Spring Cleaning Your Heart and Home...Part TWO

Awwww...so glad you are back! :) I bet you came back because I told you that there are surprises awaiting you IF you do return....if you ENDURE!!! So, you took your little break, got a breath of fresh air and you are back to finish the process of spring cleaning. As you have encountered many things that you need to put away, give away and throw away you will also find a few surprises. Those things you might have forgotten about. Things that have great meaning and yet they have been buried amongst the rubble. I am going to tell you about the treasures I found in my own closet. Just recently I thought I would love to begin a collection of old Bibles. One of the customers we have decorated for has one and I was so impressed with it, that I thought I would like to have a collection of my own. Lo and behold...as I was cleaning out my closet I came across two precious Bibles I had forgotten about. One is a little hardback, black Bible that was given to me when I was only seven years old at a church that some family friends had taken me to. That was the only Bible this little girl ever held. What a treasure!!! The other is a white leather Bible, with gold imprinting bearing mine and my husbands names. It was a gift from my mom and dad on our first wedding anniversary....which was 33 years ago!! Another priceless treasure indeed!! Had I not dug through the old, the yuck, the clutter...I would have never found the treasures that were buried in there. I wonder what YOU will find? What treasures are lurking in YOUR closet??? EMBRACE those treasures!!!!! They are gifts from God! Well now that you have cleared out the junk and found some precious treasures, it is time to EMPLOY your organizing tools and begin putting these things back into your closet using a little creativity and a sense of order. Use some baskets to house all your beautiful scarves; shoe shelves for your shoe collection; organize your hanging clothes by color and type to make things so much easier to find. There are so many things you can do that takes little or no money and will create a pleasant environment that you will encounter on a daily basis. Ahhhh yes! It feels so good to have accomplished this task. It was hard work, and now you can stand back and admire the end result of all your efforts. But, you cannot expect it to remain that way without further effort. You are going to have to ENFORCE some maintenance habits to keep it that way. Remember some basic rules that will help you keep it that way. Things like; "Don't put it down, put it away." My own personal rule of thumb is, no matter how much I do not want to, I MAKE myself hang everything back up when I am trying on outfits when I am done. Some days I just don't want to, I want to leave them lying there on the floor, but I won't let myself do it, because I know I do not want to face that mess at the end of the day AND I know how big the pile will become if I do not keep it in check. Come up with your own rules, a maintenance routine to keep your closet looking so fabulous. Now your closet is so inviting and fresh and open.... Hmmmmm................just think about how your HEART is going to be!!! Our hearts take just as much effort as our physical houses do & the process is very much the same, AND the reward is just as amazing!!! I cannot wait to share that part with you...it is my favorite part of this message, but it will have to wait. Stay tuned!!!!! XO

Spring Cleaning Your Heart and Home....Part ONE

For over fourteen years we lived in the mountains where I gained a better understanding of the whole "spring cleaning" phenomenon.
You see, most of us here in (mostly) sunny California have no real idea of why spring cleaning is necessary. Yet, after living in the mountains for over 14 years I have a much better understanding. As many of you who live in even colder, more isolated climates could possibly explain even better to me, I experienced how much grime built up after a long winter of fires in the fireplace. When the house remained closed up for months on end, it would be in dire need of a good airing out. Opening the windows and letting the fresh air in became vitally necessary once the warm weather arrived.
Think about our closets, cupboards and drawers, how we let things build up and become such a mess. There are things lying on the closet floor that we keep on tripping over, clothes that no longer fit us, stuff that needs to be thrown out. There are things cluttered all the way into the nooks and crannies.
It gets so out of control that we feel like it is just too much to deal with, so the mess continues.
Let me offer a plan of attack for Spring Cleaning Your HOME and your HEART!

Beginning with our homes.....

First of all you must get a plan. Set aside some time to conquer the task. Get out your calendar and figure out when is the best time for you to EMBARK upon the task of doing a little spring cleaning!! Figure out what you want to accomplish first, for me it is my Master Closet.

Next step; Gather your tools: EQUIP
Gather whatever cleaning products you will need for the project at hand. In addition, get 3 large trash bags; one marked THROW AWAY, one marked GIVE AWAY and one marked PUT AWAY.

THROW AWAY: is pretty self-descriptive. This is for the trash and junk you will find as you dig in. For those paint pants that are now more paint than pant, ditch them!

GIVE AWAY: is for the things that you no longer wear/need but it is still in good condition and can bless someone else. I usually think of a specific charity I can give to. Some examples I have given to are: Teen Parents (new moms who could use some clothes/shoes/purses/etc), Teen Challenge (women and men who are in a recovery program and probably have limited ability to gain clothing and such. I have also given to Women's Shelters (where women have fled abusive situations and often have had to do so with only the clothes on their backs). There are many more...these are just some of what I have been associated with.

PUT AWAY: is for the stuff that has made it's way into your closet that belongs elsewhere in the house. I actually use a laundry basket instead of a trash bag for this category sometimes so it is easier to see what I have.

Okay you have set aside your time, you have gathered your tools and now the day has come...it is time to get to it.

The first thing you do is: EMPOWER.

I literally stand in the doorway to my closet and say a little prayer. I pray that God will direct me, that He will shed His light onto the nooks and crannies to every little bit I need to dig out and clean up. I pray He will give me the endurance I need to get the job done....

Now it is time to dig in and begin to EXPOSE all the stuff in my closet. To begin pulling things off the shelves, off the racks....

Then you will EVALUATE each item. Is it something that you cherish, definitely keep it. If it is a sweater that you just keep on passing up in the closet and not wearing, then it is time to let it go. If it is something you never did like...it's time to say bye-bye to it. If those flip flops from last summer have seen their day, just toss them. The process will continue as you pour over each item in your closet. You might come across some things that you just cannot decide about..that happens! Set it aside, you might have a trusted friend come and assist you in making those final decisions. It is always easier for someone else to see objectively what is junk and what is not. I usually ask my daughters and they are honest with me about what I need to let go of.

ENDURE!!! It is an exhausting process.
At one point you might need to stop and take a break, re-evaluate, sip a tall glass of iced tea, get some fresh air.....

BUT don't stay away long or you might not get back to it....and you need to come back...there are some surprises waiting for you!! Which is where we will pick up next time........................................

This One's For You....Jen!

Here is the coffee table I painted up for my living room. This was once a hunter green table with a "lovely" golf set painted on the top. I loved the shape of it and friend of mine offered it to me, I knew it had potential! I just started painting away, lots of layers and colors.
You actually cannot see as many layers and colors in these photos....but it turned out pretty cool!


Here we have some candlesticks that a dear friend gave me for my birthday several years ago. I love them, but against our fireplace they kind of disappear....so I did what any red-lovin' gal would do, I painted them! ;) I love how they turned out and they stand out much better against the stone on the fireplace now.


I LOVE LOVE LOVE creating, re-making, transforming and plain ole piddling around my house. I haven't had time for it lately.....re-visiting these photos makes me want to do just that.

I have been far too busy decorating other people's homes lately (that is what I do for a living). I am thankful I get to use my creativity on a regular basis.....it is just IN me. My mom was a creative spirit and so was my dad, so I guess I come by it naturally........being creative that is.

That's all I have for today....I had promised a few people I would post these on here, so here they are! Now leave me some love (comments!)
XO