monday musings 1.29.24

early spring cleaning = a realigning mood booster, thoughtfully disposed goods, with a dash of eye (and ear) candy to start your week.

Jan 29, 2024

Hello, hello! I hope y’all had the weekend that you needed.

Welcome to the swan song week of the longest month of the year. I am still wearing my vagabond-in-healing uniform.

January, I have never loved you, but even less so this year. Between this broken rib and the endless grey and damp - it has been a slough. And being somewhat incapacitated made me feel listless AF.

After hitting the three-week mark in healing on Sunday, I have graduated from feeling like a broken-down ragdoll to more of a slightly creaking lady. Progress!

I have been itching to get going on a physical project and expense some of this energy.

In light of my improved condition, I decided to jump on my spring cleaning early to make room for all the projects I have in mind for this coming spring. (Besides, I had already promised to pare back on my book collection.)

I started in my office, where the bulk of my books live. I have already partaken in a pretty brutal edit of my book collection last summer, so I was unsure how much more I could part with. Honestly, it was not many, maybe 10-15 books. However, it allowed me to reconfigure my shelving and lessen how heavy the built-in wall made the room feel with its rows and stacks. It opened up options to make the space more visually soothing by creating more negative space for the eye to rest.

(Sorry, I always forget before pics. I need to get better at this! Also, please pray for my dying fern. I don't know what she needs - but she has a new home, and perhaps she’ll be happier here. Fingers crossed.)

In this process, I was reminded about how much I am over the paint color in this room and how it tends to darken this already shady space with its single north-facing window. Painting the walls a fresher color is my top priority in tending to my spaces this year. Grey can be limiting when your work requires creative inspiration. This workspace desperately needs an infusion of energy!

I am not thinking of any crazy color for this project; I may even go with a shade of white(!) So, in the not-so-distant future, I will be appealing to y’all to help me decide. I am still in the rumination zone.

My office has become a holding area for stuff I want to dispose of (or use later). Materials for future projects, art supplies, papers to file, and other items to donate were everywhere. I went through a stupid amount of odd-and-ends, materials, and paperwork. What became woefully apparent was I needed more storage pieces in this room. As well as a not-so-gently prompt for me to get going on all my half-baked projects.

(I condensed this situation, but it is an eyesore that is not work sharing.)

My work desk is currently my old dining table. That area of the room is a mishmash of art-in-progress and everything I like close to me while working. It is where all the magic happens! It is not pretty as of yet and is crammed to the gills. More updates on this to come as I work through this massive undertaking.

In the end, I got through quite a bit this weekend. The effort helped me get into my groove ahead of the commencement of the work week.

Reorganizing and reconfiguring your spaces is a fantastic wellspring of self-made inspiration. This weekend helped coalesce the color story I want to introduce into the space and always functions as an exercise of learning to love what you own again - and to discard the rest. Plus, the process rebooted my spirits after being productively diminished these last several weeks.

I believe we wait to do our spring cleaning too late in the year. Why not start in these months of gloom for a pick-me-up and a refreshed POV before the branches have begun to bud? That way, there is ample time to enjoy your space and the beautiful weather once it is back in season:)

Share HAUS NOTES

HOW TO THOUGHTFULLY DISPOSE OF YOUR GOODS

In the spirit of disposing of unneeded and/or unwanted goods, it is always good to be a responsible consumer whenever possible. That goes beyond what and how you purchase, but also how you choose to discard.

Why not check out the recycling and donation options available in your area?

Both The Green Citizen and Earth911 have excellent national directories. If the search for your area is returned without any helpful results, do a quick Google search in your area based on what you hope to discard.

Remember, what may no longer have value to you may be valuable to another. So, if you have lightly used goods, many of your cast-offs could be donated. Find local organizations such as refugee programs, victims of domestic violence, LGBTQIA+ community groups, and others to check what items they may need most.

EXTRA: Have clothing that you would like to not end up in one of the massive dumps across the planet? Check out Retold Recycling. How about shoes or eyewear? Take a look at Soles4Soles and New Eyes.