Right from when I was young, decluttering has always been refreshing and fun for me. I used to prune out unwanted items and lay them out on my bed and then invite my siblings in to take what they wanted. We called it a garage sale!

But things change when you add a husband and children to the mix. Suddenly it's not just my belongings, but that of 8 of us that are building up in our home!

Last Saturday Margy enlightened us with some sobering statistics about the stuff we hang on to and some fresh ideas to cut back and be free of the clutter.
One that really hit me was that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time! So true. Even for my children. My elder two girls will wear the same couple of outfits each ALL the time! And I wonder why we bother keeping so many clothes for them that they don't wear. But I'm just as bad. There were (I say WERE because upon returning from this workshop I reevaluated the wardrobe and turfed out a LOT of clothes!) far too many clothing items that I hardly ever wear. Especially skirts, because skirts and farming aren't especially compatible!

Margy had collected some great ideas to inspire us to simplify our lives. One was to look at each item and rather than asking "do I really need this?" asking "does this bring me joy?"

Another idea was to treat the op-shop like your storage space...ie if you don't use something often, why not just op-shop it and if you happen to need it again, go and inexpensively replace it by buying another at an op shop.

The most extreme idea was to have a 'packing party' where you invite several friends over and box up everything you own...then as you need things, pull them out again to use and all the stuff that is left boxed and obviously not needed can be discarded. I can't imagine going to the effort of boxing up everything unless moving house! But it's probably a great drastic measure to help severe hoarders!

Some of us love to prune like this, but have family members who are hoarders. Some advice in this instance, was to make boundaries and let your family member know that you need at least one room or space in your home that is clutter free. Some breathing space.

Another simple idea, is that when a new item is brought into the home, turf an item out in exchange.

Thanks to all who came and shared their ideas and stories, it was a fun and helpful morning!

Letting ewe know what's happening...

After something like 5 years of the Good Shepherd Lutheran church loaning us their lovely kitchen hall for SLT classes, we're moving! Thanks so much to the Good Shepherd Lutheran for your generosity in loaning us your facilities :-) It's been a great venue and many people have been really blessed and inspired by being able to meet there for these classes.

And now we've secured another great venue. This time it will be Range Christian Fellowship in Wilsonton (13-15 Blake St). So keep posted for changes to the May and June classes. The May Decluttering forum location is to be confirmed, but in June (permaculture workshop) we will be starting to meet at Range Christian Fellowship.

Hope to see you there!

It seems I'm not alone in the war on seasonal sinus issues. So many people flare up with the change of seasons and it can get to the point where your nose becomes red raw from excessive wiping with tissues.

One way our family (and many others I'm sure) have found to ease this problem, is to use flannelette hankies. They're so soft! And cheap to make too. And there's even a no-sew option, for those who cringe at the sight of sewing machines :-)

Another benefit is that you choose the hankie size. I must admit that because my flannelette featured stripes, I used them to 'measure' the hankies and couldn't tell you exactly how big they are!

Anyway, if you frequent op shops like we do, you may have noticed flannelette sheets are often available there for a couple of dollars. Mine was a single sized, Australian made sheet in good nick...for $3. A single size sheet makes a lot of hankies. I didn't count, but the end result was a nice tall pile of them.

Now if you want to opt out of the sewing option, you'll need pinking shears (dressmaking scissors that cut a zig-zag rather than a straight line). Then all you do is measure (if you're that way inclined) and cut your hankies to your desired size. The zig-zag will prevent any fraying without the need for a hem.

My Nanna blessed me with an overlocker, so that's what I used. I just followed the stripes to keep my hems even, and then folded the flannelette into a triangle (so it would unfold into an even square...as pictured above).

If you want to sew with a regular machine there are several options. You could get all fancy (more time consuming) and fold over the hem and then sew a straight line, or you could just sew a zig-zag stitch around the edges to prevent fraying

So there you have it...soft and economical...eco friendly hankies that are very simple to make.
This idea can also be used for making cloth toilet paper. Yes, I"m serious! Maybe use a different colour or print to the hankies though so they don't get confused! That might be a separate post for another time. :-)