Most people take advantage of the ushering of spring to do some serious cleaning. I did my share of spring cleaning, but not like I did these past two weeks. Last week, we experienced a heat wave here in NW Ohio and a fierce thunderstorm that accompanied it. I’m a self-confessed weather nerd, but this storm sent me downstairs to safer ground. I actually witnessed a tree outside my balcony get snapped in half by the wind during the storm:

There was plenty more damage to trees outside and thankfully, no one or anything was injured here. It was wild to see nature so destructive and yet so beautiful. Still, it’s bittersweet this tree outside my home had to go as it did. It now sits as a pile of chopped wood.

I didn’t feel it at first, but I believe this storm brought about a much-needed inspiration for me to do some purging. I’ve come to realize I’m a semi-hoarder. Many things I stash away, don’t use but always think, “Maybe. Someday.”

I attacked two of my closets with a renewed spirit: the bedroom closet and the arts/crafts/decor closet. The bedroom closet was quite easy to complete and consisted of pulling out clothes & shoes I don’t wear to donate.

However, the other closet required a major upheaval. Witness the previous state of affairs, with past make-overs and its most recent condition:

As you can see, there was SOOO much crap in there. Re-organizing this closet has been on my to-do list for quite some time and I weighed how to better use this small space for storage.

It was at the happiest place on earth—Ikea— that I found my weapons of choice. Continue reading →