I've Been A Bad Blogger.

I admit it. My updates have been pitifully scarce lately. If I had to pin down why, I'd say it's probably a combination of a few things: I've been working shorter days, but more of them--meaning that I spend a lot of my time (ie at work) doing things I can't blog about. And afterward, I either have time to get a few things done, or time to blog about them; but generally not both. Also, the weather has been nicer (meaning GORGEOUS) outside, meaning that we spend more of our time out and about than we do on our computers. But still, it's no excuse.

Today I'm off until 3:00, so I figure I should rectify the situation. Here are some odds and ends about what we've been up to.

In which we decide that a cleaner apartment is nicer

Spurred on by how nice the house looked after our improvisatory cleanup last weekend, we've been making even more of an effort to keep it that way. The dishes have always been a trouble spot of ours, mainly because we've never lived in an apartment with a decent dishwasher. They come out looking worse than they did when they went in, which is a discourage exercise especially since the grime has now been baked on. However, it's hard to swear off it completely, loving to cook as we do, because we're then left with a mountain of dishes to wash/dry by hand as they inescapably get away from us. (I don't know what people do who have less than a 1:1 ratio of messmakers to dish-washers, because we have a hard enough time as it is. The caption to the left reads "Most husbands help with dishes," and while I sincerely hope that is true, I have my doubts about whether it is.) Also, our drying rack was leaking water onto the counter and the counter underneath was starting to warp (not great, since it's not ours), so we decided that the new rule regarding dishes was to just wash it AND dry it AND put it away, as soon as you use it. So far, it's worked surprisingly well. Our main dishes get made around suppertime, so after supper I usually wash and Matt dries and puts away and then we're done. Our lunches get packed at the same time so don't create any additional dishes. For breakfast, we each wash/dry if we have time, or otherwise, the person who leaves later (Matt, if I'm working; me, if I'm not) picks up the slack and does it ASAP. As an added bonus, the dishes come clean a lot more easily when they've just been used; and it's interesting how the philosophy has sort of spread to the rest of the house: take something out, put it back away. We're both finding it really refreshing. We'll see how long it lasts...

Another thing that has helped keep the apartment feeling spring-cleaned is that we've moved any odds and ends we don't quite have a place for into the bedroom, instead of the living room or the dining room or the kitchen (or a mixture of all three). That way, instead of generalized clutter everywhere, we've got a couple of cohesive piles, of, say, paperwork, and one of things to give to Goodwill. Since we're only ever in there when it's dark, we don't mind having it there, and we know exactly where to look for things when we want to find them. We used to use our spare bedroom (ie office) for this in Iowa City, but actually this is working almost as well. And being as our current housing costs are chokingly high, and likely to rise with each coming year, we're best off learning to deal with how to do more with less space.

In which we debate whether we can fold new bikes into our current budget

Which brings us to finance. 2008 is the first year I've kept a down-to-the-dollar record of our income and spending, and I've found it really helpful. Each month's spreadsheet covers from the 10th of each month to the ninth of the following month (because Matt gets paid once a month, always on the tenth; I get paid twice a month, on differing days of the month, which makes it much more difficult to consistently plan around). I put in whatever was left or negative from the previous month, and Matt's incoming paycheck. I also plug in last month's estimates (or our target estimates) for categories we know we'll be spending out of: rent, food, gas, car/student loan payments, and anything else (travel, for example) that will be coming out of the bank that cycle. That gives me a rough idea of what we have to work with that month, as well as how much I should shoot for in terms of picking up extra shifts. As money comes in and goes out, I keep a running tally of it--such as what we've spent on groceries, and how close that's getting to our target limit; however, I don't replace the "projected" total with the "actual" total in the budget until we've reached the limit or the end of the month. That way I'm not fooled into thinking there's more money in the pot than there actually is. The same goes for payments I know will come out, but which just haven't yet. So far, it's worked really well, and has kept a pretty tight rein on our spending: next month, we'll pay off one of our highest interest student loans, and we've been putting a little into savings every month as well. 

Next, I need to figure out the smartest thing to do with those savings: invest some, plunk it down for my first semester of school, hang onto it and pay for school as I go? These are all things we need to talk about and figure out.

Another talking point is the folding bikes. Both of our bikes are old and in what I would call fair shape. They get us from point A to point B, but neither is especially comfortable or pleasant to ride. You've heard the stories about getting them up and down the stairs, which is a royal pain in our butts, and combining them with public transportation (eg riding to the Metro station and taking the train into DC) is a non-option. So, as we mentioned, we're looking at folding bikes. A local store has a couple of 2007 Dahon D7's for $380 apiece. They ride smoothly, have a rack on back for errands, and fold up pretty decently. (26 lbs, nothing I'd want to carry all day, but doable in the short term.) Seems pretty pricey, except that's apparently what they're going for all over the internet, too, and if we stall until the year-old models are gone, we'd be out of luck or stuck paying $409 for the same model, year 2008. Downtube has what they claim is a similar model for $299, which we haven't test-ridden. Either way, we're looking at a pretty large (for us) cash layout for these mofos. Which means:

1) We should be consciously cutting our costs in other places (eg food and entertainment, since most other areas of our budget, like student loans and housing, are unfortunately pretty fixed)

2) We will absolutely need to utilize the crap out of these bikes in lieu of the car, in order to wring every last drop out of savings on gas money and benefit to the environment and our own bodies, which are all of our rationales for getting these in the first place. This means riding them even when the trip is long or the weather is crap or both. It may also mean rethinking how and where we shop for certain items. In the summer, farmer's markets will provide a good, close option, but what about in the fall and winter, when our willingness to be active outdoors is notoriously low?

The bottom line is, we've tightened our belts consciously enough that we can probably get these bikes. The question is, should we? As I've talked about before, our overall financial goals all lean toward the idea of freedom: from debt, from obligation, and from worry. Are these bikes going to be a lasting investment that align with our overall goals and motivations, or will we look back on them as a gimmicky impulse buy?

While some people might be tempted to answer the latter, I'm starting to lean toward the former. We care about our physical health and activity, and we want to reduce the amount we drive the car. This will have positive implications for the environment and our wallets. The cost of the bikes is stable, as of this point, and won't be affected by things like rising gas prices. Too, as I look at our overall life goals, freedom of mobility and a reliable source of alternative transportation seem like a pretty integral part of that package, too--and being as we are renters for the foreseeable future, and our current bikes are in questionable condition, they don't seem poised to fulfill that challenge for very much longer.

So the question now is which. We want quality for our money, but we also don't want to spend more than we have to. Enter Saturday, on which we plan to head out to Maryland and test-drive them both.

In which my bathroom routine goes completely edible

Not what you think it is, I promise! Despite a faithful regimen of tea tree oil shampoo and vinegar, my scalp has still been red and irritated some of the time. (It often gets worse in warmer weather.) So I've wondered whether it isn't the chemicals (yes, I mean you, sodium laureth sulfate, the same canker-causing-culprit found in toothpaste) in the so-called "natural" shampoo I'm using which are still irritating to this obviously sensitive bit of skin. So naturally, I've started washing my hair with--wait for it--baking soda. Don't worry if you think you'd miss the foaming action of shampoo; that comes when you pour on the vinegar. And if you think your hair or scalp feels a little dry afterward? Well, rub in a little olive oil, of course! The Misto sprayer from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (is this the "beyond"?) works great for dispensing just the right amount.

How does it work? I've only done it once so far, so the jury is still out. But I'll let you know. 

That said, I'll leave you with a song that we've found strangely beautiful and addictive lately.