Another Year Passing By

As another year passes quickly by, it reminds me of my goal each year to become more organised around the home.

(Pile of magazines needing culling)
Life seems to overwhelm me sometimes and the clutter around me doesn’t make me feel any better.

(Where to start?? – June 2011) – (Love the look)

(Scrap box before)
This year, I believe, I achieved a lot in the organisation department.  Thanks to my friend, Shirley, we got into the sewing room where she introduced me to the plastic box.  Not that I didn’t know about them, I just didn’t know where to start with the sorting.  She had some great ideas and I am still working on amalgamating all of the stuff into their respective categories.

(Boss Shirley)

(Some progress)
Each year I start with the idea of disposing of an item a day and this has worked very well.  It usually fizzles out, so I have kicked it off again – right now!  I have discovered this website “The Organised Housekeeper” and she has the de-cluttering 52 week challenge right HERE, which I am gong to attempt to follow.  (Hope it goes better than the TAST challenge LOL).  Of course, we have planned trips once again for 2013, so I will have to double up some weeks to achieve the goal.

During the past couple of years I have made some of these embroidered felt pin cushions which I was going to sell at our exhibition.  When I showed a friend, she bought the lot and I didn’t get around to making any more.  Shirley has gifted me some of her embroidery wool ‘double ups’ and I have made a few more since, and intend to make some more. 

This past Sunday was our precious little princess’ 4th birthday.  Where did that time go?  Of course, being a princess, she wanted a princess party.

The princess and her princess cake her Mummy made.

Princess Lilian with her new Doctor’s set – she loves playing doctors and calls her cubby house her “Goctor’s Office”

Princess Lilian in her tiara.

Organised? Who, Me??

As I have mentioned before on this blog I am challenged when it comes to being organized.
It just never seems to happen.  Especially in the sewing/crafting space.  My excuse has always been I need MESS to create.  Lately I have been looking at the blog called “Blissfully Organized” and dreaming of being just that.
The mess and confusion was actually starting to get to me, so when my dear, organized friend Shirley had listened long enough to my moaning she decided I needed help.  
THE BEFORE PHOTOS
                  (Overflowing box of selvedges!!!)     
THE AFTER SHIRLEY PHOTOS
    
There is still more to do but she has put me on the right track now and all I have to do is be a good little girl and put everything back in it’s place  (hard part).
Thank you Shirley and I think you have missed your vocation.  You should be a professional organizer.   Mwah to you, Shirley      

Treasures and Odds and Ends

My friend, Joan, (no blog) read about my found objects and gifted me some of hers.  She is a very sweet friend.  Don't you just love that art deco piece?  It is half of a buckle.  The gorgeous button is from one of her old scottish tartan garments and the little dogs are from one of her late father's whisky bottles.  Found objects with a story - cool.  Thanks Joan.

Joan also gave me these gorgeous glass buttons a couple of years back. That light blue one is one of my favourite buttons in my collection.  She presented them to me in this lovely box and I still keep them in there and look at them every so often.  I know she will want me to use them on a project one day, but at the moment they are just treasured.
 

Magazines in the bathroom?  They are in the bathroom waiting to go back into my sewing space after new carpet was laid.  Yes these are just a small fraction of magazines I have.  I know it is time for a big cull of them, but I flick through them, see something that, well, maybe I will make one day (ha, ha) and then I don't throw it!!  What a tragic.  All those coloured tags?  Yep, they are marking projects I will make one day.  Maybe I need one of those professional de-clutter consultants to come in and help me.

Australia Day - What to do

 

Hope everyone has an enjoyable and relaxing Australia Day. We sure live in one of the best countries in the world

What to do?  Well we have already had an Aussie style breakfast with our neighbours and the rest of the day is going to be spent with our family.  

Sticking to my decluttering plan, I will look through some old magazines and throw out, or give away some I think I don't need.  

The plan is to throw out, give away to charity or re- purpose one item a day for the whole year.  So far it is working beautifully.  Hard to stop at one item really.

   

Hoarding

We are about to embark on a kitchen renovation which is really freaking me out.

Confession: I am a hoarder. The new kitchen, although re-configuring the space, does not afford us any more cupboard space. In fact, it may be slightly less, so I am in trouble. It's time to bite the bullet and get rid of some 'stuff'.
I find it really, really hard to part with possessions. Don't know why, maybe it's hereditary, as my maternal grandma was a chronic hoarder.
Our daughters can have whatever they want and the rest will go to charity. (I am sounding tough but will probably weaken when the time comes).

Today I ventured into the sewing room to take stock in there. Oh dear! Hoarding has really got out of hand here. Something has got to give, and I decided to sit down with the laptop and start cataloguing and putting into boxes, some of the 'stuff'.
It's the same old story everytime I go in there to get organized. I am sidetracked by some unfinished project, get an attack of the guilts, and have to work on it.

This is one project that sidetracked me today.

It is some old blocks that were going to go into a quilt for my mother-in-law, but it never got off the ground. I decided to practice some free motion quilting on them and make them into a bath mat.

There is always tomorrow to organize. Trouble is, tomorrow never seems to come