Tag: konmari

Decluttering the Email

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Relaxing Cat” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

So I was going through a couple of labels in my Gmail to declutter them, specifically the school-related labels. The Kids/School/Bay and Kids/School/Koa labels have emails going back several years even though I try to keep those nice and tidy. A lot of those were grade alerts that I no longer need. In fact, most of the emails were things I don’t need to look at such as band rehearsal reminders, school events, field trip info, etc. Time to spend some time decluttering the email!

However, I did keep a couple of messages, like the Welcome to High School, and other similar milestones, but the rest went into the trash. It was fun to quickly scan through the email subject lines and it brought back many good memories, but they have served their purpose. Nice to relive those one last time, but it’s now time to let those go and move on! Marie Kondo would be proud of me. 😀

Today’s photo is another one of Anko. She really knows how to get comfy wherever she’s at. For good measure, here’s a second photo:

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO6400
 “Yes?” Cedar Park, 2019

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Tidying Up Papers and Clothes

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"Papers" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
 “Papers” Cedar Park, 2019

Today I cleaned up a bunch at home (I’ve been reinvigorated in my decluttering!), first with some paperwork that I had way too much of. Today I focused on financial statements of IRAs and 401ks from back before the dawn of time. Basically, I am keeping the most recent statement, and shredding the rest. I have never looked at them in all these years. Which is probably good for retirement accounts, right? Just let them do their thing.

The other week I cleaned out other documents like medical records (I’ll hold onto the last 2 year’s worth), automotive records (why do I still have oil change receipts for my 1999 Sentra which we sold ten years ago?), and documents pertaining to our old house which we sold in 2005.

With most of the papers disposed of, I now have so much space in our office cabinets. It’s awesome!

Next, I tackled my closet and my clothes, which I had pared down quite a bit already, but there were three drawers full of brand new socks, old gloves, and ski hats. It’s crazy how many pairs of new wool socks I had! All those went in the Goodwill bag, as well as a bunch of t-shirts. I was able to discard enough so that I could get rid of one plastic drawer.

There were a bunch of other adjustments I made in the closet that involved throwing out and reorganizing what was left, but now the closet is tidy and airy. It’s such a welcome difference.

I hope you had a nice day!

またね

Things That Spark Joy

I like the KonMari method and have been thinking about some of the things I have that “spark joy” in my life. But then I thought about the items in terms of, “If I lost this item, would I buy it again?” and the list got a lot shorter than it was originally. So here’s the list of items that I use regularly, that spark joy, and that if lost, I’d buy again.

I’ve written a short explanation of why each item is on my list, but you can also use the search box in the sidebar to the right to find blog posts where I talk about them.

Just to be transparent, the product links are Amazon affiliate links, so if you buy something using the link, I’ll receive a small kick-back. 🤗 Win-win!

Ukuleles
Photography
  • Fujifilm X100 Series – I bought my Fujifilm X100T back in 2015 and it’s still my favorite camera and I bring with me every day. It’s the camera that made me realize that simpler is better! If this ever breaks, I’ll replace with another X100-series camera.
  • Instax SP-1 Printer – The instant photos that this little printer produces are so cool and stylish. I love its compact size and convenience. It really brings images to life in a quirky and fun way.
Sketching
  • Kuru Toga 0.5 mm Pencil – My go-to pencil for sketching and writing. The 0.5 size with B lead is super-versatile.
  • Staedtler 925 09  0.9 mm Pencil – The 0.9 mm size coupled with 2B lead forces me to sketch loosely, plus it’s lots of fun.
  • Kuru Toga 0.3 mm Pencil – 0.3 mm is so thin! I can use it to write tiny in my A5 notebook.
  • Apple iPad Air 3 – For drawing digitally on my computer. It’s such a joy to use and I even though I bought my first tablet back in 1995, the technology still amazes me.
  • LAMY Safari (B) Fountain Pen – The broad nib puts down so much ink, it’s almost like painting. Fun to use with my favorite Iroshizuku Ama-iro bright blue ink.
  • Pilot Kakuno (F) Fountain Pen – The fine nib allows me to write small, and practicing writing my name in Kanji is actually fun using this pen. Plus it’s so cute and the nib has a smiley face etched into it.
  • Sailor Fude De Mannen Fountain Pen – By holding this pen at different angles, you can achieve varied widths when writing or sketching. Adds a lot of variety to simple sketches.
  • Ain Black Eraser – It’s like magic how quickly this removes pencil marks.
  • Sakura Arch Eraser – This one not only erases nicely but the eraser “shavings” clump together and are easy to swipe away.
  • Mono Zero Eraser – For getting into tight areas of the sketch, or erasing edges of lines with precision.
  • Procreate – Instant sketching on the iPad. So convenient and fun.
Watches
  • Seiko SKX007 Dive Watch – Chunky and classic design. The watch’s power reserve is generated by your body movement. How cool is that? This has traveled with me to Africa, Europe, and Asia, so it’s my #1 watch. Someday I’ll go diving with it to give it its street cred. 😄
  • Seiko SNK809 Field Watch – Another automatic (no batteries needed) watch, but this was my first Seiko and its cool, classic, and clean design and modest size make it a keeper. Plus the display back lets you see the heartbeat of the watch.
Miscellaneous
  • Kindle Paperwhite – I love reading on my electronic devices, but the Kindle Paperwhite’s backlit e-ink display is so nice, plus it’s light, thin, and the battery lasts for weeks before needing to charge.
  • Manual Nose & Ear Hair Trimmer – Okay, this is a little odd, I admit, but it’s so small and I like things that don’t need batteries. (like my automatic watches)
  • JVC HAFR37D Marshmallow Earbuds – These wired earbuds are cheap but have great sound quality. Plus the old-school wired-type doesn’t need charging like the fancy new blue-tooth models.
  • Birkenstock Arizona Sandals – Comfy and classic. The shape conforms to the owner’s feet over time, so each pair is special.
  • Zap-it! – This little device creates a little spark to give you a small shock right on your mosquito bite. For me, the itchiness goes away for a few hours. And no batteries needed!