in control

I’ve been flying solo since my last babystep in the third week of May. But I’ll be decluttering for a while yet as stuff is like sand. The more you dig into it, the more boxes I need to temporarily hold the expanded volume.

Fifteen minutes at a time to ‘put away’, ‘give away’, and ‘throw away’ has only seen the emptying of three archive boxes out of the 20+, and that is only my stuff. I’m hoping that H gets enthused with decluttering and some of his boxes get moved too.

I’m now beginning to update my Control Journal from that developed while doing the FlyLady babysteps. Keeping babysteps in mind, I’ll follow Building Your Own Control Journal on FlyLady.net.

The changes I wish to make include accommodating that we are currently renovating in earnest, which means I cannot always just do the ’swish and swipe’. Also, although I appear to be doing more [1], for example, ironing teatowels [2], I have more free time to include other routines.

After a workshop on Saturday, I have been making sourdough bread. It doesn’t take very much time, but I need to schedule it better to coincide with lunch or dinner when I’m likely to be ramping up the oven to 230 deg C.

[1] The rubber bladed brush is fantastic for removing cat fur from furniture.
[2] I’ve discovered that ironed linen is easier to put away!

FLYing

I have been FLYing for ten days.

What has been most remarkable is discovering that electrostatic dusters do in fact work!

Prior to having someone else clean, I have always just walked around the house with a damp or polishing cloth when doing the vacuuming, thinking that feather dusters simply spread the dust. The new cleaner wanted a duster, so she got one.

When I returned to doing the cleaning myself I continued to use the feather duster, but felt that it did not achieve much, and resorted back to walking around with a cloth.

On the weekend I went to the hardware shop for a bannister brush and some long life masking tape (as you do), and discovered that there is a whole world of brushes out there that I did not know about. On a whim, I treated myself to a new electrostatic duster - probably because I had been reading about FLY Lady caring for her feather duster and deciding that the existing one was beyond redemption. It had curled up ends suggesting that I had wiped it across something that was hot.

Well, it is simply amazing. It does in fact pick up the dust. I was only going to do the one room, but I ended up making my way throughout the house.

Reading the label instructions I read that it should not be used on electronic equipment and that I could clean it in soapy warm water. Mmm, I thought. Perhaps this confirms that the previous electrostatic duster did not work, as I can’t remember any zapped computers.

decisions decisions

This weekend:

• Do ‘at home’ stuff because we have been out for the last three weeks at the Perth International Arts Festival, including cleaning, ironing and finding out where I’m up to with painting the fence, sanding oregon doors, and cutting glass for the fanlight leadlight.
• Set out a course of action because it is the first week of uni.
• Drive to the Perth Chilli Festival at Araluen Botanic Park. And on the way or on the way back visit Zanthorrea Nursery because we (well H) has a gift certificate.
• Attend an IWD event on the day.
• Go on the train to the Mandurah Crab Fest.
• Laze around and read a book, currently Fast, Loose Beginnings by John Kinsella.
• Go to the Women’s Showcase at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
• Drive to see the Sculptures by the Sea on and near Cottesloe Beach.

Perhaps I’ll get Friday done first and see how I wake up tomorrow. Work, uni, and then art exhibition.

don’t do this at home

The Ideal Home Show 2008 and WA on Show are on this weekend, and you can travel on the bus or train for free on Sunday to see either or both.

We caught the bus in early on Friday to pop in for a couple of hours prior to having tea and making our way to His Majesty’s Theatre for a show. It was a good day to go as there were very few people and less likely that you were going to get your ankles clipped with a pushchair. The entry fee was only $5 for the Home Show, which we thought was ample for the hour or so we planned to spend there. Note: Entry fee is $10 on other days.

I don’t think the picture of the woman featured on the promotional materials matched with what was on display. The exhibition was almost 100% of companies who sole purpose was to sell you services and products. I can’t think of any DIY displays. Perhaps that was the idea. If women DIY they get in a mess, look at the mess the woman got into with a simple bit of painting, so come to the Home Show so we can do it all for you.

It was very easy for me to say ‘no’ I don’t want to enter your competition for whatever products and services you provide as I don’t want my contact details on your calling list. A lot of the stuff on display I found ostentatious, ugly, or ‘what the hell would you want that for?”

A large proportion of the displays were suggesting what improvements that you can make to your backyard, mostly ‘decorating’ such that it becomes the outside room of the house. But to suggest that we have a woodfired oven to make pizza on our patio was just the last straw. I mean I’ve got a flued wood fire in my lounge room that we only light if putting on a few extra layers of clothes does not make us warm enough. Also, a few years ago the state government were talking about phasing out wood fires starting with open fires. Firewood is expensive and not always easily attainable, which is not a problem for us at the moment while we are renovating. But to encourage people to obtain a woodfired oven seemed pretty odd to me and at odds with the baby steps that government are taking with regard to climate change.

I was amused at some of the booth staff that appeared incredulous that we did not need or want window roller shutters. Apart from the fact that we will be replacing the window eaves, I haven’t seen many houses (old or new) where retrofitted roller shutters have added any aesthetics to the home. He had this stunned look on his face as if how can you walk away and not want to enter a competition and get them for free, as if there is no cost to getting something for free.

What was good to see at the exhibition was the increased number of businesses offering solar products, especially photovoltaic grid systems. Although what was a little disappointing is they appear to be flogging a stock standard 1.2kW system so that you as a consumer can take advantage of the $8000 rebate. The systems appeared to be priced at what you are willing to pay, so the supplier appears to benefit more from the rebate as a sort of corporate welfare. As soon as you start talking about the technology (solar cells, type of inverter, battery storage), you are quickly given a brochure. You as a consumer are not supposed to know anything other than the emotion of doing your bit to reduce your household carbon gas emissions and being able to hand over the money knowing that your 20 year investment is mitigated financially by the government. Having said that, we did get talking to one fellow that we were able to have a proper conversation with, who is interested if not passionate about the industry he is in, and listened. Yes, listened!

We only had time to pop our heads into the WA on Show pavilion to enter the competition at the Public Transport Authority to win a folding bike, Prospector trip, or cashed up SmartRider. The quick scan of the venue was enough to know that we would come back on Sunday as there is a lot to see. There appears to be many displays, including panels describing various WA history and developments sprinkled amongst some commercial vendors. Entry to WA on Show is free.

house renovation - main front gable

We took the scaffold down today because H has finished the main front gable.

Almost repeating the renovation plan from the north west gable in that the sheets and battens were replaced. Except that there are always fiddly bits to be found and recover from as you go.

We had to wait until a piece of material was machined for the bottom batten. Unfortunately, this was just before Christmas, so we had to wait until the new year before we had all the battens. Lesson from this, is make sure that have all materials for the job before you start.

The intention is to finish the gables and other uppermost sections of the house before we render the walls. The screw holes on the bottom batten have not been filled so that the batten can be removed prior to rendering.

Other work needs to be done on the verandah so we will do the south east gable next rather than the other front gable over the verandah.

nearly painting the fence

I only wanted to paint a bit of fence that I could see from the laundry window.

Several days later I have since prepared the whole fence for painting. Chipping render and concrete using a scutching hammer and paint scraper. And today, completely washing and scrubbing to remove any dust or specks of render that I may of missed.

H has pushed up the fence capping, so that I don’t have to be too careful when painting.

Tomorrow, is the big day for painting. And I’m going to start on the unpainted part of the fence that I can see through the laundry window. Then, I’ll dress the areas where the paint has been chipped and rubbed off ready for a second coat of paint another day.

The only tricky bit so far, apart from working in the heat is continually removing cobwebs. I have seen five different species of spider, none of which have been a red back.

house renovation - north west gable

Yay, H moved the scaffold around to the front of the house today.

What this means is that the first gable, that is, the north west gable is completely renovated. We don’t have a BEFORE picture of the north west gable, only the original south east gable..

The south east gable is similar structurally albeit in better condition than was the north west gable before renovation took place. The north west side of the house is the weather side.

But now with its new cream cement sheet and eave battens, and Deep Brunswick green wood both decorative and to cover the joins in the cement sheet, the north west gable we think looks the business.