My Name is Jackie, and I'm Addicted to Candles.

We all have our addictions. At least I think everyone does. I have several, one of them being candles. I have a cabinet full of candles. Call me a liar because I actually have TWO cabinets full of candles.

My husband and I have come to the conclusion that we will never be minimalists. We dream about it---about living without plethora of things, about being stripped down to the bare essentials and not be weighed down by our possessions. But let's face it. It's not in either of our blood---especially mine. However, we have come to the conclusion and agreement that we will only keep the things we use (including my service for 60). And believe it or not, I use the majority of these candles throughout the year. Many of them are seasonal and are used at different times of the year. But in the spirit of cleaning things up and eliminating things we don't use, I give to you my candle cabinet(s)!

Before:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I do not have photographic evidence of the things I discarded, but I have a bag full that went in the trash and some that are headed to our favorite donation spot.

I'm trying to make my way through the laundry room (where the candles are located), so stay tuned for some very exciting stuff like the dog cabinet. I bet you can barely stand the anticipation!

bedroom closet floor

My chore today was to tackle my bedroom floor... I forgot to take a before picture, but trust me, it was bad. I found our swimming clothes tub with lid under a pile of clean clothes. I had been looking for that tub. Sad huh? So, I moved EVERYTHING to my bed. I hung up what was clean. Made a pile for what was too large to be bagged for goodwill. Made another pile of what is too small for now and put them on a shelf neatly for later. Organized two dresser drawers in the process of finding tank tops and tee-shirts in the closet floor. ... All in all, an hour well spent. Here's my now CLEAN floor and I can shut the doors! Couldn't do that earlier today. That's how much was pouring out of there.



And here are my ten things. The black thing on the left... I don't even know what it is or what it goes to. The black shoes are too small now and going to goodwill. The leopard slippers are gross and you can't really see in the picture but the toes of the tennis shoes both have duct tape on them. Yah those two hit the trash. The orange bag smelled so it's being thrown out. The walmart sack is the contents of a purse long ago dumped out. I went through and saved two pens and a buck, the rest is being pitched as I obviously don't need it. And the bag is my "too big" pile that is going to goodwill and not staying in my house. So... lots more than ten and so glad it's done.

Next goal.... KEEP IT UP.

Shoe Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you!!

Today's victims came from my closet. Eight pairs of shoes, two necklaces, and two bracelets. While I really like most of these shoes and pieces of jewelry, they have either never been worn or worn to death. So, in my pursuit to clean house, they are out the door!

I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly.......

bye bye cars

In sticking with your playroom theme Jackie, I went through and grabbed a box of cars from ours. They never play wtih the cars anymore. Matchbox ones sure, but the bigger "vrooming" ones, nope. So no picture, but I have a box of about 12 cars to give away.

10 Things, Playroom Edition

It's back to the basics today. Our playroom is beginning to be overrun with toys that are, by and large, not played with anymore. Here is a glimpse into our post-Christmas mayhem:
So, today's project was to grab 10 things from the playroom to either donate or sell at our future spring garage sale. Here they are:
1. Tool table

2. Building blocks

3. Horse

4. Teddy Bear (with beating heart to soothe babies)

5. An egg with a hatching dinosaur

6. A bop it game

7. A bee hive toy

8. A rolling turtle

9. A motorcycle

10. Piano

11---ooops, I counted wrong! A tambourine

They are already out in the garage in the garage sale area. See ya! Wouldn't want to be ya!

Can I get a whoop, whoop?

I did it! And I finished two days early! Christmas 2010 is just a memory now....at least on the outside of my house.

They are all gone: The wreaths, the lights, the garland, the swags, the topiaries, the Christmas pillows, the candles, the lanterns. And now my house looks so boring!

I took everything down and put it in labeled storage containers.
Then I schlepped it up to the attic...all the way three flights of stairs. Many, many times.

Thanks to my husband, I have an easy and out of the way storage for all 26 homemade wreaths. He hung bars suspended between the rafters which allow me to hang them without interfering with other storage space.

If I could figure out how to rotate this image, I would be able brag about how organized my bins are now that they are tucked away up in the attic! But, I can't. So I will just tell you how glad I am that this part of the post-Christmas cleanup is done!
Next step is to take down my Christmas trees!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The first order of business for 2011 is the post-Christmas cleanup!

I love to decorate. I spend a lot of time looking for ideas, crafting, assembling, unpacking, and displaying. I love the whole process. But with that comes dis-assembly, repacking, schlepping up to the attic, organizing, and storing. And as much as I love the decorating process, I despise the un-decorating process.

I am thoroughly enjoying the warmth of all of the lights and sparkle inside and outside of my house. But, I know I can't be THAT neighbor and leave my Christmas decorations up until February. So, it is with reluctance I will begin the process. I will start outside so that I can linger in my indoor haven just a little longer.

By my next check in, it is my resolution to have all 26 wreaths down, the 36 strands of garland, the lights, the lanterns, the bows, the swags, the candles, the topiaries, and the outdoor Christmas pillows down and stored properly (inside labeled containers) in the attic. Life permitting, I am hoping to have this done by Wednesday, January 5.

But, before it disappears, I want to relish in it's splendor one last time: