Ever heard the phrase, “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken”? I’ve always thought it was coined by Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. Well, no matter who first said it, I’ve been putting it into practice these last two weeks. Pretty much every day since my last post two weeks ago, I’ve been meaning to put the sleeve and label on “Windblown.” I won’t even bother listing each and every urgent need that presented itself preventing me from accomplishing my goal. I’ve had a few minutes here and there, but I still haven’t gotten that sleeve and label on it. But, I have been productive.
Last month DD#2 finished her third year teaching, and she decided it was time to get her house in order. Clutter purged, teaching stuff put away, possessions thinned out and given away, washing, cleaning, the whole nine yards. I helped her sent up a card file system for keeping her house clean, too.
When she was ready to tackle her kitchen, she called me over. It’s weird, but I really enjoy organizing kitchens. We spent one day getting everything in her kitchen straightend out. Then we thinned out her extra Tupperware. I admit it’s a disease she inherited from me. I started selling Tupperware when she was four months old, and I sold it for two years. Even though I no longer sell it, I’m a huge fan of their Modular Mates system, so I made sure DD#2 had a fair number of them as a wedding gift. (We’re collecting more for DD#1, anticipating she’ll need them, too.) Yep, I’ve unapologetically infected them both and I think there’s no cure.
I came back a second day and we tackled her pantry. Her sweet hubby installed these wonderful shelves for her in what used to be a mud room that leads from the backyard to the kitchen. You can see the top three shelves here. There are three more below these. We talked a lot about moving the most used items within easy reach. We checked expiration dates on canned goods and boxes. We found more stuff to give away and throw away. What a great feeling! Her hubby was thrilled by the results, too.
Let’s just say I was so inspired by her results that I figured I better clean out and reorganize my own kitchen. I cleaned out my pantry and all of my base cupboards, including the ones that hold my Tupperware. I was thrilled to greet the Bible study ladies on Saturday morning with an invitation to take home my extras. I got rid of so much extra stuff that now I even have a place for my two crockpots (two of my favorite quilting tools, you know). Before they had to live on my countertop and they were always in the way.
It really is a great feeling to get rid of “stuff.” DH and I have big plans on continuing in other parts of the house. DH’s biggest wish is to clear out the garage, but I’m hoping that will wait until the temperatures drop a bit.
It looks like I have a couple hours available tonight. If nothing else pops up, maybe I’ll get to make a label, and maybe even a sleeve!
Comments
4 responses to “Busy and productive, but not necessarily quilting”
Very productively distracted! Great end results too.
LOL! Yep, it’s my “productive” way of procrastinating!
regarding your opening quote .. I’ve been told it’s from “The Janson Directive”, a novel by Robert Ludlum. I’ve been using it as part of my email sig block for years. ๐
regarding the organization: while my husband and I can and do tolerate a high degree of clutter, there does come a point where *all that clutter* is so visually distracting that I can’t focus on anything else. And that’s when I do what you have done …. clean, purge, organize! And the result is simply *so* fantastic. ๐
I’ve never heard of the Ludlum novel, but it has a 2002 copyright and I know the quote goes back at least to the early 1980’s. Should be an interesting thing to investigate.
I want to embrace the whole purge idea much more than I have. Still something I’m learning and working on, but it is nice to pare things down.