Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Building Blocks
Last week I was with someone who was trying to clean some tape residue from a window. We tend to think of specific products for specific jobs—Goo Gone, OxiClean, Citra Solv—and all of these work, but the bottom line is that there are a few primary ingredients that really get the job done. “Anything alcohol based will work,” my client said. Right!
I was reminded of this again yesterday when my 11-year-old came running in, excitedly asking me if I knew that Dr. Bronner’s could also be used as shampoo. “Of course,” I said, and like a wise old woman in a movie, I proceeded to tell her, “When I was young and had a tiny studio apartment, I used Dr. Bronner’s for my hair, my floor and for washing my delicate clothes” In fact, I was very minimalist in those days: baking soda, white vinegar and Dr. Bronner’s were all I needed to keep my home spic and span. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to get the perfect cleanser for every little thing, but then suddenly the cabinet under your sink is overflowing with gunk you use once a year. You probably don’t want to throw out your Windex and start using vinegar, but when it comes to problems you tackle less frequently, like silver polishing, you might consider using a vinegar solution. Rather than buying Goo Gone, remove sticky labels from nonporous surfaces with cooking oil or alcohol.
Don’t stop with the cleaning supplies! By keeping flexible pantry items in stock, like olive oil, garlic, onions and canned tomatoes, you can make a wider variety of dishes than with premade foods. Try to use same theory with your kitchen utensils and wardrobe. It’s better to have fewer tools and use them more, whether you are talking about chef’s knives or turtleneck sweaters. You don’t need a bunch of specialty gadgets for every kitchen task; likewise, you’ll get more mileage from a single black turtleneck than seven different-colored ones.
Break your needs down to the simplest building blocks and see how much you can do with just those basics. You might discover that less is actually more.