She's Crafty, And She's Just My Type!

Q: What do you get when you mix a second-hand sewing machine, my wife's ingenuity and about 3 days worth of pinning and sewing?

A: New living room curtains!

Here's the short story:
We've lived in our home approximately 2 and a half years without any window treatments in the living room (or in many of the rooms to be exact!). This particular room was a big challenge as the windows are rather high. Not too high - but high enough to cancel out any chance of finding pre-made curtains on any big box store shelf.

So we decided to have them quoted.

We walked into a fancy pants chain upholstery and fabric store - you know, the kind of place that can make you ANYTHING custom. What we walked away with was a mammoth quote for 2 panels! I mean, we almost choked, right in front of the salesperson!

What happened in the next few days though is another story - and as usual, a testament to God's watchful protection over our intentions. We went to a well known fabric store and, what do you know, found the same material on sale (the lining too!). Then, with the help of a famous internet auction house, a "gently used" sewing machine was acquired at a price worth categorizing as a steal!

After 3 days and some ladder work, here is a closeup of the final result.

I am still amazed every time I walk into the room. These panels changed everything. I think we had been used to the bare walls! It's not so much that these curtains were home made that make them worth writing about, it's the fact that they are 16 feet tall!

My wife can do ANYTHING!

Living Lean(er)

This past week we enlarged the size of the closets in our master bedroom. It was a quick & simple task and we didn’t even have to rip out the drywall, modify the carpeting, or (worst of all) paint!

How did we do that?

By removing unused items from the insides and cleaning them out!

How it happened:
I came home from work one day and found the bedroom in complete disarray. The bed was covered with clothes and a pile of mismatching hangers – plastic, wood, those useless thin dry cleaner type. White plastic trash bags littered the floor filled with clothes – at least 8 of them! Sweaters, shirts, old pajamas, jeans, hats – the list goes on.

After seeing how good the closet looked and realizing this was the right thing to do, I jumped right in and sorted my stuff. You know that feeling when you are so motivated to do something, you just can’t stop? I mean, you want to skip a meal because you’re just really into it? That’s exactly what it felt like.

When it was all said and done, the local Salvation Army received a carload full of clothing and some other miscellaneous items we’d let pile up for our end-of-the-year run. What a great feeling!

Living lean is a topic we discuss each year, especially around the spring cleaning season. We try to analyze each item we find and see if it can be re-used, sold or donated. It’s difficult to explain the specific feeling we receive when we toss old junk. Well, for S it may not be so difficult – she’d most-likely say “it feels great”. On the other had, for me it feels a little like that, but there’s also a bit of regret and remorse mixed in. Regret because I was foolish enough to keep the item for soooo much longer than I really needed to, often carting it around from residence to residence. Remorse because, even though I’m attending my Packrat Anonymous meetings (and they say I’m making excellent progress!), I feel as though I may miss the item – or need it the very next day. I know – be patient with me, I am a work in progress.

For now, the closets look great! Now, if I could just get started cleaning out the basement…