I try to be a pretty organized person. I have found that I function better when things are in their places. I also prefer having less stuff. I have an exception to less stuff though, and I find I have a hard time getting rid of things that fall into this category. Art supplies, including products and everything that goes along with packaging and selling of the finished art.

Every so often I go through my art and business areas and clean things out, but when I get really busy, I shift things to the side and just keep going. The past several weeks I have been prepping for several bazaars and classes, so I have all sorts of products and stuff sitting not just in my art areas, but my kitchen counter, my entry, my dining room, everywhere! Today I have decided I need to get at least some of these areas decluttered and some semblance of order restored.

I probably won’t get everything done today as I have a trunk or treat/chili cookoff to prep for. But I want to at least get my art table and the area around it cleaned up and reorganized as well as remove all products from the parts of the house they don’t belong in. This helps me focus just on the art and then art is relaxing. When it’s clutter and I am constantly pushing things aside, painting becomes stressful.

The other stressor recently has been my washing machine. It was over 20 years old and recently decided to shred the outer tub with the inner tub. Yesterday my husband and I went and looked and decided to purchase a new washer and dryer. I am grateful to have the means to do that currently as we have fixed the washer twice in the last 6 months because money had been tight. This time it was not fixable as it was tearing itself apart on the inside.

We were able to get it installed late last night thanks to the help of our son-in-law, but the big boxes and little Styrofoam pieces were left to be dealt with today. Some of my grown children decided I couldn’t throw the boxes away immediately, because they were perfectly good boxes. I came into my living room a little while later to find a box fort in the middle of the room.

Today is the day to clear it all out though, to restore some order to my home, and with it, my sanity. My house is not immaculate by any means, but it is mostly tidy and comfortable. Today I have the time to return to that tidy state, and then move on with my art in a more relaxed fashion. I am excited to start my day!