Ecology of Ease, Midland, TX (2026)

12/28/2022

On Christmas Day, the common area was overwhelmingly messy. It was littered with wrapping paper, packaging, garbage from consumed sweets, and gifts!

(Gifts are a tricky thing. They’re new to the house, so often they don’t have a place yet. How do you put something away that doesn’t have a place to go yet? Now imagine you’re a kid and you’re being told to put brand new things “away”.)

My son tried to lay on the couch under a blanket with a book. But each time he tried to get his legs up and stretch out, he’d knock items from his brother’s stocking off the end of the couch. He couldn’t come closer to me as that part of the couch was covered too. There was nowhere to put a book down on the coffee table even! Even the floor was not available as it had opened boxes and paper strewn about.

Ok! It’s too much now. Enough! Something must be done, but I don’t like to work alone on stuff like this. 😉 I remembered The Power-Clean my husband and I used to do when we were short on time but disgusted by our surroundings. I rallied the kids.

I told them, “Ok! We are going to clean up for 15 minutes!” (A manageable timeframe.) “Take anything that belongs to you and put it away in your room. If you don’t know where it goes, put it nicely under the tree.” I then identified what was recyclable vs what was garbage and gave instructions as to where those items would go. I told them, “anything that is food goes in the kitchen.”

These were simple instructions and I put a timer on my phone for when the 15 minutes were up. When the timer was done, they could stop but they chose to finish up for a couple more minutes. We worked cooperatively and quickly and turned the whole area around. It resulted in a more peaceful Christmas Day in our house. We all felt more comfortable in the space and accomplished for our hard work. ☺️ And my teenager was able to stretch all almost-6 feet of himself out in the couch and enjoy his book.

I highly recommend the Power-Clean technique! 💪🧺🧹

11/20/2022

It’s almost ready!! We filled the Bokashi bin a couple of weeks ago and then let it sit covered and undisturbed the minimum 2 weeks. That was Tuesday and today is Sunday because also: we busy. 😉

When I pulled the lid off, it was a bit of white mold, which is a good sign. 👍

Our household is going with the Soil Factory method. This happens by putting 4 inches of soil into a Rubbermaid bin and then adding the contents of the Bokashi, followed by another 4-5 inches of soil. Set the lid on the bin (not sealed) and don’t touch it for another 2 weeks. … and I guess at that time it should all be composted. I feel a little skeptical but I will report back!

🤞

I will acknowledge that this seems like work. But as with anything really, there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. Work today makes ease tomorrow and a lot of the job is just getting started! If this works, the process will become automatic and I will be rewarded with a nutrient rich soil that produces healthier plants. On top of this, I will feel proud, hopefully inspire someone else to follow suit, and be less of a part of the MASSIVE human-caused problem of food waste and LEACHATE that impacts all of us, globally. No big deal. 😉

10/28/2022

Did you know that sending your food scraps to the garbage bin causes a big problem called Leachate? More on that when my son is done his science project … 😉 🧑‍🔬

I’d been nervous to create my own compost because I didn’t have the space or knowledge. But I knew that it was loads better for the planet in so many ways for organic materials to be composted. Enter Bokashi. I first heard of this overseas and started a bin but left before I got to see the process to its end.

The basic idea with Bokashi composting is that the food ferments, rather than decomposes. This makes for a faster start to finish time and you shouldn’t have to deal with bad smells or attracting rodents to the yard.

I’ve attached a couple pics. One is where I’ve collected fruits and vegetable skins or pieces we didn’t eat. (If you look close enough you’ll also see skins from chickpeas and some cooked spaghetti noodles where I made too much.) I tossed that collection into my actual Bokashi bin. Then I sprinkled the scraps with Bokashi bran. Then I covered it with a bag and pushed it all down. Then I left the bag there and put the lid back on.

The bin is almost full and I’ve had it a couple of weeks. Once that bin is full, I will leave it covered for 2 weeks and every so often, go use that spigot at the bottom to get “Bokashi tea”. That can be diluted and used to feed house plants. It also helps to keep the fermentation process moving along.

I’m excited to see this process from start to finish and will likely do a full blog post on it when the time comes. 🙂

Downfall: no meat or bones or large chunks should go in. No pet waste. Nothing too wet.
Upside: some is better than none. I feel more positive knowing I’m doing something, rather than nothing.

It’s so easy to shrug shoulders and say, “oh well, this is how it’s done here I guess”. But when you know better, you can’t unknow it!

If you live in a city that composts, thank your lucky stars and be responsible with what you put in there so you don’t ruin it for everyone else. 😀☘️🍃🌿

I’ll report back on this process that has me so intrigued! 🤞👍

10/24/2022

I frequently move house (and country). I also frequently change my interests. And something else I frequently do is unsubscribe from business emailing lists. It takes a minute now and then. Sometimes I will spend a half hour combing through my junk mail and asking myself if I still need mindfulness updates from Thailand, or movie updates in Abu Dhabi, or garden sales in Canada or anything that I’m not involved in any more.

At first I felt like a traitor to stand up and say I choose to not be marketed to by you any more … you who I fully supported at one time and continue to wish good things for … you who served me very well in our business dealings when we still had them … you who I met at a market once. But it also weighs on me to see those emails. It’s like a reminder of me letting someone down. Odd as that seems … I stay on the list because I want good things for the business owner or staff or business itself. But I also need to get OFF those lists because I cannot support them from afar anyways. Or because they cannot support me. Or just because seeing the emails reminds me that I’m not that person any more or maybe I’m lacking in that aspect of wishes for myself, or that I never did do that one project I had hoped to do, or I’ll never get to visit that place again … or, or, or. It doesn’t matter. If I haven’t opened marketing from them in, oh let’s say, a year 🤷‍♀️, then I likely don’t need a weekly email letting me know about upcoming sales and opportunities to join in.

It’s such a small thing. And maybe a weird thing? But unsubscribing from marketing emails frees up some mental space and also some time for me. 😃 It’s one less thing to scroll past or consider or feel badly about. And I don’t unsubscribe from everything, though one certainly could. I just ask myself, realistically, what I would expect to receive and open and find useful in the near future. And I always know how to get back in touch if that changes. ☺️

10/19/2022

Just brightening my outlook this morning! … well, my outlook to the backyard anyways, but I think that radiates out to our perspective on life, too! 😃 Looking through mucky windows doesn’t feel good from inside or out.

Have a bright and sunny day! (And outlook!) ✌️

09/21/2022

What’s in there? Bibs and bobs that have been collected over years to add to the craft bin. One of my sons came here regularly to create art or invention. Now my youngest is 11 and I was asking myself if I really needed a collection at the ready for impromptu art sessions. My answer? No. Sadly, no I do not.

I grabbed this huge bag (because when I find myself with plastic bags, which I do try to avoid, I keep them to at least be reused) and started stuffing! We’ve got bingo dabbers, finger paints, water colour, scissors, glitter, net, bows, buttons, tissue papers, pipe cleaners, Pom poms, origami kit and paper, beads, and so much more.

If the first step was asking the question and the second step was collecting the items, I suppose the third step would be to repurpose or gift. 🤔 … How about an elementary school fine art teacher? Bingo! (including the dabbers! 😆)

I wasn’t sure she would want the items as there aren’t 25 of everything for a class. But they can be used in open art projects or even Makerspace. And isn’t variety the spice of life? 😃 She was delighted to take these items for her students!

This small act:
- helped out a classroom/teacher
- reduced waste and consumption
- helped me because a) I don’t have to look at these items and have them take mental space from me any more, and b) I will never have to search through these items looking for ONE thing ever again
- just maybe inspired an artist! 🎨

(And of course, I only gave her paint and glue that wasn’t dried up! Nobody wants my actual garbage.)

09/15/2022

Today’s ease is a cheat. 😆

So we are well into our move to Midland, TX. I have been looking closely at each drawer and each closet and all the contents asking myself when was the last time this family used this item? Will I really repair this article of clothing? What age is this toy/game/movie designed for compared to the ages of my own children? … you get the idea.

Well, I’ve been taking these items and putting them into a dedicated area of « things that can go now ». And when I was ready, I’d rehome the items by way of donation to charities or giving to someone who expressed a need or selling them on online forums. Maybe even having a garage sale!

BUT …

Today on my way to school dropoffs, I noticed some signs for an estate sale down the block from me. And when I came back from dropoffs, the street was FULL of cars!

Now I like to think I know an opportunity when I see one. 🤩

I raced to my recycling bin and pulled out some cardboard to repurpose into this glorious piece of informative art. I quickly moved all the items earmarked for removal from the home and put them right out on the front driveway with my sign.

Within the hour, people had removed for me: a wheelbarrow with a broken wheel, a booster seat, some childrens clothing, shoes, a pet carrier, a snow brush for the car (yes, in Texas!), a few toys, some furnace filters to a system we no longer have, as well as numerous other nicknacks.

1) I just saved myself heaps of trouble!
2) People were so happy to receive these items!
3) I don’t have to look at that pile and mentally schedule the day to rehome it all! It’s GONE!

I highly recommend moving items that you’re ready to let go of into a designated area so when an opportunity arises, you can act swiftly and get the job done in one go, too! 😃

⭐️⭐️⭐️

09/11/2022

I wish I had take a “before” and “after” rather than a “mid” and “after”. 😉

This little table in the laundry area has been annoying me and weighing on me for weeks. The movers placed it in the space backwards: a fact that would only be obvious to me, who knows there are more wear marks on one side than the other. Rather than turning it around and adding the shelf under the drawers, I stacked said shelf as well as laundry and random items that had no location on top of the table. Now the table is covered with items and it’s not functioning as the levelled storage it should be … PLUS it’s weighing on me. Every time I went I to the laundry room, i noted I had to deal with this growing mess.

So this morning, I took 20 minutes to take the items off, turn it around, give it a quick wipe, and add the shelf.

Why did this take me weeks to accomplish?

Because I’m busy. Because I’m tired. Because there are too many other things to do. Because I give my attention to my family and their needs. Because sometimes I look at my phone too much. 😕

No matter. It happens!

But today, I fixed the table. And I feel great about it. And now I know this room is closer to being unpacked/set-up and it’s making me feel hopeful rather than weighed down and a little defeated. 🙂 And it’s such a small thing to set up a small table properly, but it’s had a big impact.

Making this table functional is a step in creating ease. It’s current me taking care of future me. I can easily store items and then find them. I can get into the room more easily. I feel more comfortable in my mind and in this space. And I have a clean surface! (Clean surfaces create calm.) And further, I never have to think of it again … ☺️

08/22/2022

In the midst of the chaos of arriving to a new place and having moving staff haul in boxes …

One of the movers scratched her head and said, “y’know, y’all got enough furniture to fill this place but your actual stuff … you don’t have much: you got maybe just over half of what most people have in these houses.”

It was the nicest thing anyone ever said to me. ☺️

07/23/2022

What a mess!

But it’s actually just a snapshot of a process. Preparing for a move is a great time to decide to not bring useless or outdated paperwork along for the ride.

Seven years is how long you need to hold onto things for tax records. I’ve seen papers much older than 7 years in my files before … also receipts for things I no longer own, notes that make no sense to present-me, and items that were likely not even useful when they got filed.

It’s a good idea to go through your files once a year. That may mean combing through a folder or going through an entire file cabinet. Whatever system you have for whatever important papers you keep, attach an event to the task. Maybe this is something you do when the kids go back to school each year? Or maybe it’s when your mortgage renews, or the new year or tax season. It can be helpful to put an annual reminder in your phone apps to give you the little push you may need to get the job done. Future-you will appreciate how easily you can navigate the files when you’re looking for something specific! And going through them annually can keep you fresh on what you’ve got and where you put it! 👌🏻🤓

That’s present-you creating ease for future-you! 🤗

06/07/2022

How cool is Airdrie?!

05/26/2022

This tech was purchased second hand and we have had for about 7 years and had it slowly become obsolete in the household. One has been rebuilt from pieces of a third, even! But, alas, it was time to go.

Did you know that Airdrie’s London Drugs does a computer drive each year? I was told that most years they get well over 100 computers that they clean (for germs and for data), repair, and then donate back into the community for local students who would not otherwise have access to a device for school!!

Computers are welcome there any time, but they typically do the drive in August and September.

This keeps resources out of landfills, helps local students have better access, which furthers their educational potential, which benefits families and communities! It’s all cyclical and all good! 🌎👩🏼‍🏫

It can be hard to let things go that cost a lot of money or previously offered a lot of value. But there is such a gift in releasing it, too. I know these computers will go forth and make a difference to some deserving kid. Additionally, it’s no longer weighing on my mind that we have them and don’t use them.

Ecology of Ease

12/28/2022

11/20/2022

10/28/2022

10/24/2022

10/19/2022

09/21/2022

09/15/2022

09/11/2022

08/22/2022

07/23/2022

06/07/2022

05/26/2022

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