January is such a fun month.
Like all fresh starts, but particularly this new year I feel so inspired
to create a beautiful 2016. I have
health and writing goals for this year (they are more like exciting
plans which I’m extremely enthusiastic for), and I also noted down some
projects that I want to work towards in 2016, which include:
KonMariing our home. This is long overdue because I feel like I am suffocating under disorganised stuff. I’ve just started listening to the audiobook of Marie Kondo’s book again so I’m going to do this according to her plan (I also ordered her second book Spark Joy to take a look).
KonMariing our home. This is long overdue because I feel like I am suffocating under disorganised stuff. I’ve just started listening to the audiobook of Marie Kondo’s book again so I’m going to do this according to her plan (I also ordered her second book Spark Joy to take a look).
Something I always like to do
for a project such as this too, is start gathering inspiration to boost my
enthusiasm, much like catching a wave into the shore instead of relying on your own swimming horsepower only. I’ll do things such as google decluttered spaces and pin them
on my Pinterest board, read inspiring decluttering quotes and revisit Peter Walsh too.
Reading the five-star reviews for books such as Marie Kondo's and Peter Walsh's also is a great place to find inspiration. Readers are so fired up that their enthusiasm is infectious! Stoking up the fire beneath
me pays dividends because instead of thinking ‘ugh, I’ve GOT to declutter’, I
think ‘yay, let’s start NOW!’. It makes
doing it quicker and more fun.
This goal is my main focus, but I also have some little creative projects I want to play with:
Knitting simple ballet-style slippers for home. I want to find a nice pattern and do this, because I love wearing something on my feet (I could do cotton ones for summer) that I can then put my feet up on the sofa (unlike shoe-type slippers or house shoes that I would never put up on the sofa). I am such a slipper/house shoe fan and am always looking out for the perfect pair. If I owned a boutique in Paris (the home of beautiful niche boutiques), I'd have a - you can probably guess - house shoe and slipper boutique.
A sewing project: making denim napkins and placemats. I saw in a Ralph Lauren ad, a styled picnic shoot and the napkins looked like the softest indigo slightly-washed denim or deep blue linen. They were gorgeous! This gave me the idea to make some cloth napkins from my softest denim (I have quite a collection, both bought pieces and jeans) and placemats or even a runner from the sturdier denims.
I love denim in
decorating ever since I had a soft denim-type fabric duvet cover and
pillow-cases which looked so good on my bed with crisp white sheets (and I had blue
and white plaid flannelette sheets in the winter – so cosy).
Creating warming and healthy winter lunches. I love a big salad with protein in the summer, but last winter I didn't plan ahead as much and ended up either freezing cold eating cold salad for lunch (tres depressing) or buying something stodgy and hot (not slimming). I want to create a bank of healthy, cosy and warming winter lunch ideas/simple recipes that I can take to work to heat up with a side salad. Along the lines of frittata, soup, oven bakes etc.
None of these projects are out of this world big so I think I'll be able to achieve them. I am excited for a creative and fun year. Do you have any petite and chic projects you want to work on this year?
Creating warming and healthy winter lunches. I love a big salad with protein in the summer, but last winter I didn't plan ahead as much and ended up either freezing cold eating cold salad for lunch (tres depressing) or buying something stodgy and hot (not slimming). I want to create a bank of healthy, cosy and warming winter lunch ideas/simple recipes that I can take to work to heat up with a side salad. Along the lines of frittata, soup, oven bakes etc.
None of these projects are out of this world big so I think I'll be able to achieve them. I am excited for a creative and fun year. Do you have any petite and chic projects you want to work on this year?
I've heard about this KonMari de-cluttering. It sounds a bit like the Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui. It's a craze, I think, and it concerns me that we shall all start to throw babies out with bathwater, i.e. there will be little left of real interest in our homes once we've cleared all the 'clutter'. I do hope that people realize that what is one person's clutter is another's heirloom. Take care not to chuck out to much stuff. In a year or three, we'll all be collecting our prized possessions again and, with them, making pretty displays. We must not follow a trend like sheep. We must decide for ourselves what we want: a plain home with little in it, and what is there, all neatly oroganized. Or a place of interest with books, pictures, ornaments, rugs, cushions, artefacts of all kinds each of which has a strong memory attached.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
Hi Margaret, I understand your concern because it does seem that the world has gone decluttering-nuts. I doubt I'll ever get to the point of having an empty house with a few possessions because I like to have my bits and bobs around me too much, but they do need pruning back every so often. Some of us are very 'sticky' people and we accumulate items very easily, whereas others are not, and can't understand this constant need to declutter. Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones to be effortlessly clutter-free? And even when my home is decluttered, I know it will still be too much for a serious minimalist. It's about getting the right balance that makes you feel happy and peaceful in your home.
ReplyDeleteI am also very careful to donate anything that can be donated; I can't stomach wastefulness of an item that is still useful. And sometimes I find there wasn't that much to declutter in a certain category either, but I'm happy that I've gone through everything, weeded out a few things and then replaced everything neatly - being reorganised makes a huge difference to a space such as a linen cupboard or kitchen drawers for example.
I love your "sticky" label, very descriptive of my magpie, maximalist tendencies. Giving away 1 or 2 bagfuls of things via freecycle and craiglist each week. A cinch by the inch.
ReplyDeleteFiona these have been on my "to knit" list for a while, they'd be gorgeous in an ecru or other cotton for your summer slippers. http://www.purlsoho.com/create/2008/01/23/whits-knits-mary-jane-slippers/
ReplyDeleteI love to have a few small creative projects going. There's such a sense of satisfaction in making something yourself. Like you, my projects are simple, but satisfying. I will need to read through that book again. Her method of folding was worth the price of the book alone!
ReplyDeleteLove those mary jane slippers Rose, they are just what I'm thinking of. Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteFiona, these are such wonderful goals -- simple, clear, important to you, doable. Mine are pretty simple this year, too: not saving the planet & everyone on it as much as learning to use my new camera & how to make a really good omelette. I'm good with clutter. I am FAR from a minimalist (& have no desire to become one), but I find getting rid of cluttery things I don't love, use or need is pretty easy. But your list made me realize there are some things I want to add to my list, and a stash of really nice winter lunch recipes is one of them. I love salad & raw veggies so summer's quick & easy, but making warm, comforting & nourishing winter lunches that are good for my waistline is a challenge. Thanks so much for the reminder & inspiration.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, as always! I've been pinning just the kind of slippers you mention, so if you do make some please post about them! I'd love to hear of a chic pattern that is not too hard to work.
ReplyDeleteohhhh house shoes.... I am always looking for the 'right' item for that. In years past, I had a pair of slip on sneakers/trainers (Trainer Mules?)that I would wear. They worked well in the winter/cooler months when you want to wear a pair of socks for warmth. But I didn't care for the screaming white all the time! And frankly, they weren't chic! So I bought a pair of black ballet flats for 'inside only' wear. They look better, more appropriate with an outfit, even if you are just in jeans. I wear a pair of 'footie' socks, (low profile to wear instead of going barefoot.) But sometimes its just too cold. So then I put on a pair of proper socks, and pull out the Trainer Mules.
ReplyDeleteThe big elephant in the room is that you want to be able to wash these shoes periodically. Both the soles and the inside.
Needless to say Fiona, if you open that Slipper Boutique, I will come!!
what a fantastic work you have to done. It's looking so cool and fabulous. You had done it on budget was really great stuffs.
ReplyDelete