Likewise. A friend once asked me why I'd walk out of a bad movie and "waste all that money" I'd spent on it. I replied that I'd rather waste money than time and money. It's the same thing for items I don't need cluttering my life. I'd rather have wasted the money (and in most cases we got some use, so it's not really wasted, than continue to have wasted the money but also be wasting the space and effort to clean around or make room for the item.

I don't know what percent it is, but I've definitely seen it. There are a lot of unschoolers in our area, and while I've seen some fabulous unschoolers who really do amazing things, I've also seen some where unschooling may be more nonschooling. If you tell me about how your child's math education is through Minecraft, I'm going to side-eye you a little! I also regularly hear that "kids will learn it when they're ready," and "they can learn all the math they need in just a few months once they get interested." I'm not convinced that really works as well as the people saying hope it will.

Most of my memory usage is taken up by photos, so keep that in mind if you might end up taking a bunch. One of my most useful apps is Wunderlist. DH, DS, and I all have it on our phones, and we're all signed in to the same account. We keep lists on it--shopping lists for several stores, lists of things to take on an upcoming trip, a list of things for the handyman to do the next time he comes, etc. The cool thing is that whatever one of us adds to a list, shows up in everyone else's app the next time they open it. It's super handy for grocery shopping! Other apps I haven't seen mentioned: a newspaper app a calorie-counting app a weight-tracking app apps for specific stores and/or an app to keep track of various stores' reward cards

Um, what? Does this mean what I think it means, or is it a typo? Was I really the only person who did a double take at this? And to answer the original question, I try to keep our bedroom neat, but occasionally the chair in there ends up with clothing piled on it. One of my jobs for today is to clear that off and hang some pictures in there. I refuse to just stash stuff when guests are coming. It drives my husband crazy, but I insist on actually putting stuff away where it really belongs even though it might take a little longer in the short run.

I have a MacBook Pro from 2011 that has 16 GB of memory. It originally had 8GB, but I added more after having performance issues that showed RAM maxed out. My laptop is fine for my purposes at the moment, but it's not blazingly fast any longer. We're currently looking at adding a second Macbook Pro to our family's computers. My inclination is not to get the new Retina models and just get the basic Macbook Pro. However, that basic model only has 4 GB of memory, with an option of going up to 8 GB. Am I right that either of those would be a big step down from what I currently have? Or is there some new thing that makes the smaller amount more efficient? Even the more expensive Retina models only offer up to 16GB of memory. My current laptop still maxes out occasionally, so I definitely do not want to buy something that will be too small to last for a few years. The new computer will be used for DS's schoolwork (online classes, word processing, etc.), games, and for some of DH's work (multiple windows and applications open at once). If you are more knowledgeable about these things, could you explain what we need? Thank you!

It's funny. I've been thinking about what you wrote, and I agree with everything you said. I just get stuck on the idea when it's one's own spouse. I really don't care what other people do with handmade gifts from me. Though I would hope they'd enjoy them, it wouldn't bother me if they got rid of them. The exception is my husband, and I think that's what I was reacting to in my first post about this. I'd really hope that my husband would understand that I would be hurt by him tossing a hand-knit hat from me into the charity pile. Anyway, I rescind my earlier comment, which was rooted very much in my own individual circumstances.

Could you do something like this? I did it in several of my kitchen drawers, and the dividers have held up perfectly so far.

Do you knit or crochet? I knit, and I would much, much rather that someone ask me if I'd like my hand-knit piece back than that they give it away. I spend lots of money on nice yarns, and it takes many hours (more often days or weeks) to knit most of the things I make. I would hope that my husband would know how long I work on each item and how much love and energy go into it and not just throw it into a charity pile as if it's the same as a $5 store-bought acrylic hat. I know some of my other knitting friends feel similarly, and clearly Slache and Rainbird felt this way too! By all means, declutter what doesn't spark joy. However, it doesn't have to be done insensitively to the feelings of others who gave hours of their life to make you a gift. Just say kindly that it doesn't work for you or you don't find yourself wearing it as often as you'd like and ask if they'd like it back!

I think this may be one of those cultural things too. Japanese homes tend to be much smaller than North American or even British homes, and actual hanging closet space may be at a premium in many homes there. If you only had a few tiny closets, you'd probably fold more things. If you have an expansive closet, then why would you not hang things if that works better for you?

That would really bother me. All of my doctors here send copies of my lab tests or a card saying everything was normal. I would not want to assume that not hearing meant no problem. Too many messages go astray.

At least he boxed and labeled them? I find all kinds of crazy things that DH saves--disgusting old toilet seats that I insisted be replaced, worn out washer hoses, and every, single, extra screw that has ever come with anything we've ever brought into the house. When I ask him why, he insists that they might be useful. I'm forced to overrule him on some of those matters because we cannot save every random piece of garbage that might someday be useful.

I don't know why I've never folded my underwear before. I folded everyone else's, but I left mine to sprawl in a pile of silken wantonness. That pile left me pawing through it every day, looking for a "good" (i.e. comfortable, right-sized) pair! My mission for the day is to weed out the pairs that I dislike so much that I will hand wash and iron dry a different pair to avoid them. Those pairs clearly don't give me joy and yet have somehow avoided all my other forays into KonMari-ing my clothing!

I have a row of pegs that I installed on the back of the coat closet door. My purse goes there. In fact, I keep a second, smaller purse there too, so I can switch to it easily if I want to.

So, you're saying that none of us is really safe from our DHs bringing home snakes. It could happen to any of us! Eek! I must admit that he does look much less threatening next to the penny, but it doesn't totally absolve him of his inherent snake-iness..

Ditto to what everyone said above, and I also wouldn't take the new prescription back to that pharmacy. Call your state's pharmacy board and find out how to file a complaint.

Um, what kind of work does your DH do that makes him able to bring snakes home from work? I'm feeling very appreciative of DH's non-snakey job right now!

I just browsed through there. I completely agree with you about the afters. The afters look like they should just be a midpoint, and there's still way too much stuff for almost all of those places to look restful and calm to me. To me, it looks like most of the posters there are organizing a bunch of clutter. I think that's what I like about Konmari--that kind of stuff doesn't spark joy to me (it sparks anxiety!), so it wouldn't have a place in my home. It does spark joy for some people, so some people would have it. Either way is ok because the results depend on the person doing the tidying. There's not just one acceptable way!

Heat is supposed to be very effective. It sounds like you're doing things the right away. We haven't had them (knock on wood!), but I always worry about picking them up. We all strip and shower after airplane trips, and all our luggage and clothing from the trip goes into large garbage bags until I can "bake" them all in a heater we got for that purpose. DH thinks I'm nuts, but I'd like to avoid them if possible! They do have some sort of sticky trap that you can set under bed posts to help detect infestations. Maybe that would be helpful for reassuring you that they're gone after you get heat-treated? There is a bedbug forum somewhere where people share their experiences trying to get rid of them. As for telling the neighbors, we have neighbors who did tell people. I don't know if it was the right thing to do or not. We don't have the kind of relationship with them where we go to each other's houses, but if we did, I know I'd still be worried about it. On the other hand, I don't think there should be such a stigma around them, and the only way that will go away is by talking about it! :grouphug: Hugs and courage to you!

Beautyberry (callicarpa) is another plant that is interesting in winter. It gets very striking purple berries that are quite unusual.

Witch hazel, camellias, daphne, sarcocca are a few that spring to mind. All of the above except for the camellias are fragrant winter-bloomers. They all grow well in Seattle, which also has low light levels in winter. Daphne has been the trickiest for me to grow, but the daphne odora varietal has such an incomparably lovely fragrance that I find it worth replacing when it succumbs to too much wet, clay soil. It supposedly like well-drained soil, but it will survive for several years when I plant it in a mound. Sarcocca has very subtle flowers but they have a lovely, light fragrance. It blooms approximately December-February. Certain varieties of camellia will bloom in winter, though the blossoms of the double varieties are particularly susceptible to blight. I think the single varieties are hardier from that perspective and tend to bloom earlier. One that we've had was called something like Christmas because that's the time of year it bloomed. Witch hazel is the only one that I mentioned that is not evergreen, but its lovely fragrance and early blossoms make it worth having, in my opinion. It will bloom on milder days starting at least in early January, possibly December.

Wow. It's fascinating and horrifying to me how different norms are in different areas. I live in a very upper middle-class area, and I see tons of kids walking around starting at about age 8. Neither my DS nor his good friend from the neighborhood has ever been asked why he's out on his own--even when DS has been going to the store for me during a school day. Lots of kids do get picked up at the elementary school, but plenty of kids walk or ride bikes as well, including kids in the primary grades. Our local middle schools provide public bus passes to kids who live too far from school to walk but who aren't served by school buses.

I wouldn't have before you asked, but now that you've gotten me thinking about it, I would. It's different than random dirty laundry. I suspect as a housecleaner it probably only takes one bad experience to make you wear gloves religiously for the task. Most people's sheets would be ok, but I can easily imagine touching something, um, shall we say goopy, on someone' sheets. :scared:

What works for you will depend on your feet. Clogs are good for a lot of people with foot/ankle/back problems. Dansko is a common brand, and the professional line has more width options. They are supposed to be looser than regular shoes, but they should stay on without any work on your part as you walk. I think clogs are often helpful because they have no flex/give at all to the soles. The rigid soles definitely help my foot problems because the problematic parts don't move nearly as much as in other shoes. For soft, cushy, amazingly lightweight comfort, I second the Skechers Go Walk recommendation. I picked up a pair at a TJ Maxx-type place, and I couldn't believe how light and soft they are. They're so soft and comfy that I'm willing to overlook their "old-lady" style. Ecco has also been great for me for walking shoes/boots. When my feet have been really bad, I always go back to my clogs because they are the most comfortable at that point. I wouldn't wear them to go for a long walk because they're too heavy, but I don't go for long walks when my feet are acting up.

I just got a new LG one, and so far I love it. I also saw the mixed reviews (which I found on all brands), but then I read somewhere that LG quality had changed dramatically for the better a few years ago. I also read that a big cause of premature failure on front loaders was excessive detergent usage. I gathered that powdered detergent is better for them than liquid in general, and a very small amount is best--like a tablespoon or tablespoon and a half. I've been using that with my new one, and the clothes are far cleaner than they've been in years. It's shocking really! (Supposedly too much detergent contributes to corrosion on something important.) Oh, the other reason I chose LG was that I read a lot about water temperature being important. I ended up getting one with a steam function, so I could be sure that I could get a load very, very hot when needed. The other brands I looked at didn't have the same high temperature available at the same price point.

I've met a few who've done the class instead. It seems like that's a really easy way to qualify. It sounded as if the class is just one session for a couple of hours.