Content related to Home Repairs, Projects, and Crafts
The term “Sentimental Items” can apply to pretty much everything in my house, which means that as I continue to tackle “Miscellaneous,” I can also hone my skills on what Marie Kondo has referred to as the hardest category. This post examines why it’s so hard for us to part with things in general and why I hold on for (maybe) too long.
Miscellaneous items make up the largest category in Marie Kondo’s tidying plan, and from what I can tell, that basically means everything in our house. There was no way I would get through everything Miscellaneous in one week, but I really thought I’d accomplish more than just the bathroom closet. There will certainly be more work to come after this eight-week challenge is over.
Papers are where my hoarding tendencies come into play, and the pile I assembled at the beginning of this week rivaled my mountain of clothes in Week 2. It took a lot of time and energy to make it through everything in this category, and I’m aware that although I’m already at the halfway point, it’s only going to get harder from here.
No, Marie Kondo never said you should limit yourself to 30 books. She wants you to keep what makes you happy, and for me that was most of my books. Although I kept most of what I already had, it allowed me to reacquaint myself with my collection and inspired my husband to go through his books. He was a little more merciless than I.
I have never gotten rid of any of my clothing, ever. This first week of sorting through my belongings was emotionally exhausting as I battled my own hoarding tendencies to part with perfectly good clothes that I’ve owned for decades. On the bright side, I can fit all of my clothes into the storage space available for the first time in my life.
Eleven months into quarantine, and despite my best intentions, I still haven’t started any type of cleaning or home improvement projects. With the COVID vaccine (hopefully) bringing an end to social isolation soon, I need to get cracking! Although I tried and failed with Marie Kondo’s method before, she has developed “an eight-week calendar of bite-size tasks to guide you through the tidying process.”
On this, the second anniversary of Radical Moderate, we will be looking into the traditional second anniversary gift: cotton. It is one of the most widely produced textiles on earth, with farms spread across multiple countries. Unfortunately, it usually requires a lot of land, water, and chemicals to produce. This post will look into consumer options and how to make the most responsible wardrobe choices.
After a month of immersive research into various lifecycle impacts of aluminum, steel, and asphalt shingles, we have come to a decision that incorporates product affordability, energy efficiency, ecological impacts, and recycling feasibility. I am confident that we made the best decision, and I am looking forward to the fact that I won’t have to think about roofs again for the next 50 years.
One of my favorite grad school projects was identifying and quantifying the various resource and energy inputs needed to create everyday items. While trying to figure out the break-even point between multiple disposable coffee cups and one reusable travel mug, I became hooked on trying to understand the factors at play in each decision I made moving forward… and the quest continues with my roof.
Having spent five years running a home health and weatherization program, I am every contractor’s worst nightmare. I ask tough questions and don’t give an inch. Energy efficiency and health are inextricably tied, and I have seen how cutting corners can jeopardize health. Fortunately, making professional energy improvements in conjunction with getting our new roof will more than pay off in the long run.