I'm Tired

It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. 

You don't quit when you're tired - you quit when the gorilla is tired.

Robert Strauss

I didn't exactly plan to tidy up and declutter fabrics and craft items today. In fact, I had hoped to continue with the sorting of my papers from a few days ago as currently I've got them spread through the entire front room.

But you might remember that I told you I was given some free fabrics.  As I began washing and sorting the fabric to determine what to give to an elderly friend, I realized I needed to go through my yarns too.  That prompted me to sort through all the yarn I've got and re-arrange things. Then I started sorting through a  lot of my quilting fabrics and re-arranging them in different containers and areas of my home.  After that I sorted through the few crafting books and patterns I have and put them in an accessible wicker container.  I then went through all my crochet cotton and put them in another basket that I can easily access.

Altogether this took virtually all afternoon and evening in between a few phone calls, cooking, dishes, etc.  It poured rain early this morning and again late tonight.  In fact it is pouring heavily as I write this blog post and there were some claps of thunder and bolts of lightening which made me jump.  I'm so tired now  and it is very late but I need to put my feet up for awhile before I go to sleep.

I've got a little shopping buggy.  Like the one in the photo but with a different fabric cover.  I've filled it up with goodies for my friend (fabrics, yarns, pattern books, crochet cotton).  She is going to be getting different people to make things for a bazaar she is organizing to raise funds for her church.  This is my contribution to her cause.  I'm also donating a bunch of crocheted caps I made last winter for her to sell at the bazaar.  I made them to sell myself so I could raise funds for people in Kenya but I never got around to it.  I can always make more later. Right now my goal is to declutter and organize my small space for better efficiency.

In a wardrobe in my bedroom I have 2 more plastic tubs to go through.  These are filled patterns and seed beads.  These belonged to my mom who had a lot of crafting materials. I didn't want to throw them all away when she went into a care home.  Bit by bit I'm sorting through the things I brought home. I keep a few things and give away the rest. I still have a couple tubs of papers that belong to her that I brought to my home about 3 years ago.  I also have more tubs of books, cds, clothes and photos that are still in out-of-town-storage.  Most of the non-personal items will be given away but the photos I will have to go through and decide what to do with them.

But first I have to finish sorting my own things. That takes time.  My next step will be all the papers I have in a big wooden box and in bags currently strewn from end to end in my living area. Once this is done I will have accomplished a major task.  A lot of this paper was already sorted over time but I've got to go through it carefully, save a few pieces and destroy the rest.  Then I still have my file cabinet to go through.  I went through the file cabinet documents about 1 1/2 years ago and now it is mainly filled with this and that so much of it can go.  After this paper stuff is dealt with, the rest will be so much easier to keep on top of.

I can't wait because, my space will look and feel less cluttered and I'll have things more organized for crafting and other hobbies.  I'm hoping that my crafts will ultimately be put to good use and help Kenyan and local missions.

Monday the paperwork continues and perhaps on Tuesday too.  Then I will give myself a break for awhile.  I can only do decluttering for short periods of time.  At the same time, I like to make some real progress and feel like I've accomplished something when I'm doing work around the home.

  When one is tired it is always important to stop and smell the roses. I took these rose photos a few years ago.  I love roses in every colour, don't you?  

This week my way of smelling the roses will be to hopefully get to Spiderman 2 on Tuesday (cheap day) and I hope to get together with one or two friends for a chit chat over coffee.  If the rain let's up, I have some work to do in the garden.

I hope you have a lovely week.