Yes, this is a real photo of the "far" (aka "the dark side") side of my bedroom---right in front of the French doors that let in too little light and don't have a screen so can't be used for fresh air!
Restful? Inviting? Soothing? An serene oasis? Make me laugh! It's a game preserve for dust mites and little else! I used to be a huge scrapbooker. It's how I coped in the "house from hell." Other than making 4 pages as a Christmas present in '08, exactly 3 months after moving into this house, I have not touched my scrapbook stuff since. I even took time to unpack it from the nice IKEA storage boxes I'd bought for it, reorganize it--nothing. I think I'm just "over" scrapbooking. Maybe with the Grandchildren.
It makes me sad because I did really, really enjoy it and look forward to it. I got a digital camera--and lost 2 years worth of photos by accident. That didn't help. Teenagers don't do much that's "cute" or scrapbook worthy and even I'm not nutty enough to make each cat her own scrapbook! In retirement I would, however, like to make Life Books for foster kids so maybe then.
Whatever! The mess, enlarged by the homeschool books that need to go, makes me want to sleep all the time--not a good sign. It was time to be brave and tackle it. It's ok that I'm not ready to sell it all on Ebay yet (although if you want to make an offer......) Meanwhile it has to be out of it's current home.
Thanks to the previous ways I had organized the scrapbook material, it was easy to neatly store the stuff out-of-sight, but within reach. I keep the drawer unit fully accessible so scraps can be found easily for school projects or to make a quick greeting card. I kept the basket of unwanted photos in easy reach, too, for similar projects.
Because of the layout of the room it's hard to get a good photo. I also had to use a weird angle to get it all in. It looks MUCH NICER in person!! Honestly. Note the other organizing inspiration: the bag hanging beside the red boxes. I took a large carrier bag from a Old Navy and put my handmade prayer shawl in it and hung it over a hanger. Did the same (not visible) with a treasured afghan. Out of the way till I need them!I was also able to work my way thru much, but not yet all, of the rest of the clutter. The blue wastebasket holding old school papers (oh the irony!) is now protecting the kitchen from another flood. The broken lamp and the crushed lampshade went to the curb as they should have years ago. Several small boxes of junk were culled for "keepers" or "trash" and the keepers were repacked into one box with a home in a closet.
Under the bed (which can become a disaster area fast) was mostly just very dusty. This weekend it will get vacuumed well. Under it reside the dining room table leaf and a box of treasures from my childhood. Not too bad! Someday I'll have a new headboard for the bed and it may finally look like an adult lives there!!
Final post tomorrow is on the benefits of Livin' Small and how I simplified our bedrooms for sanity!
4 comments:
You rock! I did under my kitchen sink last week. What a difference.
Today I was upstairs tackling what I call my "craft room". Really it is the dumping ground for all of the stuff that I'm not sure where to put. The closet is full of pictures and genealogical research that I just don't have time to sort through right now, but at least the tables have been cleared off. Hopefully, with clear space, I will be able to tackle the pictures a little at a time.
I still need to get in there and vacuum and dust mop, but once I do, all of the upstairs will be (relatively) clutter free!
With Flylady's Swish & Swipe in the bathrooms, and a couple of minutes each day of checking to make sure things aren't piling up anywhere, the bedrooms and bathrooms have remained clean for the past week or so. My challenge will be to keep it up once the "rush" of decluttering is over.
You are inspiring me, so keep going!
Sarah
Thanks, Sarah! There's one more post tomorrow. I still have a lot to do in my bedroom, but that was elephant I didn't want to deal with.
Oooh ... blog about your childhood items! I can totally relate on all the scrapbooking stuff. I have a ton too, although I do (occasionally) use it. Really I kind of wish I'd never started. I love my scrapbooks, but overall they're just a huge cause of guilt (I tried to keep up a family scrapbook and scrapbooks for each of the 3 kids). No way to keep that up. My current goal is to scrapbook through Christmas 2010, and when I get there, I'm going to just make a Shutterfly book about each year. Smaller and heckofa lot easier!
I loved scrapbooking, but it's just "over" I think. Not sure how, but I may blog about some of my childhood stuff. Thanks for the suggestion! I've been on vacation from technology for a few days!
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