Is it break yet?

Winter won't quit. . .

Lightening the Load: A Bit of Housekeeping for the New Year

so much space. and it's all mine. 

Since moving into the house I've realized that I have a lot of stuff. At times all of it (most of it) has held some value to me, and plenty of it continues to hold value. But a lot of stuff I've held on to "in case I need it." And "in case" hasn't happened yet. Of course, now that I have a house, a tiny part of me is trying to reason that I have all this space - I may as well spread things out! But I don't necessarily need to have to spread out - I like having the space.

But it's also the new year, and I'm feeling a bit like I need to lighten the loads that make up parts my life. That and I like a good method of procrastination from things that should be done, like cleaning, or lesson plans or grading.

Slow day (month) at the office . . .

Not much crafting going on these days, unless you count packing to move, which it could be argued is a craft in itself.

"pantry" waiting to be packed.

This and that.

Before there was Pinterest

two-ish years of two mags
ready for recycling or repurposing

Since joining Pinterest, I've "pinned" a lot to a bunch of boards - crafting ideas, recipes, cool looking house interiors, and other random non-crafty things. I've followed through on a few of the pins (click on "found.on.pinterest" label under Contents Vary, at right, to see a few), and have plans to continue.

But the internet isn't the only place that I've found great ideas. Over my spring break I sorted through three sets of magazines - Do It Yourself, Martha Stewart Living, and Better Homes and Gardens - that spanned roughly two and a half years. Best spring break activity, ever. Of course, I couldn't remember why I'd saved most of the magazines, although a few dog-eared paged here and there proved to have ideas worthy of being ripped out. I am sure I could find the same ideas online, but I enjoy being able to flip through the magazines several times before setting aside or recycling.