Tuesday 2 June 2009

Scrappy Purchases and a Scrappy Makeover (& a bit of weekend buzz...)

This weekend was full & busy & enjoyable. Friday night was spent at home ploughing through kid's homework, projects, studying, etc, so that the rest of the weekend could be calm & relaxed. Got some blog-hopping done & a nice chunk of reading. Saturday saw Jack & I start our day at 5.30a.m to get him to the school bus on time for him to leave for a hockey match in Pietermaritzburg. Driving through the streets of Durban at that hour was quite surreal. The place actually looked half-decent without the beggars at every traffic-light! It was still dark when we left home & the street lights shining on the lagoon would have made an awesome photograph had my camera not been in for repair;-(

Had a new gardener booked for the day as my last one left for Jo'burg, in search of greener pastures. He was here bright & early so I spent an enjoyable hour with him showing him what needed to be done & getting my paws into some soil. Mmmm...that was great...can't wait to have my own garden again...Had an hour's peace while the rest of the kids slept so got through some computer work then went out to do some household chores. Got the grocery shopping done & a couple of much needed clothing items purchased for the boys. Popped into a LSS & picked up this. Thickers...my favourite...


Received this in the post.


The lesson to be learnt here is DO NOT BUY ANYTHING ON LINE WITHOUT A PHOTO - NO MATTER HOW NICE IT SOUNDS OR YOU COULD JUST END UP WITH THIS!!!

Went to Waltons (read "Large stationery chain") & came out with this. It's a Lever Arch file shelf (meant to be turned on it's side to accomodate files so they stand up next to each other without falling down).


I have been on the hunt for years for a paper storage rack. There is no such thing in Durban, unless you get one custom-made. (Don't come cheap...) I had bought one of these months ago but needed another. Whilst school stationery shopping for the kids in January I had stopped a minute to ponder this Lever Arch file shelf... mad storage fanatic that I am. Lightbulb moment!!! I took out my handbag tape-measure & my hopes were instantly confirmed. A paper storage solution AT LONG LAST! R200 later I trotted home with this baby.

Functional...yes. Attractive? NO. So began the transformation. 4 willing kids later (okay, not really willing ALL the time as their attention span is limited - some more than others!) we sorted out my offcut basket into colours. Laborious exercise but long overdue. Once that was done & they were long gone to way more exciting pursuits (read PC games, DVD watching, DS lite games , etc, etc...) I got to work tearing my offcuts into roundish shapes & started sticking...


Until my paper rack looked like this.


Not too shabby huh? I gave it a couple of coats of varnish & now I am busy sorting out all my papers so that I can fill it. All the while I had Shayne's Tuscan bean soup bubbling away on the stove & had fresh ciabatta bread ready & butter softening. 6 hours later my feet were killing me (I do everything standing because one burns more calories that way - I say "one" because that one ain't me...unfortunately...but I still plug away at it in hope!) Needless to say we all enjoyed a hearty meal that night & a solid night's sleep! For those of you who know me well, you'll know that me sleeping through the night is no mean feat. Now I have the solution, wake up at 5.30a.m. & slog away like a Trojan all day. That does it!


5 comments:

brigitte said...

Hi Helen, i have been looking for a solution for my papers for the last 2 months, you have found the perfect solution.

Have a great day.

Vicki said...

Scrappy storage is neverending. I'm doing the button thing at the mo! LOL

topkatnz said...

The ribbon you got in the post looks quite nice ... LOL

Jenny in Durbs said...

Wow you are great, I have been looking for paper storage solutions for ages & the overseas options are just too expensive to bring in. That is just great & the effort of yours to cover it is super congratulations.

Shayne said...

I think i told you how i love my paper holder? Mine is black tho so seriously need to redecorate - i thought of using leftover wallpaper. just need to get to it tho.

Glad you enjoyed the soup.

And yes, getting up early, working hard all day is the secret to sleeping well. that's how i do it!