Autumn, operation organise and the weigh in that wasn't

It's Autumn here and the weather has changed in the last week or so to darker, cooler, wetter, a hint of months to come. Everything from now on gets busier and peaks around June, actually there are numerous busy peaks - I've got a marathon at the end of April, start my Japanese lessons in May,a half marathon mid June, my Japan trip in August and the busiest period of the working year from April through the end of June.

one of the views from my bedroom, the leaves have started to turn up in readiness for winter

I'm going to have to become much more organised, and I've come up with a list will hopefully might help - feel free to add anything to it, what helps you through winter? Keeping in mind NZ is lacking in double glazing, central heating and insulation!


- start making soups and freezing them for winter - got an awesome winter soup recipe? Do share!
- do the same for casseroles (and tasty leftovers for the next few weeks)
- make heaps of the ww granola i love, and try different oat recipes out
- get outside for lunch even if it's just to get a coffee or walk to the gym
- have more early morning starts, for some reason it tends not to rain before 6.30am, or at least it didn't last year during run training
- clean up the apartment for winter - we didn't spring clean this year, so I am going to find time to clean up the cupboards, reorganise things, and have a good clearout!
- buy an electric blanket
- buy some warm clothes, i always tend to be colder than I should be during winter, not sure why i make myself suffer through, but this year i'm determined to be warm! This year i'm going to get some boots, a wooly hat, a merino undershirt (or something similar), and some tights so I can wear skirts in winter too.
- knit a scarf or two, depends on my patience

Operation organise has begun - today, the pantry - well part of it.

I live in a three bedroom apartment, with two others. This means sharing communal space, including the pantry. I use two of the shelves, the one above and below the middle shelf. The bottom shelf has more communal stuff and things we can't fit on the other pantry shevles, like my housemates beloved iced tea!

before

We are also in the process of organising a baking shelf of sorts, it's a work in progress. Below is storage for wine, and the giant bag of onions I bought over the weekend - I'm always using onions, so thought I should get a bag this time.

It was good to tidy it up, I only thought I had one tomato tin, nope, I've got four! And heaps of garlic.

after - so much more space, and I can see what I have now, rather than guessing.

I also bought a cake carrier from tupperware a while back, as I kept baking for work and leaving plates there. When i'm not baking for work it makes and excellent storage container for pasta (no, i can't eat whole wheat pasta since I started longer runs - doesn't work with my system...) ,and rolled oats.

pasta and oat storage

And the weigh in that wasn't? I keep switching between my housemates scales and the ones and the gym, and they read a lot differently. So i'm sticking to the gym ones, and there won't be another weigh in until next Friday/Saturday - there is a semi special reason for that. The other reason is I have not tracked very much the last week or so, but either way from next week onward i'll be weighing in weekly on the one set of scales even if i've had an off week.

Part of this post was inspired by Phil and her pantry clean out and Kath and her Home Neat Home series.