Uses For An Old Street Directory !

Uses For An Old Street Directory !
The old street directories have been around for many years, most people had one in their car. But today they are slowly being phased out , a lot of people are going with modern technology and buying GPS navigation system for their cars, the more expensive cars, come with them already in them . We are a bit behind the times, we don't move that fast when it comes to technology we still have our street directory tucked in the pocket behind the passenger car seat . We usually update our street directory every few years, I would like a navigation system but do I really need one, I like the idea of pushing a button and putting the address in and it telling me were to turn etc until I arrive at my destination. But any way what to do with the old directories, Yes you could recycle it buy giving it to the worms or put it in the compost, but why not use it instead of spending money by recycling them and using them for lots of other useful ideas. So stay tuned , as this week I will be posting some great ideas on recycling them.

The Money-less Man !

Living with out Money !

A few months ago I read the book The Money-less Man !

Mark Boyle a man for the UK wrote about his journey for 12 months living with out money . I really enjoyed reading about his journey, I feel personally it is way to radical for me, but it's make you look at money a little differently and perhaps if you are really struggling there could be a few tips you may like to consider trying . I personally think it is a good easy read , And what you can do if you put your mind to it . I got if from our local library just another way to save money . I recommend always checking your local library before buying any books. As rate and tax payers we pay for the library so why not use it !

2 tiered metal fruit basket !

Here is my latest kerb side find !
It's a metal two tiered fruit basket, Which I filled with fresh fruit yesterday and it looks lovely sitting in the centre of my lovely freshly de-cluttered kitchen table . It always amazes me what can be found on the kerb side, on rubbish pick up days ! I'm sure it could also be used as a lovely planter as long as it is lined with either geo fabric, paper bark or coconut fibre to keep the soil in and I'm sure it would look lovely filled with fresh herbs or flowering plants ! So if you have one and it's not being used for a fruit basket turn it into a herb/flower planter. What great finds have others got from the kerbside rubbish pick ups ? I have a few more that I'll be showing you in the near future, some need some work.

Our Lovely Clean Kitchen Table !

Here is our lovely clean kitchen table !             If any one has read old posts from my blog you will know it's always my mission to keep it clear from clutter. It is always filled with library books, magazines,mail, school stuff and maybe a project I'm currently working on. Then when it's dinner time I will push them all down one one end to eat . After reading a post from Rachel M from Simple Savings  I was motivated to clear it once again , that was last week so I'm really pleased to report it's now Tuesday and still looking great . I have to admit I love our table it seats 8 and  its from "The Savoy Collection" By the fine old timber Co. Its hand crafted from recycled timbers from the Savoy Building in London. We brought it in 2002 from a company in Fremantle. right next door to the Fremantle markets. Kev and I love it, so in saying that it probably deserves not to be covered in stuff all the time. It's my plan to keep it free from daily clutter. So I felt it was blog worthy! I love that it's made from recycled timber . Just wondering does any one else have the same problem with clutter on the kitchen table.

Storing Left Over Onions & Other Vegetables!!

Storing Left Over Onions & Other Vegetables!
If you are like me and probably hundreds of other people you often cut a few slices of onion for a sandwich and then usually wrap it in plastic wrap.(I haven't done this for a while now as I don't buy plastic wrap any more I haven't for a few years).  Well get a glass jar, I find the salsa jars really handy for this as they aren' very high so are easy to retrieve your onion or any other fruit or vegetable in it . Another great way to reuse and save using more plastic wrap. "Good for the environment".I often see plastic containers advertised in magazines made just for this purpose little plastic tomatoes,onions etc for around $10 each. I say save your money reuse glass jars better for your health and purse and being glass you can see exactly whats in the jar and also stops the smell of onions in your fridge.It will also keep your food fresher a lot longer. So next time you make a sandwich or a salad and have a few left overs like half a tomato or half an avocado etc pop them in a jar until needed the next day or maybe the next !

Wind-Up Torch With Radio And Phone Charger & Being Prepared !

                                                                            Wind up torch and being prepared!                             We already have 2 wind up torches and a few months back we decided to purchase this one the torch is bigger and brighter has am /fm radio and phone charger a flashing siren alert . After all the disasters we have had here in Australia of late every one is talking about being prepared well this torch will be very helpful if the power goes out we can charge our mobile phones if we need to make phone calls we can listen to the radio for weather updates and news no need to buy candles as the light is very bright and it has a really loud siren which could come in handy you just never know. It could be used if travelling out at night by yourself I'm sure others would have some other useful ideas I said to Jack my 8 year old son if he ever heard the siren he has to come in immediately as we live on a large bush property it would get his attention quickly with out me yelling out to him . As I said every one is talking about being prepared how prepared should we all be ! I guess to every one that would mean different things. I have said to Kev since living here in the bush if a fire comes we are not going to defend our house we are going you can replace material possession's but not a life. People are talking about stockpiling food I would say be a little careful of that as I said to Kev if we loose our power our fridge and freezer contents won't last that long especially in the heat, if you have a generator to run fridge and freezer that will be fine but a word of caution don't use it in an unventilated room. Once when we were camping in Palm Cove Qld we were next to a tent/camper that had a generator running and the noise was bad enough but the fumes were terrible, so please do so with caution .We have talked about getting a generator so we could use the pool water to put out a fire .Last year we lost all our fresh water supply when lightning hit our rainwater tank, We rushed out and brought a 720 litre poly tank that we use just for drinking /cooking water, we were lucky it was winter and the next day it was filled with water. I would recommend stocking up on non perishables eg tins of salmon and tuna, tins of fruit and vegetables and dry products like flour and grains, long life milk, enough to see you through a tough time. A lot of people we have spoken to over the years say they would take all their photos and important documents so in saying that perhaps we can be prepared by keeping them all in the same place so they can be picked up quickly if you need to evacuate your home. Also I would  keep a small amount of money in a special place make sure your partner knows the hiding place of all these things also. I have a stash of money that I keep in the house in case! I always say to Kev if I die don't forget about this money in here will you, if if he sells the place some one get a nice surprise. If any one has any great tips on being prepared please post and share them with us . Regular people to my blog will have noticed I haven't blogged for over 2 weeks , It was because we had no land line phone our old analog exchange was having some problems so I couldn't use the Internet it was a little frustrating but hey not the end of the world. It makes you think how hard life has been in the past with no phones Internet and other modern cons ..How lucky we are ! So please post and share all your "being prepared ideas" as they could come in handy for all of us in an emergency situation. Just got back from having my lunch and I was thinking about this blog post I was thinking if we lost our power for a length of time we couldn't use our bore water with out a generator and we cannot use our rainwater from our large tank as you need power to run it . Every time we knew the power was going be off we used to fill up jugs so we had enough to drink . We don't need to do that any more, with our 720 litre water tank as we just have to turn the tap on the bottom. We always have our 20 litre water container inside the house and Kev fills it up a few times a week .

Cover Shoe Boxes ( They Make Great Storage Containers)

Cover Shoe Boxes(They Make Great Free Storage Containers ) Another Recycled Project. So get some shoe boxes from your local shoe shop and cover them. I used an old street directory as I wanted black and white only . So easy all you need is some glue,scissors and some paper or you could use material. It's up to you , I brought the stainless steel label tabs from smiggles for only 50 cents each so all the cost was 50 cents per box but to save even more money you could just stick a piece of paper and write the contents of the box . I'm going to use these in my sewing/craft room to store all my sewing/craft supplies.Also a great way to reuse an old street directory. I'm going to make some for Jacks toy storage and I will use the street directory map pages, I think they will look really good also. 

A great blog to check out if you need inspiration & motivation to help you declutter your home .Samantha at  http://anorganisedmum.blogspot.com/  did a 21 day challenge to declutter her home, she did a great job very honest with her before photos. So if you need some extra inspiration and motivation please check out her blog . Samantha thank you for the blog award ... I regularly check out your blog ..you are on my blog list and I can see every time you update your blog which is great as some days I need some extra inspiration and motivation also !