Help, I'm drowning in paper! Every week I think I'll catch up on the newspapers I didn't read on the day they arrived. Every Wednesday - the day before recycling is picked up - I have a stack of newspapers I still haven't read. It's frustrating.
Then there's mail.... stacks of junk mail, coupon mailers, grocery ads, store sale ads, catalogs up to my eyeballs. Each week it's the same - I think I'll look through it all for those coupons I need to save or that bargain I didn't realize I needed. But, usually the coupons expire before I can use them and the sales end before I get to the store.
And how about magazines?? I have months worth of beautiful quilting magazines I haven't even taken out of their plastic mailing wrappers. Am I really too busy to read my favorite kind of magazine? What about Phoenix Home and Garden? It is arguably the most gorgeous publication I have ever read. But some months they sit on the coffee table without a single page being flipped. Oh, and then there's the health and housekeeping magazines. Who needs to read them anyway - they're the same every month, filled with articles about how to get organized, how to lose weight, and lately, how to have a flat stomach. Oh, and after you lose weight and get the flat stomach be sure to make up the gooey dessert recipe featured on the cover. Hmmm, what's wrong with that picture??
So, here's my official notice to paper clutter. I'm giving up. If I don't read a magazine the month I receive it, it's going in the recycling. If I don't read the newspaper the day it arrives, it goes in the recycling. I'm cancelling the health magazine and the housekeeping ones, too. Junk mail and coupon mailers are going directly into the recycle basket. I tell you it's a veritable fire hazard having all this paper in the house. Besides that, I think I was created for a higher calling than endlessly sorting through papers and I'm not going to stand for it anymore! So there.
Guess what? It's August 2008 and my hobby room is at last cleaned up, organized, decorated and DONE! I promised to post photos in an early blog (10/9/2007) and now can finally do just that. Worn out carpet has been replaced by a "dark pine" laminate floor. Boring beige walls are now a warm tan color that reminds me of graham crackers. Our favorite interior designer says it's a great color for creativity. We found a multi-purpose craft table on clearance at our huge JoAnn Fabric store that will be a great spot for scrap-booking, cutting fabric, beading or gift-wrapping. It's white laminate like the bookcase we bought last fall and the sewing table Tom/Dad built for me for Christmas several years ago. There's one real wood piece, an old lamp of my mom's, and quilts on the wall to add a cozy feel to all the white furniture. On our next IKEA outing, I hope to purchase a large round rug (only $19.99!) to add a bit more color to the room and give the dogs a snoozing spot when they're hanging out with me. Closet, cabinets and bookcase are filled with things for crafting, just waiting for me to make time for hobbies. Yippee - I love my room!
