Wow, this sounds like it's going to be profound and soul searching! Life's lessons, THE very important lessons ... and from whom I learnt them.
But where to begin? There have been so many life changing lessons. Possibly the best place to start is with my older-and-wiser sister. She's been around for all of my life so I've probably learnt more from her than I realise. (I'm sure she would agree!)
Lesson 1.
Dry as much washing as possible on hangers on the clothes line.
Yes, I know, profound, very profound! But, hey, it makes putting the washing away fundamentally easy and it eliminates peg marks. I don't know why I didn't think of this before I saw it in action on my sister's clothes line ... I suppose that why she's older and wiser!
Yes, I know, profound, very profound! But, hey, it makes putting the washing away fundamentally easy and it eliminates peg marks. I don't know why I didn't think of this before I saw it in action on my sister's clothes line ... I suppose that why she's older and wiser!
So, on washing days, I raid every wardrobe for empty hangers and head to the line with my basket and my cache of hangers. Every T-shirt, shirt, dress, cardigan ... goes on a hanger and into the FNQ sunshine (of which we have plenty). Well, maybe not cardigan, they don't get a showing up here!
My clothes line looks something like this ...
Not the most inspiring photo, I know! Lots of things on hangers in between ... tea towels, skirts, socks ... so that the hangers are kept separate and don't end up blown together at the far end of the line.
Lesson 2.
This lesson links very closely with Lesson 1 ... sadly. It was learnt from my wonderful French-canal-boat-owning-friend, Lorraine.
Don't iron anything unless it really, REALLY needs to be ironed and then only when it's just about to be worn. Always take clothes straight from the clothes line to the wardrobe.
It's amazing how many wrinkles disappear with the help of the wardrobe fairies.
How often, in the past, did I go to the wardrobe only to find that whatever I had selected needed to be re-ironed! Oh, the agony! And, how often did I iron something that would have been perfectly well ironed by the magic of body heat!
My mother was an ironer ... enough said.
Lesson 3.
You're going to think I'm obsessed with things to do with washing! This lesson stems from my mother-of-a-menagerie-of-many-animals-friend, Suzanne, whom I've known since high school.
Hang sheets so a crease line forms perfectly down their middle.
Another extremely profound lesson! But ... making a beautifully balanced bed is easy when the centre of the sheet is clearly visible because of a crisp clothes' line crease. Sad, I know but I am an obsessive bed maker.
My sheets hang on the line like this ...
I know, another super inspiring photo!
My pineapple-loving-friend, Linda, hangs her sheets the opposite way, with the crease down the middle width ways. I tried it, but it didn't work for me. So, I'm sticking with my method.
When I think about it, this method would keep the top of the sheets smoother ... I might give it another try.
But MLP hates making the bed and having a crisp crease down the centre of the sheet makes his bed making experience a little less traumatic. Oh, the dilemma!
Lesson 4.
Now I'm seriously beginning to worry because this one is about washing too!
Put towels in the dryer for 10 minutes before hanging them on the line and they'll be beautiful and fluffy.
Yep, 10 minutes or even less, is enough to fluff them up so I don't rip my epidermis off when I dry myself. I looovve soft, fluffy towels and I used to waste so much electricity drying towels to the n'th degree in the dryer until I learnt, from I-have-no-idea-where, the 10 minute rule.
It's my little gesture to help save the planet.
Lesson 5.
A non-washing lesson ... but it is about cooking and cleaning ... that's sadly very close to washing.
Wipe the cooktop down while it's still hot. Learnt from my nanna, my mother's mother, a woman my sister and I both aspire to be like. We loved her.
Yes, I burn the odd finger every now and then, but the drips and dribbles don't have a chance to bake on and I'm happy.
Lesson 6.
Yea, totally unrelated to washing or cleaning!
Make the most of every bit of free wi-fi available. Learnt from my cousin and fellow iPad mini owner, Maria.
Now that I have my iPad mini and I've joined the world of blogging and Pinterest, my current wi-fi arrangement is far from enough.
I naively thought free wi-fi was somehow restricted to an amount of download or time but, no, it seems not so. Maria never updates or downloads new apps using her own limited wi-fi. She trots off to her local library, art gallery, shopping centre, iPad mini on board, and taps into the free stuff. Amazing!
She even has an app that tells her where free wi-fi is available! She is the QUEEN of apps and the QUEEN of free wi-fi!
So now I take my iPad mini with me whenever I leave the house. You never know where some free wi-fi might be lurking.
And, yes, I am going to upgrade my wi-fi plan but not till we've made the move south. So, for now, I'll be a regular at my local shopping centre and library. The free air-conditioning is a welcome added bonus in the FNQ humidity.
I'm thinking that's enough of my soul searching lessons about life for one blog post.
I know many of you must be thinking, "You didn't know these things!?!" And the answer is, "No." Somehow I missed the information sessions that included these tit-bits of life skills, but I'm well on the way to catching up.
I'm hoping you have some other amazing life lessons to share with me. I still have much to learn ...
Lesson 2.
This lesson links very closely with Lesson 1 ... sadly. It was learnt from my wonderful French-canal-boat-owning-friend, Lorraine.
Don't iron anything unless it really, REALLY needs to be ironed and then only when it's just about to be worn. Always take clothes straight from the clothes line to the wardrobe.
It's amazing how many wrinkles disappear with the help of the wardrobe fairies.
How often, in the past, did I go to the wardrobe only to find that whatever I had selected needed to be re-ironed! Oh, the agony! And, how often did I iron something that would have been perfectly well ironed by the magic of body heat!
My mother was an ironer ... enough said.
Lesson 3.
You're going to think I'm obsessed with things to do with washing! This lesson stems from my mother-of-a-menagerie-of-many-animals-friend, Suzanne, whom I've known since high school.
Hang sheets so a crease line forms perfectly down their middle.
Another extremely profound lesson! But ... making a beautifully balanced bed is easy when the centre of the sheet is clearly visible because of a crisp clothes' line crease. Sad, I know but I am an obsessive bed maker.
My sheets hang on the line like this ...
I know, another super inspiring photo!
My pineapple-loving-friend, Linda, hangs her sheets the opposite way, with the crease down the middle width ways. I tried it, but it didn't work for me. So, I'm sticking with my method.
When I think about it, this method would keep the top of the sheets smoother ... I might give it another try.
But MLP hates making the bed and having a crisp crease down the centre of the sheet makes his bed making experience a little less traumatic. Oh, the dilemma!
Lesson 4.
Now I'm seriously beginning to worry because this one is about washing too!
Put towels in the dryer for 10 minutes before hanging them on the line and they'll be beautiful and fluffy.
Yep, 10 minutes or even less, is enough to fluff them up so I don't rip my epidermis off when I dry myself. I looovve soft, fluffy towels and I used to waste so much electricity drying towels to the n'th degree in the dryer until I learnt, from I-have-no-idea-where, the 10 minute rule.
It's my little gesture to help save the planet.
Lesson 5.
A non-washing lesson ... but it is about cooking and cleaning ... that's sadly very close to washing.
Wipe the cooktop down while it's still hot. Learnt from my nanna, my mother's mother, a woman my sister and I both aspire to be like. We loved her.
Yes, I burn the odd finger every now and then, but the drips and dribbles don't have a chance to bake on and I'm happy.
Lesson 6.
Yea, totally unrelated to washing or cleaning!
Make the most of every bit of free wi-fi available. Learnt from my cousin and fellow iPad mini owner, Maria.
Now that I have my iPad mini and I've joined the world of blogging and Pinterest, my current wi-fi arrangement is far from enough.
I naively thought free wi-fi was somehow restricted to an amount of download or time but, no, it seems not so. Maria never updates or downloads new apps using her own limited wi-fi. She trots off to her local library, art gallery, shopping centre, iPad mini on board, and taps into the free stuff. Amazing!
She even has an app that tells her where free wi-fi is available! She is the QUEEN of apps and the QUEEN of free wi-fi!
And, yes, I am going to upgrade my wi-fi plan but not till we've made the move south. So, for now, I'll be a regular at my local shopping centre and library. The free air-conditioning is a welcome added bonus in the FNQ humidity.
I'm thinking that's enough of my soul searching lessons about life for one blog post.
I know many of you must be thinking, "You didn't know these things!?!" And the answer is, "No." Somehow I missed the information sessions that included these tit-bits of life skills, but I'm well on the way to catching up.
I'm hoping you have some other amazing life lessons to share with me. I still have much to learn ...
Thanks for reading my blog post. I'd love it if you left a comment below for me to read.
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