Se7en Things We Have Learned Lately…

Firstly can I just say… MASSIVE decluttering is going on over here… I firmly believe in donating stuff on, throwing stuff out and generally clearing out. But we haven’t done it thoroughly for a while… We are winding our way through every room, every closet, every drawer… the time has come. I cannot endure another day of looking in a drawer for one thing, discovering something that belongs elsewhere, something that I have been looking for for months. Only, when I go to put it there… there is a box full of accumulated stuff in its particular space. The time has come and we are busy busy busy… It looks a bomb went off over here… but stuff is being tossed… and it always looks a lot worse before it gets better.

And how did I get my kids motivated and involved… well I told my kids that they couldn’t start their school year till everything was sorted out. I know it makes no sense to me either… but they have dived in with enthusiasm… clearly a couple of weeks out of school and they are ready for some rhythm and routine again. Meanwhile, I made a list… popped it on the fridge and until the list is completely ticked there will be no school. The fact that they are learning plenty of life skills and listening away to audible books while they work has slipped right past them. So the list goes on (and often grows as I think of more things)… and my gang continue to tackle the project… with beach days and swim days thrown into the mix for blessed relief.

1. Temporary Tattoo Day is a Thing: For all the routine sorting and tossing and cleaning out, we still save the gifted soaps, the new candles, the pristine notebooks and ALL the stickers. This year we are going to use up all the stickers that are saved “for some random special event” … It appears that we all love stickers and keep forever. And in the same category, but not on quite such a scary scale… temporary tattoos… what can I say… stashed in drawers, used as bookmarks, saved in little containers. So keeping it simple… temporary tattoo day is looming and we are going to be sticking stickers on everything this year…

2. In other news we opened our online store: and I am so excited about that. Our first product is our calendar for the whole of 2019… ready to print out and colour immediately. If you don’t want to a calendar to colour in and would prefer a pristine and blank one… then that option is open to you too… Click on the link at the top of the site, it takes you straight to the store.

3. A Gretchen Rubin Workshop in Jo’burg: Otherwise I have been going on and on about the fabulousness of Gretchen Rubin after reading to and listening to all her books last year. Well, for our Jo’burg followers I have a lovely surprise for you: My friend Marcia of Organising Queen fame is holding a workshop on the Four Tendencies: I know it will be fantastic… Check out her instagram feed to find out more. You can read more about her workshop on her blog over here.

4. Go and Swim in the Sea or Not: I posted this picture on instagram… encouraging all the moms out there that if they haven’t been for a swim in the sea this summer that you should definitely get out there and go swimming. I have been swimming out to the buoy in the bay almost daily… it’s been lovely. But that very day I learned that if the shark sirens go off while you are way out at the buoy, you don’t swim back to the shore, instead you swim straight to the rocky shore on the side and the lifeguards will help you out. You might have to crawl over mussel shells, but with the siren going off and life guards saying get out, get out. Just saying. Yes, we always swim inside the shark nets… and my kids swim close to the shore and were out in a flash. I have to say, I have kind of stuck to swimming in a pool since then. But the call of the sea draws me back…

5. A Modern Day Hero for Your Gals: If you are looking for a gal who just rocked the world this week then you have to read this article: Jasmin Paris becomes first woman to win 268-mile Montane Spine Race. She didn’t just win, she conquered it, all the while nursing her babe. Read it… incredible achievement.

6. Nal’ibali continues to publish picture books in the Sunday papers, in fact this past week was their 150th publication… look out for them in the Sunday papers or head to their website to print out free story books for children, published in numerous South African languages, because children need to hear stories in their very own language.

7. And Hearty Crafts Over on Red Ted Art: This time last year I blogged our hearty crafts over on Red Ted Art’s crafty blog… and I will be blogging a brand new Valentine heart over there, on Red Ted Art next week. Just before you forget completely there is another sweet holiday coming up. Forewarned is forearmed and all that… its always a good idea to have a few crafts up your sleeve before the holidays hit you.

Hope you have had a restful weekend, I am really looking forward to this week… we will be launching our new video series… it is finally, finally going to happen.