Mum, can I help?

Mum, can I help?

‘Mum, can I help?’ – This is the sentence I hear the absolute most from my 3 year old son at home.  It doesn’t seem to matter what I am doing – he wants to help. If he spots me wiping down a bench, mopping floors, baking, tidying or just ‘pottering around’ doing a little bit of everything, he VERY excitedly runs up and asks to help.

Like most mothers I find my days pretty busy ( and most of the time I like that), because of this I found myself trying to rush to get my ‘jobs’ done so that I can have downtime with my son. So I was always responding to my son ‘just let mummy do it mate, then I’ll come and play with you’.

This seemed fine, he never became upset about not being able to help me so it was never something I gave any further thought - until recently. A week or so ago when my uni workload lessened and I found myself with a bit of extra time on my hands – I decided to slowwwww right down.

Zac and I at Ayers rock

I slowed down so much that I started to actually think before I responded to my sons’ requests to help me. When I thought about it I realised that my mum was often disappointed in our disinterest in helping out once we were older. I started wondering if my significantly, efficient mum had perhaps found herself doing the same thing as me – focussing on getting those seemingly “mindless” tasks like cleaning out of the way quickly, in order to have “quality time” for her children.

So I trailed off with my thoughts and began to wonder if maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal to include Zac in these tasks, to teach him skills like cooking, cleaning, tidying, folding, sorting, packing, washing (clothing and dishes) at his own pace, when his own interest spikes and at such a young age. That way he will become capable at such tasks and also develop an understanding of the domestic duties running a household requires.

So this morning Zac said “Mum, what are you doing” and I responded “I’m putting the washing in the machine so I can wash it”, then came the question “mum, can I help?” What did I say? I said “YES”. He then picked up the clothing items I had placed in the basket on the floor, he loaded them all in the washing machine and with direction he took a scoop of powder and tipped it in, pressed the buttons and started the machine. When the load was finished he was EXCITED to hear the beep (can you believe that? Lol) and because he couldn’t reach the line he requested that he could pass me each peg while I hung the washing out. It was actually really nice to have the company and bring a fresh new light to the world of housework.

Zac washing the dishes for the first time when we were in Darwin, we had to re-wash every one of them once he was in bed but he still enjoyed helping.

Not only does this kind of (voluntary) involvement in the housework teach Zac new skills, it also increases his confidence in himself and what he is capable of. Since that task he has requested (and proceeded) to help me measure, mix and bake a batch of coconut macaroons and ginger bread men, helped me put away the washing and we swept the annex together.

During all of this Zac was so happy and excitable but at the same time he slowed down and genuinely listened to and processed the instructions I gave him. He seemed to feel really satisfied at the end of each task and immediately asked me for something else to help with.

Even though his help can slow things down a lot and make simple tasks quiet tedious, ultimately, I do have the time for that and if that’s what he wants to do and he finds fun at the time than I don’t think he is missing any of the “quality time” he is giving up by missing out on a few of those minutes and hours of sitting on the floor playing with plastic toys together. Not that I will let my domestic responsibilities take away our play time.

I love to teach Zac accountability as a method of discipline. For example if he throws a tantrum that involves knocking his drink on the floor (or something else messy) once he has calmed down I will direct him to the cupboard to get a cloth, then have him clean up the mess he has made. This seems to be far more effective than a punishment that doesn’t actually correlate with the situation he has created. We offer him help and if he accepts than we get a cloth and also help him but he has to be involved too. I guess that including him in domestic tasks (or any tasks for that matter) when he requests, is in the same vein. Some of the other tasks he requests to help with (and we allow him to by finding jobs he CAN do) are:

• Fixing the car with his dad – Brent will have him pass him tools and will explain what he is doing
• Baking – he loves baking and we bake together several times a week
• Carrying things – at the supermarket we allow him to carry a basket with a loaf of bread (or something equally light) if he requests to.
• Feeding and caring for our guinea pig – this is another way to teach him responsibility aswell as how to be gentle.
• Sorting – he will sort through his belongings and our belongings with us to choose what we will donate to charity

And many other small tasks like collecting our mail, taking the rubbish out, making our beds, sweeping, washing the car etc.

Zac helping daddy fix the car

I am really enjoying working together and I am enjoying not only his company but the educational aspect of it. I won’t be forcing him into housework as I completely respect that that is my responsibility (and it doesn’t bother me at all) but from now on, when he asks to help, I won’t think twice! It’s a beautiful opportunity to spend even more time together and teach him about tasks his future will most definitely involve.

What have we taken away from this lesson?

Takeaway food... Its overpriced, over-oiled and never quiet leaves you feeling as satisfied as you'd like it to. When we started living a far more frugal lifestyle we very quickly discovered that takeaway was a massive wallet drainer. Embarassingly some of our favourites were foods like Macdonalds, Dominoes, Subway, and KFC (pretty much all the major ones, right?)

The last time we had dominoes our meal was $50, yes you read right. Theres three of us. When we got home and started eating it we discovered that the cheese wasnt entirely melted and the pizza was cold in the middle and the pizza was soggy right through to the cardboard box which was also soggy - so afrter $50 we couldn't even eat our meal. Now, I'm not joking when I say - I can (and have) fed my family for $50 a week before, when times were tough. So wasting an entire $50 for one nights food certainly was the wake up call I needed.

We decided that there was a definate pattern to our takeaway experiences, the meals were either too small, too big, too oily, or when we arrived home and opened the package it just was not what we ordered at all. So we decided to stop buying takeaway, I mean - if they can make it, we can too right? YES, we can.

It was that easy and honestly saved us so much money. We are also able to control things like cooking times, oil levels, ingredients used, portions, additives/processed ingredients. We dont compromise on taste at all and find that we achieve even better flavours.

So now we have our favourite takeaway meals on a frugal budget, we also have them whenever we like because they are far healthier options. Most of the ingredients can be stored int he pantry or the fridge/freezer and will be enough to make an array of different meals. Some of the things we make?

Making our own homemade pizzas is somthing we do EVERY week, without fail. Its our "go-to" Friday night meal. They are eaasy, delicious and nine times out of ten cover the next days breakfast too. We usually use "mountain bread" (avaliable from woolworths and coles) as a low calorie long life pizza base to travel with (they are very thin though so each pizza requires two). However last night we splurged a little and bought proper pizza bases (from now on weve decided we will make our own bases, I hadn't realised how simple they are). We add ingredients like ham, chicken, frozen prawns (cheap from Woolies), tonns of capsicum, onion, tomato, fetta, pineapple and much more. We try to make sure they have lots of healthy ingredients. We quickly discovered (one week when I forgot to buy it) that they taste just as good without pepperoni as they do with it, so we no longer purchase that anymore. Homeade pizza is simple, budget friendly and 100% effective at curbing those cravings for takeaway. Pizzas are a fantastic meal for other caravanners when you are somewhere remote and craving somthing delicious (and seemingly unhealthy/naughty).

Home made burgers are so quick and easy to make. All you need is beef mince, salads, cheese and a roll. All we add to our home made beef patties (for that macdonalds cheeseburger effect) is salt and pepper, simple. They takte delicious (fresh!) and if you splurge a little on the healthier mince you dont end up with your bun being a sponge to all the oil. They are also a great BBQ food for when you are on the road.

The thing we like about hot dogs is that they last - they come in a long life package and sometimes last weeks or months, plus you can freeze them if you find you havnt eaten them close to the use by date. When you find yourself in a little town with a nice bakery, all you need to do is pick up some lovely fresh rolls and you have yourself a VERY easy, cheap and kid friendly meal. You can have them for lunch, or dinner!

Subs are another option for when you pull up near a small town bakery and find yourself with some nice fresh rolls. The filling is only limited by your imagination but here are some of our favourite combinations:

- tuna, cheese and tomato (toasted)

- pazza (tomato paste with herbs, pizza meats, cheese, toasted)

- chicken parmijana (tomato paste, chicken, ham, cheese, toasted)

- fresh ham and salad

- fresh chicken and salad

Subs are delicious and filling and are certainly one of th ehealthier options of this list! They are easy to make and there will  be a combination to suit the entire family!

One of my absolute favourite takeaway meals would have to be the trusty garlic prawn noodles. I absolutely love these! I realised very quickly though (after leaving the town with my FAVOURITE version of them) that I would have to learn to make a simple, yummy version myself. Challenge accepted! I bought a bulk pack of home brand "2 minute noodles", popped them in a bowl in the microwave (submerged in water) until they were soft. Meanwhile I heat up a frypan with a few sprays of the most low calorie oil I can find (it's 1.7 calories a spray and is avaliable from Woolworths - "Lupi, extra light olive oil" in a pump spray bottle) I add in some prawns from my trusty frozen bulk bag, some chopped shallots, frozen peas (and optional snow peas and broccoli) aswell as a heaped tablespoon of crushed (or fresh) garlic and a dash of soy sauce, wallah! Thats it! Once the prawns are cooked, the noodles should be too, just drain them - add them to the fry pan, spritz a little more light oil onto them and enjoy. Sometimes if I dont have shallotts I will use an onion and just the frozen peas instead of the other vegies, this way I can make this recipe when we are nowhere near shops!

Home made fried rice is quiet possibly one of the simplest and most delicious things I know how to cook. Its my absolute favourite! I always make sure I have eggs at home aswell as shredded ham, prawns and frozen peas in my freezer. Sometimes I will cook fresh rice for it, other times I will use some I have pre-cooked in the freezer and somtimes I will be a lazy a** and use those microwave rice packets fromt he supermarket. Either way - it always tastes the same amount of yum! I simply oil the fry pan, lightly whisk an egg and throw the egg, prawns, frozen peas and ham into the pan, basically scramble it all around the pan until the egg and prawns are cooked, then add in either onion or shallotts and any other vegies you want then a spoon of garlic and a good splash of soy sauce, throw the rice in, DONE! It takes just minutes to cook and is absolutely delicious!

These are some of our versions of the takeaway meals we enjoy. They may not all be stupendously healthy but we dont have them all, all the time! Learning how to make your own favourite takeaway foods can save you ALOT of money and alot of hassle. Its also a fantastic way to limit your own and your childrens intake of food additives, fats and oils. If you like somthing different to what I have posted about here why not google a few recipes and give them a try? I once made a very simple and delicious peanut satay chicken noodle dish and im sure you could find a simple recipe for your favourite takeaway meals.

Our draws and cupboards

This post is just to show you the basic kitchen items that we travel with. When you move into a caravan your storage space drops dramatically, but so do your needs so ultimately it balances out. Dont be perplexed by what you see in my photos and how it compares to yours as we are all very different and we all have very different ways of making meals! My draws did not look ANYTHING like this at the start of our trip, this level of "almost emptyness" comes from going through everything basically everytime we stop for longer than a week in a town (and I get some spare time) and donating the things we dont use to charity. You will find that as you get further along in your trip you will notice items you havn't touched the entire time, although its nice to be prepared - somtimes we can be a little too prepared! When you find these items you can choose to pack them away in the van somewhere, you could donate them to charity or if they are too special (eg. gift/heirloom) you can pop them in a post box and let it build up until its full then post it "home" or to a family family to look after for you.

Overhead cabinets

The above picture is of my overhead cabinets above my dining table. I use this tablet to house my baking ingredients and sauces/ oils etc (see the next photo). The reason I left this entire area for baking/cooking ingredients was to make them far more accessable. This way I can get to them anytime and I can bake with ease. Baking all of our own snack food and desserts etc from scratch saves us alot of money. When I became a "new mum" 3 years ago to my son, instantly the ring of "Tupperware" parties began. I ended up purchasing ALOT of tupperware and although it was costly its been a great investment. There are MANY options for plasticware out there (so use whatever works for you!) and so far one that I have found that is on-par with Tupperware in terms of the lids not falling off on corrugated or bumpy roads are those "Klip Its" containers from big W/Woolworths (the clear ones with the blue seals and clips). Its important to make sure your plasticware is durable and the lids will hold firm on rough surfaces! (I am not in anyway affiliated with Tupperware!) I also like the way the modular design makes them all fit in better together. Perhaps be concious of this when you purchase your plasticware and try to get most of your products in the same brand so they will fit in better as packing cupboards in a caravan can be much like a good game of Tetris.

Overhead cabinets again


Once my overhead cabinets were all packed witht he containers I then added in front the oils and sauces and other products I use frequently in the caravan. This way I have easy access to them when needed. This was the perfect spot for those items to fit as the actual pantry for the caravan is very deep and involves taking everything out to get to the back of. Being able to have these items here means I am able to grab things like tomato sauce etc with ease during a meal. You will notice that I have alot of sauce bottles - that is because when I run out of sauce I keep the bottles then I use them for sauces and other condements that come in glass bottles eg. Soy sauce and Balsamic Vinegar. This way they are more durable on rough roads and I know there wont be cracked glass and soy sauce everywhere! Now that I have all the plastic bottle I need I wash out my BBQ and Tomato sauce whenever they finish and refull them from a cheap, 1 litre bottle (to save money).

My second draw

This is the draw for all the larger items. The reason it looks so empty is because it houses all the containers that we put leftovers/fresh produce/baked goods etc in - so they are all being used at the moment. I like to keep a stock up of items like zip lock bags (they make up for the fact that I can hardly fit any plastic containers into the van for everyday use). I also like to keep a stock up of items like cloths (for wiping benches/washing up) scourers, baking paper, glad wrap and alfoil. These items run out/need replacing all the time and can be very costly at small shops in little towns. I use food scales ALOT when making things like bread and other baked goods so they are very handy. Ice cube trays are great as if your in the middle of nowhere and have some room in your freezer you can pop a try in and have some ice for your "happy hour" drinks.

My top draw immediately under the sink.

The top draw would have to be the draw we use the absolute most. It has our plates, bowls (when they arent all in the washing up), cutlery, cooking utencils and the plasticware we use the most. I wanted to keep this draw very simple and functional since both my husband and I aswell as our three year old son need things from it all the time throughout the day. I began with a proper cutlery tray (the type you have in draws in houses) but quickly discovered that it too up too much room! So not I use a lunchbox. It really hasnt made it any difficult as we dont have alot of cutlery so there isnt a mountain of it to sort through.

The basket in the draw is home to our cooking utencils, paddy pans, herb chopper, sippee lids (for our son) and a few other bits and pieces. The basket stops those items from ending up strewn accross the draw while in transit.

Youll notice we only have one coffee mug (we used to have none but when my mum visited she bought it). We only really keep it for visitors as neither of us drink coffee and we only rarely have tea or hot chocolate.

Some of the items we have in our draws and why we have them

Little containers

These little containers are so handy. Once you get ont he road and want to make your money stretch further you will want to use alot less "disposbale stuff" aswell as have alot more picnic style meals. These containers are the perfect size for things like mayonaise, sauces, salt/pepper/chicken salt, salad dressings, vegemite and butter etc. We use these ALL the time! You can get containers this small from the plasticware section in woolworths for just a few dollars and they WILL save you money. Even on the days you do have takeaway, you wont have to buy sauce for your chips or pie if you have one of these babies handy!

Reusable metal skewers

We felt like chicken kebabs along the road somewhere so we went to woolworths to buy a big packet of disposable skewers. We found these for only a DOLLAR more and decided to get them instead. They are fantastic! They regularly save as money aswell as the space a big packet of disposable ones would have taken up!

          reusable sillicone patty pans

Now these things are FANTASTIC! Not only do they eliminate the VERY large metal muffin and cupcake trays we simply couldnt fit, they also eliminate the need for spray oil! They are great and cost less than their metal counterparts! They also elimenate the need for those patty pan liners! When your living in a van and have weight limits every little loss counts!

         net food covers

These things are fantastic! We eat outside the van ALOT and the flies can get very full on. These are perfect for covering your meal or your nibbly trays. They also fold down to (and weigh) nearly nothing! These were $1 each at the reject shop some time ago.

        Plastic tumblers

My husband hates plastic cups so I basically had to buy these to please his subconcious. I mean, if it looks like a glass... It must be a glass right? NOPE! They are plastic! They look great (before you give up on only using the soft sponge on them) when they have no scratched, but even when they are scratched they dont hold the taste of drinks like many other plastic cups do. These were from Kmart and were somthing like $8 for four. We have dropped them a million times and had our first breakage a few days ago (after about 8-10 months of using them). They are very durable!

       plastic collapsable collander

This thing is brilliant! It is a perfectly functional collander and can collapse down to be about two centemetres deep (if that) so that it fits flat, in your draw. This one is made my Tupperware as it was the first one I ever saw so I bought it immediately, however my mum recently purchased one while grocery shopping at woolworths, from the cookware aisle! These are great, a MUST have item!

This is an odourless mosquito zapper, It does have to be plugged in though so you need to be connected to power or have a generator (or solar and an inverter) to run it (im sure there are non electrical mosquito methods that would be as effective). After staying at a few places and waking up in th emorning to our little boy eaten alive by mosquitos we didnt evenr ealise were in our van, we purchased this! Now we simple plug it in, in his room for half an hour to an hour before he goes to bed, then we swtch it off when we tuck him in. No more mozzie bites!

I still have a few more cupboards to add to this list, but this post has become quiet large so I will add a part 2 to it tonight or tomorrow!

Part 2 will include:

- pantry

- overhead cabinets above the sink

- other miscelaneous items!

I will also do a post down the track of our food/cleaning etc items.

Hope our methods gave you some new ideas :-)