More "Persevering Productivity"

If you're wondering about the title of this post, I'm referring to THIS in which I naively announce all the things I'm going to get done in 2008. HAH! It's now almost June. I am about halfway through the year and still have a llloooonnnngggg way to go towards getting all that done. I'm making good progress in the sewing and stash-busting department. I've stash-busted almost 150 yards. I'm making fairly decent progress in the home organization efforts. Still a long way to go, however. The marathon-shape thing? We're not going to talk about that. Pretend I never said that. I was delusional. I must have been watching Chariots of Fire again and forgot that I'm more than 2x the main character's age.

I recently learned that we will be having house guests in a few weeks. So I need to lay aside the sewing for a bit and do some prep work for that. Company coming is always a nice little pressure to get some things done that need to be done anyway. So...those of you who come here strictly for the sewing, might be bored for the next dozen posts or so. I'm going to be posting my organizational and decorating projects. I will get back to sewing as soon as I can. :)

And with that caveat, here are pics of what I did yesterday. I cleaned out and organized a whole wall of bookshelves. Fifteen feet. I hauled out FOUR black bags of stuff to the trash. After everything was reorganized, I arranged them as prettily as a REAL library allows (Those libraries in magazines must be for non-readers. The books are color-coordinated and there are NO paperbacks.), tucked in bits of greenery and then hung some vintage landscapes on the fronts. This was an idea I saw in Country Sampler Decorating Ideas years and years ago.

From Roll Top Desk to Gadget Center

One of my goals this year was to try to get every inch of the house perfectly culled, decluttered, organized and beautified. Quit laughing. I'm serious. In this process I've discovered a new principle of organization. At least to me. It's kind of a variation on the "bloom where you're planted thing." Ready for it???

Organize your reality.

For years I've tried to set up systems and then get people to use them. I've finally come around to looking at what people are using and then organize that. Rather than fight the tendency for shoes to get left in the front foyer, organize the reality that that's where people leave their shoes in Alaska. Rather than try to get people to put away keys, receipts, and spare change, deal with the fact that it's always going to get dropped on the foyer table and organize that spot.

And that's what I did with this desk below. It had become a magnet for electronic gadgets and their respective chargers, batteries and accessories. I am sooooo not a gadget person. I have let the sight of those gadgets and tangled mass of cords drive me crazy and finally realized that I was going to have to go with the reality. That desk is where it is most convenient and likely for them to get dropped. So organize THAT spot. I turned this roll top desk into a gadget storage and charging center.

First, I removed the back of both the desk and the shelf insert. I did this without ruining them and stored them so that they could be replaced when we wished to use this piece as a desk again. I also stored one of the drawers as its spot was needed for one of the larger gadget chargers. I then ran the plugs through the back of the desk. I mounted a power strip to the back of the desk and plugged in each charger (and a pencil sharpener).



Each cord and charger has its own cubby so that there are no dangling cords, no jumbled mess. They get tucked into their holes until a gadget needs charging. Then its simply pulled out and the gadget plugged in.



The whole mess then gets covered by pulling down the rolltop. There are no cords showing beneath the desk because the outlet is just above the center of the desktop, hidden by the plant. So you'd never know anything electrical is going on.



The drawer holds extra gadgets and batteries. No more mess. And all those ugly electronics and cords are out of sight!



Now on to solve the next problem. There are plenty to choose from!

What One Does When One's Machine Is In The Shop, Day Three

One resorts to cleaning out closets...



Day Three of The Machine Fast. I may not be Ghandi, but it still hurts. Since my Pfaff is in the shop, I resorted to Spring cleaning and serger sewing. I culled, cleaned, reorganized and decorated my bathroom closet. I made little slipcases for each sheet set, using a different print to designate bed sizes. I used fabrics from my stash so the cost was nil-and-none. And I significantly busted some stash. Baskets hold household supplies. Papercrafted labels with rag ties make contents known. Wire racks on the back of the door make every bit of space count. Finally, I added some rose-scented sachets. So now it not only looks pretty, but it smells nice as well. :)