toilet rolls or a misplaced bill.

Here's the link to part one of surviving a kitchen renovation http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/surviving-kitchen-renovation-part-1.html

I hope these ideas will come in handy when you are planning a renovation.

The finished product

Can you see the arm of the couch on the right ?  That's where I perched for three hours with Jessica at my feet and all this mess around us.  Lots of fun - NOT !!!

Our makeshift kitchen

Coping With Financial Storms

Some of the most commonly asked questions I get is -  How do you cope ?  How do you plan for the unexpected ?  How do you keep going ?

There are times when I've wondered " why us ". We've never had a comfortable income to live off.  It might seem that we are comfortable but it has taken so much hard work to get where we are. We've seen more financial challenges than most people we know.  Our income gets cut when most people's go up even if it's just in line with CPI. We lived for years and years with no pay rise and the cost of living increasing. And again I've wondered - why us ?

I get through these times firstly by praying. God knows our needs and they are always met, sometimes in the most miraculous of ways.  After praying about our situation, I start planning. There is nothing better than tackling a hard situation as soon as possible by putting pen to paper and finding a way out. Trying to ride out a storm hoping you will cope just doesn't work.  Every time we've had a income cut,  straight away I rework the budget. Of course we don't waste money but we always seem to do without something else. At the moment I'm able to start my Summer stockpile shopping on the $200 a month allocated grocery money. It sounds like a crazy amount but I'm doing it.

Being prepared for the storms of life makes it easier to cope. Having a monthly menu plan reduces stress if I get sick or something else happens. Weekly and fortnightly menu plans don't give a lot of wriggle room. If the monthly menu plan runs out and I don't have time or energy to write another one, we just repeat it. Because it's monthly, there are approximately 25 - 30 different meals on it so we don't repeat meals too often.  Constant repetition leads to boredom and boredom leads to eating out.

Having a healthy stockpile in the pantry, fridge and freezer gives me peace of mind. When I talk about a healthy stockpile, I'm talking about 4 - 6 month's worth ( except milk, fruit and veg ). My veggie garden is always there as a back up. I grow silverbeet and lettuce all year round and it saves us a fortune. If I can't get to the shops, I know I have greens to pick to go with a meal. Those greens are some of the most healthiest things to grow.

We all have unexpected bills arrive. Dental, car and appliance repairs are the most common. A way to get around this is to build an emergency account that covers these items. $5000 should be a minimum to set aside. This might seem like an unachievable goal but it can be done.   Holidays, and  luxuries such as gym memberships,  magazines,  coffees out etc etc should be avoided until the emergency account goal is reached.  If the emergency account is dipped into, it should be topped up as soon as possible.  Having that safety net at all times is so important.  It eliminates the need to use the credit card.

My family doesn't always understand my hard approach to saving, but they support me and certainly appreciate it when they see the fruits of our labour.  Then I remind them of why we saved.  My kitchen is a fine example.  The kitchen took almost two years of hard saving and 20 years of dreaming. Sure, I could have bought a cheap kitchen or taken out a loan. But it wouldn't have lasted the distance and I wouldn't have liked it.

Are you prepared for financial storms ?

How do you cope with the unexpected ?

Finding Room To Stockpile

Quite often people ask me where I find the room to stockpile.  The answer is simple - I make the room.  I'm not a hoarder by any stretch of the imagination.  Infact,  I love order and neatness and this helps me to make the most of the room I have.  My home is 15.23 squares or 141.57m2.  For my American readers that equates to 1523.8 square feet.  With four of us living here that doesn't allow for large amounts of storage.

Our kitchen is quite small and classified as a hostess kitchen which I think is a polite term for a small kitchen that does the job.  Our kitchen builder tells me that my pantry is quite a good size compared to others he sees. My pantry is 88cm wide x 57cm deep x 2.06 metres high. Not large at all but I can fit so much in there.  At the Adelaide workshop Cath and I held last year I showed a photo of my very tidy pantry. There were a few giggles about how neat it is. how many containers I have and how everything is in neat rows with ALL labels facing the front. A bit OCD ? Maybe, but when everything is neat and well stacked I'm making the most of the space.

I mentioned at the workshop that I only use my pantry to store food in. There are no empty containers, no extra rolls of paper towel, no toilet paper, no appliances, no cleaning products, no boxes of tissues, no canning jars and no cat food. These items are either stored in my garden shed or in the appropriate room ( cleaning products in the laundry etc ). 

 I also use everything in my kitchen on a regular basis and all my casserole dishes, chopping boards,  dinner sets etc are stacked neatly and efficiently.  This gives me the extra space to store supermarket specials  Before I had children, I worked in retail ( mostly toy shops ) and my specialty was merchandising shelves to fit more stock in when there was no space. I've just continued this at home and especially in my kitchen. I'm always sorting and rearranging my kitchen cupboards.

For those of you who think they can't find any more space to stockpile, just take a few moments to look at what you are storing.

*  Do you use it all the time ?
*  Are you keeping things you really shouldn't ?
*  Do you have too much of the wrong type of foods in your pantry ? This  question is targeted more towards junk food or food with too much packaging. Think about those packets of chips that are full of air or the individual serves of popcorn, chips etc etc. A jar of corn kernels takes up a fraction of the space compared to a packet of individual serves.
*  Could you store items in your linen cupboard ,  under your bed,  in the top of your wardrobe ?
*  Could you fill up all your containers to get rid of half empty packets taking up space ?

 By doing a little reorganising and decluttering,  you might be suprised at the space you can find.

Does your pantry and kitchen need a tidy up ?
Where do you store your extra stockpiling items ?