Instead

Begin this year I lost my gym ball due to a push pin on the ground. I have been looking around for months for a great deal. The irony that I found the balance cushion on sale with a pump included. It's something I now sit on and step on. It's great basically it massage and makes me move around in small movements. In a way I am always moving.

Even now when I sit behind my desk, I am stepping on the cushion and my whole body moves a little bit. It's something that is great for people who have to sit for long hours or aren't able to sit still. I just love it. And that I can use sitting and stepping on it is makes it a multi-functional product.

Now, I have to look for two items to donate or throw away. Perhaps, I'll report it in a future post.

Constant Reminder

Yesterday I posted a picture of our common dumping ground. Years ago I would have thought that a organized house should always be clean. The trip from a commoner to a minimalist made me realize that there is a difference between organized and clean. Our dumping ground is for example only for cleaning, washing and fixing things. It's really organized but disgusting in my own opinion.

Personally, I find that the spot is a constant reminder of what it shouldn't be and that it's okay to have a little bit of clutter. As long it doesn't take too much time to scrub things clean. If the whole house is organized, clean and decluttered except for that one spot, it's not that bad.

Having a little playground gives me air to breath. It's not just a reminder it also motivates me to clean other places up. After organizing the dumping ground I immediately threw the recycle plastic away. I also made sure that there was another hook mounted in the kitchen. Because of those ugly things I am capable to activate myself to actually do something.

It's strange but a little bit of disgusting organized spot is a constant reminder/motivation.

This makes me Sad

Disgusting, that's what this place is. I really dislike it and it pains me to see it like this but this is a common place for my mum to dump things. You can find all our liquid detergent here, three bottles, the fourth one is not ours but is resting here. Two WD40 spray bottle, I love it for my bike and windows. There are a lot of things double because I try to buy things on sale. It's one of the reason we have three bottles detergent.

There are 4 spray bottles, two Dasty, one Sun and one old Dasty bottle with a solution for all cleaning purposes. I never use the Sun bottle because our normal dish soap does the trick for almost everything. If not, let is soak overnight and the next day it's easy to clean. We use the Dasty for almost anything, from stains in clothing to oil residue. I try to fill up the smaller bottle but in the end I am still stuck with two of them.

Vanish and Robijn are also detergent but things I don't use. I force myself to separate dark clothing for the two bottles of Robijn. I just don't like to waste and it just washes fine. Of course the Ariel is easier to use cause I don't need to look at the color or anything. The pink cup hasn't been used frequently because there isn't really stains on our clothing and the Dasty is just so much easier for clothing, just spray it on.

Cif is a bottle used by my mom for cleaning the oven and cooking area. I have a washing machine cleaning solution and a bottle of Crofty if the drain is stuck but usually I don't use these things. I just use the washing detergent, Dasty and all purpose solution.

I don't buy any cleaning supplies as you can see because I am quite fond of the things I have and use. I try to limit ourselves because it's just not useful. I dislike to waste things especially if I know it works but it isn't needed. I mean Vanish is an overpriced item but it was free, just like the black clothing detergent. The situation of having more than I need is such a burden.

Plastic Water Bottle Tree

For those who have been reading this blog knows that I take my own water with me if I go out. It results in this bucket with chopsticks holding the bottles up. The thing is, it works well, really well. I only keep a fraction of bottle now, instead of having a lot of in a plastic bags. There is one thing though, it takes so much space and it's unpleasant to look at. 

It has been bothering how it looks and how small things get into the bucket. Plastic is a real pain in the *ss when I have to clean in the kitchen. Cooking grease in the air loves to stick on plastic and it's really difficult to clean it. So it was time to think of something else, the idea has plagued my mind for a while and now it's time for some action.

The solution is simple, glass bottles. My nephews comes around almost every week and leave their diapers and food at the house. So why not use their food bottles to solve my problem. Glass is heavier than plastic and can counter the weight of the bottles. I cleaned the bucket and threw it in recycling. It's just one of those things that if I don't throw, my family wants to keep it.

As you can see just, a minimal of six bottles are put on this bottle tree. It can fit more. Most of it are just 0,33 liter and fits easily in my pocket. One huge bottle of 0,5 liter is for family trips or whatever. We rarely use these huge bottles because it's heavy if you fill it and a small bottle per person works.


I think the end result is stunning and a huge improvement compared to the bucket. The caps of the bottles are in a small plastic container just next to it. I make sure that they always match. I don't use these bottles endlessly, from time to time I buy new bottles and switch them out.

It makes me happy to look at it and it's a job well done!

Scattered

One of my drawer is meant for all my electronic equipment, except stuff that I use frequently with my laptop. So a few days ago I even said goodbye to my beloved Sansa-player. It has plaged me for ages that my beloved player didn't work as it used to. So I decide that if it didn't do the trick anymore it has to go, even if I love it so much. I just reset everything and dump it in the donation pile.

Next thing that I added is my PSP-player first generation. It is my first and only handheld I bought during the holiday. It also holds a very nice memory from that time. The red white plastic is a box made from used shampoo bottles. I put the cords from the PSP in it and next to it are all the games I have.

I expect that this drawer will fill itself eventually. While cleaning up and finding other electronic devices, it has to go in the drawer. Of course, beforehand I have to decide if it still up to my current standards and if I would use it. Though it's scattered for now, in the future I will have every useful electronic devices in one place.

Questioning myself

After questioning myself with what I want to do behind my desk and what kind of situation would be personally fitting, the picture shows the end state of my desk. I asked myself if I was content with the situation before, my answer was negative. Then what would be the ideal situation for you. I don't want to loose something again and have to put time in it to find it. I want my desk to be clear of distraction so I can work for long periods. It has to be easy to clean, as I dislike spending my time for cleaning. Conclusion is that I have to many stuff: stationary, papers, letters etc. I have to downsize if I want to achieve my ideal situation. A little bit clutters makes it look human and not a showroom in a furniture store. So what kind of clutter may rest on my desk. Easy, everything that fits between my wall and blue elephant. It's mostly scratch paper for writing small pieces and notes for others. 

Next thing is that my laptop rest on top of the drawers. Do you see the black sticking out, that's my laptop. I always unplug it from it power source and put the mouse mat on top. My mouse goes in the top drawer. What I love about the current situation is that the middle drawer is empty. I threw something away and store stuff in an other bin and it's empty. I really love the fact that it looks so nice. These past days whenever I visit the desk I have a very good feeling. Things around you should give that effect instead of making you avoid the place. 

But how do I maintain this situation. I had this before but then the whole desk was empty. I think that totally emptiness is a problem of mine. I was to hard on myself and it didn't work. Just a little bit clutter isn't a huge problem. I know that it's impossible to store everything whenever I sit behind my desk. This situation is much more realistic, making room for small errors makes it possible to maintain the current situation. 

By asking myself how I see it and how I prefer it makes clear what my demands are. It's also a guidance towards how to organize stuff. Questioning myself has showed how I want things to be and be resolute with decision making. 

The idea moment

I have a tablet to write things on, it's just a great thing but I don't use it frequently. So what happend is that it's just sitting in my drawer. I bought the tablet to write characters on the pc but I have learned an easier way to do that. So I only use it for editing pictures or photo's but it lays so ungracefully in the drawer that it pains my eyes.

I tried to use small bags but it looks so ugly that I almost gave up on doing something against it. Until I took a break to put some stuff in their respectfully home and saw my e-reader and it's protection sleeve. The sleeve was supposedly bought for my tablet as in touch screen but considering I don't take it outside I used it for my Kindle. Unfortunately, the size differ and I don't take it with me a lot of times.

The sleeve is made from a stretchy material so my writing tablet fits nicely in it. Those moments of clarity only comes to my mind if I am not focused on it. There is a saying about players on the field don't see the game as clear as those off the field. It's so true, in my case.

Small instructions

I find being green very important and one of the ways, is lessen my paper usage. So whenever I can, I try to print on both side of a page. My current and older printer don't support that function, so I always has to put an x with my pencil just to see how it prints. 

Last year we got a new printer for the family. I figured out that it prints on the upside of the paper. So I stuck a post-it on my board to remember myself if I print or copy something. What happened is that my cork board fell from the wall. I had to pick everything up and saw that it wasn't a smart idea to put such vital information only on display for myself.  

Instead everyone who uses it should know. So I found in my clutter some unused labels and copied the content from the post-it and stick it on the machine. Most of the time when it's not used the flap for the paper is closed and you wouldn't see the small note/reminder. I also folded one corner under the label itself. So if I recycle or decide to sell it, I don't need to scratch it off. Just pulling it up with the help of tweezers or a ruler should do the trick. 

These small instructions may seem useless to a frequent user but for someone who doesn't know these things or not use it that often, it's difficult to remember. It's just like asking directions when your lost. 

Missing it

Few months ago my clothes hanger in my room broke and I tried to glue it back but in vain. Basically I haven't bought anything to replace it. I just used the hooks but these past months I had relearned the bad habits of trowing my clothes on my bed and the radiator.

It took a bit to see how I got back into a situation I loathed. I realized that I do need to do something about it. The clothes hanger made sure that I always put my pants and clothes back on it. Without it, I just trow the clothing around.

Fortunately, I still have one clothes hanger in the attic that I bought for my siblings. Just getting it down to my treasure room will hopefully change the look in my room. Hanging my PJ on it instead of tucking it under my covers is so much nicer.

Unlucky

Last week I bought a smartphone that was awesome in my eyes. I had waited for two weeks to a price drop, a price that I find reasonable. The criteria for my next phone would be:
- dual sim
- 4G LTE
- 'long' battery life
- no Android

First of all, the phone should be dual sim. I use a prepaid sim card and that works. I don't need to pay monthly for a subscription that I don't use. The downside is that with it, I don't use internet on my phone because of the costs. Also I use a Lyca sim to call aboard, contact family and friends, that's the reason that I want to have a dual sim function.

Technology is constantly changing and with it the support of different frequencies by telecom companies. Currently 3G is the most common way to support internet on mobiles but in the near future I suspect that 4G will be rolled out in more places and eventually will replace 3G. For a person that is nice towards her devices and expect to use it at least 3-4 years it has to have 4G LTE.

Also the fact that I run out of battery is something I dislike. Nowadays every university has made a better battery but it takes time before those inventions/methods will be used in consumers products. So I expect a huge battery in my phone.

No offence Android, I love your PlayStore and the possibility to personalize it but consider that a lot of devices don't get an update every time they roll out a new version of the software, I decided to choose something else. My Galaxy SI900 for example didn't get an official update after it has been released for two years. I am fortunate that a group of people were so kind to share their software and allow the device work for another three years.

So in the end I bought a Lumia 640XL DS LTE at least that was in the specification. In the end it turned out it was just a Lumia 640XL DS 3G. I was so disappointing and pissed. I had done my homework before buying and even called to confirm if the product supported 4G LTE. So within a week I returned it.

I really felt unlucky, I did everything to assure to get what I want but it wasn't enough. Now I have to look for a new phone again.

Goal in Sight

I am getting closer to the lifestyle that I desire. Today after diner, I got all my stuff from downstairs back up. All my own personal belongings, things that aren't from others, just mine own. I just used one bag to get it all in the attic. It's not a hassle at all, compared to the past there was so much bags that I need to use to get it back up.

It's a measurement of how much I changed in the past few years. It wasn't long ago that I had to walk multiple times up and down just to get everything organized. Today, I had that 'ah moment', all the work in the past few years helped me get so organized around the house and rest.

With that knowledge in mind, I am planning to get rid of more things. There are still a lot of things around the house that needs to be done but I want to choose for myself. I want to again decrease my belongings. With the stuff already in the attic, it should be an easy task to let another portion go.

The situation that I am in encourage me to face the stuff and tackle it. Just like any other day. When the goal is in sight I only need to pick up a little courage and sprint.

What happend

It's been awhile, almost two months. I had totally no inspiration or no internet or the right attitude these last past months. I did made pictures for a new storage item and how to make other things but never got the mood to post it.

At the beginning of May, I visited Lille in France. It was awesome and I enjoyed the bath in the hotel which I don't have at home. I got to see new things and taste french cuisine. My French is terrible and that makes communicating with locals very difficult considering that a lot of French don't like to speak English.

I also made some day trips to Belgium and that was fun too. I wanted to visit a shop that is known for it pot roast and chicken but the shop was being taunted by doves. They didn't clean up the table out the front and the doves went to dig in. My mom saw that and was traumatized by it and that's why we didn't eat there.

And the most fun part was in the middle of May when I lost my internet connection. It was terrible, not because I can't live without but my family couldn't, I got those complaints every day. That's why I went to my sister place to download every drama which they normally watch for a whole week.

But back to the present, this morning I cleaned up a cabin in the kitchen that I rarely touch but it looks awesome. I regret not making a picture of it for comparison. I made all those bag stand up and got rid of things that expired. Just one package of making dutch soup, which I wouldn't eat.

I made sure it looks neat and there would be storage space left. I didn't stack everything up and was thinking ahead, there will be sales product in the near future which I would want to stack up. I think tomorrow will be another cleaning day but it really depends.

I am very happy when I just read my last post and saw that it was about donating and I just have a huge pile of donation ready to go. It means that in a short span of two months I am capable of getting rid of extra stuff.