Making Space
I’m not getting rid of my house, husband or dog. The change I’m looking for is simply making space. I’m sure I’m not the only one who looks back on ...
Climate Change in the Garden
We’ve seen climate change in the garden recently, because we took the first step toward our extension by cutting down some of the trees and shrubs, most of them weed ...
Bold and Beautiful
Having been out of action for a few weeks, I’ve had plenty of time to look around me at my home. The one we bought and did up twenty years ...
The Smell of Fresh Laundry
I LOVE the smell of fresh laundry – hints of lavender, mown lawn, and a little little bit of sunshine. So with the odd warm day we’ve had lately, I’ve ...
5 Tips for Updating Your Home Without Updating It
In April, I mentioned we had started a list of renovations for updating our home. I had even gone as far as short listing some builders to do the work. ...
Creating a Happy and Healthy Home
Recently there have been a lot of changes in the Blaelock Household, with the aim of creating a happy and healthy home. Mainly leading out from the transplant rejection scare, ...
Life Worth Living Project, Beauty, Friendship, Wealth
How to Choose What To Do First
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I have so much to do that I’m not sure what to do first. Or second. Or last for that matter.
Pleasure, Beauty, Haiku, Wealth
The Benefit of a Good Night’s Sleep
Books: to keep or not keep?
Since I read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, I keep falling over intense, library voice (whispered) bookish debates about whether to keep or not keep books. More often ...
Some Thoughts on Things
I’ve had some thoughts on things: The things we buy, The things we keep, and The things we throw away. That’s a lot of things. Things We Buy My thinking ...
Pleasure, Beauty, Haiku, Wealth
On My Way Back Home
How To Care For Your Best Rooms
In days gone by, houses were much smaller. They generally consisted of Best Rooms like the parlour, where you received guests during designated visiting hours, and everywhere else. Best Rooms ...
About the March of Progress
A harbinger of the March of Progress knocked on my door the other day. She’s a Real Estate agent, and apparently, she’s “very good friends” with my neighbours, though she didn’t specify ...
Housekeeping Standard Practices
We had a “discussion” recently about the current quality of home care, and as I’m hard at work packaging my new book Minimally Viable Housekeeping, (thus the discussion) so I ...
Housework Survey Says: What You Really Think About It
A while back, I mentioned I was inspired to write a book about Housekeeping, and I asked if there was such a thing as minimally viable housework? Well, housework survey ...
The Happiness of Housekeeping Habits and Routines
Work on my new book Minimally Viable Housekeeping is steaming along – I’ve finished the first draft! There’s still work to go on the second draft, but I’m feeling a ...
Doing the Damn Housework; Downton Abbey and You
It seems to me that the problem with doing the Damn Housework is that we’re all amateurs acting like professionals. Doing the Damn Housework Professionals take specialised training, sign up to ...
5 Tips for Surviving Your Renovation
So, if you’ve not been following me on Instagram, you may not know that we’ve been renovating our bathroom (among other things). It’s been what you might call interesting… With that ...
What is Your Home’s Purpose?
There’s nothing like going away for a period of time to make you want to click your red heels three times while chanting “There’s no place like home.” And when ...
What Would Your Life Without Electricity Supply Be Like?
With the changing of the seasons, the recent closure of our largest coal-fired power station, and my increasingly unreliable electricity supply, I’ve been considering modern life without electricity delivered to ...
Friendship, Beauty, Pleasure, Wealth, Wisdom
Alexandria’s Adventure in Morning Routine
The morning routine above starts ...
Signature Wardrobe House Cleaning Outfit
As you know, I have been trying (for a long time) to lift my game on cleaning house. Aside from clothes that are loose, with elbow length sleeves I haven’t ...
The Surprising Benefits of Home Ergonomics
I want to start by apologising to Katy because she has just renovated her kitchen. If you have recently renovated your kitchen too, just close this window and move on ...
Friendship, Beauty, Pleasure, Wisdom
Ruminations on Rodents
My side of the planet is leaning away from the sun as if it is too hot to bear at present, and according to the news, it really is in ...
Wibbly Wobbly Family Timey Wimey
Three Generations c. 1880-1900, via State Library of Victoria We just got home from a mad dash back to the town we grew up in (as opposed to our hometown, where we live ...