Sunny Kahlo

Lif, I would love a letter! (I think you're the last poster waiting to send one) I'll send my address. The next person will get a letter from Pennsylvania, USA.

Something that has worked well for me in these situations (burnout/exhaustion) is stepping back to evaluate things and being fair to myself. Reframing how you view yourself could help your motivation. If you look at yourself as a hoarder it may seem more daunting to overcome. But you owned a bookstore yes? So you are a business owner who has acquired a lot of stock. It sounds like you have made huge progress and that is amazing! Have you made a list of all that you have accomplished so far? My trauma therapist had me do that and when I'm feeling overwhelmed I read that list of all my accomplishments and realize how far I've come and the future I want doesn't seem so far away. It's not a magic fix, but remember it took decades to build up the collection so it's normal it will take a long time to get rid of it. Sometimes a mental reframe can really boost self confidence and self-perception. This is just a suggestion of what worked for me to go to the "source" of overwhelm, which is probably the mental weight of it all.

I am really struggling with this balance right now. We've rented this house for 5 years and then bought it from the landlord. This is the longest time I've been in one place as an adult and I now understand how people accumulate so much stuff. I used to move every couple of years and was forced to get rid of things while moving. This is also the biggest space I've lived in. I have pretty severe OCD plus I come from a family of "pack rats" so I not only am used to living with clutter, but I mentally struggle to let go of things out of fear or anxiety. A lot of it is what OP mentioned about not wanting to contribute to the landfill. I don't know why I think it's healthier to live overwhelmed by clutter and take on all that burden myself. I'm not really saving the world by keeping a few bags of garbage out of the dump. I could do more good on this earth by being happy and healthy. I know I WANT to get rid of things, but I get very overwhelmed when I start. I feel the need to do things in a certain order, or a certain way, and I feel a lot of guilt if I don't give things to a "good home". I struggle to get rid of sentimental things as well. I love history and value material objects that are rare, so I also struggle with the antiques I have. I have a lot I could sell, but you have to store that while you're waiting for people to buy it from Ebay etc. I know there are books but then I can't decide which book is the right book to use. It's easier said than done to "Just do it!" but I have been consistently putting things in boxes and taking them to the thrift store, it's just very slow and a small amount. I'm thinking of starting some kind of accountability thread. Does anyone else need some community to feel accountable to in tackling the major task of finding balance?

William Bronson wrote:Aha!
I figured some one has done this.
Thanks, I'm gonna look for some references.
I think I could add an inner retort made from a water heater tank, to produce biochar.

Did you end up making one? My Dad was talking about having extra hot water heaters and wondering if he could do something similar.

We also use an AeroPress. That's been our only coffee maker for about 10 years. My husband is the big coffee drinker, he makes about 6-8 cups a day, and with the AeroPress it's alwasy fresh and nothing gets wasted. We also have a stainless steel french press but we really only use it if we have company and need to make more than a cup at a time. We use the metal mesh filter bought from AeroPress and it lasts about 5 years. The newer ones seem like they'll last indefinitely since they don't have an outer ring that can separate from the inner mesh, it's all one piece. I highly reccomend the AeroPress!

I have been "poo-less" for over a year and also stopped putting any soap on my face. I occasionally use unscented lotion or oil to moisturize if my skin is very dry, but I've found I mostly don't get acne anymore. I do use Rhassoul clay on my hair once or twice a week, and rinse with ACV. This is because we have very hard water. I would love to stop using the clay, or go longer between, but I do find that the itch gets to be unbearable after a while. I use a boar bristle brush but am not good about brushing every single day. I am curious to learn more about the comb method and why that is better. Does anyone who only uses water and a comb still experience flaking and itching?

Nancy Reading wrote:

Timothy Norton wrote:Are you planning for the kettle to be solely for humidification or actually a functional kettle for tea?

Inspired by the beautiful copper kettle of Thomas' I found these online:

Richmond traditional British made copper kettle

They are craftsman made and absolutely gorgeous!! Solid copper with a whistle in the lid, a valve in the spout and a tinned interior (they do chrome and even silver plated versions!). It looks like they do ones suitable for my stovetop but are rather more than I'm wanting to pay, although is probably what they are worth...they even do spares

So I was on a similar hunt for a new kettle a few months ago, we spent way too much time and research. Ultimately we found this traditional British made copper kettle as well and decided it was worth buying an heirloom quality kettle. However, we obviously weren't going to pay that much for it. We bought a used one off ebay for $40 (not the brand new $450). It is copper lined but chrome outside. It needed a retinning so we sent it to Rocky Mountain Retinning and I think it cost about $120. Now we have a beautiful kettle that we paid less than half the new cost for that will last a lifetime. So buying something old that can be restored is my reccomendation!

How do you all like the Speed Queen 6 years later? Is it using too much energy? We are looking into getting one and I'm wondering about the long term energy costs

How are you liking it? I got a very similar one about a year ago and I was happy with it for a while, but then I realized I was getting lazy about sitting in it the right way and I also found the inability to lean back got to be annoying. Currently I rotate between the kneeling chair, standing, sitting in a cheap plastic office chair with no cushion and using the kneeling chair improperly to lean on with my feet up on my bookcase haha. On the topic of desk ergonomics in general, I think I'm realizing there is no "ergonomic" way because human's aren't meant for this. I think (for me anyway) the solution might be to just keep changing positions and move around a lot, to never actually get comfortable as a means to never settle into bad posture. Although it makes it hard to refocus on concentration every 30-60 minutes. Curious what other people think about this.

I too go through a ton of cumin, ground and seeds. It's probably my most used spice! As far as favorite though, it might be cardamom or star anise.