life

SKUBB Storage Solutions

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SKUBB under bed storage

When I look back at what I did this month, one of the biggest themes will be organizing. I got rid of a lot of old storage items that no longer worked well for me. Then found new ways to organize. From adding a clothing rack with shelves, to adding bins and other containers to my fridge.

For the longest time, I’d been storing my off-season clothing in a very large suitcase that I had stopped using. The way that I stored it in my last apartment, the suitcase was out of the way and I hardly ever had to deal with it.

Where I live now, it was in the way everyday and constantly annoying me. Then I realized that the wheels of the suitcase were literally disintegrating, leaving trails of black plastic whenever I moved it. That was the final straw. Time for a change!

I needed to figure out a different way to store these items, but wasn’t sure what I needed. Within a couple of weeks of realizing this, I saw a YouTube video showing under bed storage using SKUBB storage cases from IKEA. I ordered two of them right away. What a joy to throw away that old suitcase!

Storing off-season clothing is so easy now. With all the changes I’ve made recently, I’ve actually freed up a lot of space. This makes my Virgo brain very happy!

More Than Just the Contents of My Fridge

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contents of fridge

Last week I mentioned that I was organizing my fridge and that I may share a picture after I finished. Well, it’s done. Ta da! Not glamorous, but it’s clean. Also, there’s more space and it’s easier to grab things. The storage bins work well and the cubes for soup stock are perfect.

Is this super trivial? Yup. But sometimes the most mundane things now can end up being quite interesting in the future. And the most missed. Because we took them for granted and thought they would always be around.

I’m so glad that I took pictures of Wollaston Theatre before it was demolished. There was a beautiful tree that I used to walk by everyday for years. Until it was taken down. I still regret not photographing it.

I treasure the pictures that I took of the two gas tanks and the Filene’s clock at Downtown Crossing. If you’re from the Boston area, you know what I’m talking about.

There’s a lot of nostalgia that can come up with these types of things. The last time that I took a picture of my fridge was for Pi Day, March 14, 2015. I was shocked when I saw this date.

Pi Day was one of my favorite days because it used to be a big thing with food bloggers. Also the number always fascinated me.

Three years to the day after that post, my father died. On Pi Day 2018. I’ll never forget that morning, because of all the news that Stephen Hawking died. I kept thinking that given his mathematical brilliance, it made sense that he would die on the day when everyone celebrates a number. Little did I know that my father would die before the night ended.

No matter the age or their medical condition, the death of a parent is still shocking. I was heartbroken and shocked. But my father was also brilliant and he especially loved pie. The last time that I had seen him alive he was eating pie. So in a strange way, his death on that day made sense too.

Pi Day now is very bittersweet. As the years go by, it’s more sweet than bitter. But that’s the nature of life and sometimes the nature of food. So when I share with you the contents of my fridge, it means a lot more to me than you might initially think.

Persistence

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persistence in climbing

It’s November 15th! That means I’m halfway there to my goal of posting everyday this month. Persistence prevails!

I’m certainly not wishing time away though. This month, like every other month seems to go by so quickly.  However, documenting each day adds something. Not that the time feels slower, but somehow it has more weight to it. Persistence requires paying more attention.

Today, I’m feeling better than yesterday, but still not feeling great. I ran out of cough medicine earlier and could feel a stunning reversal, but was able to get some more. Apparently the cough medicine does more to help than the tea and everything else.

Also, it’s better if I don’t speak. Once I start talking, the cough returns and I start losing my voice. So as someone was advised on The Golden Bachelor, I will zip my lip!

Anyway, I plan to get back to working tomorrow. Unfortunately, all my paid sick time is gone. I’ll make up as much time as possible without wearing myself out.

Clothing Rack Assembled!

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Whew! It’s done. Actually the assembly of this clothing rack didn’t take too long. Somewhere around an hour and a half. Which is quite good compared to the time I’ve spent assembling many other pieces of furniture.

I bought this clothing rack from Wayfair, not sponsored. I’m mostly pleased with it so far and think it looks great. I did notice a piece of wood splitting a tiny bit after vigorously tightening one of the screws. It’s not noticeable and hopefully this will last for a while.

Below are pictures showing how the rack was packaged and then all the pieces that were in the box. The instructions show pictures only, no text giving directions, but are pretty easy to follow.

There were a few pieces left over. There is a white curtain that goes in the back. I didn’t notice it when I first looked at the picture online and ordered it, but now that I look again, I see it. I don’t like the way that it looks, so I didn’t use it.

Another plus, shipping was free and I received delivery earlier than expected.

Lately, I’ve been re-examining how I’m storing things and figuring out what works and what does not. I’ve realized that I need much more closet space. I decided that my long sweaters and other accessories could be stored better. Using this clothing rack, I can see all my scarves and bags easily. And I can figure out what needs replacing or gaps in my wardrobe that I can add to.

This will definitely go through some changes over time, but it’s a start. For now, I just wanted to finish it, so that I could blog it. I haven’t eaten dinner yet and I’m starved, so that’s it for today!

Can I Be a Polyglot?

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YouTube‘s algorithm is strong. I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of videos. But it made me realize that I want to be a polyglot.

In high school, I studied French. I continued during my freshman year of college, but stopped after that. I regret not going further in my formal French studies. But it was not helping my already fragile GPA and I decided to cut my losses. I reached an intermediate level and really could have done much more with it.

Anyway, life happened and it wasn’t a priority. Over the past few years, I’ve noticed the season of my life changing and want to expand my language skills again. But my language focus has been Korean. The spring before last, I found a free online course with Coursera called First Step Korean.

The first week or so of the class seemed doable. But then it seemed like I was supposed to have already learned Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, within three weeks! Ha! No.

The timing was also not in my favor. I was in the process of organizing and clearing out my mom’s house to put it on the market. I didn’t have time for the class and decided to focus on selling the house and getting my mom moved. That process took most of my time and energy last year.

This year had its ups and downs, but things have settled down a bit. I decided to try a Korean class again, but realized that I needed a more solid foundation with Hangeul. So I found a class called The Korean Alphabet: An Introduction to Hangeul. I may need to take this class twice, but it’s a start. It’s not like I have a deadline or need to worry about my GPA.

I’ve also wanted to improve my French skills and truly become fluent. It could help with increased work opportunities and I would just like to be fluent for myself. But is it possible to study two languages at once? Especially such different languages. Is that a thing?

From watching dozens of YouTube videos, I’ve discovered that being a polyglot is a huge thing and yes, I can do it! There is a huge polyglot culture with people learning multiple languages at once and becoming fluent in all of them within just a few years.

So I’ve decided to jump in! Years fly by so quickly. It took almost a decade between when I first toyed with the idea of law school to quitting my job and doing it. I may take a long time deciding on something. But once I do, I persevere.

For French, I’ve started using Duolingo to help refresh my basic skills and get in the habit of practicing. There are three months left in the year, so by January I should feel more solid with my French. I may take an advanced online French class and/or possibly hire a tutor as well. I’m excited to see where this language journey brings me!

I’ve also decided to try again with a plant that I could never keep alive and eventually gave up on — African violets. I was over a friend’s house and she had two gorgeous ones. They are so lovely and I do so well with most plants. Surely I can grow these now! It’s been about 20 years, so maybe it’s a new season.