Emerging from my big, bad mess!

Almost forgot what colour my carpet was under all that cra... errr, treasure. No, seriously, it was a big, bad mess and has been for nearly a year. I'm talking about my living & dining room, which has been basically unuseable ever since we found ourselves inheriting furniture, books, crafts & hobby items, clothing, momentos, photos, china, cookware, misc. everything.... oh dear, what a lot. I'd just opened up all the boxes and spread out the lovely things inherited after my mother-in-law's passing, as I'd started to sort and organize all her sewing & craft things. You know how it takes making a bigger mess in order to do that and then break it into a smaller, sorted collection? I can confirm that to be a necessary evil *grin*.

My sewing room is a tiny spare bedroom, so I usually have to open up my cutting table in the living room instead, and push some of the furniture back for the length of any project. Seeing as our TV wasn't in there, I can get away with borrowing the room for chunks of time. I was well into the spread-it-all-out phase, when my father's health declined, and that required me to drive a fair way across town to spend my days doing what I could. This went on for several months, and I just didn't have time to focus on the organizing I'd started so it was a little frozen in time (with dust gathering on top to prove it).

Unexpectedly, my father passed away, and then the work of dismantling a household of my parents lifetime began. My mum had passed a decade earlier, but it's still a big event when the 2nd parent is gone and EVERYTHING must be packed up, divided, decided, etc. My only sibling was unable to come from out of the country to help with the process, and that required me to photograph, post, discuss, negotiate, decide, then pack with full labels (a detailed manifesto for the border crossing in a big truck when he came to get his inherited share).

Once it was decided who got what, my darling hubby and I needed to transport my share across the city, to home. I'd pick him up at the Train after he'd put in a full day's work, we'd grab some not-good-for-us fast food and head over to the house to pack a few boxes for my brother's pile, and then load some of my things into our pick-up truck (some of that was heavy, man oh man!). Once at home, we still had to unload and find a spot for it.. somewhere... so the garage filled up, the house filled up, even the hallway was lined with boxes, and mostly the living/dining room filled up as we just had nowhere and no time to figure out what to do with it all. On a good day, we'd fall into bed after midnight and then had to be up and at it again the next day..... for weeks we kept this pace. It was chaotic, and under it all was my spread out craft stuff, some just jumbled into the nearest cardboard box to make room for a chair or a china cabinet.

Sorry that I've gone into such detail about the process, I guess it's sort of therapy for me (isn't this part of what a blog offers?), and I have a need to explain how I got into such a jumble and why it took me so long to dig myself out. Maybe it'll save someone else from doing the same? Anyway, after having to make a few zillion decisions on everything from what to do with a vehicle, to who gets the spatula, I just couldn't bear to make another decision about anything!

"Would you like chicken or fish for supper, honey?"
Dull eyes lift, slow shrugging, "I don't know. I don't care. I can't make any decisions at all here."

Thus, it sat. For nearly a year. I was emotionally and physically unable to bring myself to face it. I started out by not letting anyone visit at all, I didn't want to risk anyone seeing into the rooms and halls which seriously looked like a storage locker or as if somebody was moving (which is sort of what happened now that I think of it.... as if my parents moved half their household into my already full house). Very slowly, I have been sorting a bit and have sold quite a few things of my own to make room for new treasures.... such as my mother's solid Maple Dining room Suite, which I LOVE, (and they'd bought it before I was even born hehehe) I sold or donated my own dishes, some chairs, furniture, tools, etc. and made room. Gradually, I let some trusted friends come for tea and I wasn't quite as mortified when my chaos was observed. I was doing the best that I could and tried not to be so hard on myself, but there were days...... yes, there were horrible days.

I've kept photos of everything that's gone out of here, and find it to be encouraging on those days when I mope around feeling that nothing at all has been accomplished and I'm just a big lazy oaf. There are a lot of photos, and looking through them proves to me that we HAVE met the challenge over the months. Yay me! We even managed to have my Father-in-law and an Uncle come stay with us for a couple visits, and are expecting them to come for another stretch aaaaaany day now. THAT is what gave me a big push to finally get the monster room tamed, so they'd not see it remain untouched for yet another time.

I've still got some dusting and cleaning, and a few last things to move into the basement, but we'll be able to sit on the furniture (wasn't possible before) and, wow wow wow, we'll be able to eat meals at the dining room table instead of elbow to elbow around my kitchen nook!!!! I can see the carpet!! hehehehe. Such a thing to be so jazzed about, eh? But to me, this is huge. I've got a "before" pic, and hope to soon have some "after" ones *big grin*.









Before: in the middle of setting up the 2 piece dining hutch (bottom left, top & base) to replace walnut brown cabinet on right w/lace runner.


Tomorrow I'll be able to open up the cutting table (under big box, upper left, in the before pic) when my friend comes over to work with me on sewing some dance flags & banners (it's her own business). She's seen it at it's worst, and will be impressed with the difference, and to have elbow room??? She'll happy dance with me. Wunnerful!

One last thing... I remember the question "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time, just one bite at a time". I have eaten a great deal of the elephant now, and today's portion is particularily satisfying.