Friday, January 30, 2015

Green and Thrifty Posted by Jo at 9:32 PM I love camping! I have to admit, though, that I've never gone without a man to put up the tent for me, either my father or my husband. I think it is wonderful that your girls are so skilled! As for the potpourri bowl, I like it, but I'm all for less dusting so I understand why you may not want to keep it out. I don't know if I have much in my house for the challenge. I filled 4 large bags for charity on Monday and I've been feeling light as a feather without all that extra stuff around. Take care, friend :)

Saturday, 31 January, 2015 Excellent idea Ms Jo. Thrifty renovations on a zero budget. My kind of reno's. Stevie-boy is talking about removing the wall between his small music room and the larger middle room to make one large music room. I am not going to encourage that sort of thought (no matter how cheap/free it is to accomplish) because that would eat up my newly assimilated craft room! My idea of redecorating the house on an extreme budget is taking the (rarely used) duster and going around and removing all of the spider webs. You would be AMAZED at how much nicer it all looks without the spider webs. Good exercise, free, VOILA! I am onto it! Does anyone have a home for about 400 repatriated daddy long legs? I love camping and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Will you do it again? I bet your girls loved putting the tent up too :-)

I love the easy cleaning of a bare surface, but I think it is better with the pot pourri, otherwise there is a temptation for clutter to accumulate on the empty surface instead. I love that you chose frames in different shades too.

Hmmm! I will think about your challenge. Fran, I am not sure that removing the spiders is decorating, so much as undecorating. Although I suppose you are changing your decorating style from Halloween Gothic to Clean Queen. Doesn't it feel marvellous to do a big cleaning job like that? It always makes me feel like I'm so virtuous that I can take the rest of the week off:)
Judy, camping, hmm, I'm still not entirely sure why people want to leave their nice comfortable houses with actual beds and go and sleep in Nature inside what is essentially a very large plastic bag. But yes, of course the children liked it. Children always like things that involve lots of work and discomfort for their parents:)
And do join in the challenge, I just know you will think of something intriguing.. Camping, eek; I suddenly have the urge to declutter my camping supplies!

I have a no-spend challenge at work. Every second Friday, I have been leading a drop-in afternoon crafts group - with no budget. We only have children's craft supplies at the library, like construction paper and glue sticks. So I have devoted myself to creating attractive paper crafts that appeal to adults. So far we have made snowflakes, 3D boxes, collages and decorative banners. Yay camping. I have very fond memories of family holidays camping as a child.
I'm for the with pot pourri scenario. But like a few little knick knacks scattered around the place.
What about flowers? They are my el cheapo but classy decorating strategy of choice. And all for doing a little gentle pruning. My current lounge room arrangement has buddilja, rosemary, fennel seed heads, lavender and nigella. All from the garden, all needed to be pruned back anyway. Impressed that you took the family camping. I'm with you - camping has never entered my head as something I would like to do, so I never have and at my age it's not likely I ever will. Like your decorating idea. I prefer the bowl on the cupboard but wouldn't have the pot pourri. A bit like camping, pot pourri is not something I like! Brilliant about the uniforms. I think so many uniforms get tossed in the rubbish, as people often think others wont want their hand-me-downs. (On that note I had a parent at school complain about the use of that phrase or second-hand, when she was asking for uniform support. Go figure!)

Camping is a cheap way to have holidays - unless you get caught up in needing all the gadgets. Mr S loves camping and wants to go more often, or even at all, as I no longer want to go. Maybe some glamping! Dar, I love your idea of a no-spend craft challenge. That is completely brilliant! Those little 3D origami boxes are gorgeous - my girls make those.
Bek, yes, garden flowers are wonderful. I just have to remind myself to change them when they need it, because vases of dead flowers is not the look I am going for.. yours sound lovely:)
Linda, I bet you sew gorgeous things instead:) I started making pot pourri a couple of years ago because I have a plethora of roses and lavender, and felt the need to do something with it all!
Lucinda, I love second hand everything, so no complaints from me there:) and we already have enough camping gadgets, so can now camp away for years without buying anything else as far as I can see. The children do a lot of hardy, character developing wilderness camps at high school, hence they can put up tents and cook on tiny stoves with aplomb, while I, um, sometimes help, sometimes merely get in the way.

Sunday, 01 February, 2015 Gosh, we are failing epicly on the not spending anything to rearrange the house type thing - I've finally moved Chaos into his own room (he's only been pestering me for about two years, he had to keep his side of the shared room clean for six months. Which he probably did if you took it out of the full two years!) We bought a new bed for Mayhem, and new sheets and doona cover for Chaos (apparently, the purple crushed velvet and satin one on the bed wasn't um. Manly enough for a 12 year old boy!)

But, in moving him, I did donate a load of stuff to the oppy - including two painted plaster cats (one was a metre tall!) that had been gathering dust at mine. It wasn't that I didn't like them any more - more that I just don't really have anywhere to put them. I'm pretty sure the two cats moved in with the oppy lady on Friday. She was delighted with them and I saw her patting the bigger one as I left!

Camping. Less said about that the better. If I was meant to camp, 5 star motels would NOT have been invented! Ha ha, Miss Maudy, I have been there, I renovated, remember. Now I'm repenting:) I'm glad your cats have found a happy new home.
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