The Kindness of Friends

I am very blessed with the friends I have. They have been very generous to me and B in so many ways.

I have been one of the last of my friends to have children so I was lucky enough to receive a lot of hand me downs and equipment which meant I didn't have to outlay a lot of money, particularly for the "big ticket" items. I have not had to purchase any car seats or a cot. These are normally expensive items and I was very lucky to get these for free. I also really liked the idea of getting a second hand cot that other children that I know and love had used and slept in.

I have a friend who has 3 boys and her youngest is 4 years older than B. I have been blessed to receive many of the boy's clothes which has saved me so much money on buying clothes. Especially at the rate toddlers grow and wear out clothes. We were out this morning and came home to this sitting on the front doorstep:

2 big bags of clothes!



There are a few that he isn't quite in yet but he will definitely be set up for winter (and probably next summer too). All I will need to buy is some tracksuit pants and a new pair of jeans and he will be set. What a money saver!

I have another friend who has an older son and she often gives me the clothes her son has grown out of. As they are way too big for him I pass them onto the friend who gave me the above clothes as I know I will get them back for B eventually. When B has grown out of the clothes I then pass them onto another friend who had a daughter first and son second so it helps her out of having to buy too many clothes. I love the idea of passing these along, saving people money and I love seeing the same clothes on different children.

We have also been given a lot of hand me down toys and books from numerous friends. I don't know why but they are usually the toys that he loves the most and plays with all the time. When he has finished with his toys we then pass them on to a friend who works in domestic violence to give to the children in their service who often have to leave their home without any of their toys.

As I said I have been very blessed to receive lots of wonderful things that help me save money and live simply. But I also love passing those things along to others too.

A Simple Day

Today was the Labour Day public holiday. We didn't have any plans for the day so I decided it would be a nice day to just potter around home. We also had a late night last night so I thought just nice and easy would be a way to (hopefully) avoid any toddler meltdowns.

I spent the morning doing a few odd jobs and cleaning. Then playing board games with B. It was a lovely way to just ease into the day.

The weather today was just perfect - sunny but not too warm so this afternoon we headed outside to take advantage. I mowed the lawn while B played with his play dough. I usually prefer this to be an outside activity to avoid mess inside.

I have been quite jealous lately of hearing of the resurgence of afternoon tea. Some friends have been going to some really nice places to enjoy afternoon tea. Unfortunately it's not one of the things that I can afford at the moment but I was inspired to have a "proper" afternoon tea.

So out came the PWMU cookbook, scones and tea were made and the table was set in the backyard. The scones were not a huge success as I halved the recipe but forgot to halve the milk!! They were okay but not the best I have made. We had our lovely little afternoon tea out in the sunshine. It was lovely, free (or close to) and I didn't have to dress up. Winner!!

So all in all a very simple day but a lovely one indeed. And I avoided overtired toddler meltdowns. How do you like to spend your simple days?

Planning

I have been a bit of a bad blogger lately. I have not blogged as I would like to as life has got a bit stressful and hectic.

One of the reasons for the stress is that I have been really short of money. It has been a really bad month for bills, new glasses for B, modem dying and other myriad life expenses. It has led to some reflection on the need for more planning.

I have been doing really well with my weekly planner for activities and menus which has helped streamline a few things. Less trips to the shops, a varied menu and feeling more in control. For more info see my previous post here.

As the summer veggies are coming to an end I have already started planting the next lot to try and have some ready to plant out as soon as I pull the rest out. I planted the seeds last Thursday and when I went out today the broccoli, broad beans and lettuce were already sprouting! Hopefully this means a good crop ahead. I would really like to try and be as self-sufficient as possible from my (small) garden and planning is needed to try and make sure I have different produce ready throughout the year.

 Broccoli

Broad Beans

But the big area I need to work on is my budgeting. I currently am living from pay to pay and juggling bills and I am really tired of it. I need to really knuckle down and get my finances sorted. It also needs to involve a bit of planning. I had B's optometrist appointment booked and was fairly certain that he would need glasses. However, I also thought that we both needed to go to the dentist. I was way overdue and he had never been. We could both go now and get these appointments done and out of the way? Well, when the check up cost over $100 for the 2 of us and then over $100 for me to get my teeth cleaned and I need a filling as well (that's not for another couple of weeks) it probably would have been better for me to plan the dentist for a different month to the optometrist. So, I have had to pay for the dental appointments and $345 for glasses in the same month. So better planning on my behalf is needed to try and spread these expenses over more than 1 month.

I did really well over January clearing up my clutter and sold some through eBay and also through a Facebook group. However, I still have lots more to sell but seem to have lost the momentum. I really need to get this going again to not only clear the stuff away but also to get a bit of extra cash. I am going to set aside some time each evening to make this happen.

I really need to get on top of planning stuff. I think it's not something that comes naturally to me and I have often resisted being a real planner type person. I have always been a more of a winging it type person but this needs to change.

Would love to hear any tips that you have for planning and getting life organised!! And I will blog more regularly - have lots more things to say.

Preserving and Home-made Goodies

As part of my quest to live a simple life I am starting to embrace preserving. There are a number of reasons for this including cost, taste and control of ingredients.

In January we went berry picking with some friends and I turned some of the fruit into jam. Luckily, I have a breadmaker that also can make jam so it was quite an easy process with yummy results. So I ended up with lots of rasberry and blackberry jam.


This weekend I really pushed myself full on into the preserving world. I purchased a box of tomatoes - over 16kgs!! I had already taken a couple of kilos out before taking the photo.

So then began the process of turning them into some useful produce. I have made both pasta sauce and salsa. It has been a bit of an effort, however, I was able to get B to help with some of the washing and chopping of tomatoes and using the mouli food mill. Yesterday I bit off more than I should have by doing 2 batches of 5kg each. Today with only finishing the last 6 kilos was much easier to manage.

Cooking happily away

First lot of pasta sauce all done.

Empty box!!!!!!!

This has been a really enjoyable (and messy) process and I'm now really looking forward to being able to enjoy the fruits of my labour over the next few months. I am actually considering going back next weekend and getting another box which should really set me up for the year.

In the meantime, tomorrow I have to decide what to do with this pumpkin and later in the week the zucchinis that are in the garden!

Health and Exercise

I have struggled with exercise over the last few years. Prior to B's arrival I was going to Curves 3-4 time a week. I was able to continue this right up till about the 30th week of my pregnancy. I was really fit and felt really good at the time. Unfortunately after his arrival I no longer had the time or money to keep it up.

I have let my fitness (or lack thereof) slide recently and have been saying to myself that it would have to wait till he goes to school and I have a bit more time to myself. One day it hit me that that will not happen for another 2 years and that is a LONG time to neglect such an important thing.

I still do not have the money to join a gym and then leave B somewhere. I purchased a Wii a couple of years ago and while he was still napping in the afternoon I would do the Wii Fit while he was asleep. As he has stopped that I haven't been able to do it. I could do it after he goes to sleep at night but I'm usually too tired then. I know, it is an excuse and I will look at breaking that and getting it out again.

In the meantime, last week I decided that I could walk. It's free and I can do it whenever it suits. So every day (except for the 2 days I work) I have got B on his bike and we have gone on a brisk 30 minute walk. The other day I walked to a nearby park which is about 15 minutes walk away so he got out and had a play then I walked home again so it was still my 30 minutes but broken up in the middle. Where I live is quite hilly so I am not only walking up hills but pushing a bike and a 16kg toddler so really feel like it leads up to a good workout. Or at least, as good as I can get at the moment.

My commitment was tested this afternoon as just as I was thinking we should go there was a huge thunderstorm rolling through. I got us out of the house quickly and walked even quicker to try and beat the rain. And beat it we did - by about 10 minutes!!

I am already feeling much better by this exercise and think it is great for both of us to get out and exercise together. I have also noticed on the days we go for our walk/ride that B goes straight to sleep at night instead of bouncing off the walls for about half an hour (or longer). Definitely motivation to keep going - hehe!!

Another area I'm working on is my diet. It is generally pretty good as I want to set a good example for B and have him enjoy healthy food. I tend not to keep unhealthy food in the house but sometimes I buy a block of chocolate as a "treat" for myself. Over January I read Peter Walsh's books. One of them is called "Does this Clutter Make my Butt Look Fat?" It really resonated with me that clutter can be tied into weight. I have been working really hard at decluttering (another post on that later). But one thing that really resonated was he said to ask yourself "does this help me live the life I want?" (I have paraphrased here) It was a bit of an a-ha moment and I realised that even though I enjoyed my "treats" in the short term in the long term they were not doing me any favours. I am not one of those people who can have chocolate in the house and just have a little. If you are I really admire your willpower but if it's there I eat it!!

So there it is - more ways for me to look after myself and I look forward to reaping the benefits of my new regime. I will keep this up - if only to get an early night!!!

Lists

I have recently discovered the joys of lists. From time to time I have written out shopping lists - and usually then left them at home!! However, lately in my drive to live a more organised life and to try and save some money I have recently embraced them a bit more.

I now keep a list on the fridge for the supermarket so that I can write things down as I use them. It has been really useful in cutting down the trips to the supermarket and not cluttering up the pantry with stuff that I couldn't remember if I needed.

But a big step for me is a to do list and menu plan. I have previously resisted both of these as not my kind of thing. I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl right? Not the type who needs lists everywhere. Well, that may have been the case but now that I am a parent a little more organisation is called for.

Last month I came across this weekly planner at Kikki-k and thought it would really suit my needs

It allows me to outline my week ahead and I also use it to plan what we are having for dinner each night.

I get my fruit and vegetables delivered each week in a box. I choose to get the box where they select the produce and I just take pot luck. I can access the list of what is in the box from a Friday although I don't get my delivery till Wednesday. I use what I am going to receive in the box to assist in my menu planning.

There is also a section on the right hand side listed "to do" which I have been writing all the things I want to achieve during the week (in addition to our activities/appointments). This is very useful to keep me on task and to also have the satisfaction of crossing them off as they are achieved.

I have been using this for about 4 weeks now and it takes me only about 10-15 minutes to fill out for the week. The benefit I feel has been huge and enabled me to feel a little more in control and ready to face the week.

I have also written out a schedule for housework. I find that having a set day for cleaning different areas has made a huge difference.

For someone that has always resisted these types of lists I will confess that my life has become a lot easier since I've started using them. How about you? Are you a list person?

Home Grown Vegetables!

Well this is the view of my veggie patch! The pumpkins and zucchinis are a bit out of control and taking over! They are also growing into the neighbours!

Over the past year or so I have been trying to grow more of our food at home. Some successfully and some not so much. There are a number of reasons for this. I like to know where my food has come from and to cut down on my food miles. When I grow it in the backyard it becomes food metres rather than miles! Also, when I have grown it I can pick just as I need so it's beautiful and fresh. It also encourages B to eat more of his veggies when he knows where its from and he has participated in the growing process. I find that he is really fussy with "out of season" produce but anything in season he will wolf down.

One of my favourite stories is last year when I had some a friend's children over one day. Her eldest picked an ear of corn and I cooked it up for him for morning tea. His response? "This is the best corn I've eaten!" Couldn't ask for a better reason!! (For all my friends in Iowa my corn is just about ready to harvest now)

There were huge hailstorms here in Melbourne on Christmas Day and I thought I may have lost my tomatoes with the storm. Another friend had to pull his out as they were so damamged. I didn't think mine were too bad so I thought I would just leave them in and see. And surprise, surprise I now have lots of tomatoes growing! So glad I left them in.


Here are some more photos of my garden up close:

Zucchini

Cucumber

Lemons. When I moved in about 15 months ago the lemon tree was in an awful state. It hadn't been pruned in a very long time and was full of gall wasp. I cut it back very hard and have had to wait patiently for it to regrow and fruit again. It will still be a while till I get lemons but it's exciting that it will happen soon!

And now I have started harvesting!

Zucchini - so glad I'm not producing for supermarkets - they would not accept my bent ones! hehe!!

Strawberries - yum!!

The next challenge is to try and refine my process so that I can harvest produce nearly all year. This will involve some planning to ensure I have seedlings ready to go when I pull finished ones out. It's an extra challenge as our backyard isn't huge so I don't have a lot of space to expand the patch without taking too much toddler playspace!!