On cleaning sprees & whimsy

I have been having the best time redecorating. My second-youngest moved out and I’ve remade her room into my new office/craft room, which inspired me to redo things all over the rest of the house.

One of the biggest parts of this has been re-organizing and cleaning out stuff we no longer need, and stuff I’ve been saving (why?) or just couldn’t get to because it was shoved in the back of a closet. So freeing!

I’ve refinished an antique secretary desk and a chair to go with it (facebook marketplace finds for the win), and repainted two entire rooms. Sherwin Williams’ matte finish paint is my new favorite.

And I’ve been CLEANING things I haven’t even thought to clean in far too long. I’ve tackled windows, the refrigerator, the tops of shelves, light fixtures, creepy corners of the porch… and I am in love with my new steam mop; that thing is amazing on the funky tile floors I don’t love.

As I’m doing all this, I’ve been thinking about this quote:

There is power in whimsy.

Whimsy is enthusiasm that refuses to defend itself with practicality. It is finding meaning in pure enjoyment. It is the practice of honoring delight for delight’s sake…

–the CryptoNaturalist

Even in my decorating, I’ve been thinking about whimsy. My office curtains have safari animals on them, and there’s a crochet wyvern on the top shelf in my office looking at me right now with a twinkle in his eye.

When my redecorating spree settles down a bit, I have plans to get back to a slew of hobbies I used to enjoy, and try a few new ones, now that I actually have a room with space to do things. One I’ve never tried but is all sorts of whimsical is making teacup gardens; these look so fun!

Meanwhile, I’m doing a paint-by-number of a disco ball. I’m singing songs to my dog. I’m trying to let my silly out of hiding and get back to being the person often referred to as enthusiastic about many things.

This is all part of my new chapter, and I’m going to enjoy the heck out of it.