Decluttering Continues

I spent most of the weekend going through more hidden clutter spaces. I cleaned out under our bed and all the bins (six) we have in our hallway shelving unit. The bins are now organized and labeled and some of them are even half empty!

Unfortunately I do have to use under the bed for storage. It's not good feng shui or what I would prefer but unavoidable for now. I hope to eventually elimate that when I free up more space in the other hidden clutter areas.

At least I know what is under there now and I even found my yoga mat! I have a rolling bin that has all of my craft supplies and tools with the exception of some stamps and stamp pads and 12 x 12 scrapbooking paper. Those were kept in a couple of the bins in the hallway. I will use up the paper on pages for my sister (nephew and niece books) and I still make cards and gift tags. I also have a bin and two photo boxes with all my photos. This is temporary as I want to get them all stored digitally (I have not taken a regular photo in about four years). That will be a project when I get the decluttering done. I am hoping for a digital photo frame for my birthday next month.

I came across some really old stuff this weekend. All the RSVP's and gift cards (with notes of who gave what) from my wedding six years ago. TONS of photos, some of me when I was little. Stuff from highschool (a Christmas card from my now hubby), kids projects when they were little (we saved a small amount), stuff from a trip to California five years ago for a half started scrapbook, stuff from when I lived in North Carolina ten years ago. I filled a large garbage bag full of items I was keeping that I really never needed to. It feels like I lost ten pounds!

I even freed up a shelf in the hall closet as the four small bins of crafts supplies and tools I had in there fit in to the rolling bin under the bed. I have a few piles on my dining table that need to get in to their permanent homes and I plan to start tackling the hall closet this week.

What's left on my decluttering list?

• Hall closet
• Rolling cart in laundry center
• Storage off patio
• Master closet (need to purge clothing)
• Hallway bookshelves
• Pantry

Projects that resulted from decluttering...

• Photos need to be digitally stored (give originals to my mother or others)
• Finish up some scrapbook pages started for my sister (nephew & niece books)
• Find permanent homes for some items
• Selling/donating craft supplies I no longer need
• Bucca de Beppo wall (more on that in a later post)
• Finally get wedding photos framed for parents and other family (did I mention I have been married for six years?)

I am hopefull I can complete the decluttering by the end of June. The other projects will be things I can finish throughout the summer. They have places to live (either temporary or permanent) and I can find everything and that is half the battle.

I actually found a journal I started five years ago and it had a list in it of goals. I am sorry to say that I only had completed 1 of them. How is that for procrastination? Yikes - so embarrasing to admit. I know the reason for it too. The clutter, even when I couldn't see it, prevents me from getting things done. The clutter and unfinished projects throughout the condo are the reason we did complete that one goal - owning a home. We didn't have the money to finish the projects to move so we just bought the place we were living in. Ug!

This will also make it easier to finally finish all the little condo projects around the house. We will be able to find all of our tools easily and won't be tripping over piles of stuff to install baseboard molding etc.

I am gratefull for this blog and the blog community in general. This allows me to be somewhat accountable for things I am trying to accomplish. It's also a journal and scrapbook, wishlist and keepsake all rolled in to one. This online way of journaling actually made it easier for me to give up scrapbooking! I will still make pages for my sister and others which makes it OK to keep a lot of the stuff I spent good money on. When I do a scrapbook page - I do it. Mucho dinero can get invested in a page. I will post some later on to give you an idea.

For now though, I am on a roll and can't be stopped!

Grey Gardens

Last night I watched the made for HBO movie Grey Gardens with Jessica Lang and Drew Barrymore. This film was based on the original 1975 documentary of Grey Gardens about Edith and Edie Beale. An eccentric mother daughter pair who were related to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. They lived in a decrepit East Hamptons home.

"[Grey Gardens] is oozing with romance, ghosts, and other things." - Little Edie

Grey Gardens is the name of the home. "It was truly a gray garden, the soft gray of the dunes, cement walls, and sea mists gave us our color scheme as well as our name." - Anna Gilman Hill (owner who purchased in 1913). Phelan and Edith Beale bought the home in the 1920's. Phelan left his wife in 1934 and Big Edie was disowned by her father. That is when the house started to deteriorate and the gardens reverted back to nature as she did not have the means to keep them up.

The Edie's lived in squallor with cats and raccoons running about the house. Broken windows and lack of heat or phone. In October 1971, the house was raided by the Suffolk County Health Department. They eventually were able to stay with help from their famous relative and another cousin.

"Oh, Mother thinks its artistic this way, like a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Don't you love the overgrown Louisiana Bayou look." - Little Edie

But, you can't help loving Little Edie as the daughter is called. Stricken with Alopetia, this causes her to go bald. Her attempt at covering her baldness is with a variety of outrageous scarfs or sweaters which she wears about her head. Always pinned with a ginormous gold pin (the original Little Edie in the photo below).

Her affection for odd ways to wear clothing is truly a sight to see. Quite often wearing skirts upside down and fastening them in various ways about her person. She says this is her protest against working for the establishment when she was a model in the mid 30's. My favorite outfit (worn by Drew in the photo below), a bathing suit over a leopard print turtleneck. Her skirt is on upside down and pinned at the side several times with shorts peaking from underneath.

Little Eddie steals the show and seems completely within her own world. She is somewhat childlike and the banter between her and her mother is quite hilarious. I would recommend watching the documentary before seeing the film. Both Jessica and Drew perfectly capture the originals and Drew especially has the mannerisms and voice down perfectly of Little Eddie.

One would think that the documentary and subsequent film would be drepressing but its actually kind of a quaint look in to two women's lives. The home was purchased in 1979 and restored and that was the only way Little Edie would sell. "All it needs is a coat of paint!" - Little Edie.

The Decluttering Continues

Last weekend the hubs and I ventured in to our storage unit. This unit is not something we pay for. Each condo in our complex has a storage unit off the patio and a larger one under one of the buildings. The one we have under the building houses items we don't have room to store in our house but still need such as camping equipment, holiday decorations and large tools.

The problem is it's also become the respository for all things we don't know what to do with but can't bear to get ride of.

In the past few weeks we have been decluttering the heck out of our living space. This is extending to areas that are not seen but still there. It was time to go through things and get rid of items we no longer need. We donated one car load of items already and have another one ready to go for this weekend. I found things I have had for almost twenty years and have no need for such as my highschool color guard outfit, my college letter jacket, massive a tub of fabric of which I will never use for things as my taste has changed since I purchased it.

I can tell ya, I feel so much better, like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!

This weekend we will finish up going through the storage unit. The goal is to get rid of the large tubs sitting on the foor of holiday decorations and downsizing them so they fit in boxes on the shelves of the storage unit. I have been bringing home boxes but we might have to purchase some small plastic tubs that fit on the shelves.

Off to finish watching the first disc of Arrested Deveopment season one.

Absolute Necessities

I have been on a decluttering binge for many years now. I aquire less and less and it seems to me that I am ready to give up more and more.

The past couple of weeks the hubs and I have made more of an effort on finishing our condo projects. We painted the living room and the walls above the wainscoting in the bathroom. We bought more baseboard molding to finish off the living room. A trip to IKEA is in our future for many of these DVD shelfs and this leather couch. When we painted the living room we only put items back in that we needed. That meant a recliner we do use all the time but just really clutters up the room is going away.

I am the first person to look at something and think "how can I reuse this in another way". I had briefly decided that recliner (it looks like a wing chair) would work great in a corner of the dining room as a reading nook. (Photo below is not the actual chair but close to ours and lighter blue - you get the idea).

This is where I get in to trouble. Suddenly I am all about the reading nook and less about the rest of the dining room that needs finishing. Not to mention the living and bathrooms that have unfinished projects we started working on. All I can picture is lazy afternoons reading in the chair by the garden window, sipping my coffee with a blanket tucked around me. Never mind that in order to have those lazy Saturday afternoons, I need to finish the living, dining, bath and master bedrooms.

Instead, we are selling the chair. Pairing down. Perhaps in the future we will have a reading nook. If so, we will look for the appropriate chair at that time. At least this way I have not gotten distracted from finishing my current projects. Cause the dining table and chairs need to be sanded and painted - so they match. I think that is a little more important than a reading nook (which still requires us getting our old PC unhooked and the shelf it sits on taken down).

I have always been "afraid" of dead space in a room. In the past I have always filled my rooms with probably more than they needed. I always worry if there will be enough seating when I have a party, or Christmas morning when the relatives come over. You know, I have stopped worrying about those things because I am tired of living in clutter just to be prepared for those few days a year where I need to have more than my immediate family in my living room.

I have learned the hard way to start with good basics and build from there. I never had the money for good basics so I bought or inherited the basicas and built on top of them. We are getting back to basics.

Small Things Accomplished

Last night I drug out a bag of clothing that needed repair in order for us to be able to wear it again. Two pair of pants hemmed, one top that needed part of the trim reattached and one shirt that needed buttons reattached. Done and are now back and hanging in the closet.

The rest of the bag consists of fabric that needs to find a home. Some of the fabric is yardage in prints that I like. I use it for table cloths and such. Then there is some fabric that needs to be made in to something. This part of the bag still needs to be sorted.

As I may have mentioned before, we live in a small 900 square foot condo. When the hubs kids come to visit on the weekends they share the second bedroom. So, we are really tight on storage. For the better part of several months I had bags lined up behind my couch. I was so sick of seeing them there that I moved the bags to my bedroom where they ended up lining the wall. I am desperate to get rid of the last of my visible clutter. Once that is done I can move on to the invisible clutter. You know the items stuffed in closets, drawers and under the bed. Out of site - out of mind.

On the espresso challenge update for October. I did cave and bought a coffee at Starbucks yesterday. You know, it just wasn't as good as I expected it to be. Up have updated my side bar and I'm at 41%. I thought this challenge was going to be really hard but it hasn't been all that bad.

Combatting Clutter

Isn't it amazing how quickly you can get your house in order if you have to? My parents got home from a cruise yesterday and since it was their anniversary and I thought they might not want to cook I invited them over for dinner.

My house was in a true state and in about and hour I had made a HUGE improvement. However, the clutter was really just shut behind closed doors. So, the problem still exists.

All this week I plan on going through the stuff and making a decision with it the first time I touch it. Donate, garbage or find a permanent home. I am under pressure as I can't have my kids room full of clutter when they come back in a little less than two weeks.

We have some things to post on Craigs List as well and I hope they will all sell before we go camping in two weeks!

Does Jambalaya taste better in Fancy Pants china?

I am doing something I hope I won't regret. I am selling my nice red stoneware everyday dishes that I have had for a number of years at a yard sale on Saturday. In their place I will be using the china we received for our wedding over five years ago of which I have used a handful of times.

I am nervous because I really like my china and can't afford to replace multiple pieces if they get broken. I might have a death wish because I have teenagers. But I certainly would not do this with toddlers or younger children. We live in a small condo and do not have formal dinner parties so owning a set of china for twelve seems a little - outdated.

They are dishwasher safe and we have been using our nice flatware for months now. It makes sense to the practical side of me who doesn't really understand why she registered for china in the first place. I have also freed up room in my hallway closet for storage of items that don't have a home.
It's hard to see in the photo above but the rim is grey with a silver scroll pattern. We chose these because at the time the hubs and I both had china from our grandmothers which ironically went well together and we thought this pattern was nice and would be a good neutral to go with the other china.

We got rid of the other china years ago, right after we sold the china hutch I always wanted and just had to have. Who wouldn't want a huge glass of ice cold milk in an iced beverage glass like this?

So in answer to the question if Jambalaya really tastes better in fancy pants china? Not really. It still makes me nervous.

When Treats Become Habits

Thanks to Money Mate Kate for her comment on my post from yesterday. She directed me to this blog post from last summer at Get Rich Slowly and I felt inspired to post about it today.

This article reminded me of my Uncle. Every ten weeks he get's his haircut and then spends the afternoon in his local Barnes & Noble and buys ten new CD's for his disc changer in his car which he listens to for the next ten weeks. He also is an avid reader and will pick up some books as well. He's an electrical engineer and he and my aunt don't have debt so he is in the position to do this. He's just such a creature of habit.

It's true, I have let what was once an occasional treat become a habit. There were months where I visited Starbucks everyday (granted I worked at their corporate offie as a temp at the time). I do truly like their product but I have let a treat become the norm.

This week cutting back has not been that bad. We had the money to go through the drive through but just didn't. We have become really good at making our own coffee and bringing it with us too. Today makes five days without spending at Starbucks. Hoorah!

Other itmes the article states that became a habit for the author was eating out (check), buying books (check), DVD's (check) and games (not really a problem for me but the hubs likes to game).

Eating out is still a challenge and when we do eat out the hubs and I either order from the appetizer menu (portion sizes are more realistic) or go to places that have great happy hour deals.

I have a love affair with books and breaking the habit of buying was hard. I still buy some books cause I know I will read them again (Clive Cussler for example - I have reread all of his books at least once). I have been using my local library a lot lately and that has really helped my budget. I think I may try PaperBackSwap at some point but don't want the additional mailing expense (though minimal) right now.

DVD's the hubs and I still buy. Although we never buy DVD's of films we have not seen or would not watch time and time again. We recently picked up the new X Files film and it had an interesting feature. You can download a version to your iTunes. The hubs has an iTouch and is now able to watch X Files on it. He's just too excited.

As I said before I am not big in to gaming but the rest of my family is. We have a second generation Xbox and a Wii. The Wii was actually my idea and I have played some games on it I love. Can't wait to get a Wii fit board.

What are your treats that have turned in to habits?

Happy Monday

It's Monday here in the greater Seattle area and it's soooo foggy! Not much hand crafting over the weekend cause the SK's were down and my next projects lined up are for them. Now that they are back at their mom's I can get some stuff for them done. Posting to come soon!

The big news in the house of Paisley Penguin is I have been blogerviewed! Go on over to FruGal's blog where you can check out an interview with me. Yep, yours truly. FruGal is one of my absolute favorite PF blogs. She and Holly of Holly Is Stopping Shopping (another personal favorite) post an interview each Monday morning so be certain to check back with them regularily.

Have lovely Monday!

New Year Update

My "new year" so far seems to be going pretty well in two of the three focus areas (finances, spirit & health).

In the world of finance hubby and I are sticking to our budget in areas we normally go over. In the past Starbucks coffee and eating out have been our downfall. We are making our coffee and bringing it to work and the eating out thing went well last weekend - we just didn't. We are a little over in the fun money department due to a miscalculation. Focusing on these areas is a bit new for us so there is bound to be a few bumps in the road. As soon as hubby get's paid Friday the fun money account will be replenished. We are kicking but in the debt repayment department though. I will give a full update at the end of the month.

As I have alluded to in the past and don't normally talk about, my hubby and I are not speaking to my in laws. This is due to my MIL and her serious NPD problem. Hubby and I have been seeing a therapist to assit with the issues we have with her. She had finally agreed to go see him at the beginning of July but had not called him at all. Last night at our appointment I about fell out of my chair when our therapist told us my MIL had indeed called him and they were playing phone tag. I truly hope we can reconcile but I am somewhat guarded as normally people like her don't think they have a problem. This may seem a little extreme but believe me, if you had been through what I have been through you would understand.

In an effort to eat better and lose a few pounds I am following a "whole foods" diet. My goal is to have protein, veggies/fruit, fiber and a small amount of "good" fat in each meal. By shopping the perimeter of the store I feel I can stay away from processed foods as much as possible and when I feel the need for starches, limit them to a small side amount. I still enjoy my homemade iced coffee in the morning but am trying to get the majority of my fluids with water. Exercise has not been as much as I had intended. Tomorrow we plan to take the dog to the dog park and go walking. It's getting darker earlier so that limits the amount of time we have outside. There is always the elliptical trainer in my living room. Yesterday I even did 50 wall push ups!

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Happy New Year!

It's September 1 and my "New Year". Today is day one for so many things...

Health - Goals for September are...

*Lose ten pounds
*Get twenty minutes of exercise a day
*Drink at least six 8 oz. glasses of water a day
*Journal my points on the ww website religiously
*Take current photos and measurements

I weighed myself this morning and entered it in to weight watchers online system (up 1.8 from last week - bummer but not a surprise) along with my yummy point wise breakfast. I put together chicken chili and it's cooking in the crock pot as I type this. I got out some salmon to grill for dinner too. I plan on jumping on my elliptical for at least twenty minutes today as well.

Wealth - Goals for September are...

*Stay within the 5% fun money budget
*Stay within the food budget
*Try out the Walgreens 101 plan
*Keep doing surveys enough for another $50 check (or more)
*Start some online offers
*Pay additional $485 on the debt (focus is credit cards this month)

I spent some time yesterday going over the budget and making some adjustments. Today I finished revamping our budget spreadsheet and balanced the checkbook. I updated our net worth badge and debt graphs on the blog. I know what our fun money budget is for this week until I get paid Friday. I have done a couple surveys and plan on starting an online offer this week.

Spirit - Goals for September are...

*Do yoga once a week to settle myself
*Have "date night" with hubby to connect
*Work on my screenplay/book
*De clutter my bookmarked sites, documents and photos saved to the computer
*Work on knitting my Lady E
*Generate a list of ideas for Christmas gifts (hand crafted or not)
*Get my house decorated for fall
*Research a class on html and writing

I have started to jot down what is rumbling around in my head for my screenplay/book. Plan to do some knitting while watching a favorite movie after I get off the computer.

My thoughts are with all who are affected by hurricane Gustav. Here's to a great month!

Update on Window

I had posted previously about what to do with a stained glass window that had been sitting in my bathroom leaning against the wall for several years. Although I really like it I could not think of anything I could do with it in the more than month since then. I decided to give it to my father in law who is a glass blower. He placed it over the air conditioning unit in his house.

I think it looks nice with light shining through it. My FIL said he would think of me every time he saw it. (He also said if I ever wanted it back consider him just renting it).

Advertising Is Everywhere

I have noticed that we as a society are constantly bombarded with advertising. Weather it's on the radio, TV, the internet, in our mailbox or commuting (on the bus, train or in your car). I think we get so bombarded with it that we don't really "see" it. I firmly believe this is one of the reasons I am in debt. I think I "need" all of these things!

I look around my house and can count the many items that were impulse buys or something I felt I needed but really it was a want disguised as a need.

Every time my hubby and I decide to not buy any unnecesary item it seems so hard. For example, we had planned to go the Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games this weekend. We missed the last four years and really wanted to go. If you include admission fee, parking, gas, food, etc. we are too poor to go. We started justifying that it was my birthday and we needed to celebrate etc.

That kind of attitude is how we got where we are right now. We are definately going to celebrate but closer to home and for a lot less money we have (and are not borrowing from savings or using a credit card for).

Here's to not giving in to advertising!

Side Note

We interrupt this blog to pause for station identification.

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Recently I started getting comments from someone who is basically spamming me. I have since turned on the approve comments feature. I am usually pretty good about monitoring my blog throughout the day and I hope this will be a temporary measure and this has not run you all off. My hope is that I can turn off the approval of comments within a week or so.

99.9% of you commenters out there are perfectly lovely, nice, wonderful, warm and fuzzy people and I am glad you visit me! One of the most satisfying things about having this blog is all of you out there who read me and are geniunely interested in my life and happenings. It really means a lot to me and I thank you for tuning in. :)

I was not going to address my rude poster before because I thought it was a one time thing. Hubby actually posted about it one day on his blog.

To the rude poster. If you feel that you don't get personal satisfaction out of reading my blog, please don't come here and leave rude comments. I'm certain there are other blogs out there you would much rather spend your time reading.

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Back to our regular broadcast.

I had mentioned yesterday I wanted to do something to celebrate my 100th post. I am thinking about doing a giveaway but need to figure out what to give away. Hopefully by this weekend I will know what it will be. More to come but until then have a wonderful day!

Virtual Clutter

This last Saturday when I had the house all to my self I did something I have been meaning to do for a while. The reason I have not done it is because it was never on a "to do" list and it's not visually cluttering up personal space in my home.

I'm talking about virtual clutter. You know what that is. Bookmarks of websites saved with no rhyme, reason or system of organization in place. Multiple folders that serve the same purpose. Desktop icons you never have used or never use anymore. Our home computer has five logins for our five family members. Everyone has their own drive to store personal information, bookmarks, etc. We also have a shared folder where any of us can access. I have discovered I have folders in my personal drive that have the same information as a shared drive.

So, Saturday I spent some time organizing my and some shared folders, photos and bookmarks. It's nice to get on the computer and go directly to what I need. Mind you I don't have it all done. I am seriously trying to curb my perfectionist tendency of not doing anything because I don't have the time to do it all right now the first time. A little bit over the course of a week and it will be done.

***Staple Update***

I went to the doctor today and they took out one of the staples but were not completely satisfied in the healing process. They want me to go back on Thursday to finish getting them out. They itch like crazy but they tell me that is a sign of healing. Ahhhh - I want to scratch my head so bad!

Trash The Dress

I came across this article on unclutterer today that really has me thinking. I have been married a little over four years and my wedding dress has been in it's bag either hanging in my closet or stashed under my bed since then. I did at one time attempt to sell it on Criagslist with no luck. Maybe because the best man spilled champagne all down the front and I have never had it cleaned? Hmmm.

It's funny too because there were elements of my wedding that were not very traditional and my wedding dress was going to be one of those things. I wanted to wear a floor length white taffeta skirt with a small train and an incredible white angora sweater. I had also planned on making a white taffeta wrap lined with plaid to match my hubby's kilt. All of the bridesmaids were going to wear something similar (in color). Problem was I could not find a great angora sweater for me OR my bridesmaids.

Enter the wedding dress - which I really did love. I had wanted to keep a part of the dress and re purpose it in to something and until recently I could not think of what. The dress has the greatest trim detail on the skirt. That is the part I love and want to preserve somehow.


I have a round dining table and thought I might use the trim to go around the edge as a tablecloth topper for more formal occasions (of which I don't have many). I really like the base of my table (with the exception of the color - we are going to strip and re stain it soon) and I would want to show it off.

Before that though I think it would be totally fun to have photos of me doing totally mundane or weird things in my wedding dress. Like mowing the yard or washing dishes or walking the dog. This just makes me laugh and I think it would be a fun weekend project. I'm just weird that way. Email me with your crazy ideas for my photos!

What would you do with this?

Maybe some of you would never own this.

I picked it up about nine years ago when I lived in North Carolina. At the time it fit with my "Shabby Chic" decorating style. I had intended to hang it from chain in a window cause I thought it would be pretty. That never happend and currently takes up floor space leaning against a wall in my bathroom. I have thought of how to turn this in to something cool and I am at a dead end.

Maybe it will end up in the yardsale tomorrow. Is it clutter if you walk by it and don't even think about it or get pleasure from it? Any ideas out there in Blogville?