Meanfingful gifts

You'll be happy to know (and I'm thrilled) that I made excellent progress on the samples, and I'm almost done. Yes, a bit more stitching is needed, and they will be finished. Thank goodness. I didn't think the process out too much in advance; I may have overdone it. But I'm learning lots while making them, and that's all that counts!

I know that many of you are in the process of decluttering right along with me. There are all kinds of 30-day plans, and on each day, you tackle a different area. I got a chuckle the other day when someone posted that the task was to match up the lids of the plastic ware and then the junk drawer. I can happily say that both were done several years ago and the best news? They are still in good shape! 

If I wanted to take a look, if anything was amiss, it would take less than five minutes to tidy it up! Technically, we no longer have a junk drawer, as we deal with it or it goes into the office. I don't let that happen anymore. We don't have much plastic ware, so that's also a non-issue. Hmm - I should take pictures for tomorrow. 

But getting to that point takes time. 

Why are we doing all this? Yesterday, I started a new Storage magazine (2008), with eight well-known organizers contributing. Hey, this stuff doesn't get dated. The junk was the same then, but only now, because we ignored the magazines—we have more! I don't have more—thank goodness—but if I had completely ignored it, I'd have more!

For those who don't think you should declutter, here are some quotes from the magazine that say it all. We all remember Peter Walsh. 

And how about this one. 

And this

And this one I thought hit home. What we own NO LONGER fits our lifestyle! 

This one is an absolute YES for me. Also, the cluttered home is no longer my lifestyle. I like a minimalistic look. I just wish I could get there faster. Yes - I could hire someone to help, but I don't want to do that yet. I know what to do and how to do it. I'll get there. Next week, I hope to get some of these boxes and bags out of the house, making me feel better about the decluttering. Then, once I've cleaned up Studio U, I can take more stuff up there to sort. 

I'm slow and methodical, and just whipping through the house and throwing stuff in the recycling bin or garbage would stress me out. What I need to improve when I get started on a new area, especially with paper and magazines, is not to read everything! That's my downfall! But I had a thought as I finished one of the Storage magazines. Each one says the SAME thing, so do I need to read them all? I do not! As I said, if I had thrown them out, I wouldn't have realized that. Wish me luck! 

But I also wouldn't have found those quotes or some of the pictures that make me laugh. I'm good with slow, methodical, and CONSTANT! 

The biggest thing is that I've made the move to make this a priority. I fiddled with it for ten years, but now it's my priority. I want guilt-free time and space. 

The weather is bizarre these days. When I left the house for my walk, the sun was out, and it was a beautiful day. Then, before I knew it, it was snowing, and the cloud coverage looked like we were in for a significant snowstorm. By the time I returned to the house (less than one hour), the clouds were gone, and the sun was shining. What was that all about? 

But I was good - I had my afternoon snack and worked on the jigsaw puzzle, but only for one hour! I set myself a limit because I had work to do. 

However, when someone called me, I took the opportunity to work on the puzzle while I chatted. That requires more concentration than I realized, so I may have focused too much on it. Here's what it looks like. 

The jigsaw puzzle

I should be able to finish it later today. I talked about the sorting trays the other day. I'm not a good candidate for the sorting trays. All those pieces are now crowded down the sides of the puzzle, which was easy because they are on a smooth table top. As I did that yesterday, I realized I've always done that. I like the pieces close together and as close to me as possible. 

If they were in sorting trays or on a felt board, I'd have to pick them up to move them. I don't think so. Based on that, I should get rid of the puzzle mat in the basement, as I don't use it. Does anyone want a puzzle mat? I'll check the size. 

After this one is complete, I may make another 500-piece puzzle. The 500-piece ones are easy, so I can do them fast. However, I need some definite downtime to make a 1000-piece puzzle. 

I mentioned that we don't give gifts except for M and Dillon. As I mentioned, I want the gift to be meaningful (for both us and them) and something they will enjoy. 

I scored three for three this year! We gave them a gift certificate for storage, which they needed to organize the last room in their apartment. They were very excited about that. How could I say no to storage? 

But they finally opened the box with the remaining two presents, and I keep getting WOW texts from them. We bought them the AURA frame, and once they set it up last night, they loved it! The pictures are super easy to add and share, and I got an invitation last night to share photos with them. They love taking or getting their photos taken, so this is a perfect gift. Again, thanks to Susan for that suggestion—it was a good one. 

The last thing I gave them took a LONG time to make, but it's cute, and they LOVE it. I got this idea from Maryke. Take a 365-day calendar and write notes in it. I started a wedding (2026) countdown! Then, I added little messages on days with some meaning. As I said, writing all those notes took a long time. WAIT - writing the notes wasn't hard; it was thinking of things to write, finding those special days, or counting out the days for the countdown. 

The wedding countdown calendar

My writing sucks, but I ignored that and at least made it legible! That's all I wanted, and the gift was a success. The OMG Facts are also interesting! I did NOT write every day! I guess I could have counted down every day. Anyway - I hope they continue with it for the year - it's a quick flip of the calendar page. I know these things get abandoned, but let's hope!

Speaking of pictures, here's someone who tries very hard to have her picture taken EVERY DAY. She's not happy to just lie on the blankets, but she has to play with them first, and then she'll lie right in the middle of the mess. That's our Murphy! 

MOM - at least I'm active! I'm not a lazy dog!

There is so much to do today, and I have my list of three priorities. I have two presentations to prepare, and while I have pictures of my own to add, there are a few more things that I want to finish so they can be added. Don't worry—I'm double-dipping, as one of them is a sample that needs to be done today! All is good!!

Here's an update on the leg: While this issue is still present, and I have my moments, I'm at a dull ache stage, NOT an acute pain. There is a massive difference, and I can live with the ache until we figure this out. I wanted to get over the holidays before I pursue it, so on Monday, I'll be on the phone with the doctor to see where we go next. 

And on that note, I'm off to the gym to see Brooke. I wonder what surprises she has for me today. Stand up/Sit Down. I'm stunned at how simple yet effective this exercise is, and it gets your blood circulating! Who knew that, along with my cluttered house, I wasn't focusing on my physical well-being as much as I should have. I thought walking was good enough, but it wasn't. That only worked part of my leg muscles, and while spin class was supposed to take care of it, it wasn't enough! 

If you want a specific decluttering assignment today, have you finished all the drawers in your house? It's amazing how many of them there are! If you need something else, why not take a bathroom cabinet? Get under the sink and see what's there! It all has to go! Or most of it anyway!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!