kea's Profile

I use an old soda crate with 24 sections. Mounted on the wall it fits small spice jars perfectly. I am on the lookout for another since it doesn't quite fit everything. The spices I use in quantity are kept in original containers or put in jars if I bought them bagged or bulk.

This is institutional in scale. And makes sense for Martha given the integration between her business empire and her home life. What irks me is that it drives demand from wannabees who could never, ever justify this kind of set-up based on volume. Just send it out to a fine laundry.

It's kind of funny that beneath all that frantic activity of the website and the wildly overdone emails lies a great simple system for organizing a household that relies on routine and eschews perfectionism. Her weekly zone cleaning approach works for me. When I am really working the system I will read--and perform--Kelly's Missions consistently. One reminder a day to do some task (wipe off your switchplates! Dust your baseboards!) meant nothing every got really disgusting and I was never overwhelmed--or embarrassed to have people over. It beat erratic exhausting marathon cleaning sessions and transformed the way I keep and feel about my house.

I belonged to a semi-underground raw milk CSA for almost two years. I loved the milk, and it made the best yogurt ever. It took my son some time get used to the taste and texture. That said, I have never been sure if it was its raw nature or the fact that it was un-homogenized milk from pasture-based cows that made the real difference. Or maybe the extra butterfat after years of nothing more than 2%. When my mother became ill with kidney disease I stopped-- even the most ardent fans usually agree that it is not appropriate for anyone immuno-compromised. I miss that milk and have been thinking about looking for something similar now that I have moved someplace where legal raw milk is more available.

Another thing to check is your shower fixture--the part that mixes the hot and cold water. I could not get my shower as warm as I liked so I removed the wall-mounted circular faceplate that covered the "mixer" (I am sure there are technical terms for this. You will see that there are manual adjustments you can make that will allow a greater percentage of hot water to be used. Voila--hotter showers without adjusting the tank. (Credit to my sister for this--when she moved into her new house all of the "kids" bathrooms had been set with a low hot water threshold to avoid scalding and she told me this might be my problem too.)

I have something similar from IKEA at 1/3 the price, although the base is fabric covered. It stores an incredible amount of stuff, but is more suited to out of season clothes & luggage than everyday access. It is exactly what I needed.

I am getting ready to move to the city and would love to ditch the car, but as a dog owner, I can't quite wrap my head around how to do anything out of the neighborhood with my dog and without my car. How do others deal with this?

I've stayed at the Tabard many times--including the penthouse, which was a very affordable way for our small group to host a meeting and put three of us up--it's pretty large. I will take the Tabard's brand of hideous--and their reasonable prices-over chain hotels any day. Another big plus for me--the windows actually open. And the included breakfast is quite nice.

I like the idea of categories because it levels the playing field. I love seeing the smallest spaces most of all. I do hope that the judging criteria factors in the intensity of space use (e.g., sf/person, heavy-duty live/work spaces, no. of days in residence). It doesn't seem fair to treat a pied-a-terre or guesthouse the same as a space that handles a lot of living and working 24/7/365, whatever the size.

I bought a zzz chest for my guest bed because it fit along a wall too narrow for a traditional sofa bed and with a sloped ceiling not a candidate for a murphy bed. It's been great--the mattress is very comfortable, and it doesn't dominate the room when its all folded up. A little pricey, and they seem to have a waiting list.