I Even Dusted the Walls....

Yesterday I declared a mental health day and cancelled school. The children were thrilled, and ran away to play before I could change my mind. I really wanted some peace and quiet to indulge in my new hobby - cleaning. Yes, it is becoming an obsession. If I didn't know myself better I would worry, but I know my high enthusiasm will wear off soon, and I want to get several things done before that happens. So yesterday, three hours cleaning the girls' room. Oh, it looks beautiful. This week I finally got to the dreaded dressing table, which was covered in months of girl detritus - bobby pins, and treasured rocks, and glittery things, and precious pieces of paper, origami, dead flowers, tiny china figures, manky soaps that look like cup cakes, dead beetles in matchboxes...the girls love their 'stuff'. In fact, they are not one bit interested in funky retro minimalism. They are Victorian to their bric-a-brac loving souls. Instead of an outright agreement we have settled on a kind of unquiet detente. They will be dusting each week, which, I hope, will encourage them towards less clutter. I have bestowed tiny chests of drawers on them (wooden CD drawers) in which they can store all their treasures. Each week when they dust they can swap their treasures around, which will be fun and interesting, won't it girls?

So here is their beautiful warm orange bedroom, their vintage mirror rescued from an old dressing table, their many books, none of which can be rationalised, because they are too, too precious, and the clean and polished tops of their chests of drawers. Happy, happy day.