Light and Blooms

The letter J took me to an old (vintage) jewelry box that was my moms. It also led me to some (vintage) juice glasses that I have picked up at thrift stores. Don't you just love the word VINTAGE better than OLD?? I do! The jewelry box was purchased for my mom by my dad from Pier 1 many years ago when Per 1 was mostly just wicker and hemp and macramé. I know it was an indulgent purchase even then. I remember this jewelry box sitting on her bureau and holding all the special jewelry that my mom had. I loved to look through it and hear the stories of where some of the older pieces came   from. The mink clip on earrings, the silver and onyx bangle bracelet, the silver hammered scrimshaw bracelet that was very Asian and was never worn, but always treasured. When my mom passed away in 1988, the jewelry box was one item of my moms that I requested to have. For many years I used it. It sat on my dresser top and was a delight to my eyes and a fond memory maker...

So it seems that although I was headed in the right direction to organizing using the alphabet, I did not count on the momentum I was building up as I concentrated on one letter, one project per day. Perhaps I was taking on too much too quick. Much like running down hill, you start off controlled and putting one foot in front of the other in an orderly fashion. Then all of a sudden, you take a leap and you are airborne and on the verge of a tumble rather than a run. In September, I recall that I stopped at the letter "I" to step back and get an "I"impression of what I accomplished and what needed to be done. This caused a major "INTERRUPTION" as I looked around at the projects I wanted to accomplish but at the same time wanted to keep moving forward. So before I took that fateful leap forward that may have resulted in a tumble or roll down the hill, I INTERRUPTED the process and concentrated on cleaning up loose ends.     What have I bee...

So if you think I have given up halfway through the alphabet...I have not! My intention for the letter "I" was to look at the house and general stuff and get an "Impression" of what works, what doesn't and what can be done to change or maintain. I have been doing that and have some good "Ideas" for each impression. I have included those things into future letters and will share my action plan and results as I go. I have been revisiting (remember I make up the rules!) some past letters and projects and have good news for my efforts with the letter "E". Two items I listed on "Ebay" sold. One has shipped and one is ready to go on Monday. I think I underpriced the items a bit, but I am happy that someone can use what I had decided to sell. So keeping with the letter "I", I am "Inspired" to keep listing and hopefully selling. Since I got a little behind with my letters by the day, I will pick up "J...

Today was organizing using the letter "H" as my guide. I chose to take a look at Hangers and Handy Information. I did a quick sweep of all closets and changed out any hangers that are not my preferred kind. I have learned that closets stay neater looking when there is consistency in the type of hangers used. I also like to remove the ones that I don't like to use, the ones that come with clothing from the store and dry cleaner hangers. I keep a "donate" bag handy and drop it off with any other donations. Thrift stores appreciate hanger donations so they can hang clothing rather than folding.   I like to find and purchase vintage wooden hangers. I hang aprons from them in the kitchen. Below is a photo of what that looks like with our favorite aprons from Anthropologie. http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/search/search.jsp?searchPhrase=aprons   I also want to share how I have learned to keep "handy" information "HANDY". I...

I am a little behind in my posts, but I have been working my Alphabet Organizing each day. It has been rewarding and freeing to be able to do what I can with the time I have and then move on. I have been working on "G" and that means Garage in my world. It is a Gigantic job, just because we require our garage to have many purposes for us. In our desire to have both cars in the garage, our storage space                           took a hit. I am sharing a collage of photos with you. Three are of some small victories over some categories of stuff that had spread out of control and are now gathered up and visible, accessible and in flexible space. The one photo is of an area of the garage that needs some attention. It is a piled up mess of boxes that just need to find homes. It is intentional that I have them out in the open. I don't want to just shove the...

After getting a good handle on my paper files, I have successfully taken better control of my digital files and photos. I have sorted and purged most of my digital content and backed it up on these two flash drives. I feel confident that if anything were to happen to my paper files and information, I have safely and securely stored all that information digitally. My FLASH drives are stored in a safe and secure location. This is an on-going category to keep working on, but in two days of concentrating on it, I feel good. Remember I said there are no failures and no unrealistic expectations? That is what is making this process fun for me. If you try this with those guidelines for yourself, I think you will be pleased with the progress you make. Check back later today and I will post an update on my progress with "G" from yesterday. The Garage! Patti

So I spent the last two days, on and off, organizing my emergency supplies and information. I also tackled Home and Personal Files. I am in no way through this project, but I have made a good dent in simplifying and corralling these categories. I feel good about my efforts and have a good clear action plan to continue on. Enough for a few days Here are a few photos of the results.  Basic supplies                               Taxes  Working files And then I just could not resist getting this at a thrift store. Pretty sure it is a Pottery Barn product. Purchased it for $12. A perfect reward for cleaning out my many stacks of files and paper. My Reward Would love to hear what you think so far of Alphabet Organizing. Let me know if you are inspired, encouraged or exhausted just thinking about i...

So I have been working diligently to "fine" tune my emergency files and supplies as well as Household and Personal files. I also promised myself I would make it FUN. In-between hunting down paper piles and filing them into a finessed form, I have been having FUN listing items I find on EBAY. A funny thing happened with my first listing. I was having trouble finalizing the listing. I checked and rechecked all my boxes and it would not list. I finally called EBAY for help. I had the customer service rep stumped until she realized that I was trying to make a listing on the Canadian EBAY site. FUNNY how a small letter in the web address takes you to a whole different site. Once that was solved it was EASY to list and I FINALIZED many more listings. I may not make a ton of $ on any of the items but it has been FUN to try to FLIP unused and no longer wanted items for cash. So I will leave you now as I hunt down more unruly piles of papers tha...

Since today begins the weekend, I decided to combine the next two letters, E and F. I will take today and tomorrow to work on them both.     I will be concentrating my " Efforts and Focus" on EMERGENCY Items and FILES.     Since these are rather dry and serious categories, I will try to throw something "EXCITING AND FUN" into the mix as well.   My Emergency File is already started, both in paper form and digital form. I will work at making sure I have a copy of all vital information for the family. I will also make sure we  have "Hurricane" emergency supplies updated. This seems to be a smart thing to have living in Florida.   My Home and Personal Files for the most part are in pretty good shape. But they do need to be gone through and purged of out of date or non-relevant material.   I have a bad habit of making too many "miscellaneous" folders and accidently hide things from myself. So my goal is to make d...

    So the beauty of this Alphabet Organizing is that I can just keep moving on...the "Disclaimer" is that I don't have any rules or unrealistic expectations of grandeur. It is just a practical process of organizing using the alphabet as a guide.   So yesterday, I only accomplished one "C" category. But that's okay.   Today is "D". I "determined" that "Dishtowels" would be my morning organizing task.   Later today my categories are : Dining Room Decorative Items   Just a quick sweep through each to see what I can accomplish in "Defining" what needs to go and what needs to stay.   Accumulating in a box of "Donations"       Here are some before and after photos of my 15 minutes spent with the "dishtowel" task. Before Donate/Rags       After So you see it does not have to be complicated or time-consuming.   Patti  ...

    Today is organizing by the letter "C". That means that I quickly tackled the coffee cabinet as I was cleaning up the kitchen. I emptied the cabinet, wiped it out and surveyed the many different flavors of coffee that were hiding in there. I determined to keep only the ones that were in date and that we are currently enjoying. The rest got thrown away. I put on my shopping list as we are heading into fall to purchase one fall flavor and skip buying many kinds throughout the season. I also remembered that we had a coffee maker that had broken and we never threw it out. Why not? Don't know! Well, it is now in the trash. See how easy this is when you focus quickly on just one letter at a time? Here is the finished "Coffee Cabinet" Done! I will return later in the day to tackle the "Candles".   "C" you later!   Patti 

I only had time for one more organizing task for the letter "B" today.   I cleaned out and purged the "Bottom Bathroom" cabinet drawer.   I checked vitamins for expiration dates, got rid of broken pieces of past used hair dryers and curling irons and cleaned the drawer out thoroughly.   After Tomorrow is the letter "C" I "Challenge" myself to organize Coffee Cabinet Candles Candle Holders Candlesticks Cleaning Supplies It seems as if I am avoiding the ultimate "C" word CRAFT CLUTTER This will require more time than I have set aside for tomorrow. I will "Catch" that project another day! I said I get to make up the rules!!   Patti       

Today was the letter "B" for my Alphabet Organizing challenge. I have six categories on my list to accomplish today. I chose three to get started this morning. Batteries, Belts and Bowls. Here are my before and after photos and what I did. Batteries: Before   I do keep my batteries in a clear shoe box in the laundry room. I dumped them all out. Checked them for expiration dates. Put like size batteries together and made a list of which ones I need to purchase. After Belts: Before I have a small collection of belts. 10 to be exact. I laid them all out on the bed and tried each one on. Most fit, but there were two that were of another size category that I will probable never revisit. One was not my style any longer. So three went to the donation bag. One is not my style any longer, but in very good condition so I will list that one on Amazon to sell. The rest went back into the clear box to stay dust free and visible to me.  After  ...

  After being away for a week, and unpacking today and taking the time to put things away...I had what I think is a brilliant idea of creatively organizing over the next 26 days. "Alphabet Organizing" is what I am calling this.   For the next 26 days, I will organize as many things that begins with a letter of the alphabet, starting today with the letter "A".   So today I surveyed "All" of the house and made a master list of what I would like to accomplish using the alphabet as my guide.   By organizing I mean doing a quick sweep of a particular group of items, a particular room, or a defined project. I will use whatever time I decide necessary, based on a practical plan for each day.   Since this is my "brainchild", I can make up my own rules and do it any way I determine. No failures, no one else's expectation's. Just me and the alphabet and hopefully some creative fun and accomplishments that make me smile!   S...

The Journey ~ Coffee or Tea??? So it seems I have taken an unscheduled break from blogging my journey to my dream. How does this happen when the beginning was so enthusiastic and bursting the seams with hope? These two pictures explain a bit...at least to me! Let me try to explain. I spotted these mugs at TJ MAXX awhile back. I passed on purchasing one my first time around. One reason being I do not NEED any more mugs. The second reason being I could not decide if I was really a coffee or tea drinker at the very core of who I am. Not that it matters, but it seemed to matter to me,  that day of indecision. On a trip back, I decided I was a tea drinker and was worthy of a mug that declared that fact. In the cart it went. Another day I was shopping there weeks later, I spotted the "coffee" mug still sitting on the shelf. Made sense to me that it was there for me since I am also a coffee drink lover and worthy of a mug that declared that as well. The other day I...