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The Spare Room Cupboard

When we first arrived here on the farm, we weren’t sure if we would be staying, so we did only the bare minimum to make the house liveable. Fresh curtains (bought from an Op shop), and a new fire to make sure that we were warm in the cold months. We made do with our furniture from our previous home, even though it didn’t fit too well, and was made for a different kind of life.

Two years on, and we have worked out what is useful for our new life, what we need, and of course, what we don’t need. It turns out that despite my constant urge to purge, we still had a heap of strange things that we had shoved into cupboards when we moved here, and had not seen the light of day since.

One thing I was determined to do these holidays was to tackle the cupboard in the guest room. It was a hideous mess. Jam packed with memorabilia, teaching resources, and all those things which we had no idea what to do with when we moved in.

Prepare to be shocked….

See – embarrassing right??
Anyhow, I had planned a trip to Ikea to sort out a few other house issues so I bought up big on storage boxes (I pre measured the shelves, and worked out what I wanted on-line first).
The amount and variety of junk was incredible. Notable items include a VHS video camera (we don’t own anything for it to connect to any more), the first film camera we bought with film still in it, a broken remote control helicopter, and a box of stuffed toys left over from my childhood. 
I culled. Seriously. About half my teaching resources went. They were for subjects I am not likely to teach every again. It’s hard to get rid of them because of all the work that went into them, but I was a ruthless culling machine. 
And then I sorted. One of those big boxes is entirely full of negatives, because we are enthusiastic photographers from way back (our first SLR was a film one). Both Country Boy and I have a big box full of memorabilia, and then there are boxes with craft supplies, and sheet music.
Luckily, despite the mess, my teaching resources are pretty well organised. I keep each topic in a separate folder with a program and sample assessment tasks at the front, and resources behind them. But now all the folders fit on a shelf nicely.
Looking good!

The best part? Getting rid of all that unwanted stuff. It was sooo freeing. I’m a big fan of getting rid of anything that we don’t love, use, or need. Every time I go to the cupboard now, I don’t dread things falling out, and I know that I can find what I want quickly. I’m loving myself sick!

Do you have embarrassing cupboards? Do you love chucking out unwanted stuff too???

Let everyone know:

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Previous Post: « Random Photos From The Shearing Shed
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Comments

  1. Andrea says

    April 12, 2014 at 2:43 am

    ….um we have a garage…and it makes your cupboard look like the height of minimalism. We are starting to attack it now…but it's a little scary

    Reply
  2. Annaleis Topham says

    January 31, 2014 at 5:49 am

    I should show you my cupboard with teaching resources and junk – I have a plan to fix this one over term 1 when the kids are at school! Your cupboard looks fantastic in the after pic!

    Reply
  3. Katie says

    January 31, 2014 at 3:48 am

    Nice work, Jo! I'm on a Spring cleaning binge too – you know, clean and rearrange as though you're moving house, but without the trouble of moving house. Wishing there was an Ikea nearby!

    Reply
  4. Elisha Ross says

    January 31, 2014 at 1:33 am

    Nice work. Love the green. Ikea is awesome. I hear you on the teacher front. Soooooooo much paperwork and resources. I find it hard to depart with all my hard work to. Mine is safely stored in the shed.

    Reply
  5. Beverley says

    January 30, 2014 at 7:35 am

    Good on you! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Vanessa Connor says

    January 30, 2014 at 6:20 am

    Awesome work Jo, looks amazing and I love the colour

    Reply
  7. Vanessa Connor says

    January 30, 2014 at 6:18 am

    Awesome work Jo, looks amazing and I love the colour

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    January 30, 2014 at 5:32 am

    We have just finished the same thing. My husband likes to keep (hoard!!!) things that 'might come in handy one day', but he actually got into the culling process for once. We had boxes of stuff that we hadn't unpacked from when we moved in 7 years ago. It's a very good feeling going to a cupboard and not being scared of what will hit you as it all falls out. Louise

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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