Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Purging the Material Dross

I'm a pack rat. A low-level one, but I hate to throw things away. The worst part is you generally can't tell walking into my house. If you can't tell, that means I can't tell. If I can't tell, that means I'm not consciously aware of my problem.

As of last Saturday, that's all about to change.

After going through bins, drawers, two closets, a million and a half random bags, and under the bed, I produced a small fortune in junk I was just hanging onto. Much of it was clothes I thought I might fit back into one day, and if not, something I would reconstruct into something else. Three huge Rubbermaid storage bins, two laundry bins, some boxes, and a few bags later, I trucked everything out of my bedroom and plopped it down into my crafting room. Two bags of recyclables made it to the city sanitation bins. I didn't have that much in the way of landfill garbage, and that was refreshing.

Armed with a roll of garbage bags, I rifled through the dusty hoard and separated things I really wanted to part with from things I wanted to keep or saw a vision as something else. The box that stayed to metamorphosis into something new was significantly smaller than the bags and bags full of crap to go out.

Purged Stuff Purged Stuff

Actually, looking at the pictures it seemed like so much more. Anyway, I posted my goodies on ClovisFreeCycle and moved back inside to get to work making stuff. One of my keepers was a pirate shirt my boss gave me one year for Christmas. Here it is in it's new form as a pillow cover:

Reconned T-shirt

I was so pooped (I spent over seven hours altogether on everything) I took a nap after completing the one pillow case. I have a whole box left to go through. Whatever isn't reconstructed after six weeks gets donated to Goodwill. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Over the next six weeks, I'll be targeting every other room, cupboard, shelf, cabinet, and crevice until I am satisfied I have only that which I love.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Why I love the holidays

No, I haven't broken yet. You will find no Christmas spirit here. I generally hate this time of year because I can't get out of the house without being put in mortal danger by rushing, oblivious shoppers. I enjoy the time I spend with my families and while giving and receiving presents is fun, the food and company are generally preferred by me. Oh, and if the spirit involves spirits, I am doubly in!

One of the best things about being in crafting communities is seeing how other crafters celebrate the holidays. I think this is going down as one of my favorite ideas. And since it involves tigers, I'll definitely be needing one of those.

http://gizmodo.com/5113090/macabre-plush-toys-are-perfect-xmas-gift-for-future-psychokillers

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Pet Lovers Swap

Just received my Craftster swap partner yesterday. Partner is a proud owner of a baby Siamese named Ari. Ari sounds like he has a lot in common with my cat, Honey, so I look forward to crafting for him. She said no wool, unless it's purpose is to be killed by said cat. I'm thinking a Homespun blanket and a few cat toys, maybe bowls if I get antsy.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Christmas

Most...MOST of the presents I PLANNED on making are complete. I have a whole Rubbermaid bin dedicated to them. I plan on taking pictures this week and posting them on Craftster.org and my Flickr account. I should make a game out of it. Put up a slideshow and make everyone guess.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Clean and Soft

I may have overdone the baking soda "paste" yesterday. I measured a 1/4 cup of baking soda and added water until it because baking soda-water. It seemed to be quite a lot more than previously, so my measurement must have been way off. However, it was much easier to spread over my scalp than before. I first massaged my scalp with finger tips, then with a wet wash cloth before rinsing.

Since it was Sunday, I also rinsed with a cup of apple cider vinegar. Now, this seemed to leave my wet hair sticky. In order to keep my waves, I didn't comb my hair. When it dried the scalp was clean and free of oil. My hair is soft and light and full of body. It's amazing to think a week ago today I was going to give the whole thing up.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Shampoo-less Progress

Last night marked three weeks since I gave up using shampoo and conditioner. Tuesday I was pretty disappointed with the process. Have you ever tried to spread a teaspoon of dry baking soda over your wet scalp? Not a fun process.

Yesterday, I put probably a 1/4 cup of baking soda in a large cup I keep in the shower and dampened it in order to make a "paste". Said "paste" was more like a liquid, but nevertheless, I turned the cup upside down and plopped it on my head. I used my fingertips to massage it over my scalp, then wet a washcloth and used that to massage my scalp, too. I rinsed, but skipped the vinegar this time. It was still easy to comb.

Once it dried, my hair wasn't oily or sticky at all. It was clean and actually shimmered in the sunlight (I don't care if it was from baking soda residue, it freaking shimmered!). Today, it's just as nice, if a little flat from blowdrying yesterday.

Yay! I love progress.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Disneyland Pics Are Up!

The Disneyland pics are up on my Flickr account. Still waiting on some pics from the 'rents however!

Disneyland 2008 Set