OK, I've just started taking an online photography class taught by Karen Russell at Snapshots of a Good Life. I've waited for close to two years to be accepted into this class (it fills up within seconds of going "live"). We're only on Lesson 2 but, don't worry, I'll share some interesting tidbits as we go.
When I logged in this morning to read my daily lesson, I had to laugh at the irony. The name of the website is Snapshots of a Good Life. I thought to myself, "Holy Schmoley, if I took snapshots of my life right now, it wouldn't look so good!" So today, dear Reader, I bring you the unedited and un-Photoshopped truth...I bring you "Snapshots of my Messy Life".
Now, I know. I know. How can I expect a feature in a magazine or even a blogger award with a post like this?? I don't care. I must come clean in every sense of the word.
This blog is written for me and about me -- it's a truthful place; albeit, a humbling one. I mean, we're tired of all those blogs that only show their good sides. Aren't we? I mean, I'm complicated, I'm an enigma...(I'm FREAKING out 'cuz Christmas is one month away and I'm a disorganized MESS!!!)
Needless to say, I would hate for you to think that I'm some type of domestic diva. Therefore, for all those others who are struggling to breathe amidst the eruption and metastasis of their stashes -- I confess the truth.
I have one of the messiest houses I've seen in a long time. 
I've arrived at an impasse. I have no choice but to CLEAN up this place. I just can't start, finish or work on another project without returning to some sense of normalcy. I know, I expect to get lots of comments from all you organized needlewomen telling me how you have the discipline to return everything to its rightful place after finishing a project and before starting a new one....and giving me tips for how I can be just like you... Don't waste your breath...or fingers. It's never gonna happen. I've tried. No matter what I do, I return to my normal state which is entropy (def. Inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society).
Unfortunately, the messy state has to get to a tipping point before I'm motivated to act. Right now, I'm sailing pretty lopsided.
In just a few weeks, these rooms will be filled with holiday guests! If that's not bad enough, when I head off to collect supplies to make Christmas presents for my nieces, the supplies aren't there because I have not returned them to their original places. "Plays with Needles" has turned into "Searching for Supplies".
I am a-swim amongst the mess -- though, it is a lovely mess, isn't it? You see, I like to have a mess about me when I create and I don't really want to clean up the last mess before I start the next one. I'm just too eager to create something new.
Now, trust me, I don't let Jack get away with this. No sirree. I make Jack clean up his mess. Often he says, "Mom, if I put everything away, then it's not out where I can see it!" As you can see by my example, I agree with him; but, I can't tell him I agree with him or his future wife will hate me and blame me for his lack of housekeeping skill. So I say the acceptable "Mommy" thing, "Jack, if everyone left everything out, we would live in a dump. Now just clean it up or you can't have computer time for a week!" Ahhh, Jack, do as I say, not as I do...
So, I'm off to right my ship, swab my deck, and restore order to a stash that has had free reign for far too long.
And then, you will see pictures to rival all those reputable house-decorating blogs where there are pristine pictures of domestic messlessness.
Actually, the real impetus behind my need to clean is the FEAR that Niecy Nash from the cable show, Clean House, will invade my premises and force me to sell all my stuff at a yard sale!! Aaaghhh! And now that I've made my mess public, I'm at serious risk for discovery.
If you don't hear from me for days, you'll know why.
And Debra, I purposefully took pics of the living room so you could decide if it's a museum or not....if it is, it's awfully messy...but did I mention, how beautiful a mess it is??
Note: This egg dish idea came from Cheryl on this post.P.S. My apology to all the non-English speaking readers who put this into a translator...I'm not sure it will make any sense. In summary, I am a mess and I'm admitting it.
18 comments:
It's a very inviting mess! I am the same way, I have project piles everywhere. I also have a lovely woman that cleans my house every two weeks. Every other Tuesday night I am on a rampage through the house to get my piles put away so that there is a floor available for her to clean. It's turned out to be a very good exercise for me.
I Love you! Thanks for sharing your mess. I had taken a few pictures of my beading studio (formerly my formal dining room) and posted them on my blog. I was a bit hesitant as it is very messy, but I thought, hey,this is how it looks right now at that moment, and it is what it is. And since the picture is pretty small, the mess isn't too obvious - but believe me - it's there!
Thank you Thank you Thank you. Its not just me. I have a room I work in that has spilled to the dining room table--completely covered. It sometimes crawls over to my recliner, then inches to the end table. How did it get across the room?
What a lovely disary of things to come. Neatness is overrated. There is a certain caotic beauty in your randomness. "Don't worry be happy". Sew on.TTFN
I figure if I can find the top of the dining room table at least once a month, I'm ahead of the game. ;0) Love your bead tray, I have one like that but never thought of using it for that purpose! Very cool.
I love your decorating sense...It does come through! Quite elegant!
Your piles are indicative of your creative passion (and good taste in stash)...but it does look like you might be running out of places to sit.
I have to completely clear the decks in my sewing room in between projects. It does help me "see" what I'm doing better...
You must not have any dogs...?
Great post, you will not be judged by us!!!!
aaaa.... hello - that is NOT messy. that is a standard i aim for when guests arrive. You aint seen nothing. Although I guess im reasonably tidy...just not very good at dusting and such. all those crystals and glasses would be smothered in our house. and its all very very pretty - poor Jack - i see evidence of a sports bag but is all the boy stuff relegated to another area of the house? i dont think all the boys in our house would cope ...i think almost every pretty vase Ive tried to display has been either broken or used for some nefarious purpose (storing tennis balls, cathing lizards etc). your place looks like a spread out of home beautiful.....sigh
Halfway through your post I said, "Well, it isn't a museum but it sure is beautiful!" I have always wanted a very feminine house but since I have always lived with very masculine men, it has never happened. It's a longing that sometimes comes out of hiding & shows up in my quilts (like the current one) but that is about as far as it gets.
Don't you have your own workspace or studio? Although I have quickly outgrown my studio so I am no one to talk. I do however put everything away before starting a new project and I tend to stay pretty focused on one or maybe two at a time.
At any rate, glad to see your unphotoshopped house! It's very pretty!
Entropists (is that a word?) Unite! Maybe it's better to have signs of your creativity spread around rather than crammed into one space? (You should see my sewing room...it's a bit scary at the moment!) Underneath the creativity looks like some very pretty things!
Your house is very elegant. I love all your accessories and object d'art. The piles just give it character.
I make piles too, but I find too much stuff to be distracting, so I tend to move the piles to the sewing room, where they bother me less, and where I put things away when I can no longer find a clear space on the ironing board.
I love that post!
I've got cats, so I put away some of my stuff, just in case. But all the rest often stays quite visible.
So when one of my daughter says she is coming home, I hurry to clean the house, not that I fear their comments, but they understand nothing of an organzed mess... :-)
Phew. I thought it was just me. I actually straightened up my piles this weekend so that the next time I have to clean up for guests it doesn't take all weekend. I try to keep my crazy quilting in a tray so it's easier to pick up and move but sometimes I feel like the peddler in "Caps for Sale". One day I'm going to wake up and the cats will be wearing little crazy quilts...
What a wonderful mess! And not so messy really! I too have come to an point where it is necessary to PURGE!! I've been working away on getting my stash monster under control for a couple weeks now - with a weekend retreat two days off for good behaviour - and am slowly, very slowly, making progress! Keep fighting the good fight! lol
Hugs,
Kerry
I see no mess. I see vibrant colors of an artist at work. I see love spilling out from the room from a mom/aunt/sister/daughter/friend who shares her gifts with others and creates from her heart. I see life strewn around the room...active, inspiring, wild, fun, and creative. It's not a mess, it's authentic and real. So celebrate your piles. Everyone loves you for them and wouldn't want it any other way.
A beautifully creative , and, I am sure, well organised mess Susan. I enjoyed your photos and description so much. I can see your lovely home under all those creative supplies. If I start something I need everything out on view also - put it away and I am lost. I have only one photo of my work space and that was done after a compulsory reorganisation! The good look lasted a few days, more or less!
You have shared a snapshop of your life...and there is so much "life"!!! I think I would walk in and start working on something...it's that inviting and full of love! Thank you for sharing!!
Not only are we using the same crystal deviled egg holder, but our home have distinctly similar look and feel. Same green walls, same kind of floral picture hanging and generally the same palette of colors. I'll be posting some pics at Christmas time.
Looks pretty good to me...but then, i have a two year old :)
Love your posts!
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