January 23, 2026
I have been home for 3 weeks and I have been busy. My first job was to clean the thick ice off my driveway. That took me almost a week to do. I have since cleaned snow off my driveway and will be doing that again Monday.
I have been cleaning the inside of the house slowly and have done the kitchen and bathroom. I haven't got rid of anything but I have looked and know what will go next. I will replace a couple of things that are going with items I want. I am trying to get rid of the western themed items in the kitchen and replacing them with more neutral items.
I am in the process of cleaning the dining area and have the server to go through today. I am sure I will find things that need to be tossed and some items that need to be reorganized. It is part of living a more minimal lifestyle.
While we were in Uruguay, I bought enough yarn to knit 3 pair of socks. I was okay with that as I was supporting rural women keep their traditions alive and have a better life. Their yarn is beautiful and cheaper than what I pay for yarn dyed in Canada. I knew I had hit my limit of sock yarn. But what I didn't realize was that it was the top of my limit. How did I know that?
I watch a YouTuber who knits and crochets a lot. She decided to inventory her yarn and put up a spreadsheet for people with no cost attached. I downloaded it and started inventorying my sock yarn plus 2 balls of a heavier weight I got for Christmas. Here is the shocker. I have enough yarn to knit 8 pair of adult socks plus 2 pairs of infant socks. With the two balls I was gifted I have:
17 skeins of yarn
1220 grams or 43 ounces or 2.7 lbs of yarn
4825 yards or 2.7 miles of yarn
I was shocked at this amount and I have a lot more yarn to inventory. What did I learn?
The amount of yarn I have is a lot. The sock yarn I have is close to 9 months of knitting. I don't want to knit only socks this year so I am not allowed to buy any more sock yarn until late fall. I can then restock for only 4 pairs of socks.
I have 5 more tubs of yarn to inventory. I do know some of the yarn will be knit into scarves which I will donate to a charity. It is open to for others to use to knit for charity. Some of the yarn will be used to make doll clothes. I do not need to buy yarn for them for a while. Some expensive yarn I was gifted will be used to make items for family. I cannot buy much yarn in those weights this year. I will be on a yarn fast until I get the yarn I have knit down to next to nothing.
Inventorying my yarn has made me realize that I do not need to have a lot of inventory for sewing and crafting. I can buy it as I need it. I find that the less I have, the more creative I am.
I am working on having less not only in my upstairs but in my downstairs where I store fabric, yarn, and some crafting supplies.
January 1, 2026
I spent a lot of time in 2025 getting the house decluttered to a level that is below my clutter and stress thresholds. I want to now work on having my house feel calm and enjoyable to live in.
I have worked hard to bring calmness to my house. But it still needs tweaking in areas. Being away for 7 weeks gave me time away from the house and left me with a fresh outlook at my house and my life.
I have mulled over several things that have been on my mind even when on holidays. What do I want to do about certain things in the house. How will I accomplish it without breaking the bank? When will I do it? There are a few knowns and a few unknowns at this time.
Knowns:
The upstairs will be painted in early February. The painters will finish the areas I can't do. The whole house will be the light grey I chose back in 2019 when we had to have the basement done due to the flooding.
The blinds will be hung in the kitchen, dining, and living room.
Pictures will be hung.
Unknowns:
Will I have the kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity painted.
When will I have the counters replaced in those areas and a back splash put up in the kitchen.
Will I hang curtains on the living and dining room windows. I like the idea of having black out curtains on the windows to help keep out the cold and heat.
Ideas I have in my mind:
I would love to make some placemats and other small items to use in the kitchen and dining area. I am thinking blue to start with. I have a couple of patterns I would like to use for the placemats and then make a couple of matching items for the kitchen. I don't want a lot as they have to be stored when I am not using them.
Changing the hardware on the kitchen and both bathroom vanities. Go for a sleek look that will be easy to clean.
Making a simple curtain to hang on the back door as it is mainly glass. I will need to see if I need to get another (or two) magnetic curtain rod to hold the curtain secure at the top and bottom. I do have grey blackout fabric I can use for until I find something I like.
At this time, I am still doing a lot of thinking while I clean both upstairs and the sewing room.
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