Susan Branch And Why Nana Got A Warning

Was happy to read Susan Branch's post on "Tidying Up" via the KonMari Method!

Susan's Books On Amazon.com

Susan has a lovely way of expressing herself in her books and on her blog, and she even made the act of decluttering seem easy and beautifully done. You can read her post on her Marie-Kondo-inspired decluttering HERE.

I know I'll never have perfectly pressed dinner napkins like Susan, but still I love to read about hers as I dream of my "perfectly done" house on Someday Isle...as in "someday I'll..."

Whenever I visit Susan's blog, I'm always inspired to decorate with the things I have, putting out the everyday things we use and love rather than hiding them away in the cabinets.

The other thing I want to share has to do with Marie Kondo too! 

Middle Daughter has "Kondo-ized" her house so much her children (Livvie 6 and Ben 9) have done (and re-done) the playroom so many times they've become experts at purging and organizing too.

Last weekend, the kids stayed Saturday night with their other grandma..."Nana"...and when Nana brought them home on Sunday she shared the following story: 

Livvie noticed Nana's bottom kitchen cabinets were somewhat messy, so both kids got to work removing all the pots and pans. 

After Nana chose the things that "sparked joy" for her, the kids organized the bottom cabinets and left everything clean and tidy. 

Livvie Not Always Clean And Tidy!

Nana was (to say the least) very impressed with the job they did in her kitchen. 

Nana laughed when she told Middle Daughter that Livvie even gave her a warning that she would be checking the cabinets next time she visits to make sure Nana is able to keep everything in its place!

The thing I love about Marie Kondo's book is that it inspires people to buy less, store less, and enjoy life more.

Thanks for dropping by!

Friday Finds...Finding More Space

We met with a realtor this week and now the idea of selling our house is getting real!

The "one in, one out" rule doesn't work for us since we're trying to clear our house out as much as possible...less clutter looks like more space, right?

My 'thrifty and frugal' blogging friend Laura, over at Harvest Lane Cottage, claims she regains a square foot of real estate space for every shopping bag full of stuff that goes out of her door. We all can use more space right?


Now seldom does illness come with a benefit, but a weight loss of 70 pounds has been one Wild Bill appreciates. Some of his dress clothes just had to go! 

We started with Bill's closet and also cleared off some shelves in the garage. I estimate we regained 9 square feet of real estate.

Out this week: 

• Eight men's button up dress shirts (3 sq feet)
• One barely worn sports coat (1 sq ft)
• Two large boxes of garage stuff -- work gloves, boxes of nails, power drill, etc. (4 sq feet)
• Bag: women's clothes, household goods, a 3-tier shelf (1 sq ft)

Where Did It Go? 

We have a friend, Henry, who is heavily involved with local chapters of military veterans' service organizations like the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) to name a few. 

• For the clothes: We asked Henry if he knew any vets (short on cash) who might be in need of 'Big and Tall' dress clothes. Sadly, Henry assured us there are more than a few in the local area. 

• For the tools etc: We had lots of rain a year or so back and one of the veterans' organizations was flooded twice! They are working on repairing the facility. Henry also took the two boxes of garage stuff to help in the rebuilding.

• Everything else: Went to the Goodwill.

If you need inspiration on recovering your space, check out Laura's blog and start tracking how much space you regain in your home. 

If you're interested in saving money, check out Laura's post called Forty Ways To Use It Up And Wear It Out.

Thanks for dropping by!

The Things We Keep: More Precious Finds

Our garage is finally getting back to normal with more boxes of things going out the door than being stored! 

The two youngest daughters convinced me it is time to "Marie Kondo" the things my mother-in-law collected or saved, and then left behind.

This Hand-Painted Box Brings Me Joy!

In her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo tells you to touch each piece and ask yourself if it brings you joy? 

That's a hard one to start doing, but it gets easier the more things you touch and pass on.

At first I wanted to keep everything of sentiment or value, but our life is in fluctuation right now...this is NOT the time to store a bunch of things!

My mother-in-law's next younger sister has always shared mom's interest in collectibles and hobbies. I breathed a sigh of relief when she happily accepted the many boxes of dolls and doll parts!

If I had kept these things, it would only be to sell them on-line or in a booth. If I passed them to this favorite aunt, I knew she would love them or find a good home for them. 

Whatever she does with them it's now up to her...Kind of a "Tag You're It!" action.

The night I called the aunt, she had just finished putting an old doll together so I knew she was the right person for mom's favorite vintage dolls and doll parts. 

Here are a few things I kept as they really do bring me joy. They are all old and had been stored away inside this hand-painted old wooden box:

1. This little wooden case holds thimbles. Mom gave me some vintage thimbles years ago, which I plan to add to the old thimbles she had stored in this box.

2. This very odd clamp was also in the box. I knew it must be something involved with sewing, but was perplexed with it until September's Country Living Magazine arrived.

Mom's Clamp

Country Living's "What's It Worth" Section had similar

According to the magazine's article, this is probably an Early-20th-Century Sewing Bird Clamp! Mom's bird clamp has what is probably a pin-cushion on the back of the bird. 

Appears To Be A Pin-Cushion On The Bird's Back

3. A cute metal cat with a pin-cushion-bucket attached to the cat's side.

Another Pin-Cushion Of Sorts

The cat's head bobs up and down, and it feels like it might come out, but I don't want to ruin it if it doesn't.

4. An old case with lining, with a logo from a jewelry store in Birmingham. At first we thought Birmingham, Alabama, but the spelling of "Jewellers" and "Crooke" and the address on "High Street" makes us think it might be from England.

What Are These Used For?

Alabama or England?

We plan to do some research, especially to determine what were these used for...cracking nuts...crab cracking...hair crimpers maybe? 

Since they were with other sewing things, are they used for something in that field? Anyone have an idea for us?

Thanks for dropping by!

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What I'm Working On Wed: Flocks And Spots

"We of the Household" had a discussion the other day on where collecting ends and hoarding begins. Have you an answer for that?

We could not come to an agreement in general, but both thought (possibly) my chicken flock had reached past the collecting phase...possibly. 

It seems many of my chickens often have a sort of disgruntled look on their face like the one above. 

The one below is the largest one of the hoard flock. It always stands guard way up on the kitchen's glass cabinet...

This is my favorite chicken. I bought her at a shopping area called The Strand on a trip to Galveston, probably around spring of 2002, just as a storm was flooding the area and all the shops were closing up fast. She has a somewhat sassy attitude.

Here she is at Christmas time in the front room. She loves to sit on the coffee table and look at the Christmas lights.

The two in the photo below sit way up on top of the highest cabinets in the kitchen keeping watch on the cooking, which doesn't actually happen very often around here...

Here's a close up of the one on the left in the basket...

A couple more chickens are keeping the kitchen pig company on the movable cabinet, in the middle of the kitchen, while I'm thinking about where to put them. 

We're in flux right now due to switching out some of the furniture, moving some around, and adding in some new.

Now this particular chicken has probably been with me the longest and has been carried around with me for 15 years, from the Northwest to the South and all points in between. 

I don't know why I carried it that long because I really do not love this chicken.

With the "downsizing game" I play now, based on Marie Kondo's book, if I hold it and it does not bring me joy...it's suppose to go out the door! 

So I held the spotted chicken, and I thought... 

"Maybe I just really don't like those spots!"

And right there and then I did what any good hoarder collector would do...I got out the paint and got rid of the offending spots.

I painted a first coat of a color called Kembel in Amy Howard's One-Step Paint. 

This paint was the closest to brown that I had in my chalk paint stash, and my goal now is to complete projects with what I have on hand.

Please Note: I'm no expert, but I do use all types of chalk paint, including homemade. I have found different brands work better with different projects. 

First of all, I'd say use up whatever you have on hand! Second, I've found One-Step paint works well on both metal and pottery if I have it on hand. 

But then, most other chalk paints work well on those items too.

Just so we're clear, my opinion is based on my experience with the paint. I do not receive any compensation for my opinions, and I pay for all the paint I use.

Covering up the spots is as far as I've gotten with the chicken this week. I'm planning to add some dark wax to make it look aged, but I'm looking for inspiration on how to finish it up. 

If you have any ideas for the chicken's makeover, please let me know in a comment. Your thoughts and ideas are always appreciated.

Thanks for dropping by!

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Talkin' Cowbells

In my continual pursuit to downsize my possessions, I ran across this little gem in a box up in my closet. This cowbell was already way past vintage when I bought it 25-plus years ago. 

 In these days of Antique Roadshow, the question always pops up...Do I have a high-dollar antique?

Here's a picture of a cow wearing a similar bell that was in a post about virtual shopping done by Debbie over at Confessions of a Plate Addict.

Confessions of a Plate Addict

I don't know about you, but I love all things cows and farmhouse these days. 

It makes me wonder though... In 20 or 30 years, will we look back at the "farmhouse" style of today like we do about all the duck decorating we did back in the late 80's to early 90's? Yes...I did...Guilty. Oh brother! And mauve and blue...whoa baby!

Wikipedia on Cowbells

Anyhoo... It got me to thinking about cowbells. I popped over to my old friend Wikipedia to get some info and to Ebay (of course) to see if I had a priceless antique. 

These were the most similar cowbells, to mine, that I could find on Wikipedia. The bottom section, top row is the closest match.

Wikipedia

It turns out my cowbell is worth maybe $17. I think I bought it back in the early 90's at a yard sale for a few dollars. So, not going to make me rich!

It stays though cuz, ya know, farmhouse style and all...and then, after all, my daughters will need something to laugh about in the year 2040.

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Wally World Wednesday

Usually I'm not loyal to any store, but I do have a fondness for Walmart and his big brother store, Sam's Club. 

If I go into either of these stores (and Costco too for that matter) I always find wonderful stuff to buy...and, of course, that will leave me with too much month at the end of my paycheck!

Still needing four of these gray canvas bins for my closet organization project, I risked crashing my budget, as well as crashing my purging and organizing binge, by making a quick (Is there really such a thing?) trip to Walmart yesterday.

Yes...I did remember to buy the groceries I needed! But besides the gray bins, I found some cute Pioneer Woman things too. 
Like these tall, hard plastic straws that can be reused...

And, these large glass drinking jars with a cap and reusable straw...

Cute, huh? Wild Bill will use his glass for ice water. Me? I'm partial to ice tea with tons and tons of ice. This glass is large enough to hold all that ice and then some!

The last thing I happened upon was this Waverly package of two brushes, specially designed for working with chalk paint. The round brush on the left is a waxing brush and the smaller one on the right is a paint brush, which will come in handy with the pub table project I'm working on now.

That picture didn't look very artistic and sure doesn't show off these brushes.  Let me show you the brushes in a more artistic pose so you can get a better look...

When using chalk paint you can leave it as is, but clear wax can be applied to protect the paint finish. If you want to age the piece, on top of the clear wax you can add some dark wax to make it look aged. If you use both the clear and dark wax, you'll probably want a waxing brush for both colors to make sure the clear wax stays clear. 

Most of the chalk paint brands sell their own version of the round waxing brush, but as they say here in Texas, they are "High Dollar".  These two brushes in the Waverly package were less than $6 for both, while the chalk-paint-brand stores usually sell just one of the waxing brushes for $19 to $29. 

As always, just showing some things I purchased and not being paid to endorse any product or store. 

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