Homekeeping

I like to freshen up my home at this time of year with touches of bright white fabrics, pottery, furniture and books:

The house just gets so cluttered in the Holiday months with decorations, cooking aromas, project supplies, and a general feeling of…noise! But this month lends itself so well to a fresh new palette of colours, tastes, smells and textures, it really helps sooth all the frayed tempers and frazzled nerves to make an effort to clean up and clear out our living spaces. Rosemary gets brought inside for a welcome spot of green, and I grind some dried sprigs into Flea Powder to sprinkle on my cat’s bed and play area this time of year. I also set out some Bay Rum soap in the bathroom- its scent is so refreshing this time of year, when sinuses are a bit stuffed up and the house needs airing out.

But the closets are the biggest project that needs doing this time of year- they are just stuffed full after a winter of making, baking, decorating, and wrapping for the long round of holidays of the past few months. Boxes get jostled and tossed around as we dig out our decorations, bags of miscellaneous supplies and presents are “hidden” (i.e.- stuffed into every crevice), scraps of paper, ribbon, string and yarn seem to be a solid layer on every surface…all in all, it’s a mess in here! So I pick one closet a week and pull everything out, then spend a half an hour every day sorting through the contents- boxes, bags, tools, toys- everything is looked at and assessed. Do I need it? Do I want it? Is it useful? I make three piles (one to keep, one to throw away, and one to send to the thrift store) and really take the time to live with my decisions. I do not just take everything to the thrift store right away- I like to live with my decision for a week, just to make sure I’m not making any hasty decisions!

By taking the time to sort through my belongings about once a year, I find that it really helps to keep my memories alive, my house clean, and my ties with my community strong.

It also doesn’t hurt that I find the places where the Faeries are keeping their stashes of “junk”- all the pretty, shiny, little things that go missing on a regular basis around here…Hey! I’ve been looking for those embroidery scissors all winter you guys!