Springtime means "Spring Cleaning" to a lot of folk, and I am no exception. After a (super) long winter, it feels good to throw open the sashes to let fresh air and sunshine breeze through the rooms.
For me, Spring cleaning is more about getting rid of clutter than actually cleaning. In days in the not-so-distant past, I cleaned the house top to bottom; washing windows and curtains, pulling out furniture to clean under and behind, washing woodwork with Murphy's Oil Soap, shampooing carpets...whew!
Now days I wonder how I had the time and energy to do all of that.
It's not that I don't like a clean environment, I really, really do. What happens is that the past few years I spend the winter browsing through thrift stores and bringing home treasures that I think that I will make into something else. 20+ years of setting up at craft shows has my brain hard-wired into thinking I have to make a few dozen of everything I design.
Trouble is, I no longer set up at craft shows. You can see where this is leading, can't you? :)
I've spent the better part of several days sorting through "stuff". Purging is always difficult at first, but then it becomes a game. And, I am really lucky in another regard. Since I no longer use a lot of craft tools, I asked my daughter if she wants them for her craft room and she said yes.
YAY
I am going to visit her tomorrow and have packed up a large tote with paper punches, edge trimmers, fancy scissors, rubber stamps and inks, and craft paper. It feels good to me to pass these to her and my grand kids. I had many enjoyable hours designing things with the tools, now the tools can assist the younger generation in my family to be creative.
So, this is how my Spring cleaning goes these days: purge an area of clutter, knock down any cobwebs, dust, and sweep. Then, as I have time and energy, I go through the house room-by-room and do up the windows.
I am so aggravated this time around about having to spend time de-cluttering, when I could be outside enjoying nature or just plain relaxing, that I vow: no matter how many garage sales lure me, no matter how many flea markets and craft fairs we go to this summer, no matter how tempting autumn decorations are, no matter how many rainy/snowy/ days we get until Spring 2014, I will resist temptation and not have to go through this big clearing out again. I'll be richer in both the money saved from spending on trivel and time saved in pitching.
Yeah, right.
No, really!
BUT...did I mention the barn..... (psst) (it is overflowing..)
Marcheta *ouch
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