Spring is fast becoming a favorite around Berlin.  Hello sun!  I can’t believe I almost forgot to share this Berlin scene with you last month:

Berlin has so many creative, inspiring artists.  Some of them built snowmen in a field between the TV Tower (which you can see in the background pointing high into the air) and the Brandenburg Gate.  There were snowmen everywhere – hundreds and hundreds of them.  They all had different personalities and came in different shapes and sizes like you and me.  Their accessories – like funky hats, goggly eyes, and bathing suits, laundry baskets – were all repurposed.

But the most interesting thing was seeing how the snowmen were melting.  They were losing their features.  They were slowly disappearing into the earth.  And they were protesting global warming.

Amazing!

Don’t you love seeing how people communicate their messages?  If you could add a snowman to this collection of protestors or in your own yard, what would yours be doing?  Would it be holding up an umbrella?  Carrying a boom box?  Tucking its baby snowmen in bed?

(Image by Martin for Making This Home)

High fives to everyone who has been rethinking clothing purchases.  I hope you’re loving it as much as we are.  It seems you have a lot of questions about what Martin and I have gained from going on this No New Clothes Challenge and some concerns about where you’re struggling.  So I’m rolling up my sleeves and pulling out the dirty laundry to see what we can share.  Here goes nothing.  Part I.

Q: Katie, how do you deal with people giving you clothes?  My mom likes to buy me clothes.  My sister gives me clothes. -Michelle

Hmmm.  That’s an interesting question.  Ever since I started this blog, people have stopped giving us “stuff”!  They’re really aware of what our goals are as consumers and as caretakers of the earth.  I would suggest you talk to the women in your life about their clothes giving habits.  Its clear they offer these things to you because they are thinking of you and loving you.  Be constructive about it by offering ideas on what you would love to receive from them instead… such as time together making cookies, planting flowers, painting a room, or volunteering.

Q:  If anyone has ideas about how to effectively patch up jeans, I’d be grateful! My jeans are cotton, with small holes in not-so-obvious places, but I fear the holes may get bigger in time.  -Berliner

I’m still a beginner at patching jeans, so lucky for all of us, we have Annie to the rescue.  This fabulous woman just happens to be a professional seamstress.  Here’s what she says:

1. Purchase, online, a thing called “steam-a-seam 2″.

2. Use an old piece of jeans for a patch.

3. Follow directions on SAS2 and iron the patch onto the back. Then take sewing machine and zig-zag around patch edge. Match thread with jeans and it will hardly show.

SAS2 is made so it isn’t supposed to come out in the wash or dryer, but I don’t trust anything. You don’t have to fix the hole unless you want to if you have a matching patch behind it. If you do want it not to show, then put your machine on straight stitch and start on the left side of the hole, stitch forward and backward, pulling it to the left minutely as you do. Eventually you will cover the hole area with matched stitches.

(my first attempt at patching jeans – work jeans)

Q:  Sometimes I feel like I should hold on to some “nice” piece of clothing for that one time that I might need to wear it — even though I haven’t worn it in a couple of years and even though I spend my days in jeans and t shirts. So do you have any items that you hold onto just in case, or do you let those go, too?  -Jennifer

Here’s how I am approaching this topic:  will I wear it in the next two years?  If the answer is no, it goes.  We’re all only going to have so many formal functions in the next two years.  If my position in life drastically changes – like suddenly I’m wearing a bunch of suits again – then I can get more suits then.  But right now?

Q:  How how you keep clothes from looking worn and frumpy? – Katherine

We’re able to extend the usable life of our clothes three ways at our house:

1.  We wear different clothes in the city than we do at home. That way our nice clothes last longer.  We also don’t have to worry about dirt from the streets and our bikes getting on our yellow couch.

2.  We line dry our clothes. You know all of that lint you’re pulling from the dryer?  It’s particles coming off of your clothes.  I’ve noticed the biggest difference in how long Martin’s undershirts last when we’re line drying instead of using a dryer.  The shirts are lasting much longer.

3. We realized we could stop doing so much laundry. The funny thing about washing machines is that they’re supposed to save us time.  But since the invention of the modern washing machine, we’re washing more and more clothes.  That’s taking up more of our time.  It’s also ruining our clothes faster – especially sweaters – and making everything fade and stretch over time.  If you have a hole in something, toss the item in the washer and that hole grrrrows.  So just because you’ve worn something, it doesn’t mean it’s dirty.  Frequent washing wears clothes out more than anything I know (excluding little boys).

Q:  Ok, I’m 60 years old. so I grew up in a leaner time than you, and my parents had less money than most, so these things of course formed my views about spending money. … What did my generation do wrong, to produce young people who think it is “radical” to only shop for clothes when you need them?  -Daniel

I don’t think that the consumerism our society has adapted is something to blame a generation on.  Over time, humans have been finding faster, cheaper ways to create everything.  Marketers have been working equally as hard to convince us that we need to have all of these things to lead happy lives.  Suddenly shopping isn’t something we do out of necessity.  Shopping is a hobby.  We do it for fun.  We hang out with friends by roaming the aisles.  We crave new clothing because we think it could change the way we feel about ourselves.  Marketing in this industry is good.  Advertisements for beer are equally crafty.  They really make you think, “Boy, I do need to start drinking that beer so I can play volleyball with big chested, skinny women.”  Or maybe those ads don’t work on us.  But the clothing ads sure do!  It’s pretty easy to see how the lifestyle portrayed in beer commercials isn’t reality.  With clothing, it’s much harder.

Breaking this habit of clothing shopping is hard, especially as clothing becomes cheaper and cheaper.  We have turned it into a form of stress relief.  But I suspect that many people such as Daniel (and now myself thanks to this challenge) are seeing that a constant need to create a certain image through our clothing doesn’t actually relieve stress when we get new clothes.  Instead, we’re constantly stressed to look right!

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So I hope that all helps!  If you have any questions you’d like me to answer about the No New Clothes Challenge, let me know in the comments.  And as always – your thoughts on the topic are most welcome.  Like what’s the longest you’ve had a favorite sweater?  Anyone else say since high school?  Or any more tips on how you make clothes go the extra mile… err kilometer.  I need to think more European here!

I decided to decorate Martin’s desk a little bit when he wasn’t home this weekend. We built his desk right along with our kitchen last year. And I really like how he’s organized his space to suit him. It just needed a little something more.

We’re starting to see more birds in Berlin. Martin and I are starting to talk more about flying. Okay… we’re always talking about flying. When you’re a household of pilots, you do that. Naturally, paper airplanes seemed like the perfect, soft touch to his space.

I pulled out some some standard German note papers (3 1/2” x 3 1/2” or 9×9 cm) that we found in a family member’s basement and started folding. A few quick folds later, and I was ready for a little bit of double sided sticky tape along the fuselage of the plane (i.e. the body of the plane). Before pressing the planes closed to seal the tape, I dropped in a short piece of red and white baker’s twine to hang the planes with.

I taped the airplanes under the lip of a shelf with our printer. They dangle just above his computer now. His corner already feels dreamier… in a masculine, scientific way of course!  I think that these little planes would be really fun in a little boy’s room on the lip of a bookcase or hanging from old hangers above his bed in a mobile.  (Can’t remember how to fold paper airplanes?  Here’s a handy link.  I made the first plane.)

Does the man in your family have a corner in the house for ideas and computers and play? Do I dare ask… how does it look?

Building Martin’s desk was the last part of our renovation.  Here’s a rare shot of his desk at the opposite end of our living room.

Like many of you, I am chomping at the bit in anticipation of spring.  Every glimpse of sun makes me think, “Yes!  Spring is coming.”  Spring used to be my favorite season for clothing shopping because I love the bright colors (have you seen our lime green dishes?).  Except this spring, I’m not buying anything.  No cute flip flops.  No cute shorts and skirts.  No tees.  Nothing.  Or at least that continues to be the plan as we approach another season with the…

No New Clothes Challenge

Last May, I told Martin we needed to stop buying clothes.  It wasn’t like we were hauling shopping card loads home or anything.  It just felt like we had more clothes than we needed, and we were still buying the occasional item.  As many of you know, this challenge was only supposed to last through the summer.  And now here we are in March.  We’ve gone almost a year!  We’re at the point where we never even think about clothes shopping any more.  It’s true I am ready to stomp on every last sweater and toss them out the window because I’m so sick of them.  (I had 6; lost a wool one to our German washer.)  Next year, maybe they can feel new and exciting all over again.

I have no desire to even walk into a clothing store now.  Martin snapped this photo of me in the Rocky Mountains, several days after we began our challenge.

Here’s how I’ve made The No New Clothes Challenge last six months longer than I’d planned.  Feel free to join me in stepping back, looking at what you have, and adding less to your closet.

1.  Think about what you own.

Don’t just pull open the dresser drawers or closet door when you’re in a rush to get dressed and head out for the day.  Stop and look over the items you have when you aren’t rushed.  For me, this time is always while I am putting away clean laundry.  That’s when I have the strongest feel for what I’m wearing, what I could be wearing more, and what I never seem to touch.

2.  Get more use out of what you have.

Wanna join me in darning your own socks?  Or what else could you do?  Now that spring is on its way, look at how you can combine light sweaters with short sleeved shirts.  Create combinations with a white collared shirt under lighter clothes.  I’m thinking that a purchase of one or two more collared shirts of different colors would be well worth the investment.

3.  Add little details every now and then.

Add a little pizzaz to an outfit.  A pair of dangling earrings a friend made me make all the difference in my outfit.  So does wearing a ring I don’t typically wear.  Adding a little detail to your wardrobe can change your focus from feeling like you’re wearing the same thing too often (which I assure you – you aren’t!) to giving you a secret pleasure every time you look at your hands, flick your hair, or gesture.  Plus people generally tend to comment on little accessories far more than a piece of clothing.

4.  Think of people who don’t have as many clothes.

It’s so easy to compare ourselves and our clothes to one another.  But what about the people who don’t have access to clothing?  Often times, the people making our clothes in factories around the world don’t even own the cheapest version of the article they’re producing.  The most powerful way to get over the “what should I wear?” conundrum is to look at the people of our world – not the people of our workplace or school.  Rather, think of the people around the world who have so very much less than we have.

5.  Eliminate temptations.

Finally – and for me, the most influential step – remove temptations to have new clothes.  Skip clothing stores.  Unsubscribe from their catalogues.  Avoid their websites.  When you don’t experience the consumer culture urging you to add to your clothes collection, you can lose the desire to acquire more than you need.  Be patient.  Keep resisting.  And soon, you’ll only go into a store for things you truly need.

What are your thoughts on clothes and shopping this season?  Love spring fashion?  Cutting back?  Spending more?  Skipping clothes shopping all together with us?  Or dare to take a guess:  just how long do you think we can keep out of the clothing stores?

You can check out the whole journey of resisting temptations in American malls and European shops in a whole new category called: No New Clothes Challenge.  I know – you didn’t see that heading coming, did you?!  ha.

I’m happy to report that Berlin has started getting little bits of sunshine this month.  March has snatched the spot for #1 month of the year in my book so far.  Here’s our favorite sugar dish posing outside for all of you.  He’s the only one with eyes wide open these days.  Everyone else in Berlin is squinting in the bright light.  It’s like we’ve emerged from a cave.  Cave Winter.

The spits of snow are starting to turn into splashes of rain in the sky.

Then the mailman thought I was stealing someone’s mail when I walked up to the mailboxes after school and picked up an Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association magazine.  AOPA is an organization for pilots of small aircraft (like us!) in the United States.  It was abandoned on the radiator by itself.  Let me just say that you’ve never seen a mailman look at you like he’s going to rip you to shreds like I saw today.  I tried to explain to the mailman that the magazine was my husband’s.  I wasn’t committing a federal crime (assuming it’s illegal to open someone else’s mail here).  Before I finished explaining, he cut me off and let me go on up the stairs.  I’m pretty sure it was my American accent and poor German grammar that gave it away:

The woman taking the American magazine is an American.

The good news is that I think he’ll remember me from now on, and I kind of miss having mailmen who hand my mail right to me and say, “Hello” like I grew accustomed to in the small communities and Denver suburbs were we’ve lived in the US.  Or in the very least, I hope we can be on good terms.  I’d hate to be on the mailman’s bad side.  That’s worse than finding out half of your strawberries from the market are moldy the next morning.  And the next morning.

All this is to say I’m thinking of sun.  I’m thinking of airplanes.

I’m thinking I would love to know where you would go if you had one (sunny!) weekend in Europe.  You could go anywhere.  (For my European readers, feel free to take this imaginary weekend retreat outside of Europe!)  Where would it be?  Would you be lingering on the steps of the Louvre?  Inhaling the tulips in Holland?  Watching the bulls in Spain?  Sitting on the beaches of Italy or Greece?

I’m afraid the dinner menu at our house won’t be all that exciting over the next two weeks.  Spring is coming, and with it are all of the fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables. (Wiping off drool.)  But before we can dive into all of the fresh produce, our freezer needs some serious attention.  It’s filled to the brim.  I realize the brim isn’t all that big around here.  Yet full is full, and we’re hardly touching the stuff in there.

How’s your freezer looking?  Is it stuffed with foods that you plan on eating some day?  Are you stashing a little clutter in the freezer?  And really the biggest question of all:  how often are you reaching for the items you put in there?

I think we have so many yummier choices around the kitchen that instead of eating what’s in our freezer, we’re eating other things.  Then we’re buying more things.  We’re never going to tackle the foods in our freezer as long as something tastier is around.

Random leftovers, pumpkin puree from our autumn decor, frozen beans we bought dry and cooked in huge batches…

Are you suffering from freezer clutter, too?  I think most people don’t realize how much frozen food they’re collecting.

(Our freezer is located behind the cabinet door in the lower right of the kitchen.  You can see it between the green dishes and the white heater beside the brown wall in this shot.  The freezer is small.  But it’s stuffed.)

I know that when fresh strawberries and asparagus starts popping up at our grocery stores and farmers markets, that freezer will go untouched more often than not.  There is no better time than now to declutter the freezer.  The food budget will decrease.  We’ll eat what we have.  And we’ll learn about what we’re buying and not eating fast enough while it is fresh.  It’ll be a good sign of what we need to buy less of.

So what do you say?  Care to dig into your freezer along with me?  It won’t be all bad – trust me.  Tonight dinner in Berlin was:  banana bread french toast (from frozen banana bread), yogurt, and fruit smoothies with rice milk (from frozen mixed fruit we cut up).

Spring, we’ll be ready for you!  Our freezer will be, too.

How about you?  Care to join me?  (Maybe don’t tell the family… guaranteed groans.  Trust me.)  Just for fun – what do you think the scariest thing is in your freezer right now?  Or what has it been?  Is it creepy and crawly?  Growing fur?  Do you dare dive in there and get it out?

Needing a little kitchen management help?  These tips on creating a simpler, happier home and decluttering under the sink could be just the ticket.