#anti decluttering

[cursed--alien]

I hate that post that's like "if you hate the concept of decluttering, you are racist and misogynistic"

.

Fuck you, I'm not getting rid of everything except for the select few things that make me especially happy. You can pry my paper scraps from my COLD DEAD HANDS!

[louisa-gc]

how to bring less stuff into your home

don't buy if you already have something similar in function or form — for ex. i already own a pair of boots, therefore any new pair of boots, even if a different colour or a different shape, must stay in the store.

don't buy to store (unless it's on a good sale) — ex. i'm halfway through my favourite serum and already thinking of buying a new bottle, but i'll hold off until the previous one is actually empty, unless i see it in the store for much less than it usually costs. i also used to hoard notebooks and now try not to buy any more until all have been used up.

don't buy what you can reasonably rent or borrow — ex. i barely ever buy books because i can find everything i need at the library (including a ladder and a printer).

don't buy what you truly do not need — ex. did i get a rose quartz roller? yes. did i get it for a purpose? yes, to massage my sore jaw muscles. does it do what i bought it for? meh. is it nice to have? kind of. do i ever use it? not really. so was it a waste of natural resources, cheap labour and my own money? absolutely.

don't buy spontaneously — ex. i went to the store to buy a new bottle of shampoo but ended up with the rose quartz roller too. in the moment, i could easily justify the need for it and a friend even said to go for it (it wasn't expensive either!). now it sits in its box and i only remember to take it out every three months.

don't buy what is not on your shopping list — ex. i needed a new pair of black trousers, and had had them on my list for months already. i found the very best pair i could get on my budget, and going into the store i saw so many beautiful pieces, but kept telling myself i only came in for the black trousers. in the end i left the store with only what i needed, because i knew exactly what my mission there was.

don't buy what won't last — ex. i love to get myself a bouquet of eucalyptus branches every autumn and to let them dry out. i know i can keep those branches for at least a year. while i love fresh flowers too, i know they won't last long. (sometimes i get carnations though, because i know how to keep them going for a relatively long time.) same goes for sweaters: i do not buy acrylic and polyester, simply because i cannot de-pill them the way i can wool.

don't buy what other's have — ex. i've been dreaming of a rice cooker for a very long time, and especially now that many of my friends have gotten one, i can't seem to stop thinking about it. however i know my current kitchen just wouldn't have the space for it, so i stick to cooking my rice on the stove.

don't go into stores if you don't need anything and avoid aisles you don't need anything from — ex. i love this ecological store in town, it always smells earthy and pleasant and has beautiful things inside, but if i enter it without a real need for something, i know i will leave with at least a bar of ridiculously expensive chocolate i wasn't even craving. the same principle applies to online shops!

don't let social media or the people around you create new needs for you — ex. a lot of people on instagram and in my real life are knitting and i would love to do it too! i could easily justify getting all the tools and paying hundreds of euros for wool, but i know i reach for other activities in my free time and that my arms have hurt way too much when i've previously knitted, so it's not for me.

don't buy unnecessary amounts of things — ex. i recently moved to a very small studio. i've previously always had six of each type of plate, because kitchen things tend to be sold in packs of six. this time i just got three of each (three plates, three bowls, three mugs...) and it has been more than enough. i cannot even imagine having to store double the amount of stuff in my tiny kitchen!

[zerofuckingwaste]

Easy zero waste tip no. 5: Paradoxically, you need to throw things away sometimes.

When I first went to college, I bought kitchen supplies for my dorm room. When I moved out of my parents' house, I bought some more. When I moved to a house, I bought even more. I was gifted more. I inherited more. More more more.

My kitchen became absolutely stuffed full of things, most of which I either didn't use, couldn't find, or didn't like but dealt with because hey, I already had it and didn't want to buy another.

Eventually, I sat down and pulled everything out of the shelves, the drawers, the baskets, the cabinets, absolutely everything. I was shocked to discover I had dozens of wooden spoons, but no pasta utensil. Seemingly a billion glass containers and only half of their matching lids. Like 6 pairs of tongs? For some reason?

I picked out the things I knew I used, and the things I knew I would use if I actually knew where they were. I was able to sell a few things, donate about half the rest, and the remaining, I unfortunately had no choice but to throw them away. I filled an entire trash bag, and then some, and felt terrible about it.

Then the most miraculous thing happened.

Since then, I haven't bought a single new thing for my kitchen. Meal prep has been easy. Making food in the moment has been easy. I love spending time in my kitchen, it's clean, organized, and fun. There's no stress anymore- and no compulsive need to buy when I couldn't find things, because hey, I know where everything is.

My waste has been significantly reduced by cutting the clutter out. And this is a principle that can apply to every aspect of your life.

Declutter your closet, you'll only wear outfits you love, and you won't feel nearly as much of a need to buy better all the time.

Declutter your bookshelves, and you'll only be surrounded by books you actually love and/or want to read, without feeling the need to buy more that will just end up being tossed out without ever being cracked open.

Declutter your bathroom, and you'll actually use all of the products you have with far less waste that goes bad before you can use it.

Et cetera.

Surround yourself with things you love, rather than just with lots of things.

[beanshape]

The No Spent Year: Artist Edition

Presenting my no spending on art supplies year challenge.

So, I've realized that… maybe…. these last few years I’ve spent more time shopping for art supplies and courses than actually making art.

So, in May 2024, I have resolved not to buy any art supplies or Domestika courses this year. Not even to finish a project. Gasp.

The only exceptions are very basic things like running out of glue, scissors, or equipment needing replacement.

The Why: I have too many art supplies. I need to (really) declutter. I have not made much art for 2 years, and I want to learn who I am now as an artist, as opposed to the person I've transformed from in the last 14 years.

As I make more art, each piece will be valued (by me or my husband) from $1 to $20 in "credits," based on merit and context. These credits can be used to buy replacement art supplies once the year is over.

After that, I'm really not sure what's next. That's one of my fears: that I won't know what art supplies I truly need. Another fear is that the apocalypse would happen while I'm doing this challenge, and I won't have a store of art supplies. Seriously, that's one of the points in my mind I've used to justify the inordinate amount of art stuff I own.

Anywho, wish me luck. I hope this works.

[pigeonflavouredcake]

Life and adulthood has been catching up to me and I just want to declutter my thoughts in this post.

So a bit of personal info, I still live with my parents, my sibling aswell. We're both in our 20's and can't afford to move out so we're basically stuck here -I'm of the mind that it's indefinite, my sibling believes it's only temporary.

The average price of rent per month for a 1 bed flat in my burough is about £540 (or £750 if you want to live in the city centre) and houseshares are often the same price for the room. I earn about £600 a month that just isn't enough to live independently anymore.

I pay my parents a share of the rent (thankfully much lower than average) and we all share housework and run our own errands and take care of our own stuff just like you would in any house share situation. The term we're often given is 'adult children' (which I can't tell you how demeaning that sounds) and the only support I can seem to find is from the parents perspective. There isn't much support for us, there aren't any beigecore housekeeping blogs that teach us how to communicate with stubborn parents and manage our time with them. We're kind of on our own.

People see the term 'adult children' and assume we're still living with our parents because we're lazy and jobless basement dwellers on reddit when that's just unrealistic. Existence is so expensive right now we literally do not have any other option. Many of us have one, two sometimes three jobs and still can't afford to live independently and there's nothing we can do about it.

And I'm renting from my parents who are just renting from the council! Even they can't afford to own a home and they've both been working for over 30 years.

We're a generation of working class losers who can never climb the ladder of success because the rung snapped under our feet before we had a chance to start climbing.

[grunge-mermaid]

was it the soap recipe, the decluttering tips, or the ikea sofa that made the algorithm think I need the bible because of shame?

[p0rk-guts]

HUSKER!!!! Husk. Whatever. THIS OLD CAT!!!! ^ - ^

comparison + breakdown ⬇️

Look idk what possible lore reasons there could be for Husk having bird wings and tail feathers whether it's hidden somewhere online or to be determined later in the show even though I can't for the life of me even guess why they're there (if you've got any hc's tho I'd love to hear em) but I just got rid of em entirely, at least for the time being. Declutters him a little. They're definitely a little much.

And I've always hated those buttons on his chest fur... Are they part of his pattern.... Are they hot glued on...... What is it with Viv and melting clothing and flesh together.........

He also does NOT look 60-70 like at all (pretty sure that's canon but I just got it off the wiki) so I tried to remedy that by giving him more wrinkles and creases. He's a Persian cat thing now bc some of them really do be lookin like mustache wearing old guys fr. Also his neck fluff is sorta supposed to allude to facial hair w/ some greying sprinkled in! He's officially like... 62 now. + He's fatter bc 1) beer belly 2) Persian cat build and 3) Vivzie twink fatigue

Husk's outfit is objectively silly for his grown ass to be wearing but I like the hc I've seen around as that being a stipulation in his deal with Alastor where he figuratively and literally "took the shirt off his back". Considering how as an overlord he had a nice suit and he (possibly. Definitely In headcanons) doesn't even like showing off sinner features, or his body at all, especially not in such a way. Is this canonically the case? Probably not. But hey 🤷🏾‍♀️

I made some comparatively minimal changes there. I undid his tie bc man's usually drunk and doesn't have the energy to fuss with it. I also gave the ends a bit of a spade shape. The clasps on his suspenders are meant to be clovers and there are still hearts on his hands. For the diamond face... I kinda tried to put it into his tail? But that's kinda iffy so 3.5/4 card faces achieved 👍🏾

Turned his top hat into a more flat wide brim hat that i could NOT for the life of me find a name for... Just wider fedoras I think? but they seemed to be kinda popular at the time. For my Husk, as an overlord he occasionally wore a fancy top hat when he was showing off, and now this is like. His downgrade replacement he's got to wear. + Some playing cards tucked into the hat band!

Made those yellows his primary colors bc in my rewrite greed is gold and I definitely think that would've been one of his major sins in life. Also a bit of gluttony too, which I made orange, so I added some of those tones in there. Allsoo after fussing with the colors for literal days I stilllll kindahateemalittle BUT IT'S FINE. I'll figure it out

And that's all for him!! Realized I forgot to put the little anti Viv banner on my last post but then again idgaf fr it's whatever. If you don't know I hate her you'll learn before long

And, of course, dvelopment sketches 4 sticking around!!!!

Ok that's all bye ✌🏾🧍🏾‍♀️

[kneptoon]

My favorite thing about the philosophy of harm reduction is that it can be applied to literally anything and everything!!! Even the most mildest of “bad” habits!

Everything, to some extent, has the capability of causing harm. Some actions are more likely to cause harm than others, but that doesn’t necessarily make those actions inherently bad or that you need to change your habits. You don’t.

Procrastination issues and a tendency to pull all-nighters? Take a harm reductionist approach and plan them out. Premake proper meals to eat throughout the night. Brew a delicious caffeinated drink. Repeat affirmations and breathing exercises to reduce stress/anxiety. Have a hearty breakfast the morning after. Plan out time to recover and nap later.

Just went through a bad breakup and wanna rot in bed and eat nothing but ice cream? Do it, dude!! Tell your loved ones you may not be in contact as much. Take some ibuprofen to stave off that ice cream headache. Queue up all those shows and movies you’ve been meaning to watch. Drink water after every crying sesh. And once you start feeling better, take a nice bath. Stretch, go for a walk, meditate, whatever.

Chronic skin-picker? Make a mini aftercare kit. Disinfectant, anti-inflammatories, and cute band-aids. Invest in extraction tools to reduce damage and scarring. Steam your face before you start to pick.

Hoarding issues? Invest in a big ol’ organizational shelf to keep things tidy. Set out a time every week to go through your belongings to reorganize, clean, and declutter. Put anything perishable in the freezer. Get a second freezer if you have to. Make homemade paper out of used napkins and paper towels. Make art out of cardboard and empty bottles.

These are just some quick examples I came up with on the fly, but it can apply to literally anything!! Not just drugs and addiction, but also things like eating disorders, self harm, OCD, sleeping around, committing crimes, etc! (And if you found yourself upset by the things I just listed, but were fine with my more tame examples, then possibly observe where that feeling is coming from, because you’re very likely being hypocritical.)

Obviously harm reduction won’t work for everyone. But if you find recovery or breaking habits to be difficult in any aspect of your life, I highly recommend using harm reduction tactics! It has done wonders for me!

Identify the aspects of your habit that cause you/others the most harm, and think if there are any ways you can reduce that harm (this will be different for each person).

These habits are what have allowed you to survive, cope, and regulate yourself. They are not fundamentally bad, and it does not make you a bad person or a failure for engaging in them.

[sugarsprinklesoul]

Your ultimate guide to glowing up physically and mentally in 2024.

This is a guide to glowing up physically and mentally in 2024, including skincare tips, hair care, mental health, vision boards, journaling, and creating new habits to achieve your goals.

Physical Fitness:

Incorporate a mix of cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises into your routine.

Focus on a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.

Stay hydrated by drinking an adequate amount of water daily.

Skincare Routine:

Develop a consistent skincare routine with cleansing, moisturizing, and sun protection.

Consider adding products with ingredients like retinol and vitamin C for anti-aging benefits.

Hair Care:

Maintain regular haircuts and consider trying new hairstyles.

Use quality hair products suitable for your hair type to keep it healthy and shiny.

Fashion and Style:

Update your wardrobe with pieces that make you feel confident and comfortable.

Experiment with different styles to find what suits your personality and body type.

Mindfulness and Mental Well-being:

Practice mindfulness through activities like meditation or yoga.

Prioritize self-care and set aside time for activities that bring you joy and relaxation.

Create a vision board:

Identify your short-term and long-term goals

Collect magazines, newspapers, printed images, quotes, and any other materials you can use to represent your goals

Choose a board or poster as the base for your vision board. It can be a physical board or a digital one, depending on your preference.

Cut out images, words, and phrases that resonate with your goals. Arrange them on your board in a way that is visually appealing and meaningful to you.

As you place each item on the board, take a moment to visualize yourself achieving those goals. Feel the emotions associated with success.

Include positive affirmations related to your goals. Use words that inspire and motivate you.

Put your vision board in a place where you'll see it daily—this serves as a constant reminder of your aspirations.

Your vision board is a dynamic tool. Update it periodically as your goals evolve or as you achieve them.

Journaling:

Journaling can be a powerful tool for self-reflection, stress relief, and personal growth.

Establish a consistent time for journaling, whether it's in the morning, evening, or during specific events in your day.

Let your thoughts flow without judgment. Write about your feelings, experiences, dreams, or anything on your mind.

Include a section for things you're grateful for. This practice can shift focus towards positive aspects of your life.

Learning and Growth:

Read regularly to expand your knowledge and stay informed about various topics.

Set personal and professional goals to continually challenge and improve yourself.

Positive Relationships:

Nurture positive relationships and distance yourself from toxic influences.

Surround yourself with people who support and uplift you.

Cut off toxic people:

Detoxifying your social circle by cutting off toxic people is a crucial step for your mental well-being.

Remember, prioritizing your mental health and well-being is not selfish; it's essential for personal growth and a fulfilling life.

Organization and Time Management:

Create a schedule that allows for a balance between work, personal life, and leisure.

Declutter your physical and digital spaces for a clearer mind.

Hobbies and Passion Projects:

Cultivate hobbies that bring you joy and a sense of accomplishment.

Consider pursuing a passion project or learning a new skill.

Financial Fitness:

Develop a budget and savings plan to achieve financial goals.

Invest time in understanding personal finance for long-term stability.

[crimeronan]

cleaned for 9 hours today, half of which was dedicated Just to a 5x2 foot space beside the bed that has been my Disaster Area for Literal Years. motivation being that i just got back from three weeks at my mom's house, which is VERY well-kept and organized, and that meant i could See Clutter for the first time in ages. i wanted to fix some shit before the ADHD blindness set back in.

accomplishments:

discovered a literal 5 years worth of dust in some corners. oops

found a Scary Biohazard (mold pillow. millow, if u will. it has now been disposed of.)

took out 4 forty-gallon bags of trash

took out 3 forty-gallon bags of recycling

found 8 months worth of one medication

and 4 months worth of another

and 9 months worth of a medication i no longer take and should dispose of

plus so many old steroids

and painkillers

and inhalers

and anti-nausea meds so i could keep down all the meds i used to be on

also found 3 years worth of saved birthday and christmas cards

and 8 books i'd forgotten i had down there

and several sets of gel pens

and 3 beautiful unused journals

and 2 delightful unused coloring books

and all the art of mine that fell off the walls months ago

found houses for everything i don't want Right Next To Me At All Times

reorganized everything on my bedside table

made notes for shelving and containers i need to get tomorrow

did 2 loads of dishes

decluttered the kitchen

fully unpacked from my trip

became less insane.

the apartment is not Clean yet because it is filled with corners and piles that will be their own little four-hour projects. but my bed space is clean for the first time since 2020 and we have clean dishes and all the trash bins are empty so it's now a lot easier to pick up after ourselves.

Nine Hours.

i'm gonna. go take a Very Hot Bath.

[pixelcurious]

I'm doing another mass tidying I guess. It started as just wanting to get rid of some furniture, like the large armchair I successfully dropped off at the dump yesterday (it wasn't nice enough to donate). I was dreading actually doing that for some reason but it was super easy once I got there. Now I'm fired up for more decluttering.

Anyway I just moved a bookcase I want to re-home, and behind it I found a bunch of portfolios of my old art, and thinking about going through them to see what I might keep is turning my brain to absolute static. I want to just cram it all into a bag for recycling. I haven't looked at it or cared about this stash of art since I moved here and shoved it behind the bookcase, so clearly it is not something that sparks joy, and in fact seems to be sparking anti-joy.

Then there's the boxes of art supplies that were crammed around the bookcase, and a big box of books I took off of it. I've already stacked some of the books for re-homing but I need to go through the rest.

Having done a mass (and fast) decluttering at my mom's recently (during Hurricane Helene no less) has both hindered and helped. Hindered because I brought home some more stuff. Helped because I'm kind of on fire now to not be like that anymore, to really just have stuff I need and like and want. Not stuff I keep because I think I should, or it's too emotional to go through, or "it might be useful someday," or "It's broken but I'm going to fix it," etc. etc.

[dhaaruni]

In a vacuum, many of the prescriptions advocated by the anti-color-blind crowd are reasonable: We should all think more about our privileges and our place in the world. An uncomfortable conversation or an honest look in the mirror can be precursors to personal growth. We all carry around harmful, implicit biases and we do need to examine the subconscious assumptions and prejudices that underlie the actions we take and the things we say. My objection is not to these ideas themselves, which are sensible enough. No, my objection is that anti-racism offers little more than a Marie Kondo–ism for the white soul, promising to declutter racial baggage and clear a way to white fulfillment without doing anything meaningful to combat structural racism. As Lasch-Quinn correctly foresaw, “Casting interracial problems as issues of etiquette [puts] a premium on superficial symbols of good intentions and good motivations as well as on style and appearance rather than on the substance of change.” Yet the problem with the therapeutics of contemporary anti-racism is not just that they are politically sterile. When anti-color-blindness and its ideology of insistent “race consciousness” are translated into the sphere of private life—to the domain of friendships, block parties, and backyard barbecues—they assault the very idea of a multiracial society, producing new forms of racism in the process. The fact that our media environment is inundated with an endless stream of books, articles, and social-media tutorials that promise to teach white people how to simply interact with the Black people in their life is not a sign of anti-racist progress, but of profound regression.

[mappingthemoon]

Books Read 2023

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations / Mira Jacob

A Grief Observed / C. S. Lewis

Grit Lit: A Rough South Reader / ed. Brian Carpenter & Tom Franklin

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure / Dorothy Allison

Weather: Air Masses, Clouds, Rainfall, Storms, Weather Maps, Climate (A Golden Nature Guide) / Paul E. Lehr, R. Will Burnett, Herbert S. Zim ; Harry McNaught (ill.)

Improbable Memories / Sarah Moon

Endless Endless: A Lo-Fi History of the Elephant 6 Mystery / Adam Clair

The Difference Between / Billy McCall

The Submissive (The Submissive #1) / Tara Sue Me

Last Night at the Casino [v. 1] / Billy McCall

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing / Marie Kondo ; Cathy Hirano (tr.)

Pnin / Vladimir Nabokov

My Heart Is a Chainsaw / Stephen Graham Jones

"Waltz of the Body Snatchers" / Alfred Bester, in Andromeda I: An original SF anthology / ed. Peter Weston

Blue Highways: A Journey Into America / William Least Heat-Moon

The Stars My Destination (The Gregg Press Science Fiction Series) / Alfred Bester

Laughter in the Dark / Vladimir Nabokov

Man and His Symbols / Carl G. Jung

Mysteries of the Unexplained / ed. Carroll C. Calkins

The Westing Game / Ellen Raskin

The Seven Ages / Louise Glück

The Wild Iris / Louise Glück

Vita Nova / Louise Glück

Doctor Who: Impossible Worlds: A 50-Year Treasury of Art and Design / Stephen Nicholas & Mike Tucker

Where's Waldo? (Where's Waldo #1) / Martin Handford

Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey (Where's Waldo #3) / Martin Handford

Doctor Who 50 Years #3: The Doctors / ed. Marcus Hearn

Rabbit, Run / John Updike

Mother Night / Kurt Vonnegut

Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) / Bibliographic Standards Committee, Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, Association of College and Research Libraries, in collaboration with The Policy Standards Office of the Library of Congress

"Descriptive Bibliography" / Terry Belanger, in Book Collecting: A Modern Guide / ed. Jean Peters

The Essential Doctor Who #2: The TARDIS / ed. Marcus Hearn

Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited / Vladimir Nabokov

Chicago: City on the Make / Nelson Algren

Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918 / Gilles Néret

American Gods: A Novel / Neil Gaiman

Marcel Duchamp, 1887-1968: Art as Anti-Art / Janis Mink

The Empathy Exams: Essays / Leslie Jamison

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Three Tenant Families / James Agee & Walker Evans

Hallucination Orbit: Psychology in Science Fiction / ed. Isaac Asimov, Charles G. Waugh, Martin H. Greenberg

Dream Street: W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project / W. Eugene Smith ; ed. Sam Stephenson

Twilight / Gregory Crewdson ; Rick Moody

Magic Eye: A New Way of Looking at the World / N.E. Thing Enterprises

Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams / Steve Horton & Michael Allred ; Laura Allred (ill.)

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path / Jack Kornfield

The Gin Closet: A Novel / Leslie Jamison

The New Kid on the Block / Jack Prelutsky ; James Stevenson (ill.)

A Book of Common Prayer / Joan Didion

Mariette in Ecstasy / Ron Hansen

Camp Damascus / Chuck Tingle

The Mass Production of Memory: Travel and Personal Archiving in the Age of the Kodak (Public History in Historical Perspective) / Tammy S. Gordon

Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas / Rebecca Solnit & Rebecca Snedeker

Other Voices, Other Rooms / Truman Capote

Fabulous New Orleans / Lyle Saxon ; E.H. Suydam (ill.)

Weird Pennsylvania: Your Travel Guide to Pennsylvania's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets / Matt Lake

Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence (Griffin & Sabine #1) / Nick Bantock

Sabine's Notebook: In Which The Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Continues (Griffin & Sabine #2) / Nick Bantock

The Golden Mean: In Which The Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Concludes (Griffin & Sabine #3) / Nick Bantock

Breath, Eyes, Memory / Edwidge Danticat

Last Night at the Casino, v. 2 / Billy McCall

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions / Randall Munroe

Collection-Level Cataloging: Bound-with Books (Third Millennium Cataloging) / Jain Fletcher

Speaking Pittsburghese: The Story of a Dialect (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics) / Barbara Johnstone

My Misspent Youth: Essays / Meghan Daum

Slender Intuition: Essays on Artist's Block / Brian Hitselberger

The Mister / E L James

Crapalachia: A Biography of a Place / Scott McClanahan

The Transcriptionist: A Novel / Amy Rowland

Explanations/Opinions below the cut:

Ok so I have several reading lists/stacks that I rotate through: my to-read spreadsheet (which has almost 300 titles listed in chronological order by date added, with the oldest being from 8/22/2014), my to-read bookcase/nightstand (which holds ~50 books I’ve acquired over the past few years but haven’t yet read), a stack of oversized unreads that don’t fit on the nightstand shelves (this gets its own list bc I need to read them and find a permanent home for them before the stack gets too tall), and “interruptions” (books that override the list order bc I didn’t want to wait to read them, for whatever reason).

Maybe it’s weird that I’m so attached to reading things “in order”? Idk. I’ve always been like this. It’s only a mild compulsion – obviously, I am perfectly capable of ignoring what’s supposed to be next on the list, in favor of reading something that catches my interest more strongly in the moment, but in general, I like to read things either in the order I added them to the list, or the order I personally acquired a physical copy (if I went by the list only, I’d be drowning in unread books [yay, college town thrift stores], so I gotta stay on top of that pile pretty regularly). So that is why I am often reading things that I first became aware of/added to my list nearly 10 years ago. Sometimes this practice results in feelings like, “Dang, I wish I would’ve actually read this 10 years ago,” but also sometimes, “WOW, I’m so glad I’m reading this RIGHT NOW, as opposed to 10 years ago when I first heard about it!”

I think my favorites this year were Mariette in Ecstasy; Other Voices, Other Rooms; Crapalachia; and Speak, Memory.

Mild disappointments were the essay collections by Leslie Jamison and Meghan Daum, two authors I’m pretty sure I discovered via popular and relateable quotes reblogged on tumblr ca. 2014, but the collections taken as a whole just had too many moments of cringe – casual classism, arrogant self-absorption, and other annoying and unrelateable qualities typical of privileged 20-something writers (this tone definitely appealed to me when I was a naïve and melodramatic snotty 20-something, so there’s that).

As a kind of memorial, Rachael and I read David’s three favorite books: The Stars My Destination, Mother Night, and American Gods. In all the time I knew him, including all the times we used to sit on the porch together, reading quietly while he drank whiskey, I never thought to ask him his favorites. I kept looking for pieces of him in the stories, wondering what lines stood out, what made a book memorable, what did it say about him that these were his favorites.

Being an elder Millennial, I’m in the stage of nostalgically re-acquiring important artifacts from my childhood, so that’s why there are some children’s books on my list. Where’s Waldo? was one of the most coveted books in my grade-school library! There was always a list of people waiting to check it out, but usually, whoever actually had the book that week would let the other kids gather around and look together.

My Heart Is a Chainsaw was a recommendation from my goth teenaged birthdaughter <3 which I probably read too much personal symbolism into but maybe not!

I thought John Updike was overrated, lol.

Favorite photography book: W. Eugene Smith’s Dream Street. His pictures made me so homesick, and it was wild because he took them from 1955-1957 but they still really, REALLY, to me, looked like the Pittsburgh of my ‘80s/’90s memories (bc Pittsburgh doesn’t change, and also the “idea” or “brand” of Pittsburgh in the ‘80s/’90s was ofc consciously referencing its industrial working-class past). He took over 10,000 photos but was never able to “finish” the project to his intense, obsessive standards of perfection (I KNOW THAT FEEL) and felt it failed to capture the multifaceted essence of the city. WELL, not in my opinion at least!

PS I'm moonmoth on LibraryThing.

[wolfinthethorns]

18, 39 💖

Re the Over 30s ask meme...

18: Pro or anti tchotchkes? Pro to a fault. I'm currently decluttering to storage so we can sell our flat, and I'm already on three boxes just from the living room. (One of those is almost entirely a taxidermied crow, though, so it's not that bad.) (I have a taxidermied crow, it's entirely that bad)

39: What little treat do you get when you run errands? Erm... I don't really get little treats for myself. Not out of any sense of iron-clad self discipline or anything noble like that, I'm just... not used to it. It doesn't occur to me that little treats are a thing that is allowed. I suppose I'm a slut for poking about in a charity shop if I pass one, does that count?

[weirdlittleberry]

ADHD house chores today be like

- washing and hanging 2 loads

- tidying up 2 drawers of my desk

- hand washing my scrunchies

- washing the make-up brushes

- anti-limescale in the shower for no other reasons than noticing the limescale (that has been sitting there for weeks)

- tidying up the dining table where things have piled up but tonight I have an online painting class so I need it free and clean

- buying the stuff for the painting class last minute and some underwear BC I've been gently decluttering my wardrobe

[knifedog]

for my ask meme: 6, 13, 18, 37, 69 :)

MWAH I LOV U

6.Most precious thing one of your pets has destroyed? ive been extremely lucky that Sally has been respectful of my stuff (because I make sure she has lots of Her Stuff she can destroy). She did go through a phase of only destroying my shoes so she did get chew the shoes I wore to my folks wedding (they were horrible red and zebra printed heels that I wore with a bronze dress).

OH! she did steal my white chocolate macadiam nut cookies from subway when I first got her! I was devasted and also didn't think she could reach the kitchen table..

13. Which filter are you most likely to go “eh, it’s probably fine” when you find out you need to change it? ... air filter... listen... I rent!! its probably fine!! 18. Pro or anti tchotchkes? EXTREMELY PRO!! LOVE KNICKS KNACKS AND THINGS ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! I deserve a little treat when I do running around and sometimes thats a lil guy for my shelf.

37. Do you still listen to the same music you listened to in high school? noo.. I was listening to a lot of metal and hardcore stuff to fit in with the cool guys. Which I do still enjoy some of it! but I reach for hyperpop, nightcore, just really fucking annoying music. look at this! I very genuinely love these songs and I feel no shame (but I acknowledge its probably too stimulating for most people lmao)

69. What are you looking forward to next week? HMMM I think.. getting rid of a ton of stuff so I can get my crafting corner back LMAO thats a very 30's answer. There's a lot of decluttering that needs to happen and you first gotta make a mess to clear things out. sad but true..