Thursday, April 14, 2016

    Spring Cleaning, or, it's a QVC World 

Benjamin Franklin: "A place for everything and everything in its place."


It was another cold dreary day with heavy gray clouds, snow on the ground and a prediction of similar days ahead. I was in a mood somewhere between blue and bored. There was plenty to do at home - the wood floors were laced with ever expanding dust patterns, closets were packed with jumbles of summer and winter clothes, and the kitchen cabinets were in need of a serious weeding process.

My mood darkened even more and I retreated to the couch, flipping on the television. I clicked from one channel to the next until my attention was grabbed by the promise of an orderly house. Who made this promise? QVC. I stopped changing channels, curled up under a blanket and devoted all my attention to home organization, QVC-style.

In the blink of an eye, my mood changed from blue and bored to intrigued and guilty. 

Intrigued because I was still in a gray plaid robe with my scrubbed bare face and fingernails badly beaten by winter's temperatures while watching the impeccably dressed women with expensive manicures and even more expensive jewelry demonstrating how I could have a closet that looked Just. Like. This. A closet with multiple pairs of pants hanging on a single hanger. Baskets that collapsed and stored in impossibly narrow spaces, but not before they kept my car trunk organized or helped me to carefully shuttle food to a neighborhood cook-out.

The guilt?

My guilt was for all the same reasons. Plus, I felt like a Stepford Wife wannabe. Is this what matters in life? A sparkling, well-organized home? Aren't there better ways to spend my time and energy? The arguments didn't matter; I was hooked and remained on the couch, squirming a little but full attention still on the television screen with its promises of organization.

Nothing was ordered from QVC on that morning or any other morning. And I don't own even one collapsible basket  My recovery from the QVC moment with its manicured nails, tailored clothing and special hangers was just about complete when The Container Store catalog arrived in the mail. Oh no. Page after page of boxes, baskets, shelves and totes beckoned me. Sale prices danced before my eyes. Advice spilled out from the catalog's pages to take inventory, keep or toss, declutter, dress up a closet or bring focus to a garage or basement. 

Over a cup of hot tea on another dreary day, I thought back to QVC and mulled over where to start my journey to organization. One room kept crying out...second floor, far corner. My closet.

This means shoes, purses, clothes, scarves and travel items will be examined and moved on or organized. 

According to the Los Angeles Times' Mary MacVean, the average United States household (2014) is packed with 300,000 items ranging from paper clips to ironing boards. The article quotes Andrew Mellen, a professional organizer, who asks "is your home an accurate external reflection of you?" Mellen believes if "things have become obstacles to your happiness, that's a problem."  

I am comforted by the fact that I'm far from alone in this quest to have a well-run organized home. In the March 2016 issue, More magazine boldly asks its readers if they wouldn't be happier with "less stuff." Five women share their stories of working on a "perfect house in a perfect neighborhood." 

If you're unsure of just where or how to start, help is just a book or website away. Check out organizing blogs or websites such as Good Housekeeping magazine or Bob Vila's website for more ideas. Wander around your library in the 648 section - I bet you'll find dozens of books on household organizing. Better Homes and Gardens has an entire magazine geared toward clearing clutter and living easier in our homes. Your book store will have shelves stocked with books such as Marie Kondo's bestseller, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up. In Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness, Donna Smallin advises readers to start small with tackling one room at a time (like my closet). Toni Hammersley's The Complete Book of Organization encourages readers to get control of canned goods, corral shoes and coats, and fully utilize a freezer. Look for Peter Walsh's It's All Too Much which has an accompanying workbook. Gretchen Rubin shares her own journey to a better organized life in Happier at Home and The Happiness Project. Organizer Jennifer Ford Berry's book Organize Now! is actually a small binder filled with tips on getting your clutter under control.

Books use various incentives...mindfulness, minimalist living, green living, etc... I agree with Gretchen Rubin - it's likely we just have too much stuff. Sort through everything and set up piles to toss, donate, mend or keep.

 After that, stroll through The Container Store for boxes, shelves and totes. 

Or, get a manicure.


William Morris: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."


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Friday, April 1, 2016

                           April

Doug Larson: "Spring is here when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush."


Fling open the windows. Breathe fresh air. Enjoy the tulips, daffodils and blooming dogwood trees. Colors are alive, somehow both soft and vibrant. Go on an early morning walk without shivering (too much). Even if spring hasn't fully arrived in your state, have patience that it will.

Discover a new novel to savor this month. Shelves at your favorite library or book store will be packed with new books by David Balducci, Anna Quindlen, Steve Berry, Stuart Woods, Ann B. Ross, Lisa Scottoline, John Sandford, Curtis Sittenfeld, Amanda Quick, Anderson Cooper/Gloria Vanderbilt, Lesley Stahl, and Jim Colucci's unauthorized tribute to the Golden Girls.

April is Library Snapshot Month, National Card and Letter Writing Month, National Humor Month, National Kite Month (get outside!), National Poetry Month and Stress Awareness Month.


                                         April Days


1     -  Poetry and Creative Minds Day
          Reading is Funny Day
1-3  -  American Crossword Puzzle Days

2     -  International Children's Book Day

3-9  -  Week of the Ocean

6     -  National Walking Day

8      - Birthday of Barbara Kingsolver, 1955, The Poisonwood Bible

10-16 - National Library Week
           Week of the Young Child

12     - National Library Day
           National Library Workers' Day

13     - National Bookmobile Day
           Scrabble Day

14      - Celebrate Teen Literature Day

16      - Record Store Day --yay vinyl!!

17      - International Haiku Poetry Day

19      - Bicycle Day

21      - Death of Mark Twain, 1910, Huckleberry Finn

22      - Earth Day --Love your Mother Earth

23      - Talk Like Shakespeare Day
            World Book and Copyright Day

24      - Pinhole Photography Day

28      - Birthday of Harper Lee, 1926, To Kill a Mockingbird

30      - Birthday of Annie Dillard, 1945, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek     

Lily Pulitzer: "Despite the forecast, live like it's spring."


                                            * * * * *

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