Happy Friday + Randomness

Happy Friday! I’ve been a busy bee. Once I declare something publicly, due to my powerfully guilty conscience I have a hard time not following through. This means I’ve been steadily working on my tolerations. Eliminating them, that is. I started out with 108 items (!) after going through each room in the house and other miscellaneous fodder. Currently, I’m down to 93, and rather than doing a blow-by-blow review of everything I accomplished which would surely send you and me both running for the hills, I thought it might be best to round up the ones that I found most satisfying at the end of each month. Accountability and all that. I confess that I couldn’t stomach the idea of including gross “before” photos here where I try to keep things pretty to the best of my abilities, so I resorted to sketches…

So here’s what I tackled in the month of January, and these had the highest yield of satisfaction:

1. The little kitchen trash can that couldn’t. For five years, we’ve had this dinky four-gallon trash can that would fit exactly two un-recyclable Trader Joe’s packages. It was a pain to constantly have to empty it, and the hinge on the lid was also a little loose, making it lopsided. A perfectly serviceable trash can that probably belonged in the bathroom, but out of laziness, I never changed it. Finally, I used a gift certificate M got me for my birthday last year, and got this uber cool, multi-functioning dustpan trash can two weeks ago. I love it. It’s utilitarian yet stylish and fits just the right amount of detritus. And you know it’s got street cred when Remodelista features it. The swinging portion of the lid is ingeniously a dustpan and the brush has magnets on the handle to attach to the powder-coated steel surface. I got the smaller size and it was on sale for far less than the posted price on the website.

2. Busted toilet tank lid. M managed to crack our toilet tank lid (it’s complicated and better not to explain), and I kept avoiding ordering a replacement. I have no excuse other than assuming that it would take a long time to research, purchase, etc. etc. because everything in our bathroom is so old. It’s been plaguing me though, so I did a quick search online, and placed a call. I had trepidations ordering from a place called “Cheap Toilet Tank Lids” but no false advertisement there – compared to other places I searched, the prices were more than 50% cheaper. The guy was super nice, and after examining the photos of the busted tank lid I texted him, he identified the part in a minute flat and shipped it right away. We now have a beautiful, uncracked toilet tank lid again. I never thought that I would be so happy to see a toilet tank lid or that I would find it beautiful. Or that I would write the word toilet so many times in a post.

3. The credenza horror show. Remember the strikingly spartan photo of my credenza I showed you? What you didn’t see was the cornucopia of junk housed within. I went through all the drawers and cabinets and thoroughly organized everything. Ahhhhh…..felt great!

4. Death by expired pills. On the tippy top shelf in one of our kitchen cabinets, we stash all our meds and pills like aspirin and my thyroid prescription (which I took once) and various natural tinctures because doesn’t that make way more sense than having them in the bathroom? That’s all well and good, but I discovered a bottle of calcium pills dated 2008, and knew that it was time to clear the expired bottles out. It took five minutes and probably saved our lives.

As mentioned before, I’ve been using the todoist app to track my tolerations list, which has been fantastic for me. I wanted to tackle one room at a time, but I ended up searching out the ones that are either easy to do or annoying me most, and so far, it’s a good system. January always feels like the month of renewal and gives me the energy to attack these types of tasks. How about you? February, on the other hand, is when I start losing steam…

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A few tidbits before I forget:

Secret Valentine Exchange! I’m actively working on mine and hope to have it done in…oh…soonish (I’m putting finishing touches today!). I wanted to do a bit of cheering on if you’re participating and feeling nervous, because friends, I know how nerve-wracking it can feel to ship something you’ve made to someone you’re less than familiar with, uncertain of how it will be received. I’ve found that these types of exchanges pushes me to be more creative and to improve my skills — that alone is wonderful, and guaranteed, your creations will be so happily received given the awesomeness I’m already seeing on the Flickr pool! I love that many of you are keeping the photos mysterious and intriguing! I need to add some pics of my own. Also, having looked at all your blogs/flickr accounts/Pinterest boards, Ute and I are delighted by the loveliness and enthusiasm of the participants!

Imagine Gnats giveaway! Today’s the last day to enter the giveaway for winner’s choice of patterns from Rachael’s shop.

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K has been concerned about the downy fuzz on her upper lip, which is so not noticeable (it starts too early, the nit-picking). And then out of the blue she said to me the other day:

Mama, I’ve decided to think of my mustache as special, and I’m going to comb it every day.

I laughed and laughed and she came up with other similar gems. I love my beautiful little girl.

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It’s so much better
To hold what you have dearly
than to fret and fume

Alright, as M’s dad likes to say: it’s time for me to blow this popsicle stand. Have a fantastic weekend, all!