Tag: downsizing

Tackle box therapy 

Hi Everyone,

How have you been? We have had one of those weeks where almost every day has been packed full. Monday and Tuesday seemed to have been winter’s last rally, complete with snow on Tuesday. Thankfully it looks like we have entered true Spring now. 

I’m going to keep this short today. Last night I picked my son up at the airport and he will be in for a few days visit as well as my daughter, son-in-law and that soon to be spoiled grandbaby. We keep getting more and more depressing news about my Dad’s health so the visits will be a bright spot this week. Needless to say, I’m going to spend every possible minute with family for the next few days. Tomorrow Miss L. has a color run and immediately after that my bonus daughter has a horse show. Sunday we all converge at my parents’ for food, fun and baby spoilage.

This week has been a continuation of the never ending cleaning, decluttering and packing up. We are reaching crunch time now that prime house selling season is upon us. The other day during my storage unit cleaning, I unearthed an old “friend”.  This fishing tackle box started holding my art supplies way back in high school. It was then a constant companion in college as I hauled drawing pencils and charcoal back and forth from art classes to dorm room. At some point I moved on to art supplies that no longer fit in this simple box. Airbrushes, tubes of paint, cameras, COMPUTERS were all too big. 


It’s funny how at this time of major downsizing in my life, my tackle box reappeared just when I needed it. In a couple of weeks I am going to have to find a place to hide my art supplies at a calls notice. My paints and canvas have been packed up and are soon heading to the same storage unit my tackle box lived in. I will be down to just pencils, pastels and paper that can easily be tucked away. It’s crazy to get excited over finding this simple, super efficient, portable box, but it solved a major problem of how to wrangle my supplies in a stressful situation. Divine intervention. Therapy in a tackle box…that does not include cleaning fish! 

Here is this week’s work in progress. I’m trying to draw fog. It’s a challenge. 


I’m off to make coffee for the “boy”. Have an awesome week! 

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Rainy day reorganization

Hi Everyone,

It has been one more week already, but in a good way. I hope yours is going well also.

After being sick last week I was already behind on Monday but we were under the Big Chill so school was put on a delay Monday, then canceled completely on Tuesday. Miss L. was loving the schedule, but if you have ever tried to work from home with a kid of any age, you know it is challenging.  Normally I will come up with chores and activities to avoid the technology black hole, but I gave up the fight this week. Luckily Miss L. has been on an Andy Grifith Show binge, so if she had to spend time watching TV I figured that was about as good as it gets. 

On Sunday evening D. and I did a furniture giveaway marathon delivery session. We had several pieces of furniture that we did not need and were taking up valuable real estate in both our house and storage unit. I started just giving them away and we delivered them to their new homes Sunday. This made room for a major house overhaul that I am so excited about. 

First, a beautiful old Victorian piece that belonged to D.’s great-grandparents now resides in G’s room. We have a drawer to fix and one missing drawer pull to replace but otherwise somehow this darling has survived some hard times and now looks soooooo much better in the room than the chest that was a discard from a friend many years ago.  It found its way to a thrift store for its next life. 


You know when you fix one thing that leads to another thing, etc.? Well, this process is affecting every room I think. The buffet that was being used as our dresser now has a new home and we were able to move D.’s dresser from my SIL’s house to our room. It is much more vertical and has more room. That opened up space for… MY DESK! Which opened up space in Miss L’s room to start moving in her “new” bedroom suite (it was her Mother’s childhood furniture that was intended to go to Miss L.). Cleaning out our storage allows us to move my son’s bed to storage and out of Miss. L’s room as well. And best of all, we can now go back to using our kitchen table TO EAT ON instead of me working at. Whew!

I’m so excited! But really tired of moving furniture!!!!

And folks, that’s not all. Check out my new baby easel! I CAN PAINT AGAIN! I can’t paint big canvases but I CAN PAINT AGAIN!!


So, I have to go now and clean up my work mess on the kitchen table so we can have a proper meal tonight and MAYBE squeeze in a little quality time with my paints just because I can. Do you hear the tapping of my happy dance? 

Have an awesome week!!

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Clearing out and passing along

As 2015 is coming to an end and 2016 holds some big changes for me, I am ramping up the never ending clearing out and downsizing that is now in its fourth year.  Who knew this would take so very, very long.

This week I unearthed several half finished knitting and crochet projects along with a pile of yarn and a box full of fabric that has lived with me too long.  What the heck to do with all of it? Most of the projects were started originally to use up all the yarn.  Where the heck did all that yarn come from anyway?  I swear there are inanimate objects that reproduce in my house!

knitting

I have three small blankets very close to being done.  I have piles of bits and pieces of random yarn and the fabric is home décor fabric not suitable for clothing or quilts.  After doing some thinking and research I believe I have a plan. My plan is to finish everything and donate them where they can truly be of some use.  If any of you have similar stashes taking up valuable real estate, I am sharing the links below.

As long as I can remember I have hated wasting anything.  I’m not sure if it was how I was raised or just something I was born with, but along with serving me well during tough times it has also driven me nuts. I am not a hoarder.  If anything, my inclination is toward minimalism, but I will hang on to things I don’t need until I can find a useful end to it. I cannot bring myself to throw something away just because I don’t need it or can’t use it anymore.  Goodwill knows me by name.  It is a rare month that I don’t make a drop off of things I have cleaned out.

So, here I am once again trying to find a creative solution to my yarn/fabric problem. Since this seems to be an ongoing thing for me I have started a Pinterest board called “In need”.  If you want to follow it for ideas of where you can contribute search for “Christel Williams” or “In need” and you should be able to find the board.  If you don’t want to go to that much trouble or are not a Pinterest addict like myself, here are a few links.

The blankets are going to either Project Linus or one of the local hospitals/shelters/churches depending on the size and softness of the yarn.  The random bits of yarn are going to be made into scarves for the local homeless shelters and the fabric will be made into a sleeping bag(s) (see the Sleeping Bag Project below. I love it for its emphasis on recycling).

Knit for Kids

The Sleeping Bag Project

Project Linus

Care Wear

Snuggles Project (for our furry friends)

I have not donated to these organizations before, but am making the links available for you to check out.  There are ALWAYS shelters, churches, groups in your local area that are in need of items.  It does not take much work to find them and they are very appreciative.

Wishing you a generous, productive, healthy, safe, peaceful week!

Christel

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