Words About Living Lean

Over three months it's been since I've blogged. I'm sure I've lost the small handful of occasional visitors, but c'est la vie! In that time I've married off my daughter, started a new year at school, had the first Christmas alone with just my husband in 24 years, had a colonoscopy and endoscopy. So, yeah, I've been a little distracted.

But I miss blogging and taking photos and boring my little band of readers with whatever comes into my convoluted mind. So, I hope I can get back into the semi-regular habit that I had developed before.

My first incursion back onto the blogging scene will be for my friend Brittany. She asked me to come over and help her have a "clear out" as the British would say. I told her that I would, but did she want to have a clear out? She said, "No." So, I said, "Then there's no point in coming over, we would just argue." She said she wished she could get to the point where she wanted to.

So, Brittany, the following are some thoughts and quotes that have shaped me into a "thrower outer" instead of a "keeper." Maybe they will inspire you to have a clear out.

1. Tornado Threat - In the Spring, when tornadoes are common in our area, and I see the news reports I am always in shock at all the junk that is thrown all over the yard. Even if I shove something to the back of the closet I think: if we have a tornado, it's going to be thrown onto the front lawn and somebody's going to have to pick it up. I get unnerved thinking about all my junk all wet and strewn on the front lawn. So, I try to keep things trim so I won't have so much to pick up in case of tornado.

2. Resentment & Guilt- I have never liked housework. I have always felt that it was an activity that sucked up way too much of my time and effort. But I always felt guilty if my house was filthy. So, I was always on the lookout for ways to streamline, make easy and/or eliminate the job of housekeeping. After reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, I became interested in a more simple way of life, a living with less. A favorite quote:  "I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust." There are more important things to do in life besides dusting and vacuuming and moving our junk from one place to another.

3. Selfishness - I have always felt a pang of selfishness when I just keep things and they are not in useful employment or not out to be enjoyed. To have a beautiful thing in the back of a drawer is a waste of beauty. Let someone else enjoy it!! My sister told me once, "You don't have to own a thing to enjoy it." To keep something and not use it, keeps someone else from the benefit of that thing. Let them use it!!

4. Can it fit on the back of a camel? -  "He said that it would be a nightmare for him to own more than he could fit on the back of his camel, thus inhibiting him from the nomadic life that he loved." You have to read the whole article to understand what I mean. http://amomknowsbest.com/2011/05/can-it-fit-on-the-back-of-a-camel/ Does our junk keep us from the life we want?

5. Everything has a place and every place has a thing - and when a thing doesn't have a place, it goes away to find a place somewhere else.

6. To me clutter = work (dusting, cleaning, sorting) and I don't like to work at home. I like to rest and be at peace at home. So, I want the clutter gone!

7. A monkish life appeals to me - to be unencumbered by stuff frees us up to think more, pray more, study more, worship more, do more, breathe more.

On The Other Hand....

There are reasons to keep things:
1. You have kids and you will pass the things down to the next one.
2. You are involved in a situation where you often have people in your life in need so you can share with them.
3. You are passing down family heirlooms and such.
4. You have a good reason to keep it.
5. It has a place in your home and you love looking at it and it's in a place where you can see it and/or use it.

Stagnant water stinks! To me, money, things, love, breath, water needs to be taken in and then it needs to flow back out. If it doesn't flow back out it gets stagnant and rots.

These are just my thoughts on the subject. And I know everyone is different. So, maybe it's inspired you, maybe it just made you mad. From what I've said, take what you can use and throw the rest away. Haha, that's a start!

Around The House

I thought I'd take you around the house and show you some things that I've done.

This is the back of my front door. I always liked the idea of the Jewish mezuzah - the little scroll of scripture on the doorpost to remind you of God when you entered and left the home. When my kids were little I wanted them to know that God knew everywhere they were and what they were doing. So, I painted the back of the metal door with a scene of mountains and ocean (the ocean, one of my favorite things) and wrote Psalm 139 in the panels. I put a lot of little details closer to the bottom (underwater fish, crab, etc) to give the "short people" something interesting to look at. It was very easy to do: I added a little dishwashing detergent to some acrylic paint and went to work! I read that the dishwashing detergent would make the acrylics stick, make it washable and strong. (I didn't believe it at the time) But the painting has been extremely durable, lasting 15 years!

The following picture is of the bookshelves in my living room. My nephew found the shelves when a local library was being torn down. I scrounged a few of them and my brother-in-law and I built the frames. He drilled holes in the frame panels at 6 inch intervals. We cut dowel rods in 1 inch pieces and put them in the holes to sit the shelves on.

You wouldn't think that would be very sturdy, but look at how many books I have on each shelf! We stained the frame to match the shelves and secured them to the wall with "L" brackets. Easy! I made 3 separate units so I could move them around anywhere I wanted to. (That weed-looking thing on the top is a tumble-weed from South Dakota that my friends brought back for me - a strange gift, but they know me completely!)

The next pictures are of the eating area in my kitchen. I ALWAYS wanted a booth in my kitchen. Don't ask me why. So, when we tore out some walls and reworked the stairs to the basement, I got my booth! My brother-in-law (the handy soul he is) helped me design and he built the hinge lid boxes (they are great extra storage). The lids are slightly tilted back for extra comfort. I knew that cushions for the boxes would have to be custom made and I knew that I wouldn't want to pay the price for having them made, so I went to work. At the time I wanted something quick and easy. So, I found a king comforter in the colors that I wanted and cut and sewed and stuffed and made 2 long cushions. I left them open on the ends so I could wash and refill them if I wanted. I closed the ends with 2 buttons. I am in the process of making more throw pillows. It is VERY comfortable. I can't tell you how many times, after dinner, people have laid down and fell asleep. I LOVE it!

The pictures on the left are photos that Katie took during her trip to Spain. The large piece of artwork is a piece Joel did. When I saw it, I knew I had to have it for that big wall. It's a stencil of his friend Daniel and the colors are fab!

The next picture is of a piece of metal artwork that I found at Pier 1. It was $39, more than I would usually spend for wall art. But have you ever seen something and you just HAD to have it? It was not meant to be a photo holder, but that's what I use it for. I took out some photos at the bottom so you could see how it looks alone.

The next is a microwave cabinet that my brother-in-law and I designed and built. I love old country furniture, but it's got to have a touch of modern for me to live with it. We added the metal grating in the doors and I put some fabric behind it. I spray painted it red. I'm not thrilled with the way the finish looks, but it's kinda funky. I painted the inside of the cabinet yellow. I took an old fork and spoon and had my husband bend them and put screw holes in them and I use them as handles.

A little table that I designed and my brother-in-law and I built a LONG time ago. I've used it in the house and now it's on my deck to hold pots of annuals. (It's winter, now)

This is my hall bathroom that we totally redid. I love the pedestal sink and how everything is white! The picture of the woman was the inspiration for the colors in the bathroom. I found the white metal rack at Marshall's for a steal and I use it as a towel holder.

Now the following is my pride and joy! I have always loved Mexican tile and seeing as how we are typically POOR, I can't afford Mexican tile. So, I saw a magazine article and it gave me an idea. Our front porch was one, long, gray, concrete (and might I add, cracked) slab. UGLY! Well, one day I got Steave, Joel and Katie and we went to work. Steave took a chalk line and measured the porch into 1 foot squares. Then I went behind him and taped the lines with masking tape. Katie went behind me and rolled the terracotta colored paint in the squares. Joel went behind her with a paint brush and added a golden yellow swirl in with the terracotta color. Then Katie and I went back and painted gray grout lines. We decided to add a diamond shape periodically in our pattern and so I took a regular rubber stamp and stamped a golden yellow design in the diamonds. I LOVE IT! And it is very durable. The wear and cracks just add character I think.

Here's my picture wall. I painted all the frames black and the cross was gold, so I rubbed some black paint on it to help it blend in. I am not finished. I will fill the whole wall as our family creates more pictures - graduations, weddings, etc.