Category Archives: Household

Tree change!

Now for something completely different — we’ve moved to a rural property! Our new place is 2 hectares (5 acres) on the edge of the Southern Highlands—south of Sydney, in the cooler hills, with a drier, more temperate climate. And what an amazing place this is! We have a large amount of space in whichContinue reading “Tree change!”

Clean the kettle with vinegar

I’m an avid tea drinker, so every now and then I notice that my kettle has a build up of scale: This is my cue to pull out the household white vinegar (ordinary cheap stuff I use for all sorts of things). I pour some into the bottom of the kettle, hopefully above the dirty mark line,Continue reading “Clean the kettle with vinegar”

Home-made Pressing Starch from Rice

I’ve recently discovered how wonderful it is to cut and work with fabrics that have been starched. It took a long time for me to get on board with this idea. I figured the hassle of finding starch, and then preparing the fabric, would stretch out the cutting stage of the project, and this is where IContinue reading “Home-made Pressing Starch from Rice”

Removing stickers painlessly

Hey everyone! Last time my kids went to preschool, they were honouring Daffodil Day — promoting awareness about cancer, and asking for a small donation. William got a real kick out of getting his Daffodil Day sticker, so he was totally unimpressed when it turned out that I had thoughtlessly washed it from his redContinue reading “Removing stickers painlessly”

The Great Pantry Caper

It all started with the capers. Well, actually, it all started with putting the pantry doors back on! My tidy open-shelf pantry quickly deteriorated into a disorganised shemozzle as soon as I put the doors back on. Within about ten minutes, I swear! Lately it has been difficult to shop effectively with my pantry in thisContinue reading “The Great Pantry Caper”

Credit Cards, and the Minimum Repayment

Recently I received my monthly credit card bill, and my eye was drawn — as it always is — to the fascinating section labelled “Minimum Repayment Warning”: The credit card companies in Australia are required to put this section onto everyone’s bill so that you are aware just how much it costs to repay your creditContinue reading “Credit Cards, and the Minimum Repayment”

Thinking outside the (compost) box

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to show you how much food scrap waste is generated by a small pre-school in one day: That’s a 5 Litre container, and it is almost full! This is mainly fruit peel from morning tea time, but there is also leftover fruit, and quite a bit of lunch scraps (mainlyContinue reading “Thinking outside the (compost) box”

Tips for laundering collared shirts

Wow, exciting post, huh? But seriously, this tip was a major win for me when I discovered it. I’ve been using home-made laundry liquid for about a year now. It’s so, so much cheaper than using ready-made liquid or powder. And it’s pretty quick and easy to make! After a few months of trying myContinue reading “Tips for laundering collared shirts”

Orange Infused Vinegar

I have discovered a great way to make some great smelling cleaning products, using ordinary white vinegar, and orange peels. Cleaning with vinegar is nothing terribly new: there are hundreds of recipes and creative uses for this staple cleaning product. I think the most straight-up useful way is as a glass cleaner. Just squirt itContinue reading “Orange Infused Vinegar”