Challenges!

I love setting myself a good challenge. However, seeing the challenge all the way through is another challenge in itself. I am eager at the beginning but start to crumble a few weeks in when I lose a bit of the enthusiasm.  For instance, I was super keen when I started my sewing 'to-do-list' challenge but now that I have made a few things, I have unconsciously decided to take a little rest for a while.   One reason for my sudden lack of enthusiasm is the fact that my sewing room is so messy at the moment I can barely walk to the sewing table, let alone move the chair to sit in front of it. Which is why this next challenge is so necessary.

 

The challenge I am going to set myself till December is to tidy-up and declutter my house. '2013 in 2013' is the challenge set and designed by Slow Your Home blogger, Brooke. So in 2013 I am going to simplify my life by getting rid of 2013 items in my house. These will be items that are unused, and that take up valuable space in my life and weigh me down. I am super excited that I found this website as I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. 

Recently, I have been finding our house difficult to live in. I am constantly tidying up but it is never clean. Our house is small, so it quickly becomes messy and cluttered. The clutter makes the house feel smaller, and the smaller it seems the more stress I feel. 

I have come to recognise in the last few weeks that the state of house is very often linked to my mood.  When it is messy the whole place feels chaotic and it feels like I am control of nothing. By removing 2013 items from the house in 2013 I am hoping that the house will easier to manage and maintain, and that it will begin feel lighter. By simplifying my house, I am hoping to feel less stressed. And the less stress I have, the better I am to be around.

As I am starting the challenge a bit late, I am not following the challenge solely month by month. Instead, I have printed off the check-lists for the last six months and will clean up areas and keep a tally for the items I get rid of as I feel inspired. For instance, these last few days have seen me cleaning up in the hallway, which include areas from both January (the entry way) and June (the linen closet). By breaking down the tasks like this and not seeing it as something I have to complete quickly (which I would find super stressful), I am hoping I won't lose my enthusiasm and my mind will stay focused on task. Hopefully, it will lead to good outcomes and by the end of 2013 I will have gotten rid of 2013 items that create stress in this house. 

Wish me luck. I will keep you updated :). 

Chalkboard!

On Pinterest recently it seems that painting walls, cups and just random objects with chalkboard paint is the hip thing to be doing. So this long weekend, in between working and driving up to Launceston to visit my sister and friends, I decided to become part of the crowd. I bought myself some tape, chalkboard paint, and I got painting.

First I cleaned the wall with sugar soap, and taped it up.

Next, I prepared the paint tray. I used cling wrap to line the tray so as to save on clean up time. I would have used foil like in this picture but I had run out of it (another Pinterest find).

 Then the fun began!

Now, I haven't done much painting in my time so I was a little bit nervous. Thankfully, being black paint it seems to hide a lot of the imperfections. Plus, once it has chalk on it no-one will ever notice all my mistakes :).

After finishing the first coat we left the house because it smelt terribly. In the morning, before driving to Launceston, I added the second and last coat of paint.

Arrghh, bed hair!

After finishing the second coat, we left for the day and hoped that by the time we returned home the house would have aired sufficiently. It wasn't too bad on our return but there was still a lingering smell.

We then took the tape off the wall (and just to clarify, this is Daniel's hairy arm, not mine!).

It was finished... 

and time to be used. Here is a close up of our first drawing on our new chalkboard wall.

The chalk is being held in a spice tin, which is stuck to the wall with bluetack.

Here is Nicholas trying to get away from the wall as fast as possible.

 I am looking forward to using this wall more :).

Sunday

On Sunday Nicholas, Daniel and I woke up early (even earlier than usual because of day-light savings starting), and headed down south to Abel's Bay to visit some friends. The south of Tasmania is just so lovely and pretty in Spring. The hills are vibrant green, the sky cloudless and blue, and the view spectacular.

Driving away from town and into the quiet like this always brings out in me a desire to live the simple life in the bush. I get this urge every time I travel into the bush. When we visit my parents in Kaoota, or my friend's mum in Cygnet. It is the peacefulness, I think. Not being able to see into your neighbour's backyard, being able to walk around in your house without anyone walking past and looking into your windows. Having the freedom to turn up the music, and dance around in your lounge room like a crazy person without disturbing the neighbours. I want space.

When I was a kid, I lived in a small mining town in Western Australia called Kambalda. Kambalda wasn't huge. Only about 3000 people. It was a great place for a kid to grow up. There was bush all around us and we spent a lot of time in it, walking and riding everywhere. We had so much freedom. Room to move. I miss that. We don't live in the city. It isn't extremely busy where we do live, and we don't live so close to our neighbours that we can reach out of our window and almost touch their house but I still miss having that space to move about it. To be able to cross the road and get away from it all.

We do have bush behind our house, which was definitely a selling point, but give it time and there will be a new houses being built there as well. So much of the land that used to have cows and sheep on it around here, now has houses. Houses that all look the same. That have no character. The suburbs!

Living in the suburbs makes me desperate sometimes for space, which is why when we go out of Hobart I always dream of a better life. A more simple one. But then reality hits. If we moved further out we would have to have two cars (we have survived with one for so long now, I'm keen not to get another one for a while yet), which means more fuel and more money spent on fuel, more time spent traveling and less time spent seeing each other. I would probably also see my friends and family less.

I think that for now I need to be content though with where we are though. I do like our little house and where we live. It is convenient and close to my family and friends. At this point I don't want to be anywhere else. But a girl can dream, can't she. :)

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Back to our day out together - it was great. So nice and relaxing. We even had time to go op-shopping. I bought some jars, a bottle of olive oil at a market, some material and bibs. I actually found some gray polar fleece which I am excited about because I am going to use it to make a hoodie for christmas. I'm sure he will love it :) And of course, I bought this off Etsy :)

Heidi and Finn: Urban Unisex Hoodie

Pillowcase bliss!

This is such a great idea and really does make sense. I wish I had thought of it myself. Check it out at The Charlotte Letters.

Pillowcase bliss

My linen cupboard will look this neat as soon as I have a free moment :)

Colour be gone!

Things here in the last few weeks have been a buzz. With Christmas and New Year things are always on the go, but since then it just has not stopped. The last few months have seen us spend many weekends painting the house, mainly the bedrooms but this weekend we attacked the living area.

It was a huge job, but thankfully it was finished by about 6pm last night. If it wasn't for our mums helping out the job would have taken so much longer. It is true what the cliche says - many hands make light work. I am so happy all the colour is gone and there is no resemblance of the ugliness of the rooms former-selves.



















I can't believe we lived with that colour for two years before we decided to take action. And what a difference a bit of paint makes. The room feels much more spacious and is unbelievably bright, even in the evenings!

And just for fun, here is the soundtrack to our weekend of painting (in no particular order):
- Triple J's Like A Version Four
- Olöf Arnalds
- First Aid Kit
- He Will Have His Way
- Florence and the Machine
- The Grates
- The White Stripes
- The Dandy Warhols
- The Doors
- Washington
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- 40 Most Beautiful Summer Classics
- Matthew (TNIV, read by an enthusiastic American voice)
- Radio

And now sadly, I have to go and clean up!