How to be a domestic goddess VSO style...

With just over a month until I have to move out of my flat and my placement comes to an end in December, I’ve started thinking about the everyday things in my life that are essential features of domestic living as a volunteer. Below are my three top tips for being a domestic goddess VSO style...

#1 Find your inner MacGyver
Living on a budget and in the developing world really makes you good at the ‘make do and mend’ philosophy of life. In India, you don’t need much to live on and I’ve definitely enjoyed the challenge of spending a year without lots of stuff and home comforts. My proudest, most practical and most used MacGyver creation has to be my ‘home entertainment unit’. My laptop is; my office, TV and telephone back home for Skype chats so it gets used a lot every day. With the dust and heat of Delhi the fan was starting to go into overdrive. So for a bargain Rs200 I got a laptop fan and thanks to a wonderful care package from my sister, recycled the box into my home entertainment unit. My favourite MacGyver trick around our flat is courtesy of my flatmate who has created an art installation out of our sofa worthy of the Turner prize. Having bought our furniture second hand, we knew we had to find a cheap and easy way to fix the crack in the middle, so it wasn’t like a game of Buckaroo every time you sat down. I think the installation of a brick to prop it up adds a modern art chic worthy of a Tracey Emin installation any day.

#2 Plastic is your friend
I don’t think I have ever owned or used so many plastic items in my life. We eat off plastic plates and everyone I know has a bucket and jug in their shower. The bucket is perfect for washing clothes, the jug is the only way to wash your hair as Indian showers sadly lack power and are as effective as an Evian facial spritzer. Everyone brings their own lunch into work in a tiffin and I’ve had several compliments on my Tupperware (double side clips don’t you know). And then there are plastic chairs. Seriously they are everywhere and I swear my backside is more toned on the account of not sitting on soft furnishings for the last year. Everyone has them in their house or in every NGO office. Here’s a little insider tip, having been stuck in a few three hour meetings the trick is to definitely get one with arm rests to enable you to levitate for a few seconds using your arms, in order to regain circulation for minimal numbing of buttocks.

#3 Cook up a storm with only a pan
One of the hardest challenges I knew VSO was going to bring, was not having an oven or Waitrose down the road. Food as you may know is very important to me, so the thought of not being able to bake some brownies, whip up a lasagne or create a quiche for a year was going to be tough. Standard VSO issue is only a two ring gas hob so your weapon of choice is only a frying pan or saucepan. My culinary skills have had to be adapted. Let’s just say I won’t be cooking stir fry, chilli, curry or omelettes for a while when I get home. But, I’ve rediscovered recipes from my childhood and student days. Can’t bake brownies? It’s time for Mars Bar crispie cakes. Dreaming of creamy linguine with scallops? Well tuna, sweetcorn and mayonnaise pasta is nearly the perfect substitute.


Highlights: tourist time – I’m using my last few weekends in Delhi to see all the sights I haven’t got to yet, this weekend I did Humayun’s Tomb a stunning world heritage site (accompanied with a large mango kulfi, India’s most delicious ice cream), beauty on a budget – I’m really going to miss the Rs200 (£2.77) pedicures in my local salon, getting a big hug from home – I have friends from London arriving on Friday so enjoying plotting a gourmet weekend in Delhi with them and most excitingly, my family arrive next week so I’m a really, really excited about spending some time with the Mellor Massive and getting a big hug off them all, breaking the 60 minute mark – I am now running for over an hour a go and no longer sound like an elephant with emphysema or look like I’ve had a beetroot facial. If you need a reason to donate to my NGO for the marathon which you can do so here, it’s about 34°c when I run at 6.30am so I’m truly sweating for the cause!