Paper Shredder

Several years ago, I bought a small, cheap paper shredder to dispose of confidential documents.  I've barely used it in the past. Now,  with my decluttering projects, I've discovered it.

It shreds 2 minutes and  rests....45 minutes !

That's even written (in small print) on a label placed on the front  (shredding cycle 2 min, pause 45 min). Haven't seen the label till now.    I checked the instructions. Unbelievable! It's written there too.  

Who sells such a device? Who's the stupid person (Me, me) to buy such an item?

0f course, it soon got on my nerves , and I decided to take care of my documents, manually. 

I've learnt two things from this experience - both already known to us :1.   cheap is expensive 2. one should carefully read instructions before starting work (I could have immediately returned it to the store) and pay careful attention to any label on the front or bottom of the device.

Anyway, I might have to buy a more solid  shredder that will do proper work for old CDs  floppy diskets, credit cards. ( buying a new item?!  - here goes my decluttering principle).

I know things could be destroyed manually, but it's not that effective, and not without risks. 

Perhaps the better devices also have the same working cycle (which is probably meant to prevent motor overheating). Who knows? What a disappointment!

Paper  Shredder  (AI  picture generator)

Blinken

 It seems the camera likes Antony Blinken (America's  Secretary of State). I think he knows that, and cooperates with it.  His profile looks good in most of the pictures I've seen so far.

Blinken is jewish, and his wife christian. They met at the White House where they were both working  for the Obama and Clinton administrations.  

At their wedding, the religious service was performed by a rabbi and a priest. (I wonder how that goes...never been to an interfaith  wedding ceremony).

According to his biography he is fluent in French (he lived in France for a period of time, with his Mother and her husband , and went to school there).  He also plays the guitar and sings. 

Not everybody's happy with his guitar playing ('it sucks' , wrote someone). I believe,  that with the kind of job he does, the guitar saves him. ( Currently, he's got Israel and Ukraine on his head, two very tough  'clients' !) .  

Lately, he was seen in a bar in Kyiv,  dressed in jeans and holding a red guitar, performing  onstage together with a local rock band in celebration of some more military help given  by the USA  to Ukraine. 

He combines diplomacy with music, and it probably works for him; the two domains somehow complement each other. (Bill Clinton as I recall, was playing saxophone).

A. Blinken  (web picture)

        

youtube - Blinken rocks in Kyiv

Yes, to Pockets

I've always liked pockets on my clothing, but I got constantly discouraged by people telling me pockets were for men's garments mainly.

 I feel angry at  clothing  designers, as for decades,  pockets have practically been excluded  from women's fashion.

The famous Christian Dior  made the following claim (according to the Media):  " Men have pockets to keep things in, women for decoration".  His words placed functionality versus decoration.

Pockets are in fact practical receptacles for holding small things such as:   keys, wallet, lipstick, tiny tools, and even a mobile phone. At the same time they could also well be made to look as adding decor and fun to the outfit.  No big contradiction here between practical and decorative.

Anyway,  pockets -  usually made of fabric or leather -  come in different sizes and shapes. They are either sewn into the garment or  on it. 

I like them on most  of my clothes; pants, shirts, jackets, skirts, coats, dresses.   At present,  I'm creating and attaching pockets to some of my pocketless clothes.

I'm glad to mention that I possess a pair or two of Cargo pants (with big utility pockets), and a multi-pocket vest.  Both items have been of great use to me,  especially at travel time. 

However,  I'm not for overloading regular clothes with pockets as it might feel uncomfortable and even damage the fabric.

Warning: please empty pockets before doing the laundry!

multi-pocket vest (AI generated photo)

cargo pants (AI generated photo)

I'll leave you with a short  and quite true  'pocket' quote:

"Deep pockets and empty hearts rule the world."  

Decluttering

 

Decluttering is very much on my mind.  It's not an easy matter. Over the years, we get attached to our stuff;  on the other hand, there comes a time, when we begin to realize that at a certain age,  and under  certain circumstances (such as living in a war zone or seismic zone that might involve evacuation,  lack of money  and food),  a minimalistic way of life would be more apropriate.

There's nothing at the moment, that has actually 'taken over' my home, and yet I feel the need to let many things go ( with or without regrets), and reorganize the freed space.  

There are lots of articles and online courses on the subject of Clutter,  yet I think it's mainly a personal and individual issue.

To my mind,  in order to succeed with decluttering, one has to make a thorough Plan and stick to it. First of all, for the time being, stop buying new stuff. Use up the old items even though they are not in their best shape. Secondly, evaluate  one by one, the various item Categories at your disposal: clothes, kitchenware, books, paperwork, furniture , suitcases/bags, sentimental memorabilia,  etc...

Well, from my own experience so far, I think it's easiest  'to dispose of'  and find decent Homes for  clothes and shoes. These  could be donated to individuals  as well as to second - hand  shops. Books are  hardest  'to dispose of'.  Not all books; fiction books are still very sought after as gifts and  means of escapism.  

Most of my books , however, are non-fiction:  guides, law books, biographies,  health books, encyclopedias - all in good condition.  I'll have to make up a list , decide what to keep . and the rest of it  try to place in libraries or even sell some, if possible.  Let's face it; we live in the world of computers.  and most of the knowledge is online. Besides, books  take up place and need periodical dusting. 

Anyhow, it takes time and patience to make the best of all worlds - my world, and the world of my stuff. 

clutter - AI generated picture

The Flying Deadly Toys

 

Israel has been accused by Iran of killing one of its  prominent  generals within the iranian embassy  on Syrian soil.  Whether true  or false, revenge was expected  on the day/days following Friday, the end of the Ramadan Fast (major muslim religious event).

On Saturday, the 14th of April,  at 23 o'clock in the evening , we've been told:  "that's it, Iran's flying 'toys' ( hundreds of drones, ballistic rockets, cruise missiles ) are on their way to us, carrying many tons of explosives" .

As an ordinary person, I was quite impressed by the mere  detection of these  objects from such a distance (over 1000 km)! However, Fear and Panic were my dominant feelings. I live alone, on the third floor , it's middle of the night. I won't even try to reach the shelter behind the building. I 'll say my prayer to God, and...que sera, sera.

After a while, we've been told it's gonna take several hours to nine hours for the objects to get to Israel (except of the ballistic rockets which reach their target in minutes)  -  as the route is long and their move is slow.

I managed somehow to fall asleep. When I  woke up in the morning, I faced the unbelievable. Our defense system Hetz3 (Arrow3)  has had 99% success in downing the deadly objects far outside the country.  The little videos displaying the knocking down were fascinating (Yes, sometimes the dreadful can fascinate)!

The major target of the attack appeared to be a southern air force basis, "Nevatim",  home to the prestigious F-35 jet fighter.  As I understood later, only superficial harm was done to the military basis. A seriously wounded 9-year old girl from a near by bedouin village, was the main and only known  casualty of the iranians' massive attack . May she survive and get well!     

The nice  and rather secretive part was a coalition of countries under the leadership of the USA - that helped us too: USA, UK, France, Jordan, South Arabia. Everyone of them was part of the  successful   anti-iranian 'show'.

Anyway, war is terrible, it causes loss of life;  it also  costs enormous amounts of money - money which could definitely better humans'  living conditions,   and not bring about destruction and death.  Peace is greatly needed in the world, and particularly in this cursed region of the Middle East.