Slow and steady and something fun

Okay, so my house is what you would call *cluttered*. Over the last 10+ years we have gathered a pile of 'stuff' (not to mention the extra people and animals that make up our current family) and our poor little house just isn't equipped to handle it all. Storage is a major issue.

So other than just buying a bigger house I am determined to get stuck in and clear everything out. Besides, I hate moving.

Last week I started on the family room and kitchen. It's all open-plan, and it's the main part of the house. You can shut bedroom doors, but people need to walk through the family room to get anywhere. It took me 3 days and it's not 100% perfect, but I'm fairly pleased with myself. And I've found it's relatively easy to keep things tidy when they were already sparkly clean lol

So, my kitchen now looks tidy and functional - and the most important function is that visitors can actually make good use of the breakfast bar and chat to you while you cook instead of there being 'stuff' living there. There's a few things left to find homes for, but I'm working on it lol Any suggestion for the pretty bowls and candles are welcome. I don't really have spots for them!



So, in my cleaning haze, I dragged out my rather neglected collection of wire and beads. I have a big selection of strange little beads. They are mostly glass with some gemstones and plastics thrown in. Of course these days I make a lot of my own polymer clay beads, but right now I wanted to play. Somewhere along the way I lost my love of creating just for the sake of it. Making a piece of jewellery that is a piece of art as well. An extension of the creator/wearer. So I flicked through my box and started to play, wrapping wire and beads while Mr Mouse made something with Lego (a tow-truck or car-carrier or some-such creation lol). The kids were in bed and it was incredibly relaxing.

So this was my creation. A free-form wire bracelet. It's not perfect, but then neither am I lol



And a different look at it:


I've left the jewellery making stuff out on the coffee table, which is probably not a great idea seeing as I'm supposed to be cleaning up everything lol But I think I will try for one more night this week of playing and then pack it away again until I get more things cleaned up... like maybe my work desk ;) lol