It seems like just yesterday I was bemoaning how much it was going to cost to move my stuff across the country, and yet here I am, still buying more stuff...

Confession: I'm totally a pen-chewer. While the habit offers the benefit of keeping people from stealing my stuff, it's mostly just an annoying habit resulting in torn-up pens made useless long before the ink runs out. At least now I can salvage something from all those wasted ballpoints to organize the cords in my office with this little pen hack...

Q: My husband and I are planning a cross country move this summer and have started comparing options for getting only our bare essentials to the other coast. I've read a lot of helpful articles and comments on this site about moving companies vs. shipping, shipping USPS vs. Amtrack, etc. With most of these options, the cost is based on the total weight of my items, and there's the problem; how the heck do I figure out how much everything weighs? 

No really, I'm asking, because I'm at a bit of a loss here.  

Some people always have Saturday and Sunday to look forward to: The Weekend. But for many of us, weekends occur haphazardly and sporadically, with "my Saturday" falling on a Tuesday and "my Sunday" not appearing until the next Thursday. How do you mark your weekend, when it's not clearly marked on the calendar?

Q: I know a lot of people who live in (tiny) apartments and have cats. I'm wondering about what the ideal kitty litter would be for these types of living situations. There's a new product that's a litter pad that adheres to the bottom of the box. I'm wondering if it would be a viable alternative. Would love to hear everyone's suggestions.

From the day we got the keys, my husband and I have been working furiously days, nights, and weekends on our 1919 home in Seattle. Eleven months later, we have finished our DIY renovating and are now in a place where most of the big stuff is done and we can sit back and finally enjoy our house as a home and not a job site.

Product: Get Maid
Price: $45 per hour
Rating: Strong Recommend*

Living in a city where it seems like almost anything can be delivered in short order, it's not surprising that there is a market for this to extend to cleaning. When I initially learned about the idea behind the startup Get Maid, I was skeptical. A professional cleaning service that's on demand and won't cost me a fortune?  

Have you heard the news? Tokyo is pretty crowded. And since space is at such a premium, some renters are choosing to live in something called "share houses" in downtown Shibuya. If you are in any way claustrophobic, and don't want to hyperventilate, don't click to see the rest.