Power Nap #98
permission to NOT unpack / the biggest fast food chain is... (bet you can't guess!) / the laundry hamper to end all hampers / Jess approves my ice cream recipe
Don’t Unpack!! (A Decluttering Thought)
I hope this beginning of July finds you well. We are sweltering down here in Charleston. I spent an hour at 5 Below with three of my children because there was AC and cheap stuff (that’s often why I find myself wandering Costco in July). I hope you enjoy this Power Nap! If anything, please don’t miss the laundry hamper Molly found. We always pack a laundry hamper when we travel (or turn one of the kids’ bags into a hamper once we get there), and this one is perfect for travel. You could pack stuff in it for your next beach trip, use it for laundry while you are there, then bring the clean clothes home in it! Because doing sandy laundry in someone else’s washing machine and coming home with clean clothes is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
I plan to make a reel on this, but you’re getting it first! Something I love to do post vacation is not unpack immediately.
Here’s why:
There is this great simplicity that comes when you travel. You have less toiletries. Less clothes. Less STUFF. When you travel, you tend to pack the things you love the most. The everyday makeup. The underwear that doesn’t ride up. The pajamas you always reach for.
When you get home, you can clearly look in your drawers and cabinets and see what didn’t make the cut. Your desire for that “less is more” feeling you likely had in your Airbnb, coupled with the fact that the things you love the most are still packed away, makes for an easy purge.
You might only get rid of a few things, but you are set up so well to take a quick look through the underwear, the pajamas, the 16 shampoo bottles and 24 makeup products you didn’t bring and simply ask, “Do I still need this? Do I ever use it? Will there ever be a scenario in which I would want to pack this for a trip?”
If the answer is no, it’s time to let it go.
As one of our favorite NTK sayings goes…if you are holding on to something solely because you paid money for it, you are still paying for it — with your SPACE!
In Case You Missed It
If you want to make homemade ice cream but don’t have an ice cream machine, this is the recipe for you. It could not be easier and tastes DELICIOUS.
These are the 4 recipes I made when we returned from vacation because my body was craving some greens after a wings and alcohol diet.
This is the third thing I always get asked to bring on our family beach week.
This is the only way to make Chex mix if you ask me.
Let the record show Jess loved the no churn ice cream!! Also if you want to know the difference between the two of us…look no further than how we approach sweetened condensed milk.
“Anticipating pain was like enduring it twice. Why not anticipate pleasure instead?”
— Robin Hobb
Things Nate Found Interesting
If you are new, this segment is where we put articles we found interesting. It doesn't mean we necessarily agree with everything in every article (sometimes we even disagree!). Also, we do our best to link to free articles, but occasionally articles may require a subscription or require you to create a free account.
These writing tips: 1) Avoid alliteration always; 2) Prepositions are not words to end sentences with; 3) Avoid cliches like the plague. They are old hat. 4) Comparisons are as bad as cliches; 5) Be more or less specific; 6) Writers should never generalize; Seven: Be consistent; 8) Don’t be redundant. Don’t use more words than necessary. They’re superfluous; 9) Who needs rhetorical questions?; and 10) Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. via The Friday Update
Apparently Warren Buffett tried to buy Chick-Fil-A around 20 years ago. Here’s the letter from Buffett to Truett Cathy:
Saw this on the Car Mom’s Instagram:
This is the biggest fast food chain in the world. No, not McDonalds. Not Starbucks. Not Subway. You’ve never heard of it.
Pizza Follow Up: Power Nap 97 had an article about using Pentagon Pizza Orders to predict crisis. Caitlin, Kate’s college roommate, sent this hilarious SNL skit that riffs on a similar idea — featuring Jon Hamm. Recommend.
Molly’s Must-Haves
“Molly's Must-Haves” is brought to you by Kate's best friend Molly who is a meticulous researcher. Each week she is going to share an item, the problem it solves, and why she chose it. This week, she is sharing a laundry sorting hamper.
Pop-up triple sorter laundry hamper
Laundry is one of those chores where I constantly find myself asking: “is there a better way to do this?!” I can’t decide which part of the process I dread more, the folding OR the putting away of the clothes. While I do not have a solution for all of the laundry woes (still waiting for a laundry folding machine to be invented), I have found this laundry hamper with dividers to be VERY helpful. This is one of those items I think everyone can benefit from! Here’s what I love about it: when tackling the task of folding laundry I can keep it the folded clothes sorted by person instead of precariously balanced piles on my couch or bed. I find it large enough to fit even our most massive loads of laundry and it’s super light so I can take it around to each room to be put away. It folds up with ease and can be stored anywhere when not in use, taking up zero space. And it’s only 9 dollars! I kind of want to give one to everyone I know but that seems excessive, or does it?
Jess here: I order mostly everything Molly recommends and this one is a true winner. The magic is in the organizing of the clean clothes, not necessarily for sorting and storing dirty laundry, but you totally could label the section and assign each kid a spot too, in case you like to wash everyone’s clothes separately. I personally fold it up and put it under my bed once I put away everyone’s clean clothes. Either way, $9 to life hack laundry feels like a no brainer.
The laundry hamper is currently $6.84 with your red card for Circle week!!