Cut-out and move forward

It was no surprise to me that I had a lot of paper in my house. The majority of which is bound and beautiful, beautiful books. What I had forgotten — probably on purpose — is how many back issues of magazines I had.

My house had become an archive of Real Simple and it was a real mess. As we packed up and I got exhausted I would treat myself to a little down time. Just me, my Xacto knife and back-issues. I got to re-read some issues and discover the items and articles I really wanted and not feel a need to hold onto anything else. Recipe I wanted to try? Cut-out and move forward. Inspiration photo? Cut and and more forward. So on and so forth.

I created a bunch of file folders for magazine cut-outs.

You can't see it very well there, but I have a slew of options:

• Recipes To-Try (the keepers get moved to the Household binder)
• Party Ideas
• Household Tips
• Beauty, Fashion & Health
• Gift Ideas

So, in an effort to avoid repeating the RS habit from the old place, I am doing this on a month-to-month basis. Currently I am only subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens but I miss RS and will probably go back soon.

At the end of the month, when I know the new issue will be winging its way to me any day, I sit at my dining table and re-read it, carefully cutting out anything that catches my eye. This month I used scissors instead of an Xacto knife but I highly recommend the latter to avoid snagged and torn edges for a full page removal.

I come prepared with Post-It notes (I like the small pad made of recycled materials best) so I note why I was struck by something. In this case I knew I wanted to paint the mailbox a bright orange for my Oriole loving husband. Bam! Here is the perfect color so I can remember to pick it up. Plus, a little complementary color action if I fall in love and want to use it elsewhere. 

Once I've cut-out and tagged everything, they go in their folders or on a bulletin board et voilà! I can take the rest of the magazine and recycle it, knowing I've gotten what I wanted and my house isn't going to become all the more cluttered!

 

And don't forget a delicious drink to cool off! That's my seltzer water with a bunch of frozen berries —
better and tastier than ice!

But, I can imagine someone thinking

But what about the things that don't apply now but might later? Problem solving tips and stuff?

That is the joy of the digital age, my friends! So many major magazines now offer a digital version as well as a paper. Heck, a lot of them will give you both with one paper subscription. So if later down the road I think, damn, I remember there was a BHG tip about wobbly fans in June, all I have to do is flip open my e-reader. SO simple and clean!

Office Maximum Theory

One room in the house has not had a lot of time devoted to it and that is our home office. With all the major living areas this room has been on the back burner despite the fact that this room will serve many more functions than most.

Cons:
James is just finishing up teaching and the last thing he'll want to do think about it work.
Houseguests are going to be roaming the downstairs and the office is out of sight, out of mind area

Pros:
If we nail it down now, come fall when we're both back in class, we will have a functioning space with most of the bugs worked out.
Being able to easily file new house hold documents means we don't immediately fall behind this summer
Lola really likes the room so we get to spend more time with her (Chloe is non-plussed about it)

I think the Pros have it. But to be completely honest the main reason I started in on this room yesterday was because a friend wanted to use my laminating machine.

A quick note about the laminating machine: It's one of those things that I have always wanted — ever since I was a kid. The same is true of an overhead projector. I used to play school as a kid and imagined projecting and laminating. I also used to pretend to own a stationary store which probably says a lot about me. So, do I do a whole lot of laminating? No, not yet. I have a lot of plans for when we have kids though. There are some projects that the laminating machine will be ideal but that's a different day.

 I was so embarrassed by the large stacks of boxes, milk crates and detritus that I ran upstairs and started tidying. Luckily, I made my first trip to the Container Store on Monday (!!) and had some new pieces to help me organize and pull the room together. I absolutely lurved that store, by the by. I feel a little bad about talking up a big box store but it's the truth, it was really fun and nerdy times were had by my mom and I. I picked up a few items there, carefully restraining myself for both budget and necessity of items  ("Do I really need this incredibly attractive organizer that in no way reflects my lifestyle outside of the design aesthetic?"). I did, however pick up these gems:

This guy was being discontinued so instead of being 24.99 it was only $11.57. I saved more than I spent, $14.42! Also, note the autographed Tom Baker photo beside it! (My best friend gave it to me a few years back and I love it!)

I store copier/printer paper in plain white and my laminating sheets. We have orange 8.5x11" and 1" grid 8.5x11" paper as well, but I store them separately (see below).

This dude jumped right out at me because I love the aesthetic of International Symbols. I have a love of airport signs and transit maps which will begin to show later on as I talk more of my office. I couldn't decide between this one and it's brother. More often than not I have recycling to get rid of in here and not trash, but since these cans are only  $4.99 I will probably go back and get the other to designate as a trash can and keep this guy as recycling. (Recycling day is tomorrow which is why the can is so full, PS.)

   
I store the other paper types in the black magazine file. Next to it is our Household Binder and and Instruction Manual Binder. Of course these seem very boring compared to the GIANT TARDIS behind it! Another Doctor Who gift, this time from our former roommate. 

Our office is going to fulfill numerous tasks (including allowing us to perform ours).

• Store files and paperwork
• Store supplies and house electronics
• Be a home for my art supplies and occasionally fill in as a studio
• Display some of our favorite collections (particularly Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Orioles memorabilia)

That's a lot for one one small room in a rowhouse but I think with enough planning and patience we can knock it out. 

So, the Expedit in front of the Tardis is the "File, Print, Laminate" station. Next to it is the "Design, Code, & Typography, Photo Storage and Stationary/Mailing Supplies" Station. It is temporarily home to my Star Trek books (many of which were a gift from a best friend as well, I'm pretty lucky in the nerd friend department!)

That small bag that seems out of place is my set of D&D dice.

Along the other walls we will house my Art Supplies as well as James' Teaching supplies (textbooks, portfolios, etc.) This will also leave us with spaces for his Orioles collection. I suppose it will be one wall of his belongings and one wall of mine, hmm! We've never shared an office space before. The other office was rarely used and primarily mine. But now we're married and sharing is what you're supposed to do, right?

I may even use my wall to house my Tolkien collection which has not been unpacked yet because it needs to be just right. Perfectionism is incredibly debilitating.

The Long U-Haul is Over

We are finally finished moving and the relief is palpable. It's not quite on par with the wedding being finished but watching "Bridesmaids" this weekend reminded us how great it is to be on the other side.

We learned a lot during this move, mostly about clutter and the fine art of culling. I am resolved to do a major clear out at least twice a year. As much as we love this house (and boy do we!) we are renters and the possibility of having to move will remain on the horizon, in a looming Big Bad Wolf way. And although it's unlikely we will clear out to the point that all we have can fit in two duffel bags, we can try to make it a one-day affair.

The three week move did not go as planned, at all. We got lazy, I can admit it. After several days of small hauls we felt accomplished and soon rested on our laurels — embarrassing but true. By the last day I think we both would have preferred to burn down the old house and salt the earth afterwards.

Lesson learned, and although we did not burn down the house (oh, David Byrne you just took up residence in my brain) we are finished and a little wiser. I have a lot to do in the next few weeks but my priorities are as follows:

• Unpack (obviously)
• Donate a large portion of our possessions that we have not used in ages. 
• I have a box by the front door that is over-flowing with knick-knacks and clothing we know longer need/want.
• Create a new chore schedule — print out and laminate for display in kitchen
• Pare down clothing — risk an angry husband by enforcing the removal of most t-shirts
• We can use our plastic tub for winter clothing storage now!
• Catalog all of our books
• Mail thank you notes from the wedding (once I find them in the boxes of the office :/)
• Get back on the meal planning horse 
• Begin exercising and tracking food again 
• Plan our reward for all the hard organizing and cleaning: housewarming party!

I'll take some photos of our progress tomorrow and there will be clutter, oh yes, there will be. But, that's how moving goes!

Book Review: World Without End

It wasn't until last summer that I got around to reading Ken Follet's 1989 novel The Pillars of the Earth. An 816 page saga set in the shadows of a Cathedral being built during medieval English civil war.

It was a great book to take to the hospital while Dad was unconscious for three weeks. That may sound crude, which I don't intend at all, but my father of all people would understand being sure to have a book with one during long periods of stress. 

I enjoyed Pillars a lot. That said, it will never be in my Top 10 Desert Island collection or my I Insist My Husband Read This list. My problem with the book was the characters were very much Good or Evil. One character was the hero: more clever than anyone, broad minded and well-intentioned. The other character was spindly, narrow-minded and determined to progress only their own means. Not a lot of grey area there.

The other issue was the Awkward and quite common eroticism. Do not get me wrong, I am by no means a prude and enjoy a well-crafted sex scene as much as anyone — mayhaps more than others, even — but the scenes in Pillars were, to borrow a phrase from a friend,

"like reading a dirty novel for forty year-old women bought in the grocery store"

I suspect this is how many folks feel about Fifty Shades of Grey which I have no problem not reading.


But, this is not supposed to be a review of Pillars but of the 2007 1024 page follow-up, World Without End. The thing is, it's almost the same book just 200 years later — in the same place, facing similar architectural woes, and incredibly familiar-feeling characters who face human failure and the brutality of the social hierarchy and who are in fact related to the protagonists of Pillars.

I read all 1024 pages quickly because it's a Potato Chip Book. One can read a bunch of pages in one sitting without realizing it. And this continues to happen day after day, most of time you can have only a few and get one with whatever really needs to be done that day. But then, at bedtime you end up devouring half of a bag and realize it's late and you feel a little greasy but still almost like you've accomplished something.

 

Did you see this project? I think it's fascinating and 

I have definitely been a data point of poor late-night eating. MassiveHealth.com

In the end I will probably not read any more of Follett's work, he has eight other novels currently in print, because although it was a nice snack I want something better, meatier and more satisfying.

Find nearby library copies of: The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and the rest of Follett's catolog.