It's amazing how you so easily under-estimate the amount of stuff you have. I mean sure you calculate the size of the furniture you have to move and the TV, computer and Kitchen objects... but you forget about the stuff. Who knew all those cupboards and shelves you haven't properly attended to for 6 months could contain so many hidden objects! If I have learnt one thing these past 9 months, it is that leaving anything to complete on tomorrow's task list is disasterous. Chris and I.... many I, were filled with enthusiasm to unpack wedding gifts and our amalgamated lives and find their special places in our home in Limerick but because we had a few spare rooms, we just didn't deal with any difficult decisions, you know the kind - to keep or not to keep?..childhood memories, books we read 10 years ago etc. Of course, we didn't get rid of everything, we simply trimmed the excess weight... there's a new diet concept for the start of the year! We can honestly recommend it to anyone moving or not moving. De-stuff... cleanse your household.. there's nothing like feeling on top of things.
So, there we go. Lesson one entering into 2011 is simply: cut the stuff, be sentimental but don't squirrell...
As to our new abode, it is lovely. Much more in tune with our lifestyle expectations. We are close to shops, restaurants and pretty much any other life necessity. Now by close I mean we walk out of our complex, turn left or right and a 3 minute walk later, we're there...and on that note, the decision about the car? Well, I left it behind to be sold by my trusty mechanic in Limerick. So there you have it - my personal challenge for 2011 is to get my walking shoes on. (Any suggestions of cute and practical lines to bumff out my cute but not so practical shoe collection would be welcome...I love my trainers (sneakers) but the wearing of those is strictly limited to gymns and walking dogs in Ireland...a real fashion faux pas to attempt to wear them with anything else).
Here is a photo of the little thing that my house a home yesterday:
I realise the photo is blurry, but the camera is currently lost in the sea of bubble wrap so my phone is all I had. Chris was trying to help me find hooks for my oven mitts and pot holders. In true woman-stuck-in-a-D.I.Y-store fashion, I found that the hooks were either too practical looking, too large for the objects to be hung, too modern, even too hook-like and yes, my husband was despairing.... until we found this sweet set. I love it! What a find - it is copper and chocolate brown metal, delicate but still practical and the perfect sized hooks for the job....
...and put together with all the other little things that make any place a home for me, well.... here you have it:
I realise that others would rush to make sure their clothes are unpacked and perfectly hung, or organise their living room so that they can walk around without navigating the makings of the newest assalt course but me? I rushed straight to my beloved kitchen. I had imagined each object's place before we arrived and I was ready to create. Sure there was clutter everywhere else in the house but I created my kitchen space and I was happy.... my house became a home.
My blog name tends to come back and bite me a little too often. I know it is an ode to my mother's patience whilst I was growing up and my father's sanity... I know it is an ode to my husband's unconditional love for me... but what I am coming to realise is that it is far more than a summary of my actions... it is well and truly a narrative on my life. There's clutter and there's creating. Sometimes I'm in the clutter for a long time but somehow, I make it to the creating.... and in those moments, I look over my shoulder with a twinkle in my eye and hope that they all still love me.
The clutter is usually worth it, but as I mentioned earlier, I am aware of it... and working on improving it.
Challenge #2 for 2011? At least to speed up the process between the clutter and the creating.... starting with cutting the stuff.
No comments:
Post a Comment