The Awesomeness of God's Power

Wednesday we experienced a temperature of 34C (mid nineties I think for those Farenheit users). It was overcast but rather uncomfortable towards the end as it was becomming a bit muggy.  We had also just had about 5 days of lovely high twenties temperatures after about 2 weeks of nothing under 34C.

Thursday was cool and blowing an absolute gale.  Strong wind warnings were in place all over South Australia.  The car door slammed shut a few times, thankfully there was no little fingers in the way. Branches and bark strips were littered all over the road and our lovely sash windows banged all night.

Today it is Friday and I'm wanting to put our wood fire on, it's that cold!  Overcast and light wind and clouds threatening rain but haven't yet delivered any to fill my empty water tanks. 

Three days in a row, yet three completely different weather stories.  Only a God as awesome as ours would be able to create such a thing.

May this post serve as a reminder to dwell on the awesome power of the Mighty One we serve, who can do more than what we could ever imagine.

Blessings from Scrub Cottage.

Homemaking: Avoiding CHAOS

SORRY: Apologies for the comments I deleted.  I did not mean to but I can't find a way to get them back.  I didn't delete any for any reason and I love receiving comments from readers.

CHAOS is a concept I read about quite a while ago and unfortunately cannot remember where from.  I would love to acknowledge the owner, but I feel that it's important to share it with as many homemakers as possible, so more may benefit from it's wisdom.

 

Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome.

 

Do you have it?

 

I often do.

 

Is there a way to avoid it?

 

Yes.

 

How?

 

It depends.

 

Avoiding CHAOS depends on your attitude towards it.  If you want to avoid it you are half way there already.  If you don't mind, then you will probably find that it hangs around and bothers you.

 

I have  2 young children and another on the way.  I'm going to share some things that work for me that should encourage you if you want to avoid CHAOS in your home.

 

1. Make your bed every morning.

 

 

 

It makes your room look fresh and tidy (even if the floor needs a vacuum) and will be presentable for a guest to enter and walk past.  I'm not a fan of shutting doors to rooms, but this may provide a solution for you.  I expect my 5 and 3 year olds to make their beds too.  It's not perfect and is not how I would do it, but after a couple of weeks of me assisting them, they know what is expected of them.  Unless we were having visitors who I know would enter their bedrooms, I won't go and remake their beds.  I want them to know that their best effort is enough.

 

2. Don't put it down, put it away.

 

I'm terrible for leaving things out to put away later! I really should have learnt this by know but I still struggle with it.  Yes it takes a bit longer in the first place, but when that unexpected visitor is at your front door, you will be glad you cleared the coffee table before going to bed last night.  I ask my children to go around the house and see if anything belongs in their bedrooms just before bed.  They are then learning to take responsibility for their own things rather than leaving it up to Mum to clean up.  Hubby struggles with this one too, and sometimes it takes a reminder and a few days wait but he'll help out too.  Having a small decorative plate for him to empty his pockets after work has been a great idea and means that he can sort it out when he's rested and able to think clearly.

 

3. Have a place for everything and put everything in it's place.

 

This is similar to point number 2 but entails a little bit more work.  We've been in our home for just over 2 years and still I find that I'm settling in.  When doing anything I look critically at the way things work.  I find it difficult to keep stuffing things into a cupboard or drawer when it really needs to be reworked, cleared out and decluttered.  I'll often get carried away and empty the cupboard or drawer in a huff, but be warned.  Once one is done, you might find energised to do more and you may find time slipping away from, perhaps cooking dinner or collecting the children from school!

 

Hubby dislikes drying the dishes because when he's putting the items away, I've often moved the kitchen cupboards around and he can't find it's place!  Find a way to make your storage, however limited it may be, to work properly for you.  I'm able to store my garden basket and seeds in my laundry cupboard as I've made it a priority to fit it in, however storing a swimming bag in my linen press just isn't working and is an area I need to work on.

 

4. Do the dishes...everyday.

 

Those of my readers blessed with a dishwasher and the funds to run it, use it!  Fill it during the day as you use dishes, run it during the evening and empty while getting breakfast ready.  Those of you who don't have a dishwasher, thank the Lord for your hands!  Make time in your day for washing the dishes.  I find that washing after dinner suits our family best as the dishes can dry overnight and while I'm getting breakfast and school lunches ready, I can be emptying the dish rack ready for another day.  I'm also the sort of person who will stack the dirty dishes nicely on the draining board.  I wash in a certain order and tidy dirty dishes helps me.

 

5. Sweep the kitchen floor every evening.

 

This idea is from Martha Stewart.  It is also an idea that sounds great in theory but I struggle to keep up with.  My children have the innate ability to create a mess under the table after eating a bowl of cereal!  I vacuum about once a week but I am in disbelief at how there can be so much mess under their chairs a day later.  Martha wrote that a  clean kitchen floor makes for a less stressful morning.  And I agree that starting a new day with a clean (slate!) floor is a lovely idea but for me, it is something that gets pushed aside constantly.

 

Hopefully these five suggestions gets you thinking about little things that could make a big difference in your home making it ready for visitors at any point, or just a little bit more confortable to live in.  I'd love to know of any other suggestions that you use to make a big difference in your home.

 

Blessings to you and yours from Scrub Cottage

Linking to the Homestead Barn Hop

Homemaking: What I Love About Washing Day

If you read last Monday's post you might remember that Monday is Washing Day at Scrub Cottage.  Today I wanted share some reasons why I love Washing Day.

My washing is done once a week, unless there are school uniforms or op shop clothing that need a wash immediately.  I love that one of my chores is started in the morning and completed by the evening.  It gives a great sense of accomplishment to a housewife.

When it's incredibly hot (like today), it's hard to want to stand in the sun for half an hour and hang out washing, but brushing my arms against the cool washing or standing between 2 shirts and feeling the coolness either side is a lovely feeling.

I love seeing the full washing line from my kitchen window.  I am reminded that we are blessed with plenty of clothes to see us through the week.  I love seeing my newly toilet trained son's little tiny underpants!  When he was in cloth nappies, I loved seeing the brightly coloured outer shells floating in the breeze.

The folding of the clothes gives me a chance to lose myself to the kookaburras, magpies and parrots singing away, the rustle of the leaves in the trees around me, the sun drying and removing the stains from our clothes, and the chickens bubbling away next to me.  I am alone with my thoughts and can marvel at the beauty and wonder of creation around me.

Once the washing is folded, it's ready to be put away to be worn again.  I love seeing full cupboards and drawers, knowing we have been blessed with plenty.

One cannot feel selfish for long washing another person's clothes!

There is only one way to enjoy the smell of clean washing, and that is to create clean washing!

Try viewing your Washing Day with a servant heart and see if you too skip through the rest of the week!

Love from Scrub Cottage.

Linking to the Homestead Barn Hop and Domestically Divine Tuesday

Homesteading: Autumn Veggie Garden Plan

According to the calendar, Scrub Cottage and other Southern Hemispherians are now in Autumn.  While we're complaining that the weather is still too hot and more like the middle of Summer, it sounds like some of you Northern Hemispherians are wondering if Spring will ever make an appearance!

Today I wanted to share my Autumn Veggie Garden Plan with you all.  I've usually got lots of good intentions on keeping a gardening diary but after the first entry, it all goes pear-shaped!  This season I've gone with a slightly higher tech option, an Excel spreadsheet.  Lots of the blogs at the moment are sharing some great programs that can create an electronic picture with all the associated information on the one sheet, but I think for me it might be a bit like the diary and be great on the first day and terrible after that!

I like Excel for it's simplicity and ease of use.  I made the cells all 20x20 and marked out the garden bed to scale using the cell borders. One cell is equal to 10cm x 10cm.  I've coloured in the cells according to the particular vegetable I want to plant and used the scale to indicate the plant and row spacing.  This was to show how much I could actually fit into my space, since I've been underusing my plot so far.

Wouldn't this be lovely!

 

I was planning on included a copy of the spreadsheet so you could have a visual for the explanation above but it is 'on of those days' where technology doesn't seem to be in a cooperative mood and I am unable.  I would be more than happy to email you a copy so either leave your email address in the comments below or email me lilyrosedesigns10@gmail.com and I would love to send you a copy.  Don't worry, I won't do anything sinister with your email address (ie sell it or spam you).

 

I printed out the spreadsheet and stuck it on the inside of my laundry cupboard door.  My seeds are stored in a box in the top of this cupboard so it seemed an easier place for consulting than my Homemaking Binder (which I love dearly!).  The plan is to be able to record the day I planted my seeds or transplanted my seedlings in order to know when the harvest might be.  Some of the seeds also need to have a few batches sown a few weeks apart so rather than guessing, I'll have a record of when the first lot were planted, where they were planted and how many need to be done in the next planting.  Having both a printed copy and an electronic copy means I also have a record to use for crop rotation and to know how much space I've got come the Spring planting.

 

Looks like I'm not the only one to plant out their front yard!

 

The Internet is full of information and plenty relates to Veggie gardening.  I found it difficult to locate Australian-specific information though.  The Diggers Club has been around for years and is brilliant.  Yates and Mr Fothergills sell seeds and have basic information, but there are times when I like the feel of a printed book (I'm a bit old-fashioned in that respect!).  Bay Books Gardening Library The Food Garden is simple and full of everything I need and not much of things I don't need.  I found it at our local library's book sale and never regretted buying it.  Another great resource for Australian gardeners is Bay Books Herb and Vegetable Gardening.  It has a HUGE amount of information and amazing pictures.  It includes general information on getting a garden started, propagating and an A-Z index of both Herbs and Vegetables including information on how to store and use them.  The book links are to Amazon to provide you with information should you wish to access your own copy.  I am not affiliated with them and receive nothing if you purchase from them.

 

I hope I've inspired you to either update your garden plan or to create a new one for the new season.  Just imagine, all your hard work now might pay dividends and end up providing you with a harvest like this!



 

 

Rachel at Scrub Cottage

Homemaking: Cleaning Schedule

I thought I'd begin by getting right done to business and the heart of a a homemaker's daily job...cleaning.

Are you the sort of person who has a plan for cleaning every square inch of your home? Or do you wonder the last time your bathroom was properly cleaned?  Perhaps, like me, you are somewhere in between.

I wanted to share my chore schedule with you today as a way of encouraging you to keep up with the cleaning.  I has found my schedule to be a great motivator as my chores are only done once a week, so when the washing is all done, I don't need to worry about it until next week.  Surprisingly, it also acts as a permission giver to do something else.  When, say, my washing is done, I feel that I can sew or read or just sit and stare out the window without feeling guilty for not 'working'.

I have taken my order from the Amish books I read a while ago because it suited me and I love that their tradition and simpleness can live on in my family, even though I've embraced technology.

Monday: Washing Day (Involves the actual washing of the clothes, hanging up, drying, folding and putting away.  I usually have to iron 1 of my husband's shirts in preparation for Tuesday, but the rest will wait)

Tuesday: Ironing Day (Ironing...obviously! I have my husband's work shirts, sometimes a top or two for myself and sometimes my daughter's school uniform.  It's a rather easy day!)

Wednesday: Sewing/Mending Day (I love to sew, knit, crochet and potter in my little craft area but I have found some small, niggly sewing projects that seem to keep getting pushed aside in preference for a larger complete project.  On of my first sewing days that I actually kept just recently allowed me to finish some mending that had been moved from multiple crates every time I cleaned up for almost a year.  4 little projects was all it took and I felt a real sense of achievement)

Thursday: Shopping/Baking Day (I have been shopping fortnightly for almost a year. Before that was a year of monthly shopping  that was preceeded by 3 years of weekly shopping.  Pay day always seems to be on a Thursday so it makes sense to shop also on a Thursday.  On the non shopping days I want to get in the kitchen and bake.  Muffins for lunchboxes, bar cakes for the freezer for visitors and now, being 4 months pregnent, our newly purchased chest freezer should also be starting to be filled with meals for post-birth)

Friday: Cleaning Day (I try to get my bathroom and toilet cleaned, the floor vacuumed, the lounge room dusted and my kitchen dressers and benches cleared off.  I'm not fanatical about cleaning because I find it causes a lot of stress for me, so a once a week clean works well.

Saturday and Sunday are reserved for family time as my husband is home on the weekend.  We catch up with family and doing chores around family visits is rather difficult.

My mornings have become a great time to get my children involved in caring for a home.  We are usually ready to leave for school about 10-15 minutes early.  Simple things like making the beds has made a big difference to the feeling inside my home.  My daughter is also getting better at cleaning up her toys before bed and before leaving for school so our home is neat and tidy most of the day.

I hope you feel encouraged to bless your home and family by implementing a cleaning schedule that suits you.

Joining my first link parties at Homestead Barn Hop, Domestically Divine Tuesday

Welcome to The Scrub Cottage

Welcome to my little blog about my little home in the scrub.  I want to share some of the beautiful things I see and experience daily, discoveries I make, wonderful ideas I hear about and use, and the blessings from God that are all around me.

A little about myself to begin.  I am a stay at home mother of two-almost-three children.  My daughter has just turned 5 and has begun the school journey.  My son has just turned 3 and is here with me at home.  And baby is due in the middle of August.

My darling husband and I have been married for 5 and a half years.  He works full time in the city and is also studying one evening a week.

We own a pop top camper and love to get away for a weekend every few months.  Our favourite spot at the moment would have to be Moonta Bay Caravan Park.  My grandparents would take my Dad and his brother and sisters to Moonta as a family.  My Dad took me a few times when I was younger and I now have the opportunity to enjoy it with my own children.  My Dad will often join us for the weekend and one trip turned out to include all four generations!

Sunset at Moonta Bay

Hubby and I love to potter around in our garden.  I've laid claim to the front garden and he looks after the back garden.  Our back garden consists of a lawned area and a newly planted fruit orchard.  We've planted a Granny Smith and a Sundowner apple, a lemon, a peach, an apricot, a valencia and a naval orange.  We also have a large brick shed with is hubby's man cave.  He has his shed things (random screws and nails in jars, strange power tools and the bits and pieces that might be needed one day...), his gym equipment, home brew equipment and quite a bit of storage items that have overflowed from our house and are yet to be dealt with.

Water Tanks, fruit trees and chicken coup

The front garden is my domain and is a vegie garden (yes...in the front garden!).  I love planting from seeds because of the small financial outlay.  But the best part is when you survey what is growing and you remember it started as a tiny seed.  I find myself constantly in awe of nature and of God who created it.  Being in Australia, we are coming to the end of the summer months which means it's almost time to start planting autumn and winter vegetables.  Currently I've got tomatoes going crazy, capsicums that seem to be too big for the plant, green and purple beans, cucumbers, zucchini, chillis and some pumpkins vines that are yet to fruit.

An rusted old water tank left out the back has become free garden beds.

Vegie Patch...complete with hubby's tractor.

I love to find inspiration from simpler times for my life now.  We downsized our home just over 2 years ago and it was the best decision we ever made.  While we are still decorating and settling in, we have time to spend developing a garden, playing with our children and heading away on holidays.  Due to the size difference, we also been able to make this home as sustainable as possible.  Water tanks (which are being filled with the precious resource as I write this), solar panels and a wood heater.  We have been blessed with resources at the right time to enable us to do this, however I have also been blessed with a husband who preferred to spend his leave entitlement payout on solar panels than on buying new clothes or furniture.

I am a creative person and I love to sew, knit, crochet and scrapbook (though little time allows for this last one!).  The feeling I get when I complete a project for a gift or myself is one of thanksgiving for the skills I've been blessed with to allow me to bless others.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my life in The Scrub Cottage.  I hope you will return again to share in my discoveries and blessings of life.