I’m weary of swords and courts and kings. Let us go into the garden. 🌸 Mary Johnston🌸 Chair dance anyone? Oui! ☺️ MUSICA
I ask myself the same question every day when I get up, “How do I move myself forward today?” It’s a great question, it gets me moving . . . because, I have places to go and people to see, and I need to work diligently in the direction of my dreams. Or I’m not happy. Even my tiniest steps forward add up!
For several years now, I’ve been on a mission, to learn more about the writing process, to see if I could figure out how to write my memoir books, to figure out how to get them 
published, and then to get it done. And while I did it, many other things in my life went onto the back burner. I was busy! And, one thing I wasn’t doing was deep cleaning, no good old-fashioned organization, or home care for my darling dear house that deserves better. But it got me for a mom, and 
therein lies the problem. As you are about to see. I can’t believe I am going to show such terrible photos. Normally I clean up before I take the pictures. It’s probably the worst I’ve ever seen it, mainly because we were hardly home last year, and when we got back, I began to “drop off” stuff in my studio, move it out of my view “until I had time to clean it.” I’m thinking someone else out there may experience this problem, so I thought I would do some before and after photos and talk about Spring Cleaning and how to de-clutter, lighten up, and simplify your life.💞 Shield your eyes, here we go . . .
The question is: Who’s in charge here? It was a daunting project to begin. I almost didn’t know where to start, every cupboard and drawer in our house is stuffed to the gills. But as 
time goes on, I’m becoming quite cutthroat about it. I choose emptiness. I took pictures of some of the harder things to get rid of. Now I own the memories associated with them forever! The bookshelves are full of books, some of which have been there since we moved into the house in 1989, any new books since then have had to find another place to go ~ I keep inserting tiny bookshelves in corners of the house, packing it all in even further, and now the only place left is the floor. But the floor is already almost totally covered with projects and boxes of who knows what, it’s layered. You could do a dig here, like James Michener’s The Source.
I began to empty the shelves and take most of the books to the living room, where I’m packing them to give to the second-hand bookstore on the Island. Not all of them of course. I kept the good ones! But not too many. I want empty shelves. I want empty shelves so bad. Room for new thoughts, new ideas! Room to breathe.
Because I can no longer live like this. I think it’s stealing my energy just having to look at it. There are three stacks of original art in plastic pages on the floor under the shelves! I don’t recognize the rest of it, it’s too much of a jumble. Stacks of books, stacks of papers, crowded Beatrix Potter people. I had to design cups on top of the mess in order to get them done in time. Doing a Willard in this mess would be impossible!
All so wrong. That door to the front hall has been blocked closed for maybe three years (It was way worse than this, I’d already moved most of the stuff!). And as I begin to move through it, I ask myself, do I need this, is it adding value to my life, and if the answer is no, then I say bye-bye! I want smooth surfaces, table tops especially. I’ve been getting happier and happier every day, and lighter and lighter, and basically, I’m downright giddy now! Waking up singing! The unbearable lightness of being!
It doesn’t look like this anymore. And as I’ve done it, shelf by shelf, going through everything piece by piece, file by file, box by box, I found interesting things I’d forgotten all about . . . and realized I was engaged in a form of treasure hunt.
I washed each shelf which had not seen the light of day since 1989. Basically the answer to how to do this, is one shelf at a time.
Yard by yard, it’s very hard, but inch by inch, it’s a cinch.
See the cupboards underneath? Same thing, one at a time. And that mess on the 
worktable? That BIG pile on the left is recipes, ideas, and quotes for my Tea Book which I’ve been adding to and saving for years, with no place to put it. It’s not there anymore. Now it’s organized, and my Tea Book project has one of those clean empty shelves all for itself!
And, I think, in my most maniacal of moments, now I have room ~ I can go antiquing again! 😜
Here’s one of the treasures I found, this card was in a recipe box I did for my mom around 1979. I forgot all about it, I don’t think I’ve seen it since then.
I’d brought home my mom’s recipe file from California, and inside were handwritten recipes and letters, from my mom, my grandma, and my great grandma. I also had recipes from my dad and my sisters . . .
And this detailed letter to my mom from my grandfather Willard’s mother, my mom’s “Gram,” and my great grandmother . . . her typing strokes are indented in the soft blue paper ~ Sioux City, Iowa is written at the top ~ and she is writing my mom in California about the only news that ever really matters to our lives. Turn off the TV, and this is what there is, the real stuff of life. 💌
This is the rest of the box I did for my mom . . . so I put all the recipes from everyone else in it . . . and a card explaining who is who, for the future people who will someday find it, maybe my brother’s and sister’s children, or who knows. Maybe some rescuing type of person in a second-hand store. But I have a picture of it now, so it’s mine forever, and the box will be saved in a special family file box.
Then I began on the file cabinet, pulled out each file, went through it, threw out tons of useless paperwork, then rearranged and put back what mattered. This de-cluttering adventure is a long-term project, but I would rather do it now when I choose to, than later, when I have to! Right now I just want to! Not all of it is memories, some of it is just stuff I don’t need. I’m recycling, donating, and throwing out. I already cleaned the kitchen and emptied the sideboard in the dining room, and got rid of 
half of it, and after I get this room done, I go upstairs! That’s also when I will get to start seriously painting four hours a day. As soon as the studio is clean and I feel the spaciousness of it, I’ll dip my brush in water, and hear the ringing sound as it hits the side of the dish and put my first color on the paper, early one morning, in the quiet, with my tea and my cat. I don’t think I’ll get the whole house done until sometime around August. I go as slow as I want. I go to the garden, I stare at the dogwood tree in bloom. Joe and I go to the nursery. I’m planning a tea party. I shoot hair bands for my kitty. I talk on the phone to Siobhan and Rachel in England. I design cups. I brake for John’s Fish Market chocolate shakes! But all while I’m lightening my life, and indulging in the treasure hunt and the joy of memory.
Luv-lee letters like this get photographed, and put into a “children’s letters” file. I’ve looked up names on some of the old letters ~ and amazingly found and followed them on Instagram (@susanbranchauthor)! Sometimes I don’t like the Internet, and sometimes, I love it!
And now, I have all my ideas for books in one place, in files, and NOT, as was before, in piles on the floor. Every day I feel better, I feel more and more inspired about what will come next . . . and think of the words I heard on some TV show, ” I tremble on the brink of life’s next great adventure.” But I can’t get there until I am out from under the weight of this stuffed house!
I’ve consolidated, whittled down, and distilled . . . honestly, so much of it just didn’t belong here anymore. I saved a few old things, like products I’ve made . . . put them into boxes, labeled them, and up the attic they go, saved for posterity. A very little bit of it. Stuff I hope that someday someone else will want. But if they don’t, at least it’s consolidated. I’m doing this thing just like I redecorate. Taking everything off the shelves out of the cupboards, washing and cleaning them, and putting back only what I can’t live without, and getting rid of the rest.
I had to keep a little bit of this! Just in cases.
And this too!
And of course the piles of original artwork . . .
All organized and stacked on those empty shelves where I can access them. Most of my original art is in an old bank safe in California. Each book I’ve written is totally intact, all the original pages are there, and each book is in its own acid-free box. 
Look at that. I’m making white space . . . ahhh, emptiness . . .
A finished person is a boring person. 💙Anna Quindlen
Don’t worry, I’m not the minimalist type, for me that would be going too far. And I’m not done. Only about half way right now . . . but I can see the trees in the forest! I thought you might like to see some of the treasures I found:
First off, this. The box of everything, all the photos, all the memorabilia, the diary pages, even some souvenirs, everything from the trip we took in 2001 with our nieces Heidi and Holly, to London, Paris, and Bath (where we first discovered the English Countryside) . . . our theme music from that trip was Dusty Springfield from the British Invasion cassette we had in the car . . . we sang as we traveled hill and dale . . . we still sing it. Joe sang it too . . .🎵 I don’t know WHAT to do with my self . . .🎵
Here we are boarding the ship in New York. In this photo, Heidi, on the left, is 11, my 
brother Brad’s daughter, who grew up in Colorado. On the right is Holly, she’s 12, she belongs to my sister Mary and grew up in California. The cousins had met only once before we took them away across the wide ocean for six wonderful weeks. We’d been planning it since they were six. It was the very best time I ever had. They were wonderful and funny and smart! The box with everything from this trip was on a high shelf here in my studio and hadn’t seen the light of day in years. I still have to go through it, and someday, when I get the photos scanned, I’ll do a post about that magical trip.
Something else, a note from my dad. Writing me about the correct way to drink tea.💞 Now it’s in my mom’s recipe box.
And this painting my dad did of his beloved dog, Chief.
And my mom’s jacks and balls. Which I labeled and saved.
And I found this photo of me and my brother Jim with my cute mom and dad, which I don’t remember seeing before, something else to put in her recipe box. Too bad about the over-exposure, but still . . . look how their arms lean into each other. They are in it together. And there’s a picket fence back there! I must have seen it and fell in love!
And this book was in the pile. I still remember the night I met Julia and how much it meant to me.
Deep in the files was this little notebook I used when writing my first book with all kinds of little reminders, quotes and notations, and even grocery lists. The address of Little Brown, and Random House. Lots of dreams tied up in this messy little book.
And I found the hollyhock seeds sent to me by Nicoline, one of our girlfriends from Holland, over a year ago! But I wasn’t here to plant them last spring, and we also went away in the fall, so they didn’t get planted then either ~ I decided to see if they would sprout, and look, they did!
Kind of a miracle . . .
You might remember Nicoline from our picnic in England! She and her husband came from Holland and she brought her own Petey doll to show me!
And now her hollyhocks are planted in my garden . . . I get so many plants from my girlfriends, I call my garden a friendship garden!
This was what it looked like outside this morning, the wisteria has begun to bloom, Lowely’s bluebells are blooming too, at the far corner of the picket fence!
I bring the blooming things in for the little shelf over my kitchen sink . . .
And took a photo of the inside of the little bells of Lily of the Valley . . .
And, you may ask, what has Joe been doing all this time! Oh, we are a team! He has been doing to the yard, what I have been doing to my studio. He’s been thatching, raking, mulching, top dressing, seeding and watering. Men ask, “What do women want?” But they should know . . . This is every woman’s aphrodisiac, someone to build a life with.💞 When we stand next together, our arms press together.
💛💛💛
You can hear Jack meowing! I love it when he talks in a video, not easy to get him to do it!
I heard the ferry boat whistle just now like a long musical note. 🎵 Sometimes I forget where I am, how close the sea is, until I hear the boat whistle!
And as so many of you know, the Studio has been busy too . . . sending out your new English bone china cups . . . 💞
And these are the people who’ve been making that happen. Alfredo, Sheri and Kellee at the Studio. Couldn’t do it without these wonderful people! Monday is Kellee’s birthday!
And I got mine!! Just as excited as everyone else!
I’m very proud of them. It’s hard finding really beautiful things, and then being able to afford to get them made, especially in foreign countries! Now we are importers! We talk palettes, air freight, and customs! TMI for sure!
It’s been a lot of fun on Twitter, so many Girlfriends have written and sent photos, saying, “Got mine!” Marcia (@msmrph) sent this darling photo of herself and her best friend Julie captioned “Tea for two Besties!” Makes my day! Our cup club is not very big, but it’s very wonderful!
We’re working to make your Christmas especially easy this year. I know it’s a long time until then, but in order to get things made in time, we have to start now… we love planning surprises. Especially for you. Like our dream charms. So many of you have asked us to bring them back, so we did. 💞 Here they are! I think they’ll be in our web store the first couple of weeks of June.
We reordered three of our most popular charms . . . Autumn (in that first photo), A Fine Romance (see the hedgerows?👍),
and the ever-popular “Be an Elf,” all with small gift cards . . .
And in the midst of cleaning the Studio, sort of on top of the layers, I did manage to finish designing the bottoms, the handles, and the backs of the new mugs, and sent them off to England where the process of manufacturing has already begun. They are supposed to be here by August! We’re taking no chances they would be late for Christmas, and we need that Autumn cup first! And, yes, they are in the web store for Presale right now! I know it’s hard to think Christmas, but please try, because, like with the last ones, when these are gone, they are gone. You’ll be glad when December comes and you don’t have to go Christmas shopping! ❤️ Here they are:
Santa Claus is coming to town! In 16 ounces of fine bone China from “the Potteries” in Staffordshire, England! And, yes, they are all dishwasher and microwave safe!
This is the back . . . (only a mockup, made from paper in these photos, will look a lot better in real life!)
I did a construction-paper chain for the handle. Oh by gosh by golly!
And we have a 16-ounce Bluebird of Happiness. Which is going to look really good in my new blue kitchen! 💙
Here’s the back. It’s trying to be whimsical!
And the handle. I think it’s adorable. But still, only paper!
And my Autumn cup is a little bit smaller, 11 ounces, because you asked! I’ll do one for every season, all this same size. The only difference between this design and the real life one to come, the handle is actually going to be on the other side . . . This quote will actually be on the “front” of the cup. . .
And this will be the back ~ the handle will be on the other side from what you see here, and the squirrel will be on the left facing the other way . . . I decided I liked it better like that. Decisions, decisions.
The handle. 🍂 Signifies abundance.🍁
And now, my Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams 16-ounce cup. You drink from it, and I hear, could be a rumor, but I think not, your dreams will come true. ⚡️
It’s a short trip to the Island, via cup. 🛳
And here’s the handle. 💙
Be sure to read the small print on the ordering page, it explains lots of things, like what we are doing, and why, when we retire each of the cups . . . too long for the blog, but extra reading while ordering and good clarification! Hope you like them!
Now, last but definitely not least, Jack. He has taught me a couple of new tricks. You know 
how cats jump up to rub on your leg? Well, he gets on the table and rubs (sort of butts) my forehead, and now I softly butt him back, and we have a meeting of the minds. He puts his head near mine and wants me to do it. We are blood cat brothers. He also LOVES the running water in the bathroom . . . we go there to play . . . he is rather calm in this video, because I have the camera and he knows it, but usually he makes me turn the water on and off really fast, he bites it and grabs it and sometimes he comes out of there wet! It’s his secret life. Joe doesn’t even know about this. How do I explain that I’m being trained by the cat?!
💙💙
And one more thing, I have a surprise for you . . . I thought we’d give away one of these new cups! If you already have yours, it’s okay, you’ll have a best-friend gift all ready to go!
And whoever our lucky winner is will get their choice of which one! In Love with Nature on the left, Little Things in the middle, or Love on the right. All you have to do is leave a comment! And in a week or so, we’ll get Vanna back from Bali (I think that’s where she is ~ she’s hard to keep up with!) to pull the winning name. And I hope it’s YOU! 🌸
Bye for now Girlfriends, have a wonderful day! Love and ❌’s, Me.
Oops! P.S. Almost forgot to say, in case anyone will be around, I’ll be signing books and visiting at Titcomb’s Book Shop on Wednesday, June 7, from 1 to 3pm … joining this wonderful, independent, family-owned bookstore in celebration of their 50th Anniversary! Please come by and say hello if you can! It’s on Cape Cod in East Sandwich, click above for details. There will be cupcakes, and you don’t need a ticket to come! 😘
Oh, oh, oh, I AM INSPIRED! So generous and helpful of you to share your sorting and sifting process with us via the blog. I’m moved to tackle my “sewing room” which is in kind of a stasis situation resembling an episode of that show about Hoarders :-(. Okay, I’m making tea and a fried egg sandwich and coming back for more careful scrutiny of all you wrote and all the comments. In other words a bit of procrastination . . . The little video of Jack playing at the sink is precious 🙂
Just read your honest and inspiring blog. Thank you so much for brightening my day!! You have such a marvelous ability to always make everyone so happy.
Your new mugs are absolutely stunning!
Thank you dear, Susan!
You are so right about decluttering and how it makes you feel lighter! Thanks for making me feel better about being a pack rat!
Hi Miss Susan,
That letter from your great-gran…❤❤ my grandmother had one sister and five brothers, living from one coast to another and prolific letter writers. One would start a letter with one or two paragraphs and mail it to a sibling who would add their bit of news and send it on to another etc until each had read it all, front and back covered and up and around all the margins! None of us ever thought to keep any of them; that is such a treasure you have! And if you think you had clutter, no no no… would send you pictures of what my husband is working through but authorities would be called and an emergency hoarding intervention would be held! He prefers the term “serial collector.” He is making progress. I say “how about we donate that?” a lot. Meanwhile I escape to your blog and “shop” by building my wish list! You, Joe and Jack have a superfine Sunday!
FYI … this latest post doesn’t seem to be linked to your website. I’ve tried several times to access it via http://www.162.240.10.175/~susanbs3/susanbranch/, without success. I was finally able to reach it via your email notification. Anyway, it’s always good to see what’s going on at Branch Hall; no moss is gathering on you and Joe! The new cups are wonderful, and I’d love to win one; I think my personal favorite so far is the Martha’s Vineyard, as I’ve wanted a ‘souvenir’ plate or mug from there, even though I’ve never visited. Maybe some day …
Sharon in Alabama
Susan…what a delightful pause during my afternoon busyness! It is always such a pleasure to find you in my e-mail.
John and I have also been going thru closets, shelves and drawers and enjoying (?) all the things we are finding … or at least most of them. It is like Christmas every time we open a box. We are at the age that we need to downsize our stuff. We have enjoyed having these things, but our children don’t want most of it, as they have different tastes. We’ll keep the memories and pass a lot of it along to someone who will also enjoy these items until they too need to downsize in the future.
Thank you for such a fun read as always. Happy gardening and sorting to you and Joe. Hugs!
Oh my goodness, what a job you have tackled, but doesn’t it feel wonderful?! When I moved from Alaska (lived there 21 years) to Arizona and went in my crawl space to find every single piece of paper and project my kids worked on since Kindergarten. My daughter will graduate high school next year and my son will be a Junior in high school. So I brought all the boxes up and took pictures of everything and then threw everything out (except for some exceptional projects I just couldn’t part with) but now I have them in pictures, which really declutters.
Love your new cups and can’t wait to go shopping!
Well, Susan you have done it again! Just when we think we know you, you surprise us. And that surprise is always fascinating and invites us to learn something about ourselves.
I have noted over the years that people who are not familiar with psychotherapy or even support groups feel that revealing deep inner thoughts to strangers would be too scary. But my pet theory has always been that it is much scarier for many of us to expose the world to how we really live. You have had the courage to do this! I am so grateful. It is both a primer on literal decluttering and a metaphor for decluttering our minds. And both are really one thing. And that is a thing we need now for so many reasons.
A little tidbit. Over the years things you write about often evoke quirky and fun childhood memories. Today I went back to forgotten 50’s days of obsessively playing jacks! Like so many. But on my block we never played with the rubber balls but instead golf balls! (Used of course) Go figure! I remembered today the sound the golf ball made on the cement front steps. Very specific and not gone from my brain.
Thanks for the trip Susan.
Oh, I’m right there with you, and so was my mom, in that package along with the other balls, is a golf ball! 😆 Thank YOU Denise!
Yes, Denise and Susan, definitely a golf ball. I, too, can still hear that ball hitting the sidewalk and the swish of the jacks into my palm. Too bad today’s kids only play with tech/phones! Actually more than “too bad”…it is a societal crime!!!
Great post, Susan, showing the unwanted side effects of being a creative person. Love seeing how your projects grow like mold and cling to every surface because it IS exactly true. Projects do take over. If there is a clean, flat space watch out for the “creep and cling”…there is NO sacred space. (Have I seen this in a horror movie???) AND! Cleaning out, like Christmas decorating, makes a bigger mess until all is beautiful. Overwhelming, for sure.
Definitely a fact…if there is a shelf, it fills up…if there is a closet, it fills up…and don’t forget the drawers that follow suit. Don’t know how I lived without the use of my kids’ closets!!
I, too, recently donated many books and stuff and in the process found things I hadn’t seen in years! Figured that if I hadn’t missed it or even looked for it, it was definitely time to part ways. Wish I could wiggle my nose and make the rest of the “unknown, forgotten stuff” go bye-bye! Where is Genie when we need her?
I could never be a minimalist…I like my seasonal treasures, but shelves and closets are definitely our enablers. THEN there are attics, basements, garages, storage units, sheds…BARNS!! Thank goodness my stuff is confined to shelves, drawers, closets and an attic space…oh, and under beds…hmmm, is that a cupboard door that I haven’t opened in a while?
At any rate, you are right, Susan. Time to use the prime real-estate for the items we must keep…leave some breathing space for peace of mind…and toss/donate/recycle. Consider it weight loss for the house!
Jack is STILL adorable! Joe is STILL extraordinary! YOU may still be the MOST real, genuine person on earth and I admire your ease of living with a lack of pretense.
My cups are beautiful, thank you. Looking forward to ordering charms that I have had on my Wishlist…THANK YOU!! Will place an order for some beautiful new cups, too.
Finally, I think that we may talk about minimizing our belongings, but what about the SB china cups, books, dishes coming to us via USPS???? Guess it will be out with the old and in with the new. Shelves ARE on the walls for a reason…HA! It IS impossible to ignore that many of the collective “we” have a revolving, never-ending PROBLEM. 😜😓
xoxoxo
FayE! ❤️❤️❤️
I know, two messages in this blog post, first, get rid of the excess, and second, here’s more stuff for you! LOL!
I love your great grandma’s letter! The cleaning, sorting and purging is admirable and inspiring. I need to do that badly, but every time I start I end up cleaning the spot and putting everything back! What is wrong with me? Can’t part with things. I did give a few things to the kids, things of theirs from years ago. I know I too, will feel lighter once I get rid of some stuff.
I see you found my quilt on Instagram! Yay!
Keep on having fun,
Carol
Can you imagine how homes around the world will feel refreshed when we have all decluttered, even a little bit? Sometimes, when it is hard to let something go, I get excited for the person who will be its next owner for a time and I hope they will know that it had been lovingly cared for while I had it.
Brilliant. That’s exactly right. I have been caretaker of some wonderful things, someone will enjoy them some day (Not yet though, I’m still keeping the champagne glasses! 😃 Not “done” yet!)
Hello Susan,
I too am decluttering, and finding some hidden treasures from the past. I love your art and have many of your books. The mugs are just beautiful! Thank you for sharing your talent with us,
Maureen L.
The new cup is so very lovely and a delight to drink from. The wide handle is a big plus! I can’t resist making it ring like a bell before I fill it. Just charming!
What a nice treat, a post from you! You have been so busy! I needed this inspiration so bad. Been in a funk and like you said when things get out of hand you sometimes are overwhelmed and do not know where to start! I too have a need to simplify, I’m getting a little older and don’t want someone else to do have to do it someday. I can hear them now…”Why in the world would she have kept all this stuff?” Ha! Anyway thank you for the encouragement. In your file for book ideas I saw the tab for Christmas story, I mentioned it in a previous post if this is the same story that talks about Grandma coming and your cute painting of the car stuffed full of presents that you posted I think one Dec. Love that story, I want my grandkids to remember me as that type of Grammie! Also the Julie Child book and your mention of how much it meant to you. I am not embellishing in anyway in telling you how very much it meant to meet you in Pasadena CA at Voortman’s. Really, really did. Also got to meet your sweet Joe, and talk with him too. I love the mugs, want them all! Maybe my name will slip into Vanna’s finely manicured hand. Thank you for the chance, and the post and the years of sweetness and inspiration. Sorry this is so long, I really feel like you are my girlfriend, sorry I don’t live close enough to have come and brought a bottle of wine and helped with your project. xoxo
That would have been wonderful, but then of course we would get nothing done! 😘 Thank you for the kind words Paula! Hope to see you in Pasadena again one day!
Well I bet we would get the wine all gone! lol! Its a hard job but somebody (s) has to do it.
Susan, you have inspired your readers once again. I have done some serious cleaning out but need to do more. It feels so liberating when each phase is completed.
Your new cups are so adorable. Thanks for providing me with the reminder to focus on how I can move myself forward each day. ❤️
Good for you and Joe for all your cleaning and getting rid of and organizing and gardening. I have been thinking the same thing about my house. Maybe your blog will inspire me to do the same. Thank you for all the wonderful things you do for your fans. I hope Vanna is having a good time in Bali. Good thoughts are sent your way from me. Barbora
I have received my two “LOVE” mugs – so thoughtfully and carefully packed. How wonderful to be able to see the faces of those who were responsible for my package. I would love to begin a small collection of your beautiful mugs❤️
Hi Susan, I am doing the same…Decluttering and purging. It has begun to “lighten up, and simplify my life”. Started with my books. Sent off about 100 books to my local Friends of the Library and Thrift Store…I will miss them, but it was time. On to my office/craft room…Your blog (and photos) have given me the extra push I need to keep going!!! 🙂
I love your cups … Heading over to your Online shop for my Christmas mugs …
Wishing you a wonderful Sunday …
Mary
Susan you are an inspiration…in ALL things but today with decluttering!
I sit her in my little office room and know I need to ‘one shelf at a time’.
Thank you! Really enjoyed your post today.
We just moved into a smaller home and had to purge an entire house. It feels wonderful to see uncluttered counter and table tops, along with spaces on shelves in our new place. My word for 2017 was: “simplify” and you’re so right – I feel unencumbered with less stuff. It’s all about having experiences and not stuff these days. Would love to win one of your mugs, though, as one can never have enough of those. Thanks, Susan!
Your blog brings me such joy. I just read a quote that I love, I cannot remember the author “…order creates serenity…”. I just love that. We have a new kitten, Grayson, she is such fun and beginning to find her own things to do around our home. She is busy, busy and loves sitting on the ironing board in my quilting studio and watching what goes on outside. Thank you for being you!
Kathryn, I have a cat named Grayson!! If the name holds true to my Grayson then you have just adopted the sweetest, most adorable, loving and loyal furry friend. Grayson and I head butt just like Susan and precious Jack.
Good luck and love for many happy years together.
Oh you have been very busy with great results!!! Sad to say my desk looks like your studio desk very often….at least once a month I make myself straighten it up! Received my Love mug and have to have a Santa!❤️ Happy Spring cleaning!
Love, love your latest – I feel the same about clearing out and having that peace of mind when all else is in its perfect spot!
Ah, yes, I’m in the process of decluttering, and organizing, my own “Grandma room”, where I kept adding memories and “stuff” I thought I needed at the time. It is definitely like a treasure hunt! Thank you for sharing your before and after pictures, I’m not sure I could be that brave!
Well, I have to say, I’m not surprised by your pictures, because you are a genius, author, artist, girlfriend to thousands, etc., etc.! Somewhere, somehow, when you are as busy as you are, stuff piles up! I am always inspired by your blogs, but this one even more so. I looked at your pile of books and want to go through them! ….. and your cups, well, I had asked for one for Mother’s Day, but should know better by now, that my whole family thinks I have too many mugs, teacups, and glasses. I may have to order them myself. LOVE them all, but the Autumn one especially…….Santa, too! So good hearing from you and HAPPY SPRING!
Be your own Santa Ann Jane! 😘 And thank you for your sweet words!
Just now my dining room table is stacked with the recyclables from my current deep cleaning and it’s just the beginning. Your piles look so much tidier than mine. Thanks for sharing this. Love your new mugs! Can’t wait for what’s next.💖
Congratulations Susan on your organizing efforts! And you’re right, it’s better to take the project on when you want to, rather than when you have to.
I love this Wndell Berry quote…”don’t own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.”. I can relate! Your studio looks like your mind exploded 😄🎉🎁❤️
Gee…I just got this in my email and there’s already a gazillion responses!
I HOPE it’s ME who wins the cup, too!
And the first person I read a comment by is from Deborah in Wales. I’m DYING to go to Wales. My grandfather was from Newport and the BEST episode of House Hunters International was in Anglesey. Someday, someday maybe…
Love you Susan…thanks for spreading the joy!
~Pixie Camembert in Northern California
Hi Susan,
Great new Blog…was starting to wonder what you were up to since last entry-felt like soo long ago, ha,ha. After I read your Blog I MADE myself get some necessary ironing started…great time to just ‘think’… right? Well, I remembered back before I retired, to this product I had to bring to market, that had never been created before. I soon realized it wasn’t a big enough profit return (looking forward) for all our engineering and design work costs just selling to company’s a one-off of our product (example, your Blog followers). That’s were I see your cups…one-offs…order now, get one, then they’re gone-collector pieces, yada, yada. Yikes, your passing up a small fortune! Call, fax, or e-mail every bookstore (with an Order Form) you’ve been to and ask for Case Orders….six or twelve to a case…wherever your price break is in both ounce sizes. Let them know their price is wholesale, that orders will be filled every six months-this can change later as business builds. Let them take ‘pre-orders’….Holidays, Birthdays, etc. Then, start one of your staff picking a State or City or Town and sending one (Letter of Introduction (which you will design with a cute border or heading), an Order Form, and nice front and back pictures of all products available to EVERY independent Book Store. Once this is up and moving forward, design a cardboard stand-up display to hold Susan Branch products so in a book store all your products are in one place…for impulse buying…also introduces folks to all your products…not everyone views your Blog-I know, can you believe that! Ha,ha. Ok, I’m done. …well, maybe not…how about Birthday cups, Anniversary, Get Well? Just leave the hugh Susan Branch off the front and say Birthday or whatever. ‘Susan Branch’ can be on the back side of the cup in smaller letters. LET THE ART SPEAK FOR YOU…I can see it now—move over Emma Bridgewater, there’s a new company in town! Good luck. You can do this.
Question, do many people get sea sick on the Queen Mary 2? I’d love to try it but “I get sick on the escalator at Blooming Dales”…Romancing The Stone, remember?
P.S. You can ‘forget’ to publish this-I’ll understand, ha,ha.
LOL, I love your enthusiasm! But we sort of like things small! All our employees LOVE each other. And we love them too. Throw two more in there, and what might happen, we don’t know. The cups are expensive for us, to sell them wholesale doesn’t really work ~ the stores have to sell them for a lot, even more than us! And some do, we have a few stores that want them anyway! We could go all out, start doing gift shows, get all kinds of customers, but really? Is that what we want? Sometimes we think so, but then we remember, we like to go for walks and have our friends over for dinner! As for seasickness . . . I don’t see a lot of people on the ship hanging over the rail! If there are lots of them, I think they do what I do, and hang out in their own beds! I get seasick easily too, but not very often on the ship. Hope this helps!
Hi Susan, another encouraging blog. My husband and I have so many books but it’s time to go through them. If I know I can get the book from the library, I donate it. I’m keeping only the real special ones like yours. Your dad’s painting of Chief would be so cute on a mug and a nice tribute to your dad. Perhaps Jack and
Girl could be there, too. Well I’m off to make a rhubarb pie on a rainy spring Sunday but first I’m going to pick some lily of the valley. Hugs, Elaine
PS I’m loving the new mugs.
I recently moved from a home I lived in for 26 years. Even though I had been de-cluttering and recycling, etc. for several years, the move unearthed more because I had to touch everything to pack. And when unpacking, I let go of more. It has been a year since I moved from that home to another state and as I continue to settle in there is more to release.
When I began to see all I had that was unused, but loved, I procured several medium-sized plastic bins and labeled them with the names of my nieces and nephews and began putting in a few well-chosen items I thought they might one day enjoy. But more of it goes to donations, and a small bit is getting sold. The relief that comes with lightening what we carry, does indeed pave the way for fresh winds of change and creates space for more of life-that-matters to fill our days.
Love and blessings to wonderful you, Susan!
Susan, you are to be commended for taking on your spring/summer clearing out. It’s so easy to have things accumulate. I am a paper craft lover. I make banners, cards etc. When I work on a project I pull out tons of supplies. When the item I’m making is done I look around and think how am I ever going to get this mess organized. I finally do but sometimes I sware someone else snuck there supplies in and left them with me. I downsized about 2 years ago and donated so much. I have to admit that I felt really free and lighter after. I just need to break my “paper collecting habit”. I so love the new Autumn mug………Merry Christmas to me! Have a good week. xoxoxoxoxoxo
Love the cups and your sweet kitty Jack! I also have recipes that were handwritten by my mother they mean the world to me !
I loved your Blog today, more than normal because it has given me the boost I’ve needed to start clearing out the clutter in my house that has collected shamelessly for the past 17 years. I would love to make a nice clean spot for the beautiful mug I hope Vanna picks for me…….Are they really as HUGE as they look in the pictures? Karenn J
Dear Susan,
My kitty butts heads also! Like others commenting, I too have been spring cleaning and de cluttering. The cups are all perfect, hard to choose a favorite! Blue and white kitchens are wonderful in the warm months, but I change everything out in the fall to warm colors especially red.
Your blog is always a treasure, perfect eye candy and good for the heart ❤️
Hollyhock sprouts, lucky you! Flowers are heaven!
Thank you for yet another lovely read 😀, Marjorie
Happy Sunday afternoon, Susan! Your blog was especially inspiring to me as I have been doing the same thing for weeks now – cleaning out drawers, closets, shelves…finding precious little notes, letters, and pictures long forgotten…feeling a little sad about letting things go but feeling the energy of having enough organized areas to start new projects. Thanks for sharing!
Love the “Christmas” mug the best but they are all wonderful. I hope I get your cleaning and organizing bug, I sure need it in my sewing room. I usually go into the room ready to tackle it but then I sit in the chair and just look around not knowing where I want to start. I think I just don’t want to make a bigger mess that I already have. Slowly I have gotten a few things done. I am trying to finish up projects of quilts half done so that is stopping some of the progress. Maybe by the end of summer the room will get done.
Thanks for sharing your honest clutter…it makes me feel so much better about mine! I too am on a goal of de-cluttering my house. Though it is not as lovely as yours, it is over 100 years old and has a basement and walk-up attic stuffed full from the 30 years we have lived here. I have been working on the basement first and it is slow going, but you have inspired me with a second wind to get back in there again and keep on going! Thanks for all the ways you inspire us!
I found that out of necessity moving from a big home to a condo that less is actually more in this time of my life, and I can honestly say that I don’t miss
things.
I can’t imagine the job you had going through so very, very much…glad you had this time to do it.
My dream is to someday visit your island in the autumn…doubt it will ever come to be, but one can always dream!
I’ve been a fan for so very many years…it was cards, stationery, and stickers (that I saw in your one photo) that got me (I’m known as the Card Lady) started.
I love anything Susan Branch…and YOU!!
I understand about loving clean open surfaces and loving all of our little things. They say that having a contradictory nature is what makes us human. If so, I must be incredibly human!
Be sure not to get rid of everything too fast. I put things that I’m not sure about keeping into boxes in the garage. If I don’t bolt upright in the middle of the night suddenly needing something I’ve set aside, well, then it can go in the next purge. I find I can get rid of more this way, because I’ve given myself an escape valve. Just set a date on the calendar for your next purge or those boxes in the garage will take over. 🙂
Ah Susan…..yes….it is hard to be creative when surrounded by stuff. I am working hard on similar tasks around my little cottage. I love living in a small cottage because I can challenge myself to be minimal. Also as a knitter and quilter, I cannot be creative with too much stuff around! Love the video of Jack. Consider buying him a self-feeder called Catit Food Tree. It will entertain him and keep him busy throughout the day. Cats have to put their paws through some openings and push their food to a tray below. I wasn’t sure if my cat would figure it out but a few weeks in, he has.
catit.com/products/senses-toys/
Thanks Susan for such a treat to read on my birthday! Perfect timing. I’ve been trying to do a little editing myself of stuff one room at a time. Took a 2 week break to visit the Netherlands and Belgium but will get back at lightening things up….leaving my craft/quilting room until last. Thank you for the before pics–very inspiring. Love the mugs!
Oh I would love to win a new cup! And I am so inspired by your spring cleaning and decluttering that I think I can begin in my sewing room! Thank you for the before and after pictures!
Love all the mugs! And Jack in the sink made my day! Not too keen on cleaning rooms but I must start soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for the inspiration to continue forward with cleaning out my house! I have done some here and there, and indeed it is very freeing, calming and energizing (once I finally do it)! I have found that taking photos of things I want to “keep” but not store forever is a great solution. I also like your daily “how do I move myself forward today?” Thanks for sharing that thought. =^..^=
Thank you Susan for giving me the courage to start decluttering my office, closet etc. I think it’s this stage in our life when we know it needs to be done. I have been working on it since I retired and just can’t get it done. Now with your inspiration I think I can! Love your beautiful mugs, I also have received my first on and plan right now to order the Christmas mug, I just love it.
Hope you are having a beautiful day. I love cats too!
Sonja
You are brave! My nooks and crannies are about the same and I wouldn’t dare show anyone! I’ve got the de-clutter bug too and hope to make headway as quickly as you did. My treasures include letters from my gran and mom, first love letters from my high school sweetheart, now my husband of 46 years, and child-printed notes, pictures of beloved pets, and family recipes. You’ve motivated me and now I’ve got to get moving! ☀️
Beautiful, beautiful Spring! If you believe it, then all is right with the world. Something like if you believe you have it all, then you do! Sharing Spring with you is Wonderful!
I love your tea cups, they are so beautiful😍
What an inspirational blog! So nice to know that I’m not the only clutterer – although I think I’m aiming to be clutter queen! It looks so overwhelming now that starting seems impossible. Thank you for your pictures. Maybe I will be brave enough to do before and after photos!
I love the mugs! I want every one of them, which means I’ll have to remove one cup for every cup I get. Thank you for the opportunity to win one.
Oh, I so needed someone to inspire me to tackle every cupboard and drawer in our house! We, too, are filled to the max everywhere. It just seems overwhelming, but your post shows me that it can be done!
I love all your work and own many of the same crafting supplies from years ago as the ones you found. I have used your scrapbooks, too, and have one that was perfect for all the pictures I have taken of my garden.
Your mugs are so beautiful! I’ve got to pre-order some!
Dear Susan,
While my clear-out could not possibly be as interesting, I am inspired now to start. Just the other day, I was looking at book shelves and wondering the last time I had taken one of the books to re-read… and the drawers beneath? Definitely full of surprises, I’m sure!
Good afternoon Susan. Enjoyed this post as I look around an office here filled with more books, and I’m not one to read them a second time but I just can’t part with so many of them. I also have some cups that I don’t drink from but are happily collecting dust. Like the original Dunkin Donuts cup. At least I got the glass insulators in my office dusted. Problem is I finish here and I’m too tired to move to the next room. 🙂
Maybe this post will give me incentive. 🙂
Your words “I can’t get there until I get out from under the weight of this stuffed house” could not have rung truer to anyone! Having inherited a ton of letters and items from my Mother, I have a hard time getting rid of them, but the weight of it all has been huge. I work on it, but it becomes overwhelming and I end up stopping. I am inspired by your words and the progress. Think I will make a cup of lavender tea in my new “Heart of the Home” mug which arrived this week, take everything off of a shelf and begin the process, one shelf, one drawer at a time. Thanks for the inspiration!
Make yourself be ruthless Joyce, you’ll be glad if you are. (But not TOO ruthless. It’s a fine line. 😘)
Hi Susan
Received one of your new mugs and just love it.Wonderful detail and it serves a mighty fine cuppa 🐦! I too have started a “spring cleanup” and am finding some classic old treasures I did not know I had. Our spring here in Missouri has been a bit rainy so I have had time inside to get that cleaning and organizing done. Have a wonderful spring.
I love reading your blog. Your cups are beautiful – thanks for sharing!
I SO appreciate you showed your mess! 🙂 I truly believe all new good things will come from cleaning and organizing…and ooooo, all the new energies on their way to you.
I’m re-reading Isle of Dreams for the third time now. I have a feeling your book will be a yearly event of reading it- I just can’t get enough! It makes me feel so happy and cozy.
The new cups are gorgeous and I’d surely love to win one!
Dear Susan,
I can’t wait to get my mugs! They are a birthday present to myself. So many decisions to make when I love all your designs. But, I have to keep the clutter down!
Great post. It’s great to get organised and the treasures you find! The cups look gorgeous. Keep up all the good work, the garden looks wonderful for all Joe’s hard work.
Your BEST story ever! YOU ARE A REAL GIRL!
I have the misfortune of comparing myself to others…..always coming up short! I envy my friends who have perfect order in every part of their lives.
The last few years I am amazed at how much clutter I have collected, but it is all part of my life. I have all those beautiful recipe pictures I saved from COUNTRY LIVING by an artist named SUSAN BRANCH! I have begun to clean out, downsize, “let go”. But it is hard!
So today I know even my girlfriend Susan Branch has closets and drawers that aren’t picture perfect. She is a REAL GIRL! A wonderful, inspiring, sentimental girl! So I guess that makes me OK, too!
I drank my coffee out of my “LITTLE THINGS” mug this morning watching a storm at our lake in Texas! All seems right with the world ;).
I’ve always thought we were kindred spirits, and this is just more proof!
So proud to be a Susan Branch girlfriend!
😘 Fancy!
Love your “Real Girl” comment and Susan’s back to you.
Marilyn
Hi Susan
I love when I have a post to read from you. I got my mug last week and love it. I just finished a little quilted tote bag for my daughter in law and stopped to read your post before I started trying to put my sewing room back into some kind of order. Your note was very inspiring, so off I go to get my mess contained once again. Thanks for sharing your life with all of us.
Dearest Susan –
Your blog is an absolute delight! And so are your books, which I reread often.
Your de-cluttering letter today came at a perfect time. I was cleaning out a box of papers and went to throw out a magazine. As it was going into the garbage out of the corner of my eye I saw “artist Susan Branch”. It is Romantic Homes from March 2001 with a delightful, long article about YOU! I reread it, cut it out and put it between the pages of A FINE ROMANCE!! Thank you for your words and your art and your wonderful ability to always make me smile!
Linda
Linda
I did almost the exact same thing with that article! 😘
Thank you for sharing your honest photos of how things looked, and how you are simplifying! I love that feeling, too! You’ve inspired me to do more of it this summer. And I would truly enjoy winning one of your beautiful cups!
Hi Susan
I just love cleaning and organizing. You did an amazing job in your office, doesn’t it just feel so good, so freeing**
I actually thought those cups were real. I love this blog post. I love seeing pictures of your garden. So happy those seeds gave you little roots
have the best day Susan
deezie
Thank you for such an inspiring read, we all need to know that cleaning house should be enjoyed! Beautiful garden pictures!
Hi Susan ,
I was so excited to see your newest blog . I love all of your photos and especially Jack . I had a cat who would only drink from the bathroom faucet . She would
meow until someone would turn the water on for her . I think it is cute .
Love your mugs . I am an Autumn girl so , I need to order me one soon .
Hugs to all .
Your blog is a respite in my topsy turvy days. Loved this quiet, sunny Sunday made better by your blog. My new, wild puppy, Rosebud, has exhausted herself and sits asleep on my lap as I read on my back deck. My coffee tastes better every morning in your mug. I have already pre-ordered some of the newer ones. I am thinking Christmas already. My husband does woodwork and I have him making rather large, wooden lanterns for our daughters and daughters-in-law. I will fill them with flameless candles, of course. I have been busy designing them and nudging him to get busy for me. If I am chosen to win another mug, I will be jubilant and hard pressed to not give it to my coffee loving, nurse daughter -in-law. De-cluttering is very cleansing. Having finally retired from teaching, I sold my collection of children’s books at our yard sale. What did not sell I donated to our neighborhood elementary school. Before I boxed the books up, I hugged each one. They were my best friends and entertained hundreds of kindergarteners through the years. So I had a big hoo hoo as I let them go to new homes. I did keep a few though that I just could not part with and my daughter took a few as well. So I can visit those books at her house. Thanks for a great blog. Love you ,Susan.
These cup designs are so creative and charming…I,possible to choose. Christmas and fall are impossible to pass up. Off to the ordering page I go! Thank you Susan for a wonderful blog post. Inspiring😊
Hi Susan, I wish I could go to the second hand book shop on your island–not to mention your thrift shop! 🙂 Thanks for showing us the sort-of “before” photos and your works in progress! Also, I love your artwork and your wonderful quotes! Thanks for the give away. Have a lovely day, and Happy Purging!
OMG- I thought for a moment that someone had come into my house and photographed it in all its messy glory–until I noticed some strange items I didn’t have. I’m with you in being overstocked in papers, books, boxes and whatever–and you’ve given me an impetus to start spring cleaning tomorrow. It does free one’s spirit to de-clutter, so that’s a must. Thank you for designing the wonderful mugs. Each time I have coffee or tea in them, your blogs with photos, poetry and wise sayings, artful designs, music and friendship come back to me, and I can almost imagine sitting in a Devon house having a second cuppa. Thanks for the memories.
This was a delightful post! And I can soooooo relate to your big project of consolidating and spring cleaning, as I am doing the same in my den/art room. It has become a cause of stress just walking in there, so I decided to do something about it once and for all. Like you said, it’s a long process going thru everything, but it’ll get done. I loved seeing all your “stuff” lol. Especially the old recipes! My heart pounds with excitement when I see very old recipes!
The new mugs/cups are exciting! You did good! lol
I find I grow piles of paper that need to be cleared away on a regular basis. So much of it becomes unnecessary as time goes by. Lovely post Susan, thank you. I am off to a garden party this afternoon and the weather could not be more beautiful.
My too, cup has arrived. Have my eye on the Blue Bird for now! Thank you and it is true Organization can be mind boggling but ONE step at a time. You have books and notes etc. I have Sewing Machines and Fabrics! Onward to see the happiness on the floor! LOL
Thank you, Susan, for the inspiration to do that much needed spring cleaning. Life always seems to get in the way. But now, after reading your blog and looking at the photos (you’re a brave soul), I am inspired and will get right at it!
Don’t you wish we had been in England this weekend and been a mouse in the corner of the church where Pippa was married? Oh how I wish I could go and see it in person…sigh~. But for now, I will just get a nice hot cup of tea, and settle in with “A Fine Romance” AGAIN! So Happy Spring from Maine, and keep these wonderful blogs coming. They give us all a nice break from what the rest of the world has to offer.
What treasures you are finding while you declutter! It must be so fun to find them! I love all the old recipes and letters — especially all the news your great grandmother was telling your mom!
I would just love one of those mugs. Please. Pretty please.
Luanne
Good for you, Susan — cleaning up the “stuff”. You found some really wonderful memorabilia. Love the video of Jack. Sweet guy! Thanks for sharing your life.
Hi~
I really enjoyed this post! ~ So much fun finding memories on a treasure hunt in your own home! ~ don’t be too hard on your self about the pictures… A favorite quote of mine is
“A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life” not sure who said it but it rings true for me!
Hugs 😊
Lynn
Thank you Susan, for the inspiring before and after photos of your clutter. A project I will be tackling soon! Love the videos showing your garden and funny Jack! mind how you go, YvonneJ
When my mom moved into an eldercare facility two years ago (she’s 92), she gave me her beloved Gladys Taber and Miss Read books. Oh, how I would love to browse your stacks for a few other kindred spirit finds!
Hi Susan, Loved your blog as usual! Vanna…..pick me, pick me please. 🙂
Just yesterday I decided I must do the same with my sewing room. Fabric everywhere, and hard to find what I want, besides all the other assortment of things in there. So today I am going to start the “sorting.”
Your mugs are beautiful, and I would love to have one to drink my tea each day.
I love the mugs!!!
I’m also decluttering and finding family treasures. What fun!
Huzzah! Love your blog, love the new mugs! We were forced to declutter and organize prior to our move cross-country a year and a half ago — it’s such an empowering feeling to be RUTHLESS with the archeological dig that is probably all of our homes. Incredible lightness of being, indeed. And I loved seeing your recipe box — for our wedding many moons ago, my mom had all of our relatives and friends send along a hand-written recipe, which she then assembled for me in an old-fashioned box. Such a treasure!
Susan,
I love reading your updates. I’m in the middle of downsizing and clearing years of “stuff” and it feels wonderful. I’m only keeping important and special things. I love your new cup designs! My sisters and I are tea drinkers and they will be getting the Christmas cups this year for gifts!
Take care,
Patty
Thank you for your latest “letter” I read it while lying on the couch with a cold pack wrapped around my knee. I just got a total knee replacement last tuesday! Your news brightened my day.
Congratulations, you are on the way UP! xoxo
You are so inspiring. I really need to do a decluttering like you are doing. I hate to think of my children having to deal with all my “treasures” when I’m gone. 🙂
I love the cups. Think I’ll pre-order some Christmas ones as gifts.
I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful blog, Susan! I am pretty much homebound because of health issues. Your blogs transport me with their charming photos, watercolors and writing! You bring such joy to so many ladies. Don’t you ever forget it! Thanks ever so much!
Catherine L.
😘
Oh Susan,
I read with interest all the comments from the girlfriends who feel like kindred spirits with you and I have thought from the start of reading you (years ago, now) that that was what made you so special – that you talked to us as though we were in the room with you and on an equal plane. You are the real deal as we found out today when you shared your before pictures. You ARE like us! We can so identify with you. Thank you so much for that.
I ordered the Nature mug for my sister-in-law who I interduced your books to by gifting her one for Christmas a year ago. She has become a fan also and was thrilled with her mug. I would love to win one and will be ordering a couple of the new ones for 1. me and 2. gifts. Love them and you!
I love reading all your stories. I saw that sifter and I remember mom’s only hers had a handle that was pulled by hand as you sifted not cranked. Oh the memories of licking those beaters and cleaning out every bit of cake batter from the bowl. I wonder how many cakes this 60 year old gal has had over the years. I wish mom was still here to make one. Now I’m crying, got to go.
I just started decluttering and your inspiring blog was just what I needed to continue. Winning one of your lovely mugs to have a cuppa tea when finished sorting and decluttering would be wonderful.
Dear Susan,
You’ve been quite the busy couple of bizzee beez, haven’t you? Your eyes say, “Ahhhhhhhhh” all day long, and at night, you just have to have one more peek and go “Ahhhhhhhh,” and in the morning, the white space is there to “Ahhhhhhhh” you right back. As if it’s saying, “Thanks for the breath of fresh air” to your souls.
Love x 18 the cups. Oh, to be a winner!
*hugs*
Kelley~
Creative clutter! But, yes, sooner or later it gets to the point where room must be made to allow for the flow of new ideas and possibility. It feels good, doesn’t it?!
My mugs arrived this week. They are beautiful and a true joy to use, especially first thing in the morning! I understand the need to offer a smaller version of the mug this next go round. Wish it wasn’t the Autumn mug (my favorite) but regardless, though not for my morning pour over cup of coffee, will doubtless find all sorts of ways to use and love it! Maybe for hot chocolate or afternoon tea?!
ooh, I just love the MV mug – will have to order one or two, as my biggest dream is to own a little cottage of my own on the vineyard to share with my family some day. I keep searching the listings for just the right (affordable) place…. perhaps a sip from the mug will do the trick.
Hi Susan!
What a fantastic blog post! I loved reading every single word! I received my cup last week and I absolutely adore it! I won’t put it in the cabinet because I’m not willing to share it – not yet, anyway. I love the size and the thinness of the china. Is there such as word as thinness? I plan to order them all. The Christmas one is adorable.
Have a wonderful day!
Terry
Very inspiring. Makes me want to begin my spring cleaning! And sort through my many many books and only keep the most precious ones.
Susan,
Something must be in the air because I too am doing lots of cleaning of book shelves etc. I hope you are checking the books you are donating because when I flipped through one book I found 2 two dollar bills. What a nice surprise!
My cup arrived and I love it! Had my tea in it this morning. Now back to painting those shelves.
MaryAnn
OMG! Darling Sue! Oh, my!
It’s cosmic…we must be on the same wave-length! You and I are discovering, deciding, purging, donating and…(gulp!) tossing the many years of accumulated keepsakes that we thought we could never, ever live without. And, once we got started, we took a deep breath and acknowledged that in the end all was going to be OK. I have purged my books; we have purged the VHS tapes and the CDs (who were those groups, anyway?)…..we are on first-name basis with the people at the thrift shop! Many of the books that needed a home went to one of those “Little Free Libraries” down the street. They didn’t stay for long. So, each morning, when I go for my walk, I take a few more books. And, I stop to peek in to see if there is anything new. I also decorated a soup can with a scrap of your red checked contact paper and placed some bookmarks inside. I made a cute tag, saying “Please take a bookmark so you don’t lose your place! ♥” I replenish them when the can is empty.
We have spent several (many?) weekends in the garage and are totally amazed at all that, we have come to realize, need a new home. Hallmark ornaments, Hot Wheels, Disney collectibles….oh, the stuff! I must confess, however, I have not given away any of the treasures that are on the back shelf that belong to Whitney. Nope. Just can’t make those decisions! Too many of my friends’ parents gave away stuff that meant a lot to their kids without checking with them first. Whitney has been given the ‘head’s up’! So many fun things…out-of-print pop-up Halloween books, action figures, binders of theater scripts with all of his notes…….yes, this is on him. And, the clock is ticking!
And, like you, I am taking photos. Easier to store and no dusting needed! I swear you and I are somehow connected…on the same plane…making many of the same decisions!
At the end of each weekend, Charlie would pour me a glass of chardonnay and a bourbon for himself and we go out onto the patio to decompress. Hot, dusty us back from the emotional memory ride of ‘really? where did this all come from?”
I am grateful for our scrapbooks and photo library. It’s all there…so far. But since the story is not finished, neither are the scrapbooks. Last year, I ran across 2 Rubbermaid tubs with tee-shirts, caps, uniforms and garments from Whitney’s journey. I had intended to make him a quilt. I did my homework, consulted with a local quilt shop and was about to embark of THE quilt project when I happened to run across an article on the internet that introduced a company called “Too Cool T-Shirt Quilts”. I clicked on the link and like an 11th hour life saver, I was relieved to discover that I could pack up the entire collection and they would make the quilt for me!!!! Long story short, I spent a week cataloging, photographing, inventorying and documenting each and every item I was sending. We boxed it all up and shipped it to Too Cool. I got an email a week later, saying that everything had been cut and they were in the process of piecing the quilt. When it was finished, they sent me a ‘ransom photo’ with the invoice. I authorized payment and the quilt was back home in the blink of an eye. (Two weeks, start to finish). When we saw the quilt we both agreed that there was absolutely no way I would have been able to make a quilt like the one Too Cool created. (I’ll email you a photo of the finished quilt). Needless to say, Whitney was thrilled!
After reading all you are doing….I am a bit relieved. We are 3000 miles away from each other, yet I feel like we are somehow in this project together. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of the Girlfriends. It may be just the kick-start so many need to un-clutter and get re-centered!
Now, I will pop over to the web store and order up the Autumn mugs for the LWLS! They will be over the moon thrilled!
Keep us posted on your progress! You always seem to find a way to kick in some much needed inspiration just in the nick of time!!! ♥
xoxoxoxo peg (hugs to Joe, too!).
I LOVE the sound of that quilt. And perfect timing! Can’t wait to see it! Congratulations on the purge. It just came to me that our stuff stays the same, but we change . . . some things we loved, we don’t anymore. So we get rid of them, and keep the things we do love, so our houses are better than ever!
Loved the videos! Compensates a little for missing you when you’ve been near my area. Even though I’m a few years older than you, I feel like we have been sharing our lives! I too just finished an “overhaul” of my place….attacked the file cabinet with gusto….took a hard look at the things that have been stored for years in the garage and asked myself what is really important to me and discarded the rest….etc. Oh yes, my last precious cat, Johnny, just loved for me to turn the water on in the sink so he could drink it nice and fresh.
Dear Susan,
Love your post! The new mugs are gorgeous and you are an inspiration for Spring cleaning! Thank you!
Cheryl