Creative M-E-S-S

Perhaps it is a common trait among creative types--the trait of messiness. I'm not normally a slob. In fact, quite the opposite. I'm the girl who makes my bed every day and puts the dishes in the dishwasher and stores my hairbrush under the sink. But when I'm creating something...well, that's a different story.Case in point: my office today. Hardly the picture of organization and tidiness. I can't help myself. When I'm caught up in a whirlwind with a million projects going all at once (yes--I know multitasking is bad for you, but I can't break the habit!), I tend to leave a trail. Kinda like the trails tornadoes leave.

In the Works:
Fortunately all of this creative energy is productive. Take a look at some of my latest quilting ideas. I've been blocking out my patterns all morning, trying to figure out which ones I like the best. Can you recognize my new Los Angeles stowaways?

These quilts will be added to my "Spunky Girl" baby collection, which I am eager to debut soon. Also on the docket? A thrift store design booklet, complete with grommets (I can't get enough of grommets lately!), and a "Transpo Guy" baby series (that is a tentative name--I might change it later.).

And You?
How about you? Have you taken up the Creative Hour challenge and started some projects of your own? If so, share what you've been up to! Comment below!

Reminders:
Don't forget to come back tomorrow to read about why big isn't always better, and take a sec to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get the inside scoop about what's brewing in my world!

Previous Creative posts:
A Long Time Coming (my dining room makeover)
Sewing in Good Company
The Creative Hour

Start your Trapper Keeper

After several days of intense spring cleaning, yesterday afternoon I decided that I needed to take a break and recharge my creative batteries a little.  So I turned to my faithful inspiration: my design notebooks.

I have been ardently compiling the contents of these notebooks for several years now, thumbing through the pages of magazines and tearing out anything that struck me as beautiful or clever or tasty.  As a result of my efforts, I now have half a dozen or so three-ring binders full of images and articles that I can turn to whenever I need a new gardening idea or a party menu or a design challenge.  They have effectively become my own personal home library, selectively filled with things that personally appeal to me.

Design is by far my most favorite category, and I'm well on my way to my fourth notebook on just that topic alone.  But I also have other categories, like "food and wine," "projects," and "life and health."  Last but not least, I have one special notebook I labelled "brain cache" where I keep articles that stimulate my thoughts about the world and the economy (have I mentioned that I'm a nerd?), which often show up on this blog under "Smarty Pants."

My husband often makes fun of me for these notebooks, especially when he comes home to find me pouring over one of them, plotting my next design project or planning a week's worth of meals.  He jests that it looks like I'm studying, which truthfully...I kind of am.  I credit most of my design ideas, and many of my "bigger picture" thoughts, to the inspiration sparked by these pages.  

So, here are four reasons why I think you, too, should start your own library:

1.  In the vein of spring cleaning, they do radically reduce the magazine clutter in your home.  Tear out what you like and recycle the rest.

2.  In time, you begin to pick up on your individual tastes and preferences.  Seeing my hand-picked selections from page to page, for instance, I realize that I often gravitate toward the same colors and styles in home design, and that I prefer a specific (healthy but not hard) type of menu.  This is why I particularly recommend notebooks for people who are wanting to decorate their spaces but don't know where to start.  I say start with your likes, and keep them in a binder!

3.  They provide a good reference for creative inspiration and often spark new insight.  I especially like picking up my "brain cache" binder and thumbing through it--often an idea that interested me months ago but was since forgotten takes on new meaning and dimension today. 

4.  Last but not least, they're cheap!  Binders and plastic page inserts hardly compare to the price of a fancy coffee table book or "special issue" magazine.  Save some dough and start clipping!

Previous Related Posts:

Ta Dah!  my new room makeover

Nesting is Creating

Putting things in Order (or at least in pretty boxes)

Putting Things in Order (or at least in pretty boxes)

I wrote yesterday that as a woman, I naturally gravitate toward the pursuits of beauty and order. And because I'm also moderately addicted to efficiency, I especially like it when beauty and order are combined in pretty, well functioning items. 

What is it about organization that attracts me?  The appeal of baskets stacked neatly on my shelves, or dividers in my lingerie drawer, or upright files for my magazines?  I know I'm not the only one.  A whole "organization industry" has blossomed (ex. the Container Store, Real Simple Magazine, all of HGTV) based on this inclination to get things in order--and making it look 

good in the process.

I think that behind all of it there is this idea that if I have a spiffy box to corral all of my paperwork and bills, that somehow filing and paying them will be more enjoyable.  Or, say, if my lingerie drawers looks nice, then maybe folding laundry won't feel like such a chore.  Of course, this reasoning doesn't always work.  What usually ends up happening is that I find adorable organizing stuff, dump a bunch of papers or whatever into them, and end up with neatly contained and yet completely unorganized piles of to-do's.  

Regardless, I took a peek into See Jane Work's online store today, and Behold!  An organizer's dream!  So many fun books and planners and boxes and containers to divide and quantify and chart and record my life.  And of course, they all multitask as attractive objects packaged in fun colors and shapes.  

Getting things in order has never looked so fun.  When can I start?

*photos from See Jane Work

Previous posts in this Nesting series:

If I were a Bird

Nurturing my Maternal Side (through decorating, of course)

Resting: a New Nesting Tradition

10-Step Plan to Being Well-Stocked (including "why do I have 6 cans of chipotle peppers and no Pepto?")

If project #1 in my back to basics challenge is meal planning, then project #2 is stocking up on supplies.  Pantry supplies, toiletry supplies, hosting supplies, emergency supplies.  In other words, I want to be well-supplied.

My intended purpose behind stocking up is to a) make it easy on myself and b) be prepared for the unexpected.  So...

Step #1: make a list of the supplies I need.  Try deliberately not to add "new red pumps" and "olive green leather handbag" to the list.  Also scratch chocolate and wine.

Step #2: add chocolate and wine back to the list.  Who was I kidding?  Of course they're necessary supplies!

Step #3: stare blankly into my pantry and closets and realize that I have a) no room, and b) a mountain of things I haven't looked at in months.

Step #4: put my list on hold because it's crazy to shop before taking an inventory of what I already have.

Step #5: contemplate deeply why I have six cans of french-style green beans in my pantry even though I don't like them.  Also, meditate on why I have twelve tubes of antibacterial gel and only one tampon.  

Step #6: start eating the chocolate and drinking the wine.

Step #7: get back to business and finally weed out all of the unused and unnecessary items.  Donate the good stuff to the food bank, charities, etc.  Pitch the rest.  

Step #8: start a new list of supplies because I've misplaced the previous one.  

Step #9: go shopping for supplies.  Resist handbag aisle.  In fact, resist all clothing, cosmetics, magazine, and housewares aisles.  

Step #10: place supplies neatly into newly cleaned pantries and closets.  Smile and celebrate my accomplishments with chocolate and a glass of wine.

Project #1: Meal Planning

Yesterday I mentioned my two-part strategy for getting into domestic shape this fall.  Well, for my first project I decided to set aside some time and plan out dinners and grocery lists for the next 6 weeks.  Ambitious, I know.  It's just that I hate working all day (I know...I work from home, but it still counts), and then opening the fridge only to find the sad remnants of meals gone by.  Then my husband walks into the room, and the conversation goes like this:

him: so, what's for dinner?

me: well, I'm not sure.  what are you in the mood for?

him:  I don't care.  whatever.

me:  that doesn't help.

him: I can just microwave a tortilla with cheese.

me: but you had that last night.

him: so?

me (concerned by this point for his nutritional health, but still unmotivated to cook): alright.  what's on tv?

The thing that bugs me the most about this scene is that I know better.  I know that homemade meals tend to be more well-balanced and healthy.  I know that cooking makes me feel better.  I know that the food I prepare tastes better than take-out (okay, maybe not all of the time).  And I know that it costs less.

I also know from experience that planning menus ahead of time, with accompanying grocery lists, greatly increases our chances of eating real food (contrary to popular opinion, tortillas and cheese do not count).

My most recent epiphany in this on-going challenge is to create menus ahead of time, and then keep them on file for the next year.  Normally I just throw them away, along with the grocery lists once the week is over.  But I'm going to try to start a "menu notebook" and see how it goes.  I figure that if I liked it this year, chances are good I'll like it next year too.  Perhaps I'll get into a food rut, and the plan will backfire.  But if it has even the potential of saving me time, money and that damn tortilla conversation, it's worth it!

Incidentally, there is always a ton of resources online for grocery shopping and menu planning.  Check out this link to Good Housekeeping on saving money in the grocery store, as well as my go-to place for recipes, MyRecipes.com.

A Plan to Plan

As I launch into this week of "domestic challenges," I can't help but think about my first year of marriage.  Up until that point I hadn't really had full domestic reign, and I therefore had no idea how I'd do at managing my own household (I know...I married young).  Incidentally, right around that time Real Simple started becoming a popular magazine, and I snagged a two-year subscription.

If ever there was a bible for home organization, it would be Real Simple.  I distinctly remember creating some kind of over-the-top flow chart detailing my daily, weekly and monthly cleaning activities based on the advice of the Real Simple gurus.  Of course I never actually implemented the plan, but it made me feel good having it.

The magazine just made everything look so simple.  Sure I could set aside an afternoon and photo copy the contents of my wallet in case it ever gets stolen (six years later I still haven't done it).  Sure I could plan out my meals for a month, complete with a laminated pantry checklist and a perfectly aligned tupperware system (do lime Tostidos count as dinner?).  Sure I could set aside a small box with party supplies in case I unexpectedly need to throw a part (which has never happened, by the way).  It all seemed so reasonable, so doable.

Since then I've decided that reality lies somewhere between the enchantment that is Real Simple and the disaster that is the back of my pantry.  My goal is to find that reality this fall.

I have a two-part strategy.  Part on is to spend some time planning.  Meal planning, most specifically, but also planning ahead for the holidays and parties and emergencies.  Part two is to actually follow up on my plans.  Obviously this is the more difficult step.  I'll let you know how it goes.

For those of you who are glutton for organizational punishment, Real Simple is still faithfully churning out lists.  Here's the link to their "worksheets and checklists," where you'll find everything you need to eat seafood, plan a wedding, prep for Thanksgiving, and grocery shop like a pro.  Just beware of the flow charts in "everyday cleaning."  They can be tricky...

Back to the Basics: testing my theory for a successful life

I have a compulsion.  I can't get to work--really get focused--unless my house is clean.  Not spring cleaning clean--just run-of-the-mill tidy.  Bed made.  Dishes in the dishwasher.  Stuff off the floor.  That kind of thing.  If things are a mess, my brain feels cluttered.  I can't concentrate.  I feel out-of-sorts.  

I have a theory based on these feelings.  My theory is that our lives operate more smoothly when our home is in order.  By "home" I mean that broad category of domestic duties that fall under the household, like chores and cooking and finances.  And by "operate more smoothly," I mean that we are more equipped (have more energy and focus) for our goals, our careers, and our community.

Since the fall is about to begin, and I have a long list of goals I want to accomplish before the long days of winter set in, I thought I would test this theory out on myself.  Historically the fall has always been a busy, somewhat overwhelming time.  Everyone seems to kick into high gear with sports and social activities and school, and so it seems the same for me.  My life doesn't slow down until after the holidays.  Suddenly it's January and I'm looking back over my list of goals and feeling...well...disappointed.

So I thought, Hey, maybe I could get organized at home, and maybe that organization will flow into other parts of my life.  Like my entrepreneurial career, and my plans to connect more to my community.  Maybe my theory will prove true--that when home base runs smoothly, I'll have more focus for the other important things in my life.  Maybe if I get back to the basics--making my bed, following a budget, planning my meals--I'll find that I have more focus and energy for the other stuff, too.

I think that for the next month or two I'll try it out, and report what I learn.  The theory could be a bust--we'll know soon enough.  Or perhaps I'm right, and having a strong home base makes for successful living.  We'll see.

I hate to be the guinea pig alone, so please! join me and test the theory too.  Or just watch as I ramble on about home life and work life and my life.  Either way, don't be a stranger as I get back to the basics.