summer clutter control!

It's a beautiful summer day here in Oklahoma.  The sun is shining, the grass hasn't been burnt to a crisp (yet), and the birds are singing.  It's my day off, and I have a million things to do.  The first line of business, though, is cleaning up the clutter in the house.  It seems that once the clutter is gone everything else simply falls into place. 

Assignment #1:  Attack the kitchen
Why do half of the contents of our houses end up in the kitchen?  I can see an electric drill that was used last weekend being charged on the counter top, earrings from last night on the island,  a shirt over a chair, mail from last week (and I'm being generous there - it's probably from last month), etc., etc., etc.
Step 1: run and hide.
Step 2: ignore step one
Step 3: reread Jeff Campbell's "Clutter Control", "Speed Cleaning", and anything else this first and original cleaning guru has written.  Sadly, this cleaning has to be done now, so I'll rely on my menopausal memory to recall his words of wisdom.

1.  I will gather 3 file boxes and take them into the kitchen. The first will be labeled "stuff to take to other rooms". The second box will be labeled "to give to charity", and the third will be labeled "trash".  The box system works really, really well with me.  It makes my cleaning much more streamlined.  

2. I will actually put the charitable items by the front door so they are not forgotten. I will take the "stuff to take to other rooms" and actually put away the items.  Lastly, I will chuck the trash.  The now empty boxes are ready to carry into the sun porch for the next go-round.

3.  I will clean the kitchen, and I will start at the highest point and work downward. I will also start to the right of my sink and work around the kitchen.  Jeff Campbell taught me (through his books, of course, although the way he writes makes you feel like you're getting a personal lesson), to have an apron with pockets and little loops. I sewed one like he shows in his books - one large pocket for a clipped-in baggie for little trash, one large pocket for a strong scrubber sponge and a soft scrubber sponge, a little pocket for a toothbrush to scrub around faucets, a little pocket for a scraper (although I don't use one - I just soak stubborn spots), one loop on the right side for furniture polish and one loop on the left side for Windex.  I love Windex. Nothing cleans carpets better.  Honest.  I use it at home and in the car.  It's like a little $3 miracle.

4.  I'll sweep and mop - even though the Labrador will have hair descending like fallout each time he walks through.

5. Repeat for each room of the house.

I really have to examine what I have in order to reduce. I, like most folks, have way too many items for ornamentation.  It's time to clear them away - maybe a garage sale??  It sure would be nice to have some extra cash!

Well, it's time to actually begin cleaning!  'Til next time, take it easy and find time for yourself.  

Naj

Christmas in May - Gearing Up for the Christmas Bazaar

Ah, summer.  The sun on your face, the pool in full swing - it seems only natural that our minds should turn to.. Christmas?  Yup!  Our first entry on the be creative! blog is dedicated to the ladies of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd who will be churning out hundreds of creative, useful items for the 2012 Christmas Bazaar this coming November.

Let's look at some jewelry items to be offered next fall.  Each is simple to make with components easily found at your local crafting store or eBay. 

The first item is the feminine snowgirl.  She is made with two pink rhinestone-encrusted beads, approximately 6mm and 8mm in width, divided by a pink rhinestone-encrusted spacer bead for a "scarf".  These items were purchased at our local Hobby Lobby, and can also be found at Michael's stores around the country.  If you do not have a hobby shop convenient to your home, I have also located all of the beads and charms used in this blog on eBay. 

The second item is actually a set of items - earrings and a pendant - featuring snowflake charms.  It's important to note that these charms, sold under the name "Tibetan Silver", have little to no silver content.  They are an alloy of metals, similar to pewter.  How did I find out? I had this great idea of making cute little cards to accompany each snowflake, identifying it as being made of authentic Tibetan silver. Going to the internet was a real eye-opener. One site had a number of items claiming to be Tibetan silver analyzed for actual silver content. It was disappointing to see that the highest content among the items was less than 2%. Sooo - guess what isn't going to be advertised at our bazaar as silver?  You guessed it  :).

The third item is a pair of beaded snowman earrings.  Easy to make by stacking the beads upon a special finding shaped like a seamstress' over-sized straight pin.  More on the construction later.

The fourth item, and last for this evening, is a close-up pic of a pair of snowflake earrings. Notice that all you'll need is a pair of wires, one small jump ring for each earring, and a charm.  Very inexpensive and simply designed.

Well, that's it for this evening.  More tomorrow - but as for tonight, I have a corned beef brisket calling my name from the kitchen.

'night!

Naj