We have moved into our new apartment. At long last, we can unpack our luggage and settle into being residents of this city. The apartment is in the heart of old Lisbon, in one of the oldest neighborhoods. The neighborhood was established around 1559. We are within stumbling distance of a dizzying array of restaurants, …
As I have visited various Lisbon apartments and condominiums in search of our next home, one thing that has struck me is the (tiny) size of most kitchens relative to a typical U.S. kitchen. It seems that kitchens here are merely an afterthought. One kitchen in a completely remodeled apartment — everything completely brand new …
After 12 weeks of manic purging, organizing and cleaning, the house is finally empty. We have lived here for 17 years, longer than anywhere I have ever lived in my life. I have reflected in earlier posts about the process of evaluating each possession and trying to ascertain some insights along the way. This was …
We are not hoarders. And, yet… Preparing for the adventure ahead has been nothing if not an exercise in reducing our material possessions. When it’s all done, we will have reduced by about half — clothes, furniture, and miscellany. At first it was easy. We shredded mountains of old documents, disposed of collections of magazines …
Always in big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the unknown, and it is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into. You …
After the initial surge of selling, recycling or tossing the junk you have amassed, then the harder decisions come. The pace slows. The heart races. If you are to completely embrace the minimalist mantra of decluttering, you will eventually run head-on to the thing, that one thing, that makes you catch your breath. The cult-like …
We have spent the last four weeks in a frenzy of cleaning out. Household goods to Salvation Army. Nicer work clothes to Goodwill Boutique. Books to the Friends of the SF Public Library. Office products, wrapping paper, art supplies and ribbons to Scrap. Toxics (paint, yard chemicals, etc.) and e-waste to the dump for safe …
The “overheat” warning light lit up on my paper shredder this evening. And we still have two file drawers to go. God knows what else we’ll discover as we peel back the layers of 20 years accumulated stuff. We have been purging, tossing, donating…and yet it still feels like we haven’t even made a dent. …
There’s nothing like the reality of moving into “European” (read: small) quarters to make you reconsider the amount of accumulated stuff you have in your life. While I have been on a campaign to reduce, reuse and recycle for a long time, I’ve realized how much further we have to go as we start down …
