Category Archives: Personal

Too Many Suds

By Claire Posted in Clutter, Personal, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , ,

As I said last week, there are too many choices in our first world, and that creates clutter.

So now, I need to follow my own advice.

The other day, I was in the basement when I noticed a couple of packages of soap on my supply shelves. (I keep supplies and canned food in the basement because of limited space upstairs.)

I’d forgotten I had that soap. It was just a basic brand from the dollar store, but it’s still soap, and it will do its job whenever I remember to bring it upstairs and use it.

Did I forget to use soap in the shower? Am I hygienically challenged? No, quite the opposite. In the bathroom upstairs, I have several bottles of body wash in the shower (I use them interchangeably, depending on my mood), plus more in the vanity cabinet, and quite a few bars of soap in the vanity drawer.  In fact, I clearly have more body wash and soap than five women could use in a month. But why?

Because there are so many choices.

The soap I found in the basement is just plain old soap, not white jasmine, or sweet pea, or rose hip and patchouli nurturing nectar, as I actually have in the shower right now. But if I came in hot and sweaty from gardening, that basic soap would do the job just fine.

Years ago, I used to visit my great aunt and uncle, who spent their summers in a three-room cottage in rural Michigan, not far from Lake Michigan. They had an outhouse, but no bathroom. On the outside of the cottage was a shelf with a metal bowl and a white bar of soap. You filled the bowl from the nearby pump, and washed up in that bowl using the white soap. You dried off with a nearby towel. Simple.

My great aunt was a happy, lovely woman. I don’t think her life was diminished each summer because she had no body wash, no shower gel and no shower. She managed just fine.

I think I can learn a lesson from that.

A Flexible Spare Bedroom

By Claire Posted in Clutter, downsizing, Personal, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , , ,

After a lot of thought, I finally figured out how to make the most of our spare bedroom.

It’s not a large room; when one of our children lived there until they moved out and got married, they packed that room with a bed, flat-screen television, small dresser, end table and chair. Add the many posters and mementoes on the walls, and that little room felt like a closet.

After the wedding, it became a spare bedroom which was rarely used. The bed offered a place to display my quilts as I made them, but more often than not, other things soon covered the bed, like presents bought but not yet wrapped, household items we received as gifts but couldn’t find a permanent place for, and the excess of library books that I sometimes bring home.

When I decided that the room should be used more often, I turned it into a sewing room by bringing up one of my machines and the table designed for it to sit on. This worked well, but with the bed and dresser still taking up valuable space in that room, it was pretty cramped, especially whenever I was actually sewing and needed to set up the ironing board.

Last winter, I became tired of reading and writing only in the living room. I wanted another space where I could read or write in silence, or talk on the phone when my husband was watching something on television. So out went the bed and the dresser, and now the little room is uncluttered, with just the sewing table, a cozy chair and ottoman, a small end table on wheels, a small cart on wheels (holds sewing supplies) and a floor lamp. As a result, the room gives off a very peaceful feeling.

This past week, a relative came to visit for several days. We put our double-decker airbed in there, and she was quite comfy. I had packed up my machine and its table and put them in the closet, so some open space remained.

Next week, a few of my grandchildren are coming to stay. The airbed turns into two single beds, so we’ll set up those beds and the kids can sleep in there for several nights, with Grandpa and me right next door if they need anything during the night.

Then, after they go home, my machine will come back out and I’ll be back to work on my quilts. This room is now quite useful, and will continue to be so, IF I continue to keep clutter out of it.

Digital Fast is Extended Indefinitely

By Claire Posted in Personal, Simpler Living Tagged , , , ,

My recent and ongoing digital fast has really opened my eyes to how technology can add virtual clutter to your life. But what does digital fasting have to do with decluttering?

What I’ve learned over the past month is that being addicted to technology, and in my case Internet surfing, keeps you from doing things you enjoy. With the best intentions, you buy more yarn…paint….garden plants, and then struggle to find the time to work with those things because you waste too much time surfing, or checking up to see what people are doing on Facebook, because of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Future projects pile up and supplies you’ve bought sit collecting dust because you spend too much time with your phone, tablet, or laptop.

While I’ve now discovered this for myself personally, I know of others with similar struggles, like the hoarder who lives in a mess but is constantly checking people’s Facebook and Instagram to see what new clothes they’re wearing or what they’re buying for their house now. Then she orders those new things online; they’re soon delivered and simply add to her houseful of clutter.

An Internet addiction, whether the sufferer is a news hound like me, a Facebook addict like the hoarder I know, or even a gaming or Pinterest lover, eats up enormous amounts of time that would otherwise be spent keeping up with other pursuits, including those that create clutter if you don’t follow through with them. This is one more way people end up with closets full of fabric, tabletops covered with books and basements packed with craft supplies.

In addition to the clutter those things create, we miss out on the fun we could be having with those items. There’s a peace you get from creating and finishing things that cannot be matched by satisfying your FOMO….and news junkies like me definitely have FOMO.

This experiment has led me to decide to stay off Internet news sites for the foreseeable future. After a month away from them, I feel very uninformed, and much less stressed. Best of all, my garden is in great shape, I’m reading a couple of books a week, and I’m having fun with a couple of craft projects that I may actually complete before long, now that I’m not spending so much time online.

Digital Fasting Continues

By Claire Posted in Personal, Simpler Living Tagged , , ,

So it’s been two weeks since I banned the Internet except for work and email. It has been much easier to do this than I expected. As I hoped, I do feel less stressed, and I think it’s because I’ve had more time to do things I need to do.

The mornings have been particularly different. I usually sit down to breakfast and surf all of my favorite news sites. That takes a while. But since the ban, all I do is check email. So I’m getting the breakfast dishes washed sooner, I’m getting the laundry started sooner, I’m able to run errands earlier….it really does make a difference.

I’ve started reading books again. I’d forgotten how pleasurable that is. I’ve had time to work around the house, work on my writing, work in the yard and still read for fun and relaxation. It’s been many years since I could do all those things in one day, and I realize that my Internet addiction is the main reason for that.

I should point out that I don’t have a smartphone, by choice. So as long as I keep my laptop closed and limit my tablet use to checking email and the weather, I haven’t been too tempted to surf the Internet.

As a result, I’ve decided to add another week to my Internet ban. For sure, I want to get the rest of the annuals into containers, and I’ve got a couple of sewing projects that have been calling my name. Then, once I catch up around the house, I have a book that I’ve been writing that needs to be completed.

As for Candy Crush, I may pick that up again, but only at night when we’re watching a DVD. I’ve crocheted enough dishcloths these past two weeks, so I’m ready to put down the crochet hook and pick up my tablet. But if I get stuck at a level for too long, I may give it up again. I’m finding that time is too precious to be wasted on a device.