My SRC projects

OK. So I have had to work up the courage to show pictures of what I have been doing with my stash. Because that is what it is...it's not being crafty, or making cute things, it's actually getting rid of all my stashes and piles and mounds and things hidden in the closets. And to be honest, Big D is the reason I'm doing the SRC...my neat-nik husband is not very happy with my squirrel-like qualities.

So here goes. The first part of reducing my stash: clearing off the "sewing desk". Yes, there is a sewing machine hidden in there somewhere. (yeah you can tell lots of sewing gets done around here...I actually have sewn a few things, just moved the pile off and then back on again when I was done! Dumb, huh!)The other thing is that the sewing desk stash extended to the floor on my side of the bed, so all this stuff on the bed once lived on the floor by my bed.
















So after a Saturday spent de-junking and throwing away things, as well as boxing up things that have been collecting for a while, here are the results: Ten wrapped Christmas and Birthday presents for various family members, a package to go to Iraq, an accessible sewing maching, a full mending basket (see, not that crafty!), three full boxes of yard sale items, two boxes of clothes the kids have out grown, and most importantly, a very happy husband.
I give myself 5 points for each of the presents, 15 points for clearing the desk and 5 for each box. But I have to deduct 50 points because it got so bad and took me so long to take care of the situation. So I guess that leaves me with 45 SRC points.

The other somewhat crafty things I've done recently are make some advent candles to give to some friends...ok so I bought the tapers (25 cents a piece) and painted them. And I used some paper with a printed holly border that I have had sitting in a file for at least three years, so I guess that was actually reducing my stash. Here's what the candle and paper look like:

This is the candle that got dropped and broken, so I didn't give it to anyone, and this is the paper that somehow got a grease mark on it, so these didn't get delivered...I guess we'll enjoy them at home. And I can't take credit for the poem...someone will have to correct me but I think either my mother, Sarah, or Taffy wrote it for a similar family project while I was on my mission. Anyway, I'll give myself one point each for the papers and candles, not counting the ruined ones that's 16 points.

The last project that has taken the most time and energy isn't crafty, just dirty and necessary. A week ago, we had some workers come and blow insulation into our walls and attic. To prepare for this, D and I had to remove alot of our furniture (ie kids beds and toys and dressers into the garage, and move the furniture in the other rooms away from the exterior walls. Luckily, they told me before hand that it would be a dusty job, so I covered most of our stuff with sheets, drapes, towels, etc. unfortunately I didn't realize how dirty it would be. Here is the cleanest room after they were mostly done with the work:


I got to do the sweeping and the mopping up, and then the ten loads of extra laundry (ok it was really only 5). But I can't really complain, because our house is so much warmer this year, despite the temps going down to single digits...the day after they did the work! The other great thing about this is it gives me a chance to choose new paint for our walls...while the paint in most cases was cute, I didn't feel that it made the house mine. So stay tuned for updates on the indoor paint situation.