decluttering.

(old picture of my kitchen ... i won't show you the upstairs yet ... lol)

today's project, which i don't want to do but must, because it's driving me NUTS: organize and clean the upstairs of my apartment. in a small apartment, keeping decluttered is KEY ... and also very difficult to do. it's easy to feel overwhelmed in a small space, so i feel like this has been my chance (i did a fair amount of hauling out *stuff i just don't need* a few months ago) to keep only what i really need. My biggest problem is i have a TON of clothes ... mainly due to always shopping secondhand. I'm going to create a pile today that I'll stick into the storage closet up there (really let's call it an attic space, for that's what it is) for a clothing swap/snacks night I'm planning for a few weeks from now. Then my goal *must* be to take less new than what I'm giving away. It will still be difficult, I suspect, to organize all my clothing around the room so it's not popping out everywhere. I have the most of clothing and books. The books are mainly organized well on four shelves or so, but in the near future i'd like to get a bigger bookcase to shelve more of them on one unit, and have a yard sale where I include the old, shorter bookcases (one of which I stole from a college dorm ages ago ... oy). Saving space. That's a future project, though ... they'll stay where they are for now.

Since I'm planning on being in my apartment for at least two more years, I'm also wondering how in heck I'm supposed to fit a sewing a area in there once I start up with that. Do I get rid of the large TV and stand I keep only for watching movies? Get a smaller TV, perhaps? once I sell the large one? I don't know. I like watching movies in the fall and winter mainly, but don't do it very often. The TV was also a gift from my parents (albeit 8 years ago) ... I may likely end up just making space for it in storage at some point and see if a smaller TV from ebay or craigslist works better. I'm now beginning to regret selling my small TV/DVD combo ... but at the time I really needed the money. With my new financial plan you've been hearing about, I likely won't need to worry about money in a pinch again. I'm just too old/smart to live paycheck to paycheck and to wing it during the months I'm not paid from school. Really, I'm done with it. I've reached my breaking point.

Another problem I have is that i save *every* document (likely a habit i got from dad) .. now i'm sure i have statements from accounts I don't even have anymore... do I really need them? I will probably put these into storage and ask for a mini-shredder for christmas. I'm trying also to get e-mail statements and e-bills for the accounts I do have currently. Better for the planet, and for my small space. I also save just about every Christmas card from my parents and grandparents .... I just know I'll want them to look back on one day. Ditto for letters from friends, brochures for places I want to go, old movie stubs ... you get the picture. Really it's just going to take some creative maneuvering/whittling to get them out of the numerous boxes/baskets they're stashed in right now into something more compact/stowed away.

If anyone has some good ideas on all this stuff ... I'd love to hear them! Meanwhile, I'll be getting creative and trying to be honest about stuff I really just don't need ......

Here are some recent random pictures.

tofu yellow curry with coconut milk over jasmine rice





homemade guac, amazing!



i also made those chips homemade from corn tortillas. i'm not sure how this is better than buying a bag of organic tortilla chips. less salt/packaging? maybe? price is comparable .... ideas?

anyway, these are simple. cut into triangle shapes, soak both sides of each triangle in olive oil, pop into a cake pan in a single layer (i did a bunch of batches) at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. take out, turn with tongs, bake another 5 minutes. they will be crispy!



recent lunchtime salad with swiss chard, masala burger (trader joe's), tomatoes, homemade OJ hummus, ground flaxseed, nutritional yeast flakes, various nuts ... etc.




this morning's breakfast: silken tofu, fresh blackberries/raspberries, agave nectar, ground flaxseeds. I can't quite get this fruity-tasting enough yet ... kind of bland, although it looks good. I'm working on it.



babysitting is fun.





sometimes, in the evening, i just randomly like to bake cookies. this is also a shameless plug for a great cookbook ... ;)








forgot to flatten the cookies ... d'oh! ... they were still delicious, however. and i finally found a use for the glass jar I had no use for: cookie/baked goods holder in the fridge! yay, it's finally off my kitchen table! sorry no picture of that (wait, you can see it on the kitchen table ... it has a heart on it).

perhaps i'll wind down tonight with some knitting and reading. i may be treated to dinner at our town's new vegetarian restaurant by my boyfriend tomorrow night, yay. and friday night will be grocery shopping (very minimal), menu planning (though most of it is already planned, perhaps i'll plan for the week after that, look through some cookbooks), watching a movie my downstairs neighbor was generous enough to let me borrow.

that reminds me, she's (sadly) moving by fall! which means i inherit her firewood stash!! yippee!!

happy me



love to you,

karen