Change!

I've been feeling a bit discombobulated lately. Life in general has been kinda blah. Some of the things causing that feeling are out of my control (child issues - undiagnosed Sensory Processing Disorder) but some of it is just too much shit in my life.

So I'm doing something about it. I went to Pinterest last night and got a few "how to declutter your house" guides. (Note: in searching Pinterest for this, don't do a keyword search for "purge" lest you will be thought by the site to be a bulimic.)

Today was day 1. I spent about 30 minutes to an hour cleaning out 2 drawers in the kitchen. One is was our default drawer of random kitchen utensils. I purged quite a bit ... A few skewers that go to (but weren't stored with) our fondue set, an old cleaver that never got used, some weird spoon things that I don't know what it was even for, etc. I also tackled the silverware drawer, which included getting rid of a batch of salad forks we never used. I collected all the child-size silverware in their own little basket. gathered together a wide variety of measuring spoons, and relocated a collection of steak knives that might get used twice a month.

I figured since I was purging and decluttering, I should take the opportunity to clean the drawers as well. So I took my sponge and all-purpose cleaning spray and wiped them down. I washed the sorter for the silverware (yuck!) and decided to replace the contact paper in one drawer and put some down in the other.

My arbitrary goal was to purge 10 items, and I successfully achieved it. What I think was the bigger achievement was what this led me to do. I was so inspired by my success in the two drawers that I decided to wipe down the counters. Then scour the sink. Then the windowsill above the sink. Then de-grime the dish drainer (quite a project in itself). I was on a roll.

If this is how my entire month of purging ends up, I will be thrilled.

Sick of it all

Illness has fallen upon the family.  On Saturday night, all three of us had fevers.  This weekend I managed to do absolutely nothing!  But I felt no guilt about it.

So . . . I'll post an older (last week) project that I did: a Chan Luu inspired bracelet. (No poking fun at my tiny wrists)

Bloomingdales, $90.00

Bloomingdales, $295.00

My cheap homemade version, Under $5.00

I followed this here tutorial at CrafTay! and had quite a bit of fun doing it.  About a quarter of the way through, I had an epiphany and either realized how the instructions were intending for it to be done, or just figured out a way for it to work in my brain.

I used flat sueded cord, which in retrospect (and if I had it available) I would have used a smoother, rounder cord.  Since they look so good stacked, I'll make sure to do that for the next one I make!

If I ever make it out to Lowe's, I have two more projects I would like to try: Decorative washer necklaces  and a Braided hex nut bracelet.   I'm pretty excited about both . . . and strangely intrigued because I don't happen to wear jewelry all that often. Who knows?  Pinterest has changed quite a bit about me so far, maybe it can make me into a jewelry-wearer too!  Of course, then I'll have to come up with some crafty way to store that new jewelry collection, but at least I know where to look to find some ideas for just such a thing.

Why do I do it?

I had to go to a neighboring town today to pick up my new glasses and in the same plaza ... Lo and behold, there's a Michael's!

I should have had the self-control to stay out, but I did pick up a few things for potential weekend projects. I'm going to try and dye a pair of jeans a bit darker. I also got some hoops for embroidery because I want to start a Hogwarts crest (side note -- auto-correct recognizes Hogwarts, on my phone at least). Once I'm done, one project I saw where I could use them was inserting a pillowcase and using it as a hamper.

I have a few pinspired things I haven't posted. Will try to catch up tomorrow and post photos.

Addicted to Pinterest, but blogging? Not so much.

I'm terrible at blogging.  I'm a perfectionist.  I don't want to post something half-assed, half finished, or only half intelligible.  (I do like finding things half price, though!)

The good news is I've been busy DOING THINGS!

I've organized my crafty projects into a binder . . .


though organized is a pretty generous word.  I've PRINTED them, and stuck em in a three hole punch and put them IN a binder.  Someday soon I will come to sorting and actually organizing them, but for the moment they're in a collective space where my husband won't kill me or I won't kill him for throwing away page 3 of 5 of the instructions I was working on (because inevitably I would have been on page 2).




I also have done much cleaning the house since my last post.  (Yay for a clean house!)  We've all got that *ONE* spot that signifies a clean house, even if the rest of the place is a complete sty.  For me, it's the stairs.  After a lot of searching, I extracted the brush attachment from some clutter (oops!) and vacuumed the stairs, so all is right in the world again.

Before - ick

After!

I also followed the advice on Chris and Robin's Nest about how to clean microfiber furniture.  My results weren't nearly as stunning as displayed on the blog, but I was pretty pleased that hubby came home and noticed an immediate difference. 

The instructions basically are to vacuum to get any dirt, pet hair, and crumbs off the surface, spray rubbing alcohol, and then rub it with a white sponge (to avoid color transfer) and then a white scrub brush (to "fluff" the fabric again).  

A few additions or substitutions I would make to the instructions: I'm not sure why I had difficulty with the "scrub sponge" (which I took to mean magical eraser type of thing) . . . .maybe my Dollar General magic erasers weren't up to par, but they nearly disintegrated/exploded immediately upon scrubbing.  So after ending up with two erasers in pieces, I decided to go ahead and use white rags.  They seemed to be easier on the hands to me, and worked pretty well in extracting the liquid and dirt.
 

Ewwww. . . that was on my couch!

Exploded off-brand eraser sponge.

 Another thing that wasn't mentioned in the blog that I found effective was to not let the rubbing alcohol sit on the surface.  After a few tries on a few cushions, I basically sprayed a fine mist and immediately applied the elbow grease. 

I felt a bit like the Pinterest mythbusters.  I realized that one of the downfalls of Pinterest was that people read the one or two lines below a pin/picture, think "Great! I can use this!" and repin it.  A snowball effect ensues, and suddenly everyone is repinning this with very few going to the site, and even fewer having actually attempted the trick.  Of course, I mean no disrespect to Robin, nor do I mean to convey that this trick didn't work.  It just didn't work FOR ME exactly as prescribed in the blog, thus my additions here.

Tomorrow I have a training session for a work at home job I've picked up (hooray!).  Since the little man will be at the sitter's house (and the house is clean!), maybe I can get really crafty tomorrow!

Thrifty Thursday

Well, yesterday was what I'm hoping to keep as a tradition . . . . thrifty Thursday.  Shopping!  I didn't get much, especially not much on my list inspired by Pinterest, but I got one thing I've been seeking for quite some time - a cake stand.  Not for cakes (silly!), but for putting next to the sink to keep the soaps on (as seen on Pinterest). 

Today I did some bargain shopping at Big Lots.  Picked up some yarn, cleaning supplies (wipes for electronics, since I discovered a baby-sized handprint or two on the TV last night), some foam brushes, and a vinyl shower curtain liner and some silver shower curtain rings. 

We're about 90% of the way done with both of our bathroom projects.  Bathroom #1 (called such because it was the first project and because you're only allowed to go #1 in it) was originally a "need to fix" project because of a leaky sink . . . . a leaky sink that resulted in a floor being torn up and plaster walls being torn out. That was about 3 years ago?  We've finally got almost everything finished in there, with only a few functional/glamorous additions remaining (towel rack, a shelf on the wall, wall art, etc) before it's 100%. 

Bathroom #2 (so named because it was the second bathroom project and because it has a window so you're allowed to go #2 in it) was my idea of a quick weekend project inspired by seeing paint chipping on the ceiling.  Just a quick little project, right? Buy some paint, pretty up the cabinet, get some new towels to match, right?  Ahem.  Well, that paint on the ceiling was chipping because it was latex paint that was put over enamel or oil (I learned while trying to scrape it).  So another quick trip to the hardware store, or seven (one because I didn't have my wallet, another because after I got my wallet, I didn't have my debit card in it) and I got some paint stripper.  Three applications later, the #2 bathroom ceiling was down to the plaster, and we were good to go.  I'm pretty excited about this one, because 99% of the work has been done by yours truly, and it's some sort of deep Rosie the Riveter pride thing.  The paint is on the walls/ceiling/cabinet and now we just need to reattach the doors (I am going to request hubby's assistance with that) and look into some sort of updated flooring.

Tonight's recipe is Pinterest-inspired (and my Facebook recipe group inspired): Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork from ThePioneerWoman.com.  It's smelling pretty incredible in the slow cooker.

Tomorrow I think little man and I are going to do some fingerpaints (provided I find/buy some food coloring) and I will hopefully get some photos up!

Working on the works

Today is a strange day. Hubby is working overnight, so he is sleeping late. Baby is at the sitter, so I'm a bit alone in this (nearly) empty house.

One of my favorite pin boards/ things I pin is organization. The first year of my son's life felt so chaotic, so now that he's a bit older I'm craving order. I did sort some of the cookie sheets, baking pans and bowls in my kitchen storage as I'm cleaning, but nothing fancy like storing baking sheets upright or putting towel bars inside the cabinet doors to prop the lids of saucepans onto them.

My to-do list is written, and sadly there are no Pinterest-inspired projects on it today. All cleaning and decluttering. I'm using up all my purchased cleaners before I make/use my own, so even that isn't pinny. Maybe if I accomplish all the cleaning on my list, I can do some projects tomorrow?

Hell hath no fury ...

A conversation in my house last week:

Me: Hey, look at this thing from Pinterest. Cool, huh?

My husband: Uh huh. *pause* I'm sorry I don't get as into Pinterest as you do. I think it's a cool idea, and I like the things you do from it, but . . . I think you just have to have a uterus.

 I'm a Pinterest addict.  But it's a functional addiction.  I've become more productive around the house because I know I need to get the things I NEED to do finished before I can allow myself to do the things I WANT to do.  

My husband is an enabler.  He specifically said last week, "I've cleaned out the coat closet, so if you have any Pinterest things you want to do to it, go for it."  That's love.   

This blog is an attempt to chronicle my epic successes and failures in attempting to create every single craft I see on Pinterest, every recipe, every project.  

Hell hath no fury like a woman addicted to Pinterest.