a tidy house is a tidy mind

I'm trying to embrace this saying as I have a deep need to get organised, tidy and clutter free - not being so, seems to be messing with my brain. Therefore, in an attempt to aid inner calm, I have begun the process.

Okay, this isn't the most exciting of posts, I'll grant you that. But...it is important for me to document how I'm doing in order to keep track of progress and, most importantly, keep motivated!
I had a long hard think the other day about why I was feeling a bit bleurgh of late. There are a few contributing factors of which this is one (I may blog about the others in due course but I'm still deliberating about that) and so I figured, it's best to make a start than to just keep on feeling all bleurgh.
So here I am writing about sorting & tidying. Rock and roll. But my head is a little less foggy as a result of my efforts, which I'm taking as a positive step forward.

First up - birthdays. I am terrible at getting cards and presents out on time. I usually have said card and gift ready but actually getting them to the birthday boy or girl on their actual birthday seems to be a big issue for me. No idea why. Perhaps I'm just a bit rubbish.
I wrote the cards for the birthdays that are coming up in the next month, addressed the envelope, stuck on a stamp and wrote the date of the birthday in the bottom right hand corner. I then put them in the pocket of my fab wall calendar, ready to post a few days in advance. One has already been posted thus proving that this process works, so I am a happy bird. Pressies have yet to be tackled but my plan is to purchase and wrap at least a month in advance - and then arrange a visit or post in time, if need be. I shall have to get onto this next week.

Second - filing. [Ugh. Deep, stomach sinking UGH.]
I spent all of last Saturday ripping and shredding and sorting and now have tidy, up to date box files.
Happy!
Note to self - don't leave it so long in future so that it takes mere minutes rather than an entire day!

Third - George's craft cupboard. Da da dahhhhhhhh.
The boy has so much stuff and it was in a beautiful cupboard that had an unfortunate habit of opening it's doors as you passed by, vomiting works of art onto the living room floor. Another full day later (and a couple of hours the night before) of emptying, sorting, donating to younger crafters, reorganising & recycling and it is done.
In fact we had a bit of a three birds for one stone result - George's stuff is now in a Cotswold Company basket storage unit...pens in one basket, crayons in another and so on - this way, if he wants paper and pencils, he just pulls out those two baskets and then puts them back once he's done. So much better than tubs in drawers and craft vomit on the floor.
As a result though, the Cotswold unit had to be emptied & sorted and put back into the old craft cupboard. After completing both of those I was amazed to discover that we had space left...a first! So, in went the placemats and huge serving bowls from the armoire in the kitchen thus, making the armoire a whole lot less cluttered.

I have also managed a bit of non-physical tidying today and have updated my blog header thanks to this fab tutorial on how to make a Picasa mosaic. The photo collages are also courtesy of the same method. Me likey!

All in all, I am chuffed with the progress made and I do feel happier and calmer of mind knowing that these tasks are completed.

Here's to a tidier mind...

PS when I started typing this a storm began over our village...we now have a stream running down the road and a pond instead of a patio;)

OH MY GOODLY GRACIOUS!!!!

After writing that sentence above, I went to take a picture of said stream, only to find that it had doubled in size and was now a veritable river flowing down the road. Cue dropping of tools, donning of wellies and mac and out I went to inspect the potential flood damage for the neighbouring properties. An hour later, drenched with flood water and covered in sand from the shifting of sandbags into position...in I came for a much needed shower! I am now clean and dry and warm and full of (slightly delayed) Sunday roast cooked by Paul.

TTFN

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