October 2018

Life Admin: How I Learned to Do Less, Do Better, and Live More by Elizabeth F. Emens

Life Admin: How I Learned to Do Less, Do Better, and Live More Book Cover Life Admin: How I Learned to Do Less, Do Better, and Live More
Elizabeth F. Emens
Productivity
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
January 1, 2019
hardcover
304


I reached for "Life Admin: How I Learned to Do Less, Do Better, and Live More" by Elizabeth F. Emens not really knowing what to expect. After all, each one of us has some subconscious idea what admin is, but it can be sometimes difficult to define. For me, it is running errands, paying bills, getting things done. Crossing off items from the to-do list. Busy work, really, when you get to the bottom of it. That's essentially what the book is about - figuring out how to manage your life admin in more efficient way.

In the beginning, I was not even sure I will be able to get through the book. It starts almost like a dissertation in sociology. I was close to giving up, bored and irritated by all the thoughts on ‘gender roles’ and stuff like that. Luckily, if you last long enough, practical advice, tips, and real people stories will follow. The pages are filled with great advice about the division of work within the household, brilliant ideas like creating and participating in admin support or sharing groups, and even more obvious suggestions as to which shared apps to consider. Discussions on when you need (or not need) to use of personal assistants, cleaning help and babysitters can also be found.

One of my favorite chapters was an in-depth analysis of how different people approach their life admin. All people, according to the author, can be divided into four groups, each one handling their admin differently. It was really interesting to read what types of strategies each group employs to deal with their life admin, and you can actually learn a lot to help you just by studying other types of personalities.

The last chapter is a bit out there. It is "imagine life" type of list. It does its job of making you think and dream of what could be done differently in the world to make life admin less of a burden. It's a combination of imagined and real-life stories about how the outside forces (government, companies etc.) could operate in a way that would simplify the admin they imposing on people.

I would suggest "Life Admin" to anybody struggling to keep up with their life admin, is it for a first time in your life having to handle it alone, or just hoping to keep on top of all the things you need to take care, once and for all.

I have received a free copy of the book for the purpose of this review from NetGalley. The links in this post contain affiliate code.

Nature Art Workshop: Tips, techniques, and step-by-step projects for creating nature-inspired art

Nature Art Workshop: Tips, techniques, and step-by-step projects for creating nature-inspired art Book Cover Nature Art Workshop: Tips, techniques, and step-by-step projects for creating nature-inspired art
by Katie Brooks, Sarah Lorraine Edwards, Allison Hetzell, Mikko Sumulong
Arts, Crafts & Hobbies
Walter Foster Publishing
September 18, 2018
paperback
128

I spend a lot of time outdoors - it is my favorite way of relaxing. I simply go for a walk, perhaps take my camera and do some photography on my way. When I picked up "Nature Art Workshop", I got excited about a possibility of finding another creative outlet relating to my time outdoors, allowing me to preserve some of my experiences for the days when the weather or other activities keep me indoors.

The projects in "Nature Art Workshop" are of great variety. They are either based on collected items: stones, feathers, petals etc. or are only nature-inspired. Or are a combination of both. They vary in their difficulty. Some consist of simply arranging objects like shells or flowers, on the surface to create a display or a unique centerpiece. More elaborate involve painting on small surfaces like shells or wood slices. Although the step-by-step instruction allows following almost as paint-by-the-numbers.

Although wood carving is a more elaborate technique and not broadly known, the related projects take the disproportional amount of space in the book. The technique, tools, and other materials are described in detail. It caused a few of other projects not make it into the final book- but no worries, they can be downloaded separately, for free, on the book website.

The one thing I found missing from the book was some kind of Resources section. I could use a list of numerous art supplies used in proposed projects, like brushes, palettes, paint (what kind of paint? is there only one kind?). For beginners, who do not have the most basic art supplies at home, going to the art store can be a daunting and discouraging task. Another thing I found useful in similar books was a template section, allowing the more involved shapes to be copied, preferably at the correct scale. After all, not everybody can sketch even such a simple thing as a bunch of herbs.

While I can not wait for spring flowers to try some of the easy projects in "Nature Art Workshop", I am excited that I was reminded of simple roses made of colorful fallen leaves. I suppose many people are familiar with this one from their Social Media streams. I still cannot wait to do it again this year, following the steps in the book. Perhaps I will do another project with remaining leaves?

I have received a free copy of the book for the purpose of this review from NetGalley. The links in this post contain affiliate code.

New Minimalism: Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living

New Minimalism: Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living Book Cover New Minimalism: Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living
Cary Telander Fortin & Kyle Louise Quilici
Sasquatch Books
January 2, 2018
hardcover
208

I reached for "New Minimalism: Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living" looking more for how to do decor in newly rearranged living room than decluttering. I had read at least 5 decluttering books in the last few months, and I did not think there is any more to say on the subject. And perhaps the authors did not intend to say more, but they succeed in doing it their own way. Sure, almost any book on the subject will encourage you to figure out your "why", why do you want to start living minimally and declutter your house. In "New Minimalism", however, you will also find the generalistic, but nevertheless useful analysis of four types, or archetypes of how we interact with our belongings - and how to address each one when it comes up.

Another way the authors manage to put their own spin on decluttering craze are their environmental concerns and tips to do things in the Earth-friendly way. Some of the things I never thought about was, for example, to donate your items, thus allowing others to use them rather than end on landfill, but then pack your donations in paper bags that can be recycled.

On that note, however, the authors go a bit too far in their criticism of the cleaning supplies as "toxic chemicals". I am sure there are compounds not good for us in some of the cleaners, but just because acetic acid is called vinegar and you use lemon as a source of citric acid does not mean you avoided chemistry altogether. And while many chemicals are indeed toxic, there are also so-called natural sources of toxins. Cyanide with your almonds, anybody?

While I was disappointed the authors did not spend all that much time talking about the decor overall, the few tips they provided were quite useful. Enough to distinguish it from all other decluttering books out there, starting from the Marie Kondo "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" to "Unf*ck Your Habitat" by Rachel Hoffman. And if you never read any of those, "New Minimalism" is definitely a good start.

I have received a free copy of the book for the purpose of this review from NetGalley. The links in this post contain affiliate codes.