Computer Trouble

Sorry about last week's Cheap Thrills Thursday! I had a computer melt-down and wasn't able to get the post up. I think my computer issues are now fixed, thank goodness, so we'll have the link party this coming Thursday. Thanks for your patience.

Organizing the Craft / Sewing Closet

Way back in August I talked about my craft / sewing closet here and what an absolute disorganized mess it was. (I can't believe it was so long ago! Where does the time go?) Here is a picture of the before to refresh your memory. What's worse is that not all my supplies were fitting in the closet and were stacked all over the place in the condo.

Well my son was kind enough to let me use some space in his 2nd closet to store my 3 large bins of fabric. They are no longer overflowing and I hope to get them down to 2 by this summer as I finish projects.

The closet has been organized since September. I just never got around to posting the after pictures! Here it is:

 

With the exception of the 3 bins of fabric everything now fits in the closet. I did donate a bunch of stuff that I wasn't using. I've been looking for an ironing board holder to mount on the door, but I can only find ones for T shaped legs not Y legs. In the meantime the board leans between the door and shelves and is out of the way with the door closed.  I reinforced the sagging shelves and purchased bins that utilize all the space efficiently (they also look pretty!). Everything is labeled and has a home. I even have one bin empty! It's wonderful. Now I can easily find whatever I'm looking for without digging though piles of stuff or an avalanche on my head. I love it!

Baby Quilt in progress

I'm so excited. My older brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child in May. I've started a baby quilt as a gift. It's a string quilt set in a diamond pattern. I used all fabrics from my stash. I'm so glad to use up all my brights! I even have enough fabric for the back in my stash. Stash busting, yea! (Although it hardly makes a dent. Still every little bit helps.) I still need to make more blocks and sew the top together - I took a break when my son was home from college over the holidays. I lost my sewing room as it reverted back to his bedroom. Now that he is back at school I can set up my machine and get going again. I thought you might like to see the progress. I've got a March 1 deadline to get the top done as it then gets sent out to be machine quilted. Sounds like enough time, but I'm notorious for 1/2 finishing quilting projects. This is a baby quilt - not a toddler quilt!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy some special time with your friends and family during the holiday season.

I'll be back in January.

Bathroom Update and New White Towels

The joy of  fluffy white towels! I finally got around to using a $25 gift card to Target I won and purchased some new white bath towels. I had a mix-mash of colors and age of towels we were using in the bath and some were in bad shape. Nothing really went with the black and white retro 50's tile or aqua blue walls.  Now they match, are in good shape and look so pretty! I have already replaced my fuchsia bathmat and multi-colored knobs on my medicine chest with white and silver respectively and cleared off the top of my chest of do-dads. (Nothing escapes my minimizing ways!) I still have a lot to do: replace the black and white zebra shower curtain with a thick white one, install a new towel bar on the door and get rid of a hanging thing attached to the door hinges, install a robe hook, install a new shower head, install a new faucet and tile the sink backsplash. I had two handymen in for quotes for the installation and tile work. Hopefully it will begin shortly. Then my mini bathroom update will be complete. I'm going for a spa look. So crisp and clean. Pictures to follow as the work progresses.

Still Decluttering

I'm still decluttering the condo. I'm on a roll and can't seem to stop. I've decided to streamline my wardrobe to the following colors that I look my best: black, gray, white, blue, green, pink, purple. Good bye warm colors: brown, yellow, red and orange! I've been going through my clothes and donating ones that don't fit this color scheme (assuming that I have enough clothes left so I don't have to purchase anything new). This has allowed me to get rid of the 8 purses that don't go with this new scheme. I still have shoes and jewelry to go through and streamline to coordinating items. I just started on my makeup, face wash and moisturizers. Why do I keep the products that I end up not liking?!  It feels so good to declutter! I keep reading organizing, simplicity and living a minimal life blogs to keep me inspired and moving forward.

Undecorating

I've been feeling weird lately. My stuff is suffocating me. I feel like I have too much. I want to declutter in an extreme way. (Yes, I have been watching too much Hoarders, but it's more than that). My place is small and my decorating style is already pretty minimal. I really want to go bare bones - think stark contemporary - with the focus on just a few beautiful items in the room. I also want to paint all the walls white, get a fluffy white rug in the living room and a white slipcover - but that is another story.

It's weird because I usually want to lighten up and minimize decor in the spring not fall. In the fall I usually want to make my house feel more cozy, I embrace my colorful decor and actually want to purchase and display more "things". I enjoy decorating for winter / Christmas. But right now the thought of adding things to my environment makes my stomach clench.

A dubious friend suggested that I gather all the items that I want to remove and put them on the dining room table until I can get them boxed up and stored in the basement storage locker. She thinks the desire for sparseness will rapidly pass. I'm not so sure. I removed 7 items from the kitchen, 18 from the dining room / china cabinet, 21 from the living room. I added 1 item to my bedroom and removed 3 pillows and a piece of art.

I'm shocked that I have this much stuff. Most of the items were decorative. Or if they were supposed to be functional, they weren't functioning. If the numbers seem high, look around your space and count your items. I think you'll be surprised at how many you have.

After my extreme undecorating my condo looks naked (I'm used to seeing more stuff but this morning it didn't look as weird as it did yesterday when I finished). It feels much better. In the living room I have only 4 decorative items, the clock and 3 framed artwork on the wall, 3 pillows, 1 candle and 7 live plants. In my bedroom I have 2 decorative items, 1 plant, 3 pictures, 1 piece of art on the wall and 1 decorative pillow. My bathroom 1 item. My kitchen 2 decorative items and 2 items on the wall. It still seems like a lot to me. I need to get several boxes to pack away my removed items. I need to live with them gone for awhile before I get rid of them for good - just in case I change my mind.

Have you ever undecorated your house or gone through a really minimal phase? Did it pass or was it something that stuck? The good news - dusting went much faster today!