I love my new no clutter laundry room!

As I mentioned, I've been wanting to remove the console table from my laundry room and replace it with a couple of Shabby Chic style chairs I found on the side of the road, with a free sign. Today, I did it! Take a look.

Good bye old refrigerator!

It served us well. It was in the house when we bought it. Other than one glitch some years ago (which sweetie was able to fix) it has worked great. Like the other appliances we replaced, there was nothing "wrong" with it. It just didn't fit the kitchen I envisioned.

When I was cleaning it in preparation for its departure, I noticed the model tag. It was made in 1987. It's 21 years old. Poor old fridge.

We disposed of it using a program our power service subscribes to. They'll take away and dismantle (or donate) your old appliance when you upgrade to a more energy efficient one. And you get a check for $30.

With the old fridge gone, we were able to reclaim our dining room and living room.

Guest Post: We don't own our things, we rent them

In a message board discussion on clutter, "Crayfish" had this brilliant insight, which I've received permission to republish in this guest post. There are references to specific items; these refer to the original discussion. Substitute any item you're having trouble letting go of.
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Would it help to think of it as renting stuff?

That is, very few things are bought because you're going to have them forever. Most things are bought because you have a use for them now. You're not buying the thing, you're buying the utility, the use of that thing for a specific purpose for a limited time. You're paying money for a limited period of utility. Therefore, you're essentially renting the thing.

So when you bought that eight-dollar toy, you bought a playing experience. When your mother bought you those clothes, she bought an upgrade to your interview experience.

Those experiences are past. Maybe the experience was good and the money was well spent. Maybe the experience was lousy and the money was wasted. But the experience is over, just as much as a movie or amusement park trip that you bought a ticket for is over. The physical thing left is just the "ticket". The empty shell. The remains of the experience.

A used movie ticket is not worth the sixteen dollars that you may have paid for admission and popcorn and Coke. If the experience was fabulous, the ticket isn't needed to allow you to remember it. If the experience was lousy, the ticket isn't going to enable you to get your money back. The ticket is an empty shell, the should-be-discarded "wrapper" for the experience.

The same is true of toys that aren't played with and clothes that aren't worn. Your mother loves you, and she demonstrated that love by buying you the clothes when you needed them for a specific purpose. The money was spent, for better or for worse, when that purpose was completed. You don't have to keep the "wrapper" that she once delivered her love in. Her love is just as real if you discard the wrapper. The clothes have served, or failed to serve, their purpose. They're empty now. It's time for them to go.

And, again, it's the _experience_ that matters. It's your life that matters. That means that a clean, pleasant serene home, a home where you can have happier experiences, is more important than a home full of empty shells. You can keep the memories, but keeping the shells, the wrappers, the skeletons of old experiences, will corrupt your new experiences.

You don't want to live in a museum or graveyard devoted to the past, giving up on happiness and on making good new memories because you're devoted to trying to squeeze new value out of old empty wrappers. That toy cost you eight dollars; if it and dozens others like it stay in your house, cluttering it up and making it less pleasant, then that toy is costing you more every single day.
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Me again. I love this idea. It's a brilliant mental trick that can truly benefit those of us who hang onto things because...it was a gift, we paid "good money" for it, it belonged to a loved one who has passed away, it's an antique. You name the reason for letting it hang around, just by thinking of it as rented instead of owned can be the scissors that cut the thread.

The Vestfrost started it all

It's funny, and I know it's not just me. One thing, one item, can cause a chain of events. For me, it was the Vestfrost. I saw it first at my pal Aaron's place. It was a thing of beauty--shining silver and such clean simple lines, so very elegant. When I got home, I started planning long-overdue kitchen remodel, because I too wanted a Vestfrost.

Can you think of a time when one item, on piece of art, one book, a phrase or a song, started you on a journey of discovery? It's like magic, a talisman, a stone cairn that leads the way.

Every day, I look at my lovely kitchen, and I thank my Vestfrost for starting it all.

The Financial Side of Clutter

As many of you know, I enjoy reading the personal finance blogs. My favorites are listed in the right sidebar, check them out if you're interested in personal finance.

Retail therapy is a common practice here in the U.S. It probably is in other countries as well. So many of us shop for the sake of shopping, buying new things to cheer us up or to give us a little thrill. I can attest to the reality of that thrill--it's literally like a high, a hit of endorphin to the system. Some people can become addicted to that high--see this recent story on The Consumerist for more.

Times are a bit harder these days, and still, retail therapy occurs. I read the paper, and every day there are articles about shopping habits and how little they've changed despite the slowing economy.

When I started my decluttering journey, I knew that retail therapy had to end. I was never profligate (although, yes, there were some incidents involving scrapbooking supplies--long story), but I bought items we as a family didn't actually need. Now need is an interesting word. What do we really need? Food, shelter, some would say love. Dozens of episodes of old TV shows on DVD? Kid clothes from anywhere but the thrift store? Books the library has? Barbie dolls? Not needs. Wants. Wishes. Hopes for a different life or a better tomorrow.

I don't shop anymore. I do sometimes browse, and I've found that when I walk into a shop not intending to buy anything and being clear to myself on that, I can browse and be inspired by the items that catch my eye. Perhaps there's a color that calls to me. I can examine why that is, remember it, and consider it for a home decorating idea in the future. It doesn't mean I need to own that item right now.

Books, ah books. Used to be I couldn't leave a bookstore without buying something. The other day, I explored a lovely used bookstore. Amazing stock, the place was a maze of shelves, all carefully labeled, with that wonderful smell of old books. Saw many books that, even two years ago, I would have bought. I left with the title of one book in my head so I could put it on hold at the library. Didn't buy a thing. It felt like a victory.

My home is on a journey that will likely never end. I try to enjoy the journey itself, for that is where the learning happens.

Too much stuff

I guess I just have too much stuff. Still, still, after actively working on it for over two years, I just have too much stuff. Clutter clutter everywhere. Surfaces covered. No flat expanse of space unfilled.

Just needed to gripe a little.

Friendly Amazon Reminder

Just a friendly reminder, if you shop at Amazon, go through the links on my blog. I get some credit, and folks think I'm big time. Can't hurt, eh?

I love my Vestfrost!

I have to tell you how much I am loving having a small fridge! I've wanted a freezer on the bottom style of fridge for a long time, and having the whole thing be so small is such a bonus.
Here's the width of the old fridge, for comparison.And here, the slender Vestfrost.
Here are some views of the interior. I like it when the fridge is not too full. I like being able to see most of what I have in it.




We're a family of four--two adults, an eight year old and a five year old. We have two cats. Do you think our fridge looks empty? Full? How does it compare to yours?

We don't drink soda. Sometimes when we're out or for a special treat at home we might have root beer floats. We don't drink cow's milk, though we do use it as an ingredient. We don't regularly drink juice. I don't like icy cold water, so I don't keep a Brita filter pitcher in the fridge.

We do have a separate upright freezer, in the basement. The Vestfrost actually has a lot of freezer space. It has three drawers in the freezer, and a narrow slot for ice cube trays (it came with three, they're shallower than standard American). Still, I like being able to use the upstairs freezer for frequently used items and the basement one for storage. I buy our meat in bulk at Costco and freeze it in meal-size portions.

Donations! More Clutter Gone!

I didn't intend a donation run, but somehow, the car is packed with eight bags of clutter for the charity shops. I'll take some to St. Vincent de Paul (a favourite charity of mine), some to the local, small, City of Hope cancer fund raising charity shop and perhaps some to Goodwill.

I also arranged to bring a baby carrier I've had no luck selling on Craigslist to a consignment shop. Don't know why I didn't think of that sooner.

Tea Clutter

This is a box of tea. Mystery tea. Old tea. Newish tea. Good tea. Tea that no one likes. Tea.

I drink tea. Once in a while. I prefer coffee in the morning. Sweetie drinks tea every day, but he's quite particular about what he'll drink, and the teas that he likes are in his tea cupboard in the kitchen. This box of teas has been sitting in the basement since March, when I removed everything from the cupboards.

Some of the teas are ones I thought I should like (aspirational teas if you will), some just plain looked good but didn't taste as good as I had hoped.

Why do I keep them? Because I paid good money for them! Because they're perfectly good! Because because because!!!

They can go on Freecycle. Perhaps I'll list them today...

Book Clutter: It came from the library!

This bench is my next big target. It used to be half of the seating at our dining room table, prior to the kitchen remodel which necessitated moving the dining room table into the living room to make way for the fridge. Ahem.

I'm a stacker. I like nice flat surfaces because they are so good for stacking things. It's very hard in my house to keep a flat surface clear. The kitchen is easiest for some reason. The bathroom simply doesn't have many flat surfaces so it's never cluttered.

Those books are from the library. Underneath the bench are shoes. In the bench's cubbies...gee, I don't think you want to know. Scary stuff. I'll go through it soon, and show you the after, promise.

I'd like to keep that bench there even after we move the table back. If you're wondering what's holding us up in moving the table, the old fridge is still there! It's going away on the 23rd, to a local company that works with utilities to encourage folks to retire their old energy-guzzling appliances. They take the old, we get a check for $30.

Food Clutter: It came from the garage

We still have boxes of food in the garage. It's mostly clutter, in that it's not stuff we use or need. Some is stuff I wasn't sure what to do with. That big bottle of almond extract from Smart & Final...expired years ago, but still smelled good last time I checked. Well, it's gone now. I took a look out there and grabbed a box of bottles, mostly sauces and vinegars, and checked dates, did the sniff test and the look test.

Kahlua liquer from a trip to Mexico...in 1997. That bottle of almond extract went down the drain. I noticed that the plastic of the bottle had started to discolour. Old vinegars, bought who knows when, rarely used. A bottle of dry sherry--I didn't know if it was still good because I don't drink dry sherry, but it did not smell appetizing. A bottle of a favourite seasoning sauce that was out of date and just looked off. I suspect it had gotten lost in the cupboard, since there was a new bottle in another box of the garage.

Yes, it is wasteful. I know that. I like to cook and experiment, and that means trying new things. What I need to learn is that if we try a new seasoning and no one likes it, to toss it right away. Or offer it on Freecyle. Whatever, just get it out of the house. It's not going to get tastier sitting around in the cupboard. My new kitchen feels quite spare compared to the old, and I really like that feeling. I'm still cooking dinners every night, and the family is enjoying them. This is good. This is enough.

Repurposing: Partylite candle holder into ...

a fruit plate! I had this Partylite three-wick pillar holder on my mantle. I burned down the one three wick candle I still owned (sold/gave away the others long ago) and decided to give it a new use.

Cookbook Clutter: Update

I've been pondering the cookbook situation. As Clutter Buddy pointed out, most of us use only a few of our cookbooks. This is true for me, that's for sure. But, I like cookbooks as literature, as inspiration. I just don't want to have as many of them as I currently own.

Recall I did cull cookbooks a while ago. I sold about two dozen of them, ones I rarely even looked at for ideas. What I need to do next is to cull the remaining books, and be ruthless. I have designated ONE spot for cookbooks, and it's not huge.

Paperwork Sorting is Done!

Finally, after several years of staring at those clear bins, they're now empty. A lot of the contents went into recycling. I found some really odd things, including high school notes (about five pages, torn from a notebook), lots of old show & movie tickets, old address books, hundreds of letters, index cards with notes on furniture needed for our new house--those were from 1996 or so. Found the younger one's original Social Security card, my first passport, my law school student ID, and my temporary student ID from a summer at a law school program in Shanghai.

Here's the end result. One of the boxes is full of paperwork that needed to be kept--banking, mortgage-related, tax-related. The other is about 3/4 full of letters and cards.

So much of this clutter truly was the result of procrastination--I clearly remember building stacks of papers on my old desk and chucking them into boxes and bags, because I couldn't decide what to do with them. Clutter is unmade decisions. Clutter is indeciciveness. Clutter is the visible incarnation of the mind's inability to made a choice.

Happy Birthday to my Little Canada Day Girl!

My younger daughter, Miss A., turns 5 today. She was born after a quick few intense hours of labour, about 20 minutes after the midwife arrived. Born in water, at home, with her big sister present.

Taming the Paper

I've had two clear bins of paperwork hanging around for a couple of years now. They're a mix of all sorts of stuff--old bills, investment statements, bank statements, letters. I've avoided going through them because I felt I had to properly sort everything, you know, bank statements with bank statements, phone bills with phone bills. Then, I realized, why? Why do I need to do that? I don't and I'm not.

Here's what I am doing instead. I have two bankers boxes. One is for paperwork to keep (investment statements, tax documents, banks statements, etc.). The other is for letters, cards, kid's artwork and the like. Everything I don't need is getting shredded or recycled. You don't need to keep phone bills from three years ago, and neither do I! Ditto product manuals for products we no longer own, paid bills, or newspaper articles clipped for who knows what reason.

At the end, I'll have two bankers boxes, which I may or may not put into the filing cabinet. We'll see.

A Little Light Entertainment

I have to share this site I came across recently. Passive Aggressive Notes is hilarious. You can submit your own, too.

I took a trunk full of donations out of the house today. They'd been building up in my basement, and I finally had a free car trunk. I sorted, bagged, and planned to drop them all at the Goodwill. But when I got there, not only did the guys working donations act like they couldn't be bothered to help me, but a woman (she was not a lady) in a minivan cut me off. Pissed, I left only a couple of bags there and took the rest to the small, volunteer run City of Hope shop. They were thrilled to get my bags of dishes and kitchen-ware, and chatted amiably.

Managing the Cookbooks

Last year, I cut way down on my cookbook collection. I sold or donated about a third of what I had. Still, I own a lot of cookbooks! As my kitchen remodel is the only one in history to result in less storage space than before, I'll need to cut down even more.

Before the makeover, I had two shelves mounted high above the refrigerator. These were there when we bought our house; simple painted board on metal bracket shelves. Nothing special. Their placement was awkward and the books got covered with grease and dust. Since we have the Vestfrost now, no shelves would work easily on that wall. And, frankly, I want to keep that wall free. I have a piece of art that I plan to hang there.

I also had a corner shelf that stood next to the range. It held mostly cookbooks. Even though there's more space now next to the range, I don't want to put anything there. Having open space is so very nice!

I've finally decided that one of the lower cabinets will serve as cookbook storage. Being in a cabinet will keep the books dust and grease-free. I'll be choosing what to keep and what to sell in the next few days, and setting up my new cookbook cabinet.

Two drawers down!

Today, I reinstalled two more of the kitchen drawers. This just leaves one (the former junk drawer) and it needs another coat of paint.

In the new drawers are food storage containers and plastic cups/lids (so the kids can reach them).


Sweetie has agreed to give a microwave-free life a trial! We're going to stow the micro in the basement and see how much/whether we miss it. Hurrah for more counter space!

Sweetie helped me install more shelf liner and I re-arranged two of the smaller cupboard shelves. It's all coming together! I'm not in a rush, I want each addition to be mindful.

The Simple Life

Yesterday we watched our local annual Solstice Parade. The highlight of the event actually has its own Wikipedia entry, so you can read all about it.

Later in the day, we attended our friends W & C's annual Solstice party. It's a well-attended, fun event. The key to the party's success? Simplicity. There's no bar, no selection of beers, just a keg of one type of local microbrew. It varies year to year, but that's the choice, drink it or leave it. If you want wine, there's a couple of bottles of red and a couple of white. Want to nosh? A couple of small tables hold decorative plates and bowls with various savoury and sweet snacks, mostly from Trader Joe's. It's not a fancy party, because W & C recognize that what makes a party a success isn't the food or drink or the decorations. It's the people. They invite friends old & new, co-workers, and family. Conversations flow, kids (allowed, so those frantic parents without sitters can still get out and have some adult conversations) dash up and down stairs, R, the sweetest dog, roams searching for tidbits folks have dropped.

It's probably not a coincidence that W & C have one of the most comfortable yet uncluttered houses I've visited. Carefully selected art hangs on the walls, mostly created by C or by friends, the furniture is older but so well-cared for it looks new. Everything is bright with light and fresh.

The Seduction of ...

the Wii Fit!

So, yeah, I didn't get even one item done on my "5 items to do today" list (below) because my friend S. called me and said two magic words "Wii Fit". Today, I'm sore. It hurts to go down the stairs. But at least the pinched muscle-nerve in my back that hurt the day before is gone.

Tag I'm it!

Paisley Penguin over at Take life with a grain of chocolate has tagged me for a meme. Let's give it a try, shall we?

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago I was working at a law firm doing research for corporate litigation and was bored out of my skull.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today? 1) help my older daughter clean (and purge) her room, 2) pay bills, 3) list a backpack baby carrier on Craigslist, 4) do some laundry, 5) re-install a drawer in my kitchen.

3) Snacks I enjoy: nuts I'm not allergic to (cashews & almonds, roasted), fruit I'm not allergic to (berries, melon, tropical mango, banana, pineapple), chocolate-covered versions of the above.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: 1) finance my dream of helping folks with few resources declutter & organize, 2) travel-live in Europe part of the year, 3) totally Rice out my Acura Integra, 4) donate a million to La Leche League, 5) move three blocks south

5) Places I have lived: San Anselmo, CA; Portland, OR; Taipei, Taiwan; Seattle, WA.

OK, so let's see....tag you're it: A Call to Simplicity, Musings, Ramblings & Gripings, and A Quiver of Blessings. Go ye forth and meme!

I love my iPod

I do, I really do. I can load it up with a couple of unabridged audio books and some music and enjoy it in the car, on a walk, or inline skating. It's tiny and clever and cute.

And best of all, it was free.

About a year and a half ago, when I first started visiting personal finance blogs, I found My Money Blog. It's a general focus PF blog, but at the time, there were a zillion bank deals going on. Free this or that, $$ bonuses, you name it. The iPod promotion was one of these--free iPod Nano for opening a new account. Easy peasy. There haven't been many of those deals lately, but I still keep an eye on My Money Blog.

...and even more go!

I took the rest of the books to the other branch of that local used/new bookstore, where, as I suspected, they bought more of what I had. Their stock is just different enough that what one store disdains the other may purchase. When you bring in books to sell, they give you a coupon for 10% off your purchase.

Today, I bought the latest issue of Brain, Child magazine (which features an opinion piece by a writer friend of mine) and The Best Food Writing 2007. I of course used my coupon and my trade credit so no money out of pocket for my new reading material.

...and out the door they go!

I took those books (one box, one large bag) straight to the local used/new bookstore. They pay half again as much for trade as for cash, so I took the trade for the books they could use. The rest will go to the second best buying used/new bookstore. Then, the good condition paperbacks will be listed on paperback swap; the rest of them will be donated. There's a book exchange at a local library and at a couple of local coffee shops, I might try that this time instead of the thrift store.

What shall I choose for my store credit?

Book Purging!

After talking about books with my LJ friend Frabjouslinz, I decided to do some purging. I pulled books I've read that I have no interest in reading again. I pulled books I've owned for years and yet not read. I grabbed back issues of Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine. Books for subjects I'm no longer interested in.

And what do you know? When I was done, and it was time for bed, I felt so great! As if a weight I didn't know I'd been carrying had fallen off my back.

Before going to sleep, I paged through the latest O magazine. Found a great little article by Julie Morgenstern, an except from her latest book, When Organizing Isn't Enough: SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life. She writes about how, when she changed professions from theater to professional organizer, she kept boxes of her theater books, storing them under her dining room table. Her business had plateaued and she was frustrated. One evening, she decided to sort through one box of her theater stuff. She ended up tossing all but a couple of her old scripts. Soon after, her business blossomed. All that old stuff, from another life, had been holding her back.

Nice empty spots on the shelves (which had been double and triple stacked)

It's all too much

I've been feeling off the past few days. Turns out it might be partly because I skipped a couple of days of my thyroid meds ('cause I ran out). Yes, I had called in a prescription, I just didn't get around to picking it up. Feeling a touch better today, but not by much.

It's all too much. Too much stuff, too many tasks, too many emotions. And yet, it's not enough. I know that doesn't make sense. It'll just have to do for now.

Another book I love

Against the Grain by Richard Manning is a quicker read than Good Calories, Bad Calories but it tackles the same subject matter, this time from a sociological angle rather than a health one. There's a good article at The Atlantic about his book.

Why I love to travel

Sure, I love to see new places, try new foods and meet new people. But the real reason I love to travel? Because there's so little stuff. I'm a light packer, as you know, so I never have a huge, heavy suitcase to haul. I love an empty, fresh hotel room. I love having all my stuff in one spot, just a few small bags.

There's a testimonial that the Flylady emails out on a regular basis. A woman writes about visiting a comfortable B&B--clean, fresh sheets & towels, a tidy bedroom, a welcoming entryway. Of course, it turns out that it's her own home, after she's become Flywashed! I love that testimonial, but it always feels out of reach. That the claim of the stuff on me is too strong.

As you all mentioned in the comments on my last post, the destination of what I'm letting go of is so important. I want these things to go to someone who will value them, treasure them, tend them. Isn't that crazy? They're just things, bits of plastic and fabric and paper and metal. But it lingers...

Can I just get on a plane already??

The conflicts between thrift, clutter and beauty

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris

This is hard to explain. I'm not sure why, but each time I try I get bogged down and confused. Let's try, shall we? I'm going to use some examples and go from there.

I have a comforter. It's a double bed size, because that was the size bed we had when I bought it in 1991. It's still in decent condition, looks about the same as it did when I bought it because it's a cotton-polyester blend. I'm tired of it. It doesn't make me happy. It's the wrong size for our bed (though it does fit our guest bed, but we have a nicer comforter that we usually use there). Why do I still keep it? Because, wait for it...it's perfectly good!

It's all a muddle of reduce, reuse, recycle; use it up; wear it out; Depression and Green and eco this and that and thrift and soon my house is full-up of stuff that's still "perfectly good" but that I don't really love or want.

With my bathroom, and now, my kitchen, I'm creating spaces that only have useful AND lovely (to me) things in them. It is harder to do this in other parts of the house, and I need to figure out why.

Step by step

I noticed I haven't posted for a few days. I've been slowly working on the kitchen. I bought a new silverware tray (the old was avocado green and thus is not allowed). I also culled my avocado green Pyrex bowls and baking dishes. These I may sell, on eBay or Craigslist, as there's a fairly strong demand for vintage Pyrex. I've kept the pieces in other colours--my bowls and baking dishes. I love them and I use them frequently. I've given them a whole shelf to their own in my main storage cupboard, rather than keeping them on the wheeled cart which holds the microwave.


I'm hoping to eliminate that cart. Current plan is to put the microwave on the kitchen counter where the breadbox used to be. I haven't tested it yet, so I'm not sure how happy we'll be with it. I'd love to not put that cart back! The kitchen feels so roomy now! The girls were dancing and twirling while I cooked dinner the other night...could never even consider that before.

So far, the new dishes are a success. They're so pretty and simple, clean lines. I found some smaller bowls, simple clear glass made in France, at IKEA. $.79 each, so a bargain too.

We're loving the Vestfrost! It's so nice to have a small fridge, stuff doesn't get lost. It means I can't stock up, which is GREAT. And, the small footprint means more free floor space.

Decluttering the dishes

We have an eclectic collection of dishware. Lots of decorative mugs and little plates and various bits of this and that. DH hates it. I, well, part of me loves the variety and part of me just wishes for plain white plates.

That part won. I've set us up with new dishes. They're white porcelain. They're microwave, dishwasher and warm oven safe. They're simply designed and just about could be called elegant. I've been spending the morning fitting shelf liner into my dish cabinet. Once the new dishes are clean, they'll go into their new home. We'll have eight dinner plates, eight salad plates, four shallow bowls, four deep bowls, four mugs and four cup & saucer sets. Everything else will be packed away for a month and if there's a specific piece anyone misses dearly, it can come back. After that, donation time.

Living without most of the dishware for the past two months has actually been great. I can't point out even one thing that I genuinely miss. It's a good argument for the "let it age" policy--give yourself time, time while you still own the item(s) to miss them or not. If you miss them, heck, you still have them. If not, easy to take the box to the Goodwill.

One more post on Good Calories, Bad Calories

This ain't no nutrition blog. I've been mentioning this book because it's just a great read, and full of must-know information. So, one last post. I wanted to include a few links to discussions about this book throughout the blogosphere.

Health & Nutrition by Michael R. Eades, MD
ABC News
Weight of the Evidence

...and I'm sure there are plenty more.

Decluttering the advice

I've really been enjoying reading "Good Calories, Bad Calories". I've got a passion for health reading. I like medical memoirs, books on the science behind weight gain/loss and general health. This book is especially interesting because the author agenda is the truth--he went into the research curious, open-minded, but not particularly biased toward either the "fat is bad" or the "carbs are bad" theories. Hence, his survey of the research is especially worthwhile. It's a real eye-opener to read how easily a charismatic, passionate medical researcher convinced the U.S. government to adopt dietary standards, even while the existing research was actually inconclusive.

So what does this mean for one in practical "what should I eat today" terms? Well, Taubes' book is not a diet book. He has no lengthy recipe section at the back as do so many books on diet and health. His book is purely about the science and to a lesser degree, the politics of the study of diet on human health. One would need to read his survey and then extrapolate from that what one should consider eating.

Learning that the fat hypothothis was essentially full of bunk stunned me. For so many years, we've been told to cut down on fat, especially saturated fat. A whole industry arose to provide low-fat and fat-free snacks (and again, recently, to provide ones artificially low in "carbs"). I think the real answer is to look back to our ancestors, to the rise of agriculture and to evolution.

But back to the kitchen. We're still slowly restocking it, and I have not yet tackled the cook books. I purged them a while ago, selling the ones that I never even looked through for ideas. I'm sure I can let go of more. I want just enough for one shelf in one cupboard. I want to keep them behind a cupboard door; I hate that they get grease residue on them from cooking. I do have a few "diety" cookbooks that I can let go of. Really, all one needs is the Joy of Cooking, any edition, and a few specialty books for the cuisines not fully represented there (Chinese, Thai, Indian, Greek).

Reader, I went to Target

I went in with a list. I bought only what was on my list, no impulse items. I didn't dawdle. I couldn't dawdle, I timed the trip so that I had just 20 minutes before picking up my older daughter from school.

It feels strange to have Target bags in the house. Such mundane items...Windex, baby wipes, paper towels, air freshener, cat box liners, cereal.

A must read book

Anyone who wants to lose weight, improve their health or who has been told to use drugs or diet to lower their cholesterol should read this book. I warn you, it's a fairly academic tome. The author spent five years researching and writing this book. It's an eye-opener!

Keeping kitchen clutter at bay

We've been slowly moving items back into the kitchen. Since we have the space (garage, basement), my plan is to move items back in as I need them. Thus, the salad spinner came back last week when I needed to wash and dry a head of lettuce. The cloves came back last night to make sweetie a hot whiskey. The grill pan came back to cook steak. You get the idea.

There are items I like, that I want to keep, but that I do not use. That is do not use, never have used. An example? My burnt orange Bundt pan. It's a real Bundt brand pan, in nice condition. Never used. Why? I don't know. I guess the only recipe that appealed to me that's made in a Bundt pan uses three sticks of butter and I just can't bring myself to make the recipe. The possibilities cause me to keep the pan. I've had it for years, "rescued" it from a thrift store. Yeah. That one's going to have to go. Ditto the angel food cake pan (it's a really nice one). I used it once. Thing is, I don't care for angel food cake. Too dry and spongy.

We've almost completely transitioned to the new, small fridge. Remember the new fridge is less than half the capacity of the old. I was brutal with the condiments and salad dressings. So many had been kept because "oh, that's still good!" but really, if it was still sitting in the fridge months after being opened, that's a sign that NO ONE LIKES IT. Seriously, let's get real here. If you like a food, it'll get used up. So out went two bottles of salad dressing, a couple of odd sauces and some stale beef bouillion.

My dream kitchen will contain only what we use, in quantities suitable for our family size, neatly arranged. It's on its way to my house!

A low-clutter Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, I asked for specific gifts. Perfume, because I'm running low and I'm the sort of gal who wears it every day, and the chance to see a movie all by myself. I'm one of those odd ducks who prefers seeing movies alone. I like to escape into movie-world. It's more like reading a book that way, you know?

On Saturday, while my sweetie took the kids perfume shopping (always go to Nordstrom, they take good care of you) I went out to see Iron Man. I wasn't an Iron Man comic fan, but it's been getting really good reviews. I generally don't actually read the reviews for films I want to see since I hate spoilers and reviews don't seem able to write about movies these days without giving half the plot away. I did notice lots of stars on the reviews and that was enough for me. I love comic books and superhero films too. Daredevil, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, all books I read monthly back in high school and college. Not sure why I never picked up an Iron Man issue, guess I had enough to keep track of.

I'll cut to the chase: that was the best movie I have seen in years. And, for the first time in I don't know how long, I walked out of the theatre, called my sweetie to let him know, and then walked right back in with a ticket for the next showing. It was that good. I won't say more, but do go out and see it yourself. This is one for the big screen, don't wait for the DVD.

After that decadent afternoon, I had to zip home since I had an appointment. Dinner was pizza--hey, it was Mother's Day weekend, I'll take a night off. We had brunch out on Sunday, then while sweetie, the kids and MIL/S-FIL took a trip out to the Snohomish river, I went out to see another movie. This time, I picked a chick flick, Made of Honor. It was ... ok. I left thinking, well that was cute, but not worth seeing again. I do like that Patrick Dempsey though, he was worth the admission price. Annoying movie goer in front of me kept lifting up her arm to play with her hair. I could have done without that.

I don't usually buy snacks in the movies. I'm not above sneaking in a treat. I had some almond M&Ms and Raisinets for Iron Man (1). Picked up a banana for nutrition at the supermarket next door for (2). Didn't have any snacks during Made of Honor. Just didn't need 'em. I was momentarily tempted by the popcorn, but it never tastes that good and it's so expensive. I'd rather just wait. I mean, it's only an hour and half. I never bring or get drinks at this particular theatre since the restroom is across the lobby and up a flight of stairs. There's no way I'll miss part of the movie for a potty break.

Yeah, I'm an oddball. But you knew that, right?

Consider the Magazine

For some reason, magazines are especially precious to hoarders. Not as dear as books, but up there pretty high on the list. They're so pretty, with the photographs, drawings, and even the ads. They're seductive, with their promises of renewal, knowledge and fortune.

I have about five years worth of Martha Stewart Living magazines. They're close to the last of my magazine stash. I let the bulk of the scrapbooking ones go last year, a hard decision, but the right one. Now, I'm pondering the MSLs. Can I let them go? Well, I never refer to them. I have the The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook which has most of the recipes from the magazines that I actually use. I pulled out a lot of the recipe cards (back when the magazine had them) and those are in my recipe card box. I even have a couple of annuals, from the few years they were published, that have every single recipe from that year's magazines. And, on Martha's website, one can search and find just about every recipe published.

But then, I think of the craft ideas. The lovely articles on whiteware, early American pottery, kitchen linens, dusting techniques. How to make a pincushion from an acorn.

These magazines are the ultimate in aspirational goods. I want to be a Martha, a creative, engaging, powerful person in charge of my life and surroundings. I want every meal to be not only nutritious, but bursting with colour and freshness, and seasonality. I want my bed linens to be fresh and scented with lavender or lilac, and to coordinate with the colours of my walls and my art.

Will keeping these magazines allow me to live this dream? No. Will I ever be able to live that dream? Yes, if it's important enough to me. Is it? Only I can decide that.

Using your noodle to cut down on clutter

Commenter Jay B. suggests using Netflix and the library to avoid media purchases. Amen, I say! While I don't plan on getting a Netflix sub, I do love love love the library. We get the bulk of our media there, books, movies and music. I have around 100 items on my holds list most of the time. When a movie I'm interested in is moving from the theatres to DVD, I just pop it on my holds list. Now, yes, sometimes you'll wait. And wait. And ... wait. We just came to the top of the list for Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and that's been out how long? There's the Netflix advantage, a lot less waiting! Still, I don't mind the waiting to save the $20-$30 a month.

There are some movies that I'll still buy. Back before Netflix existed and buying or renting from the local shops were the only options, my rule was, if I knew for sure that I'd watch the movie more than three times, I would buy it. When we got our first DVD player, I was more liberal than I would normally be, because of the novelty of the new form. Wow, a disc can hold a whole movie and special features! I've become a lot more discerning.

Why buy at all? We love to watch movies. We don't watch any broadcast TV. For example, I own the Lord of the Rings trilogy extended editions and I've watched each one at least ten times (yes, that's a lot of screen time). I like owning them, I can watch any time I please, no waiting, thank you ma'am. For the Ocean's Thirteen example, that's a movie I really love (I'm a sucker for caper movies, and add in George Clooney, well, there you go). I've already watched it twice since we bought it, and will watch it many more times.

A couple of years ago, we culled our DVDs and sold the ones we didn't feel we needed to keep. There were some early mistakes, ones we'd bought on impluse when the medium was knew. We just don't do that anymore. We've made the choices mindful.

Those who've seen my bookroom may be surprised to learn how few books I actually buy anymore. Most of my collection was amassed long ago, when I was in high accumulation mode. For the past five years, I've purchased very few books. The ones I do buy are ones I either know I will read again, ones I plan to read in compromising situations (while traveling, on the beach/boat, in the bath). It's worth $.69 to me to not worry about the condition of a book while I'm reading it, and likely, I'll either pass it on to a friend or use Paperback Swap and exchange it for something else.

How do you handle your media purchases? Do you buy or rent, borrow or rip?