Messy Veggies

With the summer heat comes the abundance of neighborhood vegetable gardens. August and September usually give birth to multitudes of tomato, squash, sunflowers, herbs and peppers and you can really see what your winter and spring work can accomplish.

Now that you are reaping your delicious rewards, you can also keep this in mind: the vegetable garden is a wonderful place to keep things messy. Sure, we all want our gardens to look as good as the ones created by the Barefoot Contessa and Martha Stewart, but like most things these perfect women do, it's unrealistic. Gardens are outside and outside is disorganized.

Glorious tomato plants don't care if they are in perfectly measured rows with matching cages; they just want a lot of hot sun and a little bit of water. Weeds are going to pop up in the most unlikely places and friendly little birds and bugs can't be eradicated in one fell swoop. Because of the heat and general summer laziness, I really don't feel like getting all the weeds out of my beds (which are made of old fence wood). My walkways really need to be mowed and my compost pile is really piling up. That's okay, my plants still grow and I don't want to stress too much about it.

It does make for wonderful peace of mind when your house, closets, vehicle and workspace are clean and organized, but I think once in a while you should have permission to be a little messy.


Photo courtesy of Magalie L'Abbé

My Minimalist Travel Wardrobe

I love to travel. Over the years, I've visited fantastic places like Japan and Fiji, Turkey and Easter Island, the Czech Republic and the Galapagos Islands and have loved every minute of it. After my first few trips, I quickly realized that packing super light is the only way to travel.

I can't travel without a good raincoat. This basic black coat is from Patagonia and has saved me in several downpours.

When discussing travel wardrobes with other world travelers, I've come to the conclusion that too many people are concerned with what others are going to think about them based on their clothes. I don't think I've ever thought differently about a fellow traveler with fascinating travel stories by what shirt he or she is wearing. I've chosen these clothing items to join me on my trips because of their versatility, various pockets, and ability to dry quickly and keep their shape while I hike, bike, run for trains or swim in tropical waters.

From my typical travel wardrobe, you'll notice that most of my items are black or gray. These basic items are in dark colors that hide dirt and can fit into nearly any situation (except maybe a black-tie ball). I intersperse my wardrobe with a few colors and a bright scarf to liven it up. I only bring two pairs of shoes: a good walking/hiking pair and some flip flops. If I know I'm going to a wedding, fancy party or to a more cosmopolitan area (e.g. New York City, Los Angeles) I may throw in some nice jeans, flats or a dress. However, these are my typical items that I bring on every trip, and to make it even easier, I keep them all in one area of closet so I can grab-and-go.

I bring several long sleeve shirts that I can use for daily wear, sleeping or for layering. Wearing all three of these shirts together keeps me warmer than one bulky sweater. The top shirt is one of my favorites: it's a Patagonia wicking top with a big pocket on the back. I've used that pocket for my wallet and money, to store additional clothing and for holding my lunch for the day. The second black top is another wool Patagonia layering piece with a zip neck and the third shirt is a Scottevest Women's Q-Zip in Violet.

I've really fallen in love with the Scottevest brand. Their well-made and versatile clothes are full of pockets, which is a necessity for light packers. I purchased the Women's Lightweight Vest for its 20 pockets (including one huge back pocket) and have taken it on every trip since.

I always take a scarf or Buff to wear around my neck on planes or in cold weather, as a blanket on the beach or protection from the sun. I purchased this scarf at a shop in midtown Manhattan for about $3 and I love how soft it is.

I always bring some sort of leggings, yoga pants or workout pants with me. They usually do triple or quadruple duty as loungewear, workout wear, pajamas or a layering piece to put under my pants or shorts.

Finding good travel pants seems to be a struggle for women travelers. While my Merrel Lanaia pants/skirt combo are looking a little wrinkled in the above photos, they are actually excellent travel pants. They are seven clothing items in one: zip-off pants, shorts (which are not dumb-looking like most zipped-off shorts), capris, a skort (the shorts and skirt together), a skirt, a skirt/pant combo or a skirt/capri combo. These were the only pants I took on a trip to Chile and Easter Island and they traveled/washed and dried like a charm.

Whether I'm going to a warm or cold climate, I always have one or two t-shirts and a few tank tops to use for hot weather, layering and for sleeping.

If I'm heading to the tropics, I will throw in a bikini and a rash guard. The flip flops are always in my bag for hot weather, lounging around a hostel and walking to and from an outdoor onsen in Tokyo.

I really only bring about 3-4 pairs of underwear and two bras or sports bras. They are always in rotation — one pair on, one pair drying after being washed and one pair waiting to be worn.

My tried and true Ryka shoes have hiked mountains, walked cobblestone streets, and have been soaked in downpours. They are starting to show their age and I will have to replace them soon, but these types of nondescript shoes are perfect for the traveler who packs light.

Falling off the declutter wagon

Even though you may have made excellent strides to declutter your life, is it okay to fall off the declutter wagon? That's the way my life has been for the past few months, rather than getting simpler, my life has gotten a bit more complicated: visiting family members, work and home projects and new hobbies have gotten in the way of me trying to obtain a decluttered home and a clear head.

What's the best way to get back on the wagon bound for a simpler life? I've come to these conclusions:

Reevaluate

Take a look at what might be blocking your process. Have you decided to do something on a whim and it's causing you anxiety and distress? It's okay to let it go. For example, I have several family members coming to visit for a month this summer and they are not used to the heat. I was practically killing myself to make them comfortable and was even thinking of getting an expensive above-ground pool. After much thought and a push from my husband, I dropped the idea and I feel a lot better. My relatives are great, but they can go to the lake.

Life happens, even when you try to make it simple

Things happen that are entirely out of your control. You might just make yourself crazy trying to constantly stay in control. It's okay to let go of some things that don't jive with your uncluttered life.

Let things get messy for a while

It's okay if your life gets hectic and wild for a few months. Don't pout or overreact. Things will get back to normal soon.

Find just a few minutes of peace each day

If your life has gotten a little too wild for your taste, plan for just a few minutes (during your lunch hour, at 5 a.m., in the garden or during a walk) to take a few breaths and clear your head.

Photo by taomancer/Flickr

Simple Apps

The appeal of apps is mesmerizing. There are so many apps that say FREE next to them that it's difficult not to click and download them to your device of choice. Before you know it, your iPod, iPhone or iPad is filled up with the tiny boxes with the rounded corners – and most of them you don't even use or need.

It took a crash on my device and the loss of all my apps to realize that I don't need to download every app that I come across. These are the five apps that I have found to be the most useful and that I use nearly every day.

1. iXpensit: $4.99

I use this app all the time to track my daily expenses. It's a lifesaver when it comes to doing my monthly spending and income reports. It's totally worth it at $4.99.

2. Kindle: Free

With the Kindle app on my iPod Touch, I can load up both free and purchased books from the Amazon store directly to my device.
 
3. Relax Melodies: Free for the lite version

This app allows me to create my own nature or white noise sounds to use while I'm meditating, napping or trying to drown out outside noise. I love the Rain + Zen music mix.
 
4. Google Translate: Free

Google Translate has become very handy for traveling. It can translate up to 60 languages.
 
5. Star Walk: $2.99

This is my fun app. It's fascinating to be able to look up a the night sky,  wonder what some bright object is and be able to identify it with more information than you ever needed. It's a blast for those who love to gaze at the sky when not looking at their iPad.

The Simple Suitcase

I will be taking several trips this year: Hawaii, New Orleans, Chile and Easter Island. None of these places really have anything in common, except that I will be traveling with one small carry-on bag to each of them.

In the past 15 years of traveling, I have yet to check a bag. I have used only one carry-on bag for each of my trips, and I've used the same style of packing whether I am traveling for a few days or for a month. I even went "no baggage" for a trip to Texas last year. Most of the time I carry a Patagonia MLC wheel/backpack hybrid, but for my recent trip to Hawaii I only carried a school day pack.

The idea of traveling with one bag seems to be a subject that a lot of people are interested in, and blog posts written by people like Colin Wright and Craig and Linda of Indie Travel Podcast all tout the positive aspects of carrying your immediate world on your back (and having it fit nicely in an airline overhead bin).

So, why travel with just one carry-on bag?

1. There is less to worry about

You will not have to stress that the airline will lose your luggage, someone will rifle through your underwear or your bag will end up in Batanbang while you are waiting for it in Boston.

2. No waiting at the baggage carousel

Waiting with hundreds of other people at the baggage carousel while you are half-asleep is not fun. Bypass the carousel and get the first taxi out of the airport.

3. It's easier to run for that train you are late for or to make a quick getaway

While it's never great to be late for a train or bus, it's even less fun to have to run through a strange city while carrying a 40 pound bag plus your two carry-on bags. In addition, with the state of the world these days (and those pesky natural disasters) it's nice to know that if something happens, you can grab your small bag and make a quick getaway.

My next post will be how I pack a small, minimalist travel wardrobe.

Declutter your brain with one word

One word.

At the beginning of my yoga class, the instructor asks each of us to think of one word to keep in our mind, repeat and listen to throughout each practice. Several of my past words have been:

Balance.

Accept.

Inhabit.

Chocolate.

The idea of focusing on one word for a period of time has been profound for me. In daily life, so many other words run rampant through my brain: email check drive keys door lock credit keyboard ATM iPod headphones phone check meeting deadline call mistake...

Being able to focus, if just for an hour, on one simple word has allowed me to declutter my mind and re-balance in order to face another onslaught of daily words.

Photo by Per Ola Wiberg

MinimalistBeth

 Recently I have been watching the YouTube channel created by minimalistbeth, a woman who is in the process of slowly getting rid of the majority of her possessions in order to pay down debt, live simply and move back to her home in New York. Her basic and to the point videos are inspirational and reflect what a lot of Americans I'm sure are feeling: a desire to live with a lot less and to hopefully become happier and healthier in the process. Beth is now living in one room of her Phoenix apartment, has no car or TV and will soon be quitting her job and packing her minimalist wardrobe to fly off to a better life. Good luck Beth!