Minimalism - What a difference a day makes.

What a difference a day makes as the song says.  

The minimalism challenge has come full circle.  A year ago November I began a 30 day challenge to pick up, organize, clean out, recycle, and/or reuse. Then I turned it into a monthly update.

My behavior learned during the challenge really helped me look at the stuff that accumulates in my life.  

It was a successful year......

Cabinets with just what I really need.  Easier to cook and create.  Also stopped the duplicates at the store!

The cubby space is actually usable and I can find what I am looking for!  Success is getting all like items in one place.  It keeps evolving as I determine, all those cookbooks I don't use much any longer.  Now I search my favorite sites for new ideas.

  
Dresser drawers are another place that helps everyday living.  I can find it all with no muss or fuss.

What a difference a year can make.

Last winters storm damage to the 3rd floor carpeting pushed me to clean up my bedroom, closet, dresser, bookcases and such once again.  Bags of clothing were donated during the year to those that could use them.    Boxes of books were sent to the library for the Friends sale where the proceeds help the Lucy Robbins Welles Library in Newington.   Now it is a very peaceful room to rest and relax.

What a difference a year can make.


There was time for the garden and growing lots of veggies that I am enjoying today.  Started canning some of the tomatoes and with the winter squashes have been relishing the new recipes I'm trying out.


There's a sense of peace at the garden.  Enjoying the camaraderie of my fellow neighbors, trading secrets on how to do a better garden.  What works and doesn't work in the Newington soil and weather along with a dose of politics of course.

All this is happening due to my gardening space in the garage being cleaned up and organized!  


What a difference a year can make.

1st Place Big E 2015

1st Place Big E 2015

I finally got back to my lace.   I worked on coming up with entries to the Big E this past September.  Three presentations in tatting.  I received two firsts and a second!   

The firsts are shown here.  A collar and a series of hearts.

There was my crochet snowflake project going on since last Christmas at the same time.  

2nd Place Big E 2015

I have been making needle tatted flowers to practice.  I can carry it with me and in a few minutes I have made another flower.  Then I started giving them away.  By the time I realized it, I had given away around 200!  Now I'm keeping track of who they have been given to and the story that goes with them.  Everyone should have a piece of handmade tatting lace!

Once again -  clearing out nooks and crannies and organizing the would like to do patterns vs. notes on techniques and in various forms of handwritten notes, pdfs/jpgs, photocopies and books.  It's definitely better now.


What a difference a year can make.  If you start today.......  before you know it, you'll have made a difference just for you!  Enjoy

Here's to a year of catching the dreams you chase,

doing what makes you smile,

and loving the life you live.

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Minimalism - April

April was not my month to minimize!  That's okay.  Sometimes life get's in the way.  More items were moved to the garage and out of  nooks and crannies.   

I did so some mental exercises as what to do.  What I did arrange to help the load was to have the housekeeper come the day after tax season!  Yippie!!  While I couldn't appreciate the cleaning in the same way (too tired) I made some headway in clearing way more 'junk/stuff' that has somehow accumulated in my place.   

With house guest arriving for the 2nd half of April, the studio needed to get back to being a guest room.  

I've been ruthless in the office, i.e.cleaning out old books, donated or trashed.  Opening old files and scanning and/or trashing the contents.  While not too exciting, there is space being created!

Didn't do much more in the kitchen for the month of April - I did maintain and that is good.

So see ya next month!  It will be a surprising month for me - energy is rising, spring in the air and moving on.



No progress for April --  stay tuned!
Day 21 - kitchen cabinets - only the necessities  - Take one cabinet/drawer a day
0.  Cabinet to the right of microwave -----  December
1.  cabinet left of microwave
2.  drawer below #1 January
3.  Drawer below #2 January
4.  Drawer below #3 January
5.  drawer to right of stove January
6. cabinet below #5 - March
7.  drawer on left side of island  February
8.  cabinet below #7 February
9.  drawer on right side of island- March
10.  cabinet below #9 February
11.  cabinet above to the left of sink
12.  cabinet above sink
13.  cabinet above to right of sink
14.  Pantry closet /February

15.  storage in garage.
16.  storage cube in dining room
17.  Cabinet in dinning room January
18.  Cabinet Below sink!!  - March

Day 25 - Declutter the unusual spots

What are unusual spots? The dictionary says "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others".  I guess there could be spaces like under the stairs, behind something, in the raffters. or under the sink.  Lucky or not, living in an open space layout doesn't leave much that could fall into an unusual spot.

If I use the under-the-stairs as an example - the only place is in the basement.  It is enclosed as if it was a closet - when I moved in I had Bob, my handyman, build shelving into and round the studs, and that became the supply closet for the office.  That space is always kept tidy.

Upstairs is a settee and I put stuff behind it.  The other day I moved that 'stuff' out and to the staging space I have for that project.  It should have never put it behind there in the first place!  

Attic or such - I don't have one that is usable and as for under the sink  - all four are great.  Kitchen there are a few cleaners; the half bath, other than waste basket there is nothing; under the guest bath is where I store the supply of tissues and lightbulbs and the master bath there is a seldom used hair dryer, waste basket and nothing else.

So not to let this Challenge day get off easy - I went back to the Kitchen #21.  I began the two drawers that I keep the plastic storage containers and towels in.  Wow - rematched the bottoms and tops, determined 'really' how many do I need, the drawers were done......  except that led me to the Garage - there was two boxes of storage containers there!  Not to leave this part of the chore incomplete.  I brought them in, when through, ran some through the dishwasher and consolidated down to one box with room in it!  Some were recycled and others were put in the donate box

Not only was the drawers complete - there is a space on the shelving in the garage where I cleared away that one box and then found I had an empty box(?) up there.  That must have been one of those "save it just in case".  

Success for Day 25 - cleared away mismatched storage containers and re-open space in garage.  Item for Donate Box -- some extra storage containers that I won't be using any longer  and  a whole pile of mismatched containers that went to recycling.

PS if you are wondering where the cleaning supplies are - I have a bucket that all the supplies are kept in.  Unopened supplies are stored in the garage.

PSS stay tuned - the garage will be a big event and will happen in the next four weeks as I have guests coming and I need the garage to move furniture in order to host this event.

Today's Challenge - Day 26  -  Tackle your electronics - and - find one item to put in the donate box.