Needles & Pins

I haven't done any book reviews in a while so I thought I'd write this up.  It's Tokyo: A Certain Style by Kyoichi Tsuzuki.  It's a very small (4.25" x 5.75") volume about the tiny apartments in which people in Tokyo live, really it's a photo book with lots of short paragraphs about the types of people that live in each space.  I'm very fortunate to have a apartment that's fairly big for a single dweller, but there's a lot of unusual things in this book that anyone can use if they need ideas for storing and stacking their possessions.  For folks with minimal square footage at their disposal, a lot of the subjects of this book are not what you'd call minimalists!

I got this when I worked at Reading Frenzy years ago, and you can still get it at Powells, but it looks like you have to order it.

This has been a strange week.  I've been feeling a little wistful over an event that is related to the big picture of what's happening with me.  Also for many days now I've been having some fucked-up dreams, I only remember about half of them and I'm not sure where they're all coming from.  I am getting up earlier in the morning than I used to though.

On another bright note, my job hunt is turning up more leads than ever.  Everything I do is for a better tomorrow.

Helpful for you, maybe...

I have been glossing through some more reading on the my favorite subject, and it's still not the best use of my time.  Toss, Keep, Sell! by Leah Ingram was good for people who want to make money from things they don't need anymore.  I didn't really need it, because I've been using eBay and Craigslist for years to sell things I don't want.  These are good outlets for a lot of people to get a little extra cash, but it  bothers me that people are making a bundle telling other people that there might be gold hiding in their cupboards and cellars.  I've sold I don't know how many things over the years and I can tell you that it also takes a lot of time to do it.  Especially if you are learning how it's done.

The other book I had was The Complete Idiot's Guide to Decluttering by Regina Leeds.  I liked it a lot, I think it's a great guide for someone who doesn't know where to begin.  It's methodical and breaks the job down room by room, and then each room is categorized into smaller spaces.  It's a smallish book, unlike other Idiots' Guides I'm used to.  I'm embarrassed to be seen in public with this kind of book, you see, so it's nice to be able to conceal it.

I've also got a book from the Real Simple series of lifestyle books, all about cleaning different things in the home room by room.  Things like electronics, appliances, rugs, you name it.  This book also goes room by room.  Unfortunately I don't have the title or author info right now.

Drudge Report

I spent a big part of today shredding a pile of old checkbooks.  Also I'm figuring out what I need to keep from a big pile of computer books, boxes, wires, and random parts.  Salvation Army will be here next week to take away some furniture.  I can see more and more of the floor in my computer room!

I found at least two sketch/notebooks of Dylan's.  He used to draw in all kinds of random notebooks that he had handy, and keep story and interview information in them.  I am keeping them together to share with our friends if they want to see them.  I still keep a lot of random bits of paper that he wrote on, as well as other ephemera of his that doesn't have a specific category.  I've been saving these little things in a special file for over a year now.

I have to confess that I've been leaving the basement alone more and concentrating on the upstairs area, partly because it's so cold and wet out and I've got heat upstairs.  For an unfinished basement though, mine stays fairly dry and free of mildew.  Right now it's becoming a little more of a catch-all for things I find upstairs that need to leave the house soon.  I've hit a little bit of a wall in the basement too, because some of the furniture down there is just waiting to come upstairs when I make room for it.  Which is exactly what I'm doing.

I tried reading Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post Consumer World, but it was really off the subject of what I meant to study.  I'm not even sure how I found it at the library.  I did learn how to slaughter a chicken humanely from this book, but it made me glad I'm getting more vegetarian.  There are so many pitfalls that I'd feel more sorry for the bird if I had to take it apart.  I'd end up making it inedible.

Fitzrovians' first book review

Today I'm reviewing Simpler Living : a back to basics guide to cleaning, furnishing, storing, decluttering, streamlining, organizing, and more by Jeff Davidson.  It's one of the books I took out of the library the other day to give me some hints and inspiration for my tidy-up procedures.

I'll start out by saying I don't consider myself a minimalist by any means.  I like stuff.  "Simpler" living is my goal, but I can't live the Shaker lifestyle.  And don't get me started on feng shui.  I think feng shui, according to the popular wisdom of modern interior design,  is like the unicorns I used to draw when I was in fifth grade.  Some of them had wings, some had rainbow horns, some had beards and some had tiny, dainty feet like ballerinas.  There is no one feng shui.  It has become a magical concept variously interpreted by contemporary weenies that was adapted from actual ancient lore.

That said, I think that Simpler Living isn't bad, but it's kind of overwhelming.  It has simplifying ideas for everything!!!!!  The title alone should be a hint that simplifying isn't so simple.  There are a massive amount of bullet points for every idea.  On a side note, I was also disturbed by the inclusion of a (non-captioned) photo of a basket of toys that included three teddy bears and two Gollywog dolls.  WTF?

I want to keep reading about this subject, for the same reasons as before.  I said once in a previous blog entry that this subject has become my version of porn. 

Thanky-doodle

It's Thanksgiving day and I'm waiting for my sister and her partner to come and get me so we can converge on other family members in a third location.  I wanted to check into my blog while I have a minute.

I only remembered a few days ago that I haven't really consulted any books about cleaning or organizing since I began this struggle.  I've looked at a few websites and recalled some common wisdom but haven't taken an academic approach to this thing yet.  I went to my library's website and put a couple books on hold to get started:

1. Leeds, Regina.  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Decluttering. 
2. Davidson, Jeff.  Simpler living : a back to basics guide to cleaning, furnishing, storing, decluttering, streamlining, organizing, and more. 

I already had 13 books on hold so I couldn't add any more after these two.

I don't think I'm going to learn a lot of surprises.  I really just want some inspiration.

Speaking of which, here's a show I really liked that I don't think is on anymore: How Clean Is Your House?  It originated in England, and then it became a program on American cable with the same two sassy ladies.  I know mine isn't even close to what they've seen, but right now it's in a state.