Dust Up

                       Hello? 

                    
     Anybody here?  



           
       Cough   
          Cough 



                 




  Man it's dusty in here.







     It's a new year, and I'm trying to start it off with a clean slate. I've been cleaning house. Emptying out closets and cupboards. Getting rid of the duplicates. The broken. The unused. The unloved.
     I fear for the environment. There's guilt in disposal. I have a need to find ways to reuse, recycle, reinvent, EVERYTHING!
     That has created a bit of a clutter problem. Given enough hours in my day/week/month/year/life, and unlimited storage space, I might ultimately invent new uses for it all. Sadly my 550 Sq. foot one bedroom apartment / art studio is busting at the seems.
    It's been a long process. I actually started this overhaul a little over 2 years ago. After 13 years in this apartment I'm pretty entrenched. My furniture is growing roots and I've acquired quite a bit of STUFF.
     My bedroom had become a walk in closet that I slept in, so I started there. Completely gutted the closet. Reevaluated my wardrobe. All 42 sizes. Made some realistic decisions about what I might actually fit into again someday. Got rid of the rest. Some things I'd had since high school. and the good news, I do fit into the twenty year old jeans again. WooHoo!
     My mom hauled two van loads of clothing back to Phoenix.. Fancy things went to consignment. Business attire went to women's shelters. Practical things went to the San Carlos Apache reservation. My mom's best friend helps coordinate all the donations to the reservation and shelters, to make sure everything ends up in an appropriate place. You wouldn't believe some of the ridiculous things that end up in the bin, like ice skates and and a random bowling pin.
     I've been reading Marie Kondo's "Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up". She says we donate things to alleviate our guilt. Makes sense. Though I'm not sure what the alternative is.
     Some of her methods are working for me. Others, not so much.
     For instance, she talks about an object having served it's purpose in your life. If not in it's use, then perhaps in a lesson it taught you. Even that dress that hangs in the closet with the tag still on it. Perhaps it taught you that the style or color doesn't look good on you.
     One of the things I have the most trouble parting with are gifts. I feel terrible getting rid of something that was given to me. Marie Kondo points out that it's already served it's purpose of showing me they care about me. It feels ok to let it go now.
     Some methods are just too extreme for me. Her idea of putting every item of a certain type in one pile to deal with all at once. And if you've forgotten an item and find it later you have to dispose of it cause it wasn't important enough to remember in the first place. I call Bullshit on that one. Some of my most treasured possessions are buried deeply for safe keeping. Just because they weren't immediately thought of doesn't mean they aren't very much loved.
     And as for that mound, it's my textile collection that has been terrorizing me for close to 2 years. The "all at one"-ness of it is unsurmountable! My sofa is buried somewhere under all those fabrics and I do hope to find it again someday.
     In the meantime, I'm focusing on the smaller projects I feel like I actually can accomplish. I just completed the kitchen overhaul. All the dusty old dishes have been washed, shelves wiped, counters cleared, dry goods rearranged. The last corner of my kitchen is the art supplies and projects I'm working on organizing now.
     There is light at the end of the tunnel.

     I've cleared my bench and have room to work. I even found my Muse on the kitchen counter, buried under all that dust. And I thought she'd been on sabbatical for the past year?! I'm off like a rocket with the creativity this year. I've been working all through the night stitching, soldering, hammering, weaving, wiring, and all the fun things.
     I've reopened my etsy shop. Though there's much work to do still. Better take my allergy pills before I go dust off Pinterest and Instagram as well.
     I've got a show coming up next Monday & Tuesday, January 13th & 14th in LBA Designers Galleria Showcase starting at 4pm PST.  I've got lot's of fabulous new jewelry to dazzle with. Hope to see you there.
     As always, until next time (which hopefully won't be too long), Peace, Love, & PyxeeDust