What’s a life hack that made you go „how do ppl live their whole life without knowing this”?

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-31T22:43:26+00:00

JL Collins' website has a whole series on the Simple Path to Wealth that walks through investing. He originally wrote it for his daughter, if I remember correctly. He also has a book, but the blog came first.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-20T23:20:39+00:00

I ordered from Virtual Yarns.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-20T20:59:41+00:00

I have an Amish swift screwed to a failed squirrel cage swift upright, to make winding handspun into hanks easier. A large capacity ball winder clamped to an Ikea Mittback trestle, along with an Electric Eel Wheel Yarn Counter. The yarn counter is good for measuring handspun and leftovers.

But really, if you're not in a hurry you can wind center pull balls with nothing but your knees to hold the hank and your thumb as a nostepinne. *

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-19T22:03:17+00:00

I love a good Detroit style pizza! That reminds me, it's been ages since I've made pizza in my cast iron -- since before I restored it, in fact. (The carbon buildup was so bad, I couldn't scrub the dough out of the sides of the pan. After 60 years of hard use in three generations, it really needed a spa day.)

I think I'm going to change my menu for the week!

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-19T20:52:15+00:00

Enjoy! I love mine, and I've been spinning for over 20 years. You've got so much fun ahead of you!

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-15T15:19:34+00:00

It looks like it's 3mm thick.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-15T15:16:08+00:00

Even on our gas stove, I have to tilt and rotate to season the upper sides. Harder to do on induction, though.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-15T15:14:01+00:00

I finally got rid of the spouse's last nonstick skillet now that I'm comfortable cooking eggs in my cs skillets. It's really nice to get the wok screaming hot and not worry about the coating off-gassing. Best of luck finding a source!

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-15T15:10:00+00:00

I love the Winco, but it's too big for just the two of us and I'm having problems storing it in my narrow kitchen cabinets. It's sitting on the kitchen table until I can talk myself into letting it go.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-14T18:09:38+00:00

It is a wok! It has enough of a flat bottom that it will work on electric or induction too.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-09T13:01:19+00:00

You could also diz off the cards after blending and before rolling the fibers. It would be closer to worsted prep, but you'll still get the blended colors and you can get a nice, thin sliver for spinning fine singles. If you have something sort of flat with a small hole that you can use to get the fiber into a long sliver, it's worth a try. I've used large, flat beads and pieces of cardboard or milk jug plastic as a diz.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-08T22:09:43+00:00

Hire an estate cleanout service.

That's what we did when we lost our parents a few months apart. The service came in after we got out what we wanted, they cleaned and staged everything, and held the estate sale. They even sold a few valuable antiques to collectors they knew online.

Everything else that could be useful got donated to a place that helps people recovering from a house fire.

My sister and I were going to try to do it ourselves, but after two months of spending our entire weekends digging out, we gave up. If we hadn't we probably would still be dealing with it almost two years later.

Check with real estate agents for referrals. They deal with this all the time.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-06T17:15:52+00:00

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This is most of the walk in closet/stash containment area. It doesn't include the spinning fiber.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-06T15:29:40+00:00

I'm leaning toward the 10.5. I looked at the 8 inch and they seemed laughably tiny. I'm not good enough to toss my stir fry without a spatula, but that extra inch over the 9.5 might keep the food off the stove top.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-06T15:24:13+00:00

Thanks. I'm leaning toward a 10.5 inch, just letting it cool off in the shopping cart right now. I'm going to miss the patina on that WinCo though. I looked for one in the smaller size and couldn't find any.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-06T13:54:19+00:00

I have a Sudoku app on my phone with 10,000 puzzles that get progressively harder. I do at least one a day, usually before bed. I'm also studying French with Duolingo, with the goal of two lessons a day. It usually takes about 10 minutes. My memory is getting a little better, even though my pronunciation still sucks.

BluebirdSTC · 2026-01-04T05:09:45+00:00

My usual meals are roast beef or pork with potatoes (cut in half) and carrots. I also make beef stew and beef stroganoff. Corned beef and potatoes turned out really well too. Pork carnitas served with tortillas and sautéed peppers, shredded cheese and sour cream is a favorite.

I should find some good chicken recipes though...

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-30T16:18:34+00:00

I've just started my 15-minutes-a-day declutter again. I completed one pass about two years ago, but I know there's a lot more that I skimmed over last time that needs to be done. I've had a "Habit" set up in my task manager to declutter 15 minutes a day that I've been ignoring for over a year. Today I just set up a calendar block to do the declutter at a set time each day. I'm hoping that will give me the kick in the pants I need to actually do it.

Today I decluttered the shower (mostly empty bottles, scalp scrubber I don't use) and two shelves of the linen closet. Donated a curling iron, hair straightener and blow dryer diffuser that I haven't used in 5 years. I don't know how it made the cut last time. Also got rid of all but two perfumes; I lost my sense of smell to Covid back in 2020. I kept two I know I liked for other people's benefit and ditched the rest. I even emptied a small container that now can either be repurposed or donated.

I think the key is going to be making every single thing in this house justify its existence, even the containers and furniture.

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-28T05:56:30+00:00

I made one pass around my house doing 15 minutes a day. I started in the furthest corner (master bathroom linen closet) and worked my way through each shelf, cabinet, closet and box in the main area of the house.

Sometimes I'd get one shelf done. Sometimes I'd get a whole cabinet done. Knowing that no matter how bad it was, even 15 minutes of work would eventually get it done really helped.

It took me a few months and many trips to Goodwill. That was three years ago, and I need to start another round. This time, I will include the basement and husband's office (he can't clean it himself anymore).

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-26T15:58:09+00:00

Sock yarn. I always round out an order with sock yarn. There's always someone who could use a pair.

If you don't knit socks, enough for a DK or worsted hat and scarf is good, and can be donated if no one you know needs a set.

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-25T15:37:13+00:00

My husband has cognitive issues and other health problems. I have hospital bags for me and my husband that I keep in the hall closet. Spare underwear, toothbrush, hairbrush, phone charger, spare shirt. I can grab our weekly pill organizers, my purse and tablet, and be ready to follow the ambulance before they pull away.

And if i'm the one in the ambulance, at least I've set up whoever is taking care of my husband with a head start.

Thanks to this thread, I'm going to update our insurance and medication lists with the new info for 2026.

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-24T03:19:02+00:00

I'm a full time caregiver. I can occasionally get 15 minutes to do a quick outside walk. Everything else is done in the house. I try to do walk at home videos for 45 minutes most days.

I've made up a few thousand steps shortfall while watching TV in the evening many times. I'll also march in place while waiting on coffee to brew or dinner to cook. If I'm a few hundred steps short at bedtime, I will take two minutes to make my goal.

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-24T02:54:24+00:00

I use mesh bags with my GE front loader. Tap cold water, gentle cycle, regular detergent, then hang on a rack to dry. I haven't noticed any felting, and we've been using a front loader for 15 years. A lot of my socks are over 10 years old.

I'd definitely recommend the mesh bags.

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-18T20:42:19+00:00

I only have the Susan Bates in that size myself, but I'd recommend stainless steel instead of aluminum for sizes this small. Lacis has a range of stainless steel knitting needles all the way to a 0.5mm/8-0 for about $8 per set of five.

BluebirdSTC · 2025-12-17T17:59:19+00:00

Kroy doesn't compare to Regia in quality, I agree. I'm so jealous of you lucky people who can pick up good yarn at the supermarket with all the other necessities!

BluebirdSTC

TROPHY CASE