After finishing mom’s cardigan last week, my attempts at working on a project (either Mimi’s cardi or Kris’s sweater) have proven short-lived…
This past week, I had to seize on the unique and truly extraordinary mood that struck me – one that comes about as rare as a blue moon – to clean, organize, and arrange my home. Yes, yes. I know. I organize, categorize, and arrange for a living - but at home is a different story all together.
It was precipitated by a long-held hope for a new dining room set. Before we were married (~2000), Kris and I were very fortunate to find a very nice (and affordable) used dining room set in the classified section. We didn’t have a house yet (ahem, we were still in college) but we liked this enough to get it, and luckily, we were able to store it in Kris’s parents’ house until we bought our house in December 2001. The set served us well for many years, and it was quite nice – but the time came when we (okay, I) wanted something smaller and simpler – easier to get around, and more suited to our style.
I believe that if you have the space, you will fill it with things that you don’t need and will never use. So, I cut down my space – specifically in the china cabinet – and filled a dozen bags and boxes with “said” things and made the long overdue trip to the thrift store. What catharsis!
Capturing this moment on film proves that it happened – before the table is piled with books, knits, random paperwork. Or can I attempt to keep it this way?
The funny thing is, once you start organizing (at least, once I start) it is hard to stop. Striking while the iron is hot, and all of that stuff. So, I rolled with it. Next on to the pantry!
I buy lots of items in bulk – it just makes sense with our diet, and in theory, it is supposed to reduce the amount of paper and plastic waste. That is, if you don’t let all the plastic bags that you used to transport your grains to you home take over your pantry… but now…
I maintained while I contained! And look how pretty the lentils and wild rice are in these glass jars! (They were at Target and were reasonably priced. They had three sizes available.) And the real plus is that I asked the cashier at my market, and I can take these containers in to the market for refills – they will weigh them beforehand and I can fill it, and they will charge me the difference. Saving plastic bags and the hassle! Perfect! Filling these containers with my grains, seeds, legumes, nuts, and dried fruit brought a great sense of contentment. I gazed lovingly inside my pantry for a good 20 minutes after filling them up. *sigh*
…and when you are on that train, you don’t get off…
Next up, my crafty bookshelf. Oy. A mess indeed. Major cleanup was necessary.
I have to say that I really do love the way that the knitting community supports these amazingly talented people within our ranks, and that there is such a market for great patterns that can be downloaded immediately after 
purchase as a PDF. It is beautifully convenient. The not-so-convenient part is the hole in the technology though… I don’t like to print off this pattern and use more energy and paper – but it is also not too convenient (or comfortable) to knit in front of my computer so that I can look at a pattern. I guess a laptop is the best way to solve this problem… does anyone else deal with this?
So, what all of this means is that I have a lot of paper patterns that I have printed off the computer over the years – ideally, I would love to hole punch them and stick them in binders – and maybe that is the next step. In the meantime, I just arranged them with all of my books and magazines. The bookshelf allowed enough space for my books that are taller than 9-inches, and enough room for my back issues of Interweave Knits (+ Knitscene), and Vogue Knitting (+ Knit.1 and KnitSimple) and the yarn company pamphlet books from Berroco, Patons, Jo Sharp, Dale of Norway, Classic Elite, Rowan, and Lopi.
This exercise in organizing my knitting and craft books made me realize that I never need to buy another book or magazine or pattern in my life. I have *plenty* of inspiration from these sources to keep me busy for the rest of my time on this earth… but then I saw Bonne Marie’s new Mondo Cable Cardi… hence the (futile?) attempts in my title to this post. Yeah, fall is the hardest time for me – and I suspect for many of you too. These designers sure know how to up the ante for the fall collections – they get me every year.
Of course, there is more to be done – much more! and I am planning to do so soon - but it sure does feel nice to have some parts cleaned up and out. Simplified and minimized, at least for the time being. 
Your craft bookshelf is really something. And you have so many knitting books! I try to put the patterns I print out in a binder, but sometimes they just end up in a mess and get thrown out. But most of the time they make it in the binder, a bit worse for wear sometimes though.
Your pantry jars are beautiful. Just heavenly. I want some of those when I “grow up”.
The organizing bug must have been going around – I organized my knitting magazines this weekend, too! AND cleaned off my coffee table, which had become a repository of all things knitting. The whole shebang was galvanized by my inability to find my stitch markers. After all cleaning/organizing was done, and I still hadn’t found them, I checked in my notions bag (which I had already checked once, mind you) and there they were. Fairly typical.
gorgeous new dining set. i love that blond wood. it glows!
oh the neverending saga of organizing and destashing and simplifying. i’m currently going through that exercise, as kasy builds bookcases and new closets and continues to work on remodeling the house. our goal is to build more organizational things like bookcases and closets, while getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t want, etc, so when it’s all done it will all fit perfectly. our rowhome came with 2 closets in the whole thing. crazy! over the past year, we’ve brought so much to the local thrift stores and it feels great to get it out of the house and out of the mind. still have a load to do this month. it never ends, does it?
I print out the downloadable patterns and put them in a plastic sleeve and then in 3-ring notebooks organized by pattern type (sweaters, hats, babies, etc). Super anal, and it does use plastic and paper resources. But it’s more or less permanent storage, I hope, and when I want to use a pattern I just take it out in its sleeve (or another sleeve) and go to work. It keeps the patterns in good shape, unless I handle the pages quite a lot while working the pattern.
Ah, those printed patterns can be a pain can’t they?!? I love the dining room table is clean – unfortunately, ours is all too often taken over with sewing.
Your pantry is my FAVORITE!
Your dining room is beautiful! I love the green walls (I have a similar color in my dining room, in fact).
I have had the organizing bug for some weeks now, only I’ve been ignoring it. Top of the list is the linen/medicine/whole lot of crap closet. I should start on it today after work. I know I’ll feel so much more peaceful when it’s tidy! And when the “whole lot of crap” is disposed of.
It always amazes me just how much clutter can disrupt the peace in a home. It’s a challenge with a one-year old and his toys about. But I feel so much better when I take two minutes at night to pick up the toys.
I’ve been digging out all of our shelves for a few months now. We own hundreds of books – I’m a book lovin’ homeschoolin’ mama, after all. I looked over ever picture book, every math workbook, every hiking guide and novel. It is very nearly done, but it feels great to be this far along.
Ugh… Last night BF and I had ice-cream and he looked around the kitchen and said “there’s no place to sit!” because I had my quilting and knitting projects covering every single empty space of the kitchen counter and the table. Oops!
Oh, yes, we had to go out to eat because I was not cleaning up just to cook!
; )
I put my printed patterns in plastic sleeves in binders. I’ve gotten to the point I only print a pattern if I’m going to use it, and then if I like it and think there’s a possibility I’ll use it again (or, for free patterns, can pass it on to a friend), I stick it in the binder. I have one binder for socks and one for everything else.
There’s something so satisfying about organizing, isn’t there?
I don’t have suggestions about how to *keep* things organized, as I’m a big one for getting things pretty, and then looking around two weeks later and wondering what happened!
But I do have to ask–do you do your bulk shopping at Roots? We discovered them perhaps 6 months before we moved away from Columbia, and I really wish they’d open a branch here in San Diego. Such a wonderful store, and lovely people too–not to mention The Great Sage (yum!), and Nest, and all the other offshoot stores!
What is it about that “bug” that siezes us sometimes? With two kids, two pets and a husband who is a die-hard pack rat, I need to purge on a regular basis. As a measure of my anal-retentive nature, I’ve actually scheduled rooms into my calendar so every 8 months or so, I’m “assigned” the family room, the next month, it’s the kitchen, etc. I give myself the whole month to purge it so the task is not too burdensome. And some rooms are a snap. But other times I just walk into the kids’ bathroom, for example, and can’t stand it any more — whether it’s scheduled or not, I’m suddenly tossing expired medications, re-stocking toilet paper, etc.!
Leslie p.s. I *love* your craft bookshelf and your pantry looks so beautiful!
I was so on that train this weekend: I moved all of the kitchen appliances and cleaned under them, wiped down all the surfaces that are normally neglected (sides of the oven, etc.) It. is. awesome.
For the pattern-printing dilemma, I just bite the bullet and print it out, and use plastic page protectors to store them in a binder. That way I don’t have to punch the actual pattern, and each gets a separate space. I can’t keep buying those plastic sheaths though; too expensive. Perhaps old folders that used to go in Trappers would keep them safe and separated.
I love organizing.
I love the dining room bookcases. And all the pretty jars!
I’ve also been in an organizing mood of late… are you a Virgo by chance?
As for printed patterns, I bought a pack of plastic sleeves to keep them together in a three-ring binder. That way they’re easy to flip through without damaging the paper. But it would be great if there were a better (more eco-friendly) solution!
Great job!
The only solution I thought of for the pdfs is buying a Kindle. You can view PDFs on them. That would be perfect, but a tad expensive.
Great post! It’s always so lovely to hear of knitters who share other values as well.
I’m always trying to think of alternatives to all those pesky plastic bags–just takes the guts to talk to someone at the store about a solution, huh? Next, I want them to dispense things like shampoo, dish and laundry soap in bulk so that I don’t have to keep buying those bottles!
As for the not printing patterns, thing… at the risk of sounding like a fangirl, this is actually one of the reasons that I got an iPhone. It’s really pretty fantastic, actually. If the pattern is a .pdf, I email it to myself as an attachment. If the pattern is a webpage or text, I usually copy/paste, then email it to myself in the body of the message. If you do this, and open the pattern when the phone *does* have a signal, then the file will be accessible, even when there is no signal (say, in a basement pub or on an airplane…).
No more printing patterns! Yay!
It is rewarding isn’t it? I have these occasional bursts of organising too – I just recently did my craft book shelf and I think my thoughts were exactly the same as yours!
Love your Mum’s cardigan, such a pretty piece.
Where do you shop that they will weigh the containers and charge you the difference? I’ve been struggling to get away from using plastic bags in the produce section and at the bulk bin… I found these great mesh bags for produce, and asked cashiers a couple times to subtract the weight of the bag from the total weight, and they always get so agitated. None of them know how to do it, so I’ve given up and just pay for the extra weight.
Target has really cute 3 ring binders that are made from recycled materials!!!! I would highly reccomend them for patterns… I need to get another one, the 2 I already have I use for RECIPES!!!
I definitely feel you on the printing of PDFs – I would prefer not to do it, but even having a laptop can be awkward – it has to be perched nearby, which negates when you would like to sit outside or take it with you somewhere. As well, staring a complicated chart on paper can be tiring on the eyes enough, let alone looking at it on a computer screen. I try to reduce my paper use, but once in a while things work better printed off.
Good on you for doing some organization!
I believe the beauty of PDFs is that they reduce carbon footprints overall. They can be transported to us with less energy (rather than shipping over a distance). The designers don’t have the expense of printing out all the patterns and preparing them for sale. If they don’t sell,the energy is still used & paper spent. Then the consumer (us) prints them as needed and if we make the effort to preserve them (ah, those pesky plastic sleeves, I haven’t a better way), we don’t have to continue to print them if we spill coffee on them. Plus the laptop continues to use energy as long as it is on, but a hard copy does not. That’s why I really can’t see myself doing the Kindle thing, yes, I get have instant new books, but I have to have it on. I can buy a lot of books for $299 as well as use the library because I am not buying my children a Kindle. But I am also the person who doesn’t carry a cell phone so maybe I am just a Luddite.
Oh, I’ve been born without the organizing gene, unfortunately. I’m always in awe when I see somebody tame the mess like this. Well done!
As for the paper, I think the laptop still requieres energy to run and whatnot so I don’t know it would be the solution.
I find that “less” is helpful to me both for organizing and for the paper monster. I collect so many patterns on my hard drive, but I try to print only the ones I’m ready to cast on.
Helps some.
The organizing bug has bit me too, but I have a long way to go to be as tidied up as you have.
I know what you mean about the Mondo Cables from Bonne Marie – I was clicking purchase asap! lol
I know it’s a plastic solution, but I put my printed out patterns in the plastic protection sleeves, and then file them in a notebook. I have a three inch binder full (too full actually) that needs to be dvided into another binder! Using the plastic sleeves means the patterns are protected and it’s easy to mark corrections or changes in a water-soluble pen. Plus, using post-it notes for charts is easy and won’t ruin the pattern!
The bookshelf is great! I can’t wait until we move and I can choose appropriate organization for our home. Right now my knitting is stashed on two bookshelves and in a corner between the couch and rocker recliner. That corner is rather aptly called Kat’s corner of doom.
I use Mason jars for my bulk items. My MIL bought them for me, and I love them. (I will admit what I love most is being able to buy more lids when a certain 2 year old absconds with some leaving me short.)
A trick I use for all those patterns- I put them in page protectors and store them in binders. You can buy a ton of them for cheap from Target or office supply stores, and they’re reusable. And they keep the pattern pages all together so you don’t have to staple them, and also helps keep them from getting messy (if you’ve got kids in the house like I do!). Plus you save the step of punching holes in all the pages!
Looks great! I love the new dining table, and your crafting library looks awesome. I did a bit of cleaning/tidying this weekend, and am feeling the need to purge as you did, but I haven’t fully embraced the concept yet. Like most, I definitely hold on to stuff more than I’d like. Great job, Lolly!
KINDLE! You can e-mail yourself pdfs and carry them around on your kindle. That’s my solution for all those pesky pdfs that I must carry with me on all my travels (I do this with recipes too!)
Good for you! Everything looks very bright and airy. I was inspired to clean and organize this weekend, too–by the looming threat of my first full semester as a grad student! I guess it’s a win-win situation, though–my desk is all clean for the start of the semester!
Wow, these photos are amazing! The change in your dining room is particularly dramatic! I don’t think I ever even noticed that the walls in there are green before
It looks like the worms aren’t there any more, where have they been moved to?
It’s so great that you caught the organizing bug. Any ideas for how to pass it on to me? xoxo
I love those jars! I just have plastic containers and I find them pretty bland and ugly – I am going to look for some like this. Thanks for the inspiration!
I like that the cat hiding in the first picture matches the furniture. Inexplicably, my dog blends so well with the woodwork in my house that one would suspect we got just because he went with the decor.
Maybe it is back-to-school time that inspires so many of us to organize now! I have taken some time off while J is between camp and school and have been getting quite a bit accomplished myself. I am really a packrat and it is hard for me to get rid of things, but I keep trying to tell myself they are only *things*.
Like many others, I have a couple of binders with patterns. I think Bill gets copy paper that is part recycled content so I don’t feel too bad about printing things out. I’d rather print out individual patterns than buy a whole book that has only 1 or 2 things in it I would make. I’m even pickier about buying magazines than I used to be, if just to reduce the clutter around my own house.
I love those food containers!
I’ve just done this same thing over the weekend. I was so pleased with how clear and clean everything was. I could actually see my table top!! Then…my children came back from grandma’s house. And the rest is history. And so is my clean place ;0)
I love purging and cleaning! You’re making me want to run to Target!
I send the pdf to my yahoo account as well as saving it on the PC and then only print it out, when I actually want to knit it. Once printed and done with, it goes in a binder under a category (socks are almost ready to move to a second binder out of their sock only one).
Would love to see a before picture; always find it so much more dramatic. But I love your dining room; elegantly simple. I also love the colors and how the clear containers add to the clean, simple look.
Nancy
You did a fantastic job organizing things. I love the dining table and chairs. Really pretty. Those jars really look great with your rices etc in them. I have seen those and they are really attractive and modern and seeing your food in them really is cool. Enjoy your new clean areas..It does feel so good when things are organized. I hope to do my garage soon. Right now its a storage place for my kids and ex hubby. They will get gone in Sept. Yeah. then it can be mine again. Can’t wait!!!
Great job! Isn’t organization fulfilling? I really love your glass containers, all of the colors and textures are really highlighted. Also, I think we have the same bookshelf – Target?
To organize my patterns I buy page protectors and just drop the entire pattern in 1 page protector in a 3 ring binder. it started with one binder with tabs for different types of patterns and then it grew to 2 binders and now I have about 4, but it still takes up far less room than stacks of books. I also went through some magazines and cut out the patterns I was convinced I would use at some point and also dropped them in a page protector.
Great job, Lolly! It is all looking great.
I have a laptop but I still print my patterns. I used to put them in a binder but never did a good job organizing them there. Now I usually don’t print them until I’m ready for them, then I just print out the one I want to use to have while I use it, and then when I’m done with the pattern I recycle it. Yeah – I basically totally bypass the organizational step (because I’m so bad at it).
Btw, I am totally with you on the Mondo Cable Cardigan. I bought it immediately and came thisclose to clicking my way towards $90+ of yarn for it before I made myself stop and regroup. It’s not realistic for me to add this to my near-term plans unless I drop something else, so I am making myself stop and think what that might be. But oh WOW is it pretty.
Lookin’ good Lol. I did some deep cleaning last week when I had some ladies over for lunch. It seems like the kitty hair can never be contained. It is a good thing they are such dear pets to us…Oscar sheds so much!
i love when those moments come when I feel the need to organize and clean, I look at them and wave
You are so inspiring though! I Love your pantry! I totally want to have jars and canisters instead of the boxes and bags that clutter my life.
Maybe next time the moment comes I’ll grab it with both hands instead of letting it pass me by!!
Oh and you are so right about probably having enough pattern books, phamplets and magazines to last a lifetime but Every Fall they just do it to ya! Loves.
Rock on with the buying in bulk! We’re absolutely hard-core about this; so much so that even at the hippie co-op in Seattle, of which we’re members, we stand out like sore thumbs and draw weird looks whenever we go shopping—because we don’t just bring one or two containers like the normal customers, we bring, oh, FOUR DOZEN. (It’s compounded by the fact that we live 45 minutes away, so only shop there about once every 6 weeks to stock up.) Everything from little spice bottles, to big, tall pasta tins, to thrift-store canisters, to fancy bottles with corks, to ancient Tupperware (even though we’re weeding out synthetics from our lives, we don’t have the heart to get rid of that Tupperware) that gets lots of nostalgic comments from strangers. Everything is marked with a tare weight and the PLU number of what goes in there, and check-out becomes an exact science.
It’s absolutely barmy, I know, but we save many hundreds of dollars a year and untold multitudes of packaging by doing this. So I’m glad to see we’re not alone!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I feel a strange need to tidy things…
I really do like those glass containers that your legumes and grains are in and am gong to check out MY Target……looks so much prettier than Tupperware! My pdf patterns are stored in plastic sleeves and then placed in a cute binder. I used to have them in files in my desk filed according to pattern type (shawls, socks etc.). Then, they moved to a portable breast cancer file container with pretty pink file folders. That sits in my yarn hutch. I’m sure you will find a system that is perfect for you!
Oooh, I love organizing, at least, I love the idea of organizing, and looking at pics of neat & tidy organized spaces…
I, too, am just besotten with the Mondo CC….it just seemed to slide in under my radar of design! Whoosh, I was in love…. and perusing the stash for suitable candidates!
i’m with you on the filling up space thing. i do it, obsessively nearly, a habit i’m trying to fight.
it does feel great, doesn’t it, to organise and declutter. i feel lighter and calmer, everytime i do a little decluttering. there is an element of guilt, for having spent money on things, but since i hardly throw anything away but try to donate anything i don’t need/want/love anymore i am happy that nothing’s wasted but all finds a new owner that might enjoy the item and get better use out of it.
i would never be able to do a big decluttering weekend like they do in them tv shows… but i try to do small areas, often. a shelve, a drawer, a corner. sometimes, returning to a particular item for the third time, i do finally come to the conclusion that it’ll serve somebody else better.
with a baby in the house (a small house!), organising and purging becomes such a neccessity! babies generate even more clutter… but also put things into perspective, things that seemed vital a year ago, suddenly seem trivial and are easy to part with.
I organized my knitting and sewing patterns a couple of months ago. It was a pretty simple system but it made my life so much easier (I think!). I am so envious of all those knitting books!