DutchInLaw

Tip 1: Breakables Place breakables on a 'Awaiting Decision' shelf. Allow a child or clumsy friend to knock them onto the floor. Then throw shards in the trash, vacuum floor, and carefully wash off feet. Decision over. Award food to everyone in the room. Tip 2: Boxes of Junk Stuff box of junk under bed. Pull it out at least once a week in search of earplugs, earrings, or small children. Repeat until sick of box. Take to donation center. Do not donate small children. Tip 3: Toys Take photos of old toy to be sold online. Place toy in closet until buyer appears. Wait two unsuccessful weeks, removing small child from closet and forbidden toys periodically. Feel guilty, allow small child to play with old toy. Find small child standing on toy, about to jump off and break it or her/himself. Replace toy in closet. Apologize to husband when toy attacks him upon opening of closet. Wait one more week. Take toy to donation center and breathe sigh of relief. Tip...

Pink and white trees are blooming all over Rotterdam. Pippin and I have been to parks twice in the last week and played on the swings and slides. The sun shines through the windows and has coaxed me to pull out some Tshirts and shorts. Not long ago, my sister sent me a link on capsule wardrobes. A few days later, my mom sent me the same link. And then a few days after that, a friend messaged me with " Random question: do you do a capsule wardrobe? " Either spring fever is in the air or they've all been conspiring together. Maybe both.

One of my favorite websites for eco-friendly living is One Small Act . I discovered it when my life went through a makeover in October 2012 – new house, new city. I started chasing minimalism and conscious consumerism. I blogged about the start of the journey here . Did I have any idea how the journey would unfold, or the friends I would "click" with? I doubt it. But I'm glad I started down that road. "Recycle a piece of cardboard" It's interesting to look back at how much I didn't know then about eco-friendly living. My family had always been frugal. My mom can stretch a grocery budget further than anyone I know, and my dad was always the one to explain how solar panels or cycling crops worked. And of course I knew how to recycle, compost, and use up leftovers. But I had never really thought about the chemicals in shampoo and makeup. Or what made Fair Trade food fair. And I hadn't known that there were other "normal" people like me...

Somewhere I have a photo of an over-full sock drawer. Or I might have deleted it because it was just too demotivating. Instead you get a picture of shoes of me and one of the sock owners. It so happened that I spent nearly a year as a nanny for three adorable little girls. We had lots of fun together, and the photo is from a day when we all went to the park to feed ducks. The thing about going on an adventure is that you generally have to wear shoes.

From this... to this. From this... to this. My kitchen will be so much tidier now. And the Het Goed 2nd hand store should be rather pleased (I hope) when they sort through the stuff we brought them. Stuff that we have appreciated, and enjoyed, and are now ready to pass on to someone else who will use it more than we do. Storage issues and moving possibilities aside, it bothers me when we hold on to things that we don't use. My ever-patient husband is great at reminding me to stop and consider whether we need something before I buy it on a whim ("I think you need a lightsaber") or toss it on a whim ("It's summer - let's get rid of the fat scarves.") I'm good at questioning whether we need to keep certain things that rarely get used in our lifestyle. Vases? Ice skates? File binders? Some things go in a give-away pile; some stay but get better organised. Meanwhile, Faramir and I sit together on the couch in the...

Last week I wrote about when logic and frustration came together sweetly... and I replaced all of our mugs . I'm starting to give our bowls the Stink Eye this week. And I spent about an hour yesterday washing and inventorying all our baby bottles and parts. There's something immensely satisfying about actually taking action on a frustrating area of life. No matter how small. And I know in the grand scheme of things it. does. not. matter. that we have mismatched bowls and mugs. If we lived in a seaside cottage or sprawling farmhouse, I think it would be great fun to have whimsical mugs and cups and bowls that visitors would choose favourites from. When I visit my parents' house, I recognise the special mugs that my uncle sent to my brothers about ten years ago. The mugs sit next to The Cup that my mum has measured out ingredients in for her (famous) homemade biscuits for the last fifteen or so years. And there are new little mugs and bowls that they have picked up on trav...

I realised the other day how much nicer it would be if we had 10 or so decent-sized harmonious mugs living in our cupboard instead of  3 huge mugs 2 bitty striped mugs from a set of 4 (I probably broke 2 over the years) 6 tea glasses (I probably broke 2 or 3) 2 medium sized coffee mugs (1 was broken and got replaced, 1 was ug-gly and was given away) A few small coffee mugs are currently either hiding in a give-away bag in the cellar or have already been dropped off by Het Goed. In particular a set of tiny blue ones we bought to set up our first home together (awww) that went from 4 to 2 over the years. In other words, a hodgepodge of mugness. I don't need a perfectly matched set of mugs (especially not expensive ones, given my talent for breaking things). But I like things in my house to be harmonious, and 7 different types and sizes of receptacles for hot drinks was just too much. Especially when there are mugs, and then tea glasses, and then coffee mugs. Since the ...