make a home

I have been so busy this year. Professionally. Personally. I know I can have it all! So, I am going to make a home. By Thanksgiving – this will again be a HOME!

I will follow Flylady’s cruising through the holiday messages. It will get me there.

There’s a book from Cheryl Mendelson titled “Home Comforts: the Art and Science of Keeping House”, and in it she explains in great detail all the little, simple, but truly valuable acts and things that make a house a HOME. She calls attention to something I have always thought, that in their avidity to create a home, people put too much emphasis on decoration and interior design, instead of on running an efficient household and making it feel welcoming and comforting to residents and guests alike. I’m starting to understand a lot better what it means to “make a home”.

My home is a disaster.

i give up

We have a nice home now. I think we could make it even more of a home by being creative at home more often (me writing, him plaing guitar, etc), having more heart-to-hearts, and fixing up the bedroom (paint) and kitchen (organize).

Right now, this means getting rid of half of my stuff. Seriously. There’s just too much crap in there.

i’m trying

I never knew how cooking transforms a pad into a home, until I started cooking. The whole place feels different now. Much more homey.

A dozen hot pink roses in C’s childhood vase
Three bottles of wine in the mini winerack
Plants on top of the fridge
Shelves for candles – just need the candles

Well, we finally have the furniture we needed – we got a coffee table yesterday. We are decorating the walls with our stuff (combining our things is tricky). We also painted two walls in the living room! I’ve never invested so much time in homemaking before, but it’s worth it. In the end we will have a place that reflects and nurtures the spirits of both people living there.

The apartment itself has some idiosyncrasies, and the biggest challenge is the lack of storage space. It’s taking a lot of work to put things away. I’m going to have to downsize more. But that’s for the best – I have some boxes of stuff that need to be decluttered and condensed.