So, It Has Been COLD...

For the past week or so, it has been very COLD here in Pennsylvania. I know, I know...it IS January after all. And I have to say we have tried to make the most of it.

The woods in the winter can be so beautiful with all kinds of lovely things to notice, like the ice crystals in the creek...

The cold air can help wake you up a bit and invigorate you too, so a hike is definitely a good way to make you feel more alive.

Today it is warming up into the 50's, which actually seems sort of strange. Tomorrow it will be in the 60's?!?

However, I am quite sure that Old Man Winter isn't done with us yet, even though I see my snowdrops starting to emerge in the front garden....

The kids are hoping for a snow day soon. We'll see :)

About Your Underwear....

I have been thinking that it would be fun to have an assignment we could do together here once a month.....

OKAY!  So, here is a homework assignment for YOU!!! (This will be brief....GET IT?? Underwear? brief?? okay...I'll stop...)

Grab a small shopping bag, a timer (the one on your cell phone will do), and your CAN DO attitude! We are off to tackle your sock drawer.

Why, you ask??

Because it is so annoying not have room to put away those clean socks and underwear when they come out of the wash, it wastes your time when you can't find the matching sock you need, there are probably at least six bras in there that you wouldn't wear even if your life depended on it,  five socks with holes in the heel, and two or three things that look like they belong to your Aunt Gladys (who is a nun, by the way) not YOU, you vibrant, alive, alluring person, you.

SO, set your timer for 10 minutes, and start tossing into that shopping bag all of those worn out, mismatched items.

When the timer goes off, set it for another five and quickly put like with like...neatly pile socks with like socks, underwear with underwear, etc.  Now SMILE! You have found space and created order in 15 minutes!

The final step: take the bag of castoffs directly to your outside trash bin. NOW. It doesn't need to linger taking up space or occupying your thoughts for one more minute!

HOORAY!

Please post your comments below! What did you find lurking in back of that drawer?!?  Happy decluttering!!!

Office Redesign?

Around the holidays, I realized that the way my home office was arranged was a pain in the neck...quite literally. I did not realize that having my computer monitor off to the side would result in my neck muscles finally getting so mad at me they couldn't stand it ANYMORE.  I guess I didn't hear their more quiet complaints, so they pitched an absolute fit...the results of which I am still dealing with. Thank God for chiropractors and movable furniture!

My office is now more ergonomically correct. I am looking straight ahead toward my future...and my computer monitor. In addition to moving things around, I also received a beautiful original watercolor (you can see it leaning on top of the credenza above), as a Christmas gift from my husband. It is a stunning piece painted in the 1930's by a Philadelphia architect depicting a scene from Bermuda--a place very close to our hearts.

Yesterday I took it to be framed, and I can't wait for it to be finished. I should have it back in about two weeks....

These two changes have spurred me on to start rethinking lots of things in this little room where I spend so much of my time. I am looking forward to working on this space...although, I have to admit that I find it so hard to design for myself. Decisions I would make very quickly for my clients without a second thought, seem to take forever, confound me, and cause much fretting when it is for a room of my own.

As new developments happen, I will keep you updated here.  Next month, a new rug!!....if I can decide on one, that is.

Things Get Messy....(Why Things Fall Into Disarray & How To Clean Them UP!)

When I was a kid, I would sometimes tag along with my mother when she went to work.  I would sit off to the side in a big, comfortable chair and listen to the friendly but hushed conversations as patrons came and went, the gentle thud of books being put on the counter, and the light swishing sound as they were slid along the table, checked out, & gathered up to go out the door.

My mom was a librarian at our local library, a wonderful place to spend time, get some inspiration, open your mind to new ideas, and a building that was the epitome of "a place for everything, and everything in its place...." Libraries are so good at that!

I have been thinking a lot about this lately--this where everything goes thing--and it seems that whenever we have persistent messes around our house that annoy us, it is because one of the two following statements is true:

1. We don't have a set place where those things belong.
2. We know where they belong, but it is a pain to put them there.

Now, you may want to roll your eyes at me because this seems overly simplistic, but from time to time we all need to get back to basics. So, here are some things to consider:

• Your belongings need--ahem--a place to BELONG.  Things have a way of sitting around simply because we haven't made a decision about where they go. The place something is stored should not be elaborate or fancy, it just needs to be convenient to where the item is used, and make sense to you so you know where to find it.
• It needs to be easy to put something away, or it will never be put there. YOU may like putting your children's backpacks neatly on the hook way down the hall, around the corner, behind the kitchen door, but you aren't going to get much enthusiasm from them for this. Making it as easy as possible for those other people we live with to comply with our wishes makes for a happy (and neater) household.
• Your enthusiasm will wane....I know those other people I just mentioned can really be a pain, but, trust me, we are a part of the problem, too. After a few weeks, when the shine is off the penny, you will tire of filing papers in your new, meticulous, oh sooooo organized filing system with each folder color-coordinated and carefully labeled. UGH. (Do you know how many of these things I have decluttered from people's houses??) Keep it simple or it ain't gonna happen.
• Remember, having less stuff is easier to manage. Read this then carefully evaluate all of that STUFF laying about your house that probably doesn't need any further attention other than loading it in the car and taking it to Goodwill.

Straightening up a space in which everything in it has a home--a place it belongs--is a snap, takes only minutes to do, and everyone in the household can be a part of keeping things neat since it is so easy to implement...even easier than using the Dewey Decimal System!

Great Weekend Away!

Last weekend we took off for an overnight with the kids and had tons of fun... We started at the Great Wolf Lodge--

(I know my daughter looks miserable....it is an 11 year old girl thing, I hear...)

And stopped at Mauch Chunk/Jim Thorpe, PA on our way home.

So much beautiful architecture nestled there between the mountains!! And the MOST charming public library I think I have ever seen. 

Such a quaint place. We had a lovely lunch, wandered around taking in the sites, and had a blast!

Nothing like some time away!