8 August 2022

Housework - nothing has to be perfect

Sometimes readers ask me how I keep going and why housework isn't boring for me.  It is boring sometimes but boredom doesn't stop me from doing anything. I keep going because of the rewards I get from doing my house work - it gives me the life I want. There are a lot of things we have to take responsibility for when we're adults and one of them is creating a home that you feel comfortable in. If you don't have the drive to regularly do the work that gives you that home, push yourself.  If you keep at it you'll see the benefits and the work you do in your home will change you. It did that for me. It made me slower, more generous and thoughtful and I'm glad for that.



Cleaning up the kitchen.



When you get stuck in, you'll be surprised that it doesn't take much to make a really warm and comfy home. Nothing has to be perfect, it just has to be to the standard that makes you feel comfortable. And remember, housework never ends. So when you have enough, stop and come back to it the next day. The sky won't fall in and you'll feel better for it.



I think you'd be surprised at how much you can get done in a short time.  For instance, when I'm waiting for the kettle to boil or the toast to cook, I clear the kitchen bench. If I still have time, I wipe the bench too. If the bench is already clean but the kitchen bin is full, I empty it. If you have 15 minutes to spare, empty everything out of the fridge, wipe the shelves and put it back in. It's a good habit to get into the day before you do the grocery shopping. 


I've got a couple of meal ideas for you today. I had these two meals this week and they're ideal for one or two or five or ten. If, like me, you're living alone, the ravioli bake makes four portions, the omelette makes two. 


Ravioli Bake

This will take less than an hour to cook. You can put it all together and have it ready to cook in the fridge and just heat it up when you come home from work. It will be ready in about 20 minutes.  Just enough time to make a nice salad. 


When you freeze the leftovers, put it in a container already cut into portions but without them touching so you can remove them easily if you only want one piece. I had one on the day of cooking, the second portion the following day and I froze two portions for next week. 


Buy a bag of ravioli or make a batch of ravioli. I bought a bag because I wanted this to be a fast meal.

Make a tomato sauce. I made mine with a 400ml bottle of tomato passata that was on special that week. I fried off an onion, half a capsicum/pepper, diced two sticks of celery and added oregano and parsley from the garden.  Season with salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes.

Add the uncooked ravioli to a small oven-proof dish and pour the tomato sauce over it. Sprinkle on some cheese if you like it. and bake in the oven at 180C until the top is golden. Mine took 20 minutes.


Spanish Omelette 



This recipe takes two eggs per serve. I used four eggs and it served me for two days.


Peel a medium potato and slice it into thickish slices. Microwave for four minutes and cool.

Use a non-stick frying pan you can put in the oven. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, sliced onions, capsicums/peppers, garlic and any vegetable you have in the fridge or backyard. I picked baby silverbeet/chard and added that after the onions and peppers were cooked.  Remove the vegetables and keep the pan on the stove.


Break the eggs into a bowl, add salt and pepper and about a quarter cup of cream.  If you want a spicy version, add some chilli flakes. Pour that into the frying pan, add the vegetables - potatoes and onion mix - making sure they're distributed well over the top of the eggs. 

Cook on the stove top on medium heat for five minutes then put the pan in a preheated oven at 180C. Cook in the oven until the top is golden and the eggs are set. 

I used a small frying pan - 150mm and I cut the omelette in two for two meals. I like this when it's cooled rather than hot from the oven.


Here is my constant companion. Gracie and I sit out on the front verandah most afternoons and watch the world go by. She's an easy dog to live with. She likes to stay by my side but does go a bit mental running around the house with a lamb fleece in her mouth.  It's her seventh birthday on Wednesday. How time flies.


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37 comments

  1. Recipes sound yum, Rhonda!
    I can't believe Gracie is turning 7, I still think of her as a puppy!

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  2. It sounds like you're putting one foot in front of the other, dear Rhonda, and I'm proud of you. You are a wonderful example to all widows. God bless you, honey. ~Andrea xoxo

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  3. Gosh, Gracie's seventh birthday already ... how time flies!!

    Yes, whenever I'm waiting for the kettle to boil I'm either wiping down the surfaces or washing pots, or putting away the pots that I washed last time I was boiling the kettle. I do love to keep my tiny worktop as clear as I can and the kitchen looking neat.

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  4. Both of those meals look delicious. I make very similar things for us, but haven’t thought of using ravioli. Also I was shocked to read that Gracie will be 7. Where have those years gone.
    Cheers Kate

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    1. Happy birthday Gracie. I love that she still gets the zoomies. Our 2 still charge round like crazy things and give us such a laugh. Will definitely try out those recipes. Thanks for sharing them xx

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  5. My husband makes omelettes as you describe, although generally he uses up left over cooked vegetables. One favourite of mine is using cauliflower rice as the main vegetable it makes a lovely light omelette. Sometimes he puts Asian flavours in them like oyster sauce and sesame oil. I like them hot from the oven.

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  6. That ravioli dish looks delish, thank you.

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  7. Oh, that ravioli bake looks wonderful and easy to put together. Thank you for sharing!

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  8. I can’t wait to try both of these recipes!

    Happy birthday Gracie! My goddog gets the zoomies to.

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  9. Thanks for an encouraging post. Sounds like a perfect day. :)

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  10. Love the recipes. Will try both.

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  11. How I would have liked to have had you as a friend or as a neighbor ! All your advice is so valuable to me!
    Even I don't feel like it, I'm going to tidy up my basement, because I know I'll be satisfied afterwards.
    Have a great week with Gracie.

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  12. 'Doesn't have to be perfect' seem such wise words, though you house and kitchen look very close to it.

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  13. I'm so pleased to see that you are back Rhonda and carrying on with your normal way of life and telling us all about it. It will never be the same for you of course but you have a positive attitude which is great. I'm delighted to see your baked ravioli recipe...I was in the kitchen this afternoon making home made ravioli just before I saw this post, very timely! I love all your recipes and your kitchen and the rest of the house look so homely. Hanno would be very pleased.

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  14. I do not comment much but think of you often and read your posts with great pleasure as they keep inspiring me. Thank you. David (France)

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  15. It is easy to become complacent about housework, but nothing feels better than getting it all done and then sitting down with a good book!

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  16. It took me a long time to realise that you never finished cleaning.
    That was a lightbulb moment in my life. I do as little or as much as I can handle. Especially now that I’m getting on and I have so many health issues. I do what I can and the rest can wait.
    Now if only I had learnt that thirty years ago

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  17. I love having meals in the freezer for next week, it takes nothing to make a double batch while you are at the stove. Have a good week.

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  18. Hello again Rhonda. Thankyou for your lovely post. You seem to be getting on with things after your losing beloved Hanno. I know it's not the same but you give me hope I will be quite okay after we lose our house to a new freeway. Like you, we love it, we bought our 1 hectare in 1987 with an old fibro house whihc was so small, 8 suares. We lived in that and had four kids and in 2001 started to build our lovely strawbale house. Over 35.5 yrs we've planted hundreds of trees and bushes, I gave birth to our sons here, we have our own fruit and nut trees,and many herbs, and in the past veges. People have gifted trees and they too are thriving. Chooks have given daily eggs since day 1. It's all being demolished/acquired for a 'drainage pit' for the freeway. We are finding it hard to cope with the impending loss of our home and lifestyle. Due to a low valuation ( the worth of an earth build is not recognised by Transport NSW) we are unable to afford a similar property. They dont exist anyway. To replace this building today would be over $900,000. At a time when we need more buidlings like ours, ours is not valued and being demolished. The only good thing is that it will all be recycled, so it was the ideal house for that reason. Our dream is now over. I am thankful we could raise our four kids here with a dam, yabbies, kite flying, bonfires, fireworks, sunrises, sunsets, paddy bashing, a wild existence up trees. Anyway, I know intellectually we will be okay but I just don't think people in offices get the importance of PLACE for many of us homesteaders. Much Love, Jenny

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    1. Hi Jenny. I'm sorry to read your news. I think it is a bit like losing a loved one. You and your family have built that home with your bare hands and lived there for a long time. It must be painful and confusing to have it taken from you. I'm still grieving silently for Hanno and I don't know if that will stop but I've decided to live with it, and anything else that happens, while I focus on the future and rebuild my life. I''ve accepted what's happened, I know I can't do anything about it so I've drawn a line in the sand and I've stepped over it. I don't know what's beyond that line but I do know that if I stay behind the line, I'll never know. I think you're in a similar position. If I were you, I'd accept the situation and step over your line. Take everything you've learned since 1987 and use it to help you rebuild, both physically and emotionally. I wish you the best of luck and I send this note with love. xx

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  19. Hi Rhonda this is my first time commenting, like others I can’t believe Rosie is 7. Meals look delicious I’ll have to give them a try. Thank you for coming back your wisdom is so valuable. Take care Lynn

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  20. Hi Rhonda, I was reading in one of your blogs that you purchased an Apple Watch that monitors if you fall. I was wandering if you could tell me the make and model of it and if you would recommend it. I am currently looking fo one and want to get a good one that’s not too expensive. I figure that it would be better and cheaper than a personal alarm you can get that you wear around your neck. Thanks Tracie.

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    1. Hi Tracie. Apple watches are expensive, the current versions range from $430 - nearly $800 and you have to have an iphone to sync it to. So if you have an iphone, do what I did, buy second hand. A lot of people upgrade to a new version before they need to 😵‍💫 so if you look around, on Gumtree, you can find a bargain. I bought my watch, the current SE version, secondhand for just over $300. It was 6 months old! The SE version doesn't have all the heart monitoring on it such as ECG and blood pressure. I don't need that but I still get monitoring of my pulse, breathing, sleep patterns and steps as well as the emergency calling and fall monitoring. Have a look at the Apple site, see which one you like with the features you want and then start to look for a secondhand one. If you don't have an iphone, you'll need to look for an Android phone with the features you want.

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  21. Dear Rhonda~There's so much Wisdom and Caring in your response to Jennifer♥️
    I love reading your posts, but also like the comments; they add much to the wonderful "Community of Home" you've created here on this blog over the years. For me, it's as good as meeting for a chat with friends.

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  22. Thanks Rhonda…….would a special android phone work with an Apple Watch or I I know you can get other watches with falls features from other companies.

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    1. If you have an Android phone you buy an Android watch. There are a few different brands.

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  23. Glad to hear you are cooking such nutritious meals for yourself, Rhonda. I do the same, but don't freeze the leftovers. I am used to eating the same thing for days on end; it doesn't bother me. Gracie is so cute. What a sweetie. Dogs are the best companions.

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  24. Thanks for your wise words and encouragement about housework, which I’m always putting off. I’ll remember your tips, and think to myself that if Rhonda can do it, so can I! Margot x

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  25. I had to leave my job in 2020 because of the pandemic but I wasn't READY to leave either mentally or financially. I had planned to work at least another year to make sure that I had 'enough' money on which to retire, so basically being forced to quit was an event I hadn't planned for. I was also trying to get into the mindset of being a retiree, knowing that my days of contribution to my field of work were over and in the past. That was hard! It has taken me almost 2 years to accept my changed life circumstances, there was some grieving for sure, but now I'm starting to realize that I will probably be OK after all! I am adjusting. Thank you for all you do in helping people (like me) to realize that all will be OK in the end. A slight attitude adjustment here, a money savings habit there, learning to cook, becoming a bit more self sufficient. It's all there in your published work and you have such a nice way of putting that information across. Best wishes Rhonda. Give Gracie a pat from me x

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    1. You've step over your line and that's great. Good luck for your future. I have no doubt you'll sort it out and enjoy what's to come. xx

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  26. Those recipes look wonderful, Rhonda. I make Spanish omelette quite frequently too—I cook mine on the stove. It is lovely with a bit of red onion.

    Wishing Gracie a very happy birthday,
    Kelly (Mrs. Kiwi)

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  27. Thank you for the recipes. I'm finally learning how to cook for just two (or just me if Farmer wants something different) after years of cooking for 3 hungry men. The boys are grown and we eat smaller & simpler meals these days.

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  28. Hi Rhonda Jean, thank you so much for the recipes. The food looks so delicious.
    Gracie is such a cute dog. I hope she had a wonderful birthday ❤

    Hugs from The Netherlands
    Monique Elisabeth

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  29. JudyC - Perth WAAugust 21, 2022 4:36 pm

    Hi Rhonda, by chance I'm revisiting your blog today after a number of years away.
    My condolences on your loss. I'm not sure of the online protocol for these times but sending you care and love from a (virtual) stranger.
    And Sending you blessings for all the wisdom you so generously share. Thank you for continuing to share your journey as we all adapt to the inevitable changes that are living this life. I've used a number of your suggestions/hints, patterns and recipes over the years. Recently retired, I'm gradually decluttering here and there and recently have been learning how to using my 'scraps' from previous quilting projects (using the you tubes by Just Do It Quilts). This serves dual purposes of decluttering (being a scrap hoarder) and reuse (new scrappy blocks) which pleases me. I hate waste. The veg garden is getting more attention now and am a little more consistent with rotation planning now i have some head space. I also like the notion of Swedish death decluttering, which I heard about on Karen Kingston's blog on clutter clearing. Hence revisiting my quilting stash which has been stagnant for a number of years. Recently I've been sewing some of my clothes and it gives me quiet pleasure to wear these items, even if not at the height of fashion. Warm regards and blessing to you.

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  30. Happy birthday to Gracie! And thank you for the recipes.

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  31. Thank you for the delicious recipes. Also for the encouraging housekeeping hints!
    Happy birthday to Gracie🐈‍⬛🎂 Take care Rhonda- Blessings, Jane

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  32. It's been a while since I have visited. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved Hanno. WOW have you accomplished a lot in the past three months! I love easy meals and always cook enough for leftovers when I can. Thanks for the meal suggestions! ~TJ

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