Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Wiggle Room


I started purging in 2016 and I thought I was done in 2019, but most of the purging came from the attic and I still have too much stuff.


I need "wiggle room" in my cupboards so in February, I got serious and asked myself if I was really going to use each item.


I started the process with our dining room plate racks.


Everything came off the racks and I either put items back on the rack, into a cupboard or in a donation pile.


Once the racks were decorated, I moved onto my grandma's step back cupboard in our entry.


I emptied everything out of the cupboard - remember that arrow because it led to yesterday's project.


I posted a pic of the cupboard on Instagram on February 20, when I began writing this "Wiggle Room" post, but life got in the way of finishing up the cupboard.


When I first painted the inside of the cupboard blue, I only had the top part of the cupboard and when I painted it, I didn't even notice that I had left the ceiling unpainted.


I literally didn't see the problem until this feature came out in Cottages and Bungalows magazine in 2017 - yes, it's taken me that long to fix the problem.


Health and the lockdown (couldn't get the paint) kept me from finishing the project, but yesterday things came out of the cupboard once again.


After I finished painting the ceiling, I decided that to make the cupboard more functional and give myself a little wiggle room in the hall cupboard I would add runners and tablecloths to that top shelf.


If you are wondering what those red sticks are on the second shelf,


they are the sweetest vintage utensils sent to me from Rita of Panoply.


I put everything back and planned to wait on the bottom cupboard until today, but there were wind warnings so I stayed inside and tackled the rest of the job.


When I painted the top part of the cupboard, the bottom half lived with my daughter in San Francisco and she painted it yellow- notice the remnants on the open cupboard door.


It's been organized since February, but finally the interior is painted white and that is checked off my To Do list.


Now that I am finishing the post, I must show one change I made in the plate racks.


I had Steve hang cup hooks -


 removing the cups from the cupboard gave me a little more wiggle room.



I didn't want the before photos of the dining room and entry to look exactly like they did to start with so I made my first visit to Trader Joe's in 11 weeks.


It was wonderful to pick out flowers in a nearly empty store


and to come home and create arrangements for both the living room and the entry.


What I mean by wiggle room is that I have space in the cupboards and on the plate racks for that perfect piece of ironstone I can't pass up


I just need thrift shops, vintage shops and pop up markets to fully open.

19 comments:

  1. I love all of the changes you made...everything is so pretty! Adding the cup hooks was a great idea!

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  2. oooh totally love that gorgeous cupboard!! funny how we don't notice things. I don't see half what I need to change until I get a photo of it. Glad you're able to get back to your Trader Joe's routine!

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  3. I need to do more purging, too. My biggies are dishes and fabrics. Lol. You did a great job. ❤️

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  4. I loved this post and think your pieces are fabulous! Did you have a big pile for donation? My new name is Charity. I’ll take your leftovers! ��

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  5. Don't know what happened there. It's to purge and keep what you really love. It's also nice to have extra room for a great new piece that captures your heart.

    Love all your changes. With your beautiful gardens 8t still surprises me when you buy flowers.

    It's been great seeing you post!

    Cindy

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  6. You are so good about getting rid of things. And everything is looking so lovely! ❤️

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  7. I have to really be in the right head to purge. Doesn't happen often enough! And, I do love your reason to purge - so you can fit something new......That's my M.O. as well! Everything looks so pretty, Carol. It's hard to imagine that anything in your home needs improvement! I, too, went to Trader Joe's for the first time in two months. It actually felt weird to be out and about, especially in a place I used to frequent a couple times a week.

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  8. Giving things up is really hard. Until they're gone! Haha! Good job. And a fantastic new look! I am mostly looking for thrift stores to open again so that I can donate things.

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  9. It is hard to give things up believe me been there! Once you do it and you do have the "wiggle room" it makes it all ok. Love how you decorated your plate rack. really pretty. The flowers from Trader Joe's are gorgeous. I need my shops to open up again too. Miss them so much. Hopefully soon we will have some kind of normal again. Have a great rest of the week.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  10. That cupboard has always been one of my features you share. It looks great and so do the plate racks. The flowers are so pretty.

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  11. Oh do I need to purge!!!! Love your cupboard. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  12. Everything looks great you did good. Have a blessed day. Madeline

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  13. Love this Carol! Putting the cup hooks on the plate racks was a great idea. Thanks for the shout out, glad you still like those. Our antique mall reopened on the 11th, and we (my sisters, I should say) each sold a piece of furniture in the first week, so we're hopeful for some kind of normal return in the coming weeks.

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  14. Well done, Carol! It looks terrific and don't you feel so much lighter?!

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  15. Good morning Carol! Thank you for visiting my blog....where I haven't posted in a while!

    Oh that white cabinet of yours with the blue interior...sublime, perfect, evoking a British countryside life.

    I wish I could find that chamomille flower here in our Trader Joe's because it is such a happy little daisy. You have done a great job here!

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  16. Good morning Carol. I love to watch your process of how you sort and rearrange finding “wiggle room” for things! Everything looks so nice. But I wonder if sometimes do you miss the bright yellow, blues and reds that you used to have. I look at back at my old photos in my house was much more colorful than it is now and sometimes I miss the color. Just wondering if you did?

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  17. Carol your new decorating with mostly white is so fresh and clean, I love it . . . but I remember the old days of primary colors and lots of color, that was amazing too! Your posts are always delightful and so pretty. Thanks for the tour.

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  18. Your house and how you arrange things always looks so beautiful. I went to Trader Joe's yesterday for the first time in a few weeks. I got some flowers and the bouquet I got had mini roses in them. Can you believe they are already shriveled up and drooping today? Just 24 hours later. I am so disappointed. We're finally having some warm weather - it was 84 here today!

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