We don’t have Thanksgiving here in New Zealand, but I know
it’s ‘today’ in the US. Even so, I do feel grateful and thankful for many things in
my life, including that I enjoy my home so much. I have always loved tidying and prettifying
where I live, whether it is my own home like now, a rented home, or even when I
lived with my sister and two other girls before I met my husband, and the only
space which was absolutely mine was my bedroom.
I still remember what a haven - a sanctuary - it was then.
Today I am at home doing laundry, going out later to pick up some groceries, and I plan to put our Christmas tree up too. We’re in the middle of a spring downpour,
complete with dark clouds and thunder.
It was sunny this morning, so I got to take three happy dogs for a walk,
and now I am cozy at home enjoying the feeling of getting organized – not for
anything special, just daily organization.
I don’t always love getting started, but the feeling during and after straightening
up around the house, putting things away, folding washing etc brings me so much
pleasure.
The tree will be a bit of a mission to get up – I bought an
8-foot tree last Christmas – but I know it will look beautiful once it’s
constructed and decorated. I will be
using last year’s tartan ribbon theme because I love it so much, plus I am not
the kind of person to change their Christmas theme from year to year. I am a classic girl who likes to build on
past choices rather than change them out completely, with everything from décor,
clothing and habits even.
It’s such a nice feeling to be warm and snug inside while it’s
stormy outside, and brings another level of satisfaction to my homemaking.
No matter the humbleness of where I have lived, I have always
been aware of the inner happiness that can be gained from straightening up a
room. I find it incredible that you can make a space look more gorgeous without spending a cent! I would say our home currently is
80-90% organized and decluttered, and I sometimes wonder if I leave that small
percentage undone (telling myself I’m ‘too busy’ to tackle it at the moment and
anyway, it’s ‘not that bad’) because I’ll wonder what to do with myself if my
home was exactly the way I’d always dreamed of.
But of course, that’s ludicrous because there are so many ways in which
I like to spend my time.
Nevertheless, I shall enjoy my day of cozy domesticity and be
grateful for that. I do hope you have a
wonderful Thanksgiving (or Thursday) where ever you are. I am thankful for you, dear readers of my
blog, social media and books. Every
message, comment or email I receive fills my heart with happiness that my words
have reached a kindred ear (or eye). Thank you.
With a grateful heart,
~Fiona~
PS. If the thought of
Christmas stresses you out every year, can I invite you to look at it in a
different way? One reviewer said of my
book ‘A Chic and Simple Christmas’: “A very
non-traditional Christmas book - but thought provoking” and another said, “Used the ideas to have probably the best,
low stress, Christmas I have ever had.”
Yay!
Check out the Amazon 'Look Inside' function to see if 'A
Chic and Simple Christmas' speaks to you.
Available in paperback and on Kindle here.
~~
You can find me here too:
I love decluttering and cleaning too. However, I have often lived with others, and sometimes it is just our own space that we can streamline, as you mentioned. It was an interesting storm. In parts of Auckland there was forked lightning, and sideways hail. Brrrr. Cold.
ReplyDeleteIt's meant to be a little warmer by now isn't it!
DeleteI'm in England and our weather has just, this week, turned very cold. I'm currently at work, suffering with a cold virus and feeling very un-chic with a horrible, throbbing spot on my chin! This post was just what I needed, especially the link to last year's Christmas post. I'm sat up a little straighter, enjoying my chicken soup and feeling thankful for the blessings I have.
ReplyDeleteLike yourself I don't change my Christmas decor from year to year, in fact i don't do "themes" at all. I always think our tree is a reflection of all our Christmases over the years, I love to unwrap all my old "friends" and each year I add maybe one or two new pieces. this year I have bought a new teal/turquoise kingfisher decoration, it may not sound very festive but it's very shiny and I love it. Last year I bought a large, wooden soldier nutcracker and I'm looking forward to getting him out this year, although we won't put our decorations up for another 2-3 weeks.
We have similar views regarding domesticity, Fiona. I love to be at home, cleaning, polishing, baking, generally enjoying our home (and believe me, it's not grand, just our home which we love.)
ReplyDeleteLike you, we don't change the Christmas theme each year, that would be so expensive and wasteful. However, we do have a real Christmas tree - they are grown for this purpose so we're not denuding the planet of trees. I expect in your hot climate having a real tree isn't an option, especially if you put it up in November! It wouldn't have whiff by Christmas! We put ours up about ten days before Christmas even if we buy the tree - once it's home from the garden centre or the Christmas tree farm, husband saws a portion off the trunk and plunges the tree into a bucket of water in the garage, and there is stays until we take it indoors - it's a living plant and requires water. I have, however, bought four small new baubles to add to the collection. They are pretty but I made the mistake (as I bought them online) of not checking their size - they are much smaller than I imagined they would be. Pretty, but small. That'll teach me to check the sizes more carefully, won't it?
I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet, but after 54 years of Christmases as a married woman, I no longer get in a panic ... it will all be done, and if it's not, it doesn't matter one jot.
Margaret P
I meant "wouldn't half whiff" in my comment. Fingers again ...
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
Your room looks so pretty, Fiona. Peaceful, pretty, and clean. I've commented on your sofas before and I still love them! I have your chic Christmas book and intend to read it again as I have for the last couple of years. I enjoy it very much. Kay
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas book has a lot of useful suggestions, Fiona. Christmas in New Zealand: families, sun, laughter
ReplyDelete