Happy Independence Day!

Another Fourth of July has come and gone. With Eric out of town and the kids not into barbeque, it was just any other day here. I did get to Joann Fabrics and Michael's and AC Moore. I didn't buy anything, but it was nice.

I worked a little more in the craft room, but there's not a noticable difference. I did find the other day a cross stitch project that I thought had been donated years ago. I was thrilled to find it! It's a Nativity scene with a wooden frame. I bought 2 and made 1 for my friend Robin, and planned to make the other for myself. In the course of moving to Maryland 8 years ago, I thought the kit was donated. Nope...just buried in an unopened box.

I couldn't get the camera to focus, but this is a rough image of what the Nativity will look like:

I think I'll finish this holiday up right...stitching!

Craft Room--Ugh!

A lot of stuff from the cedar closet came out to the craft room, which is between the closet and the basement. A LOT of stuff.

I apparently didn't take a picture of all the stuff in the craft room after the closet threw up on it, but here's a before picture with the big screen TV in there:

The craft table...full of those Scout records that need to be filed (sssshhhhhh)...and a lot of pictures...

This side doesn't look too bad...it's my storage containers of fabric and crochet thread. Once the closet came out...it was a disaster.

After a couple of hours, the stuff in front was put up and the containers were stacked again, with bags of yarn (afghan projects...some in progress) stacked neatly. The ironing board put against the wall, with the iron in the closet for now.

All the pictures and Scout records have been put away, but there is still a ton of stuff to put away here. Tomorrow.

Lots of stuff under the table, too. The blue basket next to the stuffing is all of Nicky's Cub Scout pictures, waiting to be scrapbooked. Later this summer. Maybe. It's only 4 years late.

Progress! Slow, but sure.

Day 4--Finished! (For the Most Part)

Hooray!

There are still some loose items that need to go back in the cedar closet, but their home is already established.

I'm so happy! And so tired.

Here is the finished result:

The cardboard box is full of childhood books--some from me and some from my brother. We need to decide what to do with them, whether to save them for our grandchildren, or donate them for use now.

I thought I had taken a picture of this area where many of the boxes and bags were hauled to, but I didn't take one. Here is the area cleared of all of that, save the big screen TV, which will go back in the craft room until we can get it donated. (Anyone want a big screen TV, circa 2002?)

The couch was covered with blankets stacked 4 high and all the hanging clothes. Now there's room for Bingo and Muffin again.

Once the craft room is put to rights again and all its clutter put away in its proper place in the cedar closet, here are the next projects:

This is the Boy Scout troop records box. I haven't done any filing in about 3 years. (Ssshhh, please don't tell the Scoutmaster!)

And this! Ugh. Pictures from 1989 to about 2002, when I went digital. They don't call me a shutterbug for nothing. I really need to identify all of these pictures, eliminate the doubles, and put them in a file box.

Someday.

In any event, Hallelujah for a clean cedar closet!

Day 3--Getting There!

Wow--so many pictures! So many. Between the shutterbug that I've always been, to all the pictures that my parents had (lots of them from me), to all the pictures from my grandparents (my granddaddy was the shutterbug himself--I must get it from him) to all the OLD OLD pictures from ancestors...

Wow.

I still have a huge container of pictures that I need to identify that I've taken over the 20+ years that I've been married, not counting the 8 years I've been digital. It's considerable. But that's another project.

I got rid of 2 empty boxes and 5 bags of trash/recycling at the dump today. There are 6 bags of donations waiting for JJ to take upstairs and into the garage.

Wow.

Here's the closet now...with a couple of containers added.

There are many blankets on the shelf. I may put them in a container to neaten things up a bit.

On the advice of my friend Brooke from Cleansweepers, I got a container for the many overnight bags and totes. Only the most-often suitcase and my overnight bag is out--laying on top. It looks much better. Thanks, Brooke! Plus, I decided to put the box of Beanie Babies in a container. It looks better without the overstuffed cardboard box.

Here are my archive boxes with all the old pictures. The boxes to the right are old newspapers. I thought I had bought archive boxes big enough for newspapers, but I was wrong. Next time I'm in Rockville, I'm heading back to the Container Store!

A couple of treasures I found today:

My Cabbage Patch kid! This one was special...she was handmade by the mom of my brother's best friend. I don't remember if she ever had a name, since i was in college when I got her. But I loved her so. I just found her shoes tonight, and I'll make sure she gets them on in the morning!

I also found some Thanksgiving fabric with turkeys that I intended to make an apron out of.

Oh, wait...

I already made it! Completely forgotten that I had made this apron already. How sad that's it's been in the closet how many years? I could have been using it every holiday.

I'll be sure and use it this year!

It's slow going, but it's progress!

Day 2--Done! LOTS of Little Stuff

Arg. Lots of little things done from the cedar closet today. Many, many pictures in the bottoms of containers, in plastic bags, in fire boxes; most of them were from my parents' house.

It's very slow going. But it's going.

Here's the closet now, with some bins put back, after having gone through and gotten rid of stuff that wasn't necessary, like power bills from 1967.

I got all the suitcases and tote bags put back, but they're on the floor. I'm not crazy about that, but I need to figure out what else to do. Also on the upper shelf are bags and boxes with keepsake T-shirts for both kids and me that I "plan" one day to use to make each of us a T-shirt quilt. "Plan" being the operative word here.

Anyone need any Beanie Babies? I went through a collector's phase a number of years ago and have over a hundred, mostly bears. I need to find a place to pass these along to...I don't want to just donate them.

Tomorrow I'll post progress to the areas that have been housing the boxes pulled out...they're still a mess, but the mess is getting smaller!

And once it's daylight, I'll post a pic of a treasure I found tonight...a dollar coin from 1884! My granddaddy was a coin collector, and this was one of several I found tonight. It was the oldest one, and I couldn't get a good picture because of the glare of the flash and turning the flash off made the picture fuzzy. I'll wait for natural light.

Progress! Gotta love it.

Day 1--Complete!

I got through the first day of the Great Closet Cleanout. Wow! What a mess.

I rehung all the clothes...that I didn't get rid of...on matching red hangers from the Container Store. Very cool. I rewashed all the blankets that were in the floor, and they are now on the shelf.

Here's the pile of stuff I'm getting rid of:


I did got through one bag of stuff from my parents' house that had a lot of old pictures. Here's one of my dad that I don't remember ever seeing before. He's missing a front tooth, so he must have been about 5 or 6.

I also found JJ's Cub Scout patches in a box of his books, magazines, etc. from when we moved from Texas. It had never been opened in 8 years. I needed the patches for his Eagle ceremony back in March. Just a tad late. But at least I found them

I can't wait to see what treasures I find tomorrow!

The Great Cedar Closet Cleanout

We have lived in our house for 8 years this August. I can say without a doubt that the most abused location in our house is the basement cedar closet. (Well, and maybe the garage.)

The cedar closet is intended, I'm sure, to store out-of-season clothing in a location where the moths can't get to them. It's a really nice closet...except it holds everything but out-of-season clothing.

Gulp...here it is...

I'm so ashamed.

Where's the Clean House team??? Niecy??? Mark??? Trish??? Matt???

It's awful...just stuff piled on top of stuff. Things from my parents' house, things from when the kids were small, Scout stuff, BLANKETS (why we need so many of them I'll never know), SUITCASES AND TOTE BAGS (ditto), old bridemaid's dresses, my wedding gown (that one is staying no matter what)...I even found some old fossilized dog poop on top of an old Target bag (the chihuahua will apparently go potty anywhere).

After a couple of hours of moving everything into the clean basement, here is the cedar closet, ready for its makeover...

The only thing I couldn't move out is the dresser. It's full of old clothing and topped with more crap that needs a home.

Tomorrow...going through boxes and bags. I have a feeling this is going to take a while.