An hour well spent

At the end of each financial year I bundle up all of my paperwork from the previous year into an envelope. I then do my tax and the envelope is filed with other year's tax returns in a storage container in the shed. Aah ...... shed. Wow that's another story. I've never had a shed before and can't believe how tempting it is to put things in there and forget about them.

Sounds organised right?

NO. As I just bundled up all the paperwork for the financial year there were receipts for everything, old bills, bank statements and lots of other paperwork that I shouldn't still have. So, I recently spent an hour getting this:

to this:

and put all of this in the recycling bin:



I have now put all the information in a lever arch folder (that I also emptied as what was in that was not needed). Unfortunately, I got a bit behind in filing my tax returns so I have to keep hold of them for a bit longer. As you have to keep your tax returns for 5 years from the date you filed them I have a bit of a backlog that I have to hold on to.

I was really impressed with how little time it took to complete this task. I had been meaning to do it for a while but kept thinking it would take ages. I got to the point where I thought I would just do 1 or 2 years at a time but once I got going I just couldn't stop. It is amazing the feeling you get from this sort of purging and organising. It really gives the impetus to keep going!

I have been sorting through some other paperwork that I have holding onto for way too long. A lot of it has found it's way to the recycling bin. The rest is just waiting till I can scrapbook it. I'll keep you updated on this as I go along.

I'd love to hear if you have a "black hole" for paperwork. Where you think you are organised but not really? Maybe we can inspire and motivate each other. I really go in fits and spurts with this and find it hard to maintain motivation.

Lest We Forget - ANZAC Day 2012

Well, it's ANZAC Day. I like the idea of honouring those who have fought in wars around the world in the past and currently. I feel for the soldiers, their families and people who suffer on both sides and pray that God will bring peace.

Every year I make ANZAC biscuits and this year included B in the activity. I have been struggling to explain ANZAC Day, war and all the reasons behind the day all week. It has been difficult. I have located a few clips on You Tube to try and help me in this. Next year we will attend a dawn service and/or march to try and help this.

Lest We Forget.

Meat Free Monday

Well it's Monday again and this year I have started doing "Meat Free Monday". Previously I have tried to do one vegetarian meal a week but it was always a bit hit and miss. This was before I started planning the weeks menus (see this post). Now that I am planning the week's menu I can consciously plan at least one vegetarian meal each week (we actually had 2 last week).

Bean and lentil tagine with homemade flat bread

B is quite a little meat eater which is fine, however, I have never been a huge meat eater. So I am really extending my cooking repertoire to keep him satisfied! And it has been really good to go through my cookbooks to find new recipes.



Pakoras

 There are a number of reasons for having vegetarian meals including cost with vegetables being cheaper than meat. Also, the lower impact on the environment of producing vegetables as opposed to meat. I don't know that we would ever go the whole hog of going vegetarian full time but I think it's a good thing to eat less meat. I have discovered a great shop at Preston Market that stocks a huge range of beans and lentils which has been good for variety. 

Tonight's dinner - Samosas

I am also really enjoying exploring more and more ways to serve vegetarian meals that are enticing to a young child. I have had varying levels of success on this front. The less successful have been the regular meals that I have just adapted to vegetarian e.g. lasagne, burgers, etc. I really think the most successful are the tagines. B really loves them no matter what type I make - meat or vegetarian.

Sweet and Spicy Vegetable Tagine

I would really love to hear if you have any favourite vegetarian recipes. You can never have enough recipes right?

Waste

I have been musing for sometime on my waste or lack thereof. I do make a very conscious effort to cut down the amount of waste that our household produces both by controlling what comes in and how we deal with what needs to go out.

Firstly, I try to be really mindful of what I purchase. Is it really needed? Is it going to be used? This is particularly true with food. I am very conscious of what I buy and that it is all used. If I am finding myself with some food that is needing to be used and I don't have a plan for it immediately I look at how to keep it until I do. For veggies that I'm not planning on using can I use them in a stew, soup or just cook and freeze until I need it? Bananas are of course easy - smoothies or just into the freezer to make muffins or cake. Other fruit is good for smoothies, ice cream or again just frozen until need.

A really good blog on this issue is by Kylie Kwong and you can find it here. It's quite staggering the amount of food that is wasted and I am consciously trying not to contribute to the problem. There are a number of reasons for this. Of course, cost is the major one - it's like throwing your money out. There is also the environment and all the resources that are consumed into producing the food to just be wasted doesn't make sense to me. I think it's also about respecting farmers who spend their time and money in producing food for us as well.

Any food scraps we have are then put into our Bokashi Bucket. I really like this system as you can put meat scraps as well as other traditional composting materials. It also produces a liquid fertiliser which I then use to fertilise my vegetable garden. So it's a winner on a number of fronts.

I also recycle as much as possible - paper, glass, cans, etc. Luckily there is a tip not too far from me that takes a lot of materials that I can't put in the recycling bin. It also has a tip shop which can be a bit dangerous (but I'll post on that another time).





So this is typically the rubbish we throw out in a fortnight. It is basically just the packaging that I can't dispose of any other way.

And then, I got this book yesterday which takes reusing to a whole other level. Hopefully I will get some more tips and tricks!!

What about you? What are your secrets for reducing your waste?

I Have Taught You Well.

Totally pinched the title of this post from Star Wars!! It's been what has been running through my head whenever I thought about this post.

Last week I re-organised B's "fluffy toys". I took them out of the container that was disintegrating and that they didn't fit in and put them in this lovely wooden box that my brother made in high school. Yep it's pretty old and has held together quite well considering it was made by a high school student.

When I did the change over I culled a few toys that I felt he didn't play with and probably wouldn't play with. There were more than could fit in the box but I was okay with the lid being open and the toys piled up a little. However, that was not what B wanted. He insisted that he be able to close the lid!

So we pulled the toys out one by one and he decided whether to keep or give away each one. As we put all the keepers back into the box the lid still didn't close all the way. So the lid was opened and more toys were pulled out.

So here is the box full of fluffy toys that he has decided that he doesn't need anymore. They will be going to our friend who will regift them to children who need them. It has been really good to have this avenue as it helps him put a "face" to where his toys go. To explain that there are some children who do not have any toys but that they can enjoy ones he doesn't want is really good.

I am so proud of B. He is a lot better than me about letting go of stuff and it is actually inspiring me to let go of a lot more of my stuff. I know all the theories about decluttering but the practice of letting go is hard. I really need to get on top of this while he is good at letting go of this things and before he starts to question why I hold onto things I don't use anymore.

This has been a really awesome lesson to learn from my child. I would love to hear any stories of similar lessons you have learnt from unexpected sources.

Now if I could only get him to wear underpants........................

Easter Traditions (Part 2)

Well Easter is over for another year and I think we really established some important traditions for future Easters.

The Hot Cross Buns were a hit (see previous post) and very much enjoyed.

On Good Friday this year I chose to make our own Fish and Chips. I was brought up with the tradition of no meat on Good Friday and it is one I have always kept with. There were a few reasons for making my own: cost, healthier option and I couldn't be bothered waiting for 1-2 hours for the fish and chip shop.


Fish & Chips with the last of the tomatoes from the garden.

Before bedtime on Good Friday we made Resurrection Biscuits. Basically they are just a meringue but as you make them all the ingredients represent an important part of the Easter story which we talked about while we were making them.


Biscuits all ready to go in the oven.



You then put them in the preheated oven, tape it up, turn it off and then leave until Easter Sunday. It represents the tomb and how Jesus' disciples had to wait and that they were sad between Friday and Sunday. (It's a bit hard to see the white masking tape on the white oven but I'm sure you get the idea)

Oven all taped up from Friday to Sunday.

Then, on Easter Sunday you can open the "tomb" and crack open the meringues!!



He is risen!!

Overall, we had a lovely Easter with lots of focus on the story of Easter. I was very impressed with his understanding and willingness to talk about it.

Easter Traditions (Part 1)

With B almost 4 now I thought it was a really good time to start establishing some Easter traditions in our family.

I always make my own Hot Cross Buns every Easter and I usually don't have make or eat any until Easter week. I think that is a fairly good achievement as they appear in the supermarkets in January now! I have previously made these on my own after B has gone to bed but this year I decided that we could do it together. Cooking is one of B's favourite activities and it is something we really enjoy doing together.

Kneading the dough.

 

He may have overkneaded the dough but it is one of the things I have learnt to let go of.

Rolling the dough into balls.

 We enjoyed one for afternoon tea today but there are plenty left for breakfast tomorrow. As I was putting the crosses on the buns I asked B why I was putting them on. His reponse: "Because Jesus ate them!" Well I suppose it's nice to know that he knows the connection between the food and Good Friday but I think I still have a bit of work to do!



In the oven.

 

All done!!



A church that I attended many years ago used to have a Haggadah feast on Maundy Thursday which was a ceremony based on a Passover meal. At this we were served lamb and potatoes. I decided that we could have our own type of Passover meal tonight. I cooked to a Middle Eastern theme tonight - Morrocan lamb, Morrocan roast vegetables, flat bread and hommus. Before we ate dinner I read the story of the Last Supper from B's Children's Bible and then we enjoyed our meal together. I then did a happy dance as he ate his pumpkin without any prompting!!!!



Children's Bible

Middle Eastern meal

There are a few other things I'm planning to make over the weekend so that is why I have named this Part 1. I have really enjoyed making new traditions for Easter and keeping the focus on Jesus.

Do you have any traditions in your family? I would love to hear them.

Simple Entertainment

I am always on the hunt for simple cheap or free entertainment for us. Now that B is not having naps the days can get quite long when it comes to entertaining a young child so getting out and about is always a good thing.

Our garden always provides lots of fun times whether it is tending our vegies, playing sports or doing our messy play.

Parks are always entertaining and of course free. I use the Melbourne Playgrounds website to hunt out new and interesting playgrounds and to find ones with good facilities too.

However, one of the cheapest and varied forms of entertainment comes in the form of our Friends of the Zoo membership. For a fee of $69 per year we get unlimited entry to the 3 zoos in Victoria - Melbourne, Werribee and Healesville. We only need to go 4 times in the year to pay for itself. We have now gone 3 times in the last 10 days alone. We are halfway through our year's membership and I have lost count how many times we have been but it is probably around 10 so far. So well and truly got our money's worth even with another 6 months to go.

It is such an entertaining time for B with lots of things to explore and animals to see. There have been times when they are really entertaining and other times not so much. But of course as we are frequent visitors it doesn't matter too much. We can also pick and choose which animals we see and don't have to push ourselves to get round it all to get our money's worth. This was especially helpful when B was still having afternoon naps as we could just go for a couple of hours, he could run around and burn off some energy, have some lunch and then head home. This is not as important now that he is not sleeping in the afternoon but we still don't need to push ourselves and get overtired.

Here he is getting up close and personal with one of the gorillas at Werribee:

Another free entertainment is the Melbourne Museum. As I have a concession card it is another free activity and very entertaining. We haven't been there for a while but will plan another trip soon.

What about you? What are your simple, cheap or free ways of keeping kids entertained? I would love to hear from you.