31.3.11

She Organises and Declutters

Yesterday was a gloomy, rainy day at home. So, I lit some candles...




....and got on with a little 'todo' I had in the back of my mind. A recent birthday saw me being spoiled with a new jewellery box! I knew that it was probably time for a little re-organising in the sparkle department, and this was the perfect excuse. So I sat the old and the new side by side...

On the left, my new Bling Box, on the right my Dearly Beloved!
Not exactly a hot mess, but I was looking forward to giving everything a little space to Shine!

The best way to kick off a decluttering/organising project, whether it be a whole room or just a little spot like this....take EVERYTHING out of the space! That way you can really assess what you want to put back in, and you're less likely to keep hanging on to things you really don't need anymore.

It was definitely time to whip out the polishing cloth...

...an 18th charm gets some love, and a 1st sweetheart charm waits its turn.

What a difference a clean makes!

Oh dear, definitely time for a chuck out! 16 was a lot of loves ago!

 Deedlee dee!!

Ta Da!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Much more room for the special ones to breath...

...

...on their beds of velvety grass.

A charmed life!

A Diva $5 bargain that will never grow old...

...sits next to my biggest splurge EVER. The one my father will never let me live down, my $400 Nixon watch. Bought during a far more frivolous time in my life, before Hubs and B4, when disposable income was taken for granted! I still love it :o)

All of my rings found their new home in the Bling Box. From left to right, top to bottom: *Marcasite, bought for myself at a pivotal point in my life. *Sterling silver, bought for myself just 'coz! *A sweet little owl, was my mother's - once lost, then discovered and dug up from the garden! *The first ring my Hubs ever bought for me, which caused a LOT of confusion for my family one Christmas morning!! Alas, no proposal then... *The REAL engagement ring, given to me where we first met on Moreton Island. *A little bumble bee toe ring found by my dad at his work years ago (one of the perks of cleaning pool filters!). *Another 'found' ring on the beaches of Moreton Island. *My great Aunt's opal ring. *And last but not least, my Princess Diana costume ring, bought at a church fair when I was just old enough to earn pocket money! Flanked by odd earrings that I wasn't ready to part with just yet! Thrifty me thinks they might make pretty little pins!
Have you got a special spot to store your Precious's?! When was the last time you gave your jewellery box some serious love? Have your favourite charms lost their lustre?  And if you haven't invested in a jewellery cloth, get onto it! That little necklace you were almost ready to chuck due to it's lacklustre appearance just needs some love from you!!

xo Cassie

29.3.11

She Builds a Dollhouse!

Time for a proper Thrift! To me, thrifting comes in all different shapes and forms, but in definition it is 'Wise economy in the management of money and other resources; frugality.' You've been patient (yet hopefully inspired!) with all of my organising projects, so I thought it was about time I threw in a true thrifty find...

During a trip to Cotton on Kids a little while ago, I stumbled upon one of those REAL bargains! I could hardly believe my eyes, because I had long since buried the dream of having a Dollhouse. Let's face it, I'm a 25 year old woman. Living in a house with 2 icky lovely boys. With no 'Girls Only' space to call my own (though Hubs might argue that I do a pretty good job of making it seem so...).

Actually, the first thing that caught my eye was a dinosaur that would make a perfect present for B4's upcoming Christmas present stash...

After seeing a $10 sale sticker, on what was originally a $39.95 item, we couldn't resist! We grabbed 3 in total because... *ThriftyTip* when you find a great item at a highly reduced price, consider whether you could use some more as presents in the future. It can save last minute gift sprees, or the embarrassment of having nothing on hand for a forgotten birthday!
However, what you see there, is not exactly 'what you get'. The Dinosaur and Dollhouse Plywood creations were a BIY (build it yourself) job! So, when a few weeks later I finally decided to treat myself to the dream Dollhouse (also at the ridiculously low bargain price of $10), this is how it all went...

Yes please!

Hell no RRP!

Hmmm, can't be too hard?

Only the bed was big enough for this job!

Couldn't bear to throw these pieces away, I am just so sure they will come in handy for some little crafty project, and it's all a part of being Thrifty!

Foundations are up!

Onto steadier ground. I did think at this point it started to resemble a girly toolbox?

Already seeing pretty things through my windows!

Taking shape, with an important element....

Coffee!!! It is right here that I will let you in on a little Cassie Quirk; When I see a cup of tea/coffee on tv, in print or in conversation...I WANT ONE! So, thanks to seeing this photo, I am now craving a coffee like it's the last thing I'll drink! But before seeing the pic.....nuthin. No craving. Am I the only one who has this quirky habit?

At this point, I realise the roof is on backwards. Oops.

Ah, much better!

Oh, how I wish my real roof was this pretty!

And....WE'RE DONE! But....I couldn't help but feel it all looked a little empty...lacking in the atmosphere department....

...so in went some dangerous pretty tealights, and voila! Instant swoon factor!

Again, wishing it could be a reality!

Hubs (an electrician by trade) couldn't believe my stupidity ingenuity as far as lighting was concerned...

..but I think it just looks picture perfect, and it gets lit up only on wistful occasions. I am totally in love, and my childhood dreams have been realised!
So, if there's something you've been wishing for, whether since childhood, or only recently: take some comfort in the knowledge that sometimes that dream is merely sittting in some unexpected nook, with a big orange Reduced sticker on it, waiting just for you!

xo Cassie

25.3.11

She Cleans, Declutters AND Organises!

Has it become apparent to you at this point, that although this blog is dubbed 'She Thrifts', I am particularly keen on posting about Decluttering and Organising?

This is because the dream that I am chasing gets closer with every project I complete. I am honing in on my skills and trying to push myself to learn new things everyday, because there are no courses to follow, or certificates to gain. You simply have to work hard and be good at what you do and prove yourself to be worthy of the title of 'Professional Organiser'. One day I hope for this accreditation!

So knowing this, I hope you will settle in and enjoy the journey with me (darn you reality TV for ruining that word), because whilst I thrift in every area of my life, this is where the heart of my drive comes from everyday and I can't help but let it creep into every crevice, much like the colour Turquoise!

So yesterday I devoted to my fridge. Poor fridge was feeling neglected, and it was about time I gave it some good lovin'....

This is how our little fridge looks from the outside (*ThriftyTip-bought second hand in near new condition!).

After reading this post over at Katrina's blog a few weeks ago, I got started on my freezer with some new containers.

Decor had some great ones with re-usable labels, which I have all through my pantry as well. The Decor range is great for a thrifty chick who can't stretch her budget to include Tupperware! Then I grabbed a couple of large rectangle containers from my local Stacks for $2 a pop, because we try to buy our meat in bulk and I needed to get the countless bags of meat under control!

The finished project that night, not too bad at all!

But I never did get to the fridge that day, and so yesterday was the day!

A few grocery shops since my freezer overhaul, and things were getting pretty higgledy-piggledy!

I am known to many as 'The Condiment Girl', I love my sauces, vinegars and pickles! But poor little fridge was struggling to house my collection :o(

I can't tell you how annoying that pink cap bottle was, not fitting under the shelf!

And although the freezer had seen vast improvements, I hadn't yet added this week's grocery shop to the mix...

My new system means that when I run out of a certain meat, I flip the label (attached with velcro dots) and am able to take a quick inventory when we need to write up a shopping list...

...and now all of this had to go away!

Flipping the labels back up so I know what's available for dinner!

Much better!

And I got rid of those pesky bottles and filled up with ones that DO fit nicely. The top shelf houses little leftovers and butter, nothing pretty to see here.

I moved on to the Deli section of the fridge, putting our new ham, crackers and cheese into their little homes; el cheapo, skinny, rectangle take away containers, that fit snuggly and keep everything neat and tidy. One day I'll borrow my sister-in-laws label machine to make it even easier for quick inventory.

After a mammoth clean out (too embarrassing for photo evidence, but I did recycle almost every container!), the condiment shelves are looking MUCH better!

What's that hiding behind my parsley tube?! Why, my wedding perfume of course! Isn't that where you keep yours?! Jokes aside, it is apparently the best way to keep your perfume fresh, and is a refreshing spritz in Summer!

Ta da! Much tidier, cleaner and far less aggravating!

I put B4's snacks into containers, put like items together and freshened up the produce drawer.

My other favourite containers, Sistema KLIP IT because they are airtight and have little partitions to keep like foods separated. Sometimes I chop up vegies for two meals and store them in here when I want to be on top of things!



Now let's play 'Identify This Object'? Any guesses?

Part of being thrifty and keeping to a budget means knowing what you already have. Now that my fridge is up to scratch, I can avoid buying things we don't need. Opting for takeout because you haven't thought about what you're going to eat that night is an easy trap to fall into. Especially if you are a mum, as this time of night is usually hectic and not the environment for an inspired cook!

So take a peek into your fridge today, and if this makes you want to run and hide, spend 15-30 minutes giving it a tidy and a purge so that you can be better prepared for the week ahead!

xo Cassie