Have you Heard of Marie Kondo

I love to shop and acquire mementos and nesting.  I also love to organize.  Recently I’ve been realizing I need to reduce my belongings.  I was getting to a point where I started thinking I might need a bigger place… for all my stuff.  And that was the wake-up call that it wasn’t my place but my stuff that needed to change.  This was around the time that I started using pinterest and pinning wonderful photos from designer magazines and beautiful houses.  I loved the looks and it was something to aspire to.  This last year I’ve been going through every nook and cubby, doing deep dives in questioning everything - do I really need this, do I really want this, does this go with my style.

It started with the clothes.  After taking a few books out from the library in preparation for my Paris trip, I was reading about the French style for women.  The whole principle of having a small closet with a few, really good quality pieces that is your style.  I took all my clothes out, dumped it on my bed and started realizing I was schizophrenic with all the looks I liked.  I had one shirt I liked the style it evoked.  But was it really my style?  Did it even look good on me?  I did one pairing before my trip, and then repeated again in the spring, after my Paris trip.  The first shop keeper was really helpful in pointing out what colors looked good with my skin tone and which ones to stay away from.  I had another look at the closet and paired even more down.  I also pulled out only my absolute favorites and put the rest in the coat closet and packed up the winter stuff.  It was the first time I had a fairly barren closet and really stepped back and thought what do I want my look to be.  I started pinning more photos of women that I liked their style and started to get a feel of what style I was after.  Ines de la Frassange is prominent in the pins.  I have to say it’s been so much easier getting dressed and I love the outfits so much more than before.  Which is ironic since I have less to choose from but the stuff I have are within the same style and easily go together.  I’m finding new outfits every day - I was pleasantly surprised with the outfit today.

Same thing for the house.  I started taking a look at the pins and narrowed down what style I was looking for in each room.  By doing so, I’ve been able to declutter because it’s all about the look and not all stuff fit in with the look.  I went through my linens and got rid of a bunch of napkins and tablecloths and placemats that just didn’t go with the look or even with each other.  It helped as I got ready for the garage sale, going through everything and really touching everything I own and asking the hard question of does it fit in with my life today.

And then, this week, I came across Marie Kondo and her book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”.  I checked the library and there are over 600 holds and I don’t really want to buy the book new, so will wait until the initial rush is over and pick it up at my used book store.  In the meantime, I’ve been reading all the articles and blogs that talk about the Kondo method.  She’s this young Japanese woman who loves to tidy and organize and was encourage by her clients to write a book.  I’m pleasantly surprised that a bunch of what she recommends I already do - it’s good to see it in writing.  For example, she has people tackle one subject at a time and put it all in the middle of the room.  For example, me and putting all my clothes on the bed - emptying the closets and dressers and bins.  She also recommends storing everything vertically.  I already do this for many things including my dishcloths, napkins, socks, underwear which I’ve done for years and people all get a kick out of.  After reading some more last night, I realized, why stop there and followed her recommendation and refolded my dresser drawer items and they are all now vertical - from my shirts to my pajamas.  Strangely enough, I can fit in more.  But the point is to let your belongings breathe and to provide them with respect.

I’m excited to read her book and learn more and remind myself of stuff I already know and just need reinforced by an outside voice.  It’s very liberating to lessen the load and only have your beloved items around you.  I did have a hard time letting go of some of my childhood items in the garage sale, but realize now, that the items served me well when I was a kid but are no longer needed and I should respect them and let them go so they can fulfill their mission elsewhere.  I loved my old doll and it served me well and it is disrespectful to keep her boxed up in the corner of the loft.  It’s nice to think of letting go in this new way.  It served me well at the time, but does it still.  Does it give me joy, now?

The chapter I do need to read is on mementos.  I have boxes of old cards, and memories.  That I just move from room to room but don’t have the heart to purge.  She recommends tackling mementos last since they are the hardest.  So my goal is to tackle everything else and once everything is nice and tidy and there is a ton of room, I’ll pull all the boxes of memory stuff and dump it all out in the loft and finally go through the lot.  But not until I have everything else simplified.  I think it helps I’m heading to Scandinavia which also has a simple life approach so will be super inspired when I come back.

BTW, on the travel front, I’m up to 13 pounds for my backpack packed.  Granted it includes the outfit I’ll be wearing and food for the plane.  But it has almost everything other than the last minute stuff (glasses, make-up, etc).  I did decide to forgo an extra pair of pants or shoes.  Granted I limited who I discussed this idea with based on which way they would lean.  Basically, I only mentioned it to Nick when I helped him move his stuff on Sunday to my place for storage.  He agreed you can get away with not having much and can always buy stuff if needed.  Here's hoping. 

Garage Sale

It finally happened - I had my garage sale this last weekend. And I'm still sore and tired and a little bit burnt but $292 richer. 

My downstairs neighbors and I joined forces and after a false start this spring finally nailed down a date and did it. 

I'm pretty good about weeding stuff out throughout the year and then periodically making a Goodwill run. This last round I was weeding out some pretty decent stuff that I thought I could get some dough for. And so the idea of garage sale/ eBay emerged. All this year I've been slowly going through everything and really trying to reduce the amount of stuff I have. I kept oscillating between not thinking I had enough for a sale to having plenty. Turns out I had a lot. My neighbors were impressed how much I put out there. Over 30 boxes I would guess. And I don't think I sold anything for more than $10 - so a lot of little stuff. I definitely under priced and in the mad dash ended up just putting out most everything including the nicer stuff I thought I could get more money for on eBay. 

I have a little sellers remorse. On one side, underpricing stuff. But then I remind myself I had all summer to post the stuff on eBay and never did so this way at least I got a few bucks more than if I just donated it. And I now have a nice empty basement. 

And there are a few things I put out that were still in my "I'm thinking of selling this but not sure". But in the end I remind myself I have plenty and the fact that the stuff was boxed up and I wasn't using it/ enjoying it means I can do without - its ok. And soon I'll forget all about the stuff. 

And I'm a little bummed that people stole some stuff. I had given a price for a roll of vellum and an old camera I used in photography class. Two different people at different times and they thought I was asking too much but then I never remember selling the stuff later in the day and they're gone. I could be wrong since it was a crazy blur and it didn't hurt me if stuff was stolen. I just don't like being reminded that not all people are above board but so is life. 

The early birds were there - picking through each box as I brought it out. It took me longer to set up then I figured so soon they were not technically early. I didn't get to organize stuff until half way through the morning after the steady crowd died down. 

I had planned to price stuff prior but never got around to it. So everything became a dollar in my head. I'm surprised most of my shoes went and even some of the clothes. Never ended up using the change I'd gotten from the bank. Didn't even open the rolls of quarters. Nick took them the next day so they didn't go to waste. 

And the basement looks great. It's so nice and light without all the stuff. Granted nick just loaded up a corner Sunday with his stuff - he's moving in a few days and needs some short term storage.   I spent Sunday evening getting everything in order and all the boxes are gone - just several bins with seasonal storage. 

I do still have my craigslist stuff. Never got around to bringing out my furniture. But that can keep until I rest up. And I did find a few things I forgot to bring out like my steam cleaner. 

It was nice meeting all the neighbors. Some interesting characters in the neighborhood from Alice across the street whose older sister is turning 103 to Gerry who lives in the yellow apartments and is quite the jokester. I have a lot of "neighbor" discounts. Doesn't hurt to build goodwill. 

Overall most of the stuff seemed to be going to good homes. My Jenny doll and all her clothes made by grandma was picked up by another grandmother who was gifting it. And I loved that one of my favorite games, Mastermind went to a father/daughter duo. She was about ten and the dad loved the game. I shared I was giving it up because my dad won't play it with me anymore because I always beat him. So hopefully, after a little practice she starts to beat her dad too. 

It was a long day with a steady flow of traffic. At 3 we shut down. I loaded up my car with the leftover stuff to donate, put the leftover books and records on the curb and hopped in the shower before heading off to Cece's big 40th bash. I was a little late getting there after 5. Only to find out it didn't start until 7!  But jdt as well. I think if I had sat down after the garage sale I would have never gotten up again.

I was able to hang out with the family- Cece's brother RJ who I hadn't seen since the college years and of course the kids. 

The backyard/garage/driveway was transformed into a fiesta. It was like I stepped into someone's board on Pinterest. They went all out and it was a grand time. I didn't get to bed until after midnight. 

20 pounds is a lot

9/21/2015. Looks like this didn't post earlier. 

Good news - bad news. This morning I couldn't take not knowing how much my luggage weighs and I dug out our old family scale from the back corner if the basement. You know it's old when it's avocado green. 

And I weighed my bag. From what I can tell its about ten pounds. I thought it would be a lot more. Granted there is still some stuff I haven't packed that I'm still using but it also included the stuff if be wearing. 

So good news is that I'm not over yet. Bad news I'm starting to think of things to add back in. Knowing there was a strict weight limit really forced me to evaluate every little thing down to the bobby pin. Do I really need this?  Will I really use this?

My Copenhagen Apartment

I was initially interested at staying at the posh Hotel D'Angleterre

Beautiful, isn't it?  But at over $1,700 per day - it is a bit above my lodging allowance. 

After scouring the internet choking out a million options and going back and forth between hotel room or renting a flat I finally pulled the trigger and yesterday my booking went through for my very own scandanavian apartment for my trip. 

Only about $80/day which is half what most decent hotels are priced and lower then any of the budget hotels. 

It's in the posh neighborhood of Frederiksberg that has nice shopping, food and green space. And not too touristy I hope. Another chance to live like a local. 

This will be my first airbnb experience. Still need to coordinate how to pick up the keys and everything. But just went through the same thing with my Paris trip, renting an apartment from an agency and it was pretty easy. 

One thing I did find looking through all the airbnb options, I did notice a trend. The flats I gravitated towards were those being rented out by women mostly. It all came down to style. The guys would have nice flats too but would decorate them differently - bike hanging on the wall, more function and less stylish. Not unexpected but the difference was amplified on the airbnb site going through dozens of postings. 

I also did a little research yesterday and found out more about luggage on my flight. With only about 20 pounds allowance, I was thinking of ways to maximize. Specifically, wearing a ton of layers (ie, most of my clothes) and packing my pockets with the heavy stuff like converters and chargers - all the electronic accoutrements. But was worried they would make you take off jackets and extra layers and then I'd be stuck with being over the limit. 

I found out that they just weigh the bag and you leave on your jacket.  Apparently you can also add weight from purchases on the other side of security and bring a bag from duty free too. Which is good because they serve nothing free on the plane - not even water. So will need to buy my food and water at the airport which can get heavy. 

Also, there were a couple postings of travelers who weighed their luggage prior to arriving at the airport and when it was officially weighed, the scale was different and they were over. Apparently they are more lax in Europe and allow for a little over, but in boston, if you're over, your screwed - you are paying more. 

Lots of new travel experiences already!  Between the airbnb, renting out someone's personal apartment and the super budget travel were there are no extras. A far cry from my days traveling business class over seas with reclining seats, patte served on china and a glass of champaign handed out when you board. 

Traveling with Nick

Means we are the first ones at the gate!

Which is the opposite of how I usually travel. I now have an hour and a half to explore the Columbus airport after a Labor Day weekend visit with mom. 

Travel Prep

First I have to share that going into work this morning, I stole a bicycle spot. The bike racks were full so I was biking over to a railing. As I was coming from one direction this fellow was coming from the other and there was only one real spot left. I quickly snagged it and he had to drive by. You'd think there would be less bicyclists with the shorter days but there seems to be more. Everyone is back from summer vacations. 

In other news I'm excited about my up coming trip to Copenhagen!  I got this sweet promotional deal on the flight for $360. Only catch was they charged you separately for everything. I paid to get a non-middle seat for each leg - worth the extra $40. But I went cheap on the amount of luggage. I think it's something like 12 kg. I didn't really have a sense of what that related to and it basically means I'm bringing almost nothing. Just a backpack with a few essentials. It's amazing how much I've pared down. I'm still up in the air if I go all in and only bring the one pair of pants and shoes I'd be wearing. Too risky?  

The part I thought might be hard was packing for a different temperature. Not too long ago this was the weather here and there:

 Such a difference between 90 and 60. But luckily the early mornings have been in the 60s which means I've gotten rid of the sweater and cardigan. Too risky?  My thinking is that I love Scandinavian style so if I find I need something I can buy it there. 

And this morning I finally made up my mind and booked where I'm staying. I was all over the place and finally settled on an apartment on Airbnb in this cute neighborhood. I'll share pictures later. It's my first time doing airbnb but I did my research and decided to play it safe and not go for a private room but an entire flat to myself- no sharing. And it's so cheap compared to hotels. Only $567 for the week!  So that means this trip is still under $1000. How sweet is that?!

It looks like I can't check in until the afternoon but that's the nice part - because I'm forced to pack so light I'm not luging  a suitcase around - just me and my backpack. 

I'm thinking I'll get the 5-day pass for the city. It was great in Paris - probably a wash on savings but just made things easier. Lots of museums and free transportation.  Still need to do some more planning before I leave, especially since I don't think I'll be bringing the iPad. Its a little easier to plan now since I did finally decide to keep this trip to just exploring the city and maybe a day trip. I had been thinking of spending half the time biking around the country but will save that for another trip. Too much to squeeze in as it is. 

Can't wait!  Only wished I had more time between now and when I leave. I'm booked solid between my garage sale, a birthday bash and work commitments. Only proves I need the vacation!

Almost forgot - I did squeeze in a visit to get my haircut. I feel so much more European with the shorter do. 

Bicycling Year Round?

For the last several summers I've been fairly consistent and pull the old bike out and skip the bus part of my commute. Instead biking along the beautiful bike path, and a little bit of busy streets, to get to the subway. 

For about two weeks I had to forgo the bike and take the bus because my bike was needing some help. My rear tire wouldn't stay inflated. I'd be fine in the morning but come evening I would be limping along on a flat tire. Even joggers would pass me. 

On my hiatus from my bike I noticed that not only did I miss the ride but I was less healthy on two fronts. Frankly it's the most exercise I get each day. So without it all I had was walking and some stairs at work. 

But more importantly it was the mental. This summer I stopped listening to podcasts while biking and enjoyed the time with my thoughts and enjoying the beautiful scenery. It's a really pretty path and well used but not too crowded. Good people watching. 

Well, I got my bike back and O...M...G.  I had asked to fix the tire situation and figured I'd get a tune up while I was at it. Having not ever had one. I got back a new bike!  Turns out the tire was fine. The air pressure was low. They fixed things I'd forgotten needed fixing like my squeaky handlebars and fixed things I don't even know about. 

My ride is so much easier and yet I think I get a better work out. My theory was that even if things were sluggish it offered more resistance so more work out. Apparently not. 

My first day back on the path I was flying. Not only was I passing all the joggers I even passed some cyclists too. 

I should have gotten the tune up ages ago but am glad it's now. Because Labor Day is about when I switch back. It's dark biking back, it's colder and the lightness of summer on the path is gone. But now I'm on a roll, got myself a new bike light and am planning on giving it a go. Biking year round. So far, so good. 

Actually, Friday, I finally saw a bit of town night. In the past I'd enjoy the fireworks from afar (not a fan) either on the bus tie home or snuggled up at home. This time, I got to catch all the festivities, hosted on the baseball field off the path. Tons of activity with horse rides and food and games. A nice little pocket of enjoyment I'd have missed on my regular commute home.