1 year at 555

Today’s the anniversary of our move into the new house. It’s been a great 12 months and I wanted to mark it with a visual celebration. But instead, I have been distracted by cleaning and maintaining all of the things I ignored for a year.

Dusty picture frames, railings, and windows sills. I didn’t like dusting as a kid and that hasn’t changed.
Underneath shelves including pantry and bookcases. A fair amount of cat hair has accumulated in places the vacuum doesn’t easily reach.
Who cleans the cleaning products? I ditched the stuff we haven’t used, replaced the bath sponge, and decommissioned some tea towels.
Clutter. I found plenty of items that haven’t been touched since we moved in, but felt overwhelmed and didn’t actually declutter them. They are on my list now, though, one drawer at a time.

Lest you think I slacked for an entire year, here are some things I have attended to in the first year here:

Hardscaping. I designed two patios and a stone path and had them beautifully made along with French drains.
Regular cleaning of appliances and more thanks to Kyshawn’s weekly reminders. These e-mails are really helpful for keeping on top of things. But he doesn’t cover dust and cat hair…
Furniture arrangement. I’ve reorganised the living room three times! The studio is always a work in progress with material storage and workspaces where I have repurposed most of my old tables and bought myself a much longed-for sewing table with drawers designed for machine & tool storage.
Art. Tod’s mom pointed out that my art wasn’t in evidence around the house, so I have been slowly finding places to hang it. Most recently, I created a gallery wall in the kitchen.

Parties. We have celebrated birthdays and holidays with friends and made many happy memories this year. I created a little tribute to every bottle of fizzy wine we have opened and I hope to line the entire ledge along the kitchen and dining room with little wire chairs as a testament to our celebrations.