We moved into Tir Asleen 4 years ago next month, and this area of our master bedroom has always been a giant mess. It's where I shoved boxes I didn't need to unpack right away. Then it became where I just dumped things I didn't have time or inclination to deal with right away. I would occasionally clean it up a little bit, but I never got it thoroughly organized, not even when we added first the shelving unit, then later the book case. If I wanted to sew, I'd have to shove piles of stuff to one side, or pile them on top of other piles... it was awful. I wish I'd taken a "before" photo to show you how bad it was.
But now, it's tidy! Okay, comparatively, anyway. As tidy as they're liable to get considering this is me we're talking about. At least I can sew with impunity now! My next project will be a bigger cooking apron for Sam, as he's far outgrown the one I made him when he was 3 (he's 7 now, so no wonder!). He's chosen the fabric, so now I need to go ahead and make it. Soon, I think!
By the way, the top shelf of that book case is nothing but journals. It is now completely full, and I just started my 40th journal this week. I've been keeping a regular journal since I was 14, so for 21 years now, and although I don't always write every day anymore, I do write there at least once a week, usually every 2 or 3 days. Anyway, just felt like mentioning that :-)
Cool! It looks really nice. :-) Wow, you've got a lot of journals. I'll probably have close to that many when I'm your age -- already I've got about ten.
ReplyDelete~Emma
Thanks! I'm super pleased with how it turned out.
DeleteGood for you! I think journaling is such a great way to reflect on life. (These are just my "here's what I did today" journals, not my creative writing notebooks. Those are also legion, and just stuck in a box right now.)
This looks great! Fantastic job! I know how unbelievably satisfying it is to clean out a really messy area. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd wow-your 40th journal? That is awesome. I've been journaling since I was 10 and am on my 15th. I hope I'll have as many as you someday! :D
Wow, you got a major head start on me with journaling! I got my first "diary" when I was 6, and wrote in it like 3 times a year until I was 14. That was when I decided to become a writer, and journaling seemed to fit well with that, so off I went. I'm sure some day you'll have more than I do!
DeleteIt looks fabulous!!!! Hooray!!! (And how lovely and satisfying! ;D)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heidi! Yes, it's just so satisfying to have it look nice. Before, it always made me sort of cringe with shame that I just couldn't manage this area. Going to try really hard not to let it degenerate into chaos again!
DeleteNice! I occasionally try to organize my fabric stash, but usually give up and hide what I can in the wardrobe I bought for that purpose.
ReplyDeleteLynn, you see all those little plastic tubs stuffed under the table? All but 4 of them are filled with fabric. I did a major destashing in preparation for a yard sale some friends and I are having next week -- used to have another 2 tubs-worth of fabric!! The great big tubs are all yarn, which I've also destashed majorly over the last two years -- used to be three big tubs! So I feel your pain. Good idea to get a wardrobe to hide/contain yours!
DeleteVery nice! That must be so nice to have it organized and to get to the sewing machine easily!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know anybody wore aprons anymore!
DKoren, yes, it's so nice to have an uncluttered workspace there at last.
DeleteI mainly wear an apron when I bake. Remember the ones Rico gave us years ago? That was my baking apron forever, but the picture started to come off eventually, so I made myself an apron. Baking with flour definitely requires an apron for me -- I'm so messy. And any time the kids help out, we all need aprons. They love wearing theirs cuz it makes them feel official or something. I made Sam a train apron when he was 3, then Sarah got cupcakes when she turned 3, and now Tootie has the train apron cuz Sam needs a bigger one.
YAAAYYY! It looks really nice, Hamlette! Now I have to go clean up my desk :)
ReplyDeleteYep, my mom wears an apron all the time--and I sometimes borrow one of hers when I'm helping in the kitchen. It's good because it gives you something to wipe your wet/floury hands on (other than your shorts or jeans, which is a BAD idea) :)
Jessica, thanks! It's very satisfying.
DeleteMy mom didn't really ever wear an apron when baking or cooking, but she's not as messy as I am. I can't seem to help getting flour all over me and the counter (and the floor sometimes), and then there's butter. Butter just creeps up on me. I used to do the jeans-wipe, but the apron is better for sure!
Congratulations! Pretty and practical all at the same time. :)
ReplyDelete(And is that a screenshot of Doc I spot?)
Why yes, it is! Those 3 pics are Doc, Saunders holding the puppy from "The Walking Wounded," and Tom Lowell from the same era as C! but not actually as Billy cuz I don't have a frameable photo of Billy yet.
DeleteCool! I couldn't see the other two pictures all that clearly, but I KNEW one of them had to be Saunders. Duh.
DeleteHee. It's my little C! shrine. See the canteen, mess kit, and canteen cup up on top of the storage shelves? Those are authentic 1940s-issue Army. If you click on the photos you can see bigger versions that show them off a little better.
DeleteI love those! My brothers gave me a couple of shell casings that they bought when they were in their WWII-obsessed state, but I don't think they date back as far as WWII. I'll have to ask them.
DeleteI have some shell casings from the filming of C! that I reeeeeeally need to put in this little "shadow box" display frame thing. I've had both the casings and the box for years but just haven't gotten around it it. Those will get hung on this wall too. And any photos of other C! cast members as I acquire them.
DeleteHurray for you! Congrats on a successful and giant project like that. I am the worst at keeping things orderly and tidy looking like that, so I really admire anyone who's motivated enough to do it. (-: And 40 journals?!?! Gosh, I've been journaling since I was nine and I've only completed about five and a half. Not even one for each year I've been doing it! That's quite an accomplishment, I must say.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Anne -- I'm really untidy too. Clutter, clutter everywhere.
DeleteThere was a time when I filled up 2-3 journals a year. Now it's more like 1, if I'm lucky. I should do a post sometime about all my journals, cuz some of them are nifty.
Lovely craft area! Organization makes life a lot less stressful :)
ReplyDeleteMaggie, thanks! It does make things less stressful, or at least less difficult to wade through, lol.
Delete*applauds* Great job! It's so hard to keep craft stations clear, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI love that you're making your son a cooking apron! That is so awesome that he enjoys cooking:)
Thanks, Olivia! I'm very prone to clutter, and craft supplies seem especially easy to leave lying around.
DeleteMostly we use the aprons for baking, but if they're helping me cook something quite messy, they wear them then too. All three kids love to help stir and mix, and Sam is getting pretty good at cutting things like onions.
Wow, great job! It can be so hard to keep a craft space organized, can't it?
ReplyDeleteI love that you're making your son a cooking apron! It's so cool that he enjoys that. Maybe he'll be a chef one day!:)