Thoughts on purging

This summer taught me an important lesson in how much clothing I actually need.

All summer long, I wore a pair of New Balance sneakers and a pair of footbed sandals I bought from Kohl's last year. I also wore two pairs of shorts and two pairs of capri pants with a rotation of 5-6 T-shirts.

Also, I found "the bra" that I love. It is a Bali front closure bra and I had bought 4 of them when I was in the US last year. I keep rotating those. The underwire broke in one of them just recently. I have many more bras that I am no longer wearing. Why keep them?

Earlier this year, I set aside several pairs of work pants that I thought I might need when I lose some more weight. Now that I am working part-time, I realize, all I need is two, may be three pairs of pants and some tops for work. I have three jackets that I do actually wear. So, I will go through work clothing  again and part with most of them.

I also have many many many pairs of socks and more than enough jeans for the Fall and Winter. I have tons of shirts, turtlenecks and T-shirts as well. I will purge quiet a bit there too.

I found two soft capri sweatpants that are now too big for me which still have the tags on. I have decided to make them pajamas utilizing two tops that are too big as well. Pajamas need to be comfy after all.

I can go on and on but, to make a long story short, I have too much to purge. I also need to buy some things such as a pair of work appropriate shoes for the summer, and casual winter boots. I intend to get them during my trip in the US.

Off to purging I go!

Pocketbooks / Handbags / Purses

Gill, over at That British Woman had a recent blogpost "What do you call this:"and that inspired my blogpost title today!

I have called these things handbags for years because that was the first dialogue in my First Things First Book by L.G. Alexander when I started learning English in 1977. Happy memories...

Then having spent too much time in NYC area, I started calling them pocketbooks and meanwhile I knew that they were also called purses. Oh boy!

Anyway, as I have mentioned yesterday, I have looked at the bags I had on hand and decided to offer three really nice ones to my sister.

I am keeping one nice looking fairly new, barely used Anne Klein bag for myself along with most of the small bags that I know I use. Most of them are from T.J Maxx or Marshalls and some are brand names like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren , Etienne Aigner and etc. I am sure I have purchased them well below USD 30.

I am going to offer the cleaning lady four bags. One has never been used and real suede, quiet beautiful. It is not something my sister would use. She is very particular about bags that she likes.

I am keeping two bags for sentimental reasons. One was a gift from my dad from a business trip from Germany over 35 years ago. It is rather small so, I never used it very much. That is why it still looks new. The other is a gift from mom, a nice leather bag that I want to keep.

A lot of women would change their bags in accordance with what they are going to wear the next day. I am not one of them. I have currently been using a small backpack for months now and my sister made fun of it when we were all together recently. She teased me saying that I was using a 5 buck backpack and at my age wasn't that kind of embarassing! I told her to shut up because I was also wearing 180 buck (new Balance 990s never come cheap) athletic shoes with it. Lol! Actually with today's exchange rate, that bag is well below 5 bucks...

After sorting through the handbags, I have decided that I am not buying any more for at least 5 years. If I rotate what I own well, there is no reason to buy a new one. If I keep on using the 5 buck backpack till it falls apart, make that 10 years!

Yesterday was a nice, warm day and today it looks like winter is back. If someone says there is no such thing as global warming I will strike him on the mouth with my slipper (idioms sound pathetic when translated).

Do I need Marie Kondo?

Despite the cold, I guess Spring must be in the air because, I feel like decluttering. There are so many items that I do not use just staying and collecting dust or taking up space. After all this is a two bedroom, one bathroom 940 sq.ft. apartment.

I watched a couple of episodes of the Marie Kondo Show. Some people have enormous amounts of stuff and I consider myself lucky because I am nowhere near that. I do have things that serve no purpose other than having sentimental value. For instance I have 4 model sailing ships my father had made and painted. There are also a few earthenware things that he painted. I have received some serving dishes that I never use. I just cannot get rid of these. They spark joy I guess :) If I had to throw away everything that didn't spark joy, perhaps I would need to empty the apartment. My idea of feeling joy is very much different than Marie Kondo.

I got rid of an old lamp and an old silly hat plus half a garbage bag of stuff today.

Part of my problem is I do not usually put things back in place after I am done with them. I had a serious look at the kitchen countertops and the living room and confirmed this. So, I attacked those areas and I am almost done. I think I have an hour more work. While I put things in place, I am also dusting. After I am done, I will vacuum the apartment.

Before taking a shower, I will take care of the bathroom and my apartment will look nice again!

I have also discovered that, the cleaning lady is not doing such a great job dusting. I will tell her the areas she keeps forgetting. She comes every two weeks and I know it is not enough but that is all I can afford. I always tell her that windows do not need to be washed every time especially in this season. Instead she can do a better job with deep cleaning and dusting but, she always washes the windows. I guess it is easy and can be easily seen so that it gives a clean feeling.

May be I should sit less on my butt and dust and vacuum the place on the weeks she does not come.

Hopefully the shower doors will be installed on either Friday or Saturday. It was supposed to be either today or tomorrow but, reading One Family, One Income, I know contractors never deliver on time.

Off I go to complete my chores! Have a great day!

How many pairs of socks does one need?

My sock drawer is so full that I have difficulty closing it. It looks like socks are coming out of my ears. How did that even happen? I have to sit down and put that in order. It is driving me insane.

Why do people do this to themselves? Honestly how many pairs of socks are enough?

I also found that I have way more nightgowns and pajamas than I need. I always keep a couple unworn ones just in case I need to be in a hospital. Other than that, how many do I really need? There are two drawers full of them. Yikes!

Every time I sort through them, I end up keeping most because they are broken in and comfortable. I must confess I still wear a couple with holes in them. So, the new rule is: If one does not go away, another one is not coming in.

I do need to check out all my clothing items and donate and get rid of all that I do not need. Someone else may be in need of them and it is not right to keep them.

Dream Wardrobe

As you know, I had been talking about getting rid of clutter at home and so far I have made many successful sorties.

I was able to donate 13 pairs of shoes and 1/3 of my wardrobe and to gift 2 pairs of shoes (never been worn).

What a relief!

Even after all that, I am thinking, I can still get rid of some more items.

I am planning to retire in the next 4 years (hopefully at the end of 4 years not before) and I can dream of the minimal wardrobe I plan to have when I am retired. It will probably be like this:

1 pair of nice jeans
1 pair of nice black pants
2 nice blouses and a few nice t-shirts

1 pair of jeans to go outside and run errands
1 pair of old and worn-out jeans to do dirty work

2 pairs of sweatpants and a couple of sweatshirts to wear at home in winter
2 house dresses for the summer

Half a dozen t-shirts for every day wear.
Some old t-shirts to do dirty work

Sneakers for everyday wear
2 pairs of boots for the winter
1 pair of nice shoes
1 pair of Crocs

A couple of cardigans and may be one nice jacket just in case.

I have never been a shopaholic but, I still own more than I need. Couple of weeks ago, I was looking at the pocketbooks that I had and was surprised to see that I have probably enough bags to last all my life. I am not the kind of person who changes the pocketbook a few times during the week to match outfits and what not. I usually start using one and until it is stuffed and very heavy, I keep using it for weeks, sometimes months. When I am obliged to empty it out, I change the pocketbook that I am using.

When I was living in the US, I had only two sets of bed sheets. Now, I do not even know how many sets I have between the two apartments. Why? I have no idea! Same thing for towels. I have a thing for towels and I think, one can never have enough towels. Why? Don't know.

Last weekend, I took a mid-size garbage bag and went around the apartment opening each drawer and cupboard. By the time I was finished, I had the whole garbage bag full of stuff to be thrown out. I think, I should do this more often.

Cleaning Day - 2

Well the walls could not be scraped. The traffic was horrid and by the time I got home, I felt doing absolutely nothing.

Bathroom cabinets are 1/3 done. Tomorrow is another day.

All the curtains are down. Some of them are in the wash and some are already back up again! Unlike  my mom, I do not iron my curtains. They do not get wrinkled so bad and as soon as they are out of the washing machine, I hang them so, I can get away with not ironing.

The electronical items are all in a big IKEA bag ready to be taken to work.

I thought some curtains needed to be replaced but I am surprised to see that older curtains are still looking better than some of the new ones. Anyway, I have decided to postpone the curtain business till next year. Money saved!

Actually, there is a curtain outlet and what I buy are generally very inexpensive so, we are not talking big bucks here. Once I had renewed the entire living room curtains at just USD 85 including sewing. My curtains hang from the ceiling to the floor so, we are talking about a lot of fabric. Many people praised me on how beautiful my curtains looked and could not believe how cheap they were. I tell them where the outlet is and all they have to know is the measurements before they go, select the fabrics and order them. Almost always, they end up not going and spending a lot more money for mediocre looking curtains. What can I say? They must be growing money on trees.

I could not get a hold of the guy to put a new curtain rod in the kitchen. May be he quit? I do not know. Well, no rush.

I think, I still want to go that art exhibit opening. There are a couple of curtains I want the cleaning lady to hang back up and then, I can take a shower and get ready. Depending on the traffic, I may leave the car on this side and cross the Bosphorus on a ferry and then take a cab to the Art Gallery.

My To Do List for the weekend

Today, I am going to leave work a bit early so, I am hoping to reach home by 6 o'clock.

Here is what I would like to do today:

- Take down some of the curtains
- Scrape the wall parts that have been damaged by water during the winter and throw out the scrapings (I will have to call a contractor later on to see how this can be permanently fixed)
- Arrange the contractor to put up my kitchen curtains to come and do the job tomorrow. My walls are concrete and I need a power drill which I do not have.
- Do one load of laundry.

Tomorrow:
- Wash all the curtains and put them back up (Actually, I would like to replace some curtains later in the year so, while they are down, I can take measurements)
- Throw away junk and clean up the bathroom cabinets
- Clear out all the old electronics, put them in my trunk to bring to work
- Take a shower, dress up and head for the opening of the art exhibition

I am planning to sleep as much as I can on Saturday night late into Sunday. I will tell my family not to call and I will turn off the volume of my mobile phone.

I think, this is enough for this weekend. I am definitely not cooking. Will order something healthy like fish and salad.

Productive Weekend

I had a somewhat productive weekend. I had promised myself that I would throw out or give away at least 50 items. So, I attacked the various drawers and my tool box at home and in a few hours, I was able to remove 50+ items.

I fished out all the cords and cables and upon careful inspection kept a few that I needed. I will bring the rest to work to see if technical guys may make use of them.

I am also going to bring an old printer which only works as a scanner and an extremely old laptop to work.

I need to look through my books to see what can be donated. Anything that accumulates dust is my enemy ha ha! (insert evil laughter here)

I think, I can give away some old towels and linens too since the drawers are overflowing.

Bathroom cabinet is also one of my targets.

You see, there is still quiet a bit to be done but handling them in small chunks truly works. Now, I do not see this as an overwhelming task. Also, I do not create a big pile of mess at once. One drawer, one box, one cabinet at a time with frequent breaks is easy. When I am done with a box, it goes back to where it belongs so, ne mess, no fuss, no kicking myself for being sloppy.

Cleaning Day- I

Yesterday, I got rid of all the clutter in the living room, changed my handbag and cleaned out all sorts of unnecessary papers, cleared the kitchen counters and basically broke my back doing all this.

I have decided to do the Grand Spring Cleaning Event where I wash and re-hang all the curtains, get rid of the clutter in cupboards, bathroom and etc. Therefore, I asked the cleaning lady to come next week as well.

Today, she basically attacked the dust which had been accumulating for weeks now. Since it is going to rain I asked her not the wash the windows from the outside. Doing everything in a day is not possible.

The kitchen counters were a mess and it really is sad because, that custom kitchen had cost me two arms and two legs. As soon as the cleaning lady came in and started in my bedroom, I cut up my veggies and stir-fried them for Monday and Tuesday meals. Then, I started the dish washer. When she cleans the kitchen there will be nothing out of place.

I am actually proud of myself because, I am usually very lazy as far as housework is concerned.

I know that there are still tons of stuff that I need to get rid of. In the past I used to change jobs frequently and sometimes that meant moving. So, with each move, I used to get rid of unnecessary stuff every 2-3 years. Now that I have been living in my primary residence mostly since 2004, clutter is taking over. There has been a couple of years I worked in Ankara but I used to come home every month so, I had never really moved. These days, I am staying at the studio during the week but always coming home for the weekend.

I must make a To Do List. I also want the cleaning lady come every two weeks. It is not that big a cost (here in this country) and since I am especially allergic to home dust, I think I should spend the money. Besides the poor girl needs to work especially hard when I do not call her on a regular basis.

I keep noticing this and that to be fixed around my home. For instance, I need a new toilet seat cover which I will hopefully buy today.

Also the floors desperately need to be changed but I think I may postpone that business till next year when I will need to have my walls painted. I will try not to stare at the floors:)

Clutter keeps me from being frugal!

I am the kind of person who would not move a finger if I do not feel like it and I usually do not feel like it at all. Well, may be "usually" is an understatement, I should say "most of the time". I just hate any type of housework. My mom is just the opposite and she is a neat-freak. Oh, how I wish she were here.

I have asked the cleaning lady to come on Sunday. I will do my best to get rid of the clutter on Saturday so, my apartment can be thoroughly cleaned.

I need to sort through my clothes and shoes to give away what I no longer wear.

I also need to clean the bathroom cabinets and put them in order.

When there is clutter, I do not see certain items in the cupboards and keep buying them. That is not frugal!

There are so many bottles of God-knows-what and I have no idea why I keep them. Also, I need to see how much and what kind of detergent I have on hand. I stupidly go buy stuff that I have and forget buying what is necessary. Dumb!

Wish me luck so that I will feel like doing what is necessary over the weekend...

TO DO LIST... The question is: Who's gonna do all this?

Here is my To Do List:

- Take down all the shoes, clean and put away winter boots and shoes, get rid of the ones no longer worn.  DONE!
- Take an inventory of unnecessary pots and pans and take them to a charity.
- Take an inventory of towels and linens, put away old ones to be taken to a charity.
- Go through the closets, put away winter stuff and bring out seasonal items. Clean up the closets.
- Go through the books and decide which will be given away, which will be kept.
- Go through work-related material and toss away what is not needed.
- Re-organize the medicine drawer
- Re-organize underwear and sock drawers
- Organize the china cabinet

OK... Just looking at this list, I feel exhausted. Need a nap... Now.

We like it clean...

We are back from our little trip to mom's cousin and I think half the way back we talked about how dirty and cluttered the house was. Mom is a neat-freak but it was even too much for me. I do not mind clutter as much but I cannot stand filth. The windows, the balcony, the kitchen sink, the bathroom, you name it, they have not seen a good scrubbing for very very long.

Her cousin was keeping her clothes on an armchair in the living room and when mom asked her if she did not have room behind the bedroom door or in any one of the closets, she shrugged and uttered something about being it easy that way.

I made up an excuse to make dinner so that I could scrub the kitchen sink and the stove. I even did not want to take a shower there. The shower stall was filled with dead bugs and spider webs.

This lady is a hoarder and a cheapskate. I am using the word cheapskate and not frugal because, I am telling you. I know what frugal is, thank you very much.

However, I am so glad we did this because, if we hadn't, mom would keep on saying that how she always invited us and how I did not take her there in ages. Now, I know she will never want it again. This cousin also has an apartment in Istanbul and she invites mom to that place too. To this day, I never let mom go and stay overnight there because I know those apartments are old and they are said to be not sturdy enough to stand an earthquake which is due any time in Istanbul. I know this is stupid but, hey I have only one mom! I do not think she will ever want to go and stay there now. So, I am fine with this.

Anyhow, we are back home and I am doing load after load of laundry. We shopped at the Farmer's market as we were leaving Didim so, today mom and I also cooked for the week. The last dish is in the pressure cooker. Once it is done, I will clean the kitchen! :)

One place for everything

Before my business trip, as I was looking for something at home, I have realized that I have too much detergent of certain kinds. I probably have more than a year's worth of stain remover. Same thing goes for color safe detergent. The problem is that I store these things in three different places and whenever I score a real deal, I buy this stuff without checking my inventory.

I am thinking of moving all laundry detergent to the balcony and the dish washing detergents and other cleaners  under the sink. Gotta go and do that right away...

Business Card Collection!

For how long does a sane person keep old business cards? In my case, it was forever!...Until yesterday.

Now that I need to do some networking, I went through more than 1500 cards collected from suppliers, colleagues, customers and friends since 1997! You could actually follw certain people's careers: Salesperson at XYZ Inc., Sales Manager at XYZ Inc., Director of Sales at PQR Inc., etc. etc...I kept about 50 or so. I know I still have a bunch dating back to 1988. Thank God, I will not have to look through them.

In the process, I also saved some notebooks which were barely used. I threw out the used pages and they are like brand new. Waste not, want not! I probably have enough notepads, notebooks, post-its and a variety of office supplies to last me at least ten years. No kidding!