Remarkables

Thbonsai from last year, still here! And geranium i've repotted and the marjoram grown in Camphill - on the kitchen window. That needs cleaning, i know.


My dresser/larder. It also now has a salami hanging and bay leaves...it is probably the singlmost useful piece of furniture in the kitchen.


Spring mantlepiece


DVDs finally under control


And the play area!!!


The top of the piano...


In the hall


Summer colour


Worksurface in the kitchen


Spice cupboard


Sundries


ALl the cleaning stuff is now in an alcove which used to hold nonsense - and now it's easily accessible which means that...


under the sink is uncluttered and cleaning out the bin is a straightforward activity.


The cutlery drawer - organised - like every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen. I won't bore you with the other ones, but i'm sooooo happy...


The recycling. It's not perfect, but it's ok.


The midicine cabinet which for years was the bane of my existence. Finally under control.


The top of the fridge which was choas city - now holds two sets of weighing scales, a pot of chalk and breadmaking machine - which i'll be using regularly from now on - and that's all!!!


The dining room - where it all began...like a good sort of infection.


The back of the kitchen door - ive gotten so used to this that i wonder how we lived without it at all.


Oisin's room!!! A minor miracle in itself, which goes to show that miracles take some effort...


Look surfaces that he can play on!!!


Oh yes, thank you Ms IKEA!!!!


Witness the largest box you'll ever see - on top of the cupboard...


Wanna see it again...there you go...


I salvaged the hifi and now it graces Oisin's shelf.

It's been a long three weeks. Several pounds and hours later most of the house is finally taking shape. I have posted pictures so that Ma can also enjoy it. It has also beena journey for me. I've made a transition of some kind which i still cannot put into words. Where stoicism and simplicity, self control and sensibility seem desirable. I'd almost say i feel grown up, but that might be too much.

Peter got back from the weekend. He said, i think that miracles conceal the truth. They are a distraction, i conceded. Actually, after thinking about this a bit more, they are more than a distraction. They actually encourage people to have a mind which has attachments. Can you pray without attachment? Yes, absolutely. It's the serenity of walking on a beach. Or really seeing a tree.

I'm now reading Timeless Simplicity a beautiful and inspiring book by John Lane. I've been looking forward to finally getting the two rooms done and thinking what will happen next? I really do want this feeling of lightness and carefree weightlessness to transfer into our lives. The uncomplication of love, of being happy, of aliveness, of knowing that we live our truths while live with and for others as well.

In addition to throwing stuff out, i've also discovered so many things which i forgot that i did have. CDs, books, stuff, ornaments, like this Isle of Wight glass which now graces the top of the CD. It holds incense and beauty.

And have been able to maintain it, friends ask. It's only been a few weeks, but the result of all this cleaning is that it's actually easier now to keep the place clean. And more than that, i want to keep it clean. And i know exactly how much time it takes to clean up. The feeling i get when i do keep up with things is the exactly seratonin high when i go for a run.

Also the other day i was really getting very annoyed about something when i thought, this is a test and i'm going to ace it. And so i just breathed. Breathe. I was aware at how much effort it was taking me, but like that feeling of going for a run, i was also aware of how good it felt. In past lives i would have put it down to a sort of pathetic self-denial. Now, it feels like self mastery. It has taken years, years to get here. And yet i would not have given up all the detours i took to get here. It is possibly because of all those detours that being here feels that sweet.

Bart will be here tomorrow. It is part of the incentive of the clean up. But i think that it does go back to the piece i did about clutter for the BBC. I think that something went on inside me. I think i wanted more. I wanted less...

What will the future hold for the clutter free Stephanie - i hope to finish all this in a month's time. And then, it will be a new world... i can tell.