Landing Strip: Show and Tell

I love the idea of a landing strip. Love it.

I used to have one, too. In the front hallway, I put a small cabinet (12" deep)in the hallway, a bowl on the top for loose change, a plate for mail, a couple of baskets on its shelves and called it good.

Then we got a dog. He took the hats, mitts and scarves (or hats, sidewalk chalk and sunglasses) out of the basket and chewed them. Shoes (and boots) had to be lifted out of the way and put on the cabinet.

And so we have this:



(and no, that's not a bullet hole in the wall. Last fall I took down a big, heavy framed poster and told the hubby we needed to take a box cutter and cut off the lips of the wall anchors before we puttied and repainted. He disagreed: and by way of proof, he just yanked the anchor out of the plasterboard. Leaving proof, of course, that I was right. It may be like this for a little while longer yet!)

I need something entirely different and have for a few years, unfortunately. It may take me a while to figure it out--probably by the time the puppy grows out of the dog!

Creating a Vision for my Home

Yes, here we are again.
Why?

Because I still live here! We still bring things in, we need to take more stuff out. Priorities change. Interests change. Our lives change. And the house should keep up!

In the past, I've focused on aesthetics. Having the right look was very important to me. Function, while important, was secondary. I'm hoping that this Spring, I will find a happy, liveable balance between the two.

I want to give the house a thorough clean and declutter--as always. And I am way, way behind without the ability to move quickly to catch up.

And so, we must begin at the beginning: with a goal and a vision.

The Goal: to live joyfully with my family in a functional, calming and cheerfully decorated home with only those things in it which we love or use (and preferably both).

The Vision:

Clearing the clutter, weekend report

Can I face another binder?


another stack of paper?



another bag?



another piece?



Will I remember to do my projects if I put them in here?




No, no, here.
Will this "tab" idea work?



Will I survive another day?

Tune in tomorrow....if you can find me.

In the Thick of It

It's a cure of a different sort, I guess.
I'm in the thick of papers. I joined my paper clutter class a bit late--and so had to begin the BIG SORT right away. I had my Mom take me to Staples on Wednesday for the boxes and since then I have been sorting....and sorting...and sorting.

There are six categories for this initial sort:

1) to do, time specific;
2) to do, time flexible;
3) reference
4) archive
5) recycle/shred

oh and
6) "collect".

See these binders? I sorted all of them. And more.



Here was category 5) at noon today.



I'd set the timer for 15 minutes, mutter "that wasn't enough time" when it went off and plow through more. When I took a break, I made new binder spine inserts. I had fun today.

My mind is sort of swimming with it all. I'm anxious to get through the sort, though, because then I get to set up my paper handling "systems" and that will really be fun!

Thanks for all your warm welcomes yesterday.

Helloooooo

Wow. Have I been busy. two and a half on-line courses, one of which involved creating three layouts (or more) a week, another which involved goal setting, and the 1/2 is another scrapbooking class I'm still taking: how to use my computer. It's a whole "thing" now, apparently, with it's own name: it's called "hybrid" scrapping. It seems I've been doing this all along as I use the computer for journaling and titles. But now I'm learning I can print paper and tags and accents, and journaling blocks and add frames to me pictures and do all sorts of wonderful things--all for the cost of ink. The above is an example.

In all, I've created fifty layouts (maybe a few more) in the last three months--and I've discovered that blogging and scrapping don't go together for me.

Oh well, that's not why I'm here, now. I'm not exactly sure why I am here now, except for the fact that I was cleaning out my inbox and saw that a few of you missed me. Thanks. I've missed you, too.

I broke a bone in my foot three weeks ago. (The fifth metatarsal, for those who like such details.) The forced inactivity is driving me mad. Well, not exactly inactivity: my chair does roll, so I've been going back and forth from the computer to the scrap table. But that's it. I can feel my hips expanding as I type. And the snow is melting, the birds are returning and I hate being cooped up involuntarily!

My mom has been generously coming over three times a week to help me stay on top of dishes and laundry. But still, things pile up and it's driving me crazy. I'd show you a picture--but guess what? My camera is kaput once again. So, yes, this time I'm researching digital SLR's.

I'm involved in a course from Simplify 101 again, called "Organizing your Paper Clutter." Wow--will it be helpful! But it does mean that things are REALLY disorganized as I shuffle paper about. And I've discovered that you really need to be able to stand for longer than two minutes to deal with paper. But it's OK. It's not a race.

I have signed up to receive e-mails for the Spring Cure. I haven't decided how much I'll participate, if at all.

That's it for now.
Many thanks to those of you who encouraged me to "come back" to the blogosphere!