Okay – in reality it’s green somewhere else.  Lots of somewhere else’s, actually-but not here.  We are at 45* for the second day in a row, but we still have tons of snow needing to melt; the snow is pretty rotten and not worth much except to remind us we don’t have green or outdoor growth yet.  This tree is actually in Washington DC, and what it looked like the beginning of last October.

I used the above picture though because it kind of represents life — the single tree is like each of us, all the branches are representative of all the things we are involved in and the leaves are the activities or to-do list of all that has to be done for each part of our life.  For example:

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I am looking forward to this decluttering process.  I’m so ready for my home to feel more spacious and not bogged down with a bunch of “I might need this someday stuff”.

On that note – for many years I have collected all nails, screws, and extra “fasteners” in a baby shoe box.  It has been my “go to” box for 15 years, with it I kept my hammer; those two things have been either in my bedroom or my office stuff for the same amount of time.  For several years I kept my screwdrivers (1 of each) in my silverware drawer for easy access.  Unfortunately my children got older and between them and my mom I couldn’t seem to hang onto my screwdrivers for anything – because everyone knew where I kept them, but they didn’t come back.  So, for Christmas I asked for tools- nothing fancy, just some basics.  I wasn’t concerned so much about a container as having my own stash of screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, and drill.  My dad & son gave me a couple of their extras and mom pick out a pink tool bag, from her & dad, with some tools in it.  I had to smile at the pink tool bag – totally not what I would have picked :-).   So anyway, since Christmas the baby shoe box and hammer have been in my bedroom and the pink tool bag & drill have been sitting by my kitchen door.  It was annoying.  The tool bag was unorganizable and hung open all the time.

Today I accomplished a small task in the many projects floating around in my head.  I was working on cleaning out my sewing area so I can sew again.  In the process of making a container of all the projects labeled “I just need to do {supposedly little things}”, I decided to just sit down a do a couple of them.  I sat down with my first Vera Bradley, Stephanie bag.  I loved using this purse.  A dear friend gave it to me.  I wore it out, to the point of fabric worn through to the plastic tubing and discolored hardware.  {I was still happily using this purse until I was robbed while at the hospital with mom after her appendices burst, after that I felt like it was too conspicuous and a target when I carried it.  That has been almost two years ago and I still haven’t been able to give it up – it was the perfect purse and they discontinued that style :-(.}  Anyway, I sat down with seam ripper in hand and was going to at least salvage the zippers that were in excellent condition.  But I just could do it.  I set it down and went back to cleaning and organizing other areas.  Then I had a great idea! 😀

This is what I did:

Hardware before remnants

Tool bag before

Here is the empty pink tool bag (I forgot to take a picture with the stuff in it).  The three interior pockets you can see are the only pockets inside and the 3 exterior pockets were too short to actually put anything into, and they hung open so they were secure for little things.   This bag didn’t make sense to me.

First my baby shoe box.  {I have to admit – my son is 14 1/2 and the box is from a pair of shoes someone gave me for him before he was born.  It was so cute and has been the only semblance of crafting and DIY I’ve had at times.  It was hard to let it go, but once I decided to it felt really good!}  Anyway.  I took everything out of the multiple baggies and put them into individual containers.  This little box is about the same size as the shoe box, but it is taller.  The small plastic container on the right is from my straight pins — I need more, now I have multiple reasons for getting them, I need more containers that size so I can separate the sizes of nails, and so I can have snap-on lids for all of them.  The glass jar is just a small (pint size?) one – it holds all the brackets and bookshelf holder thingies.  There is another container with a snap lid on its side next to the jar and it is holding the bigger screws.

{Okay, here’s another dorky bunny trail – that gold box with a tiny bit of red ribbon showing is 20+ years old.  That box held the blue frosting flower from my high school graduation cake until last fall when I cleaned out that tote :-D.  I remember wanting to keep the flower and my mom thinking I was crazy, but she issued a challenge by asking, “What, are you going to keep it until your 20 year reunion?”.  I packed it away in that little box (which is musical [light activated] and still works too) and that gold box went into a wooden box given to all graduates by a local furniture store.  I am ashamed to say I thought, “Ha! I’ll show you, I’ll keep it for 20 years”.  No, not respectful thoughts at all.  I can honestly say I didn’t keep that disrespect, and I didn’t conscientiously keep it.  Funny though, when I found it last fall it was as if it had been the day previous, I remembered it all too clearly.  It was like the words were closed into that box and when I opened it, I could hear them.  Here’s a disturbing thought for you though — that blue frosting rose was still fine!!!  The color was a little less intense, but there was no mold.  Truly bothersome.} 

Here is the side that has two pockets.  They hold the two different screwdriver handles and all their ends.  (I am the only one in the house with a pink screwdriver) The black & red one can be a ratchet as well.  The red stapler isn’t really mine, I’m just borrowing it for a couple projects while my dad isn’t home :-D.  As you can see the drill fits in here, with its charger and adapter too.  I have a pink hammer from the pink tool bag.  I’m choosing to keep my nice, light, wooden handled hammer in my office area.

This is the side that has the long zipper pocket on the outside.  I put all my wrenches and pliers in there handles down.  I put them handle down so I can see which one I’m grabbing the first time.  I just have it zipped up to the middle to hold them upright and accessible. You can also see my clamps on the left.

Here is the overall picture.  On the inside:  the charger and adapter just sit on the bottom.  The star wrench set, small connected sets of allen wrenches and hex wrenches are in the three open pockets.  In the inside zipper pocket are the sheet rock knife and another really big knife dad gave me for Christmas.

I have to say, I really like having my most favorite purse in the world in sight with my tools in it.  😀

Here is a picture of this corner of my room.  Yes, it is dark. I love my dark brown walls.  In case you can tell – the bright green words on the left say ‘hardware’ and the bright green words at the bottom says ‘tool bag’.  This is the new home of my tools and hardware.  It is with my sewing stuff which just seems right.

If your still reading….  I just want to say, I had no idea that cleaning out and getting rid of some sentimental things would feel so good and right.

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This was a rough week.  I can’t really put my finger on why, just on many levels there were endless prayers.  Hard things {you know, the ones only prayer can get you through}: A friend having a biopsy.  A friend at the brink of quitting on the spot, but struggling to remain godly in a bad situation. Work problems.  Trying to figure out what I’m going to do for income.
Good things {Thank you Lord, You are merciful and loving}: Anticipation of a fun Friday evening.   Sewing.  I found a DVD tutorial I really needed (like 2 months ago) – already purchased, just pushed back between file folders (found it while getting tax stuff together).  A friend’s medical report coming back early and being good.  A face-to-face coffee visit with a friend.  My sweet niece coming to visit.
Yuck things {just get over it already!}: Getting tax paperwork together.  Endless tired because of daylight savings {I hate daylight savings-I don’t get enough sleep as it is, don’t take another hour from me.  And the adding an hour, what a joke – I never see it :-D!}. Two sick children.

Did I mention we had a fun Friday evening planned?  The Moody Bible Institute’s Symphonic Band is on their Alaska tour and tonight we attended their concert, and are hosting some of the students.  Moody has a special place in my heart because one of “my” youth group boys is attending there this year, and both my brother and sister-in-law attended Moody Bible.  My sister-in-law graduated from Moody Bible in Chicago and my brother was in the last (or next to the last) graduating class of Moody Aviation in Tennessee.  Anyway, the week was long and did not go as I planned.  I felt anxious, to the point of almost not going to the concert.  Both kids felt lousy and I just felt on the verge of freaking out.  {I really hate it when mind over matter doesn’t work}  In spite of the week and all feelings, this afternoon I chose to sew.  And I chose to go.

I mentioned to a friend earlier in the week I wanted to make little lunch sacks to pack the girls’ lunches in tomorrow – her comment was “two things you love – to sew and give it away” 😀 she knows me…. So, I sewed. And took lots of deep breaths.  I got the bags done and loved every minute of working on them, imagining what the girls would be like, what instruments they would play, and what color they would choose.  I made the bags out of paint drop cloth {my new favorite material} and pieces of my favorite bias tape I had left over from other projects – a quilt, two aprons, and my mom’s kuspuk. Tonight I felt like too much of a dork – so I didn’t give it to them.  I feel so selfish because I did something I enjoyed and I don’t want them to feel like they have to like it.

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