Thank you to everyone who, looked, listened and commented.

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1. I baked (with the help of a great recipe and some amazing cooks) and sold 60+ apple pies with the proceeds going to the daughter’s school .
2. I voted.
3. The husband was home and did dishes on a Saturday.
4. There were snuggles and hugs from the little dude.
5. The struggle to get to coffee break was less, and the reward of fellowship was great.

photo credit: Temari 09 via flickr

Three years ago I started this blog.  When it started it was a blog about knitting and spinning and fiber-y things.  It is changing, which is part of the whole blogging experience.

Today I am at a crossroad.  I need to start something new.  I want the blog to become a sandbox for ideas. Lets see what the next year has in store.

-Holly

There are two problems with the mantle

1. It is a horizontal surface that tends to collect things

2. I have lots of kitsch that I enjoy displaying.

So I have come up with a solution that I hope will solve both problems and give me a more dust free mantle in the process: Seasonal decorating.  I already do this with Christmas, but if I do it with the other seasons as well then the mantle will get cleaned off at least 4 times a year.

I totally cleaned off the mantle

Then I just put back those few things that I want currently.

It looks like twice the amount of stuff due to the big mirror.  Then I took 4 boxes labeled them Spring, Summer, Winter, Spring and divided the rest of the kitsch accordingly and stored them in a closet.  Some of the other things, like my knitting needles went to a new shelf, where they are still available but off the mantle.  I did not really purge a whole lot – there were some papers that were thrown out but all in all I am happy with my solution to this super cluttered space.

Clearing out Clutter one thing at a time.

Today was about

• Mowing
• Mailing

With all the refreshing rain the grass has been growing like crazy.  We had two days of dry.  The weather forecast was hot, humid with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.  This meant I had to do it all, all at once.  So I took two hours and mowed, and mowed, and mowed.

In the afternoon I needed to get together my books to mail out.  Sorting, printing invoices, and enveloping the books.  I had a lot more sell than I expected.  There is something satisfying about a stack of envelopes ready to go to the post office.

Clearing out clutter one thing at a time

Credits: Drop Cap by Daily Drop Cap, Grass photo by zevotron via Flickr

My plan:

To work on the downstairs including a bookcase and mantle in the morning, then clean out my bedroom closet in the afternoon.  I got as far as the bookcase.

Before:

A big part of this tackle was the weeding of the books (as my librarian sister-in-law would say).  I purged – and listed on Amazon’s marketplace - over 100 books today – that was the amazing productivity.  I still have 2 stacks waiting to be put in.  I have used Amazon for a couple of years now and would highly recommend this as a way to get rid of books.  They don’t all leave at once, but this is the best money I can get.  The books will go into a box that is guarding the fireplace from my little dude.  So it will serve a purpose while they wait to be purchased.  If they are not purchased by next spring I will donate them to a local book sale that happens every fall.

After:

Clearing out clutter one hundred things at a time.

It has been a really long while since I posted a Tackle it Tuesday.

This week is going to be a week of tackles.  A focus clean for 6 days (hey, even God took a rest on the seventh).   I will be posting regularly throughout the week documenting progress.

Join me!

What project are you tackling this week?

Photo credit: aa7ae via flickr

have been largely absent of late. That is because I have been doing some thinking about what I want this blog to be when it grows up. In the coming days I will share my musings, but for now know I have not forgotten this lovey little blog.