The Play Room

After reading Simplicity Parenting (a few thoughts on it here) I went through M's play room (she calls it her downstairs living room) and purged about half her toys. It still looked cluttered, but I reorganized the layout and found a place for everything.  I've tried to teach her how to clean up her toys but those who know me know I have no business teaching anyone anything about cleaning.

Simply getting everything in its place took so long we both ended up frustrated and irritable. Throughout the process M would find a toy she hadn't played with in a while and understandably want to play with it. The first few times I gently asked her to get back on task, then I finally resorted to the ol' standby threat, "Mabel, if you can't take care of your toys we're going to give them to someone who can." I had a box in my hand to really drive the point home.

With that motivation she picked everything up, threw it all in the box threat and asked me who would get the toys and where we were going to take them. She didn't see it as a threat so much as an opportunity to share. Lesson learned.

Since then we've been tidying a little bit every day but the room generally looks like the toy monster vomited a rainbow of plastic all over the floor.

Yesterday I gave it a thorough once-over...it took a solid 8 hours.  Since it's clean, I took a few quick camera phone pics. I'm not one to miss the rare opportunity to brag about a clean room.

My system? I applied what I know about how Mabel plays:

• she's more likely to play with her toys when she can see them; 
• she won't dig through a giant toy box to get out one toy, she likes to peruse the buffet before deciding what looks fun;
• she simply won't make a choice (i.e. she'll ask to watch TV) if given too many options;
• she's much more imaginative if she has a place to park her rump and/or move around without obstacles; 
• given a task she can do herself (e.g. hanging a jacket, putting away shoes) she rises to the challenge; it's a simple way to build her self-confidence and she loves knowing she can do something "by mine own self".

Going through the room, I made a small pile of toys to get rid of. Then I whittled the selection of books, puzzles, and art supplies to about half. Those went into a closet to use as back stock. I bought a few more baskets to organize the cubbies.  I like the clean look of those bins made fit these kinds of shelves and hide the clutter, but picked low-walled baskets so M can easily see what's inside. in loose themes like "things with wheels". At some point in the near future I'll add pictogram labels to each. I  moved a table in from another room, making a corner for crafting. Above the table are some cute little clips for an easily changeable display of her artwork. Just inside the doorway to the room are lots of hooks at her height for hats, necklaces and jackets. Below the hooks to the left is a sizable basket for shoes and slippers. Below the hooks to the right is a picnic basket sturdy enough she can stand on it and play with her nature shelf.

What's nature shelf? They're common to both Montessori and Waldorf philosophies. Generally it's an area dedicated to all the fascinating finds from the great outdoors. I took a wooden box some flash cards came in and made one (errr...asked Charlie to make one) for M. She loves collecting natural objects, examining them, and showing them off when other kids come over. This little area provides the perfect spot for that.

It's back to being a play room meant for play. At least for now.

Company is coming!

Hooray! I love having people over, but this time it meant the end of an
era of finely honed excuses allowing me to keep making messes and not cleaning up after myself. So here is the reality of being out of town every weekend for a month.
But Sloane, if you're reading this, it looks much better now.
And Mary, if you're reading this, I'm finally ready for a studio visit!

I think I had the equivalent weight in scrap paper of a 4 year old tree. It's off to the recycling center today, since I tore myself away from the "but I'll use that one day" philosophy.
Let's all make a collective "phew" and celebrate the weight lifted off my shoulders by doing a big purge, shall we??

Just when the heat made everything so much harder, someone came in with a dumptruck load of ghosts to drop on my shoulders.
I'm strong enough to handle it, but my heart still aches from the strain a little.

I'm ready for a swim, where the water supports me for a little while and I can cool off from the heat.

In a fit of purging last month, I put the old coffee table out by the street with a "free" sign on it. It was rescued by a woman in her 20s or so. I saw her get out of a car and sit on it until a more suitably sized vehicle came back to get her and the table.I replaced it with a West Elm bench with black webbing straps for the seat, suitable but not quite rigid enough for beverages to rest safely. (See image above, bottom left square: oak and black bench.)
The search for a "new" coffee table was semi-frustrating and involved hitting all the chain furniture stores, which were plentiful here in the furniture state. Nothing popped out as worth $300 + dollars. I searched Craigslist and eBay until I finally found this antique walnut table:It suits my tastes quite well, but I'm still kicking myself for passing up the danish modern coffee table at the local thrift store that was $50 more than I had at the time; the table was really a bargain at $50.
Today I went to Velocity Art and Design to check out these super cute melamine plates (not to buy, just to ogle)and stumbled upon my knight in shining armor. It is, I'm sure, too rich for my blood, but I love it so much I'm going to write I [heart'] Scrapile on my hand and never wash it. Thank goodness the link to it is acting up!

Purging part 2

I've added a stack of books to the purging page.
Maybe you'll get more use out of them than I did?

Living Room seeks quiet, modern vibe

The living room is slowly becoming more livable. Very SLOWLY! So here are 2 shots, and a little background info:
"C" shaped bent-ply table: $12 on Clearance from Target. Reed covered lamp, Thomas O'Brien for Target, purchased from Clearance liquidator Old Time Pottery for $8.00, added a different shade. Bent-ply chairs (2 of them, one is on the other side of the table) $30 each, Crate and Barrel Outlet several years back. Tall end table, eBay, bought 2 for $40. Big ol' honking lampshade tops one of a pair of floor lamps made by Adesso, but purchased used on eBay for $45 (for both!). Couch is currently under a slip cover, but is a Freecyclegoodie. Coffee table is a woven webbing bench from West Elm, I believe it was $19, but it may have been $29. The basket on the Flokati Rug ($99 on sale plus a student discount 5 years ago at Pier 1) is also from Old Time Pottery, was $3.99, and serves as a magazine rack.

The opposite corner of the room:
Shelves for records: Christmas gift from my parents my freshmen year of college (12 years ago??!??). skateboard deck table: $20 for turned wood legs and hardware from Home Depot, the top is a free brick sample from work and I painted it all up real pretty.
Chair, $5 at attic sale plus $20 in Waverly fabric. Pillows were $6 for both from Hong Kong here in Charlotte. Suitcase was $2 and holds videos and DVDs. Lamp was $40 on clearance from The Paper Skyscraper, updated with the original shade from the new Thomas O'Brien lamp. New TV and bookshelves as described several days ago (won't bore you with the details).

That's a lot of info, maybe too much, but do you think I'm getting a little closer to the calm and modern vibe I so badly want? What do you like, what would you change?

Depressing piles

This (click there or on the pic for the horrifying full-size version) is a pile that is halfway depressing because it's stuff I've held onto for way too long (some of the things have obviously been mistaken for puppy chew toys) and halfway satisfying because it's all going bye bye.
This same pile is inspiration to only buy house hold goods that are an investment for long term use. While most of the stuff I am getting rid of is going to the thrift store, some things will be recycled, but some things will end up in a landfill somewhere. For that I feel guilty and is part of the reason they have stayed around for so long.

here, here!

Where have I been?!? For so long I was blogging everyday in good practice. Now the moments where I can sit down and blabber on are fewer.
Where have I been? Well, I guess to partially reconcile all the recent purchases, I've been cleaning and purging. Oh you should see the pile of purge! I'm practicing the "If you don't love it, set it free" philosophy, and if it comes back it just proves what a pack rat I am. Ugh, the curse of my family lineage.
So far: 2 HP DesignJet 600 plotters that were out in the garage for the past year while I tried to figure out how to use them with fabric. Off they went, hopefully they'll have more love in their new home. Today I said good bye to my second LeClerc floor loom. I'd been holding on to it for so long, but with the new/old furniture from eBay I had no more room. Off it went, to someone who I think will REALLY love it.
Sometime ago I caved and bought into the "Swiffer Convenience" phenomenon. I'm fairly pessimistic about buying a new and improved piece of plastic, but anything that seems to be perfect for the hardwood stairs I refinished deserves a chance. So I bought a swiffer mop thing--the flat one that has the wet wipes you attach to the end. And I used up the one wipe that came with the Swiffer, and the Swiffer sat. and sat. and cried out from neglect. it cried for a long time.
Today, I proudly reclaimed its usefulness with a cleaning rag most know as a "wash cloth." I'd meant with all good intentions to do this, but I'd much rather blog than knit these days, and you see how much of a chance I have to blog! I salute you, my little Swiffer Soldier. You're back in the game!!
All of this left me with a little time to work on a gift for my friends who will soon to be a "triple" with the birth of a little girl named Iris. Oh little Iris, you will be so adored!

Book smart

Here's a quick little link to Creatively Self-Employed, another great resource for those of us trying to squeeze our way out from under the man's thumb.

Anyone out there want a copy of this book? I have a copy (a very thoughtful gift from a very loved family member), but it doesn't suit my own take on the craft business. It is a great resource, none-the-less, and I'd love it to go to someone who might be thinking about starting their own craft business.

Last night I had a dream that the mister, my oldest brother, his son (my nephew), were trying to walk somewhere. Any of you who may have ever been to Charlotte might know of it's sprawling gentrified neighborhoods, which have eeked to encapsulate the surrounding small towns as well (Weddington, Waxhaw, Matthews, Pineville, etc.) So we were walking in Charlotte off Providence Road towards Weddington and got lost in one of the McMansion neighborhoods. We were all okay with being lost, and even thought of the extra walking as exercise.
On a long leg of the walk there were gorgeous white owls with the most exquisite yellow markings landing all around us.
And that was it. I don't remember the rest of the dream, though it seems there had to be something else.

Personal Pangaea

This weekend consisted of a wee bit of drawing and cleaning up the blog a little! I've added a couple links in the sidebar. If you wanna exchange links just lemme know!

There was also a lot of painting going on. Wall painting and changing the trim from off white to bright white. Finishing the wallpaper on the stairs (see the picture of the fabulous Mylar wallpaper to the left). Painting the formerly-natural-wood hollow core closet doors to bright white and a massive purging amidst all the painting.

Garbage that must go. . . isn't reusable to anyone or recyclable. This sort of garbage is my downfall. I have extreme guilt over sending things to the landfill, but in a moment of organizational passion I had to purge. So purge I did, enough to fill the small landing at the bottom of the stairs in a pile 4 feet tall. That is a lot of baggage to hold on to. It'll feel good to get it out of the house. I have a pile of equal and greater size ready to be thrifted.

It's quite a process of pulling things out to get them to fit back together in a better way. A personal Pangaea, I guess.

Sadly, my studio is in terrible shape, suffering from the whirlwind of Christmas gift creativity.

As I clean, organize, and paint I've been having a lot of emotional surges, too. The quiet painting times I spend hoping for healing and working on loving forgiveness. Deliberate and purposeful living calls for a certain amount of healing from a similarly sized pile of internal garbage.
Such a silly and generic metaphor, but funny how appropriate it is!

(Please pardon the picture reruns, new ones are in the works. . . from my new Canon G7 that Charlie gave me for Christmas!)