Gifts & Household Archives - Page 3 of 3

September 15, 2019June 26, 2021

5 Easy Ways to Reuse Old Toothbrushes & Reduce Waste

recycling, old toothbrushes, eco-friendly, tips, how-to

Hey! Another week has gone by, so it’s time for another episode of Jenny’s Everything’s Famtastic!!! Just to help you imagine that better, that should be announced in goofy, game-show-host voice. 😉

This week has been crazy busy between still getting our school routine down pat and juggling everybody’s extracurricular activities. I am sure I have mentioned before that German school times tend not be the same each day of the week. Mondays til 11.15? Sure! And Tuesdays? Nah, let’s schedule ‘em til 1.00!. *rolls eyes*

And not forgetting, that halfway through the school year everybody gets a whole new timetable and the adjusting and juggling starts all over again. Which of course also impacts on the extracurricular activities start times! Like currently. When I foolishly thought music lessons would always and forever be on Thursday afternoon. Apparently I am just some naïve, clueless foreigner…

Can you tell I sound a little frazzled?!?

But I’m not here today to rant about the German school system, believe it or not, LOL. No, in a convoluted way, I wanted to write about trying to reduce waste in our household. A few weeks back I talked about upcycling fabrics for sewing projects. And in a couple of weeks I will be sharing some helpful tips from my friend who is well along the path to living plastic-free. I am REALLY looking forward to her insights. Watch this space!!

I myself, still have a looooong way to go on that track. But I am aware that every person should be trying to do a little more to reduce waste in this world. Me included, of course! This week, one small event reactivated my thinking about reusing a simple household item.

“Surely you don’t mean….?” you ask.

**drumroll please**

August 25, 2019June 26, 2021

Sewing + Upcycling = Win

sewing, sewing projects, diy, diy sewing, upcycling

Yo, hello! I hope you have all been having a Famtastic week! Here it was the last full week of summer school holidays. Just a couple of days left and then we are thrown back into the (so very, very early, every morning) school schedule.

I truly imagined having some time to pursue my own hobbies these holidays. Yes, snigger at me, if you wish. But I really had fantasised about getting some sewing done. Leggings for the girls, a shirt for me, perhaps a shirt for Master 5. Let us take a moment to contemplate whether I did any of those things…

**3 milliseconds later**

Alas, NO. I did not. Is this how it is for you during school holidays too? Imagine squeezing in some Mama time and end up with perhaps a microscopic amount of Mama time?!?

Anyway, I did, however, repair a stack of holes in children’s clothes. “Wow!” I hear you say. Yes, I find that neither fun nor satisfying. What I DO enjoy is creating handmade clothes and other goodies. Like shirts and leggings and skirts.

What I have been experimenting with more recently though is UPCYCLING in my sewing projects.

So what is upcycling anyway? And why would anyone want to do it? Hint: Upcycling does not mean riding a bike up a steep hill 😉.

May 27, 2019June 26, 2021

How to Make Easy Money Selling Your Old Stuff

Another Sunday, another post here in Everything’s Famtastic. I know last week’s post was pretty heavy going. What, with talking about cornea transplants and pirate eye patches and such. By the way, my eyeball had the doctors raving with excitement at my check-up last week 😉.

This week I thought I ought to write something different! Something positive, motivating and hopefully really helpful. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like to feel encouraged and nudged along sometimes?

Of course, at times a swift kick up the butt is needed to get things done! But today I was aiming more for the inform-and-inspire method of helping you to get the most out of a great opportunity to make some quick money. No, this is not one of those get-rich-in-a-scandalous-way-pyramid-type schemes.

I’m talking about selling your old stuff that you don’t need or want anymore!

declutter, easy money, sell your old stuff, spring clean, flea market — Now what to do with all this?!?

I spoke to a bunch of family and friends who have sold household items, clothes, books and more; between them they have sold at dozens of garage sales, flea markets and also online. And now I share with you, dear reader, their best advice on how to prepare well and how to make your sale successful!

March 31, 2019March 16, 2022

Sew Yourself Cute Fabric Baskets with this Easy Tutorial

pin pinterest, sewing, sewing project, diy, diy sewing, fabric basket

Hello and willkommen to Everything’s Famtastic this week! How’s things looking in your part of the world? Here it’s been all a bit hectic. Mostly a typical week actually 😉. But I did squeeze in some more sewing at home. Sitting at the sewing machine is certainly a happy place for me 😊. A definite highlight of the week was Miss 7’s school music concert. It was really sweet- nearly 60 second-graders had been practising a number of song and dance moves for a few months. **so proud**

Do you remember the other week I wrote about how we have begun the mammoth task of decluttering and tidying our house with the KonMari method as inspiration, so far we have been tackling clothes. At last count, 4 out of 5 of us have decluttered and superbly (if I do say so myself) stored our clothes in a more ordered manner in the wardrobes. The billions of books in the house are still terrifying me and will definitely need an all-hands-on-deck approach.

But what I wanted to share with you today- for FREE!- is how I made those cute fabric baskets I had also talked about in that post.Easy to sew, multi-purpose, use any leftover fabric you have lying around, look great… WINNER!

So, are you keen? Without further ado, start your sewing engines! Here’s what you’ll need to sew your own collection of handmade baskets:

March 17, 2019June 26, 2021

7 Brilliant Benefits of Decluttering Your Home

Yo what up peeps? Er… nah. Just kidding. Totally doesn’t work for me.

*starts typing again*

Hey! How are you going? What’s been happening for you this past week? Me? I have been getting excited about tidying. Yes folks, you read it here first! I did indeed say that I was getting excited. About tidying. More specifically, decluttering.

If you are anything like me, when you look around a disorderly, cluttered room, it weighs down on you. It all just feels so… much. I literally feel my shoulders sag. My mood sinks. I sigh. My stress and frustration levels rise as I think of how I wish the room would be. Less stuff. Tidier. Cleaner. How I wish everyone in the house was as bothered by the clutter as I am and inspired enough to do something about it. But alas…

So I have told myself, enough is enough. This family of 5 is getting it’s house into shape. And everyone is going to have to play their part if we are all to enjoy a more relaxed household and a more chilled Mama 😉.

Therefore, let the organising begin! Come join in the fun of Jenny decluttering and read about this in-home adventure!

February 24, 2019June 26, 2021

5 Ways to Deal with an Overwhelming Household

household, how-to, tips, stress less, housework

Do you have sometimes have days when you feel overwhelmed by life? By your household? By your kids? C’mon, you can be honest here! Raise your hand!

**raises hand**

Of course everyone has tough days. Anyone who denies ever having a rough day (or week, or perhaps month) is kidding themselves and fooling no one. Life throws us lots of opportunities. And sometimes life just throws lemons. (yeah yeah, we’ve all heard it before, make lemonade, yada yada).

Anyway… when life at home with kids, or a partner, or a barnyard full of animals, seems gruelling, repetitive, thankless, boring, frustrating, uncontrollable- shall I stop now?!- it can all seem a little, well, too much.

What can you do? The #1 thing to remember: You are not alone!

You are not the only one facing this crisis, this mood, this shitty day. Say it to yourself: “I am not alone”. Say it again. Say it a thousand times if you need to. Because it is true and you should believe it. What are the chances that

November 30, 2018June 25, 2021

Make Classic Calendars from Your Fantastic Photos

So, it’s already November, which means the clock is ticking towards December. Not ticking. Racing toward December. This of course means Christmas is coming, ready or not!

I am generally not prepared weeks in advance for the so-called silly season. But I AM determined to do things differently this year. That means getting organised with gifts. Or at least gift ideas…