edgeofcenter's Profile

*dies* I suddenly want a deep teal couch in my red, gold, white, and dark hardwood Spanish Colonial living room. Wow.

Whooops cut & paste error - the second link (under ...gorgeous too) should go here.

It's like magic - when I finally get my teeth into one of these big unweildy projects, they almost always take two hours. On the money. Within ten minutes either side. Clean out the storeroom? Two hours. Till the garden? Two hours. Take everything out of the pantry, clean the shelves, reorganize, and put everything back? Yep.

I finally figured out that my "procrastination zone" is 90 minutes to 3 hours - anything less than that I'm able to motivate myself to just DO in a timely fashion, and anything more sort of naturally breaks itself into multiple projects! It's the stuff in the middle that just seems daunting. I'm trying to discipline myself to set aside one or two 2-hour blocks during each week to tackle these big jobs.

@Duane - right?!? Mine is 90 years old and, yeah. *sigh* I love this old house, but the upkeep is crazy.

I have a kitchen pantry door with a broken hinge tucked behind the fridge because I just recently painted the kitchen, want to get nice new hardware throughout, have no decent specialty stores here and need to buy it online, and can't bring myself to pay shipping on four stupid hinges and then go back and buy the rest of the hardware at another time. I really should just take the other door off that cabinet so it looks intentional and not trashy, but that would be admitting I'm procrastinating the purchase. :-)

I've also got an unused storage room/past child's bedroom/future office and guest room with no light fixture. Said child took the original out and installed a ceiling fan (when he was 17 or so) and then took the ceiling fan with him when he moved out, but the original fixture is lost to the winds. I haven't bothered to budget the time or money to fix the light in an unused room when there are so many other projects, so every time I have to go in there, it's flashlight time.

I had no idea jasmine was pot-friendly! I have fond memories of enormous climbing jasmine and honeysuckle from years of living in the South.

I've been dithering on a third plant to accompany a variegated hosta and a fern in the white-green-and-charcoal bathroom I'm in the middle of renovating. Jasmine seems like just the thing - right around the corner from the bedhroom, so in full bloom it'd be present but not cloying, but during a late-night candlelit bath? LOVELY.

I do the bin thing, but I don't keep them in the room where I sew - I have a studio in my basement, and also a huge (huge! 12x16 or something like that) laundry room, which is obviously a much more utilitarian space. Keeping the bins in the laundry room 1.) keeps the ugliness of the bins out of the cozy studio 2.) encourages me to open one bin, take something out, and put it back; and 3.) encourages me to put new fabric away promptly after it's washed.

I also don't sort by color, but by intended use - which more or less follows the lines of fabric type, as well. Costuming material is different from quilting is different from regular clothes-sewing, and fabric bought for a specific project that's not starting right away is stored separately from stash purchases. On the rare occasions when something crosses over - "that satin I bought for pillows would make perfect trim on this dress!" - the creative process points me in the direction of where to start looking.

Scraps, I sort by size (anything between a 1/8 yd and 1/2 yd is a "quarter", more or less, less than 1/8th is a "piece", and anything less than 6x6" is a "scrap" - I crazy quilt!) then by color and store in photo boxes.

I approached question #4 from the opposite end - I found dishware I adored and couldn't stand to have it put away, so I moved it onto an antique hutch in the dining room (at that time used as a bar) in a setup similar to picture #5, moved the cookbooks to the glass-doored upper cabinet in the breakfast room where the dishes had been, and moved the liquor to the counter below the cookbooks. I love it.

The kitchen itself has all enclosed cabinets, and there are enclosed cabinets below the "bar" counter, so plenty of cover-up storage, and just the right amount of open or behind-glass storage for the things I want to show off.

I work in a public library and check out a lot of magazines - it's a win-win! All the fun of getting something new every month without the enduring clutter, and because I'm on the collection development team, I have some influence in what gets bought. There are a few I find perennially useful and will take home after they've had their year of circulation and get removed - mostly cooking and art/architecture mags.

There are a couple of very specialized things that I'm thinking of buying home subscriptions for, though. High-end crafty things, mostly - Cloth Paper Scissors, Bead & Button, Belle Armoire.

Wal-mart (yes, Wal-mart!) is carrying Libby square-bottomed highball/old-fashioned sets that look just exactly like Williams-Sonoma's $49/set of 4 (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/square-highball-glass/). The glass isn't of the same quality or finish, obviously, but hey, they're $10 for a box of 8 of each. I love them and keep a couple of spare boxes in storage.

Seconding Girl & Lamp (and delurking!). I'm a public library collection manager, so this is something I can speak to... if you're really concerned about getting your stuff actually on library shelves (which some people are), consider talking to a smaller rural library in a nearby town. About half of my workplace's collection comes from donations, while the big urban library in the nearest city sends EVERYTHING to their Friends bookstore - which is great if all you care about is your donation making a little money for the library, but those donations will never see actual library shelves.

Also, if you're letting go of very specialized books, consider a special library. A high school with a culinary magnet/vocational program may love high-quality cookbooks, or a small private art museum with a research library might be a good match for art books.

The other organizations that Kathleen mentions are all fantastic! Some hospitals also maintain libraries as part of their recreation departments.

Always ask. If an institution isn't a good match for what you have to offer, they can often suggest someone who is.