I still need a maid.

I still have a huge problem with cleaning my house – it’s just not on my list of priorities, even after I decided that I would spend 15 minutes a day cleaning a few months back. Why spend that 15 minutes cleaning, when you could spend that reading or exercising (or sleeping)? I tend to clean in spurts and quite often I’ll take on something – such as cleaning out my ‘to be filed’ shoebox of paid bills and receipts – and get frustrated 3/4 of the way through. I did finally clean out that shoebox two days ago. there were bills and receipts in the bottom of it from 3 years ago. I’ve moved house four times in that period! I did get frustrated too, I want to quit about half way down the overflowing box, but for once I stuck with it.

I have been worried lately because our lawn is still a mess and we failed &our last rent inspection. The house I kept reasonably clean with Adam was away and I did manage to do some large jobs like weeding out the summer-spent annuals from the garden, cleaning up the shed (we had ditched everything from our last clean up in the shed) and cleaning the back room which was gross from the dog and cats running grass through it, plus still had several unpacked boxes left scattered around the room. Now it’s just a method of cleaning the house and keeping it clean, doing a few fix it jobs where the dog has ripped fly wire and carpet (*sob*) and hoping the lawn grows back before Feb 19th for the next inspection.

But there is still that big hurdle I have to get over – why clean when a) it’s just going to get dirty again. we have a zoo of animals and a 5 year old child, the house only stays clean if there is no one in it b) I have better things to do like blog or watch season 6 of scrubs on DVD or read my metalsmithing books and order some jewelry making equipment online c) no one else helps. Adam is too busy working and sleeping, Kaidin is too young to be of any real help, none of my friends are stupid enough to be tricked into helping me clean. It’s an overwhelming job and I have to go it alone… So I started to research online for some tips and tricks to make cleaning easier, even fun.

I use Seventh Generation cleaning products. It uses Hydrogen Peroxide instead of chlorine, which smells a little strange at first, but with the citrus oils in the kitchen cleaner and other essential oils in the bathroom cleaner it’s not unpleasant. It cleans a lot better than the chemically based products I’ve used. The only problem is it is manufactured in america and shipped here. The bottle is recyclable.

Non-chemical cleaners are really important in my quest for a cleaner home – no point in having shiny floors and scrubbed benchtops if having them is slowly giving you cancer. This site and this site tell why non-chemical cleaners are so important and give lists of suitable alternatives. I know I have an unopened packet of borax around here somewhere, maybe tomorrow I should go and purchase bulk vinegar and bicarb and a heap of spray bottles. When I read that Speed Cleaning book everyone raved on about last year it said to keep a container (bucket or otherwise) in each room, with a handful of rags and a spray bottle of whichever cleaner you perefer to use- That way when you are watching tv/waiting for a site to load/listening to your child read/waiting for the bathroom mirror to de-fog so you can do your makeup you can simply grab a rag and spray to clean up small bits of surfaces/windows etc. Then you toss the rag in the washing basket. Once a week when you do the washing, make sure there are enough rags in each bucket. When I read it I thought ‘pfft – who keeps cleaning products in every room?’ but after more thought it’s probably a good idea – if I only have to clean one surface while I’m waiting for something to load I’m much more likely to do it. And if I make my own spray bottles it’s much cheaper than replacing 6+ bottles of spray and wipe every week.

I’m pretty sure Flylady is my favourite cleaning site. It has so many tips, especially on effecient clenaing for lazy, disorganised people like me! Plus it has a lot of tips about getting kids to clean too. more boxes and baskets needed! Charts and marker pens to be found! Loud dance music to get energy up to be downloaded!

When it comes down to it, al the tips are great, all the cleaning products are great, but it won’t mean squat unless I actually do the work. So I’m trying – at least 15 minutes of cleaning every day. Last night it was all the dishes in the kitchen, the benchtops and cupboards. Tonight I cleaned all the junk off the back lawn (dog bones and such) so Adam can mow it (under duress I might add, and he’s left the choke open on the mower and will probably run out of fuel 1/4 way through, but he told me to piss off when I tried to tell him how to start the mower so I guess it’s ‘Mans Work’ and I should just keep my giggling to myself inside). Tomorrow I fully intend to clean the bathroom, including sorting through all my makeup – a lot of which seems to be under the vanity – and scrubbing the grout in the shower. Wish me luck.

…the mower just ran out of fuel.

Happy New Year!

Happy New year to everyone! I hope you sent out the old year surrounded by loved ones and welcomed 2008 with positive energy and open arms. I spent the minutes of the change from old year to new on the phone to Adam, who is still up north, comforting my puppy who is not quite sure what all those loud bangs are, toasting with a glass of Jacobs Creek sem sav blanc and watching Matt Damon movies. Nice.

New Years Resolutions are fairly out of fashion nowadays – no one I’ve spoken to in the last few days has made them. An online friend said she prefers to make positive changes as they come through out the year and that is a very good point – who knows in January what your circumstances are going to be like come August, or even December? Also, when you are still bloated from Christmas, making a resolution to exercise sounds good, but can it last? Or will you just be left feeling like a failure come the next holiday season when you still haven’t toned up your thighs?

I kept that in mind and I decided to make New Years Resolutions anyway. And I thought I would share them.

• Learn to speak at least passable Russian. I may not make it to the actual country, but just in case I do, I want to be able to speak the language.
• Train the dog. Pepper has killed out lawn by digging, she runs away and refuses to be caught until she wants to and she definitely needs some discipline and more exercise. So I’m committing to at least an hour of walking / playing a day and at least 3 hour sessions of training a week (including Puppy Preschool with the RSPCA that starts soon).
• Get a new tattoo. Been planning to get more tatts pretty much since I walked out of the tattoo parlour last. I just actually have to get into gear and get what I want drawn up and save up some money for it.
• Get a high distinction in each unit at uni I do.
• Make a heap of new friends, with a heap of different interests, so I don’t have to be lonely if Adam is away and the few friends I have now are busy.

As you can see, I’ve kept it fairly simple. I don’t want to look back next December and think I’m a complete idiot for not keeping my resolutions. I have some goals also – try to live even more green that we do now (more posts on new changes coming soon); to eat and drink more local things, even if that means paying more for them; to spend more time doing family things; to build up my jewelry making toolkit (thanks for the soldering iron Dad!) and to keep this blog up and running for the whole year – but those are the ‘change with the circumstances ones’.

In the book Write it Down, make it Happen*, it’s mentioned that you have to get rid of things in order to make room for the new. So on the new moon (this weekend) I’m doing a Native American arrow ceremony to clear negative aspects from my life and invite in the new. Plus this week I am having a big houseclean; getting rid of unwanted clothes and packing boxes and junk in order to make room for all the wonderful things that are coming to me in 2008. What are you inviting in this year? Any New years resolutions? Share, so we can encourage each other along the way.

*Can you tell this book had a pretty big impact on me by the number of times I’ve quoted it since I read it?

Running Away to Russia

Running Away to Russia

Originally uploaded by skgillespie
The latest page in my moleskin, furthering my ‘Places to Visit’ entry – a collage entry of what and why in Russia.

Each time I find pictures and things to collage in my journal I find myself getting more and more inspired for further pages – I could stay up all night and write about Catherine the Great or the matyred Romonov family (guess whose side of that debate I’m on!) or the history of the Summer Garden or the beautiful ikons that Russia is famous for or folk stories like how Ivan rescues the Princess from the evil wizard… it goes on.

In other news, I am ready to kill my dog, cute as she is, because I just found her underneath my bed chewing on a library book (Science and the Akashic Field by Ervin Laszlo) and she had chewed the plastic off my new moleskin notebook (which cost $20) and had eaten half the spine and the top corner. It serves me right for leaving them on the floor after Adam kicked them off the bed today, but the library book is the second i have to replace this month (she also chewed up Russian for Dummies) and so now I’m just throwing my hands in the air, crying ‘Waaaaah’ very loudly and wishing she would stop burying the thousands of chew toys I have bought for her and chew them instead!

What would you do if you were not afraid?

This lovely post from the uber talented Lesley got me thinking -what would i do if I were not afraid? If I was not afraid of failing or falling short, of losing out, of being judged or hated or (the worst) disapproved of, of being broke or homeless, of losing family or friends and finally, if I was not afraid of falling back into the deep dark bell jar?

Ponder this for a moment – what is the worst that could happen? The things I’ve listed above are indeed terrible things – losing your loved ones or all your possessions, being perceived as a bad person, even by yourself. But what are the chances that doing the things you want to do will end in these catastrophic events? If you really think about it, the chances are pretty slim.

So I have decided to come up with a list of things that I want to do, the reasons I am afraid to them and the chances of anything really bad happening if I take that risk weighed against the benefits of success.

If I were not afraid I would start creating my own jewelry and selling it at markets and on etsy. I am afraid that no one will like my designs, that I will buy a heap of equipment that I can’t pay off because I don’t make any money selling my pieces, that I will be bad at making jewelry – that I wont learn the techniques and my art will suck.

What is the worst that could happen? I lose some money. If I limit my outlay to a few hundred dollars that I can easy pay back within a few weeks of my normal job I’m not going to beggar myself. Plus the money I save from buying store jewelry for myself and presents will be about the same as what i spend on equipment. If no one likes my pieces I can give them away as presents to relatives that have to appreciate them, or I can keep them for myself or give them to charity. Good marketing will mean that someone somewhere will want to bu my designs though – it’s just a matter of getting the stuff out there. If I’m no good at creating jewelry I will just have to take a course and buy some books and spend more time looking at jewelry online for inspiration.

If I do a tafe course in jewelry not only will it give me better skills but also a qualification that could lead to an apprenticeship if I ever want to make this more than a hobby. If I get good at making and selling my art I could make enough money to work in precious metals, creating beautiful unique pieces that people beg me to buy. I could wear gorgeous jewels that I created myself and keep some for my family and friends as beloved presents. Everyone would be after my jewelry.

If I were not afraid I would speak with a lot of natural therapists about the best way to get a job, perhaps asking one of them to be a mentor for me or doing occasional reception work. I am afraid of rejection, that people who have studied natural therapies will think I am not spiritual enough or natural enough (when I get a headache I take ibuprofen, not willowbark). I am afraid that no one will want to talk to me, that I will look stupid or unprofessional, that no one will give me a chance or want me to work for them. I am afraid that people will judge me for asking for work instead of paying for a course, that I will look cheap or like I want to swindle people.

The worst that could happen is that some people don’t want to help me, for whatever reason, and this is something that I cannot change. All I can do is be honest and open about what I want and what help I need. Hopefully, if I look hard enough (and don’t stop looking if someone rejects me due to their own close-mindedness) I will find what I am looking for – a teacher.

I can also work more on practising what I preach – implementing more natural techniques like yoga and actually taking classes in order to meet like minded people who can help me on my path. I could meet some lovely people who are kind and helpful and give me good advice about what is the best way to begin practising natural therapies – someone could even offer me a job and to sponsor my education in this field. Also I could make new friends who are happy to have me practise on them. Eventually I will get my qualifications and when I do I will have a large network of friends and associates who are more than willing to recommend me to clients and help me set up my own successful clinic.

If I were not afraid, I would start getting wood together to start making hope chests and bookshelves. I am afraid that I will not be able to make these, that it will be too hard or that once I make them they will be inferior and no one will want them. Again I am afraid of the money and time outlay, the space and whether I will get bored and give up.

The worst that could happen if I end up with half a shed full of unused tools (that are quite expensive) and rotting wood, or half finished projects, or finished projects that no one wants, with Adam judging me for wasting time and money. But if I focus, I will get it done. I need to start a timetable – a daily planner that has my work roster, time for chores, writing, exercise, reading and working on projects. Even if I only work on it twice a week that will be enough to get things done and convince Adam that it’s not a waste of time and money. If no one wants my things then I can always use extra chests and bookshelves myself or give them to family or charity. The library has plenty of woodwork books and the local Bunnings does demonstrations quite often where I could meet people who also do woodwork that could possibly critique and encourage me. If I ask my family for some of the larger tools for Christmas and work with only a few tools until I know I can sell stuff then there will be little original cash outlay, so I wouldn’t be losing any money.

Eventually I could move onto bigger and better furniture – furnishing my whole house in original handmade woodwork. I could give presents that will be cherished and passed on through generations and sell enough to be able to work in gorgeous woods. In the long run, I could even grow my own wood sustainably at our farm, to work into wonderful furnishings that are treasured by whoever owns them.

This is only three things that I’ve had on the back-burner for a few years now, never wanting to take the plunge. Once I have written them out like this I am realising that it’s not so scary – the world is not going to spin the other way if something doesn’t work. the worst off I could be is a bit out of pocket and have some people unwilling to help me. Not nearly as bad as I had built it up to be.

I encourage everyone to do this exercise yourself. Think of a few things you are afraid to do – it could be little, like my things here, or big deal things like leaving a bad relationship or moving to a new country. Ask yourself what you are afraid to do and then what is the worst that could happen if you did it? The very worst. Now counter that – what could you do to prevent or reverse the worst from happening? Then add the positive steps – what would happen if everything turned out perfectly. It’s quite liberating and very encouraging – I’m going to start yoga classes next week in an effort to meet some people who could possibly help me with my natural therapy yearnings.

Places to go.

Part of my desire to become a better person was embracing my wish to be more creative in my every day life and tr to draw or write something every day. I have a moleskin notebook (Thanks to Gala for insisting that every person should carry one) which I bought off Ebay and carry with me everywhere, along with a few pens and pencils so I can create whenever the mood takes me.

This is yesterday’s effort – a simple list of places around the world I want to see and what I want to do there. It was written at the DMV while Adam was doing his test to get his license back – click on the picture for the bigger, more readable version.

Today is Buy Nothing Day. In an attempt to lower their ecological footprint, people worldwide are attempting to spend one day without purchasing anything. I think this is a great idea. I had to run down and grab washing powder late last night and I’m going to refuse to go near a shop all day just to avoid temptation.

It’s so easy to consume. Advertising is everywhere, making products that we probably don’t need seem ever so tempting. My son watches cartoons of a morning and every advertisement is for a new plastic wrapped toy or refined foodstuff that he simply must have because it was endorsed by some cartoon character. Convinience is also a big thing for me – popping down to my local IGA for late night groceries to whip up for dinner instead of doing a weekly shop or getting pizza and dvds because I’m too tired to cook and entertain myself.

So today I am joining the anti-consumerism revolution – will you come too?