Friday night, I decided to tackle our bedroom. I started strong.
I started with the closet.
I moved everything out. Dusted the shoe shelf and got rid of two pairs of shoes. Vacuumed the floor. Mopped the floor.
Nice!
I moved everything to one side of the room.
Vacuumed the dust rhinos.
Mopped.
I did this three different times to reach the whole floor--oh! Except, I didn't move the dressers.
As I was vacuuming and mopping I thought about how much I love getting this beastly chore done. I try to do this in the bedroom at least twice a year--but I think the last time I did this it was actually during the cure one whole year ago!
But disaster struck. While I was cleaning baseboards in the first section, I twisted my ankle. I limped through to the finish line but I could barely walk by the end of it.
Saturday morning, I begged off going to my mothers so I could finish my floors.
Ha!
I got the hallway upstairs done. Just in the nick of time, my husband finally finished painting the bathroom--so I could put all the stuff away.
I really like it without the bookshelf. I thought it would look weird without it but it's OK.
Then, I tackled the stairs. That was a much bigger job than I'd anticipated for some reason. I mean, I swept. But then I hand washed each step and riser with a bucket or water and a micro fibre cloth.
When I was done, I was done in. It didn't help matters that my ankle was throbbing badly.
I didn't do any more, even though I had my husband pick up my Mom's carpet cleaner so I can try and resuscitate our living room rug.
Whoo hoo, my daughter cleaned her room over the Christmas holidays. This is all from her.
Only it isn't really an outbox: when I put something here, under the folding table in my basement laundry room, I never take it back out and keep it. Never. So, it is actually my donation station.
Today's assignment was to set one up and put one thing in it. I chose this thing. I've never really liked it that much. It used to sit, empty, on the shelf above the toilet in the upstairs powder room.
My pantry is in great shape. Last fall I signed up for a free 5 week course on decluttering and organizing the kitchen. Conquer Your Kitchen was great fun: and it meant I'd been through only recently looking for expired food and what not. So, today, I was content to clean.
This hodge podge of shelf and storage units in my basement (and opposite the laundry machines) is simply wonderful. Everything is stored here. If it is in use, it's in my cupboard challenged kitchen, but if you finish that box of tea and need another? It is here. So are all the canned goods, extra cleaners and paper products.
Some shelves have lazy susans, most do not. It's functional. I feel no compulsion to prettify it or zush it in anyway.
oops, there's an errant can of chickpeas trying to escape!
Assignment #3 complete!
I am still working on Assignment #3: The Home Project List.
Apartment Therapy is running their one month version of The Cure! So exciting. I've decided to follow along, and I've resurrected this space to do it since there is a strange fascination in cleaning and decluttering and loving on one's home at the same time all over the world with hundreds of others.
This blog was born in 2008 to record my participation in the Eight week version of the Cure AT used to run. (Seems unthinkable, now doesn't it.) So, we're both returning to our roots, as it were.
Today's assignment was to clean out one drawer, any drawer. I picked the junk drawer in my kitchen.
Look at that....fuses for a stove we no longer own. An oven thermometer to check the temperature of the oven that belonged to that stove we no longer own. And hardware. Hundreds of bits of miscellaneous hardware.
Why?
So, getting rid of those things and much else, I was able to find a new home for the parchment paper. I had been keeping it with the baking pans under the stove, but it was beginning to get mangled as it had to be angled just so. And that never happened. So.
I spent most of the summer working on launching a new blog and website all about design and decor. I was busy accumulating ideas. researching names, buying a domain and then, settling on a web site design and getting someone to install it for me.
Until it wasn't. My arthritic hips began bothering me so much I couldn't sleep. I began to unravel just a bit--and a friend stopped me and asked me to take care of myself. So, I put my baby business venture on hold and started a tiny little blog on taking care of myself. I didn't research the name. I didn't buy a domain. I just started a wordpress (dot) com blog and began to write My Body and Me Blog.
So, I started out wanting to write a blog on decorating and decor and offer consulting and courses, the whole shebang. Instead, I started a weight loss and fitness blog --well, let's say, more accurately, a blog on getting healthier, hopefully fit and we'll have to cross our fingers on that weight loss thing--at least for a while!
I don't think I will be posting much here in the future unless it is to announce the official launch of The Joy of Home. I am looking forward to that. I wish it was up and running already, but I have to remind myself there's really no rush.
*or any other book you like to write in! It does need to have a fairly rigid cover, though.
There's nothing worse than searching for a pen when you need to make a note. Well, except for asking for a pen to jot a note. I was at a meeting the other night--and I had my bullet journal to take notes--but no pen. Everyone else was taking notes on their phones, of course, so I didn't want to ask for anything so old school as a pen. Yeesh.
A pen quiver was past due.
It's quite easy, really.
1. Take two pieces of fabric you love.
They don't have to be different, but it is more fun if they are (and easier for a tutorial!)
2. Measure.
A. Measure your book lengthwise.
B. Determine how much you want your quiver to overlap your cover on the back x 2.
C. Add on your seam allowance x 2.
A + B + C = length of both pieces.
You are essentially cutting the two pieces of fabric the same length and width even though the top piece will be positioned lower on the cover. Later, you will simply fold down the extra fabric of the front piece to make a nice edge for your pen caps.
D. Determine the width you want. Add 1/2" for seam allowances.
3. Using the above measurements, cut out both pieces from your fabric.
I got carried away before I took the photo and started pressing on to a few steps ahead.
For an 8 1/4" x 5" bullet journal, my pieces were 12 1/4" long x 3 1/2" wide.
4. Fold down the top piece where you want it to be relative to the bottom piece. Press.
I had started out thinking I would make side seams but when I pressed them together, I realised there would be far too much bulk. You don't want your pen quiver to be so thick it makes the left hand pages of your BuJo wobbly.
I folded down the top piece so that about 4" of the bottom piece remained in view.
5. Place the top piece of fabric over the bottom piece as you want them on your cover. (both right sides up). Align the bottom edges.
Turn the piece over so that the wrong sides are now facing you and fold back both pieces your allotted seam allowance (C). Press. Sew. Cut off the corners.
6. Fold over the top piece and sew. Cut the corners.
7. Take your pinking shears and cut along both edges. I hope you can cut straighter than I can! If you don't have pinking shears it will be fine if you just cut with straight scissors.
8. Turn the piece back over and secure the top folded edge with pins.
My apologies, those pins should be lengthwise. This way they will get caught in the machine, as I soon discovered. In other words, pin the edge with the heads of the pins pointing left to right.
9. Sew both sides. I used a zig zag stitch, but you can use a straight one if you prefer.
Securing the elastic. 10. Fold over the bottom piece and mark where the elastic will go. You certainly don't have to place it as close to the edge as I did. (I'm not sure why I did that, frankly!)
11. Sew the elastic to the fabric.
12. Place the quiver on your cover and fold over the top and bottom pieces. Stretch the elastic to the top until you have some --but not extreme-- tension. Mark.
No, I am certainly not the neatest sewer in the world. In fact, I'm pretty bad. As long as it holds, I figure we're good. That bookplate is from Tsh Oxenreider's e-course, Upstream.
13. Remove, turn inside out and pin.
Again, please change the direction of the pin before sewing.
14. Sew the elastic to the fabric.
15. Turn your completed pen quiver right side out and slide it onto your cover.
I used an old elastic saved from some defunct pyjama pants--that's why it looks stitched. Old pyjama pants not required for this project. Just some elastic.
Load up with your favourite pens.
And there you have it.
No more fumbling for a pen at the bottom that black hole better known as a purse.
No more embarrassing moments, whispering in the weird face phone glowing dark: "Can I borrow a pen?"
