More on the topic of purging

I may have seemed a bit snobbish in my last post so let me be the first to apologize. I in no way was trying to belittle those of you out there with kids at home, or elderly parents you're taking care of at home, etc. I was speaking to those who stand in awe at my finding time to do something other than work, eat and sleep. You know who you are. You aren't the ones playing mommy at night, or daddy or 2 job bread winner... well, you get the picture. I am just worried that I came off a bit harsh.

I'm well into week 2 of the big purge. Tonight I went through my clothes boxes that live under my guest bed. I managed to only put back 4 of the 6 I had and 1 of them is just full of t-shirts I want to make into a t-shirt quilt. This purging thing is easy and boy do I feel better when I'm finished with a task. I've got a HUGE pile of clothes that I either don't like anymore or are just ill-fitting or out of style. They are either getting sold or donated. Ah, feels good... feels really good.

My next project is an easy, sit on the couch kind of project. I'm going to go through my photographs from high school and college. I'm sure I have a ton that I don't really care to keep and no reason to tote them around and store them. For one, photos are heavy as sin and two, they take up drawers in my guest room I could be using for wool - WAIT - did I say wool? God knows I don't need more wool.

But wool will probably go in those drawers.

I need to be honest with myself.

My wool stash will grow.

It's gonna happen.

I'll never purge my wool.

I haven't decided what my next purging project will be after the photos... perhaps kitchen stuff? Maybe pantry items I'm never going to consume? No reason to force it, it will come to me.

I just thought you might want an update since I so proudly announced my Christmas decor purge last week.

In between all of this cleaning and purging, I am finding time for spinning. I listed quite a few new yarns in my shop this past weekend and have another basket full ready to get photographed and go into the shop this weekend. I'm amazed at every yarn I create. While it's the same thing over and over, spinning and spinning, treadling and treadling - each yarn is different. Each yarn is fun, unique, and beautiful. I'm not sure I'll ever get tired of spinning.

And did I already mention I'll never purge my wool? I think I did.

Who put all of this stuff in my basement?

The recent kidnapping by "whatever comes after life on earth" of my mom has left me realizing that humans leave this earth very light compared to how they lived on this earth. We have too much stuff. We have shelves upon shelves of books, stacks and stacks of boxes full of papers, bins full of meaningless keepsakes and bins full of meaningful keepsakes. We have nooks of antiques, cabinets of vintage collectibles, closets of clothes and racks of shoes. Our kitchen cabinets are full of enough dishes for a small army and hutches packed with enough cookware for the White House. Folks, we really have too much stuff.

I've been bringing a few things home from my moms. I've brought home things that remind me of her, things that remind me of her house (since we'll be selling it - unless a really nice person, or insurance policy, shows up ready to write a check). I've also brought home a few useful things. By useful I mean things I'm going to use right now, not things to pack away until I have room. The addition or more stuff to my already full house has left me ready to purge.

It's time to rid my life and my storage spaces of things that are meaningless. I don't care if it's really cool and I might use it in 2 years, if I don't have great memories associated with it and it's not getting used, it's going out the door. I'm in no way going through my house trashing stuff, but when I clean up a pile, I put forth a huge effort to divide the pile into keep, trash or sell and hopefully my keep pile is smaller than the other two combined.

Last week I tackled my office floor (yes floor - don't you judge me for my choice of storage places) and this week it's Christmas decor. I started with 5 large storage bins and a small ornament organizer this season. I refuse to put all of that back in the basement. Seeing as how I didn't even put all of it out this year, it is silly to keep it all stored away. While I didn't get rid of as much as I thought I would, I did pair down to 4 bins and my ornament box. OH, and one of the bins is only half full. Now that is something! If I can do this with all of my stuff - out of season clothes, extra bedding, keepsakes from college, and kitchenware I don't have room for, I'll be many, many pounds lighter.

I think it's a start, a good start.

Say "hello" to my little friends

It's official, I have fallen in love with dying wool. Each time I've done it, I've learned another thing or two about mixing colors and I can't wait to dye some more next week. The last batch I did had more muted tones (still bright but not as neon). I added some browns and such to the colors and I love how they turned out. The ones pictured here are Desert Sunrise and Dusty Rose. Both are available in the shop.

I've been a bit busy this week getting ready to head out of town this weekend and haven't had too much time to work on stuff for either of my shops. I did make some jewelry for a birthday gift and finish up some yarn, but I've been doing laundry, shopping (every good vacation deserves a new pair of pants or shirt or something), and organizing my toiletries because they were here and there and all in a mess. Now I just have to pack tomorrow night and we're headed out of here early afternoon on Friday. Whew - I'm tired already :)

Aside from getting ready for this trip, I've been enjoying the crazy weather we're having. It was warm enough for flip flops and capris the other day (but I refuse to wear either of those in public until at least the end of April) and tomorrow they forecast snow and ice. I am not complaining, I'm a winter weather lover and I say bring it on just as long as it's cleared up in time for my drive down to Texas on Friday.

Let it snow.

Sometimes you create

And sometimes you clean. Saturday's are usually reserved for grocery shopping and crafting. Today I shopped, spun some wool (which was more frustrating than it was relaxing - I was having issues today) and cleaned/organized. My house has kind of been in a semi mess since Christmas. There was a small pile of Christmas decor that I forgot to pack away before the boxes were taken to the basement, my sewing machine was still out from a past project, spinning supplies had taken over a corner of the living room, dust filled the corners and wool was oozing out of every bit of storage space in the guest room. It was time to take back my house.

It only took a couple of hours and a few listings on FreeCycle, but I finally feel like I've taken back the downstairs portion of my house.

The upstairs bedroom is an entirely different story that I don't care to write about.

My spinning stash got 2 new cubbies is as neatly organized as possible (as you can see above), I found some yarn I forgot I had and needed to list on Etsy and everything else just got put away. It's not a huge difference, but I just feel better while walking around. Now I feel like I can tackle some decorating projects and eventually the 2 boxes sitting next to my desk that never got unpacked when we moved.

And now I shall leave you with some new yarn porn - enjoy.