Sunday, September 02, 2012

spring : at home

Have you ever come across The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin? It's a great read and I especially love her musings on de-cluttering. Upon discovering the joy of a clutter-less wardrobe she goes about simplifying her entire home and discovers an enormous sense of happiness in the process. 

I'm a big fan of making space - getting rid of the unnecessary; simplifying. Some may say it's the practice of non-attachment - a common goal for the yogis among us but not always easily achieved. For me, spring is the time to de-clutter. The home-body in me loves to potter and clean, sort and rearrange. It's non-pregnancy nesting and I revel in it. 

Over the past few weeks I've been collecting my spring cleaning essentials...a few things to make the clean a little more enjoyable (and aesthetically pleasing). Here's my list:
  • I'm not exaggerating when I say that Murchison-Hume's "Boy's Bathroom Cleaner" changed my life. I detest cleaning the bathroom but this lightly scented spray is powerful. It smells delightful and leaves my bathroom shiny and squeaky clean. I also use Murchison-Hume in the kitchen - the Superlative Hand Soap is a fixture on my windowsill and the Counter Intelligence Food Safe Surface Spray is used daily and loved. 
  • As well as burning frankincense, lemon and eucalyptus oils I light a beeswax candle everyday. Beeswax is a natural air purifier - it clears the home of odour, pollens, dust, mildew and mould and leaves a fresh honey-scent. I always buy Queen B candles - highly recommend. 
  • We've had a bit of a problem with mould in the past but my home-made concoction has worked wonders. I fill a spray bottle with water and add eucalyptus oil, clove oil (not recommended for use in pregnancy), lemon juice and a little white vinegar. I usually give the area a clean with straight vinegar and then spray the concoction on and leave to dry. Clove oil actually kills the mould.
  • Just-picked freesias are my favourite bloom. They grow wild along our street and one particular neighbour (a dear old man who was born just over the hill) has a plethora of them sprouting in his garden. I stop for a chat and he picks a few for me to bring home. Freesias on the windowsill - hello spring!
  • Linen tea-towels....make the dishes slightly enjoyable. I treated myself to a few of maze&vale's handprinted, handmade designs. 
One of the biggest jobs on my list is sorting through the children's clothes. I have saved all of Che's clothes so far - 0000-4 - and I'm wondering whether I should hold onto them or not. There will be more babies but it seems silly to keep every piece of clothing when they could be worn by someone else. Perhaps I should just save the special and sentimental things? What do you do with all your outgrown children's clothes?

gorgeous accent plates from the Fable collection c/o Royal Doulton. 


37 COMMENTS

  1. My husband and I just went through all of our belongings by what we wanted to keep, donate, and lastly throw out. It felt amazing to simply let go of things we didn't need or even used! I strive to live in a minimalist home one day. And with children's clothes I choose to keep my favorite pieces and the rest I give to those in need. Hope that helps : )

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  2. I love a good de-clutter too. Always leaves me feeling free.
    As for my kid's clothes. I too had kept every single piece of my daughter's {she's the same age as Che}. Once we learned our 2nd child was to be a boy, and I started gathering a whole new wardrobe for him, I realised it was time to declutter their wardrobes. I kept one box of my daughter's special outfits or my faves....and the rest went! There was A LOT. I passed it all onto pregnant friends, nieces etc and a few bags to charity. I love seeing a family friend's child or one of our nieces in Ella's 'hand-me-downs'....makes me smile.
    x

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  3. I adore the Murchison Hume range! I've kept one of the empty bottles and filled it with water and a few drops of grapefruit essential oil and let Bijou use it til her heart's content. Whenever I need to clean, there she is with her spray and her cloth (she used to use the orginal stuff but she's a wee bit generous with it and I always had to replace it). And we've not long cleared out lots of bubba things. We plan on having more children but wih mimimal space here we can't keep everything...just in case. The baby would have to be the right sex, the right size and the right time of year so we've put aside only the special pieces and passed the rest onto those in need. Those candles look gorgeous. How long do you burn it for? Have a magic week x

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    1. I usually burn the candle for a few hours. Beeswax burns a lot slower than soy or palm wax and the Queen B candles are considered "natural, non-toxic, aromatic and naturopathic." I always have a candle burning at dinnertime too - a lovely ritual x

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  4. Yes, you've both convinced me to keep the vintage/handmade/sentimental items and pass the rest on to those who need them. I figure when my time comes to have another baby someoneelse will be having their annual de-clutter and no doubt enough wondersuits and singlets will come my way. Children's clothes - they definitely have a cyclical nature, don't they. x

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  5. I'm not sure if it's the nesting instinct kicking in (i'm due in 6 weeks) or if it's just the feeling of wanting to clean as Spring has sprung but i went & bought those vacuum sealed space bags to put all my clothes in that i don't wear but am not ready to part with & i did 2 loads of teeny-tiny baby clothes today. I love the smell of freshly washed clothes.
    I must have picked up at least 20 wondersuits from op shops throughout my pregnancy, i've never paid more than $2 for each so i'm sure more will pop up when you need them again!

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  6. Thanks for the tips Jodi! I've never even burnt a beeswax candle before but I'm definitely going to be stocking up on some.
    I've just moved 5 big sealed boxes of Ivy's clothes out to the shed as a last resort seeing I have nowhere to put them. It does seem so silly to keep everything, but I'm not quite ready to let go of all of those little singlets just yet! :)

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  7. About a year ago I started passing on all of the kids clothes. I realised that even if i do have another girl in the future, Aila's clothes will be pretty old by then. The small chance of getting the gender / season combo right for a future baby didn't warrant keeping everything. I've noticed some sort of universal law of attraction, where every time I pass on a bag of outgrown clothes, i seem to get a bag passed to us of things we need!

    rachel xo

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    1. yes, I have to have faith that they'll come back to me when I need them....x

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  8. lovely photos always. Love beeswax candles they make me think of my Great Gran. ALMOST bought those beautiful plates too. And thanks for the tip on the Boys Bathroom Cleaner definitely going to take a look at that product.

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  9. This had made me want to start cleaning even more than I have already, I hate cleaning the toilet.
    We kept all Bella's clothes until she was 3 then we had to move houses so I had to sit & organise all the ones I want & didn't want, I kept the handmade, sent from chile & then ones she wore for the first time.
    this time I have chucked at lot sooner as they where secondhand but I have kept certain baby wear.

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  10. It's Autumn here and the fast changing light has me feeling the same. I'm going to the local beekeeper to buy some of his beeswax candles as our house is very prone to mildew and mould. Thanks for sharing Jodi x

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  11. Pass on the clothes OR have you thought about selling them online and putting that money towards a charity? Che could chose a cause special to him. Of course keep your favourites!

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  12. Love the plates Jodi. We have been doing a big declutter here, and it feels so good! I'm off to purchase the cleaning products you mentioned, they sound fabulous. Thanks for the tip! xx

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  13. I love those plates. I need to sort through the baby clothes too. Actually I need to sort through everything and do a proper declutter and spring clean. Decluttering is not my strong point (nor Rodge's) yet when I manage to do it, it feels so good. I'll start by burning a beeswax candle tomorrow to get me in the mood. Thank you for the inspiration. Im x

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  14. Isn't Gretchen's book inspiring? I too am decluttering like a mad woman and feel a thrill everytime a bag leaves the house. I find lots of school mums with younger children and I love seeing those toddlers turn up in the corduroy pants my mum sewed with love. melx

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  15. So funny you mention that book, my book club is reading that this time and I'm yet to get it. Off to the library tomorrow, thanks for the reminder!

    On baby clothes, I'm a sentimental nut who keeps them all. I've lent some things to a close friend but everything else is on top of the wardrobe in my kids' room. So far they've been in cheap and nasty vacuum bags but they don't work so I'm trying to accumulate vintage suitcase for storage. I just got a gorgeous brown leather one from an uncle tonight! I can't wait for another de-clutter starting...tomorrow. :)

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  16. I've been desiring to simplify my life and my home for the longest time. I like the beauty of straightening out each little corner and space and the satisfaction that comes from knowing you've accomplished something important for your own well being!

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  17. Oh I love to declutter too and those plates! As for baby clothes, I've kept everything (bar the over-stained grotty things!) from my two children, I'd love another so figure they will hopefully come in handy one day. I love the vacuum-packed storage bag things, they save so much space! x

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  18. Lovely post and photos Jodi. I am so happy Spring is here and all the cleaning and de-cluttering totally suit my Virgo ways. Re: children's clothes, we have minimal storage space in our beach shack so as River grows out of things I pack them off to my nans where she has lots of space and then I bring them back when Sol is ready for them. I love going through the bags and discovering clothes I'd forgotten about and remembering the times River wore them. I too am inspired to blog about Spring and have posted today an interview I did with a Therapeutic chef about doing a Spring cleanse www.nikkifisher.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/springing-into-spring.html ...I look forward to reading more of your Spring series x

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  19. gorgeous post, as always! your home seems so peaceful & lively, which is a rare, fantastic blending. my mum saved ALL our dresses from growing up and made us a quilt. she just gave us each one this summer. each patch had a story, and some had stains. very special!!! what about that for an idea? :)

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  20. Beautiful post, I love all of your inspiring ideas. Yes i only have a small tub of special Jude clothes, the rest i have given away. I found I have been given so many beautiful and useful things because I am open to giving and receiving. :) x

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  21. I felt totally inspired by this post... then I looked around from the computer to the utter filth I'm sitting in...and now I'm relatively uninspired again. Hmph. Where to start?

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  22. coming from the perspective of a mama with two boys who saved everything the first time around. i would say saver the treasured pieces and let go of the rest. i saved all of quinn's clothing but most of it, i felt, just didn't work on tate. i didn't like putting it on him, he was a completely different child. i was more drawn to the little bits we would scoop up at the op shop or various shops then the stuff that was previously quinn's. i imagine you would be a bit like that too. there is so much baby clothing to go around more treasured pieces are bound to find you.

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  23. This post was really inspiring and beautiful. I love the way you write and I love the idea for candles. Which ones on that site do you order? There seemed to be overwhelming choice.

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    1. I usually buy a few pillar and a few taper candles. I've got quite a few candle holders so the candles always get put to use x

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  24. Beautiful pictures and words. We use the Murchison-Hume - its lovely and makes washing up so much more pleasant. I love surrounding myself with beautiful things, I think it makes life so much sweeter. (I am the kind of person who uses the antique tea cups and spoons - why not enjoy them!) I'm going through same dilemma.....I am saving the really special ones, and the rest I am giving away. Beeswax burns for meal times in our home too, nothing like the smell of honey x

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  25. What beautiful snippets of spring. And those plates are really quite stunning. x

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  26. Love this post Jodi- makes me feel so eager to start ticking more off my spring clean list that I started yesterday. I detest cleaning the bathroom so am going to check out the products you've recommended and I love the idea of burning a candle that is also an air-purifier. I've often wanted to try out the oil of cloves solution on our shower after reading about it being such a great inhibitor for mould. What quantities do you use of each essential oil? As for baby clothes, I kept all my first born's clothes but to be honest, even though I had girls both times, being born in different seasons, there was a lot I couldn't re-use sadly. Now I've just kept a few sentimental items for each of them and the rest is being passed on (no more babies planned here) and to be honest, I think just keeping special pieces and passing on others is a great idea. I love receiving hand me downs from friends and love passing ours on too x

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  27. jodi as always such an inspiring post. i just picked up some beautiful bees wax candles at my natural food store and my little ones and i can't wait to burn them later today. your header has been done so beautifully ... can you recommend who you used as i am about to embark on a small business and would love to get some creative ideas from your designer. thank you and i look forward to more of your beautiful writing and images. sarah x

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    1. Hi Sarah, my beautiful header (and new business logo for my professional site - still a work in progress) was painted by the lovely Rebekka Seale of Dear Friend - http://www.dearfriendrebekkaseale.blogspot.com.au/ - I highly recommend her talents. For all my actual design work I use Lena from VDH - lena@vdh(dot)com(dot)au

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  28. I love the freesias that pop up all arou♥d our beautiful coast. Pure joy! Have a lovely day, Katie ♥♥♥

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  29. Such beautiful things Jodi - those plates are gorgeous.

    And I love having a good clean out too. I'm having an Autumn one right now. xx

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  30. When my husband mows the lawn i always have to remind him to mow around the freesias, he thinks they are weeds but nothing says spring is on the way more than seeing them pop up in the garden!I love them!

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  31. just started reading that book, I love it. x

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  32. Just found your blog through queen b - I also love their candles, use Murch - Hume products and currently have freesias on my windowsill. But, alas, the cleaning part of my nesting instincts never seem to win! Oh well, maybe one day. Clothes - My babies are teenagers now, but get a thrill when they find a 'sentimental' piece of clothing I've kept. I hope one day they will use them for their babies !!! :)

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  33. Thanks for the great mould killer concoction! I just found some mould in the bathroom and ran out to get the necessary supplies. Smells nice too....

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