Godzgear Blog: Frugal

Frugal

Peach Cobbler

04:34

Frugal

The Answer to the Messy Tee Drawer

06:32

Hi Everyone, today I want to share with you one
of the best space saving tips that I have ever learnt.
I don’t know about you, but I have always struggled trying to fit my wardrobe staples (tees and singlets) into my drawers. So the story goes something like this,
I’m in a hurry and can’t find the tee I’m after,
so everything gets pulled out and stuffed

back in, the drawer doesn't shut properly and ta-da, I now have a messy, frustrating tee drawer.
One day, in my frustration of having to refold
my tees so often and tidy my drawers again,
I decided to see if there was a better
way to do things out there. I found an answer
to my tee drawer frustration and
today I want to share the answer to my messy tee drawer.

A brilliant, new way to fold tee's and singlets.

I traditionally have always folded my tees and singlets like the picture below,

The problem though with folding and stacking my tees like this is I couldn't see all the tees in my draw and therefore I had to pull them all out to find the one I was after. Another con is that I could only fit about 21 max tees in my draw before it would not open and get jammed up.

With my new system of folding my tees and singlets I can easily fit 29 tees into the very same draw. Not only is it great I can fit more in but I can now easily and quickly see all my tees at once and pick out the one I’m after.

So, with all that said, here’s how I now fold my tee’s:

Folding a short sleeve tee is exactly the same.

For my singlet draw I did have to modify how I folded because it is a much smaller draw and square instead of rectangular.

Below is how I fold my singlets:

With my new folding system it is so much quicker to find the tee or singlet I’m after. I have also found this folding system much easier to keep things looking tidy.

I hope you have found today’s post and this folding technique helpful, I know that I certainly did.

If you also have brilliant ideas/tips for keeping your wardrobe tidy and in order, I would love it if you would share them with me through leaving a comment!.

God bless

Written by

Anita

www.godzgear.blogspot.com.au

P.S I have turned the how to fold pictures into collage cards so they can be used for a quick reference guide below!.

DIY

Twined Rag Rugs 101

21:07

Some of our readers may already know this, but one of my favourite hobbies is making twined rag rugs. What it that, you ask? Well, it is basically weaving with rag strips, but with a twist (literally). Rag rugs in general are having a come back, but I thought some of you might like to know more about this lesser known technique.

What are they?

Twining is a process of weaving rag strips in and out of the warp (up and down strips) on a loom, twisting them while you weave. You can use either rags or cord for the warp. The rag strips are generally joined together either by knotting or stitching them together.

Where do they come from?

Rag rugs date quite far back into history. They were most often found among the poorer population, who valued economy and thriftiness as a way to survive. Since they were often too poor to buy carpets and rugs from the store, they would use their old clothes and rags to create rugs for themselves. These rugs were strategically placed to extend their lifespan as much as possible. The newest rugs were used at the front door, from there they were placed in the lounge room, then on to the bedrooms, next the kitchen and then, finally, the back door. By that time, they were generally so ragged and worn out that they would then be thrown out. As store bought rugs became cheaper and cheaper, handmade rag rugs faded out until the tradition was nearly forgotten. Fortunately, more and more people are beginning to hear of this beautiful and thrifty craft.

What do you need?

In order to make twined rag rugs, you will need some tools. Not many, but some. Most of them you probably have already. You will need: rags, a loom, a needle and thread (if you intend on sewing the strips), a medium sized crochet hook or a piece of bent wire, scissors and a rotary cutter and self-healing mat. The rotary cutter and mat are not essential, as you can do the work with scissors, but it will save you a lot of time. The loom can be very simple or quite complex. It can be no more than a picture frame. The more complex types do offer you quite a bit more flexibility with what you can make. If you have someone handy to make one for you, like I do, that's fantastic. The crochet hook is just for helping to thread the rags through when you are finishing off the rug.

What materials can you use?

Pretty much any type of material will make great rags for twining, but the main thing to remember is colour and feel. If the colour is dirty or faded, your rug will look faded. Have a good feel of the fabric you want to use as rags. Is it knitting or loose weave? Chances are, it will unravel when you use it. Is it wool? It might feel itchy in a rug. Is the fabric plastic-y? Will that feel nice and soft? Of course, it depends on what result you want. Some people use strips from plastic bags as their rags so that the rugs can be used outside. Experiment and see what works for you.

What can you make?

Depending on what type of loom you have, you can use twining to make anything from lounge room rugs to place mats, including chair mats, bedroom rugs, potholders, cushions, coasters and bath mats. Basically, anything with four straight sides can be twined on a rag rug loom, providing your loom has those dimensions. Can you see the benefits of an adjustable loom? In reality, only your creativity is the limit.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to twined rag rug making. If you have further questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I will see what I can do.