New Frugality and Becoming Clutter-Free (Repost)

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

Morris is one of my personal heroes, and I have this quote hanging in my home office, brought directly from Kelmscott, the William Morris home in the Cotswolds.

This quote alone has been making me think deeply about the many, many things in my house right now... and how some of them need to go to a new home. My second donation of the month--donated to the thrift store for a fund for breast cancer survivors--is growing and growing. Thus far, my 6.5 digital crockpot, my old canister vacuum cleaner, kitchen bakeware (including cookie sheets, pieplates, and a springform pan), 3 rolls of Contac paper, 4 pairs of shoes, purses, clothes, sheets and pillowcases, and a lovely beige throw are in the mix. In addition, I am getting 7 items out of my house and out of my life, back where they belong (7 in 7).

This entire exercise has made me realize that I own three of everything... "Just in case." The funny thing is that my taste makes me buy the same things, but I either forget I have two already or simply think I need three, all evidence to the contrary.

The energy that has come out of getting things out of my life has been tremendous and surprising. As I have said, the incoming new possibilities are also exciting. I am determined to spend the next several months paring down, donating and selling and throwing out. My goal is to create breathing space in my life and to get myself unstuck, in a variety of ways.

This has also been helped by commiting to the Express Lane Checkout Challenge: wearing only 15 items from my closet, not including outerwear, shoes, accessories, and lingerie. Week Two and going strong.

To get specific about my New Frugality, I also hope to generate some monies from selling clothes, books and media. That's Part II of the plan, which can't be initiated until I feel more energy and self-generated movement beyond simply bundling up and dumping off stuff.

Unfortunately, I can't say my spending habits have been exemplary during this month. I will have run through the saved money in my primary savings account by Friday, sadly. Next month I hope to have some left over to move into the secondary, long-term savings account. We'll see. I did make some changes already, paying myself first, by scheduling a transfer of last month's saved grocery monies, etc., into my long-term account as soon as the paycheck comes in (see counter at right); this puts my long-term saved at nearly half my goal.

Beyond that, November means:

• creating a budget for weekly grocery buying, including planning to take advantage of gas discounts from a favorite grocery chain;
• commiting to emptying out the pantry of beans, rice, canned vegetables
• commiting to emptying out the freezer of broth, soups, frozen vegetables
• limiting my eating out/drinking out events to Sunday breakfast, Tuesday dinner, and a weekly drinks with friends

It also means starting to pay down my two remaining credit cards in a serious way, putting me on a schedule to be debt-free of one card by April 2011, and of the other by May 2012. Given that I also plan to stay in Big D over the summer, writing and researching while teaching two courses... I might even get ahead of that schedule. Specifically, by the time I teach at Oxford again, I will be debt-free with savings.

3.2.16: In the spirit of clutter-free and recycling, I am recycling some of my most popular posts from the early years of this blog. Yes, I still have and believe in the Morris quote, I am still recycling items out of my house (this week: clothes, kitchen items, makeup brushes, magazines, books, and health & beauty items given to my students!). While I will never be a minimalist--lightbulb!--I am determined to have 25% less "stuff" in my closets, on my bookshelves, and in the huge plastic tubs that store... things. How about you? Any great stories about decluttering or recycling out there? 

Top Ten Items in French Pharmacies... well, my 10 anyway

Recently I have been reading a lot of "top 10 items" under this particular heading. The interesting part is now that we're all global and everything, these items are more or less available without having to step foot in a French pharmacy... which is a shame, to be honest.

I love shopping in Paris pharmacies and Monoprix cosmetic sections.

My favorite pharmacy is everyone's favorite: City-Pharma at 26 rue du Four. Here's the Yelp review. Why do I love it? Um, the prices (which are even better than Monoprix prices), the madness of the customers inside, and the variety of wacky stuff I can buy, including organic teas.

This place is NOT for the faint of heart. French women push and shove and call you names in an attempt to get around in an admittedly overcrowded store on two levels, where the aisles are barely wide enough for one skinny Frenchwoman, and there are 300 of you.

Make sure--if you go--that you hit both floors, the organic/vitamin area, and the baby product areas. Have a list. Be polite but shameless. Look into other women's baskets to find out what they are buying and what sales items they've discovered.

If you cannot take this (and you'll know in about 60 seconds whether you can), go to Monoprix. Many of the same products can be found there, again at bargain prices, and it is rarely quite so gladiatorial. Here is an article with City Pharma but two other suggestions; there are pharmacies all over Paris: wander in and browse. It is education!

My top 10 favorite products from City Pharma or any Parisian pharmacy include:

1. Crealine H2O from Bioderma. This micellar water removes makeup beautifully and is recommended by models everywhere (well, then!). Recently, US brands have caught on to this: don't be fooled. Also, I recommend the sensitive skin version (pink cap) but there is also a version for acne-prone skin (Crealine Sebium H2O) that I use (green cap) that smells faintly cucumber-y but works for my skin.

2. Vichy's Purete Thermale 3 en 1 is also a makeup remover, a milky, soft-smelling cream that removes eye makeup including mascara (without stinging), general makeup, and acts as a toner. One tube lasts forever: worth every penny, because it leaves your skin feeling silky and read for nighttime moisturizer.

3. Avene Cleanance is a moderately priced and very gentle but thorough cleaning gel. I use it every morning in the shower, and my skin loves it (I have combination skin, and I've over 40). It never makes my skin tight or flaky, and I can use it with my Clarisonic without stopping everything away. the regular size bottle lasts me 5-6 months. No nasty smell, either.

4. Avene Cold Cream lip balm. This is my go-to lip balm any more, and I've tried the Caudelie, Nuxe (stick), and multiple others. This works when my lips are wintry-flaky, dry from heated air or sun, and cools as well as heals. Now, it does nothing for you in terms of color or shine, but it is not waxy or sticky--a bonus, in my opinion--and last long time.

5. Nuxe Reve de Meil. Now, this is the Cadillac of lip balms. The version in the pot is much, much better than the stick, and feels oh so good going on. Tastes good, smells good, lasts a long time, and if you like pots (I get irritated with having sticky fingers), this will make you happy. I do recommend it if this is the version of lip balm you prefer. Beats everything America's got.

6. Nuxe Creme Fraiche. This is my everyday moisturizer for day; I started using it about eight years ago when I was having real trouble with flaking and dull winter skin. It has been the product I've used longest on this list: cannot live without it. If you need something slightly heavier, the Creme Prodigieuse is that one--I have used that too. Yum. Reviewers sometimes get stuck on the scent of this, which is definitely personal. If Creme Fraiche bothers you, try the Prodigieuse. One jar lasts me about 3 months. Both can be bought on drugstore.com.

7. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. I am obviously a big fan of the Nuxe line. Love the dry oil phenomenon? Nuxe was doing it with this way before everyone decided to jump on the bandwagon. And it has Vitamin E. This can be used on skin, hair, face... and smells great. It also comes in a version with gold flakes in it, but I go with the traditional. I use this on the dry skin on my arms, neck, décolleté, and it never makes me feel greasy, slick, or messy. Drys almost immediately; I often put it on in the morning right out of the shower, then finish putting on primer and moisturizer on my face, and by then I can dress and the oil doesn't track onto my clothing. If you;ve never tried a dry oil but were thinking about it, you might really love this one.

8. Elgydium Toothbrushes. Ok, this may sound crazy, but my dental visits have been much better since I started using these toothbrushes. No idea why. I pick up a year's worth at a time. Maybe I like brushing my teeth more with a toothbrush from Paris? Who wouldn't... and they're dead cheap.

9. Topicrem Body Lotion. I had read about this body lotion on multiple websites and lists, and finally bought a bottle. Ooh la la, yes. It is all that and more. Love it! Plus, simply inexpensive but again works on that nasty winter heated air skin that makes me itchy and twitchy. I am finicky about body lotions--both smells and textures--and this one passed both tests. I like the light, not cloying scent that fades quickly and doesn't overwhelm my perfume. I also like the light, melt-in-quick texture. Great to wear to bed, because I don't wake up with lotion-slick sheets.And a bottle lasts a long time.

10. Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk. This is another item that shows up on everyone's list. And deserves to. It is great for that second-day had you don't have time/can't wash (and Frenchwomen do not was their hair every day, n'est-ce pas?). Spray or squeeze in, brush out and voila! You're gone. Again, a nice, light scent that doesn't overwhelm. And by the way, the entire line of Klorane shampoos, conditioners, and hair products are fantastic--and come in sample sizes, if you want to experiment.

I haven't even included the great line of sunscreens from La Roche-Posay Anthelios, the Caudalie Beauty Elixir (big fan!), the Avene Eau Thermale sprays, the Homeoplasmine balm, Avibon Vitamin A cream, and on and on. Or cosmetics! My favorite lipstick comes from Monoprix's (now defunct) Miss Helen line; the in-house cosmetics are just as good (better?) than those by the name brands Monoprix also sells.

When you go to Paris, visit some pharmacies and try the lines by Vichy, Nuxe, La Roche-Posay, Caudalie, Klorane and other French brands. Or most of these are available thru either drugstore.com or amazon.com. Have a little splurge and see what these "top 10 lists" are all about.

Book Review: THE WARDROBE WAKEUP by Lois Joy Johnson

Midlife Martinis: Thinking about style from the middle of your life, looking out.

 

 

My impulse is always be wary when someone touts a fashion book for women over 50. Over 40, in fact.

Why?

Because the 40+ version of fashion is usually eerily similar to the 18+ version of fashion, with slightly older models in the photos. There is still a tendency to show skinny jeans, miniskirts, bare arms and throats aimed at bodies under 120 lbs., fitting between sizes 2 and 6 and over 5'7" in height. And barely acknowledging the difference between a woman 18 and one two decades older.

Women who are over 40 have several different life, body and taste issues about fashion. Like:

• teenagers and managing family time with big kids, including the variety of social and parental events.
• careers moving toward high powered management or jobs used to bring in a second income
• bodies that are in or moving toward menopause, gaining bulk in the middle, that need more maintenance to remain fit.
• skin that's losing its luminous, taut quality or gaining brown spots or lines
• more money (in some cases) due to higher salaries or less money due to college and aging parents. 
• a closet full of clothes that need maintenance, don't fit (due to shifting body weights), and are enough out of style that one can feel dull, if not downright frumpy.
• time spread across the house, the husband, the kids, the job and personal stuff.

Fashion editors in magazines for "older women" think we have lots more money... like LOTS more money as disposable income for beauty products and procedures, designer fashion and shoes and bags... as well as LOTS of dress-up opportunities.

News flash: we don't have more disposable income that is lying free, we don't have fashion-forward careers where we need $1200 purses, we shop at JCPenney and Chicos and Target but rarely in department-store designer boutiques, and most of us shouldn't be baring arms, legs, backs, chests and throats.

My advice: forget planning for the few and far-between CEOs and female lawyers/execs/fashion editors. This is the problem most ex-fashion editors have in writing these books. The only people they mingle with are other fashion editors, designers, models and the rich. Those of us who spend time at grocery stores, kids' theatre performances/baseball fields and car washes don't consider a "nude pump" as the most essential basic in our wardrobe.

And what about the women who wear scrubs, uniforms and other "business-ordered" wear? No need there for expensive designer work clothes, which is the primary focus of these books.

Instead, "real women" need advice on weekend wear that doesn't include mommy sweats, date night/special event wear that can hold up to at least a year's worth of use, and casual wear for brunch with girlfriends, running errands around town and PTA-meetings. And that can be fixed/bought/maintained for about $100/month or less.

THE WARDROBE WAKEUP by Lois Joy Johnson has some good ideas about the basic stuff of clearing out closets, using tailors to fix owned items (rather than buy new) and finding a new style as a "mature" woman. But the pictures found in this Huffington Post review prove my point: the images aren't bad, but the models here are all wealthy, slender, chic with puh-lenty of time for high maintenance styles in hair, skin, nails, and fashion. And thus they are as impractical for "real women" in their 40s or 50s as images in SEVENTEEN magazine would be.

Check out the review and the slide show: http://huff.to/ZprTUu  You might feel differently.

Spammer

Uh, oh. Somewhere in my travels around the web I picked up a spammer advert bug, one that hooks onto words and creates embedded ads. Cleaning out my laptop as well as my posts.

What a crazy week! First some kind of stomach bug that kept me home for two days this week, then a return to sinus/allergy troubles (one the active stomach bug was vanquished). The washing machine has been out of commission for over a week (waiting on a part) and just today got fixed.

Piles of dirty laundry await, about two days worth of catching up.

Other than all that, this week has been fine. Students are doing excellent work, house is in better-than-usual shape (despite laundry), and I am all over my own work.

And yet I have to ask myself why I feel "not great"? My first, probably right answer: mid-winter blues and a lack of exercise. I am conscientiously taking my hormones and vitamins, but have resisted all impulses to get out and walk, use my yoga videos or classes, or my in-house Gazelle. Or My U's state-of-the-art gym, which is unfortunately filled with students night and day.

It is literally time to step up.

• January's resolution was to fix my money issues (still in process!).
• February's resolution was to de-clutter my house.

However, I think it is time to get cracking on March's notion to focus on exercise and movement. A couple weeks early, sure, but I have a pretty strong feeling that will make a huge difference in my attitude. Frankly, the biggest benefit I get from walking, for example, isn't in my bottom but in my brain.

2013 Resolution Bunch #4: Health

Health: mind, body, spirit & general well-being.

This is so not new. Sigh.

Let's just be specific and man up:

• Lose 20-30 lbs (2-2.5 lbs/month): huge difference overall in every way.
• Start adding 30-40 minutes of exercise four times weekly (yoga, walking, biking, cardio).
• Increase endurance and general physical strength.Lower LDL to 105 or lower without medication.
• Add laughter and meditation every day to decrease stress.
• Take my hormones regularly -- like everyday -- to sidestep depression and keep myself on track.
• Write regularly (everyday) to make myself feel better.

The whole LDL thing last year was a wake-up call. I need to improve this, as well as my overall endurance and well-being. This will also simply make everything else easier.

The best I feel is when I spend time in Paris. I walk, I eat better (less sugar and no processed food), my stress is lowered and I am happier. Sooo... make that real here in the Big D?