Decluttering

I have never been a "natural born cleaner". Some girls are born without the chocolate gene, some come without the shopping gene... sadly, I was born without the cleaning gene. Sometimes I envy my friends whose houses are spotless, who have a place for everything and everything in its place, who have pictures on the walls and picture frames expertly displayed on a corner table, who have exactly the right furniture in exactly the right places, and rugs, and sometimes rugs on top of rugs (seriously, how can they pull that off?), and flower arrangements on tables and not a single piece of unopened mail anywhere in sight...

I recently started reading a book called The Cleaning Bible so maybe I can get some inspiration. I didn't even have to get two pages in to realize the first thing I am doing wrong! It's impossible to keep a cluttered house clean. That probably seems obvious for anybody including me, but sometimes we don't realize how much stuff we have. Sometimes we can't even identify what is clutter and what is not, and need to look at everything with different eyes...

So today was Decluttering Day One, and after just one hour of work I had my car trunk full of clothes. Some things I bought and never wore, some that I haven't worn in years, stuff that I didn't want to get rid of because maybe... some day...

I drove to Goodwill before I had the chance to change my mind, and while I watched the employee walking away with his yellow cart full of stuff, I felt a lump in my throat. There is my favorite dress, and another one, and a beautiful blouse, and another dress I wore on a special occasion, and memories, happy or painful, of a person I am not anymore.

On the drive back home I realized I was grieving someone from a different life. A time I can never go back to...

I grieved my husband, but I didn't understand until now that I have to grieve myself too. I have to let go of what I was and make room for what I can be. I have no idea what that is, but I'll never find out until I am ready for it. It's scary, because what we get after we get rid of things is emptiness, but I have to take that leap.

So, goodbye clutter. Hello future.

Arraiolos 2

This one is my newest project. I bought the material in Brazil.

Stitch by stitch, the pattern begins to pop out of the screen...

I love those colors!

A work of love and patience...

And there it is! Beautiful!
It took me a little over a month from start to finish.

Arraiolos

This is the rug I finished in July-2014. My best friend Marie loved it!