Friday, January 14, 2011

Making it Simple: 1


Image from here

One of my aims this year is to simplify as much as possible. Since the Prof and I combined our two homes into my tiny one, there is far too much stuff around here. To be honest, there was far too much stuff before he moved in. I probably have five times more stuff than he does. I also want to simplify food - menu planning, easy and quick meals, routines for grocery shopping. We also need routines for household chores. Our current system, or lack of one, doesn't really work. It involves me doing as much as I can as my health permits, which often isn't very much, The Prof does what he can in between working, doing artwork and studying and then he, or both of us have a blitz occasionally when the Environmental Health are threatening to come round. I am only slightly joking.

Progress so far this year:
  • We gave my brother a huge coffee table that we loved but was far too big in our living room and always ended up covered in papers and stuff anyway
  • Sorted out some books that can go (this is always an ongoing project).
  • Simplified the front of the fridge! Fridge magnets be gone! (well, some of them...)
  • Decluttered bathrooms - all products we won't use gone, and everything else organised
  • My email accounts are completely decluttered and organised. I have unsubscribed from some newsletters and will be doing so from others. If yours is one of them, please don't be insulted! I just can't cope with all the reading right now, especially with the wedding fast approaching.
  • I made a menu plan for this week. It started today and I have already changed my mind about dinner. Not my fault, the chicken didn't defrost in time! A list of meals that can be shifted to whichever day is convenient is probably best for us. I am experimenting with it anyway.
The plan is that by the end of the year the house, garden, shed and loft will be decluttered and organised and various aspects of our life generally will be much simpler. Can't wait!





5 comments:

  1. my favourite easy meal when low in energy is a roast either roast lamb or chicken. Stick in oven with packet of pre washed baby potatoes, carots, sweet potatoes, and corgettes, rosemary, garlic cloves still in the clove, sprinkle on lemonjuice / and or olive oil and leave for 2 hours ! you can shoogle the veg or turn over meat after an hour but thats it!

    Ive started to make super easy risotto with the left over chicken carcasse. Put it in a dish which has a lid pour in brown rice, cover with water, chicken stock, cut up onion and other veggies lying aound and boil for 25 mins.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Mary! Both of those sound lovely, and easy, which is always good :-) I have some lamb in the freezer and I always make stock when we have a chicken. I'll let you know how I get on.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debbie, I love the "Simplify" sign in the photo. What is the story of that? I think I need one! My constant goal for decades has been to simplify.

    When it comes to food, one of my "simple" things is to make time-consuming dishes in quantity so that we can have one meal now and pop a couple more in the freezer for a day when I'm not quite so energetic. We enjoy food and always have dinner at the table, uninterrupted.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Jean,
    I found the 'Simplify' picture on flickr, there's a link to the photographer underneath the photograph.
    Good idea to make more than one meal at once - I did that tonight, in fact!
    Thanks for stopping by :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bebbie - we are going though the same process here. We are going from 3 bdrm/2lounge/2 bath house to 1! bedroom in a house. It really makes you look and value what you have, and what you no longer need. x K

    ReplyDelete

please leave a comment or just say hello, I'd love to hear from you!