I’ve been missing in action for a bit here! I needed a little time to recover from the holiday rush. It was certainly a fun time of year and I’m certainly glad that it’s over!
Now I’m on an organization kick. I made several New Year’s resolutions and the only one I’ve been able to stick to is my vow to get more organized! I saw an article in the January issue of Better Homes and Gardens that really inspired me. There is a cool company based in Vancouver called Lovely Designs. Founder Sharilyn works from home as I do. She re-purposes vintage paper into gorgeous stationary items. As stated in the BHG article, she is a collector. From her site it appears that she is drawn to old maps and scraps of anything lovely.
I too collect – at the moment it’s beads and yarn. I’ve been known to go on canvas and oil paint hoarding tangents too.. And there was a phase where I collected packaging from grocery items with the intention of making really gritty paper mache… I had to ditch that collection into the recycling bin though. It was making my husband really nervous. He thought our family was going to appear on that show “Hoarders…”
Anyhow, Sharilyn also has a toddler that she’s home with all day. I was impressed that she is trying to teach her daughter organization at an early age. I’d like my boys to learn that too. Especially growing up in this ultra distracting technology infused world. It facilitates focus to give everything its own place.
I thought it was so generous that Sharilyn and her family opened up their home and showed some of the tips and techniques that they’ve employed to keep their space organized and inspiring. She has an amazing use of color and beautifully balances elements to create arrangements that are enticing to both children and adults.
Right now I’m pruning my family’s possessions. We have so many clothes, shoes, toys, books, old magazines, etc. I’ve already filled up about 7 boxes for the Salvation Army.
First, I rearranged my family room and mud room. These are two places in my home that are used almost all day every day so they tend to collect a lot of clutter. It felt great to move all the furniture and clean thoroughly while organizing. I moved all the toys to the basement since the kids largely ignore them anyway! I organized them into bins and I let the kids bring up one bin at a time. Not only does this prevent me from having to stare at unsightly plastic objects all day. It seems to keep the toys “fresher” and more exciting.
Next I tackled the laundry room. There has been a growing molehill that feels like a mountain of “non-imperative” clothes. Since I do have two young ones, items that have been urinated or vomited on take precedence…. Since we did have a bout of strep throat over the holidays, I was a bit behind. All the really ugly stuff had been taken care of but the rest was building… Long sad laundry story short, I decided to pare down drastically on clothes. My sons are the only grandchildren so far on both sides so we have been blessed with an overabundance in this area. I’m just keeping the things they really like and getting rid of anything that they give me hassles about wearing! I figure this will help me turn over the laundry compost more frequently!
Now I’m working on my showroom and jewelry-making areas. I want the showroom to just be a clean, tidy place for clients to shop. And I’m converting my walk in closet into a place where I can leave jewelry designs laying out on high tables until I get a chance to string or wire wrap them. I just need them to be out of reach of little hands!!!
Well, I’ll update in a few days on my progress… Hope my readers are having good success with New Year’s resolutions. A note for all of us to remember – the goal is progress not perfection – yet another AA gem.
CB 
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