William Morris Experiment and Cleaning

 

I am truly amazed. Right now my home is cleaner and more organized than it has been since, well, October 2010. That was when I really started the process of applying Morris's statement to my home in practice rather than theory.

1. I started separating out those items I no longer used or needed.
2. I started donating loads of clothing, kitchen items, and household goods to Goodwill once a month.
3. I started selling electronics on Amazon, alongside the books I already had listed.
4. I started turning my better clothing rejects into cash locally and on eBay.
5. I culled my huge collection of books, DVDs, CDs, and cassette tapes for donations and resale locally and on Amazon.
6. I shredded piles of papers, tossed piles of old magazines, and bought a hand scanner to scan receipts and bills.
7. I gave away and sold furniture on Craigslist.
8. I gave furniture and appliances to friends.
9. I eliminated duplicates in the kitchen, closet, and bookshelf.
10. I bought a better vacuum, a better coffeemaker, a better bedside lamp/alarm, a better printer... and then got rid of the old, unsatisfying ones by selling, gifting, or donating.
11. I improved my personal style by applying the Express Checkout Experiment.
12. I improved my home with the William Morris Experiment.
13. I improved my budget and my diet with the monthly Pantry Challenge. 

All this in eighteen months, even without any kind of master plan.

My home is cleaner in large part because I reduced clutter, meaning less "stuff" to keep clean or to clean around. The open space make me feel better, calmer and more relaxed at home. My bedroom is now a quiet, cool place to sleep or read. My bathroom is bright and cheerful with organized cabinets. My closets and cupboards are well organized and easy to use, where stored items are necessary and available. My dining room has space to have a few friends for dinner or a small group for a party. My kitchen is easy to work in and to keep clean, despite daily use. My living room is cool and clear, good for reading, listening to music, or watching TV.

What still needs work? The back patio. The car. The files on my laptop. The study. But somehow all those problem areas feel more manageable because everything else is so simplified and beautiful.

By October 2012, I hope to have these last pieces of the puzzle settled.

Friday notes & 9 in 9 projects

Yesterday's "No Spend Thursday" was a success, mostly because I was home all day. That doesn't guarantee no spending, of course, thanks to the 'net. I avoided temptation by doing my email and blogging early, then keeping busy with other tasks all day:

• laundry: washing all small rugs
• sweeping and washing the kitchen floor
• shredding and taking out all trash, including recyclables
• cooking a meal completely from my pantry: Sausage and Garbanzo Stew
• going thru my closet for clothes that need maintenance or dry cleaning (at the end of the season)
• planning my next three cooking menus from the pantry and grocery store
• cleaning and fixing the bird feeder
• napping (yes, it was necessary!)

Our Spring Break begins today, so in honor of 10 days of no classes, I am addressing two lists of "to do" tasks I've been putting off for this very occasion.

Instead of a "7 in 7" I'm instituting a "9 in 9" list, meaning 1 task per day for the next 9 days, until classes resume.

1. Get car's bumper repaired
2. Sell books, etc. to local shop
3. Deliver printers to Salvation Army (no, I never...)
4. Visit Tax Man and get 2011 taxes in (early?)
5. Put dress on eBay
6. Sign up with Habitat for Humanity
7. Contact new retirement fund for re-diversification of funds
8. Contact old retirement fund for information
9. Clean apartment top to bottom in one day

Some of these tasks will take an hour, some a whole day. No matter. Several of them center on financial resources because by the end of March I want to be done thinking about monetary tasks on a large scale.

Because I have recently re-discovered that not including creative projects is, for me, the equivalent of going without meals, here are 9 creative tasks I hope to work toward, if not accomplish:

1. finish 2nd manuscript and edit; submit to editor
2. catch up with playwriting binge, for a total of 18 submissions
3. write 5 pages/day on current play
4. read 5 new books
5. blog every day
6. exercise 20 minutes daily
7. edit 20 pages of 1st ms. for editor
8. create two creative assignments for students
9. create/design syllabus for new fall course

Again, some of these will take only a couple of hours over one day, but some will require time everyday.

The goal is to return to classes and the last 7 weeks of the semester with these things behind me, my batteries recharged, and my attitude adjusted for the long haul of the final push.

Cooking, Food Shopping, and my Pantry Challenge

Life has been so very busy that I haven't been cooking as much as I like. I am focusing on quick salads and easily prepared main dishes--and after all, I only have to feed and please myself.

Here's what I have always hated about making salads: constant cutting, dicing, washing, spinning of the different elements. Solution: I've started buying really good, high quality organic lettuce in plastic packs. A mix of "super greens" and bags of romaine hearts as the basis for twice-a-day salads. My initial concern was the higher cost--seems ridiculous, on the face of it, right? just wash the damn lettuce! I tell myself... but I don't. The outcome, however, is that it is so easy to grab a handful of clean greens, chopped romaine hearts and dump them into a big bowl, add cherry/grape tomatoes, snap peas, chopped celery, crumbled feta, and either a half-can of tuna or a sliced hard-boiled egg. And whatever else is in the fridge.

How stupid was I?

Ok, I am all over that. The outcome is a great lunch for me at school twice weekly, plus at home ease.

Once cooler weather comes I want to start playing with slow-cooker soups again. Mostly beans, chicken, and beef, plus vegetables, using homemade stock or organic boxed broth.

This week I cooked:

• Black bean soup, with organic pork sausage, onion, garlic, and thyme
• Chicken breasts rolled around roasted red pepper strips and goat cheese
• Salmon with Old Bay and lemon

Because of my low-carb diet, I am not cooking breads, cakes, or anything like that. In other words, my flour, sugar, and various cooking supplies are going begging. One pantry shelf is completely full of these supplies, while I waffle about what to do with them. My constant notion: cook cupcakes or cookies for my students. Love the process, give away the results...

Saturday: Cooking from the Pantry Challenge

I am hip-deep in the Pantry Challenge. I am soooo tired of having a pantry full of stuff I am not using. This month, it is use it or donate it to a food bank.

With that in mind, I finally used up the last of the whole-grain pasta I had. I bought an eggplant last weekend--which emant I had to find something to make. Usually it is ratatouille, but I wanted something new. So I  finally settled on a similar dish (isn't everything sort of like ratatouille with eggplant?): eggplant, tomatoes, capers sauteed together with garlic, pregano, and thyme over rotini... or rive, or chicken strips, or pork tenderloin, I suppose. Easy and delicious.

I also cooked up the two last pieces of skirt steak in my freezer, with frozen/crockpot white onions in butter and bacon. The cholesterol banquet was off-set with broccoli and green salad. Simple sautee'ing in butter and olive oil of pieces 4 oz. or less--satisfies my desire for real beef without being a bacon-avocado-Swiss cheese-burger.... oh, yeah.

Actually, having a fridge full of ready-to-go salad and cut-up vegetables, favorite fruits, and yogurt is a cblessing! Simple dark chocolate, cold water, and cut-up lime and lemon wedges are bonus.