The other day someone asked me what I was proud of recently... and I said I was proud of the fact that I managed to clean the bathrooms. HA! That should give you an indication of how much 'extra' stuff I'm managing to (not) get done these days.
'Write blog post' always seems to get pushed to the bottom of a lengthy to do list, after I've accomplished all of the necessities (like cleaning those bathrooms...) I've been procrastinating with this blog, mainly because, duh, I have a toddler and precious few minutes to myself. But I've also been procrastinating because it feels like I haven't been working on anything 'original'. Instead, I've
been redoing a lot of stuff. Stuff that I initially crafted and loved,
but as I continue to purge the apartment in an effort to simplify my
life, I'm realizing there were a lot of things I made in the past that I
don't like now, or never really liked if I'm honest.
You may remember when I organized my recipes into these neat little books, over two years ago? I'm sad to report that it did NOT help my recipe organization or meal planning one iota. The recipes got shoved into the front of the book... the book didn't sit right on my shelf, and let's face it, most of the recipes I pasted into the book were either disasters, or I couldn't remember why I saved them in the first place.
The dessert binder, on the other hand, has been great! I managed to keep those pages organized and I easily found any recipe I was looking for.
Recently, I scored some paper products on sale at a craft store, and they inspired me to redo my recipe book in the same way I've done the dessert one. I ordered a similar binder to the one I have for the desserts, and even though I haven't gotten around to transferring everything yet, I can already tell, I may actually find and more importantly, USE more recipes now.
In knitting news, remember this cardigan? Yeah, neither do I. I hardly wore it. It really didn't suit me, and the whole thing hung kind of weird.
So I ripped it apart and kept the yarn, and now I'm making this groovy shawl. (The pattern is actually called, 'groovy'...)
What's the point of all of this? I'm not exactly being very prudent with my precious spare time if I end up doing a project and then destroying it to start another one with the same materials.
Or am I? Sometimes I just need to create something, even if it's a disaster. Some nights, I spend an hour knitting or crocheting something, only to rip everything apart right afterwards.
But you know what? That was an hour where I fed my soul, even if the end product didn't turn out the way I planned. Sometimes I finish the whole project and then I realize a few years down the line that I don't really like it. That doesn't mean I failed. Sometimes the process alone is what I need to feel creative, not the end product. I still had a blast knitting that cardigan, and I still remember sitting at the table sorting out my recipes. I actually LIKE organizing some stuff. It wasn't a chore (unlike cleaning those bathrooms.)
Spring is a great time to purging, for setting goals, and for just resetting your life sometimes. Even if it just means completely remaking something out of that green yarn purchased on sale, or tossing out recipes you know you'll never make, in order to make room for ones that are now kept in a more organized binder.
What are you remaking these days?
If you're anything like me, you may have quite a few editions of your favorite magazines around the house. As much as I love reading books, magazines have always been my guilty pleasure. They're generally cheaper to buy than a book, easier to skim through, and I don't feel nearly as bad about giving them away after reading through them only once (whereas I often feel like I can just check a book out of the library instead of paying so much cash for it!)
Last week I promised you a few ideas on how to de-stash your magazines -- how to turn your Magazine Mayday into Magazine Magic, if you will.
First things first... if you're done with your magazines and they're still in one piece, pass them on! Ask at local hospitals and doctors' offices if they would like your magazines. I often pass them onto friends or even thrift stores.
Schools and summer camps may also be on the lookout for magazines for craft projects. Be sure yours are age appropriate (no nudity or even Cosmo, please...)
Often times though, my magazines are not intact... especially if they have numerous knitting patterns or recipes or great articles I want to read again. In this case, I tear out the stuff I want to keep, make a new book or folder out of the compiled pages, and throw the magazines into a separate pile for recycling. (In some cases, places that want the magazines for crafts, may still want these ripped apart magazines!)
Other ideas for excess magazines, especially if you've already torn out a bunch of stuff:
A flower garland (there is a link at the bottom of her post for the actual instructions.)
Envelopes!
As a teenager and in college, I crafted numerous letters and envelopes to friends from my old Glamour magazines. My envelopes weren't fancy... I would just tear out the page and fold and tape the thing into a rectangular envelope.
Then I'd put a sticky label on the envelope for the address. If the outside of the envelope has enough white space though, you can always just write the address in it! If you want something similar but slightly more precise (let's be real, I didn't even cut a line down the one side. I just ripped the page...) then you can see a more detailed how-to here.
Wreathes
More wreathes
Christmas trees
You can also reuse neat photo pages from magazines as gift-wrapping for small items, or to use as packing paper when mailing fragile things.
If a photo or design strikes my fancy, I tend to put it in my paper stash for later use on a handmade card or scrapbook page.
Finally, give your excess magazines to your kids! To this day I have an affinity for the Burpee Gardening Seed Catalog because my mom let me have her old ones to destroy for crafty things. I can't tell you how many paper 'gardens' I created out of those catalogs, but I know simply cutting out flowers and vegetables and then pasting them onto plain paper kept me occupied for hours!
What other ideas do you have for recycling and reusing your magazines?
