Fixing Earrings

It stands to reason that any possession that is not useful in some way will clutter up the place. I had a jar of junk jewelry I bought at a yard sale, meaning to re-purpose it into arts and crafts projects. I've gone through it from time to time but never got any further.

So today I went through it and found two matching metal hoop earrings. The only thing wrong with them was that an ear wire was missing from one. So I removed the old ear wire, and put new ear wires on them. So viola, I had a 'new' pair of earrings. And one bracelet just needs a clasp repair, so I pulled that one out of there too. And then I found a watch in my nick-knack shelf.  It evidently needs a new battery because it's running slow.  So if I wear it I might remember to get a battery. 

Other parts of the jewelry will be useful for embedding into resin, if I get time to get into the new hobby of resin pouring. But for now they went back into the jar for another day.

Removing Old Wax From Glass Votive Candle Holders

Here you can see the wax that came out of the holders. The bottom paper shows that votive had 2 candles in it, and the top candle had 7 or 8 candles before it got too full to use again. If you make candles you can even reuse the wax if you filter out the clutter.  You can also see the leftover chopsticks that the candle holders were balanced on.

Two candle holders I rescued from being pitched into the trash. That's about a $6 savings right there.

I didn't want to be wasteful and throw out old votive candle holders once they are filled with wax and no wicks.  So they've been piling up cluttering up the place.
So I asked my boyfriend to help me come up with a way to get the old wax out. First I dusted the candle holders off. Then we got an old pie tin, lined it with foil, and then put a few broken wood chopsticks on the bottom to keep the candle holders off the bottom.
We set the oven to the lowest possible setting.  Then we inverted the votives and rested them on the chopsticks. In twenty minutes the old candles had slid out of the containers.  I carefully removed them with oven mitts and set them on a paper towel to cool off. I did not try to take the pie plate out of the oven with the liquid wax in it at this time, I just turned off the oven. An hour later it was solidified enough to remove the pie pan with a pot holder.

If I need to get further wax off of the glass I can do it with a hot hair dryer.  I'm happy I'll be able to use my pretty candle holders again now.

Obstructionist

I found out my boyfriend is an Obstructionist.
Definitions of obstructionist on the Web:
someone who systematically obstructs some action that others want to take

Every time I try to clean, organize, or straighten out the apartment, he pouts, complains, stops talking to me or grouses around that I moved something of his. So I'm just going to have to move my own stuff and as much as possible work around his. Today's goal is to get to my drawing table so I can start using it again, because crafting on the couch is just not efficient, fun, or good for my posture.

Bathrooms

Yesterday I gave the guest bathroom a quick cleaning before my guests came. If it's one thing about guests, they invariable have to use the bathroom. But it needed cleaning anyway. Don't they always?

Then my boyfriend helped out by doing the dishes without being asked, which kept me from running away from home.

My friend that visited is the one I mentioned earlier that is remodeling her bathroom. I can't wait to see what she does with it. She said she wanted to have one truly remarkable room in her house that people could ooo and ahh over. She's a busy school teacher and a graphics artist, so it's going to be a long term project.

Unexpected Guests and Cleaning Snafus

I was so proud of myself today for spending an hour straightening up the living room and putting away finished art items. Then tonight my boyfriend said two friends were coming over tomorrow.  Well, I may have cleaned up a little, but no where near enough to be entertaining company.  And I didn't want to chuck my days schedule out the window and grab the toilet brush. And tomorrow's not a good day either because I need to work on my paying work before they go on holiday for Christmas.  In other words if I don't send them videos on Monday and Tuesday, I won't get paid for a week or two or more. So which do I drop? My paid work? My housework? Or my social life, which is slim as it is? So instead of doing anything useful I've just been staring into space like a deer in the headlights. I'm even more puzzled that though my boyfriend invited them, he shows no signs of cleaning up for visitors whatsoever.  He just says they are friends, and they won't care, so why should he. That puts even more pressure on me.

Back to the Desk

Yesterday I bit off more than I could chew work wise and got nothing done in my house. Today I was trying to put lotion on my back and managed to get cramps across my back from shoulder to shoulder.  Ouch, that hurts. If I feel better later I'll get back to the uncluttering tasks.

I made some headway on my desk by getting the Christmas cards sent. I've got to break the habit of randomly leaving things on my desk. Right now as I look around I have a knitting loom, 2 hats, a tape measure, four faux candy canes, my camera case, my last 3 Etsy projects that I listed, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  And if I don't clean off at least one spot for my cat to sleep, he'll just keep knocking things off until he has a clean spot. Sometimes I think I should put velcro across the desktops and stick things down so Wallop can't knock them off. I don't need any help messing up my bedroom. I'm doing just fine by myself.

Sewing Clutter

I got two loads of laundry done yesterday and one put away completely.  The other is still out in the garage, but it's raining so it's going to stay there.

I got a lot of dishes done.  I also got the tallest rose trimmed and some of the gourd vine trimmed off the sidewalk and gates.  If I do stuff as I see it I won't get so far behind.

I also cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeder, because even in Dec. I still see a hummingbird now and then.

In Etsy chat last night I found a sewing buddy. She's going to work with me so we can motivate each other to get more sewing done. I have piles and piles of sewing, tons of patterns and boxes of fabric everywhere. Organizing it all is a nightmare. Well, every domestic problem has a solution so I'll have to come up with something.