And … that’s a wrap!

I’m dancing! I’m dancing! I’m skipping and hopping to music in my head. Because, you know what? I’m done. It’s an organized and utterly fabulous wrap! Today, I’m bubbling over with joy as this past week I finished transforming my basement from a chaotic abyss into a haven for creativity and learning.

This all began with a vision. And, really, out of necessity – to bring order to the chaos that had become my basement: a place where things were dumped when there was no room for them anywhere else. My vision was to transform my basement back to a place where creativity flows freely, where dreams come to life and where teaching feels more like joy than a chore.

With the determination that characterizes me, and armed with a new resolve, I organized, got rid of, decluttered and all around cleaned, rearranged, stacked and planned some more, Moved things from here to there, and from there up and down until it felt they had found their home.

The feeling of liberating my space from unnecessary clutter was like shaking hands with a long lost friend. Good-bye random odds and ends. Hello glorious order.

Enter the IKEA cabinets – my knights in shining flat-pack armour. This time, I was smart and paid IKEA to deliver and build – well worth the price. Did you know that you can hire them to build the cabinets half-way? So I did. They built the frames and installed all sliders for drawers and thingies for shelves. Done!

In the midsts of that was the thrill of the purge. Bid farewell to the excess, the unnecessary, and the things that didn’t spark joy. Donating, recycling, or just plain saying ‘thank you and goodbye’ to items that had served their purpose was like shedding a layer of stress. Was it difficult? Did I agonize over each item a few times before moving them to the discard pile? Heck yeah! I hemmed and hawed over each piece – because each piece brought back memories of a time gone by. But … I knew I needed to be brutal. And brutal I was.

And then, came the pièce de resistance: the quilt rack. I knew what I wanted, so Jules and I designed it, but then he took over and did he ever come through! One early morning installation and voilà! Done. It’s free-standing so I could move it if necessary. But it’s a perfect fit for that spot. It stands proudly to display quilts finished. All sizes, all shapes. Its bars whisper promises of more work to be added. Quilts that tell stories of countless stitches and hours of imagination.

With each item finding its designated home, it wasn’t just about cleaning a basement; it was about creating a space where inspiration could thrive, where classes could be more than lessons – they could be experiences!

So here I stand, surrounded by the organized and the orderly. Cheers to the joyous anticipation of what’s to come. Let the adventures begin!

Until I write again, keep creating!

Ana