A new leaf

So I had to give away most of my plants. And the three I kept (bell pepper, strawberries, and some herbs) have been slowly dying over the past month. The bell pepper looked promising at first, but some sneaky little bugs just moved in last week and have accelerated its yellowing process. I tried cleaning the leaves of both the strawberry and the bell pepper yesterday, but most of the leaves crumbled in my hands.

Sadness.

HOWEVER - there have been other happenings on the horizon. Including, most significantly, approval to FINISH MY PHD (ok, you all already know this, since the six people who read this blog are my parents, sisters, husband, and maybe my in-laws). But I still repeat it a lot because that makes it more real.

So, what does that mean? That means that I am doing my darndest to set a calendar and stick to it. My current plan is to defend in early December and be out of Boston by the new year. It sounds far away, but I've already committed sending my first dissertation chapter in late September, which sounds very close.

What also sounds close is that over the course of less than four months, my apartment needs to empty itself out. I have to use/sell/donate/throw away/ship to Switzerland everything that I own (options listed in order of preference). And I own a LOT.

I have issues with books - especially remainders, or "Bargain Books" as they call them at Brookline Booksmith ("Ooooohhh, only $4 for a hardcover! I've vaguely heard of this subject area, and now suddenly I want to know everything about it and this book is the perfect opportunity! I can't let it get away. Look, a mystery! And a current fiction! And sudoku! And more crosswords! MUST BUY THEM ALL." The dangers of bookstores are highly underrated). Although, to be honest, I also have a problem with getting rid of books, so most likely we are looking at some expensive, heavy boxes to be shipped (to save, I plan to send them by ship, preferable a steam one. Is that still a thing?)

I have issues with clothes - especially clearance ones. ("Oooh, another graphic tee, and this one is only $6! One can never have too many graphic tees! Plus who wants to do laundry regularly? If I get these four shirts, that's almost another week I can skip. Hmm, but in order to do that, I'll need more socks. Ooooh, these socks have sushi on them! I definitely need these.") I have managed to cut down on this habit and now anytime I try something on at home and don't like the way it fits, it automatically goes into a donation bag. I just donated six bags of clothing this past weekend - and I still have 2 closets, an overflowing dresser, and a plastic bin full. It's a slow process.

I also have problems with food and groceries. Possibly because the grocery store is between home and lab, so it serves as a poor substitute for retail therapy after a long day in lab. Or possibly because when I am heading home I am always hungry, and even frozen french fries suddenly appear delectable amid the grumblings of my stomach.

Accentuating the groceries problem is that I buy dog food at Target. Which, of course, means that I am in Target every two to three weeks. The Target closest to me recently expanded, and now the dog food is next to the people food. Those stupid store designers/psychologists are REALLY good. I've read articles about how they design the stores to make people wander and look at/buy things they don't need, yet I still do it - every single time. Gah. Target is the Holy Grail of "Snacks you never knew existed and yet now need to buy" and I mostly blame Archer Farms. Stupid dark green packaging and attractive photographs! Apparently the only way to not spend too much money at Target is to never, ever GO to Target. At least at the grocery store I do a decent job of sticking to the edges of the store and thus typically buy fresh-ish type of items.

/end Target rant

So, why am I posting all this? Because I have posed myself a challenge over the next few months. After hitting both Target and Trader Joe's this past weekend and finding myself a couple hundred dollars down (if I had smelling salts, I would now give them to my parents and husband. Sorry and I love you guys!), I realized that I needed to get serious about using up items I already have.

The problem is that I have often told myself to do this previously. True, I didn't have an exit date looming on the horizon, but I did have a full fridge and cupboard. And I still bought more. So, how to make myself accountable? Well, first thing, I posted my intentions on facebook (the keeper of all commitments). However, I figured people there didn't need to hear my updates on how I'm doing, so while the initial intent is honorable, the follow-through is nil.

So instead, I'm hi-jacking my defunct garden blog (although the garden will be resurrected in Zurich next spring! I've made a patio for plants part of my "must have" list for an apartment - right below "dishwasher" and "kitchen larger than a cardboard box") and using this as a way to keep me on track and also keep note of any fun recipes I might discover on the way.

If you want to follow along, please feel free. If you have no interest and prefer to wait until I talk about plants more, feel free to check back in next March or April (when does it get warm in Zurich?). <3