finally a working oven!

after a year without a working oven (only the stove top worked) I finally (with thanks to ebay) have a new oven that works!

It's fan forced too, not something i have owned before so that will be interesting and the seals work so no more cooking everything at full blast!

Tonight to celebrate I ma cooking a roast lamb. Then once thats doen there will be a batch of home made sausage rolls ready to go in and after that a lasagna!

Looking for more oven cooking ideas to feed big families!

the pantry

We've done some rearranging around the house.

With so many of us we really needed something more than my pokey little kitchen for space. The front of our house is an old traditional type 40's/50's weatherboard with the old l-shape lounge. The room had been out of use for sometime (it was my ex's hang out spot when he lived here so after he went i kind of just never used it) and had become a place that collected junk. So after much sorting, pulling up of carpets, polishing floorboards etc we now have converted it into two rooms. A bedroom for Campbells two boys and the bit that leads into the kitchen is now alarge walk in pantry. Its great as there is loads of storage space now. We have an upright deep freezer so its been moved in there (after living for the last 2 years on my deck) and Campbells fridge has been moved in there also. Thi

s allows us to shop in bulk more and to have more space for the food for the hoarde of people and pets who reside here!

The now pantry, used to host a bar so we pulled the bar out but l

eft the shelf and cuoboards that were behind the bar. these have formed awesome pantry shelves for all out tinned food, school snacks, and other things that can live alittle exposed.

In the original kitchen pantry I now have a full shelf entirely for herbs spices etc. and loads of space for the every day cooking things like flour etc and the stuff the kids use all the time (cereal and spreads)

Next job is to continue into the kitchen cupboards and donate all the unused plates, pots,pans etc to the op shop and sort it into usable space again!

The thing I love most is I can now easily see at a glance what we have in stock so when menu planning it will make things a lot easier!

Menu planning and organising

I am late posting the menu plan but it is done, I have a 4 week one on our new organiser board in the kitchen.

This week form memory (cause I am too lazy to get up right now) is

- Lentil shepherds pie
- chicken salad
- Fried rice and stir fry
- osso bucco and mash
- pasta (unsure if chicken and veg sauce or justa tomato and veg sauce)
- steak/rissoles and veg
- roast (whatever meat is on special when I go to the butchers mid week)

We've been tracking all spending in our tracking journal. The other half has been doing it diligently also which is good as he tends to be the one who spends more than rest of us. I think this will bring good change.

I was rereading over at lightenings blog about how she tracks and how she tracks backwards from what she has budgeted. This is what we are going to change to doing, going to draw up a new book.

I also did up charts for household choores/every day things needing doing and popped one on the new organiser board. There are alist of about 25-30 things needing doing every week, a lot needing done every day. Some days I feel I carry an unfair weight of the household duties and kids so this will hopefully inspire the others in the house to help. Its only been 2 days but everyone is enjoying adding their intials after they've completed a 'chore'

Its very late and I am constantly complaining that I am tired. Bed for me.

Budgeting

This weeks overdue task was to redo the budget. Re evaluate where we are at and address where we need to make changes.

Relationship wise we've been taking steps to see what and if change can work and if we can work together. Time will tell.

Back to the budget, it was daunting to write everything out, we included goals and ideals also. Now we have a plan. the next step is document all spending over the next few weeks/months and then reassess and see how accurate the budget is. Then we'll continue to reassess until all debt is removed (its not tooo daunting yet thank goodness)

So I will be browssing blogs for ideas and tips on saving money.

Steps towards a declutered home.

I have been talking about how cluttered and out fo control messy my house has become over the past few months (probably longer really!)

So I have been taking steps to declutter. It seemed such an overwhelming task when I started and it was so hard to figure out where to start. Usually I would empty a room and focus on that, but honestly that is too overwhelming and time consuming when I work full time running my own business and take care of 3 kids!

So... I have made a decision to every day do at least 1 'spot' this spot can be small or it can be bigger. But not too big.

Yesterday I cleared out the utensil drawer, we had too many old spatulas, serving spoons and more stuff that we never use and wont use so i tossed them and washed the draer out then restocked it heatly and more organised.
I then did the plastics cupboard, this was easy as I did it 6 months ago so i only had to tos one lid that no longer had apartner and then resort it into an organised manner again.
Then I cleaned up the backyard. The lawn (well where there was once lawn) had alot of general rubbish and kids toys and just well mess. So tidied it all then swept and bagged up 3 large garbage bags of rubbish from it.

Then today after work and getting the kids from school I did 2 of the bathroom drawers and the bathroom cabinet top.
I also did one cluttered shelf in the dining room.

It might not sound much but it feels good. I am creating space within our storage. I'll keep doing this and then once a room is all sorted on the inside i can then target it completely and spring clean the room. I am hoping this way things will more easily have their 'space' and we will in the mean time also minimilise our collection of 'stuff' we simply

Menu Plan Monday

Part of my getting back to (ok getting into/starting properly!!) organising my life is getting back to menu planning. Particularly now as a working mum running my own business away form the home I need to be more organised. I have 3 school aged chgildren and its important i find routine and organisation. I have anew list on my fridge and am getting a new pin board for the kitchen to put dsome of my new orgasnising tools into place. One is a 4 week menu plan, which will usually be filled in one week in advance (but having 4 weeks means if I htink of somehting for next week i can add it right away)





This weeks menu:

Monday - Pork noodle stir fry
Tuesday - Pita pizzas
Wednesday - Spag bolognaise
Thursday - Rissoles/steak and vegies/salad
Friday - Lentil shepherds pie
Saturday - Chicken salad
Sunday - osso bucco and mash/vegies.

Another thing is trying to get dinner ready earlier. I work for myself so can leave work early if I am up to date, but being a new bsuiness out of the home (run at home for the last 6-7 years) and trying to expand at present/build a base, I sometimes need to work a little later. So on the days I can leave I am planning on having dinner ready by 5-5:30pm. I did that today and found that everyone in the house was more settled for the evening, far too often do we eat at 7-8pm which is way too late for the kids. they ate well too tonight, so well i missed out on the stir fry as I was busy pottering round and they all had seconds so I had a steak salad!

a pleasant week

life feels like its settling into a nice pace.

Had a lovely week, did some op shopping one morning, decided I have ben working hard so on my drive to work I thought I had no urgent deadlines so I took the morning for me and visited 3 different op shops.

I picked up a great bookshelf for eldest dd's (10) room, its in need of another full overhaul, she is such a clutter queen!
I also got a small tv that was in fine workign order for $20 for her room, she has no idea i bought this though it will be gifted to her once her room is organised. Hope she isnt dissappointed that foxtel wont work on it though!

I grabbed myself a few books fomr the the op shop also and dd2 (7) a skirt and top.

I also headed of to the good guys sale during the week, they had an extra special discount evening where i picked up a dishwasher. We have wanted one for some time especially since i am working full time now, it will just free up some time to be witht he family and get other stuff done. It is a Bosch and is a 4.5 star water rating which is good.

I treated myself to a new snapshot camera, the new Lumix waterproof/shockproof camera, looking forward to that, i hate lugging my big slr everwhere so quote simply i just dont do it!

and I got a few things for the astudio, a coffee machine and a microwave, so now I can do a big cookup on weekends and not have ot buy takeaway for lunch (though must admit the cafes near the studio are incredibly good!)

speaking of cookups this week I have been ona cooking frenzy. (did I say how much I love the seperation of work and home home feels more homely hence I have been more homely!)
This week I cooked up 2 quiches, a big pot of stovies 9a scotish dih mum made as we grew up) a beef casserole, a lentil and chick pea curry, a lentil shepherds pie and roast lamb :) I now have alittle set of caontainers of frozen lunches and we've been eating well!

Also been starting to declutter yet again at home. Does anyone else seem to find no sooner have they finished decluttering the entire house that they have to go back to the start as its building up again!!) this week I cleaned the fridge out, cleaned 2 drawres in the bathroom and the sink top and did half my wadrobe (being more ruthless this time, I am notholding on to as many older clothes, have packed a suitcase to pass onto the girls as they grow up)

speaking of the girls growing up, I measured everyone on our wall again today, dd 10 yrs is now 5 foot tall! she's pretty much as tall as both mine and hubbys mums! Pity they arent around to see her.

Organising and cleaning up!

I've been spending a bit of time decluttering and making changes round the house.
These are some images of the play room BEFORE I cleaned it up.
I was really sick of the cane shelf, the old dining table, the couch- all are older second hand items (I dont think any furniture in out entire house is new?) the toys were all mixed up, the kids had stopped playing in here (can you blame them!)

THE RESULT!!!! We got rid of the old couch and replaced it with another one (bought for $50 at the op shop, its a sofa bed too and the mattress looks brand new/never used) no one else likes the couch, i think they have no taste cause I LOVE it :)
The corner desk is actually the top of the tv cabinet (see below) I bought it from the op shop aghain ($70 for thetop and bottom) and it fits perfectly here in the corner and the actually use it as a desk now!


the 'boys' corner. Liam is in heaven he has access to his train set and all his cars again... poor jaime is constantly being bugged to play cars with him now. thankfully she is a compliant big sister at times!

This bookshelf i bought for $15 at the op shop. its great as means everything that was on the floor is now up and looks soooo much neater and is more organised!


this is my new work office! I was working out of a shared room witht he hubby but found it causes us to bicker as we are next to each other ALL the time. Plus I like that this room is now MY space. My desk is a trestle table we used to store office stuff on/boxes etc. pity i dont have a before of this room as it was the junk room and you couldn't even walk in the door!
(the basket on the desk is from an op shop too, all the plastics (in/out trays, pencil holder etc are all made form recycled plastic.)

OK our lounge is NOT normally this shocking. Poor hubby he'll hate me for posting a pick of him downing a long neck (its home brew) watching a sports show... typical aussie bloke (LOL) - immune to the mess around him too!


and the result of a spring clean!!
We got rid of the stereo that was there and put it in the garage (and the kids love it out there now and blast the music, my poor neighbours!)
we got the new (second hand form op shop) tv cabinet. its great as the amp, dvd player and foxtel all fit packed away now. there are shelves for the dvds on the side of the case.
we moved the fitness/trainer to the toy room (probably should freecycle it cause we never use it, we prefer to excercise in the great outdoors!) put a throw/red blanket over the couch as its leather (no idea if its real leather or not another hand me down) but its been peeling off(ok the kids keep picking at it) so this looks better.
see the rocker my son is on in the edge of the frame? an old op shop buy thats bneen great, the kids love it.

next up i want to get rid of those awful vertical blinds. no idea what to replace them with though but they do need to go!