i found the source

this past weekend i cleared out at my house. one job i had started but only half finished, one job kind of just grew from sorting out the first one and another job, well i don't even think i would call it that, another project i realised was long overdue and was itching to get to once i saw it.

the funny thing about all of these jobs/projects was even though one thing lead to another and then another taking up more time and energy i really enjoyed them. i am a recovering to-do list girl - if you see me writing everything down it's a sure sign that either i am lost in the memory lapse world i so frequently inhabit or i'm trying desperately to gain contentment from performing tasks that give me satisfaction. this weekend was neither of those things, i just started clearing out the bottom half of the cupboard i had left to finish from when i had cleared out the top half a few weeks ago. once i had pulled out dvds and games my nieces and nephews play with when they visit i found a damp black mould and mildue deposit lurking behind it all. i wasn't surprised, i had smelt an odour previously and was relieved to find the source. once cleared, cleaned and dried i left doors ajar to air. to check this was the only source i started checking around the area and found a second larger deposit in the next room behind recycling receptacles and other items kept in storage for a never never day. it was liberating to clean and clear and throw things away. i sought advice about the best way to clean, clear and treat this fungus and was relived when i realised that it wasn't damp as i had suspected but lack of air flow that had caused the mouldy build up. i really wish i had reached for my camera to photograph it but really who does that in this instagram age? we are all guilty of taking photos of the picture perfect and believe me black, wet, smelly stains on your walls are not the definition of that, not even close. i only regret not having a before and after shot. i washed down, scrubbed and then sprayed the mould removal product and left it to do it's magic. to say i was sceptical is an understatement but perform it did and not only do i have stain free walls i am now almost smell free too.

the next wall i checked thankfully was dry with no deposits, nothing had been stored trapping air flow. but as i looked i realised the room itself was stale, i had done a furniture swap with a friend and the item i had been given had been placed, without thought in a convenient corner and left there - that was two years ago. i took time this weekend and washed away dust, cleaned and dusted items that hadn't been used recently and rearranged the room and the items within it. most items stayed in the room but some got swaped out and others came in (shopping the house as the nester encourages). i am happy with how it turned out but above all i got a glimpse of how i will use this room in the future. although i am happy with how it has landed right now i can see what my next moves for it could be and that makes me happy - living happily in the present and dreaming of the future. 

relaxing after i'd cleared and cleaned i got to thinking how items packed together without air circulation can become damaged or are damaging just by being there, how they become stale without use or purpose. surely the same can be true of ourselves not just our homes?  shouldn't we keep embracing and living not just the parts we live daily but the parts we hide away from? review the parts we hold onto just in case or the parts we brush under to carpet to deal with another day? i fear the internal black stains might be harder to clean or gloss over if we don't.

Emma