before and after.

I am so happy to have created a layout that I can share! I made this for an article on the Fiskars craft website about crafting with arthritis. You can read it here.

I have some scrappy plans for the very near future (like today!) that include the new October Afternoon collections. I am going to completely ignore the looming mountain of clutter that will be literally at my back while I scrap. Ignore. It.

Why did I title this post "before & after"?

Probably the most obvious reason that I can ignore the pile of stuff is that I have plans to tackle it this weekend. And it will be my first "before and after" project!

I'm excited about my "before & after" projects. My approach isn't complicated:
1. take pictures of the hoarding, filth, and chaos;
2. purge, clean, and organize the area;
3. take pictures of the decluttered, clean, orderly space.

Doesn't that just make you almost giggle in giddy anticipation? Maybe it's just me. That's okay. I looooove this stuff. I'll start Monday since Monday is the first day of summer.

No, it's not.
Yes, it is.
No, it is not the first day of summer.
Is.
Is not!
Is! Is, is, is, is, is, IS!

Okay, for me and my people May 17th is the first day of summer. Because if I don't decide that for myself, summer will seem very short since we start school somewhere around August 12. The way I look at it is I have approximately 90 days of "summer." That's maybe 75 days of at-home, potentially productive days to get some real "before & after"-ing completed. I downloaded a free application for my phone that has this fun to do list feature (this way I can obsess about my projects and goals even when I'm out at red lights or the pool or the grocery store or whatever), and I'm working on giving myself one project for each of the 75 days. Some projects are bigger and might take two days (like painting the kitchen). Some are small and will only take twenty minutes (like cleaning off the top of the refrigerator), but for some reason, this plan works for my feeble brain. If I know I have all these tasks on an official list and I have a plan for tackling them, they don't overwhelm me when I'm battling my way though the garage or reading the grafitti on my bathroom wall. I. Have. A. Plan.

No worries.

See, this is good because I am easily overwhelmed. Anything that keeps be from getting to that overwhelmed point is A Good Thing.

And, of course, as I am writing this, God reminded me that He Has A Plan. And he's never kept this fact a secret from me, but I do tend to forget. He has a plan. I need not worry. And his project (me) is infinitely more precious to Him than my home projects are to me. But I think some of our goals are the same. I want to eliminate junk, clutter, filth, and chaos from my home and He wants to eliminate junk, clutter, filth, and chaos from my heart.

How's that for a "before & after" project?

[For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11]