Thursday, January 21, 2016

One Drawer at a Time

   It is true that when you begin to focus on one area of your life, oftentimes other areas also end up being improved.  So far my sock drawer has benefited.
   Marie Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, kept being referred to in magazine articles I had been reading lately,so I decided to check it out.  I actually had to request it and be put on a waiting list at my local library.  Three weeks later I had the hot little book in my hand and was anxious to see what all the fuss was about.
  The underlying messages in the book had value even if the delivery and idiosyncrasies of the author weirded me out at different points in the book; I am not going to talk to my stuff.  One thing of personal value to me was the tackling of the sock drawer.
   Growing up, my mother tied our socks in a knot.  With six children, this certainly kept them together as they made their way to their owner.  When I was in charge of my own laundry, my socks were wrapped.  This entailed stacking the mates and pulling the lower one over the upper one so that they formed a ball.  I felt this technique did not stretch my socks so much but it still lacked something as the outer one would still stretch to accommodate the nesting of the other. The appearance in the drawer and the effort of choosing dress or sports socks were both things that could be improved upon.
   Then came Ms. Kondo's book.  Her description of folded socks easily seen and chosen from was wonderfully appealing. So I tackled the drawer.  It didn't take as long as I had presumed it would and the results were delightful.  The photo belows shows the results and also reminds me that I do not need to purchase socks for quite sometime although a pair or two of navy trouser socks could be squeezed in.
   

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Saltines Anyone?

So I begin the second full week of January ready to put a bit more into the planniing end of changing.  The seal on our chest freezer has come loose which should be expected since the freezer is over 26 years old.  We purchased it at Montgomery Wards.  Remember them?  Ah.  Something the current generation will never know.  It has served us well and moved with us five times.  It is still holding its own as far as keeping things frozen but I am now on a time crunch in using up or disposing of its contents.  I'm sure there are things in the bottom of it that will leave me wondering.
The holiday sweets are about gone with just a bit of fudge remaining and I must admit that they did not have their same allure to me this year.  Like so many decisions, adjusting one's mind really does cause everyting else to come along.
Recent articles in various news reports and journals reveal more and more the contamination of our food supply.  It serves to strengthen my resolve to eat cleaner and really look at what food I bring into my home.  My choices seem to vary each week as I keep reading labels.  I have been unable to find saltine crackers made in the USA.  They are only distributed by American companies and so we have been without saltines for over four months.  That just means that I will need to find an alternative.  I did find some oyster crackers at Aldi's that were made in the USA but a visit there last week shows only distributed by products again.  Time to get the bread machine going.  Who can disagree that the smell of fresh baked bread is much superior to opening crackers from a box?
I hope each of you are thinking more about your food supply each day.  If you find saltines made in the USA, please let me know.