minhus

Review: Living the Good Life

2012-01-16T10:16:00.001-08:00

I really enjoyed reading Living the Good Life: Simple Strategies for Sustainable Living by Linda Cockburn.

The book is about Linda and her family's six-month experiment to not spend a dollar, not on bills, food, transportation, entertainment, etc. Part personal diary, part instructional manual on the need for sustainable living, Cockburn successfully manages to combine the best of both "save the planet" type books into a single tome.

I read a few of the Amazon reviews of this book, where some readers complained because the facts and stats included in the book are Australia-centric. This didn't bother me in the slightest. Although the facts for my country may be different (since I live in America undoubtedly they'll only be more grave), the picture painted by these stats are still meaningful and enlightening. Cockburn also sprinkles helpful recipes, from meals to homemade wine and beer, to cleaning potions, throughout the book.

One of the things that makes this book so inspiring to me is that this family managed to live sustainably and grow most of their own food on a typical urban-size plot of land. This is a much more realistic of an endeavor for most, resident of min hus included, than moving to a secluded plot of acreage as many have done for sustainability experiments. Granted, I think this would be challenging to impossible to accomplish without at least one household member staying home to dedicate their time to gardening and other needed projects, but that's still more doable than uprooting one's entire home and life.

Cockburn also has a blog, although it's no substitute for the book, so one can follow her adventures online as well.

Rating: 4.5/5.0, highly enjoyable and recommended.

Addictions

2012-01-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons living more simply appeals to me so much, is that implementing its principles has helped me loosen my addiction to stuff. And yet, just when I start making progress on one addition, another one comes galloping along to take its place.

Case in point: Pinterest. This week I finally created an account and, dear god, I can't stop pinning things! If you're thinking, what the hell is Pinterest and how could pinning things to virtual bulletin boards be so addicting?, I totally understand. That's exactly what I thought, before I signed up. I mean seriously, I've spent hours every evening since looking at pretty pictures and "pinning" them to my own boards.

Maybe it's my weakness for pictures of pretty home decor, or the fact that we've been talking about finally redoing the kitchen (still not definite yet tho) and Pinterest makes it easy for me to organize my inspiration. Or maybe it's just my addictive personality. But seriously, I don't need another internet addiction. Le sigh.

Seems I'm not the only one around here with a new addiction. Alex the cat has recently developed his own mighty fierce addiction to boxes. I present exhibits A and B, your honor:

He's been laying on one of these two boxes constantly for the last week. Seriously, what is it with cats and boxes? Or cats and being weird?

My Biggest Green Change? Diva Cup

2012-01-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Warning: Boys, this post discusses body functions, and specifically periods. You have been warned.

I can't believe I haven't gotten around to writing about my biggest green change of 2011, namely switching from tampons to a reusable menstrual cup.

I distinctly remember that my reaction to reading about a blogger who had made this green switch was, ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! But the more accounts I read of people who had happily made this switch, the more I became willing to try it. Until finally, a few months ago I went to Whole Foods, bout a Diva Cup, and promptly went how to try it on old Aunt Flo.

If you too are on the cautious side of the fence about trying a reusable menstrual cup, I'll warn you that you need to be patient because there is definitely a learning curve. Then again, there was a learning curve to using tampons as well, but that was so long ago, my memory of it is dull and foggy. Except for the day where I had to call my grandma to come pick me up from middle school because I was convinced my tampon was lost somewhere in there. But I digress.

First, let's get the visual issue out of the way. As another blogger wrote, it is a bit disconcerting to see exactly what goes on down there. But you'll get over that just as quickly as you did all the other gross activities you deal with during, you know, life.

Then there is getting the darn thing in in the first place. It was a challenge. On the first try I think I spent 30 minutes or so trying to get it in there and placed correctly. The second try brought tears to my eyes and resulted in a 24 hour moratorium. By the third day, however, I had it down and things have went more or less smoothly ever since. There are a million ways to insert the cup (although I find the simple C fold works well), which you can view here. There is also more information than you'll likely ever need about the world of menstrual cups here.

The Review
Besides the breaking in point, I'd give the Diva Cup two enthusiastic thumbs up. I now find it more comfortable to wear than tampons. It's also more convenient since you can wear it for up to 12 hours, with no leak issues (depending on the volume of your flow that is). And when you add in the reduced waste and purchasing issues, well, what's not to love?

Quick Tip: Decluttering Christmas

2012-01-03T01:49:00.000-08:00

The title of this post might be a little grandiose, but if you haven't packed away the holiday decorations yet, take a few moments to go through your decorations and see if there are any you no longer love.

I used to feel like I should hold on to all of the decorations I had in case I ever wanted to use them again, since I had the storage space. But now my thinking has changed. Unused, unloved decorations take up space, time and effort the same as any other clutter. Ask yourself when you last used the items you're storing but didn't put out this year. Has your color scheme or tastes changed? Are there items you no longer love? Isn't it time to let them go?

Happy 2012!

2012-01-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

Its beginning to look a lot like the holidays are over. The decorations at min hus have been packed and put away. My living room looks super huge minus a large blue tree. I'm hoping that Alex, the big, old fuzzball, won't be too depressed now that his great love, the fake tree, has been put away for another year. I have a feeling he'll be spending much less time in the living room with me. *sniffle*

You want to do what with my box and my tree?

And, oh yeah, I have to go back to work tomorrow after 11 blissful days off. Le sigh. The mere thought of going back to work makes me a sad panda, but that is a post for another day.

Besides the whole work thing, I don't mind seeing the backside of 2011. Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out, biaatch.

It seems like everyone is talking about resolutions now, and doing year end reviews. The idea of either makes me feel very meh. Are you a resolution-setter? Me? Notso much. During the years I have set goals, my birthday has always felt like a much more natural time to do so. This year, I don't have any resolutions or goals per se, but some guiding principles I'd like to try and adhere to:

Spend less - My expenses are fairly low and my tastes are far from extravagant, but I would still like to be able to save more. Hopefully this year, by tracking my spending carefully, and buying less of my wants (specifically clothes, beauty and hair products and alcohol), I'll be able to do so.
Eat less crap - The boy and I are trying to buy and eat much, much less processed food, and hopefully lose a few pounds in the process.
Waste less - An alarming amount of the produce and fresh food we do buy ends up in the compost pile instead of our tummies. We hope to fix that by paying more attention to what needs to be used, and when.

Here's hoping that 2012 is kind to us all.

Saying Goodbye

2011-12-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

Although our holidays were good, and relaxing, I also felt a bit off. During the quiet, alone moments I feel an underlying sense of melancholy come creeping in. You see, this is my first Christmas since my very special grandmother passed away on September 24.

Grandma at home in Kentucky

Even though I can’t remember the last Christmas we spent together, the world, and especially the holidays, feel different now that I know she’s gone. Now that I can no longer call her. Or hug her. Her birthday was difficult as well; Grandma would have been 80 on December 17.

Grandma and Grandpa cira 1950 (my favorite picture of her)

We had a special bond, grandma and I. She always got me. She never judged, never criticized. She just understood.

Grandma and I.

Once you’ve had a bond like that, it’s really hard when it’s gone.

My one regret is that I didn’t adequately express to her how I felt when I had the chance. I tried, but the perfect words were not there. I did a much better job at her funeral. Somehow, I hope she could hear it, when I said these words:

Loray is my grandmother. Not only did she take care of me when I was little, while my parents worked, but she was one of the people who understood me best in the world. And, ok, she spoiled me rotten. She was the kind of grandma who wasn’t afraid to get down and play, or look silly, such as when we played dress up. She was the kind of grandma who always listened, really listened, no matter what age I was and respected my thoughts and feelings.

I was the reason she took one of her few jobs outside the home. When my parents enrolled me in pre-school so I could socialize with other children, grandma quickly became the pre-school’s cook. Which suited me just fine. Not long after, my parents relented on that decision.

Yes, grandma had a bit of a stubborn streak when it came to getting what she wanted. When my parents made a rule that she could only buy me presents on holidays, grandma soon started celebrating every holiday on the calendar and some that were not, including Groundhog Day, and the opening day of hunting season.

Grandma never met a stranger, because within a few minutes of meeting someone she would somehow have charmed their entire life story out of them.

When I think of grandma there are many other adjectives that come to mind: strong, feisty, caring, hard-working, and loyal are a few. She was an accomplished cook who made, among her many specialties, legendary lasagna that her family devoured even though she didn‘t eat lasagna herself. She always had time and patience to bake cookies with her grandchildren, even when we were so little we needed to stand on a stool to help.

Grandma Ray, as I called her, taught me many things. She taught me the importance of making time for family, friends, and to do our part to help make the world a better place. She taught me that it’s okay to have strong opinions and that you should stand up for what you believe in. She taught me the value of setting an example through your daily actions and how much more important that can be than the words you say.

Perhaps most importantly, grandma and grandpa taught me what true love really looks like, and that even after 61 years, it’s possible to still have and be in love with your best friend.

Loray is my grandma, and for that I am forever thankful. Her presence and love touched many lives and she will be dearly, dearly missed, but she will live on in our hearts. I love you Grandma, and I always will.

Review: The Non-Toxic Avenger

2011-12-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

I greatly admire what Deanna Duke has done with this project and book, The Non-Toxic Avenger: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You. After being dealt two difficult blows, a son diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and a husband with a rare form of leukemia, Deanna didn't crumple into a ball of grief (which is what I probably would have done), she took action.

The book description sums it up best:

After coming to terms with the fact that the autism and cancer which had impacted her family were most likely the result of environmental toxins, author Deanna Duke undertook a mission to dramatically reduce her family's chemical exposure. She committed to drastically reducing the levels of all known chemicals in both her home and work environments, using the help of body burden testing to see what effect, if any, she was able to have on the level of toxins in her body.

I was surprised by how readable this book is; I finished it in only a couple of days. I mean, a book that discusses toxins in everyday life and their potential effects on our health isn't exactly my idea of fun reading. Duke somehow manages to make this an easy, yet still informative read, without leaving out the important details.

Duke really does examine many of the items we come into contact with on a daily basis, way beyond the amount of items I've even thought about having toxic potential, including jewelry, sun glasses, potato chip bags, and dental floss. The magnitude of just how prevalent toxins are in our modern lives are quite disturbing. But through testing Duke shows that it is possible to make a difference in our personal levels of toxin exposure.

It would be easy for me to become overwhelmed by the process of learning more about toxins in every day life, and not know when to make changes and when to let go. It would definitely be easy to let yourself get carried away. Although Duke is thorough, she is willing to let some things go, both for the sake of others' feelings, as well as the sake of her own sanity.

This book inspired me to make several changes, or plans to change, including:

Ditch my teflon cookware.
Ditch the PVC shower curtain - done!
Switch to non-toxic deodorant - done!
Switch from body lotion to coconut oil - done

There are a couple of changes Duke made, which albeit simple, I just can't make myself commit to yet: cutting out body wash and using bar soap to wash my face. While I know I don't need body wash (and as Duke points out it uses a lot of unnecessary plastic, not to mention the energy used to make and transport it), I enjoy it. I've switched from my once-loved Bath & Body Works brand of body wash, to Trader Joe's Tea Tree body wash which doesn't have any SLS or parabens. Still, I continue to use soap even with body wash, so it really is a waste. A waste that smells great and creates delish suds, but a waste nonetheless. I've tried using my Trader Joe's tea tree body soap on my face as well, but am not of the fan of the way it feels. Plus, whether it's my imagination or not, the Say Yes to Cucumbers face wash just seems to work better.

I do have one tiny criticism, which is part of the reason it's taken my so long to write this review. It's hard to say anything even slightly critical about someone I admire, especially considering what she is dealing with. I read Duke's blog and enjoy her writing style, which is why I was surprised that her tone was less spunky than I've come to expect. Some of the advance praise comments included in the book also mentioned how funny the book is. I don't know if I somehow missed the humor, but I wouldn't describe this book as funny. Nonetheless, it's still an enjoyable read, and I hope Duke lets more of her personality shine through in her next book.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Adventures in Coconut Oil

2011-12-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

photo: SingChan

Well Internets, I've survived my first week of using coconut oil as a moisturizer and as a major component of my homemade deodorant. I've yet to send small children screaming at my pale flaky skin, nor have my co-workers been avoiding me any more than usual. I consider that a success. But let's dig a little deeper, shall we?

Oil Me Up, Baby
I have to give two giant thumbs up to using coconut oil as a body moisturizer. My skin feels softer and more smooth than ever. Plus, there's just something I enjoy using a moisturizer that is so non-toxic it's actually edible.

At first, I missed the creamy texture of lotion, but that was soon replaced with awe at the magic of coconut oil. Look, it's a solid! But wait, with a quick rub of my hands--presto, chango--I present you with, a liquid. Yes, I'm easily amused.

And, bonus, whatever was causing me to have a mad case of the itchies, has vanished since I started using coconut oil. I was concerned the oil might leave me feeling a little too slick, but that hasn't been an issue either. Application is simple, after drying off from the shower, I apply the oil one limb at a time. By the time I get dressed two minutes later any added oil has been absorbed. Easy, peasy.

Minty Fresh Pits
The homemade deodorant, on the other hand, has been slightly less successful. I used Crunchy Betty's recipe and smooshed it into an old deodorant container a' la this tutorial, which works great.

The good news is that I don't stink. The bad news? The new concoction stings a little. Using less baking soda might help with that. Or perhaps if I shaved my pits less than every day (sorry, not gonna happen). I'm still hoping the stinging will fade, but if not, I'll try reducing the baking soda in the next batch.

photo: SummerTomato

Another thing I'll be tweaking next time is the scent. Since I only had eucalyptus and spearmint essential oils on hand, that's what I used. Then for the next 24 hours I wondered why suddenly the entire world smelled like toothpaste. Finally, it clicked (genius!) and I sniffed my pits. Yup, they were minty fresh. I don't know about you, Internets, but I find it disconcerting to have armpits that smell like freshly brushed teeth. It's not bad per se, just disturbing. Like Pat from SNL. Or Lady Gaga.

Wussed Out
I did however wuss out on using coconut oil on my face. I've tried it twice, but since I've read opposing arguments on whether CO is comedogenic or not and I'm prone to breakouts, I've been loathe to push my luck.

I'm still waiting to see just how long the 16oz. jar of Dr. Bronner's coconut oil I bought for $10 will last. Since CO has soooo many uses, I've been going through it more quickly than expected. I even went wild and crazy and actually cooked with it. It does pop up some might fine popcorn, let me tell you. I'll keep you posted on the cost-effectiveness situation.

What's your go-to natural beauty product?

Decking the Halls

2011-12-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

Like many things in my life, we're fairly mediumist* about Christmas around here. As I mentioned before, Christmas is the only holiday I enjoy decorating for. After years of trying to spread things out around the house, I finally realized that confining the decorations to just the living room suits me best.

The tree is three years old now, a bargain that the Boyfriend found. I love it because it provides that touch of Christmas, but doesn't clash with the usual color scheme.

My ornaments are pretty much the same every year, consisting of ones I've had since I was a little girl (including some my mommy made, like this wreath ornament, thanks mom!), to ones I bought more recently to add some color, to gifts received more recently.

While most of the decorations are confined to the tree and mantle area shown above, there are a few small other touches here and there, which generally consist of me adding a little something to the usual decor, like these ornaments in the vase.

But no room is complete without the most important accessory, a happy cat. The cats LOVE the tree, Alex (shown above), most of all. They don't bother anything, but rather use the tree as one giant kitty scratcher. It's hilarious.

Do you enjoy decorating for the holidays?

*mediumist = My new term to define my lifestyle, which is somewhere in between your typical consumer-oriented American and your hardcore minimalist.

Review: The Story of Stuff

2011-12-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

Piggy gives this book high marks for comfort

If you're at all like me, you may have assumed that since you've seen The Story of Stuff video, reading the book would be redundant. But, friends, that couldn't be further from the truth. Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff is probably my favorite so far in the green/environment genre.

First, let's talk about Leonard's writing skills, shall we? Tackling the consumer product life cycle in detail, and being able to do so in an entertaining way? That takes skillz people. Yes, that's right, she's so badass she has not just skills, but skillz! I mean I actually wanted to read this book every night; I looked forward to it even.

Reasons to like this book:

You like stats? This book is chock full of them. Like, for example, did you know it takes 98 tons of materials to make a single ton of paper? Yikes! Here's another one, in the US alone we consume more than 80 million tons of paper. We consume 1.6 million metric tons of paper, or 30 million trees, one our books alone. All joking aside, that's pretty sobering.
Need some motivation for your next green step? Maybe I'm just a slow learner, but Leonard manages to explain our current environmental crisis more completely and more accessibly than in any other book I've read. No, I really never thought about, or learned about the mind-boggling number of resources and energy it takes, not to mention the pollution created, to make a single aluminum can. Understanding the full scope of the problem makes me even more motivated to do something about it. In fact, after I read this book I finally ditched my PVC shower curtain for good.
It's accessible. Want an easy-to-read, entertaining way to explain climate change and our environmental crisis to your mom, your kid, your grandma or crazy uncle Lou? This, I would say, is your book. If this book doesn't motivate people to care, nothing will. Everyone in the United States, and heck, anyone who buys stuff should read this book to make sure we all understand the full impact of our present unsustainable lifestyles.
You like solutions? Leonard's not claiming to have all the answers, but she definitely lays out ways we can and must collectively change every step of the production cycle, from extraction to disposal, and beyond that our entire lifestyles and values. Leonard notes that while such huge challenges such as changing our entire lifestyle and economic model, aren't things we can tackle through individual action, greening our personal lifestyles can be a motivational force for us and others. For this, she includes some green steps we can each take. Most of these you've probably heard of before, but reminders are always good. I personally need to ditch the teflon nonstick pans (I'm hoping Santa will help with this). She also recommends investing in the economy you want by buying local, union, fair-trade, etc. Definitely something I'm trying to get better about.

The final ruling: 5.0/5.0

Obviously, if you've read this far you know I'm a big fan of this book. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you're only going to read one book in the environment/sustainability genre this year, this should be the one.

Frugal Inspiration From the Felines

2011-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

I could learn a thing or two about frugality from an unlikely source: my cats. Sure, they may be freeloading bastards, but they are also surprisingly green.

They are great at reusing and re-purposing things. Why bother buying them a fancy commercial pet bed, when they prefer to sleep on piles of dirty laundry, in baskets of clean laundry, or even in an old box covered with plastic.

Seriously, I haven't been able to get him out of that box since I brought it out yesterday afternoon. But this is an improvement from not being able to get him out of the basement laundry basket, at least I see him more these days.

Why bother buying cat toys when they have more fun chasing a dropped piece of paper?

So in the spirit of homemade being better than store-bought, I'm trying a couple new green steps of my own this weekend.

I'm almost out of moisturizer, but instead of forking out big bucks for non-toxic store-bought brands, I bought a jar of Dr. Bronner's coconut oil, and have already been enjoying it. According to my web surfing coconut oil has a million different uses, including homemade deodorant, hair conditioner, treatment for athlete's foot, makeup remover, lip balm, cooking oil, etc.

I'm also diffusing essential oils instead of buying more scented candles or those toxic plug-in air fresheners that I've been trying to wean myself off of.

Going greener has sometimes been a very slow process for me, but at least I'm moving forward, step by step.

What was your last green step?

Finally, a New Rug

2011-11-29T03:51:00.000-08:00

ye old rug

My living room rug has taken a beating in the four years I've owned it. Three cats are hard on a rug, especially an off-white one. Why would someone who has three cats even buy an off-white rug in the first place? I wanted a rug with a pattern that would hide any messes the cats, or boy, might make. But none of them worked and the off-white rug was the least offensive option I could find at the time.

We shopped for rugs online, in every store in the city for years but nothing quite worked. In the meantime, I tried DIY cleaning (major fail) and professional cleaning, but the rug was beyond saving.

Then I finally found what I was looking for at IKEA: cheap, easy to clean (compared to off-white wool anyway), and in colors that don't clash with my living room.

IKEA Skoghall

Suddenly my living room feels much more complete. I was surprised to discover how cozy the rug makes the living room feel, and, it's really comfortable to walk on, despite not being as thick as my old rug.

Review: Affluenza - The All-Consuming Epidemic

2011-11-26T04:52:00.000-08:00

I've been continuing my anti-consumerism/eco reading extravaganza, this time with Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (2nd edition) by John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas Naylor.

I almost didn't pick up this book because I was less-than-impressed with the documentary with the same name that I watched on Netflix streaming. While the message of the documentar y is just as good, it's dated 1997 wrapping and kitsch was a bit too much for me to enjoy. The book however, is an entirely different story.

See, not long ago, I could barely make myself begin a nonfiction book, let alone find one that capture my interest long enough that I actually finish it. Affluenza is not one of those books. In fact, I'd put it just behind The Story of Stuff in being a rare nonfiction book that tells what could easily be a dry story in a very entertaining way. Far from being unable to finish the book, I hardly wanted to put it down.

Affluenza, as the authors define it, is "a painful, contagious socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more."

The book examines America's consumer-oriented society and its many downsides. It also reminds us that our lives weren't always this way. The authors tell how Americans went from working to live, to living to work, and give strategies of how we can--and must, for the sake of the planet and our own happiness--transition back to a more sustainable way of life. Other countries, like Europe, are already leading the way to do just that, the authors point out, and their citizens are consistently ranked happier and healthier because of it.

The book includes a lot of eye-opening stats about just how large, and quickly, our consumer obsession has grown and its negative effects on our lives, such as

In 1981...the United States ranked thirteenth among 22 leading industrial nations in income equality. But today we're dead last.
90% of the waste we generate never even makes it into the products or services but remains at the point of extraction or manufacture.....Of the materials that do become products, 80% are thrown away after a single use.
Americans spend nearly seven times as much time shopping as we do playing with our kids
The rate of clinical depression in the US today is ten times what it was in 1945.
American college students now spend nearly $6 billion a year on booze, more than they spend on all other beverages and their books combined.

But while the causes and pervasiveness of affluenza are enlightening, I'm more concerned with how to stop it. The book offers some suggestions, many of which you've probably heard elsewhere. Still, repetition is helpful, afterall studies have shown we need to hear a message seven times before we act on it. Some of the tips suggested include:

The YMOYL Solution. The book talks a lot about the solutions promoted in Your Money or Your Life, such as (1) calculate how much money you've made in your lifetime and what you have to show for it (net worth). (2) Calculate your real hourly income by adding hours spent in commuting and other work activities and subtracting money spent on things needed for work. (3) Track income and spending for a month. (4) Evaluate whether the life energy spent was worth the value received.
Downshifting/Voluntary simplicity: To me these terms are rather interchangeable, though the authors discuss them separately. The basic idea is to slow down, cut back your consumption and reassess.
Spend more time learning about and experiencing nature.
Eat less meat
Drive less
Use energy efficient appliances

But, while individual action helps us feel involved and is worthwhile, group action is critical. We need new laws and tax systems that make it hard to impossible not to make the right individual choices. We need industry to produce more efficient, repairable, longer lasting products. Industry should be made accountable for the entire lifecycle of products. Redirect government subsidies from actions and organizations that harm the earth to better ones. We need to redefine our concept of work to set it at more sustainable levels which could mean less production and less pay. We need to educate our children--both at home and in schools--about advertising's effects and the difference between needs and wants.

Mostly importantly, we need to redefine what constitutes success, for the nation and ourselves.

I highly recommend Affluenza and give it a 5/5.

Black Friday Gone Too Far?

2011-11-20T06:17:00.000-08:00

This morning I read Michelle Singletary's column, "Early Black Friday Idea Is a Turkey," and heartily agree with her message, to stay home with your families this Thanksgiving, so that retail employees have the chance to do the same.

Black Friday sales hours have been getting more ridiculous for years, but now starting in the wee hours of Friday isn't enough. Retailers are opening as early as 9pm.

Let's face it, the holidays are a horrible time to be a retail employee. Not only are the malls and stores packed with moody shoppers, but their holiday time with family is cut short so that we can shop during ours. And why? Because we all truly need more clutter to add to our overstuff houses? Let's stop the insanity!

My first time venturing out for Black Friday sales was horrible enough to make me never want to experience it again. Although, I have caved to peer and family pressure and gone out again. But not this year.

If we all spent our Thanksgiving's celebrating our many blessings with family, and make Black Friday a Buy Nothing Day, the madness would eventually cease. Oh, there would still be sales, but they might be pushed back to more reasonable hours of the day. That's why this year, I'm pledging to not shop on Thursday or Friday, no matter what last-minute deals may entice me.

Won't you join me?

Downshifter or Slacker?

2011-11-17T00:23:00.000-08:00

Are you on the fast track or nap track?

I recently stumbled across David Robert's great, five-month-old article on Grist, "The Medium Chill." If it's new to you too, you should go give it a read, like, stat. Go ahead, I'll wait.

This article touches upon something I've been realizing over the past few months (maybe longer?) that would surprise my younger self: I no longer want to climb the career ladder. In fact, I think I'm pretty happy at the level I'm at. I'm thrilled to know that others are thinking along these lines and want to have these discussions, not just for the sake of our planet, but also for the sake of our sanity.

In my college days I used to daydream of being so busy and important, that I too would need to have my cell phone glued to my ear as I drove (my expensive luxury sedan) into the office. There would be important notes from my secretary that couldn't wait, and vital decisions that only I could make, NOW! I know, major eye roll, right? I mean, who dreams of being a yuppie? Me, apparently.

Ah the folly of youth. Now those long-lost dreams make me laugh and give thanks that they never came true. The stress of a job that required me to be constantly connected would be agony. While I wouldn't turn down more money if my bosses decided to give it to me (I'm no dummy), I've realized that moving up would almost undoubtedly require more stress than the requisite bump in pay would be worth. I want to spend more time away from work, not less. And supervising others? Total pain in the tookus.

A year or so ago I had a networking lunch with a friend of a friend who is doing extremely well in his career. A long-time VP of a large organization, this guy is about as close to the top as someone in my industry gets. I was sweating this lunch big time. First, I'm not great with meeting people in general. I get nervous, freeze up and can't think of anything to say. Plus, this was someone almost twice my age, definitely twice (and then some) my income bracket, who was levels above me careerwise, and who's favor I wanted to earn.

I need not have worried. This very successful man is the nicest, most-down-to-earth guy you'll ever meet. He was a pleasure to chat with. At the time I was having some career angst. I was debating the need for a change and wasn't sure how, or if, to go about it. This gentleman was a great listener who provided great advice and went out of his way to offer his assistance. I was at that point in my career, he advised, where moving up gets more challenging. Among some of the less-personal advice he gave me was to pursue a master's (since I was thinking about it), join a professional organization in our field, and volunteer in a capacity that was resume-worthy. But what I remember most about our conversation, is what happened after he finished telling me about his action-packed summer, which was full of meetings, work travel and major projects.

"Isn't it hard to have a work-life balance with all the responsibilities you have?" I asked, mostly because I was struggling with the same issue, with a schedule that was less than 25% as full as his.

He laughed, oh how he laughed. There is no work-life balance in this job, he said, it's all work, no life.

Umm, I want to have a life outside the office. In fact, I want more of a life outside the office, not less.

In the days that followed that meeting, it hit me. I didn't want to invest even more of my time to a career, that while it can be creatively rewarding, can also sometimes feel like the bane of my existence. I didn't want the extra hours of my life energy drained, and certainly not the extra stress involved with climbing the career ladder.

Sometimes I feel out of place for thinking these things. I have many co-workers who are always worrying about getting ahead, bettering themselves, and getting the next promotion. I have a friend who made disparaging remarks about a neighbor who retired young and "wasted his time" not working or achieving. I want to argue with these people, to tell them I admire anyone who has managed to retire young, or thrive on less, but I generally take the easy way out and keep my mouth shut.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about being stagnate. I still want to learn new skills, I still want to grow, to be challenged. But moving up and dealing with the politics, meetings, stress, demands, etc. that come with it? No thanks.

I think the view from here is just fine.

What about you? Is downshifting more your speed? If so, do you openly discuss this with friends and family, or do you keep your quest for less to yourself?

Review: A Material World

2011-11-16T00:19:00.000-08:00

I recently finished A Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel, Charles Mann, Paul Kennedy. Not only does this book have a great concept--which involves the team photographing a statistical average family in each of 30 nations outside their home along with their possessions--but it's also great inspiration for minimalists and budding minimalists.

At first, I just flipped through page after page taking in the vibrant photos of the amazingly few possessions that most families around the world own. Bu really made an impact was when I went back through the book and read every chart, every story, and studied the pictures again. The heartbreaking story of the Russian family who lost so much after their photo was taken. Families whose soul wish was a cow, or a goat, or a bicycle to improve their lives. The statistics about how little income families around the world exist on.

This book provided excellent inspiration for my continued decluttering efforts. More importantly, however it has inspired me to do what little I can to help people in other countries.

Get a taste of the book in this feature on the PBS website.

Rating: 5.0/5.0 Highly recommended!

Energy Audit

2011-11-13T11:32:00.001-08:00

Bonus: Now I know I never want a red front door!

One of the most popular tips one reads when deciding to go green is to seal and insulate your home. But how do you know where to start or which jobs provide the biggest payoff? Two weeks ago I had an energy audit that helped answer these questions. Getting the audit was something I had been thinking about for some time, especially given the fact that my house is just shy of 70 years old. Since Columbia Gas has a program for their customers to get a complete audit for just $50, I finally took the plunge.

What happens during an energy audit?

Well, first the contractor (for lack of anything better to call him) took a tour around the house and asked about any problems or concerns I had. Were any of the rooms hotter or colder than the others, etc. Then he started the safety check. This was the part of the program I wasn't expecting, but I find it comforting to know that my gas appliance are drafting properly and not leaking. He checked the hot water heater, furnace, stove and dryer; all were working properly. While everything was running, he checked for carbon monoxide, and again all was well.

Then came the part I was most excited about: the blower door test. With all the windows and doors shut, a fan was placed in the front door to create negative pressure. Then we walked around, the contractor armed with an infrared camera, in search of air leaks.

Surprisingly, my little old house is pretty well sealed, especially considering its age. There are two big areas which could be improved: sealing around the rim joist in the basement, and sealing the attic and adding insulation to the attic floor. The contractor also pointed out some smaller fixes, most of which I can handle myself with just a tube of caulking.

One area which wasn't on the upgrade list is my original, single-pane wood windows. I was delighted to hear the contractor say that the need to replace old windows tends to be majorly over-hyped when it comes to energy efficiency. Now, I do have--and use--the original storm windows that came with the house, which makes a big difference.

"Many people spend thousands to upgrade the efficiency of 5% of their house, when it would be way more cost-effective to spend hundreds to seal and insulate the other 95% of their home."

Plus I hate the idea of replacing old, repairable wood windows with new, cheap toxic PVC ones. Not to mention the cost factor. So my time spent painting and repairing my windows hasn't gone to waste -- they're staying!

If you happen to be a Columbia Gas customer, you should check out the Home Performance Solutions program and see if it's offered in your area. Many other utilities offer similar programs as well. The best part is that if you end up getting the recommended work done, you can be eligible for major rebates.

Good Reads

2011-11-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

my favorite reading spot of late

Some recent goods reads, in case you missed them:

Type A Minimalist: Occupied
Type A said it better than I could have. Hitting companies in the wallet is a major way to make them take notice. If we want things to change, then reexamining our current non-sustainable consumption levels is essential.
Simple Savvy: A Minimalist's Halloween
Yes, I know, Halloween is over, but it's always great to see someone else questioning our holiday decorating obsession. If you enjoy decorating for holidays, then by all means continue, but if it feels more like a chore than fun, then you might want to try something different. I go with a combo approach. I love decorating the living room for Christmas, but that's it.
Unconsumption
I'm totally picking up what this new-to-me tumblr is laying down. I've been devouring the archives like a fiend and already found some great gems.

Buying Less

2011-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

copyright: flickr user qnr

It wasn't long ago that the boy and I viewed shopping as a recreational activity. We spent many a weekend afternoon browsing at the mall or shopping center; Often buying things we didn't really need. We weren't shopaholics, or hoarders. In fact we looked like many other typical Americans. Shopping is almost encouraged as a national past time.

Eventually, I became sick of wasting so many hours shopping. More and more often I would refuse to spend the afternoon shopping. At first the boy resisted, but eventually he too was fine with the idea of shopping less.

Even though I cut down on shopping, and have never been a spendthrift, I was still buying more than I needed. When I decided to take make a concerted effort to stop buying items I didn't really need or really, really want and would use; I was nervous about going into a store. But you know what? It gets easier, much easier.

Friday night, I decided to brave the mall to get some needed heavy duty moisturizing shampoo. I was there for about 40 minutes and during that time I browsed four of my favorite stores. In that time you know what I was tempted to buy besides the shampoo I came for? Nothing. Not. One. Thing.

At this point in time, buying a bunch of crap I don't really need holds no appeal whatsoever. I even went to my favorite clothing store, but since I'd already gone though my closet and pulled out every piece of clothing I own, I knew I had more than enough clothing and didn't need to purchase more.

After trying to transition into using less toxic body products, the smells in my once beloved bath and body store were overpowering. I left after a few moments.

So if you're just starting on your journey to a less consumerist lifestyle, take heart. The longer you resist the pull of consumerism, the less of a hold it has on you. As I drove home from the mall, stuck in traffic, watched the crowds at the chain restaurants and thought about the shoppers laden with bags at the mall, I couldn't have been less tempted to be a part of any of that. I now prefer a less-consumerist life and am thankful I'm no longer one of the shopping zombies.

Last of the Flowers

2011-10-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Sadly, the time has come to say goodbye to this year's zinnias. I've been enjoying them since August (at least) and have become spoiled by being able to run outside and snip some blooms whenever the mood strikes. Not bad for a couple bucks worth of seeds that I planted outside in May, eh?

But alas, all good things must end and tonight we're expecting a hard frost. So tonight I made the rounds and liberated as many blooms as I could before darkness fell.

It's thrilling to see a full bouquet of flowers fresh from my own garden; I usually own snip a few at a time, never an entire vase-full. Maybe I should plant more next year so I can do this more often.

Au revoir until next year garden.

Review: No Impact Man

2011-10-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

I just finished No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process, a book I was surprisingly engrossed in from beginning to end. Why do I say surprisingly? Well, after being a frequent reader of the No Impact Man blog, and watching the documentary, I didn't think there would be that much new content about the project that would keep my interest. Plus, at times I've found Colin's tone on the blog to be a bit grating, but I'm hyper-persnickety like that. The No Impact book, however, was a great read.

First, if you're expecting a step-by-step, nitty-gritty guide to the project, or details on what the Beavan's used instead of toilet paper during the experiment, you're going to be disappointed, because this isn't that kind of book. Yes, the basics of the project are explained, but the book, to me, was much more about the philosophy behind Beavan's environmental work. And somehow Colin manages to describe his philosophy in a way that doesn't sound so new-agey or preachy as to be a turn off, as other books I've read have.

Another plus, is that Beavan isn't too egotistical to admit his own faults and mistakes. He fully admits to judging other's "eco-sins" more harshly than he judges his own and works to correct that. He isn't afraid to point out his mistakes and "cheats" during the project.

Beavan delves into some of the problems behind the United States' current economy of consumption, if you want more detail on those issues, read the Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. Like Leonard, Beavan also makes the point that it would be one thing of our over-consumption was actually making us happy, but it's not and it's killing the planet.

Beavan definitely examines our reliance on one-time use products and his family's efforts to eliminate them. This is definitely something I can improve upon, and will work to by:

Using a hankie instead of tissues
Buying recycled toilet paper, which isn't sold at the stores I frequent most (which by the way seems completely asinine to me. Why must we use virgin paper to wipe our precious asses?!)
Using cloth napkins and towels etc. instead of paper towels as much as possible. With three cats, I'm still not willing to give up paper towels entirely.

I already eliminated bottled water, and bring coffee from home each day in a thermos.

I also like that Beavan includes not just his notes, but also a long list of interesting-sounding books, websites and other resources for more information, including several that are new to me.

This book definitely gave me some new ideas to think about. So, if you can't tell already, I'd give No Impact man a solid 4.75/5.0 rating and highly recommend it.

Duh Moments on My Green Journey

2011-10-05T16:49:00.001-07:00

image credit: kerryvaugh

Do you ever have a realization that it so simple you can't believe it took you so long to discover it in the first place?

Case in point, despite the fact that we go through 35 cans of cat food a week, and despite the fact that I try to recycle as much as possible, I just starting recycling cat food cans yesterday. Yesterday! And I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person. At times. Although this is obviously not a good example of that.

What gives? Honestly I didn't even think about recycling cat food cans at first. Then, once I did I thought, they're so stinky, smelly and gross that recycling them would be way more of a pain than it was worth. You know how much of a pain it actually turned out to be? No pain whatsoever. When a can is empty I simply fill it with water and put it in the sink. After 15 minutes or whenever I'm in the kitchen next I dump the water out, do a 2 second rinse, and voila, a clean can. Why the heck have I been waiting so long to try that?

Although I have the best intentions of being more green, I think the biggest thing that trips me up is just accepting what I've always done in the past, or seen family do, as sacred. Throwing compost in a used coffee can under the sink felt cumbersome at first, but now it feels weird not to do it. Or when I finally tried drying clothes without dryer sheets, and discovered I didn't miss them. Oh, and when I never remembered to bring reusable bags to the store until I finally started keeping them in the trunk of my car instead of in the house. Or how about when I finally tried online banking and instantly loved how much faster it was to pay bills.

Yeah, so obviously I'm not so good with change (shut up, boyfriend!), but please tell me I'm not the only one who frequently has these duh moments? What other easy green tips might I be missing?

Why Did I Save That?

2011-10-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

gratuitous shot of one o' my zinnias

Have you visited the 100 Things 100 Days blog? I love it, and am also completely jealous of Christine's ability to make each clutter clearing post entertaining. That is a gift! Then there's the fact that she counts each piece of clutter. I wish I'd done that and kept track of exactly how many items I've purged, though I doubt I'd ever make it to 10,000 even if I counted every single piece of paper purged. I tried to track this with the dearly decluttered list, but alas I lost the motivation to update it.

I keep trying to do what to me is a massive purge of 100 items in a single day, but find it pretty much impossible. Unless I attack two categories of my items that are still rather massive: paper and photos. So Sunday, after spending a few days away, I came home and did exactly that.

One area I've had a major breakthrough this year is sentimental clutter. I used to save every scrap of paper that reminded me of big trips, major milestones, etc. I had dozens of letters received while I was an exchange student, many of whom from my fellow exchange student friends I haven't spoken to since. When I read them again, which was rather boring, I couldn't remember why I'd ever kept them in the first place.

And photos, oh the photos. I used to keep two shoeboxes crammed full of extra photos in addition to the photo albums full, now I'm down to less than one shoebox, and I even decluttered one of the albums. It wasn't painful at all to toss the duplicates, the poor-quality shots, and the shots of people/places I don't feel the need to keep forever. Photos I wanted to keep but didn't necessarily need in paper form have been scanned before tossing.

Here's what I decluttered Sunday evening:

40 letters from my exchange student days eons ago
9 cards
87 photos
1 red plastic notebook which housed said letters

Small Beginnings

2011-09-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was thinking about small homes, and remembered something I haven't thought about in eons, the first tiny home I ever loved.

When I was growing up my family lived in the country. Our nearest village had a tiny, and expensive, grocery store, a gas station or two, my school, a bank, a rollerscating rink and not a whole lot else.

I don't remember how old I was when I first saw it, but it was on one our frequent trips to town.

There, nestled on a heavily wooded lot, located to the left of the main house was a perfect miniature replica. It wasn't tiny either, if memory serves, it was larger than a child's playhouse; larger even than the tiny 100-200 square foot homes that have become so popular today.

I can't tell you how many hours I spent dreaming (and probably jabbering) about living in that little house. It would be perfect. I could park it in the lawn right in front of my parent's home. I'd be able to decorate it any way I wanted, and since it would be mine all mine, there would be no one to yell at me for watching too much TV or not cleaning my room.

Alas my parents were not millionaires, so I never got my tiny dream home dream...until now. Perhaps my love of small started way back then?

Do you remember when you first became smitten with small?

Recognizing Enough

2011-09-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

When I bought my little 742 square foot house I considered it a starter home. Since it was the height of the housing bubble (not that I realized it at the time), and I refused to leave my current neighborhood, I knew I was going to have to buy small. My little 1940s ranch is definitely small, the living area has a kitchen, living room, one tiny, tiny bathroom and two bedrooms. Yes, you read that right, there's no dining room and no coveted half-bath.

my teeny, tiny bathroom

There are some bonuses though. Half of the basement is finished, thanks to the boyfriend's drywall and ceiling installation skills. There's also a walk-up attic, so storage is not an issue. My mortgage payment is the same price as my former rent on a (cheap) townhouse.

There are some definite drawbacks as well. There's only room for a maximum of three people at the kitchen table, and that's pushing it. There's room for an office or a guest room, but not both. There are two closets on the main floor, and both of them combined are not able to accommodate an average American-size wardrobe. And did I mention I'd kill for an extra half-bath?

I always planned on upsizing to one of the numerous cute cape cods in my hood. Something that has a dining room, an extra bathroom, a third bedroom, and a large upstairs master. But those bigger houses have a huge drawback: more bucks for the mortgage and utilities, more time spent cleaning, more house to maintain etc.

After a few years of slowly culling some of the extra stuff from our lives, I came to what was first a surprising conclusion. My starter home has more than enough space for two adults and three cats to live in comfortably. Even more surprising, the boyfriend agreed with me.

Realizing this is enough, did require letting go of some previous notions, including:

I don't need an office; I end up sitting on the couch to use my laptop anyway.
I'm not the dinner-party-hosting type, and I rarely used a dining room when I had it anyway.
While having an extra bathroom would be devine, we're surviving quite fine without it.
Once I got rid of all the extra stuff cluttering my house, and the extra clothes cluttering the closet, the rooms didn't feel so tiny anymore.

I wouldn't want a smaller home either. While I find tiny homes charming, I don't think they'd be comfortable for me in my present lifestyle. Somehow I managed to pick just enough space on my first try.

How much living space is enough for you?

Sacred Clutter: Books

2011-08-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

I find it intriguing that even many minimalists and declutter enthusiasts have a holy grail of items that they mutually consider untouchable: books. Even Dave Bruno, creator of the 100 Things Challenge, excludes books from his list of 100 things.

Why are books so untouchable? I mean, I get it. I love books and reading. I haven't made the leap to a Kindle or Nook or any other e-reader because I prefer to curl up with a paperback at the end of a long day of staring at a screen. I read so much in fact, that I'd hate to have to pay the bill to buy all of the books I go through in a year, let alone a lifetime. That's why the vast majority of my books come from our wonderful public library. I'm lucky enough to live in a large city with one of the top-rated public library systems in the world, so finding the books I want to read for free is easy.

Even I, avid library user that I am, own books. Sentimental books from my childhood and beyond, a few classics (Jane Austen, anyone?), and books purchased to take on vacation or when I couldn't wait for my turn to read a popular title from the library.

In fact I was surprised to discover that I owned 212 books when I counted them earlier this year. Since then I've purged quite a few especially after the boy agreed we could lose the extra bookcase in the spare room is I shared some space in the large bookcase, which I had previously considered untouchable. So I did.

I don't consider books untouchable, in fact, the library is like our collective free storage space for all the books we're only going to read once, or once every few years. Why take up space in my home to house those copies?

After purging the books I didn't love, wasn't going to read again, or could easily borrow from the library, I find I'm left with 120 books. Once I finish reading my large collection of unread books even more will go.

Do you want to purge some of your book collection? Tips that helped me:

Be realistic about your book collection. If you're not going to re-read or refer to a title let it go.
On the fence about purging a book? Check and see if your local library has it, that way you can borrow it whenever you get the urge! Checking this is simple; most library catalogs are searchable online.
Stop the inflow of books, borrow books from the library instead of buying them. You'll save money and avoid future clutter.

Reused Beauty

2011-08-06T06:05:00.001-07:00

My birthday is at the end of this month and the Boy keeps pestering me for gift ideas. I can't think of a single thing I really want. Oh what a terrible problem to have, right?

There's always my hunt for some new ballet flats that actually fit my ginourmous feet. Or maybe some new clothes. But both of these items would have to be carefully selected by me and merely paid for by the giver; not the most exciting idea to either party. Surely there's something I want, even during my quest to be greener?

I tried suggesting the Boy give the gift of labor and restore an old window or two (as if he doesn't do enough of that stuff anyway), but he quickly nixed that idea.

I do want reusable produce bags so I can skip more plastic at the grocery. Besides that not being the most exciting bday gift, I'd rather try my hand at making these bags I saw on Itty Bitty Impact this week. Unfortunately, this will require a sewing machine, which I do not have. As it happens, my mom recently purchased a used sewing machine for me but in my usual delicate fashion I scoffed and refused it because a) I don't sew and b) I'm purging, not acquiring, silly! Maybe it's time I buck up and learn how to sew? I'm sure my mom still has the machine, but asking for it will require some groveling on my part.

t-shirt produce bags from Delia Creates

A few weeks ago the boy and I spent a few Saturday hours unsuccessfully hunting everywhere online for the perfect daybed for the spare bedroom. We ended up deciding to just purchase a simple frame for his queen size mattress that currently lives in there. A much cheaper and greener solution. But if I still wanted a daybed, this one featured on Design Sponge this week would be perfect.

Urban Cottage in Dallas' daybed made of doors, genius!

If only I was creative and inventive enough to figure out how to reuse the items I have rather than always going out to purchase a new solution for my wants.

The Things We Keep

2011-07-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

photo by Saturnism

I live in one of the many states experiencing a heat wave last week (this week it's a mere 88-90) and have little motivation to leave the comfort of AC. We did manage to get up early enough Sunday morning to go for a bike ride and have breakfast outside with friends, but other than that I've been hiding out in the cool inside air.

This weather is perfect for inside decluttering, which continues, albeit slowly. I managed to add the following to my outbox: a large glass bowl, a decorative cup I've had since junior high (sad I know), three books, four pins and a magnet. I also spent a few hours last weekend scanning papers and photos and purged over two pounds of paper from my files. Although dealing with paper clutter takes forever, it's amazing how far I've come.

My decluttering has slowed because I've already purged most, if not all of the easy stuff. You know, the stuff you're not really attached to that you can get rid of without a second thought. I had been mulling over the idea that maybe I was actually done decluttering; maybe I've reached my enough. But I didn't feel done. This post by Brooks Palmer confirmed this, especially this bit

Where do I feel the most out of sorts in my home? What areas do I avoid? In the same way you would notice some tension in your body, you're focusing your attention on, "Where's the tension in my home?"

Where do I feel tension is an excellent question to ask myself. While none of the rooms in min hus make me tense right now (except perhaps the attic, and manland depending on how messy the Boy lets it get), there are still hidden areas that bother me, whether it's a drawer, a closet, a cabinet, etc.

There are also certain items that I can't manage to make myself part with yet, even though I feel like I should. These are all items that still have a sentimental hold on me, even if they no longer serve a purpose, or that I spent a lot of money on at one time and may still use...someday.

Things like:

why yes, these are my actual childhood toys that I still have, pathetic, I know!

Old toys (Barbies, dolls, stuffed animals) - Doesn't every thirty-something still have a toy or two lying around? Whaddya mean no?!?
Video games (PS2 and original gameboy, I'm looking at you!)
Clothes that are a little too big or too small - My size has been changing so much lately that I feel the need to hang on to a variety of size options if I really like the clothes in the first place
Old Domino magazines
Books I haven't read yet, but want to read before passing them on (except that new books from the library look way more interesting)
Movies I haven't watched yet, that really don't look all that appealing at this point

What items are lurking in your home that you no longer love or use but can't quite get rid of yet? Or if you did manage to part with those tough items, how did you do it?

Harvest Time

2011-07-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday's harvest

It's been a pretty good year for the vegetable garden. The zucchini and cucumber plants have lasted longer than they ever have, although they are about kaput for the season. Now the tomatoes and peppers are beginning to ripen and our favorite season of the year, the time of homemade salsa, is almost upon us.

So far this season we've harvested:

14 zucchini
15 cucumbers
7 tomatoes
19 jalapenos
green onions (I didn't start keeping count back then)

How's your harvest? And how long do your cucumber and zucchini vines last? Am I just vine challenged?

Old, New and Blue Kitchen Inspiration

2011-07-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

I love, love, love Michael Penny's kitchen spotted today on House of Turquoise. First the gorgeous shade of turquoise chosen for the cabinets jumped out at me but then I noticed an even bigger turn on... old cabinets. Old cabinets just like the ones in my kitchen that blend well with newer additions like the marble countertops and white subway tile.

I just love seeing pretty, renovated kitchens where the original cabinets weren't ripped out and replaced. They provide great inspiration for my maybe someday kitchen renovation which I've been mentally planning nonstop since I first saw min hus. I think my old cabinets add character. Plus, my reno would definitely be done on a budget and replacing the cabinets would easily double a tiny reno budget. But sometimes I worry that my old, but still in great shape cabinets, will look out of place in a renovated space. This kitchen helps quiet those fears!

This one is definitely going in the inspiration file. In fact, the entire house is pretty inspiring. Check it out including great before and afters at House and Home. Awesome job Michael Penny!

What's the Goal Anyway?

2011-07-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today I'm taking a break from cleaning, purging and simplifying to just rest and reflect on my journey so far. What exactly am I taking baby steps toward, anyway?

I'm not even sure how to classify this change I want to make in my life. It's a combination of a little minimalist, a little green (certainly more green than I am now) and a little more frugal. All of which feels very connected to me.

In the minimalism realm, my goal isn't to get rid of all my stuff and travel the world, living only out of a suitcase. I just want to look around my little home and only see things I use and love.

I'm also not aiming to be the greenest of the green, but I believe we, as a planet, are using way more resources than is sustainable and it bothers me tremendously that we're not rising up as societies to demand change. There are some changes I'm not willing to make yet (riding the bus, I'm looking at you!), but there are a lot of things I can do differently.

I've always been pretty frugal. I don't like wasting money, heck, I don't really like spending money. But even here there are things I can do to stop wasting money, stop being such a consumer, and save more with the goal of eventually working less.

I love seeing what steps other bloggers have taken along these lines, and in the interest of returning the favor, here are my goals and recent progress since I last posted about my small green steps.

Reduce the amount of waste I produce using the golden rule: reduce, reuse, recycle. I've been recycling and composting for years now, but occasionally I get lazy in those areas and throw away things I shouldn't. I'm trying to fix that and go farther.

Next step: Use fewer paper towels and other disposables and try buying from bulk bins to reduce packing waste.
Reduce my consumer activity. I'm trying to buy less and avoiding shopping for anything I don't need or really, really, really want. This is a challenge, although I can't really think of anything I need right now. Recently we switched to a simple homemade dishwasher detergent, which is working great and replaces my old, bottled detergent, as well as the need for commercial rinse aid. Vinegar works just find.
Continue to pare down items I don't need and love. I took another giant garage bag and box to our local Volunteers of America yesterday, but there are still items in the attic, basement, and garage that can be purged.
Reduce the amount of energy I use. This is a tough one for me. What can I say, I hate to be hot, and haven't had the greatest experience using our local public transportation system.

Voila, Painted Bottles

2011-07-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

I completed the bottle painting project last week and am fairly pleased with the results. The finished vases look much better than I expected, but are they functional as vases?

If you didn't see my original post about this project, I've been wanting some blue glass vases to display on my mantle, but I didn't want to spend a lot. A Martha Stewart craft project provided the perfect solution and inspiration. Here's how it went down.

The good:

It's an easy, fun project, perfect for impatient people like myself.
It's cheap and semi-green. You can reuse old paint, bottles, etc. Or buy bottles cheap at a thrift store. My entire cost for the project was $7, for four bottles of craft paint, which I used to tint some latex and white craft paint I already had, and $3 for six bottles purchased at thrift stores. I made a lot more bottles than shown here.

The bad:

I wondered how well the latex and acrylic painted bottles would hold up with water and today I found out the answer, they don't. The paint started streaking and separating right away. So unless you want to fork over bigger bucks for real glass enamel, which might hold up better, plan to use these bottles as non-functional decor only.

This week I also ran across another easy craft project along these lines, food-colored bottles, for those who want to try something different.

Quick Tip: Photograph Your Mags

2011-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Once again my trusty digital camera is proving itself to be the best decluttering tool ever. Not only does it allow me to avoid having paper copies of photos, but it's also great for snapping shots of sentimental items before you purge them, for those who prefer to keep a reminder of special items. Now I've found another use for my camera.

Over the last few years I've gone from keeping every issue of every magazine I ever subscribed to, to a single stack of Domino mags plus a few random issues. I was quickly able to purge eight more mags today by using a quick tip I picked up at Hei Astrid: take a digital photo of the pages that inspire you, then purge the magazine.

I've scanned inspirational pages in the past, but it took forever. And patience is not my strong suit. Taking a quick pic or two is much, much faster. Though the picture quality isn't as great as a scan, it's perfectly fine for a simple inspiration reminder.

Tips:

Be honest, how often do you refer to old magazines anyway? If it's seldom to never, keep the inspiration you like and purge the rest.
Shoot twice: If you're not the world's best photographer (like me), take a couple shots of each page to ensure you end up with at least one great one. Keep the best shot of each page and delete the rest.
Download your pics and check them before you get rid of the magazine.
Be ruthless about which pages you'll really want to see again and only shoot those.
Try again: If at first you can't bring yourself to purge some issues, cut yourself some slack and try again later. (Provided you have a place to keep them, of course, and they're not piled on your floor or something. No hoarding kiddies!) This is worked for me with everything but my preciousssss Dominos....I know it's stupid, but I can't quite let them go yet.

My Kitchen: Then and Now

2011-07-05T06:52:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, when I first toured my house the kitchen looked like this. On a good note, it was larger then most kitchens in the 1940s and 50s houses in my neighborhood and had plenty of counter space. The design was also something I could live with until I had the funds to fix it up. On the downside it was rather, meh, and each of the appliances were different colors.

The kitchen also has the only room for eating space in the house, and as you can see it doesn't leave much space to squeeze a table in.

This is what my kitchen looks like today, courtesy of some paint and two new appliances that match the stove.

The most recent updates we've made is to paint the ugly blue and off-white fake tile backsplash a lovely white. Scroll back up to the first picture to see the before (go ahead, I'll wait) and I think you'll agree that the white is a vast improvement.

This view is also much improved, thanks to a recent hallway makeover, which added shoe storage and more hooks, and brought the blue color of the kitchen into the staircase, which serves as the only "coat closet" in min hus. We also removed a bi-fold door which was never used to block off the basement. It's amazing how much more open this area feels now.

Of course I have grand dreams of a kitchen renovation that would include new countertops, a slight layout change and a pantry, but until then it's nice to have a kitchen that makes me smile.

Review: The New Normal: An Agenda for Responsible Living

2011-07-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

I became engrossed in David Wann's The New Normal: An Agenda for Responsible Living after discovering it in the library's new display.

In The New Normal, Wann debunks our current, unsustainable way of life and proposes a new way of living, a way that involves saving the planetary resources that sustain us and a way that just might make her happier.

Wann discusses how we got ourselves in this mess and highlights how unsustainable our current way of living is. He's realistic about the scope of the needed solutions, and points out that unfortunately, saving ourselves isn't going to be a simple matter of changing a few lightbulbs and using reusable bags. Not that those things aren't important, but it's going to take more than that. A lot more.

Perhaps what most impressed me about this book is how Wann manages to set an optimistic tone about the necessary changes. This new way of life will look much different, yes, but those differences may also make it what we've been searching for all along.

Environmentalists and wannabe environmentalists who have done more reading of our current climate crisis and how to solve it may not find Wann's book as enlightening as I did. For readers at the beginning of their self-education in green living, like me, or someone who wants to review these issues, I highly recommend The New Normal. Reading this book helped renew my resolve to complete even minor actions, such as recycling, changing lightbulbs, carrying reusuable bags at all times, etc. Even better, I now feel inspired to take further steps toward a greener way of life.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Additional steps I want to take since reading The New Normal

Support local farmer's by shopping at the Farmer's Market often. I struggle with this. First, I hate going places before noon on Saturday (yes, I realize that's sad). Second, I'm cheap and often prices at the farmer's market are much higher than at the grocery store. I'm not saying it's not worth it, it's just something I struggle with. Also, our local markets have limited variety of fruits and veggies.
Spend a portion of our weekly food budget on organic food in addition to growing more food.
Buy local beer and wine whenever possible.
Get involved in local government, attend meetings, keep informed and express my opinions. I haven't made time for this, and I should.
Eat meatless one day a week
Install a clothesline outside

Use It or Lose It Update

2011-07-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

my medicine cabinet is already looking pretty minimal

My Use It or Lose It Challenge is going fairly well so far. Just seeing the picture of my messy bathroom cabinet was enough inspiration for me to do some decluttering and lose a few duplicates products and toss others that were almost empty, but I was apparently never going to finish.

I say fairly well instead of great because, confession time, I caved on the whole not-going-to-the-library idea. A book (Simple Prosperity) that I had placed on hold was ready for pick up and, as usual, once I was in the library it was impossible for me to leave with only one book. I find it hard to feel too badly about this though, because (1) I didn't purchase anything new and (2) I can't ever think of reading more books as a bad thing, and I borrowed non-fiction for heaven's sake, and (3) I've already decluttered quite a few books (details coming soon). So I'm scrapping the whole no-library part of the challenge, although I still plan to make a concentrated effort to read the unread books in my collection.

I also bought a bar of honey soap at the farmer's market yesterday, but I don't feel bad about that either since it was benefiting a farmer instead of a box store chain.

More importantly, we also avoided a large purchase. Yesterday we spent a good deal of time discussing changing the queen bed that is currently in the office/spare room. The existing bed is sitting on the floor because we don't have a bed frame for it, and we've thought about replacing it with a new daybed, complete with trundle, that would take up less space. But what would that extra space be used for?

We shopped online at every outlet we could think of, but I didn't really love any of the daybed options. After talking to my mom who raved about how comfortable the current mattress set is, I decided it was silly to buy a new bed frame, mattresses, sheets, etc. just to make the office look more spacious. So instead we're going to buy a simple metal frame for the existing mattress and call it a day. This result isn't necessarily because of the challenge per se, but all the decluttering I've done over the last few years, along with trying to avoid unnecessary purchases, makes the idea of buying something new that might not get much use very painful, especially when there's an alternative solution.

How My Garden Grows: Veggie Watch

2011-07-02T05:06:00.001-07:00

I've spent a good part of my mini-break of pottering in the garden, so it seemed like a good time to give you a tour.

We're entering zinnia season around here, and I can't wait!

I wasn't expecting this bunch of brown-eyed susans, are they volunteers? That's what I love about gardening, there are always surprises.

Mallow vine grown from seed; a new one for me. It's not really growing like a vine, but I like it .

This time of year though, I'm more excited about the vegetable garden. Veggie watch 2011 is on!

The zucchini are are off! We've already harvested three and eaten two. I'm a bit nervous about them though, because this is usually around the time when a fungus or something attacks them and they shrivel up and die. Maybe this year will be different.

I'm still anxiously awaiting my first ripe tomato and cucumber.

But the really, really special moment this week was when we spotted the very rare, very fleeting.....

Pig Flower!!

You can't find these just anywhere!

Now you know why my cat mint is always flatter than a pancake.

Mini-Break

2011-06-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Time to kick back and enjoy, just like Piggy!

Tonight marks the start of my five day mini-break from work, wahoo! There's nothing like the beginning of a break, when there is nothing but work-free possibilities ahead. I really, really need this break.

We're not planning to go anywhere, at least not anywhere far, but there are several things ideas I have for how to while away the hours:

Tackle a DIY project or two. There's plenty to choose from. My original proposal to the boyfriend was to spend two days working and three days relaxing and having fun, but at this point point I'm leaning more towards more fun and less work. We'll see.
Go swimming
Grill out
Take long bike rides
Read a lot
Write a blog post or five. I've got a backlog of ideas and they just keep coming!
Make these painted glass bottles
Sell the books and media I've decluttered
Learn how to propagate lavender. You can never have too much!
Try more green cleaning and personal care recipes. After my success with this simple, cheap and green homemade dishwasher detergent powder from Bonzai Aphrodite I'm anxious to try a few more. I might try this alternative dishwasher detergent recipe for starters. Anyone have other recommendations?

What are your weekend plans?

Bedroom Fan Update: Let It Shine, Let It Shine

2011-06-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

Since this 2008 post on the new bedroom ceiling fan is one of the more popular ones on this blog, I figure it's only fair to provide an update now that my major complaint is resolved. In case you aren't familiar with the post (and really, who is?) after a long search in 2008 we found a ceiling fan that looked great, but didn't put out enough light to read or even say, get ready in the morning by. And that was with using the max wattage the fixture allows, 40W bulbs. The only possible solution was to find 60W equivalent CFLs. We searched everywhere, and the Boyfriend even ordered CFL bulbs online, but nothing fit in the small space allotted in this fixture.

Until finally, a mere three years later our problems were solved by micro-mini bright white 13W CFLs in bright white, which are equivalent to 60W incandescents. We picked them up here, but I've started seeing them in all the home improvement stores now.

Bam! Now it's so bright I almost have to wear shades. And as a bonus, the three new bulbs use slightly less power than just one of the old ones. So if your ceiling fan light isn't cutting it, or my original post gave you qualms about this fab fan, fear no more.

Use It or Lose It Challenge

2011-06-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

The last time I bought soap I found four new bars I had completely forgotten about hidden away in the bathroom and linen closet. I don't even want to tell you how many bottles of perfume I own, or how many bottles of shampoo I have in the shower (although, I've been working on that particular area). I keep buying new my favorite body wash (Tom's of Maine lavender, if you're curious) instead of using any of the perfectly good unopened bottles I already own.

Every time I try to declutter my linen cabinet or my half of the bathroom cabinets, I find "perfectly good" personal care items I just haven't finished or even gotten around to trying yet.

It's time to stop the insanity.

That's why I'm putting myself on a use it or lose it challenge, starting now.

The rules:

1. No buying more personal care products when you have perfectly good, unused versions at home.

2. If I don't like a product, I don't have to finish it (I'm not the suffer in silence type, as the Boyfriend will attest), but I do have to pitch it. No more keeping items around "just in case."

While I'm mainly concentrating on personal care products for this challenge, I'm also going to extend it to books. I want to downsize my book collection, but there's so many I haven't gotten around to reading yet. Instead, I find much more interesting reading material when I visit the library. So same rules apply to books, no buying or bringing home new books from the library until I read or donate the unread books I already own. And this starts today since I just hit the library again yesterday. Doh! Ouch, it hurts just typing the no more bringing books home from the library bit.

Declutter Inspiration and Other Good Links

2011-06-22T15:53:00.001-07:00

Some favorite links I've come across this week:

100things100days - If like me you can't get enough of reading about OPP (other people's purging) then you need to head over to this new-to-me blog. I'm in awe of Christine who is on a quest to, you probably guessed it, purge 100 things each day for 100 days. Impressive and interesting!
Secrets of Money and Life Success - Great reminders, especially for all those recent grads.
320 Square Foot Home - The video tour of this 320-square-foot home has made the rounds, but maybe like me, you didn't discover the blog right away. I'm not sure I'd ever want to live in a place this tiny, but I find the lifestyle fascinating.
How to Stage Your Home for Living - I couldn't have said this better myself. It's never made sense to me that our homes usually look their very best right before we leave them. Reading this article was a good reminder for me to finish the unfinished projects around min hus.

Lessons Learned from a Garage Sale

2011-06-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

Our second garage sale this year was a bust. In the three hours we were open on Saturday, before the downpour started, we had a whopping 20 or so customers. I sold three items.

Granted, I beat Friday's total sales of $6.50 and made $27 total. Plus we split the proceeds from leftover items my mom contributed to the sale, which added another $9. The boy made just over $100 and a friend who joined us made $30. I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time, but it's definitely not my favorite way to spend a Saturday.

The silver-lining to another less-than successful sale is that it did provide a lot of food for thought.

That stuff you had to have? It's almost worthless to everyone else. Once you buy it and take it out of the store it easily loses 50-75% of its value. It amazes me how little people are willing to pay at garage sales, even for new and unopened items. I'm not sure why we value an item on a store shelf so much higher than one at a yard sale or thrift store, but we do.

One "customer" complained at the 50 cent price tag on a brand new, never used wine corkscrew (it wasn't a super cheap one either). The sweater I bought and never wore? $15 may have been a fairly good buy at Eddie Bauer, but I couldn't even sell it for $2. Result = $15 wasted. The shotglasses I collected in college? Worthless. I could go on and on. I don't even want to think about the money I've wasted over the years on stuff I didn't even use or wear.
Reevaluate every purchase. You can't change the past, but you can make different choices in the future. We waste so, soooo much money buying things we don't need and don't even really want. Stop shopping for recreation. Use a 30-day wait list before making purchases. Reevaluate everything you buy. Do whatever works for you to make sure you only bring things you need and/or really love into your home.
What's gone is gone, just donate your clutter! No more garage sales, ever! This advice is really a personal reminder. Everyone's situation is different, but for me, garage sales are completely not worth it. Garage sales are a lot of work. You have to find items to sell, price them, pack them up, haul them to the sale, unpack the items, arrange them, spend time at the actual sale, then repack the items and either store, sell or donate them. All that for $27? Completely not worth it, especially since I don't enjoy garage sales in the first place.

I've donated carloads of clutter over the past few years, and from now on, unless something is very valuable, it goes straight to our local charity thrift store, Volunteers of America. Donating clutter is much quicker, might help someone who needs it and you get a tax deduction (if you itemize). It's a win-win-win. Even as I was packing the yard sale leftovers last night I was tempted to save things to sell later. But by keeping this tip in mind and repeating it internally like a mantra, I was able to remember that for me, the time spent selling items isn't worth it. I put almost everything into the donation box, so very few items will be coming back into the house.
Getting rid of the clutter is way more freeing than keeping it. I know it's tempting to hold on to items just in case, because of the money you spent on them, etc., but I can say from personal experience that getting rid of items you no longer need or love is far more satisfying than keeping them.
The more you declutter, the easier it gets. I've finally been able to get rid of some stuff that I kept for round after round of decluttering and now I wonder why it took me so long. By getting rid of the items that no longer enhance you're life, your relationship with stuff changes and it has become much easier to clear out the clutter and stop the inflow of more stuff.

Want It

2011-06-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

So about that whole, not buying anything for the mantle idea I posted about last time? Umm...

I want these.

Martha Stewart

Creating them is even an earth-friendly craft! Martha says so (instructions here). Although "glass enamel" doesn't sound so earth friendly to me, but who am I to argue with Martha?

Still, if I buy thrifted (read: cheap) vases and cost them myself, it seems fairly harmless. Hardly like going to Pottery Barn and dropping major dough. Right?

Apartment Therapy featured a different version by We A.R.E. Randalls; they used latex paint which is even better because I certainly have latex paint.

I'm not usually drawn to crafts, but this is going on the must do soon list!

How My Garden Grows

2011-06-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

A twenty-one mile bike ride, followed by more than three hours of gardening equals one exhausted chica. But it's a good kind of exhaustion. It's 75F here, with no humidity to speak of (rare for an Ohio summer) which makes it perfect gardening weather.

I did a ton of weeding, planted some tiny flower seedlings, cleaned my gardening cabinet in the garage and--most importantly--took time to read and lounge on the deck.

sweet william

My rambling rose is bursting with blooms.

The vegetable garden is exploding. There are tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, jalapenos, habaneros, and ghost chili peppers. The Boy is the one with a penchant for blazing hot peppers. -

I can't wait to taste these baby romas!

That's my idea of a good day.

Mantle Remix

2011-06-09T01:13:00.000-07:00

I've never quite managed to create an arrangement on my fireplace mantle that I really liked. Other people seem to manage it easily enough, but I have problems. So over the weekend I played around with some new ideas. The catch? I had to use items I already own since going out and buying trinkets solely for the purpose of displaying them on my mantle seems silly.

This is more challenging than it seems since I never really owned tons of decor items to begin with. And many of the ones I did own have since been purged.

Reject #1: While I love having the shells displayed, something about this didn't feel right..
maybe it needs a little somethin' somethin'?

Reject #2: Too much, tooooo much!!!

I'm taking it easy on you and only showing you a couple of the rejects. I arranged and rearranged for at least an hour. Vases were unearthed from the dusty depths of my cabinets, shells were pulled out of hiding then returned, attic boxes were raided. It was an ordeal.

But eventually, there was a winner.

The white says summer to me and, well, what can I say, I'm a simple girl at heart.

Oh, and the shells found a new home as well. Finally, all the shells I've collected at the beach and been given are displayed in an appealing way!

Can't Live Without: Air Conditioning

2011-06-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm melting, meeelllltttiiinnngg

As much as I'd like to be ultra green and frugal, there are certain little luxuries I'm not willing to live without. Not without being forced to anyway.

The first of these is air conditioning.

I know it's horrible for the environment. I know it's one of the biggest energy hogs in my home. I know millions live without it now and have lived without it for hundreds of years. But the thought of facing a 90+ F day, with high-humidity, without AC? Um, no thank you.

We got a taste of AC-lite life over Memorial Day weekend when the central air conditioner in min hus suddenly started working at about 80%. Of course this happened on one of the hottest weekends we've had all year. It was a painful 1.5-2 days until the repairman came this morning. The AC was constantly running just to keep the temp steady at 77-79. The cats were miserable. The Boy wouldn't leave the basement, where it easily stays 5-10 degrees cooler. It made my frugal little heart tense just thinking about all the kilowatts we were wasting just to make it barely liveable in the house.

I know there are people who keep the AC at 78F all the time. My grandmother is one of them. No freaking thank you. It's bearable if you sit still, under the ceiling fan and don't move other than to say, click a mouse or something. Forget about cooking, vacuuming or doing anything else that generates heat.

I know people who go without AC all summer, in much hotter stickier places than Ohio, but I don't understand how. We didn't have central air conditioning when I was growing up and I remember being hot, sticky and miserable at times. Some nights I would sleep on my parents floor, as close to the window AC as possible just to get some relief.

In my first apartment after college I only had a window AC. I practically lived in my bedroom.

Life without central AC just isn't for me. Without it I'd be a fatter, stinkier version of myself because I'd never cook, or dry my hair, or vacuum. Forget biking for exercise if I didn't have a place to cool off at afterwards.

Luckily my little AC problem cost $250 to solve (at least, I hope that was the end of it. Did I mention it's a less-than-two-years-old system that I bought to avoid these issues in the first place?!?!). So until someone pries my AC away or I can't afford the bills, it'll be on.

Do you live without AC easily? What are the last things you'd give up, no matter how ungreen?

Clean + Organized = Happy

2011-06-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased with my kitchen now that we completed two mini-makeovers, one of which I showed in the last post and one that I'll show you some time next week. Probably. I'm surprised that taking out the bifold doors makes the space seem so much more spacious, but it does.

In fact the whole house seems lighter and brighter lately. I am really starting to notice and appreciate the end result of all my past decluttering efforts.

The decluttering urge has been particularly strong this weekend. It's becoming one of my favorite things to do really, and is most an obsession lately. I was even more inspired by a few posts I read, namely reading about the Minimalist Mom's overseas move and this post at the trephine.

The themes of these posts really resonated with me, because one of my major roadblocks to getting rid of stuff I kinda like, or might use, or might want someday, is that currently I have plenty of out-of-sight space to store it.

It's cheaper to keep it just in case you need it one day, besides you have plenty of room, whispers a voice inside my head.

But this weekend I realized that some day I'll likely want to move, and like every other move I've ever made, it will probably involve too much to do in too little time. It's to hectic to purge and pack, so I usually pack everything, thinking I'll declutter as I unpack, or after I'm in the new place.

Really, the best time declutter is now. When I'm not rushed, when I have the urge and when I can take the time to do it when and how I want to. This realization has made such an impact.

So far this weekend I've decluttered some letters and mementos, some of which I've had for 17+ years. There are others I want to scan a copy of before I let them go. I almost like this photo collage better than I liked the items.

Along with 18 items from my kitchen and half a trash bag of expired food. These items survived past purges, but still weren't being used, so it's time to let them go.

Hallway Makeover

2011-05-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

Over the last two weekends we spent some time revamping the basement hallway. Not only was the hallway painted a hideous greige color, but it also wasn't as functional as I hoped it could be.

See, the basement hallway is right off the back door, which we use as our primary entrance. My house seriously lacks entry space. The front door opens right into the living room; no foyer, no entryway, certainly nothing as convenient as a closet. Just the front door right in the frick in the middle of the living room.

The back door isn't much better. It opens directly into the kitchen. There's no sun porch, no mudroom, no closet, just a teeny bit of space next to my "pantry" and a hallway to the basement.

I have been ruminating over how to transform the hallway to add more storage, especially shoe storage, for months now. Finally, I decided to get off my duff and go for it. Then in a 10-minute consultation with the Boy, we solved the shoe storage issue as well. After some carpentry work by The Boy, and painting by me, we turned an eyesore into a wonderful blanding strip (basement landing strip).

The shoe storage was made by adding a board to an existing ledge. It's MUCH better than having shoes pile up in the middle of the floor.

We also added key and mail storage, and more hanging space.

What you can't see in the before pic, is that we removed the bifold double door to the basement which was never used anyway. The entire space feels much more open now, and I love the continuation of the kitchen color in the hallway.

Did I mention no more piles of shoes by the door? Bliss.

Easy Peasy

2011-05-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Over the past months and now years I've been focused on decluttering, I've pretty much purged the easy stuff. Clothes that don't fit or are stained and torn, things I never use and don't care about, magazines, etc. were all tossed without agony.

Now that most of the easy stuff is gone, progress is much slower. My urge to purge is stronger than ever, stronger in fact that my ability to let go of a lot that's left. That's why to satisfy my urge-to-purge and keep making progress, I find it helpful to tackle an easy decluttering project now and then.

So far this weekend I tackled two.

1. Easy target #1: Under the Bed

There's no room in my tiny bedroom for end tables, so a lot of clutter ends up getting shoved under the bed. What is supposed to be a temporary fix ends up becoming a dust-bunny wonderland. On Friday I came home and dragged everything out from under the bed and decluttered. It was an easy win that felt great.

The stuff lurking under my bed

Decluttered: One pair of ugly brown shoes with pink bows (Yes, really. WTF was I thinking when I bought those?), pair of black heels that hurt my feet, empty shoeboxes, clothes, metal case and trash.

kicked to the curb

2. Easy Target #2: Junk drawers

While surfing last night I stumbled upon the 21-day challenge on a new-to-me blog, A Bowl Full of Lemons. The first challenge? Declutter a junk drawer. Easy, relatively-quick and definitely something that needed to be done. I immediately jumped up and did two.

Decluttered: Trash, filled notepad, loose notes, etc.

junk drawer #1

junk drawer #2

Happy Weekend!

2011-05-22T17:05:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed two entire rain-free days (a rarity this year!) this weekend.
The Boy and I put them to good use.

We visited my favorite garden center and made our veggie selections for 2011.
Choosing tomatoes always takes me forever.
I also managed to find some more flowers I had to have.

Then we tucked the seedlings away in their new homes.
This year the Boy learned how and planted his peppers all by himself.

I prettied up the front porch, even though the mailman is the only one who uses it.

We also tackled the first project of 2011, sprucing up the basement stairway, which also serves as our entry closet. Here's a sneak peak; it's not ready for the big quite reveal yet.

We even found time for some R&R and a bike ride.

I couldn't have planned a better weekend really.

Now You See It

2011-05-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

I loved the little white picket fence in front of min hus from the moment I first saw it.

But six years later, that little fence is looking neglected. At first I thought it could make do with a coat of paint, but when I trimmed the bushes a few weeks ago I saw that it needed more than that. Boards have dry rotted. The whole fence needs to be replaced. There goes another big project for the to-do list.

But this morning I had another idea. Do I really need a fence? Plastic fences look so, well, plasticy and a new wood fence will eventually need more maintenance. What could be more simple than getting rid of the fence altogether?

Hmmm... I think it could work. Thoughts?

Minimalist Fail

2011-05-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the Boy and I loaded our trusty Civics to the brim and drove 45 minutes to sell our crap in my mom's community yard sale. I had been dreading this for weeks because although I have some stuff I'd like to sell, garage sales never work out for me.

The Boy however had a lot of stuff to sell, stuff that was taking up space in the attic, stuff that could actually sell and make money, so I went along mostly to help him and my mom. Sure I was hoping to make some money too, but deep down I knew that wasn't likely.

Are you wondering where the failure part comes in yet? Hang on, it's coming.

I was already grouchy as we packed the cars. The point of how much energy and time our useless crap takes up became crystal clear as I added up the time spent gathering crap to sell, cleaning it, pricing it, packing it, plus the hours of the actual sale itself. And don't even get me started on how much money I wasted on crap I never used or barely used.

At least, I reassured myself, this would be the last time I ever had to do this again. I promised myself I would never again stray from my usual method of packing crap up and donating it to the local Volunteers of America.

The sale itself went more smoothly than expected. When it ends, my mom is happy, the Boy is very happy, and I made my best haul ever, a whopping $50. Yes, 50 bucks for well over 8 hours of time by my estimates. Completely. Not. Worth. It!

The Boy had enough stuff left over that he announced he would be participating in our neighborhood sale next month. Not me, I said, I'm done. I'm out of the yard sale business.

So we begin packing up our wares and deciding what we would take home and what we would donate to the charity who came to take any worthy leftovers each year, when my mom offers to give us her donations to sell at our sale and keep any money made. The Boy heartily agrees, and even I, greedy with the thought of making some extra dough, said yes.

So we go from being able to fit everything in just the Boy's hatchback to....wait for it.....stuffing our cars even more full with crap to take home than it was when we arrived that morning. Yes, we left the yard sale with more crap than we came with.

I was fuming before we even finished packing the car. Mad at myself for getting so caught up in the prospect of an extra buck or two that I readily agreed to do another day's worth of something I truly detest. The lesson of just donate it that I'd promised myself I wouldn't forget? Already gone. Le sigh.

Self, repeat after me: Yard sales are NOT simple! Donating your crap is simple.

image credit: Jan Tik

The Declutterbug Returns

2011-05-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

Gip Plaster had a great post on Friday about the importance of keeping the decluttering conversation alive, which inspired my post today.

If you check my clutter busters category, you'll see posts from many of my on and off decluttering efforts. I doubt I'm unique in that I will often get the declutter bug for a few months or weeks, then motivation wanes and I let the effort go, and on the cycle goes. There is no shame in this. I don't think decluttering should feel like punishment because actually, when done in the right frame of mind, it can be tremendously fun and liberating.

Like I recommended in this long ago post, decluttering is an ongoing effort. What you might not be ready to part with today, might be easily purged six months from now. So let go what you can and reevaluate your items again in the future. Slow and steady progress is still progress.

Though I've taken more carloads of crap out of my house in the last few years than I care to remember, there's still clutter left. A shining example of this is my area of shame, aka the attic. Anyone who is fooled into thinking I'm an aspiring minimalist would quickly forget this notion if they saw the attic.

Yesterday the Boy and I attacked the attic with two purposes in mind: to attempt another clean up and find more stuff to get rid of at next week's yard sale. I also needed some fuel for my newly revived urge to purge.

The picture above, believe or not, is actually an improvement than what it was before we started, given there is a clear walking path down the middle.

The results of yesterday's purge fest?

At least a carload of items for the yardsale, most of which are the boy's
Three bags of trash, including items I inherited from previous owners when I bought the house but hadn't yet disposed of (hey, it's only been five years!)
One bag of items to donate including clothing and sheets
At least a carload of cardboard and paper to recycle

See updates to the Dearly Decluttered list if you want the nitty gritty details.

I also managed to sell this Mersman end table on Craigslist, and thanks to listening to the Boy's unfailing pricing advice, made $10 more than I originally paid when I bought it off Craigslist. I can't tell you how excited this made me.

Inspiration: Basement Laundry Room Spruce Up

2011-04-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

My laundry area is in the unfinished part of the basement, and let me tell you, it's not the prettiest or most welcoming space. Typically I go down, do my business and get out as quickly as possible. Clothes are folded upstairs. Ironing is painful and rarely done.

For months I've been thinking that there must be some way to spruce up this area without a complete reno, and I've finally found the inspiration I've been looking for on Country Home. Love.

A little paint, a little--ok a lot--of fabric, maybe a table or cabinet. I could totally do this.

Dealing with Sentimental Clutter

2010-11-15T06:37:00.000-08:00

A common decluttering tip you've probably seen is to purge your sentimental clutter, or at least as much as you can bear to part with. You lived through it, the conventional wisdom says, so you really don't need to keep the mementos to keep the memories.

I disagree with this statement wholeheartedly. Maybe my memory is worse than most, but scrapbooks and other items are great memory aides. While I'm probably not going to forget the amazing overseas trips I've had, or my favorite vacations, I do tend to forget some of the little details. Flipping through scrapbooks, diaries, and cards reminds me of these things. While I agree that we shouldn't spend too much time living in the past, sometimes it's fun to remember special times and trips.

Lately though as I've gotten serious about ditching my clutter, I have begun to resent the space and weight all those scrapbooks and journals from years past are taking up, especially compared to the amount of time I spend looking at them.

Toss versus keep isn't the only solution
Luckily, there is a middle ground between keeping those space-hogging memories or dumping them. You can digitize them instead. I'm finding more and more things I'm willing to part with, provided I have digital copies to look at when the sentimental mood strikes.

There are several methods of digitizing your memories:

1. Scan scrapbooks, cards, papers, art and other mementos: I hate the amount of space my old scrapbooks from college take up, especially compared to how often I look at them, so scanning them is the perfect solution. While this can be time-consuming, it's nice to be able to view the pages anytime from my laptop.

2. Retype (or scan) old journals. Scanning takes a lot of time, so for things like journals I've willing to part with I find it easier to just retype them. You may want to scan a few pages to keep a sample of your handwriting or to capture special pages.

3. Take pictures of items that you'd like to remember, but don't want to hang on to anymore.

As a bonus, making digital copies of items and keeping them online or in a safe spot outside your home protects them from being ruined in a disaster. Just don't forget to back-up your digital memories in more than one location.

House Voyeur

2010-09-20T17:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my mom and I went to a local home tour and it was FABULOUS! I snapped a few pics, mostly of bathrooms for some reason. I guess I have bathroom renovations on the brain.

If only I had space for this clawfoot tub, but alas, I do not.

Hex tile is definitely on my most-wanted list. I have problems understanding how people could not love this floor.

The blue accent tile got me thinking.

This hex tile is pretty fantastic too.

Odds and Ends

2010-09-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'll have a real update soon with pics from our lovely vacation at the beach, but until then here are some odds and ends I've found online recently and felt like sharing, or bitching about.

IKEA: Herding Cats Experiment
Just saw this on Apartment Therapy and love, love, love it. This only makes my IKEA obsession that much stronger. If you like cats at all, it's worth viewing both videos.
New blog obsession: Going Slowly
I found new-to-me blog Going Slowly this week (sadly I can't find who originally linked to it at this point) and have been hooked ever since. If you have or have ever had the travel bug, then this blog is a must read. Tara and Tyler have a definite talent for writing and photography, and their journal makes me almost feel like I'm there crossing Siberia with them.
Bloglines shutting down October 1
Total suckage. I already exported my feeds to Google Reader, but so far I don't like it anywhere near as much as Bloglines. I mean sure this is a good excuse to clean house feed-wise even more than I have been, but to me, Bloglines was much more user friendly. Using an RSS reader is what makes it possible for me to check on so many of my favorite blogs quickly. Recently I got rid of some old feeds and went from over 150 subscriptions to 123, although I doubt I'll be able to go much lower than that. I needs all my feeds, needs them I say.

Reno Dreams: Cheap-N-Good Kitchen Redo

2010-08-07T05:42:00.000-07:00

Dreaming about renovating my kitchen is tons of fun; actually embarking on that renovation, not so much. Nothing indulges my kitchen reno fantasies like inspiring DIY renovations that don't break the bank.

This Old House featured a DIY reno (found via Apartment Therapy) where a couple transformed this nightmare:

Into a magazine-ready kitchen for just $1,500! Very impressive.

I love, love, love this little organization station. I'd love to fit something like this in my kitchen, but the only possible space is going to be used for a much-needed pantry. Well, it would be if I ever decide to go from kitchen reno dreaming to kitchen reno doing. *shudder* I hate thinking about all that dust, and work, and arguments!

But if I had a lovely spot like this to eat dinner in, and even have another couple over, well it might just be worth it.

Fabulous, fabulous kitchen!

Declutter Bug

2010-07-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

Decluttering seems to be a never-ending process for me and every time I go through my stuff I find something I can get rid of. I mean we're hardly at a bare-bones level around here. Luckily, if I'm in a right mood I find decluttering kind of fun. Yesterday I attacked some kitchen cabinets and other drawers that had gotten out of hand and were bugging me.

The dark after photos (forgot to take them yesterday). If you
can't see the difference, that's extra space in there!

And here are some of the rejects. Yesterday the following items hit the donate pile:

Ice cube trays
Two snack bowls
Two mugs I kept forever even though I never used them just because they are Bodum. How silly is that?
Sugar pourer
Old travel bottle
Jar
Tea strainer
Two blank journals that I'm never going to use. I prefer to go digital these days.
Facial toner - Most pointless skincare product ever!
IKEA pot - pretty but never used.

I've also created a new page with a list of most of the things I've decluttered during my last two years of concentrated decluttering. Here's the list of the dearly decluttered.

Hide-N-Go Seek

2010-07-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

Pig always finds weird places to hang out. This is what I woke up to yesterday and I couldn't resist LOL-ing it.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

2010-07-16T15:38:00.001-07:00

The zinnias are blooming, the zinnias are blooming!

I know I'm a little late, but I didn't want to miss two Garden Bloggers' Bloom Days in a row. So without further ado...

Zinnias are one of my favorite flowers. This spring, after I planted my wintersown zinnias, something ate them right up. Dismayed at the idea of not having zinnias this year I direct-sowed the rest of the seeds I had on hand in pots. And they turned out beautifully, so beautifully in fact that I'm putting this on my mental to-do list for next year.

I just love poppies. This is the first time I tried growing the gorgeous venus poppy (winter-sown of course), and I'll definitely do it again. The only thing I long for is to have many, many more of them.

Coneflowers

Ditch lily

daisies

cosmos

Cleome

I'd forgotten about sowing these white coneflowers until they bloomed. I used to not plant white flowers, I thought they blend in too much with my white house, but I've come to love them.

Also blooming in my garden:

Balloon flowers
Coreopsis
Dianthus
Gladiolas
Lavendar
Liatris
Snapdragons

Want to see more blooms? Visit May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of every month to see what's blooming in gardens around the world.

Is Veggie Gardening Frugal?

2010-07-15T16:32:00.001-07:00

You've read it a hundred times: grow your own food to save money on your food bill. But is growing your own food really cost-effective? Sometimes I have my doubts.

Certainly some gardens are worth it, especially if all you had to buy was seeds and garden tools, but when I think about the costs of the containers, plants, potting soil, fertilizer, etc.that went into my small container garden, I have to wonder. I mean when locally grown cukes are only 33 cents each at the grocery, the paltry four cukes I've harvested aren't even worth the water bill. Of course my cukes are completely organic. Which means they're probably worth like 75 cents easy.

I don't grow veggies to save money though, I grow them because of the convenience and it's fun. Oh and home grown vegetables taste better. I love not having to worry about if I have enough cukes and tomatoes for my nightly salad and being able to just walk ten steps outside to pick more. Plus did I mention how awesome homegrown tomatoes taste? It is disheartening though when disease or the dreaded powdery mildew cut my harvest short (like I see signs of this year).

In order to get a better idea of just how much I do harvest in a season, I'm going to try to keep better track of it right here.

Veggie harvest 2010:

Cucumbers: 5
Lemon cuke: 2
Lemon boy tomato: 7
Tomatoes: 12
Green onions: Didn't count, definitely worth the cost of bulbs.
Basil: Loads
Cilantro: 5 bunches
Carrots:
Jalapeno peppers: 3
Habanero peppers:
Tomatillos:

Veggie count updated 7/17/10

Small Green Steps

2010-07-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

I think one of the reasons I've been blogging less is that I'm thinking much less about home DIY projects and gardening these days. Instead my latest obsessions are simplifying and going green. This obsession is fed by our recent hobby of watching documentaries on Netflix streaming (No Impact Man, Supersize Me, Food, Inc., etc.).

While I'm not about to pull a No Impact Man, or be Green as a Thistle, I have been taking small steps to improve. And part of my love of documentaries and books like Sleeping Naked is Green (great read!), is that I just love seeing what steps others are actually taking and how they live their lives a little more green. So in the interest of passing the voyeurism opportunity, here's my list of new, future and ongoing green steps.

Latest green steps:

Slowly switching to less- or non-toxic bath and body products. I'm starting slowly with deodorant and body wash from Trader Joe's and so far, so good. I've also vowed not to step into a Bath & Body Works again until they start making a natural line, which is huge for me! I'm going to use up the remaining products I have first, rather than toss them. There's some things I probably won't be willing to give up, like my much-loved Bed-Head hair products.
Switching to recycled paper towels
Using recycled toilet paper
Going to the Farmer's Market and eating local and organic foods more often. I'm cheap, so visiting the farmer's market has never been high on my priority list. Watching Food, Inc. however scared me enough to take some steps to support local farmers.
Buy more organic and local food

Keep trucking:

Stopped using pointless products: I've finally started questioning some of the things I buy just because I always have, and some of these items haven't made the final cut. Fabric softner sheets are the big one. These are so pointless. I don't use them and don't miss them, although I haven't been convinced the boyfriend on this step.
Growing veggies and herbs: While I hope to expand these efforts next season, I'm off to a good start this year with cukes, tomatoes, onions, tomatillos, peppers, basil and cilantro already growing away.
Not using pesticides or non-organic fertilizers on the lawn
Buying and consuming less
Decluttering my stuff
Taking decluttered but still useful items to Volunteers of America
Switched to non-toxic and less toxic cleaning products: including baking soda and vinegar. The one toxic cleaner I refuse to give up is something that kills the mildew and nastiness in the shower.
Switched to CFLs and put outside bulbs on timers. I've done well with switching many bulbs, but I still need to try to find CFLs for the ceiling fans.
Compost and use that compost in the flower garden instead of fertilizer
Online banking & switching to e-bills
Being stingy with the thermostat. I set the thermostat lower in winter (68) and higher in summer (75-77)
Drinking tap water from the Brita filter instead of buying bottled water. Unfortunately I haven't been able to convince the boyfriend to give up buying bottled water completely.
Wear clothes and use towels several times before washing. I've been reusing towels and certain items of clothing several times since I was a teenager, a habit I picked up from my Scandinavian friend.
Unplug electronics when not in use.-I'm getting pretty religious about doing this with the coffee pot and laptop, but I could go further.

Steps to take:

Actually using the freaking reusable bags I've been keeping in my trunk all these months regularly. I did remember to bring them on our last big grocery trip.
Try the Diva Cup - I can't believe I'm even contemplating this one but after reading about it in Sleeping Naked is Green it doesn't sound so bad
Buy a PVC-free shower curtain
Buy only beeswax or soy candles

Have you taken any new green steps lately?

Hello Lemon Boy, Nice to Meet Ya

2010-07-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

I've read about people that managed to grow a ripe tomato by July 1, but I've never been able to accomplish it. Until now (take that mom!). I've had my eye on this guy for weeks and I knew he was close, but imagine my surprise when I came outside and spotted this tomato has turned yellow overnight. After checking the tag I confirmed, it is a Lemon Boy and it's ready to get in my belly!

I haven't eaten it yet. I'm letting the anticipation build a little longer.

Columbus Rose Festival

2010-06-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

To further fuel my rose obsession, we stopped by the Whetstone Park of Roses during the Rose Festival last weekend. The Park of Roses is another local garden treasure that I haven't visit nearly enough.

There are gorgeous roses around every corner of this 11-acre park.

Cherry Cordial

Love & Peace HT

Early Morn

Brigadoon HT

Fascination HT

Pinocchio

Rose Explosion

2010-06-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

As you look into the back yard you begin to see them, the little pops of color.

As you walk closer they come into focus.

Roses! Rambling roses so heavy with blooms that the canes can barely hold them.

This year these old rambling roses are really showing their stuff.

Aren't they pretty? I absolutely love them. All they get is some compost, a little pruning and a drink if it's really, really dry. No pesticides of any kind are required to be rewarded with so many blooms. Plus, while their big show is in June, once I prune them they'll bloom more lightly throughout the summer.

There's plenty to clip and bring some inside to enjoy as well.

Gardening for the Rest of Us Part III: Tips for Newbie Gardeners

2010-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

The side-garden today with winter-sown poppies and Sweet William and
Coreopsis purchased from the farmer's market. None of these plants were here when I moved in.

Read part I and part II of this series

After three seasons of gardening, my garden is finally growing into the lush cottage garden I dreamed of. It's not perfect, nor is it done, but that's part of the fun. I've learned that the biggest skill you need in gardening is patience. You don't have to be an plant expert, or have a huge budget, to have a pretty garden that makes you happy.

I've also learned that some of the serendipitous plantings are the prettiest. The less I baby my garden, the better it seems to do. The garden is finally beginning to fill up, which means lots of fun surprises and blooms each year. I still don't feel like a gardening expert, but I know I don't have to be. And neither do you!

Wintersown Irish-Eyes Rudbeckia

Tips for creating a garden for newbies:

You don't need to have a perfect plan before you start gardening. If you are a planner, then by all means, plan away! But if not, don't let that stop you from creating your garden. Plants can be moved. It's more important to make sure you're planting something that will grow easily in your area and the planting site.
You can become knowledgeable about gardening for free. A little gardening knowledge goes a long way when you're starting from scratch, and helps boost your gardening confidence, and you can get it for free! Go to the library, read gardening blogs, visit your local university's extension site, etc.
Gardening isn't rocket science. Just get out there and try it. Follow planting directions, try compost instead of chemical fertilizer, weed sometimes and then let them go. Sure some of your plants might not make it, but most will. If something dies you can always try again next season. This is easier to do with cheap plants, see above.
If something doesn't grow in one spot, try again in another.
Improve your soil. But you don't need to use synthetic fertilizers or other expensive add-ins to do so. Just start a compost pile and add compost before planting and whenever you can. I try to add compost when I plant (some of my beds have more clay than others and need more compost).
Want cheap plants? Try winter-sowing, direct sow seeds, swap plants with friends and neighbors and learn how to propagate plants.

This is the best year yet by far for my 33-cent Cottage Pinks
Watch for sales. If you're patient, you can find most things you need for your garden on sale, including seeds, potting soil (for winter-sowing), plants, garden tools and more. Those 10 cent seed packs you can find at Walgreen's and other places work just fine. Many of the perennials I bought from garden centers were just 33 cents each. I found lilacs for $5 and a peony for $3.95. If you're patient, you can save a lot. Also check garage sales to find gardening tools on the cheap.
Some perennials won't do much until the second year, so don't count anything out until you see what comes back next season. And on the third year, watch out, they'll really start to show their stuff!

Gardening for the Rest of Us, Part II

2010-05-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

Read Part I here

My second gardening season I bought some more flowers from a mail order company (cough, Michigan Bulb, cough), because that seemed like a more affordable option. I still tried to follow my great gardening plan where I could and adjust it as needed, but after a while I just started plopping things in where I thought they would look good. I supplemented the mail order plants with cosmos and a few perennials I found on sale locally for 33 cents each. I also direct sowed some seeds right into my flower beds.

Some of these efforts did better than others. Half of the plants I ordered either didn't bloom in the first place, or didn't come back a second year. Direct seeding wasn't a great success either, although some things like bachelor buttons and sweet alyssum did grow and even bloom from seed. The tiny perennials I bought locally did the best of all of the plants that year, and I still have most if not all of them. Still, my garden was sparse. I longed for the lush full gardens that others had, but I figured creating my garden would be gradual process. Every year it got a little better.

That winter I discovered something that would make the biggest difference in my garden: winter sowing. I was skeptical that you could plant seeds in plastic bottles and containers in winter and get plants in spring, but I decided to give it a try. And you know what? It works! If you want to have a variety of plants cheaply, then you must try winter sowing.

Now most of the yearly additions to my garden are winter-sowed flowers. This spring I planted poppies, zinnias and holly hocks, all of which were winter-sowed. I've also successfully winter sowed Irish Eyes Rudbeckia, columbine, cerinthe, nasturiums, cleome, bachelor buttons, sweet alyssum, Sweet William, poppies of all kinds, cosmos, coneflowers and more.

Read part III

Now That's a Poppy!

2010-05-19T17:44:00.001-07:00

I pulled in the driveway tonight after a rather long day, and what did I spy with my little eye? A big, bright spot of pink that definitely wasn't there this morning. I jumped out of the car and immediately went over to investigate.

It's a poppy!

A giant pink oriental poppy no less. It's almost as big as my hand,
and I don't have dainty little girl hands. This one just showed up this spring, it must have self-sowed from the poppies I planted (after winter sowing) last spring.

Isn't it beautiful? I love poppies. Some day I want to grow a giant field of them.

Note to self: Winter-sow many more poppies next year.

Gardening for the Rest of Us, Part I

2010-05-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Think you can't garden?
Overwhelmed by the task of planning and creating a new garden?
Think you can't afford to have the unique plants of your dreams?
Think you need to plan your garden to the ninth degree before planting?

I know how you feel. To me gardening was an overwhelming task until I realized that plants have been blooming without our help since before humans existed. Eventually, I've learned to let go and just get my hands dirty and try things in the garden. Now some people compliment my garden (which is still in the minor leagues of gardening in my mind) and say "I could never do that." Well if I can, then trust me, anyone can!! But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning, shall we?

I knew nothing about plants or gardening when I bought min hus and wanted to create a garden. I didn't grow up around any gardeners, and I didn't have friends nearby who were into it. So, as I do whenever I want to learn something new, I went to the library and checked out a bunch of books on gardening. Make a plan before you plant anything! was the credo I read over and over again. So I planned and planned. I wrote list of flowers that would grow well here and bloom for a long period of time, then I drew up a plan for the garage bed.

Finally, after way too much time had passed, I went to the garden center armed with my shopping list of flowers to buy. And you know what? They didn't have most of the plants on my list. Where was all the beautiful and unique flowers I'd lovingly selected from my gardening in Ohio books? I didn't want a garden full of geraniums and petunias like everyone else. I wanted to garden creatively! Far too overwhelmed and disappointed to change my plan on the spot, I left the garden center.

This was pretty much the sum of my garden that first year.

I didn't end up planting anything my first season in my house until July and that was only to spruce up the place before some friends came over to have dinner and see my house for the first time. I bought my first plants from the farmer's market: two yellow coreopsis, two balloon flowers and two purple sage. July in Ohio is hardly a good time to plant anything, it was 90+ and the area was in full sun, but I watered them and managed to keep them alive. That was all I bought the first year except for fall bulbs and a few planters for my deck.

Gardening turned out to be a lot harder than I'd thought.

Read part II and part III.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: The Columbine are Blooming!

2010-05-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

So many flowers in the garden are ready to pop, but my garden is still transitioning from spring to summer on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. I'm noticing that the old phrase about gardens "The first year they creep, the second year they sleep, the third year they leap" is proving to be very true. Things are finally beginning to leap in my garden!

First up is Miss Kim, the lilac. I have two of these lilacs and this year they have double or three times as many lovely blooms as last year. Finally there are enough blooms that I can bring some inside to enjoy!

This year is the first year for Columbine blooms in my garden. These columbine were winter-sown last year, but this is the first year they bloom. Strangely, only the pink columbine seem to have survived although I had also sown some blue.

Also blooming in my garden:

Tiny red dianthus
Scabiosa

Want to see more blooms? Visit May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of every month to see what's blooming in gardens around the world.

Living Room Redo

2010-05-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the boyfriend completed a mini-makeover in the living room so we could move the new TV in. This spot used to be the weak point of the living room, but now it makes me happy.

It's fun to look back and see how the house has evolved over the five years I've lived here (five years, wow!). But don't just take my word for it. See how this same spot looked two years ago.

This was before the fireplace makeover. And would you believe that that's the same entertainment center in this pic as the ones above?

Yep, it is. I couldn't find a new TV stand I liked, so the boyfriend cut off the top, spray-painted it white and attached new knobs. It looks so much better it's hard to even tell that it's the same piece. Plus,it saves it from going to the landfill. It's a win-win.

Getting Rid of Paper Clutter

2010-04-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

Now that my closet, cabinets, hall closet, and bathroom have been decluttered, I needed a new project. It's been six months since I last did a paper purge, so yesterday I embarked on the great paper purge of 2010. I got rid of 6.5 pounds of paper and this doesn't even count my regular recycling, it's just stuff I've been hanging on that I don't need anymore.

Here's a few tips for lightening your paper load:

Save bills as PDFs and shred the paper. Almost all my bills and bank statements are available as PDFs online, awesome!
Scan old files, scrapbooks, photos and toss the originals. I scanned scrapbooks, pictures and other momentos I want to be able to look at again, but don't need in paper form.

Toss old manuals warranties, etc. for replaced items. The old owners of my house saved and passed down manuals for everything: the furnace, appliance, even light fixtures. It's handy and nice, but now I have to remember to toss out the old when replacing things.
Toss paint chips, old birthday cards, etc. Sure some of these may be sentimental, or you may want to keep paint chips for colors you've used, but you don't need to hang on to all of these.

Garden Tripping: Inniswood Metro Garden

2010-04-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about Columbus is our parks and bike trails. This weekend the boif and I went to Inniswood Metro Gardens. It 121 acres of loveliness; I can't believe I haven't been there before in the seven years I've lived here. The flowers, the paths, the trees, the ponds, the children's gardens, oh, I'll just shut up and show you.

But wait, there's more. Stay tuned for installment two, coming soon. And if you're in Columbus and haven't gone to Inniswood, go, go now, you'll thank me later.

Easy Decluttering: 55 Items You Don't Need

2010-04-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

All this and more, GONE!

I'm not much for spring cleaning, I still clean of course, but no more or less than any other time of year. But spring decluttering, now that's something I can get into! Yahoo's recent series on decluttering (found via Simpler Living) makes it easy to rid your home of 55 items you don't need.

I've been trying to purge some of the excess stuff around min hus for the last year or two. It's hard; I get way too attached to stuff. I purged 85+ items last year alone, but fell off the 365 days of decluttering wagon. Once again the level of excess stuff around here has been accumulating to the point where it bothers me. So I'm making an effort to cull the excess again this year. So after two days over the last two weekends, I've gotten rid of 72 items and organized some of the out-of-control zones that were driving me nuts.

Here's the list of casualties:

41 items of clothing that no longer fit or don't make me feel great
socks & hose
6 health and beauty items I'll never use
5 cutting boards
6 books and magazines
candleholder
7 outdated food items
1 tin
1 dish drainer
2 plastic travel mugs

As you can see I didn't follow the article to the letter, but that's not the point, the point is to get rid of unnecessary stuff. I still have work to do and while I'll never be one of those people who live with less than 100 items (nor is that my goal), I like the feeling of a lighter, more spacious home.

Not only was this method of decluttering quick, it was easy too. The boyfriend was a big help too. He did all the house cleaning for several weeks on Friday, leaving my Saturday morning and afternoon free to declutter. Which is a lovely treat!

As a bonus, once the clutter was cleared out, I organized some of my trouble spots, which were getting out of hand, like the hall cabinet, my closet, the tupperware cabinet, my hosiery drawer, etc.

I'm especially proud of this drawer. See, I have trouble telling black, navy blue and brown apart, especially in poor lighting, like when I'm getting dressed for work in the morning. I can't tell you how many times I've not been able to find a pair of socks that match when they were just all thrown in the drawer haphazardly. So I finally went through and paired all my dress socks, and placed the black and brown ones in separate labeled bags, so finding the right color will be a cinch!

More Kitchen Inspiration

2010-04-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

This gorgeous kitchen featured in Country Living (found via Apartment Therapy, who else?) makes me want to rethink my kitchen reno plans. Maybe instead of the black countertops I've been dreaming of I should go with white? And even if I reface my old, original cabinets with molding, they'll never look this good or be this functional. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, it's so lovely, but who am I kidding, I'd never spend this kind of cash!

Spring Garden Surprises: Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

2010-04-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

Spring is always one of my favorite times in the garden, especially after a long, hard winter. Spring has definitely sprung here. The tulips are in bloom and most of the daffodils have already come and gone.

There are still a few interesting daffs hanging around though, like these lovely white ladies.

And this eggy-ruffly daff.

I don't know if it was the cold, snowy winter, or what, but this spring there is a surprise in the backyard that I've never seen before.

It's a carpet of pretty purple blooms winding along the fence, leading halfway down the yard. If you bend down for a closer peek you'll find...

Hundreds of grape hyacinths, nestled among the grass. I've never seen this many, throughout so much of the grass. They're a lovely, cheery surprise.

And this crab apple tree, it's my favorite. Most of the year it's kind of homely looking, but once a year she puts on her best duds, does her hair and makeup to perfection, and oh, she shines.

I can't wait to see what surprises summer brings.

Want to see more blooms? Visit May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of every month to see what's blooming in gardens around the world.

Light or Dark?

2010-04-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

I got a new end table as a gift from my mom. I love it, the size, the fact that it's round. The only thing I need is another one, but it was an auction find that she painted so finding a match may take some time.

But this new addition does cause a dilemma. Every piece of "wood" furniture in my living room is a different color, ranging from brown/black all the way to white. So what should I keep, and what should go?

I prefer the light, clean feeling of the white. But I can't imagine the coffee table in white and I wonder if painting everything white will be a bit much in combination with the fireplace. The boyfriend prefers the dark black/brown color of the coffee table, which I think might be too dark.

Lately I've been thinking about leaving the coffee table alone and painting everything else white. What to do, what to do? What say you Internets?

2010-03-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

I love this white, bright cottage reno (found via Small Place Style). The before size reminds me of min hus. Too bad I don't have the budget to gut this place.

Although who am I kidding, I couldn't live through a gut job even if I had oodles of money!

DIY Fail: Cleaning Wool Rugs with Snow

2010-02-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I spotted this Apartment Therapy post on cleaning a wool rug with snow. Brilliant!, I thought, I have a rug in desperate need of cleaning and now can finally put all the god-awful snow we've received to good use. I excitedly sent the link to the boyfriend. Go for it, he said.

But first I had to wait for fresh powdery snow. Mother nature obliged and on Saturday morning I hauled the rug shown above outside to clean. The boy and two of our three cats crowded into the kitchen window to watch the show, and what a show it was. I beat the stinkin' rug until my arms hurt (which took about 180 seconds) and then kept beating it. I flipped it over, dismayed not to see oodles of dirt in the snow, and flipped it again. Then I ground some snow in to the front for good measure to try and get more stains and dirt out. Didn't work.

Eventually I gave up and hauled the rug back up to the deck, hung it over the railing and beat it some more to try and get the excess snow off. My still-stained rug was now wet to boot, so with the boy's help I dragged it inside, into the basement and we hung it on the basement clothesline and I proceeded to consider the entire ordeal a giant bust.

The boyfriend jumped on his white stud of a computer (okay it's really black, but that didn't fit the analogy, now did it?) and called the rug cleaners and found a place where we could drop off the rug that day for cleaning for only $17. And that's where we stand until Monday, when I see if anything can save that darn rug.

To be fair, I did screw up on a few accounts:

It wasn't cold enough. The directions state to clean the rug on a day where it's well below freezing, which is wasn't, but patience has never been one of my virtues.
Grinding snow into the rug didn't help get out any stains and only contributed to the wetness issue.

Lessons learned: Don't use oxy-anything to clean a wool rug and when it needs a good cleaning, save yourself some agony and just take it to a rug cleaner already.

More Kitchen Inspiration

2010-02-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

We've been looking at countertop samples and talking about kitchen reno again. So I'm once again becoming obsessed with pictures of pretty. vintage-y kitchens. Two things that always get me: subway tile backsplash? Check. White cabinets? Check.

Snow Day!

2010-02-16T12:34:00.001-08:00

last week's snowman got buried

I've been wishing for a snow day off and I finally got one, thanks to another 10" of new snow yesterday. It's pretty, as long as you don't have to go anywhere.

Care to sit and have a cup of tea?

It's About Time: My Art Gallery Wall

2010-02-15T02:08:00.000-08:00

I have a specialized form of trypophobia, or fear of holes, in that I only fear putting holes in my plaster walls. Ok, I don't have a real phobia, but it does sometimes take me, um, years to commit to putting art up. Case in point, despite buying several pieces of art, I had not hung a single picture in my living room in five years, until now.

Yes, I jumped on the gallery wall bandwagon, albeit a few years late. That's one benefit of living in Ohio, trends hit years later if at all. So a couple of weeks ago, after a lot of plotting and planning, I was finally ready to hang some art. I figured out my favorite arrangement (after trying every possible combination, believe you me) and the boyfriend did the dirty work of measuring and drilling. Then ta-da, instant gallery wall. I'm amazingly happy with how it turned out.

About the art:

The large piece of art is a Marimekko tea towel in an IKEA Ribba frame, an idea I got from Anna at Door 16.
The two square pieces are several years old, from IKEA.
The blue flower is a print I got a few years ago from a local art/craft show.

It's the Little Things: Mini Heirloom Tomatoes

2010-02-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

I squealed in delight when I saw these cute little pint containers of organic heirloom tomatoes at the Anderson's last night. I would kill for a real, tasty tomato right now.

"LOOK, look how cute! They're HEIRLOOMS!" I squealed.

"So buy some." The ever-stoic boyfriend said.

And so I did.

Sadly, since they were shipped from Mexico, I'm pretty sure they won't taste as good as they look (the green ones were pretty, umm, strong), and I'll still be craving a real homegrown tomato until, oh July. *sniffle* But aren't they cute?

Mini heirlooms, who knew?

Bedroom Tweaks

2010-01-19T03:11:00.000-08:00

One of my Christmas presents from the boy this year were these new roman shades for the bedroom that match the IKEA curtains. The shades, which are from JC Penney, are pretty sweet. First they're thermal shades, and I have noticed they help block some air leaks from the windows, they also block out the light really well, which is great for sleeping, but make it challenging to take pictures.

One of the interesting things about decorating, for me, is that it's a process, not a single event. It's fun to go back and see how things have changed over the year. What is really just a small tweak here and there, eventually adds up to a completely different look. I still have more plans for the bedroom, but it's finally starting to look somewhat pulled together.

Christmas 2009: The Better Late Than Never Edition

2010-01-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

So it's January. You're tired of Christmas, I'm tired of Christmas, but some lazy pants around here never posted any Christmas photos. For shame. Anyway, for posterity sake, and so that I can look back next year, here's what Christmas 2009 looked like around min hus.

Last year I changed up the decorations quite a bit with the addition of the blue tree, which I still love, so this year only some minor tweaking was done. And in my effort to simplify and not make unnecessary purchases, I didn't even buy any clearance after Christmas decorations for next year, because I have enough as it is.

Snowflake Curtain: A Craft Project Even I Can Do

2009-12-12T06:03:00.000-08:00

photo by Laura (aka Lupin) of Bugs and Fishes by Lupin

I've always enjoyed making paper snowflakes around the holidays, but I never found a really great way to display them, until now. Last week was stressful, to put it mildly, and spending an hour working on the beginnings of my own snowflake curtain was a great way to chill out. I'm sure mine won't look as great as my original inspiration from Bugs and Fishes, but this is a cheap, easy holiday craft anyone can do.

Light It Up

2009-12-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Don't you love finding out about other people's habits and how they live their lives? I know I do, and not just about the big things, but also about minutiae, like, say, lighting habits. Do you ever drive down the street and notice leaves porch lights on all day and night, who has no lights on, who has every light on, etc? I know I do, but then again I'm nibby like that.

I started thinking about lighting again after reading Ana @ Rearranged Design's post Leave a Light On and I wanted to share my lighting habits, especially since they've recently improved.

The Icky Before

The exterior lighting situation has improved a lot in recent years thanks to my handy boyfriend. Now all our exterior lights are the motion detector variety, and use CFL bulbs, including three new, awesome motion detector sconces which turn on when there is movement, but can also be set to stay on continuously. Thanks to these babies I no longer waste electricity, come home to a dark house or forget and leave the light on for 48 hours straight, plus they're on whether I'm home or not. And they're pretty nice looking, which was a bit of a challenge, at least on a budget. *happy sigh*

After!

On the inside I have one light on a timer, which is also awesome, plus we leave a small CFL kitchen light and a basement light on for the cats, who the boyfriend insists cannot see and get scared otherwise. I used to make them live in darkness, but now I feel guilty so the lights stay on.

That's the lighting story around min hus, what's yours?

Deal on Sun Laundry Detergent at Kroger

2009-11-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

No, this isn't turning into a deal blog, too many other people do that far better than I ever could, but in the interest of giving back, I wanted to share a deal I found today on Sun detergent at Kroger.

Laundry detergent is one of the things I really hate to buy, so I'm always on the lookout for the cheapest brand that does the job. Lately that's Sun. Today Kroger had Sun detergent on sale for $2.50/32 load bottle, plus there were "buy 2 get 1 free" coupons at the store. In addition I also had a coupon for $0.50 off a bottle of Sun detergent. After coupons, I spent $4.00 for three bottles of Sun laundry detergent, or just $1.33 each, versus the $3.49 each regular price.

If your store has the coupons this deal should be available at least through Sunday.

Black Friday Deals

2009-11-27T11:29:00.001-08:00

I'm not much of a Black Friday shopper. I don't like getting up at the crack of dawn, standing in line in the freezing cold, or dealing with all the rude shoppers. There is however one store that manages to get me to leave the house on Black Friday: CVS. While I didn't do quite as good as last year in terms of how much cash I spent, I did get more items we'll actually use and need. I spent around $11 and got $50 worth of items, plus I still have $7.88 in extra care bucks to spend at CVS.

Also, CVS still had plenty of stock on all their deals while I was out this morning, which was nice to see. If you're interested in scoring some deals, you have through Saturday to do so. Find coupon matchups at The Thrifty Mama.

Decluttering Slump

2009-11-07T06:09:00.000-08:00

This adequately illustrates the current state of my decluttering efforts

Much like my recent blogging efforts, my decluttering efforts have seriously dwindled to, um, nothing though it might not look like it since I was decluttered way more than an item a day a few weeks ago. Part of this is due to time and focusing on other things right now, and part is due to pain levels since most, but not all of the easy stuff is already gone. Note that I didn't say it's because my house is decluttered, because although there's been some improvement, it decidedly is not.

I've been trying to figure out why it's so hard for me to let go of certain items of clutter. I'm not even talking about items that have sentimental value. So what am I talking about?

Wooden dish drying rack - I haven't used this in at least three years, not since I fixed my dishwasher, and yet, because there is space for it in my cabinet and I "might need it sometime," I can't manage to discard it.
Gameboy - I haven't played my original gameboy in years and years. But it still works and hey, it might be worth a lot someday to some videogame nut. Regardless, I just can't let it go.
The rest of my fat clothes - I've lost several sizes in the last year, but somehow I can't quite part with all my fat clothes yet. Because what if I gain the weight back? I have managed to part with the clothes that are now three sizes too big, the ones I never wore, and the ones that needed repair or were stained. That still leaves way too many though.
Plastic plates - For all of those dinners outside I never have. I don't even think I've used the darn things.
Books I want to get rid of, after I read them one more time - You know, just in case they suddenly became uncrappy in the last several years. Olivia Jules, I'm looking at you.
Last year's IKEA catalog - I used to keep every IKEA catalog I ever received, which wasn't that many really. I've purged a couple, but still have more than one, which is silly.
Those ugly dark green towels - I bought these for college, which was, I'm not telling you how many years ago. I keep hanging on to these because they are so useful: gym towels, rags, etc. Guess how many times I've used them? Yep, none.
(to be continued)

This is just a sample of course, there is much more stupid crap I'm still hanging on to. So how does one overcome this?

Try, try again. Things change and one thing that works for me is persistence and regular decluttering efforts. I've been going through some of the same boxes of mementos for years and I've found that what seemed incredibly important a few years ago, I might be willing to let go over the next time.
Limit yourself. Set a limit for how many things you don't use but still want to keep that you're willing to hold on to.
Check for substitutes. Check and see if your local library has a copy of a book you don't love but might want to keep, or maybe a neighbor or friend will let you borrow that tool you have but hardly ever use.
Write about it. Seriously looking at the list above is making it sink in just how silly some of these things are. While the Gameboy is safe, Olivia is on her way out.

Obviously, I'm still struggling with this myself, so what tips do you have for me?

Conquering the Paper Clutter

2009-10-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

Photo by sindesign: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sindesign/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

I still have the decluttering bug, but it's definitely getting harder to find things I'm willing to let go of easily. One thing that should be easy is paper clutter. We all know the rules, right? Keep tax stuff for seven years (or forever), bank documents and statements for one year, bills for one month to one year, etc. So why is my two drawer file bursting at the seams?

I keep way too much paper just in case. Just in case I want to remember how laughingly small my first paycheck was, or just in case I want to know how much electricity cost two years ago, or in case I finally want to input my expenses electronically (hahaha!). Sure, occasionally I do look up something, but most of it is just taking up space.

Recently it finally sunk in that I can easily clear out a few files by switching to electronic statements. This was first suggested by the teller at my credit union and I was appalled. How long would they be available online? Seven years? That's not forever! I must have those records and I know I won't print them out, so no, they couldn't stop mailing them to me. But I finally checked out their online statements and guess what? They're available as PDFs, so I can keep everything electronically, just in case, and finally ditch the paper. Same thing with credit card statements. And if you pay your bills electronically you may have access to even more.

Now that I can safely save my statements electronically, I can stop having paper copies mailed to my home and save a few trees in the process.

So to recap, here are some quick tips to reduce your paper clutter:

Sign up for electronic statements, bills, etc.
Save your statements electronically
Once you're sure you have a backup, discard the paper files you no longer need

Mini Spruce-Up: Bedroom Edition

2009-10-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

Being a stylist is harder than it looks. Yesterday I got out the comforter the boy got me for my birthday and went to work sprucing up the bedroom a bit. Mikko supervised.

As you can see, the bedroom needed a little love.

It took a few tries, but finally I a look I liked.

And it's kitty approved too. I don't know what it is about cats and new things, but they've been laying on the new comforter (and no other part of the bed) since the minute I finished.

Frost is Coming, Are You Ready?

2009-09-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

last harvest of 2009

Well, it's officially fall: gloomy, rainy and chilly. And now that the first frost is coming tomorrow night, I can no longer deny that it's the end of a another garden season as well.

If you're a noob like me, I'd like to offer some words of wisdom I learned the hard way: don't take the first frost too lightly. It doesn't take much to turn those green tomatoes, veggies and flowers to mush, so if a frost is coming to your area get ready to cover up your delicates or pick them early.

Picking the almost-ripe produce is a no brainer, but what if frost is headed your way and like me your garden is bursting with green tomatoes or other unripe produce? Don't despair, those green tomatoes need not go to waste. Just pick them and either fry them and enjoy, or wrap them in newspaper and place in a cool, dark spot and they'll still ripen. I haven't tried ripening green tomatoes indoors yet because last year I thought the first frost wouldn't hurt and I lost a LOT of tomatoes, but I'll let you know how it goes this year. I've already got some green lovelies tucked in the basement and waiting, just in case, even though the frost won't hit tonight.

Don't forget about annuals or other flowers either. If you want to cover them go ahead, but if not, cut em and bring em inside to enjoy for a little while longer. Afterall winter is coming and it will be a while before we enjoy them again.

What a Difference a Rearrange Makes!

2009-09-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

It always bothered me that there was no room in my kitchen for my cookbooks, because afterall, what better place for cookbooks to live than in the kitchen? But with no pantry, my cabinet space was filled with food, dinnerware and other necessities.

Then, thanks to some online inspiration and a quick rearrange, I found a way to squeeze my cookbooks into the kitchenNow the corner cabinet is more than just display space, it's functional too.

The Garden's Not Done Yet

2009-09-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

This hasn't been a good summer for blogging, too much to do too little time, but it's been a great summer for my garden! I didn't want to miss yet another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, so here's a better-late-than-never trip through my September garden.

Pic details: 1) zinnias*, 2) zinnias*, 3) roses, 4) poppies*, 5) snapdragons* 6) globe amarath* 7) lavender 8) Irish-Eyed Rudbeckia* and 9) nasturiums*.

I especially love that most of these flowers were winter-sown (everything marked with an asterisk). Winter-sowing is a super-easy way to get loads of interesting and cheap plants without having to babysit seedlings.

Want to see more blooms? Visit May Dreams Gardens every month on the 15th to see what's blooming in gardens around the world.

Note to Self, You Can Compost a Lot More!

2009-09-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Apartment Therapy's link to this handy list of 75 Things You Can Compost, But Thought You Couldn't on Planet Green, I can start diverting a lot more stuff from the trash to the compost pile. Which is great, because despite composting and recycling, we still produce way, way too much trash. I blame the cats (because I can).

I routinely compost coffee and coffee filters, tea bags, veggie scraps, egg shells and non-weed plant material. But I'm not sure why I never added expired grains, cereal and bread. Also, until the leaves fall I'm low on browns, a need which cardboard can fill nicely. However, I'm not too sure about composting cat food, it's full of meat so I'm afraid it would attract rodents; or used paper towels and tissues, besides being gross what about the bleach and chemicals?

But stuff in the compost, means more nutrient rich brown gold for my garden and more flowers for me, like those yummy Zinnias pictured above. It's a win, win.

It's Time to Simplify: 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge

2009-08-29T05:33:00.000-07:00

Even the good stuff can be overwhelming when there is too much

My years-long obsession with home and decor blogs seems to be waning a bit. Instead, I've been spending more time at blogs that deal with simple living. Blogs like Small Notebook, Simpler Living and Simple Savvy.

Don't get me wrong, I still visit upteen home and decor blogs, but I'm really interested in feeling less like a hamster on a wheel that's moving way too fast. Up until now though, I've just been looking, but min hus has been feeling more and more crowded. Most of the clutter is hidden, but it's impossible to find anything in many drawers and closets around here. But after looking at the 365 days of decluttering challenge, I thought, even I can do that one.

So here's the deal, I want to get rid of at least one thing a day for the next 365 days. I'll probably be doing this on the weekends, rather than daily, but I'm going to keep a list here. I'm not sure how often I'll post about this, it's got to be fairly boring (for all three of my readers), but we'll see.

I was actually so excited I got started last night and filled a couple grocery sacks full of trash, several things went to recycling and I filled one shopping bag with clothes and things to donate. The boy unwittingly participated yesterday too while he was cleaning the garage and got rid of four tires and rims, seven (yes, SEVEN) bucket-size kitty litter containers, an old plastic table. He put it all out on the curb and it was gone within an hour. Even all seven kitty litter containers, I'm still amazed someone wanted those.

The dearly decluttered:

Green plastic patio table
White shower curtain that shrunk
White O-N dress shirt (too big)
Black sandals
Red, white and blue knit shirt
Red pj pants
Blue plaid pj pants (week 1, August 23-29)
white t-shirt
white t-shirt
Old space heater (only half-works)
Old vacuum
Green bag
black tote bag
linen drawstring bag (week 2, August 30-Sept. 5)
black purse
Brown sweater
Pink sweater
Cyndi Lauer tape (it's time to let the casettes go)
Smashing Pumpkins tape
Toad the Wet Sprocket tape
Girl's diary (week 3, Sept. 6-12)
Unopened pine candle
Blue tealight holder
Small plastic water bottle
Dental tape
Martha Stewart Living - June 2009
Martha Stewart Living - September 2009
Green flower plate (week 4, Sept. 13-20 )
Kitty foot massager (lame)
Cloth napkins (4)
Partylite candleholder
Plastic tablecloth
Red mug
yellow mug
blue mug (week 5, Sept. 21-27 )
green mug
glass candy dish
pink plastic cup
Book: Smart mobs
Book: Knowing Knowledge
Book: The Three Theban Plays, Sophocles
Votive candles (week 6, Sept. 28-Oct. 4 )
Strawberry candle
Red bead tealight holder
Votive candles
IKEA mail holder
Cinnamon candle
Votive candle holder
Precious moments plate (week 7, Oct. 5-11 )
New black bra
New white bra
Unmentionables
Unmentionables
Brown and black purse (donate)
Blue cloth napkins (donate)
red shirt (week 8, Oct. 12-18 )
blue flowered shirt (donate)
orange t-shirt (donate)
purple clock (donate)
Organic garden magazines (10)
headband (trash)
round brush I never used (trash)
lotion (trash) (week 9, Oct. 19-25)
tan capris (donate)
Navy blue slacks (donate)
Merona black velvet dress (donate)
Jessica Howard dress (donate)
NYC tan linen slacks (donate)
Nine west gray slacks (donate)
Apt. 9 white capris (donate) (week 9, Oct. 25 - Nov. 1)
White short-sleeve sweater (donate)
White sweater (donate)
Old navy flower shirt (donate)
bottle of nail polish (trash)
bottle of nail polish (trash)
Book: Les Miserables (Half-Price Books)
Book: Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination (Half-Price Books) (week 10, Nov. 2 - Nov. 8)
Black ODCE bookbag (donate)
Coaster (trash)
Spatula (donate)
Sunglasses (trash)
IKEA 2009 catalog (recycle)
Pink Eddie Bauer sweater (gave away)
Black Eddie Bauer Sweater (gave away) (week 11, Nov. 9 - Nov. 15)
Navy blue Eddie Bauer Sweater (gave away)