Organizing Projects

Moving Monday::Where to Begin with Packing

by Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Okay, it’s time for my weekly check in on our moving progress. I’m excited to share that the house is on the market and has shown a few times. It’s got to be kept spic and span which is a challenge in this state of affairs but it’s kind of nice! I’m enjoying having things looking neat and clean for our last amount of time here.

A few more items have made their way onto Craigslist and the flea market is behind us now. It was a wash out but we made a little money before it started pouring and the remaining non valuables went directly to donation. So, what’s the next step? Packing of course! When it comes to packing I wanted to share a little of my strategy. I have a list week by week of what I will be packing by category. I’m sure there will be a little overlap but it’s a plan and it creates weekly goals for our packing which will help keep us on track and feeling less overwhelmed.

Pictures and artwork, especially personal photo’s (those came down before we started to show the house). Next, all the small artwork come off the walls. I pack smaller photo’s and artwork in medium size boxes with newsprint wrapped around each and bubble wrap or cardboard between them.

Small decorative non function items. Otherwise known as Nicknacks:)

Formal china, stemware, crystal and serving pieces. I’m not planning to do any formal entertaining before we leave so these things won’t be needed. We don’t have a lot of it but what there is will go in boxes this week.

Any books I know I won’t be referring to.

By next week it will begin looking a bit more bare around here. This is the part I don’t like very much but I’m hoping to embrace the empty space and enjoy the simplicity of living with less.

Moving Monday::6 Week Countdown (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)
Moving Monday::House Tour (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)

Moving Monday::6 Week Countdown

by Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 6 Comments

It’s official and I have not announced this in person to several of my clients but we found out today that we will be able to leave the DC metro area by the end of October. This is about a month sooner than we anticipated but honestly it’s PERFECT! It seems like things are really falling into place, that this move is meant to be. I can’t wait to move forward but right now I’m looking at all OUR STUFF thinking, “I hate moving”. That is not going to be the case, this time I’m embracing it and I’m going to love it! I’m going to try to love it at least. I’ll be checking in each Monday here on the blog telling you about the process. So this week being the first week here is what we are doing to plan and organize for our move:

Start a “Moving” binder or file folder to keep all the important information in one location. Keep everything related here. I’m opting for an expandable file folder with several tabs to keep things sorted by category (i.e. the moving info itself, donation, sale and give away, storage, lodging and other information for the destination location).
Use up food, cleaning supplies and any other perishables or consumables that you don’t want to move.
Check pricing on moving companies, moving trucks, storage facilities and be ready to book in 1-2 weeks. There are several options here, DIY, hire a service or a hybrid (you pack, they move). In our case we have done all of the above in past moves and we are opting for total DIY this time. We made this decision to save money and we’ve had quite a bit of moving experience.
Make decisions about large items to sell, donate or give away. Collect items to get rid of (for donation, sale or throw away) throughout daily routines; keep an empty box and bags in one location and place items to get rid of here.
Research hotels or other temporary housing and book as needed.
Enlist or hire help for the day of the move.
Locate and purchase boxes and other packing supplies. Determining the quantity of boxes needed is a bit tricky but an moving supply company can help you calculate this based upon how many household members and how large your home is. Supplies will include the following:

Boxes in various sizes as well as specialized wardrobe boxes, china and silverware boxes, flat boxes or cardboard for artwork.
Equipment such as dollies and hand carts will make moving large items much easier and safer.
Packing tape (and guns), markers, labels, box cutters (or other such knives), bubble wrap/packing peanuts and newspaper (or unprinted newsprint which is much less messy).
Packing pads, blankets, sheets (the old one’s you don’t need anymore) and plastic shrink wrap (which is not very eco friendly but sometimes is VERY helpful!).

Since the move is going to be taking up a lot of my time I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to commit to blogging but I’ll be popping in to share our progress and any other helpful or interesting things that come up. I am SO excited!! Can you tell?

Victorian Inspired Textile Commission

by Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education, Organizing Projects 4 Comments

I’m excited to share the latest completed textile commission I delivered to clients on Sunday. This piece was commissioned to fit into a 2 story entrance area in a home that’s design is influenced by Victorian era elements. I discussed the colors, size and overall feel that the client wanted. The chandelier and fabric below are a couple of the main elements of design influence. I wanted to use the peacock feather motif and the colors from the fabric.

I initially did these sketches to get ideas down and then choose materials. Over the last 6 months or so I’ve worked at the piece at times knowing clearly what I wanted to do an at other times I let the piece sit while I figured out technical or creative challenges I needed to solve.

A project like this is so rewarding because it challenges you to step into someone else design aesthetic while remaining true to your personal design style. I knew that this client liked my weaving’s but without my loom set up currently, I was left to find another medium to work with.

I choose to work elements of weaving into this piece by using the long hand dyed fringe as a major design component. I also used a subtle toile fabric as the background and selectively painted motifs that were inspired by a collection of hand colored etchings the client has. I used layers of sheer fabric bringing in both color and metallic sheen. Layers of texture are a common theme in my work and this piece ended up having 3 layers of fabric, 1 layer of fringe, feathers and embellishments including stitching and beading. They were thrilled, I was thrilled and I was thrilled that they were thrilled! My husband was thrilled to have our dining room table back available for use!