Autumn Cleaning
Maybe it's part of coming back home after being away, but I have had (and am still having) a big clean up. A Spring Clean if you will, but in autumn. There is lots of stuff that isn't mine but has been left behind by those who have moved out and hasn't been requested for many years. Obviously it isn't needed. However, you know how hoarders are! If they don't have it using up their space, it can't possibly be causing you any inconvenience, so they forbid you from discarding it, but at the same time they refuse to take it to their new home! *grrr*
Sorry to start on a negative note, people. The point I wanted to get to is that clearing out and organising is very inspiring and liberating. And there are lots of good ways to redistribute your uneeded stuff. You don't just have to take it to a charity shop any more. You can sell stuff on eBay, have a garage sale, take it to a carboot sale or trade it on a community-minded site like Freecycle. Freecycle is an online setup where people can put up notes saying what they are getting rid of, and others who need that stuff can email them and arrange to receive the stuff. It cuts out the middle man and doesn't require cash so its very handy for those on an extremely tight budget (like me). Freecycle groups exist in many countries around the world. Google it!
The weather has been great (in a dry, rainless way) so I have been doing a lot of garden maintenance. I think every one who has a garden should consider growing vegetables and fruit in place of of ornamentals. They look good and they provide food. Less travel miles for your food, so less waste of energy and less pollution. Not to mention the financial savings and the health benefits. So, next time you are considering planting an ornamental flower patch, think about planting some fancy lettuce or herbs in formal patterns instead. Or perhaps vegetables in rows, tallest at the back, shortest at the front. Working in your front garden can get you interacting with your neighbours too. There is no reason why you shouldn't plant fruit and veg in your front garden as well as your back garden. You might want to make it look a bit nicer than your usual veggie patch. I am giving it a try this year. I have planted snowpeas, silverbeet and greenbeans in a flowerbed at the side of my front yard, mainly because It is one of the less weedy places. I will plant a larger veggie patch but have to prepare the ground first.
Crafting-wise, I haven't done much except take photos of items I hope to sell on Etsy soon. I roped in someone to model some of the items with the promise that the photos wouldn't show their faces. That's not hard as the items were handbags and cuffs! I am considering tweaking a knitted item by adding some decoration in the form of cording knitted in the same yarn. I am knitting myself a lingerie item (relax, its just a nightie) just to see if knitting can really be used for everything and to see how shaping is different than that in most knitted clothing. There are so many craft things I want to do but can't right now due to lack of money or more pressing duties. I have some excellent vintage patterns I would like to sew from. Great dresses (which I can never find to fit me as I am shaped like an upside down pear), some skirts and more lingerie. The lingerie patterns were bought on Etsy and are vintage and in my size, which is awesome.
Well I have to go and tend to some more of my duties including trying to find a permanent paying job. That reminds me, I am keeping my hand in, so to speak, by helping out at a local opshop again. Just a Saturday per month and as I have the fifth weekend of the month, its only a few times per year! Bonus! I love digging around in the opshop! You still have to pay - it is for charity! But you get to see everything as it first comes in so you do get first chance at everything. And you get to mix with some very different people than you normally would. Okay, so they are mostly older people, luckily I get along well with old people! I was born old and I will be one soon enough!
La'ers!
Sorry to start on a negative note, people. The point I wanted to get to is that clearing out and organising is very inspiring and liberating. And there are lots of good ways to redistribute your uneeded stuff. You don't just have to take it to a charity shop any more. You can sell stuff on eBay, have a garage sale, take it to a carboot sale or trade it on a community-minded site like Freecycle. Freecycle is an online setup where people can put up notes saying what they are getting rid of, and others who need that stuff can email them and arrange to receive the stuff. It cuts out the middle man and doesn't require cash so its very handy for those on an extremely tight budget (like me). Freecycle groups exist in many countries around the world. Google it!
The weather has been great (in a dry, rainless way) so I have been doing a lot of garden maintenance. I think every one who has a garden should consider growing vegetables and fruit in place of of ornamentals. They look good and they provide food. Less travel miles for your food, so less waste of energy and less pollution. Not to mention the financial savings and the health benefits. So, next time you are considering planting an ornamental flower patch, think about planting some fancy lettuce or herbs in formal patterns instead. Or perhaps vegetables in rows, tallest at the back, shortest at the front. Working in your front garden can get you interacting with your neighbours too. There is no reason why you shouldn't plant fruit and veg in your front garden as well as your back garden. You might want to make it look a bit nicer than your usual veggie patch. I am giving it a try this year. I have planted snowpeas, silverbeet and greenbeans in a flowerbed at the side of my front yard, mainly because It is one of the less weedy places. I will plant a larger veggie patch but have to prepare the ground first.
Crafting-wise, I haven't done much except take photos of items I hope to sell on Etsy soon. I roped in someone to model some of the items with the promise that the photos wouldn't show their faces. That's not hard as the items were handbags and cuffs! I am considering tweaking a knitted item by adding some decoration in the form of cording knitted in the same yarn. I am knitting myself a lingerie item (relax, its just a nightie) just to see if knitting can really be used for everything and to see how shaping is different than that in most knitted clothing. There are so many craft things I want to do but can't right now due to lack of money or more pressing duties. I have some excellent vintage patterns I would like to sew from. Great dresses (which I can never find to fit me as I am shaped like an upside down pear), some skirts and more lingerie. The lingerie patterns were bought on Etsy and are vintage and in my size, which is awesome.
Well I have to go and tend to some more of my duties including trying to find a permanent paying job. That reminds me, I am keeping my hand in, so to speak, by helping out at a local opshop again. Just a Saturday per month and as I have the fifth weekend of the month, its only a few times per year! Bonus! I love digging around in the opshop! You still have to pay - it is for charity! But you get to see everything as it first comes in so you do get first chance at everything. And you get to mix with some very different people than you normally would. Okay, so they are mostly older people, luckily I get along well with old people! I was born old and I will be one soon enough!
La'ers!