Clean Nothing but the Floor

Photo courtesy Flickr

If you play your cards right and attend to your physical surroundings as you use them, there will be no routine housework in your future, except for floor maintenance.

You’ll still have to wash windows now and then and detail occasional projects, but most of the routine that is called housework can be deleted.

It’s simple: keep horizontal surfaces clear of clutter so that they’re easy to wipe. A fast pass with a towel is all that’s necessary to prevent crud from accumulating on fixtures. Cleaning guru Don Aslett says that dishes develop plaque, like teeth, which is why it’s easier to wash dishes right after a meal. I assume that is true for sinks and counter tops as well.

Rubbing alcohol is a degreaser and disinfectant. It makes short work of cleaning up a stove, sanitizing faucet handles, and disinfecting bathrooms. Test a small area if you’re not certain how it will affect a material. If you saturate a clean wiper with a bit of alcohol, you can start by wiping glass or mirror, move on to chrome, and finish up on porcelain. There’s a small fire hazard with alcohol, so make sure to use it around relatively cool areas.

An unintended consequence of clearing the decks is to double or triple the amount of space you have to work in. More after the jump.

What to Eat

shadowmaji photo courtesy Flickr

I’m visiting my son. He just took off for work, we arm-waved about dinner, and he asked me to Email some suggestions.

First, plan the menu from the store, not the cookbook. Look around the market for what’s cheapest. Often, the lowest price is for something that’s in season and relatively local, which means most nutritious. Not a bad combination.

Keep deli staples on the shelf: olive oil, sea salt, whole pepper, hard cheese for grating, olives, pepper sauce, turbinado sugar. Back them up with brown rice, pasta, canned and dry beans, and canned tomatoes. Add dried onion, vegetable bouillon cubes, and small amounts of the spices you use most often.

If you have the time and inclination to keep a few pots of herbs going, flat-leafed parsley, thyme, and rosemary will add life to a dish. Planting a clove of garlic that wants to sprout gives a ready source of minced green tops. Shallot tops are good, too.

If I were cruising around the market today, I’d look at deals on meat, enough for one dish, or a freezer pack of something that’s convenient to keep around, vegetables in season, including greens, fruit that stores well, lemons, and fresh garlic.

Then I’d scout the inner aisles for nuts, dark chocolate, crackers made with healthy fat, and Scandinavian rye crisp. It’s worth reading labels: some old-school brands have changed their formulas. If you can find a cookie made with butter, buy it. Otherwise, feed your sweet tooth with fruit.

Keep dried fruit on hand, good tea, coffee, and wine vinegar, some canned fish, and fresh eggs.

It’s easy to overlook good bread as a convenience food. Unsalted butter and white Oregon cheddar are good additions, as is pure peanut butter.

That’s enough to keep the wolf from the door. The pantry list isn’t much different from what hikers carry, except for fresh things.

With the basics on the shelf, you’ll always have something to eat when you’re hungry. It might not be exciting, but it will be good for body and wallet.

Shop intuitively. Buy what you eat. Eat what you buy. If something isn’t moving, get rid of it. Concentrate on basic ingredients: they give you the most meals for the money.

-30- More after the jump.

That Fifties Show

elena-lu photo courtesy Flickr

It’s important to realize that our vision of life in space was formed by the star of I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, a trained ballerina. She was Lu to Desi in Desilu Productions. Her husband, Desi Arnaz, a Cuban musician, insisted that the work be filmed on archival stock at four times the cost of ordinary footage, which is why we know about their work today.

Star Trek was their second series.

More after the jump.

What's in a Name?

Photo courtesy Flickr

The interior design community has added two categories to the list of French period furniture, “Louis the Hotel” and my favorite, “Louie Louie”. More after the jump.

Inside Work with No Heavy Lifting

akseabird photo courtesy Flickr

It’s all in how you look at it: astrophysics, dental hygiene, programming. More after the jump.

Nothing's Left but Ferrari

Slightlynorth photo courtesy of Flickr

Car dealers used to have their headquarters in this neighborhood. My partner took a late night stroll recently and reported that all but one of the showrooms have been turned into clubs. More after the jump.

The Twenty-first Century Urban Farmhouse

rusty.grass photo courtesy Flickr

It was my privilege a few years ago to visit a small family ranch in North Central Washington. I had read that a working agricultural operation will place a low priority on domestic amenities: productive equipment comes first. The barn might very well look better than the house.

The place I visited was a Victorian structure in sound condition. It had the gently weathered elegance that develops that dry environment, and while it had seen long use, it was carefully maintained. The pure air made renovating unnecessary. I was there as a city mouse with a country neighbor, and my hostess said, “We just do things the country way here,” as she served us coffee and a snack off flawless tableware that had landed at the end of a two thousand mile line of supply when the place was new. As we left, she casually offered my friend ten gallons of cream.

I know many people who make their livings out of their homes, and it's wise to choose furnishings that are good bargains or that produce income. I sense a fascinating aesthetic shift happening in interiors. They’re not an end in themselves any longer, but a means to a prosperous life. People are willing to improvise with nearly anything that will do what they want done. Electronics are more important than side tables.

Wendy Goodman’s work for “New York Magazine”, Norma Skurka’s classic “Underground Interiors”, and British Conde’ Nast’s “World of Interiors” are all inspiring sources of alternative design solutions. Your friends and neighbors probably are, too. Seventies designers Jay Steffy and Michael Taylor conjured elegance out of driftwood and floor pillows. Jed Johnston created elegant rooms from Seventies neo-classical furnishings. It’s all in the spacing.

If I were starting from scratch, fireproof security, wiring, and surge protection would be my first priorities, followed by fresh paint and detailing, shop lights, and a full field kit of state of the art ultra-light camping gear. The floor is the principal furnishing, so make it as appealing as can be and protect it by removing street shoes at the entrance. More after the jump.