La Quinta, California: Why do I clean, re-organize, straighten, purge, and re-do every closet, cupboard, bin and drawer in my house each fall? All those years of back-to-schooling? Jewish New Year? My Birth Month? Flash-back baby-nesting-emotions from late-August 1981? I mean, it's not like it's on my calendar or anything, but like clock-work, I go to town each Autumn.
Several projects: We have lived in this house four years now. My desk is in a little niche in the kitchen, and by little, I mean my desktop is less than four feet wide. I know my problem will not be important to anyone but me, but there was no place to set down the mail, shopping, nor my handbag, when I enter the house. No place to put outgoing mail/packages. No room on my desk. These things ended up on the floor near the back door, on the little dining/tea/mahjong table in the kitchen... which made the kitchen table unusable... and it looked so messy. There was only one solution:
The frames above the new console are antique fruit crate labels from Pacific Northwest farms. They used to hang in the attic guest room of our Portland house. The desk was also tackled. Didn't need much work, just a bit of shredding, but the shelf above the desk needed a serious overhaul as I had received the Jimmy Buffett non-bobbling bobblehead doll from Fenway Park.
The cabinets (in the laundry room) holding the shipping supplies was reorganized as well. My closet didn't need much attention, but I made DT get enclosed boxes for his shoes - just to keep the constant desert dust at bay. (I already have them for my shoes).
The last project took the longest. Two afternoons, in fact. Needlepoint supplies. It's a problem, Dear Reader. Any crafter knows my pain. Last fall, I had purchased little clear drawers to hold my fibers. For about the past ten years I have been stitching (almost) exclusively with two fibers. For 18 point canvas, Vineyard Silk is used; 13 point canvases require Silk & Ivory. These two fibers are most excellent to stitch with and never require splitting the strands (hate that). Both brands come in a zillion shades and are readily available throughout America. I had acquired quite a stash over the years, and thank goodness as some things were hard to find during the pandemic. Since the fibers were sorted already, it was time to sort through the rest of the cabinet.
Now all fiber, canvases, stretcher and scroll bars, fabric and trim (for pillow finishing) and all the other important junk supplies a stitcher could need - along with pouches and bags to carry the current "purse project" are inside the top portion of this cabinet. (Games and toys are in the drawers below.)
It was an exhausting ten days or so of beehive-busy activity around here. DT made one trip to the charity drop-off and our recycling bin was full, but now I feel ready to take on 5785 will full gusto and confidence.
It is customary to bake/buy/serve a round challah during Rosh Hashanah. This year I made a three-braid challah and wound it into the traditional turban shape. It was fun and pretty and tasty as well. Shana Tova to all!
Until my next update, I remain your organized correspondent.