Hasta La Ideas

pSix finalists have been chosen in Levi Strauss’ A HREF=”http://www.levistrauss.com/blogs/clothes-dryers-beware” Care to Air Design Challenge/A, which seeks clever and eco-friendly ways to dry clothes. The competition was formed after “a lifecycle assessment of a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans revealed that, on average, almost 60% of the climate impact comes during the consumer phase. Nearly 80% of that is due to the energy-intensive method chosen for drying.”/p

pThree of the finalists were chosen by A HREF=”http://www.myoocreate.com/” Myoo Create/A, the crowdsourcing company collaborating on the contest, and three were chosen by Levi’s. Our two faves both feature space-saving wall-mounted designs for clothing racks:/p

pThe simple A HREF=”http://www.myoocreate.com/challenges/care-to-air-design-challenge/entries/458″ Evaporation Station/A, by designer Jeff M., looks pleasant enough folded flat, and fans out to hang what we’re guessing would be a single person’s small-batch laundry load. /p

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pThe A HREF=”http://www.myoocreate.com/challenges/care-to-air-design-challenge/entries/496″ Nothing is What It Seems/A rack, by screenname Chill, does the Evaporation Station one better by acting as a wall-mounted painting frame until it deploys. It also seems to offer a good deal more hanging area, and if we had to pick one–heck, if I could buy one–it’d be this./p

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pCheck out the rest of the finalists A HREF=”http://www.levistrauss.com/blogs/clothes-dryers-beware” here/A.br /
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pVancouver-based architect and designer Omer Arbel, who runs an eponymous design office, is having a hell of a year. His designs for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics medals, which featured artwork by artist Corinne Hunt, won one of II.D. Magazine’s/I last design awards before they folded;/p

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pEarlier this week, the upcoming World Architecture Festival shortlisted Arbel’s 23.2 House design, based around recycled Douglas Fir beams;/p

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pAnd just yesterday Arbel won the biannual $10,000 Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement, awarded by the Canadian Arts Council, for his body of work as a whole./p

blockquote”Omer Arbel creates an extensive range of objects, from practical to symbolic, with wonderful playfulness. He roots his designs in concept, engages the properties of a broad palette of materials and clearly values engineering,” A HREF=”http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Olympic+designer+architect+receives+accolades+awards/3362080/story.html#ixzz0vk9AdQ00″ the jury wrote/A. “A deep interest in both serial production and custom fabrication allows him to expand beyond the normal bounds of professional architectural practice.”/blockquote

pOur favorite project of Arbel’s is his cast resin 2.4 Chair from 2003, below./p

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pCheck out the rest of Arbel’s work A HREF=”http://www.omerarbel.com/” here/A.br /
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Four-year-old Jivan lives in a skyscraper in Brooklyn, New York, USA

Where Children Sleep, set to be published later this year by Chris Boot, is a collection of James Mollison‘s photographs of childrens’ bedrooms from around the world. The book also contains a portrait of each child and, as you’d imagine, the differences between the spaces each one calls their own are striking…

The book has been designed to appeal to readers of all ages, with the texts apparently prepared with an audience of nine- to thirteen-year-olds in mind.

“I hope this book will help children think about inequality, within and between societies around the world,” says Mollison in his introduction, “and perhaps start to figure out how, in their own lives, they may respond.”

Here are a few examples from this really interesting and thought provoking book:

Four-year-old Kaya lives in an apartment in Tokyo, Japan

Seventeen-year-old, ‘X’ lives in a ‘favela’ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Eight-year-old Harrison lives in a mansion in New Jersey, USA

This unnamed four-year-old boy lives on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. He and his family all sleep on the mattress in the photograph

Fifteen-year-old Risa lives in a teahouse in Kyoto, Japan

Fourteen-year-old Rhiannon lives in Darvel, Scotland

Where Children Sleep by James Mollison is published by Chris Boot in November (£20). You can pre-order the book, here, on Amazon. More of Mollison’s work can be viewed at jamesmollison.com.

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pClever design by Duuml;sseldorf designer Daniel Michel, commenting on the gradual disappearance of the light bulb (at least as we know it). In these lamps, the light pours right out of the socket, which is actually a 10-Watt High Power LED. The socket comes with interchangeable shades, though we’d probably leave it undecorated, for that bare-bulb, 90’s loft look./p

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pemPhotos by Merlin Baum/em/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/this_just_inbox_in_these_lamps_the_socket_is_the_bulb_17088.asp”(more…)/a
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Is there clutter hiding in your basement, attic, or garage? Is it at the back of a closet, under the kitchen sink, or in your medicine chest? What is the situation under your bed, in the linen closet, and in the drawers of your entertainment center? How are things in your filing cabinet or your car’s glovebox? Are you harboring clutter in an off-site storage facility?

When you can close a door or drawer to hide whatever lurks inside, it’s easy to use that space as a place to put clutter and forget about it. Even though this area might not be distracting you from living the life you want to lead right now, it does create stress and anxiety each time you access the area and whenever your thoughts drift to these spaces. Plus, you are spending money to maintain these objects and areas, and you’re keeping something you might value more — something that actually matters to you — from being stored in its place.

Unlike clutter that “hides” in plain sight, clutter that is tucked away can lead to bug and/or rodent infestations, increase the levels of dust and dander in your home, and keep you from discovering leaks, cracks, or other major structural issues. Not being able to see into your home’s closed spaces can really cost you over the longterm — financially and emotionally.

To bring this hidden clutter into the light of day, find a clear, flat surface you can use as a place to set all of your stored things. A dining room table works well for small spaces, and your driveway can work for large areas. Pull out all of your items and group them by type (make piles of like things). Once you can see all of the items, go through each group to determine if anything can be thrown away, recycled, or donated to charity. Once you’ve determined what should stay and what should go, only return items into storage that should be in storage.

Try not to store anything in cardboard because it is a tasty treat for bugs and rodents and it won’t protect your things if water leaks into the space. Also, label any containers you can’t easily see inside so you won’t waste time when you go looking for something — holiday decorations, camping and hiking gear, 2008 contracts.

Also, while your stuff is out of storage and on display, don’t forget to give your storage spaces a good review and cleaning. Repair any damages and clean out the cobwebs so you return your items to the best space possible. Install battery-operated lights, too, so that you can easily check on your stored objects in the future.

I’m of the opinion that the less stuff you have in storage, the better. Good luck to you as you shed light on your home’s hidden clutter.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.