Making a kitchen handbook - Part 1

For a while now I have kept a handwritten book of my favourite recipes in the kitchen. This has worked quite well, but there is more to the kitchen than just recipes. I wanted somewhere to record not just recipes but also shopping lists, cleaning schedules and more.
There are numerous blog posts online about home management binders and this is sort of the same thing, only I'm concentrating on just the kitchen for now.

The first step was to find a suitable place to keep everything. I decided to use an ordinary ring binder with plastic wallets. This keeps everything in one place and I can shuffle the contents about as needed (unlike my handwritten recipe book!).

For today, all I'm putting in there is information about the electrical equipment I use in my kitchen. I've put all of the instruction booklets in there and have also drawn up a cleaning schedule for the equipment.

The cleaning schedule is very straight forward, it is simply a table with a list of the equipment, how often it should be cleaned and how it should be cleaned.

You can download my cleaning schedule from Google Drive and edit it to suit your own purpose if you wish.

Ready for Christmas?

www.christmas-graphics-plus.com

With less than three weeks to go until the big day, many people are panicking about Christmas. I know a lot of people who really enjoy the festive season and love picking out presents for people, decorating their homes and really getting into the spirit of things.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people! Maybe it comes from working in retail over the Christmas period or maybe it's the fact that I'm not religious at all. But I really do not see the big deal about Christmas. People waste money they don't have on things they don't need. People work themselves up into a frenzy and panic about which mass-produced tacky gift to buy their aunt who they only see once a year.
Of course, a lot of people say that they don't want an extravagant Christmas, they just want to spend time with their loved ones and enjoy the holiday season. But how often does that actually happen in reality? This year I'm working everyday except Christmas day, and I know many people have to work on Christmas Day too.

My boyfriend has bought presents for all of his family, but I haven't bought any presents and won't be pressured into doing so. My family will understand my views when I explain that I don't wish to waste money on a gift for them that they'd probably never use anyway. I might give them a token gift such as some homemade cakes or a book that I know they want. But I refuse to buy gifts for someone just for the sake of it.

I also think that the amount of food that goes to waste is absolutely shocking! I work in a supermarket and I see people leaving with two trolley-loads of food. Of course, they might well have a huge family who they are having over for dinner. But do they really need all of that food? Nobody wants to be still eating Christmas food halfway through February so have a bit of common sense. If you are cooking for family, plan your menu and only buy what you need.

I didn't mean for this post to turn into a rant, so I will try to end on a positive note. This is the ideal time of year to do something charitable. Donate some of your unwanted gifts to a charity shop, give some food to the food bank or volunteer at a charity. Christmas can be a difficult time for many people and anything you can do to help would be a benefit.

Merry Christmas and enjoy those mince pies!

Meat Feast Pasta Bake

Meat Feast Pasta Bake

This delicious pasta bake is easy to make and tastes just like pepperoni pizza. You can eat it hot or cold. Makes enough for 4 people, with some left over. You can adjust the recipe to suit your tastes by adding more or less of the meats and cheese. You could also add vegetables such as mushrooms or peppers.

350g pasta
1 can condensed cream of tomato soup
125ml milk
100g grated cheese
75g sliced pepperoni
100g sliced chorizo
3-4 chopped rashers of bacon or lardons

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Put the pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook according to the directions on the packet.
2. Meanwhile, heat the chorizo, bacon and half of the pepperoni in a saucepan for about 3 minutes. You don't need any oil, just keep stirring to make sure the meat doesn't stick to the pan.
3. Add the tomato soup and the milk to the same pan as the meat.
4. Bring to the boil and stir in a handful of the grated cheese. Leave to simmer gently while the pasta finishes cooking in the other pan.
5. Drain the pasta and mix together with the sauce. Place the mixture in an oven-proof dish and top with the rest of the cheese and pepperoni.
6. Place in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until cheese is bubbling and golden.

Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before serving. You can serve it on it's own, or with a side salad and garlic bread.

Tips for maintaining a healthy weight

I'm very lucky and have never been in a position where I need to lose weight. I've maintained an average weight of 9 stone for the past 6 years. Here are some of of the things I do or have done that may be useful to anyone else trying to maintain their healthy weight.

1. Walk wherever and whenever you can. Walking is free and can be great fun too. Make sure you wear suitable shoes for walking in.
2. Always take the stairs. It might not sound like much, but if you always take the escalator or lift think of the extra exercise you could be getting just by running up an extra flight of stairs.
3. Take one less sugar in your hot drinks. If you take two sugars in your tea, cut down gradually to one and a half and then down to one. Eventually you could even go without any sugar in your drink.
4. Eat smaller portions or fill up on vegetables. For example if you're having sausage and mash and you usually have three sausages, try only having one sausage and give yourself extra mash if you're still hungry.
5. Take a packed lunch to work. If I don't take lunch with me I end up buying junk food out of the vending machine. It's much better to take a sandwich and some healthy snacks from home. This also saves you money!
6. Snacks are fine in moderation. I try to keep lots of healthy snacks in my cupboard. Dried fruit is a good alternative to sweet treats and crackers are a good alternative to crisps. Everybody is entitled to a naughty treat now and then, just try and limit yourself to one or two a day. Don't beat yourself up if you binge on chocolate once in a while!
7. Go for the low-fat options wherever you can. For example, today I had a reduced fat blueberry muffin instead of the full-fat version. I didn't notice any difference in taste. Do check the ingredients though as some low-fat foods contain other hidden nasties instead.
8. Know your size. Measure your waist and chest to make sure you are wearing the right size clothes. There's no shame in having to buy a bigger size, the important thing is that your clothes fit correctly and make you feel good about yourself.
9. Weigh yourself. You might not like the look of that number on the scales, but you need to know it, otherwise how will you know if you've lost or gained anything?
10. Enjoy life and love yourself. If you are happy and confident then it won't matter what size you are. Also if you're busy having fun you won't be sat on the sofa comfort eating that junk food!

Please note: These are advice only and may or may not work for you. Seek medical advice before making any drastic changes to your diet or lifestyle.

Online Shopping

I did a cheeky bit of online shopping today. I realized that because I've been trying to save money recently I haven't bought myself any new clothes in several months. Also, after decluttering my wardrobe and sorting through my underwear drawer I now have some space for new stuff!

I bought myself some pretty new underwear, a denim blouse and a new pair of trousers. I'll be posting a photo once they arrive (although not of the underwear! lol).

I enjoy shopping online. Not only is it easy to find a bargain without having to fight through crowds and wait in queues, it's also double the fun of high street shopping. First you get the initial buzz that retail therapy normally gives you, then secondly when your purchases arrive at your door it's like getting a present from yourself!

Just another day...

I've had a super busy day today. Firstly, this morning I had to go to work (yawn, right?). After I got home I had some Amazon sales to mail out, I'm selling things quite fast over there, although not really making much money yet! I then did a bit more decluttering, today I followed FlyLady's mission to clear out my underwear drawer.

I also had to do some college work. It's IT and I'm not struggling because it's hard, I'm struggling because it's too easy! My tasks for this week are to write instructions on how to create a new save folder and how to insert a picture and labels into a Word document. I used to help teach an over 50's computer class, so these tasks are a breeze, the problem is getting the motivation to do it.

I'm planning on making pepperoni pizza for dinner and then I'm going to sit down and have a read through my new issue of Mollie Makes magazine and maybe have a go at the cute fox brooch kit that came with it.

Decluttering, Part 2

My last post (over a month ago, oops!) Decluttering My Home listed some of the tips I'd found useful as I began to declutter my home.

I've already got rid of anything that was rubbish, that is anything that was broken, worthless or just plain trash. I've also set aside some things that can be donated to charity. this includes things like clothes and any free gifts that came with magazines that I have no use for.

There are of course some things that I didn't want to give away or throw away even though I didn't really want to keep them either. These were the things that I had paid a lot of money for, or that I knew were worth some money. I've decided to try and sell some of these things myself. Obviously I don't want to hang onto this stuff forever in the hope of making some quick cash, so I'm going to set a time limit. That way if I haven't managed to sell something within a month I'll feel less guilty about giving it away.

So where's a good place to sell these things? I don't have a car, garage or yard so car boot sales, garage or yard sales are out. I do however live in a block of flats where people are always moving in and out. This makes it very easy to sell the larger household items that I no longer need, all I have to do is put a notice on the noticeboard. I have also found some local groups on Facebook which are useful for selling items locally, however I did have some issues with trying to get the group administrators to approve my posts quickly and I also encountered a few timewasting buyers.

However, I intend to sell most things online. I am using Amazon for selling books, DVDs, CDs and games. Although I'm not likely to make much money through this because their fees are quite high, there is quite a quick turnaround and I managed to make 3 sales in the first 24 hours.
For craft supplies I'm thinking of using Etsy and/or Folksy as I have had good experiences with these in the past.

For everything else I will probably turn to Ebay. One issue I have with Ebay is that listing items can be a lengthy process, also it can be hard to get your items noticed.

I think I'm going to concentrate on using one selling site at a time. For the meantime I'm quite in love with the simplicity of listing on Amazon. I love that all you have to do is type in the barcode and all the information is already there for you.

In case you're curious here's my Amazon storefront.

Decluttering my home

My boyfriend and I live in a one bedroom apartment. It's not overly small, but after being here nearly two years things are starting to look a bit cluttered. I've been slowly going through everything and deciding if we really need to keep all of the stuff we've accumulated. Here are a few of the tips I've been following during this process:

1. Don't try to do everything in one go. I found it easier to focus on one area at a time, for example the desk or the bathroom cabinet. This also ensures that you don't pull out too much in one go and end up with more mess than you started with!
2. Take pride in what you have achieved. Decluttering is frustrating, but it's worth it once you've cleared an area and it makes you happy.
3. Clean as you go. If you take everything off a shelf, wipe the shelf before you put stuff back. Also clean any ornaments and pictures at the same time.
4. Be ruthless. If something has been sat in a drawer for over a year without being used, chances are you won't miss it if you throw it out.
5. If you want to sell something or donate it to charity do it as soon as possible. If you put things to one side to deal with later you might forget about them and they'll still be there three months down the line.
6. Rearrange furniture. This can give your room a fresh new look and almost make you feel like you've moved house!
7. Instead of buying new things try to make use of what you already have. You might find a use for something if you move it to another room. For example, I had a chest of drawers in the bedroom that wasn't being used, so I moved it to the hallway and it now stores gloves and hats as well as making my hallway more welcoming.

8. Don't throw away other people's stuff before checking with them. I filled a box with my boyfriend's things and gave it to him to sort through. He ended up throwing it all out anyway, but at least I hadn't unintentionally thrown out something that he needed.
9. Keep at it. I still have a long way to go with sorting out our home, but I do a little bit each day and it gives me something to do if I get bored.
10. Don't feel guilty. I was feeling guilty about getting rid of things that I'd received as presents or things that I'd spent a lot of money on. But at the end of the day, if you're not using it, why keep it? You can sell things or donate them to charity and hopefully they'll go to somebody who can use them.

I hope these tips help you if you're trying to declutter and organise your home. 

What I like to read

I have quite a varied taste when it comes to books. When it comes to fiction I'll read pretty much anything except sci-fi or mills and boon style romances. It really depends on my mood. Some days I fancy some light reading and go for a chick-lit book with a bit of humour and romance, my favourite authors in this genre are Sophie Kinsella and Veronica Henry. Other days I like something a bit meatier and go for historical fiction or crime thrillers and my favourite authors for those are Andrew Pepper and P.D. James.

I also read young adult fiction, particularly fantasy-style novels and have been devouring vampire novels recently (see what I did there lol). I especially like Maria V. Snyder and Rachel Caine's books.

When I'm not reading fiction I like to read true-crime books, these can range from Jack the Ripper to modern forensic techniques. My interest in these also inspired me to start studying criminology at college.

If you're interested in seeing more about my reading habits feel free to check out my LibraryThing page.

Review: Craftseller issue 26

Craftseller issue 26 and free gift

I really love Craftseller magazine. It's different to other craft magazines because the projects inside are designed for you to make and sell. The magazine also gives loads of advice on opening and running a craft business either online or offline. This issue contains lots of fab craft ideas including: Russian dolls, crochet puppies, tea cup pincushion and some yummy baking recipes. There are also some interesting articles including upcoming trends, interviews with craft business owners and information about crafty courses. The free gift with this issue was some ribbon which could be used to make tags for your handmade items. Also each issue contains some free scrapbook papers and ideas on how to use them.

I would highly recommend Craftseller magazine, even if you don't have your own craft business yet. It is very inspiring and will give you some great ideas.

Folksy Shop

I finally took the plunge and set up a Folksy shop. You can find it at http://folksy.com/shops/ElsieLayton, I haven't got much listed at the moment but will hopefully be adding more over the next week or so.

Review: Mollie Makes issue 29

 

This month's Mollie Makes magazine is very summery and contains some great looking projects and features. The free gift is a kit to make a fabric sardines keyring, this looks like a quick and easy project which I'm looking forward to making. The cover project is crochet ice creams and felt ice lollies which I think would make great decorations for a summer party. There are also instructions on how to make the ice creams into a baby mobile. 

Other projects in the magazine include a denim quilt made from old jeans, a topsy turvy doll, a crochet rug, a shopping bag and a felt camera-shaped bag. The projects all have easy-to-follow instructions including step-by-step pictures. 

This issue also contains an interview with Jenny Hart (of Sublime Stitching), a travel article about Copenhagen and a tour of Katherina Wörmann's very colourful apartment.

I really enjoy Mollie Makes magazine because it's so much more than just a craft magazine. If you haven't picked up this magazine before, I highly recommend it. Also, every issue comes with a free gift!

Home Sweet Home Cross Stitch

This kit is designed by Joan Elliott and came free with World of Cross Stitching issue 188.

I really enjoyed stitching this design. It came together very quickly and looks really sweet. There were supposed to be some french knots in the design, but I left them out because I don't like them. 

Welcome

This is my blog about life, hobbies, animals and anything else I fancy posting about. I will be posting photos of some of my craft projects from the past couple of years and also sharing some tips about crafting and housekeeping.
I hope you will enjoy my blog.