One month update!

So we have weathered through ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie...and made it through the other side. Some things I learnt are:

• We NEED bigger/more downpipes. We lose so much water in overflow.
• The house is super sturdy. If you couldn't look out the window or hear the wind it would be impossible to tell what was going on outside.
• Cut down all black wattles! They have a habit of falling over! We lost two. Luckily nowhere near the house. 

So I promised some more loungeroom photos and here they are:

Now featuring: furniture! The reno has slowed down a bit because we have started to put our furniture in so we aren't camping so much. I keep sitting in my lounge room just to admire it!

The bedrooms are 100% complete now, ready for guests (when we get furniture). The third bedroom was completed on the weekend by painting the doors on the wardrobe. Here is what they look like:

We have combined the antique white in the rooms with the blue from the lounge room to have a look at how they look next to each other. We are planning on painting the brick walls in two of the bedrooms with the blue so this was a good experiment (and easy to paint over). And we have heaps left! Now we just have to clean the floors, paint the little bit of cornice we had to replace and put our desks in. Our very own office!

OH has been very busy with a FABULOUS new discovery of his. The laminate plank flooring was laid extremely poorly by the previous owners, and as a result there was heaps of gaps around the skirting boards (it was too hard to take them out and replace apparently!!!!!!!!!!) and they gathered heaps of dust and hair and bugs and was generally pretty horrible. OH found a wood product called quad which covers up the gaps BEAUTIFULLY! I keep admiring it too!! Here is a comparison photo of the gap and no gap:

It just completes the house. It is perfect. It makes the floors look heaps better as well. We still have to bog and paint the nail holes but it already has made so much difference. I think the $200 to do the whole house was worth it!!

Now all that is left to paint is the hallway, bathroom and toilet. They don't have furniture so I'm not stressing about it right now. We have a lot of events coming up so I don't think there will be much progress over the next couple months. Coming up on the agenda is clearing the yard. I have been waiting so long and I can't wait to get cracking!

Have a good week!

The lounge room is complete!

We spent the weekend painting the lounge room/dining room. What a job! It is a huge room and had lots of trim to paint. Here are before and after photos:

It was a yellow/green colour beforehand and the trim had not been painted.

Now the trim is white and makes the windows look less imposing, but also more dramatic. It brings the eye towards the window and less towards the brown trim!

The colour of the after photo isn't so great because we finished quite late. The colour is a grey/green/blue colour that changes during the day. It is lovely, but as you can understand it is difficult to capture!

I will take better photos next week, hopefully with some furniture. Next week we will focus on the bedrooms and see where we go from there.

We have officially moved in!

The last weekend was a wet one, but a productive one. We didn't get as much done as I would have liked but we still did heaps. The reason for the slight delay of works was due to OH covering up the gaps in the wall sheeting that was done quite badly before. Because it was so wet outside it took a while to dry. The walls look excellent now. Despite all this we fully completed the kitchen and main bedroom. We had done most of the work when we first moved in but it still needed a few bits and pieces painted. We also managed to get the bed set up and most of our stuff in the kitchen so at least we can live there. Yay! Here are some photos of what we achieved:

Third bedroom cutting in. RIP brown skirting!

Second bedroom bogging up the gaps.
They were very bad in this room. Also did more priming.

Bogging the gaps in the lounge room.

Doing the gaps in the front door and cutting in with some primer.
Awkward spot next to the stairwell here.

Toilet cut in

Bathroom cut in

Hallway almost finished priming.

So hopefully next weekend we can finish a couple more rooms (and lets hope its less wet so things actually dry!). Have a good week!

Our first weekend in OUR home!

It is official. I have signed my life away and now own my very own home. How exciting! It is something I have wanted for as long as I can remember. And the house and land is in such a rough state, so it will be a great project for OH and myself. Enough chatting, time for photos!

Settlement occurred on Friday, so we didn't get to the house until Friday night. It was pretty clean which was a great help. On Saturday we had my parents and OHs parents and their partners. All 8 of us made short work of cleaning! We got a lot of painting done too, much more than I had anticipated. I have mentioned in previous posts that we had already painted the kitchen and main bedroom, but they will still need some touch ups. These photos are the bulk of what we did.

This is the hallway before and after:

The green made it a bit dark

Much better and brighter. This will be antique white. Bye bye blind.

This is the 2nd bedroom before and after:

Brown trim.............

Looks so much lighter with some white skirting

Third bedroom ceiling before and after:

Mmmm....mould!

Now it is brighter and smells a lot more fresh. We are missing some cornice!

And the lounge room before and after:

Dark green on the back wall made the loungeroom a bit dull

Much better

Love the big windows! Cleaning them made a big difference.

The trim will be painted white to brighten up the room. The colour on the far right is the one we are thinking for the walls!

This weekend will be spent...painting! We will be focusing on the trim so we can start putting some colour up soon. I would really like to get the main bedroom and kitchen complete so we can at least live there. The goal is saturday night!

More updates next week! Have a good one!

My Simple Life - So Far...Pt 2

Here I am again, looking back at my simple life so far. It has been a wonderful experience over the last year and I am interested to see where it will take me. Great places I am sure!

I have also...

6. Learnt how to CLEAN GREEN

After making my own laundry liquid and deodorant, now I want to make everything! I have harnessed the power of vinegar and I need nothing else. I am currently sourcing recipes to make green cleaners for when we move into our new home. Goodbye chemicals!

7. Learnt how to THRIFT

I have come to highly appreciate the values and opportunity of Second Hand. Some of my great finds in the last year include my Grandmas mix master, a bread maker from gumtree and a juicer from an op shop. It is cheaper and better for the environment to buy second hand (and probably better quality).

My Grandma's old reliable mixmaster

8. Learnt to love CHORES

I never used to like vacuuming (usually along the lines of..."why is it me always doing this??") but now I appreciate the routine and the result. I also was the same with washing the dishes. But in a fast paced world, it is refreshing to slow down and do manual tasks.

9. Learnt to become a CONSCIOUS CONSUMER

I am a lot more conscious as to where my dollars go these days. I haven't bought produce from overseas for a long time. Our local farmers markets really help with this. I try to buy items that will last forever. I just bought a fridge that was more expensive, but super energy efficient. We are also looking at buying a pure organic wool mattress, which is fully biodegradable. What a concept!

10. Learnt to love MY HOME

Part of the reason I am so excited to finally move into my own home is that it will be MY HOME. Not a rental, not one I am sharing with my parents, but mine. I am excited to start stockpiling, making soaps and delicious meals, start a proper vegie garden, work on saving electricity, and have some down time in front of the (yet to be installed) fireplace and knit and read to my hearts content. Living a proper simple life :)

That is really only the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure there are many other things that I just do naturally that are simple living. All I know is that I am heading the right direction, all thanks to the wonderful ladies at the forum. 

My Simple Life - So Far...Pt 1

Since the forum is closing down, I thought I would have a look back on all I have achieved since I joined just over a year ago. What a journey it has been. And it is just beginning.

1. Learnt how to KNIT

I already knew how to do basic knitting, but nothing more serious than a scarf. I started with some discloths, then beanies, then a blanket, then A VEST, and now I am knitting all sorts of odds and ends for the house. The blanket and vest are still a WIP. The blanket is made out of squares and will probably be one for the couch. I have 4 more squares to go. The vest was a Christmas present for my Grandma (oops) and I promised I would get it done before the cold weather hits. Not long to go now!

Here are my first dishcloths!

2. Learnt how to use DISHCLOTHS

What a revelation dishcloths are. So pretty, so easy and so useful. Now I don't have to buy cloths from the shop to then just throw them away. They are great for cleaning too. I don't know how anyone lives without them!

My wonderful gift of dishcloths from a forum swap :) (they are OH's favourite)

3. Learnt how to make SIMPLE MEALS

I used to cook everything from recipes. Nowadays I am experimenting a bit more. By simple meals I mean recipes that I have most of the ingredients already. It's nice to only have to buy a couple things for a meal. It saves a lot of money, is easy to cook and tastes great.

Fresh tomato sauce with homemade pasta and bread - yum

4. Learnt how to make jam and PRESERVE

These are the best skills I think I have learnt. It is very rewarding gifting my families favourite jams to them, or for them to find a new favourite. My Grandma loves my Guava Jelly! It is also a great way of preserving excess produce. Next goal - to grow/buy cheaply enough tomatoes to make passata or sauces for the year.

My Guava Jelly

5. Learnt how to GARDEN (better)

I was already gardening before I got into simple living, but now it makes me love it more. I think differently about what I grow. One of the great things I learnt is that you can replace silverbeet in recipes with beetroot tops. That is a great example of having multiple purposes for everything!

My little vege patch at my parents, I hasn't really looked any better than this :(

There are still more things I have learnt...stay tuned for some more.

First Day of Autumn = New Budget and New Plans

I am counting the first day of Autumn as my first day of the year. Well, sort of - the first day of my budget year. Because of our rather extravagant holiday that covered half of January/February, I am starting again!

This year will also be a big year budget-wise. With the inclusion of a mortgage on a house that needs major love, the bank will be stretched a bit. Being frugal for the past year or so has really prepared me for the saving of money that is to come.

We have some big plans for the house this year. Here are the goals I hope to achieve:

• Install a fireplace before winter
• Install ceiling fans in the bedrooms before next summer
• Paint the house inside and out
• Fix the pool area so it is compliant, and
• Get an electrical safety switch installed.

Amongst all this is the clearing of the yard, which is a big job! I will check back in at the end of the year to see if we have finished those things, and if we managed to squeeze in anything else!

I also want to try and save up for a Permaculture Design Course at the end of the year. I have wanted to do it for a couple years now and I think this year is the year. The timing is perfect because now we have our own property to experiment with and develop. A whole acre! It doesn't seem like a lot on paper but when I walk around I feel a bit overwhelmed, but also excited. The PDC will help me see what is possible on the property and how to get there. However, this is at the end of the year and there is a lot of work to do between now and then.

This weekend we are heading to my Dad's farm before Settlement Day next Friday. Then the fun starts! Watch this space!