Aren't We Done YET??

A quick interim post (or status update, if you will :o)...

It's amazing just how complex the simple things can become. Like getting organized (and staying that way ~ for crying out loud!) It didn't sound like a monumental task for my summer, but I have decided that I am able to complicate even the simplest of projects (I apologize to those who are offended for using the "P" word; p-r-o-j-e-c-t) in an unbelievably short period of time.

Granted, taking a house that appears to have survived some sort of internalized natural disaster is a bit less than simple, HOWEVER, it has recently come to my attention that complicating projects can indeed be elevated to an art form (and I'm just so there :oP

I did manage to get some things done though, see?

and here...

I suppose I should confess to being hopelessly addicted to storage bins and tubs (They're just so handy). My father gleefully clipped and sent all of the funnies from Cathy (comics) when she was have her storage container crisis ~ the store ran out of her existing color of choice. Honestly, what's a girl to do? Of course you know she had a meltdown over it (Irving may not have understood, but I was totally empathetic :o)

We did get a "trashed" 5 drawer lateral filing cabinet gussied up from its industrial grey and rust finish (ick) to something a little easier on the eyes...

Considering there are approximately 2 square feet of open space in my office, it was a little dicey trying to get a picture (although I think you can get the gist :o) Inexpensive picture frames were used to cover the mangled and missing label holders on the front of the drawers. Turned out pretty neat, didn't it? My daughter gets the credit for the initial sanding ~ she worked like a Trojan on it!

Time to get ready for church, and then maybe I'll see if I can put a few more things in some bins this afternoon. Hmmm...so if I'm now in my early 40's, maybe by the time I actually get it all put in bins, organized, and labeled it'll be ready for the move to my new home in Geriatricville, USA. Possibly even in time for my 96th birthday.

... or not...

5 - Creating OOAK (Order Out of Alarming Kaos :o)

My house scares me. Not because it's evil or eerie or even somewhat eclectic (which it is :o) but because it has been invaded. By what, you ask? Well I'll tell you ~ my house has almost completely disappeared under a deluge of craft supplies and vintage items that span decades (literally). First there was my own personal stash (which was already a teeensy bit *cough, cough* out of hand), THEN there were the boxes and bins belonging to my grandmother (Nana), the ornaments made by my great grandmother (her mother) and so on.

Some of it has been fabulous fun to sift through, like the family photographs dating all the way back to the 1860s (translation: watch for a blog post on my heritage scrapbook album, I'm so into it :o) There was the vintage jewelry she had stuck in a seriously tacky ceramic container; Trifari pieces that were drop dead gorgeous and some other amazing bits and baubles (hours of fun trying on and bringing back some fond memories). These fabulous finds were mixed in, mind you, with some cheesy plastic jewelry and dead tape (eew).

Then there were the things that were not so fun. Like the piles and piles of knitted "squares" that were NOT square (or any other easily identifiable shape; Nana had Alzheimer's). She made them by the dozens ~ no two the same size or shape - complete with holes and dropped stitches - impossible to use for anything. But the thing that really hurt my feelings was "The Tree". I've unofficially dubbed it, "Lamenting Loretta: A Felonious Folly" as this is nothing short of criminal...

Needless to say, I will be dissecting this and remaking some of the pieces into vintage jewelry for my shop (after I pick out the "keepers", of course ;o)

To top it all off are the evil dust bunnies on crack that I seem to be chasing

everywhere. Have you seen them? They look something like this...

Note the small beady eyes which have no problem spotting clean surfaces in dire need of a "dustover". For the past several years I have been battling them to no avail. Craft supplies and everything else had to be kept in boxes, storage containers or bags to prevent a light coating of dust from rapidly accumulating. It was a constant battle to keep up with that seemed to be getting worse, and I fought it bravely right up until the cancer. Now, I'll be the first one to admit I don't like to clean. While I may derive that certain satisfaction that comes with a job well done, I would be lying through my teeth if I said I liked it. Along with a cancer diagnosis comes surgery (or in my case surgeries), chemotherapy and a whole host of other raindrops on your parade that cause a lot of things to fall by the wayside (cleaning being one of the first casualties in the new war).

Why am I off on a tangent telling everyone about my dust? Because there's a moral to this story. A number of years ago, we remodeled the house and added a much larger central heat and air unit. In addition to some serious square footage, we added a half roof on the back side which created a nice big roof instead of several smaller ones. We also ended up with some storage space for "outdoor safe" items. Had it not been for the air handler going out a couple of months ago we would never have discovered that the people who installed the very expensive, brand new unit forgot to seal off the air intake. What does this mean? Well, instead of pulling air from the house, it was pulling air from the attic between the roofs. Nice hot, stuffy, dusty, gritty air which burned up the coils in the old handler and cost us around $1,300 to replace. Of course the man that owned the business that did the installation of our new A/C retired quite awhile back...probably to some remote island in Bimini. The moral? Check behind your contractors (which we did) even if they come highly recommended (which he was), and if you haven't a clue what to check find someone who does (that's the part we missed).

Anyway, if I can put in about 8 to 10 hours a day, I probably have a mere 6 - 8 months of cleaning and destashing left do. I'm sure if I hurry though, I can Git 'er Done (as they say). Hmmm, you know I don't remember seeing that big box before, maybe I'll just take a minute and see what all's in there...