His Castle -- Master Closet

...He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

Proverbs 3:33b  NASB

They say a man's home is his castle.  Well, I say that the "castle" belongs to the Lord, and our true home is in heaven.  But for our time on earth, this house is our castle from the Lord.  And I am its queen.  My "His Castle" posts include stories of both daily chores as well as special housekeeping and house-beautifying projects, and things that I do to make our home a beautiful dwelling for the short time we are here.

In my months-ago post about de-cluttering and cleaning our dining room, I stated that our dining room is not used much.  I could say the same about our master bedroom closet.  No, really.  I go in there to grab a skirt and blouse, or a pair of shoes, or something I need, then I leave.  Thirty to sixty seconds, and I'm out.  I don't see this little room again until the end of day when, if I'm diligent, I hang up the skirt, or put away my shoes or whatever.

As you can see in the photo above, things get put in there.  Lots of things.  The wire shelf up top gets filled, and the floor grows things such as globes, stepstools, sewing projects, papers to file, pieces of board games...  It seems that anything that doesn't have an official "resting place" somewhere else in our home gets put in our master bedroom, or our closet.  And if it gets put in the master bedroom, I frequently will "find" a spot for it in our closet, so I don't have to look at it when I go to bed at night.

One day (probably soon) we'll be able to clear our our bedroom and have a proper decorating project--painting walls, new curtains (the windows also need replacing but that's a whole other project!).  But for now, it's builder's-flat-white paint on the walls, and buckling carpet with a gum spot.  It's too cold in the winter and too warm in the summer.  Lest you think this is a complaint, wait--I merely wish to give you a feel for this particular room.  I am thankful that I have a place to shut the door and rest my head.  This is Fernando's and my room.  And I'm thankful for it!

The mood for a project overtook me, and I began taking things off shelves.  Time to de-clutter.  Here's what I did.  I tackled things, item by item.  Could it be disposed of?  I put it in the box for garbage.  Could it be recycled?  I put it in the box for recycling.  (I had two boxes sitting on my bedroom floor so I didn't have to keep running things downstairs.)

Look at those product boxes--all my beloved Canon lenses!  Time to recycle that cardboard and Styrofoam!

I also found two pillows in need of repair...for the last _ years (I'm embarrassed to put the actual number in there).

This is one point at which every thought of de-cluttering, cleaning, and organizing halted dead in its tracks.  I realized, "Why am I holding on to these if I'm never going to repair them?  What am I waiting for??"  I could feel the resolution welling up within me!  I marched the pillows over to my side of the bed, grabbed a needle and the closest color thread I could find (I didn't care at that point), and I started sewing.  Now, I'm not a seamstress.  I can sew on a button and do simple repairs.  I cannot tell you what type of stitch I used, but the Lord always seems to help me do it, and the thread ended up being hidden inside the folds of fabric.

About 30 minutes later, I had two almost-brand-new pillows gracing my bed!  Although we have never had a real comforter or bedspread for our master bed (something for me to pray for!), these pillows will make it seem more homey and beautiful.  And they're out of my closet and fixed and being put to use!!

Now to tackle something I intensely dislike--filing.  Brochures and product information booklets, warranty information, that sort of thing.  This paperwork is supposed to be filed in our awesome four-drawer filing cabinet--rescued from the dumpster at Fernando's work--which resides at the back of our closet.

Many years ago, I had made hanging files with "Product Information" tabs, such as A-F, G-I, and so on down the alphabet.  I spent about four hours filing all the new ones according to brand name, sometimes rearranging folders to accommodate the paperwork.  For example, after "A-C" is a folder marked "Canon" to handle the paperwork for all of my camera equipment.  Below is the original tabs to give you an idea of what I did--now all neat and tidy, and out of the way and unseen.

Then I confronted two large shoe boxes of candles.  I love candles.  I didn't like the shoe boxes.  I re-purposed three plastic shoe boxes from the basement, and with my highly developed organizational skills (wink), I arranged all the candles inside and put them up on my shelf, next to the one box I allow myself for memories and Fernando's and my sweetheart-days correspondence.

Look what I found while I was de-cluttering and going through paperwork!!

 

 Fernando's and my high school diplomas, and my college diploma--all now in my memory box

Yep, the above is a blank high school diploma.  Yep, Danny graduated just a few weeks ago.  Apparently I had purchased this diploma with Joseph's and Jacob's, thinking I would save it and use it for Danny.  Now it sits in a prominent place, waiting for Thomas' graduation three years from now.  Hopefully I'll remember!

I also made a few trips down memory lane.  One of those trips that interrupted my cleaning for quite some time is the below.  I'm sure you understand.  :)  Yes, all four calendars--one for each child--are complete, each with a zippered baggie of hair from his first hair cut.  Those items ended up in my memory box.

Now that my closet is done, I like to linger in there for a few minutes each morning as I choose my outfit for the day.  Sigh--it's so nice to have a welcoming closet!  Below are all the after pictures--the "showcase" ones that I'm happy for you to see!  Keep in mind--I still have boxes of things, such as blankets/afghans, on the shelf.  You'll see our once-little Joey's Bear tucked in with those.  We just can't "bear" to part with it, even though Joseph is now 22!  Maybe one day we'll pose Bear with Joseph, take a few shots, and have a proper "funeral" for it.  But for now, Bear greets me with his nose-less face and plastic brown eyes each morning, a sweet memory of little boy days.

Fernando's side--filing cabinet at the back

The back half of my side--that's my wedding dress!

The front half of my side

A resting place for my "beach" bag, just outside the closet door.

Back to life,
Christine

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