42 pair of underwear

Sunday, 25 September 2011 14:50 Written by Amber Riggs

It wasn’t intentional. I had no idea that I had this many! They just sort of invaded my dresser drawer.

In an effort to take a step towards pseudo-minimalism, I decided to attack the drawers in said dresser a few months ago. The drawer drawer in particular.

In a de-cluttering planning session I had determined that I really only “need” 10 pairs. This allows me to do laundry once a week and take a few days to put the clothes up…an unfortunate but frequent reality.

If you could see my underwear collection, you would quickly realize that panty shopping is not a hobby of mine. All cotton, mostly solid color, white dominant, chosen for comfort.

I would like to state for the record that I have only purchased underwear twice in the past 5 years…and that according to my 5 year shopping history, the only place to purchase underwear is the Claremore, Oklahoma, Wal-mart. Yes, I travel over a thousand miles to purchase underwear. The selection there is impeccable, and it truly is a shopping experience. It really is the only option.

No, really…it’s the only option…especially when the airline misplaces your luggage and/or you forget to pack your unmentionables so the only ones you have on you are literally the only ones you have on you.

Oh, wait, did I say that I purchased them? I just realized that I have a collection of 42 pair of panties and that I, in fact, have NOT purchased underwear in at least 5 years. I have my wonderful and generous mother-in-law to thank for “The Claremore Collection”.

The other members of my underwear collection are courtesy of Victoria’s Secret free underwear marketing campaign. Every couple of months they send me a coupon for a free pair of panties and $10 off a new bra in hopes that I’ll spend money in their store. I don’t particularly want to support their store, but I’m not opposed to them, albeit unknowingly, making amends for their ways by giving me a free pair of comfortable, tasteful panties. When I get up to the register with nothing in my hands but a pair of underwear and a free panties coupon, I explain that I am breastfeeding, and since they don’t sell nursing bras there I have to treat myself to panties. Considering that I nurse my babies for two years, this is a long-term condition, but they have no way of knowing this.

Now I truly wouldn’t be giving you Too Much Information if I didn’t share with you the fate of the remaining 32 pair of underwear.

No, I’m not donating them to charity. As much as I love the Claremore, Wal-mart, 5 pair have found a home in my carry-on suitcase (as the $25 each way luggage fee has cured me of checking my baggage). The other 27 pair are in a box under my bed. Next time I need to replace a pair, I’ll shop from the “Under My Bed Collection”.

I also purged my sock collection recently…but that’s another story.

room to spare

Sunday, 25 September 2011 12:10 Written by Amber Riggs

One place setting per person. We are now a couple of weeks into the experiment, and my husband has delighted me by being quite enthusiastic about the set up!

After unloading the dishwasher for the last time, I set aside 2 big plates, 4 “little” plates, 4 bowls, 2 tall glasses, 1 short glass, 2 sippy cups, 3 forks, 1 toddler fork, 3 spoons, 1 toddler spoon, 3 butter knives, and 3 mugs.

These all fit nicely in the dishwasher with room to spare.

The next step was to move all of the other dishes out of the kitchen cabinets where it wouldn’t be so tempting to use them. So, the dishes traded places with all of the serving dishes – that we rarely use – which made their home in the bottom of china cabinet.

The first night of the experiment, my husband made pizza, and several circumstances combined to make it a late night. We had a friend over, ate late, the girls got to bed late, etc. And when we finally got a chance to relax, I did not feel like hand-washing all of the items that go into making home-made pizza. So, instead of washing everything and putting them in dishwasher to dry, everything just went into the dishwasher for a good modern dishwashin’. And it all fit!

Hence, I proved to my husband that yes, even though we are storing clean dishes in the dishwasher, we can still use the dishwasher for its manufactured purpose! One place setting per person (plus the place setting we pulled out of “storage” for our friend) meant that everything was dirty. But the room to spare left plenty of room for the other items that needed to be washed.

Here’s what I’ve noticed so far:

I get to use my favorite tea mug every morning because 1) it is always always clean and 2) it is my only option!
I don’t have to go from room to room collecting cups and mugs from various flat surfaces.
If a sippy cup goes missing, we know that it has gone missing, and thus we can no longer be surprised by a sippy cup of milk that has resurfaced after being hidden in some cubby-hole-unknown-to-adults for several days.
It is so easy to rinse dishes immediately after washing them, gently scrub them with a soap emitting sponge, rinse them off again and then stick them in the dishwasher (only to dry, of course)
I have better visibility to all of those serving dishes that I never use. I have already been able to put some of these dishes into a “donate” box and turned the lower level of kitchen cabinets into some much appreciated pantry space. (My actual “pantry” is really small and thus, really cluttered. It was nice to be able to organize pantry items a little more efficiently.)
It has been really nice to not have to worry with putting the dishes up. Have I mentioned that I’m short? Well, I’m short. This means that I normally have to either reach on my tiptoes or get a step-stool to put dishes away.
Even though I haven’t gotten a stop-watch out to see how long I spend washing and rinsing dishes, it certainly feels like I spend a lot less time cleaning the kitchen.

And so, I’d like to welcome the extra pantry space and the more relaxed kitchen clean-up routine into our family.

And all because we decided that our family of 4 didn’t need to have 12 dinner plates, bowls, small plates, forks, spoons, and glasses at our constant disposal.

tea and testaments

Friday, 16 September 2011 07:05 Written by Amber Riggs

In about 15 minutes, my little 3 year old daughter will issue a report from her bedroom. Her morning announcement used to be “It’s good morning time!” But recently, it has been, “Mommy! I had a good dream about…” Some days, it’s a tearful report about a bad dream. However, regardless of the report, I rush into her room to get those early morning cuddles…and keep her from waking up the rest of the family.

Her yet to be filled tea mug is sitting next to my still half full one on the coffee table before me. After our bedroom cuddles, she’ll come to the living room and drink tea with me while we cuddle some more and read our Bibles together in the last bit of morning stillness. Four of my favorite things: my daughter, God’s Word, tea, and stillness.

These are the simple, priceless moments that I cling to.

the place setting

Wednesday, 14 September 2011 15:42 Written by Amber Riggs

I chatted on the phone with a friend yesterday who had downsized to one place setting a person and who talked so glowingly of its benefits that I have decided to embark on a little trial version of this concept.

So as soon as I carve out some time, I am going to remove all of the excess dishes to a location that is just inconvenient enough for me to get to them that I will find it easier to reuse the dishes that most recently dedicated themselves to our service.

Since I do not have a drying rack, I will simply store the clean dishes where I have a natural affinity to storing clean dishes…

the dishwasher.

Yes, it is true. Part of the problem that is causing this notion to be so attractive to me is the simple fact that I dread putting up dishes. I wake up each morning to a dishwasher-full of supposedly clean dishes. I would put them up immediately upon waking, but I don’t want the noise to wake up my family. So instead, I bask in the calm of the morning.

Before I know it, everyone is awake and it is time for breakfast.

If I am thinking clearly enough I serve using dishes from the dishwasher instead of clean ones in the cupboard. I should point out that I am usually too busy hugging on my little girls or getting them ready for the day that the dishwasher does not get emptied before breakfast. I try to empty it while I am preparing breakfast, but that doesn’t always go as planned, either.

And so, when breakfast is done, we bring the dishes to the counter… where they sit until I manage to unload the dishwasher…which may or may not happen before late afternoon, or on really crazy days, after supper.

Hence, I am ready to short-circuit the process. I’ll keep you posted:-)

Minima…what?

Monday, 05 September 2011 18:59 Written by Amber Riggs

Minimalism. It’s this nice philosophical word that refers to minimizing embellishments so that you can more fully appreciate the most essential components of something. Like art. Or music. Or life.

I’ve been especially intrigued by minimalist living lately. Perhaps it appeals to me because between a husband, two little ones, a third on the way, a part-time work-from-home job, volunteer responsibilities, and a dog, I can barely remember when I last ate, much less what the food I allegedly ate tasted like.

Now I know that ideal minimalist living is epitomized by the bachelor in the 300 square-foot mini home who has so few possessions that he rarely has to clean, has hardly any bills, and has plenty of time to smell the fresh air, savor his food, and “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life” (Thoreau).

But I’m not interested in being an ideal minimalist. I just want to be an almost ideal wife and mom, and I think that there are some minimalistic principles that can assist me in this goal…

I would rather soak in the fragrance of smiles and laughter than be almost constantly rushing off to complete the next thing on my to-do list.
I would rather have the funds to explore our little corner of the world with my family than allocate that time and money to pay for something that we thought we needed but now sits somewhere collecting dust.
I would rather cuddle with my girls while reading them books than spend time cleaning up toys that are strewn throughout the house.
I would rather delight in and look forward to all of the little interruptions that are imminent in a household with very young children than rush through the interruption so that I can get on with whatever “important” task I was trying to accomplish.
And I know that my family would rather enjoy a relaxed mom with plenty of time on her hands than a rushed one who never feels like she can rest.

And so if that means that I need to figure out what embellishments are taking up unnecessary time and energy and minimize them so that my family can more fully appreciate the essential components of life – the truly life-enriching stuff – then what do I have to lose?