Reclaiming

This morning I woke up with a singular desire to clean my room. I moved in about four days ago and until today, my room was still covered in boxes, I had nowhere to throw my dirty laundry, and my suitcase was keeping the door from fully opening. So I went a little crazy: put the suitcase away, dug up my laundry basket, and generally rearranged. It finally feels more like my own space.


It's cluttered. Ever since I was young, I've been cluttered but not dirty: some organized chaos I can deal with, but dirty dishes and such I cannot. When I was a teenager, I agonized over the fact that I would never be the type of person who could maintain a perfectly empty-looking room full of clean lines and crisp white sheets. As I've gotten older, I think I've finally realized that having yarn and clothing in partial view is deeply satisfying; it's what I fill my life with, it's what I like - of course it's okay to show it off. This is a touch messier than I'd like for a long-term space, but it's still nice to have all of those colors visible from my bed.


So, while I would love it if I had the time to organize this space a little more, find places for everything, and make it realize its full coziness potential, I'm only living here for two months and can thus handle a little more clutter than I usually prefer. Besides, I have a great reading nest going on, and with the amount I'm hoping to be reading and knitting this summer (which is a lot), it's a pretty nice little haven.


This weekend, in between coffee runs to Slow Train - which has the best studying/reading/knitting atmosphere I've encountered outside of little indie coffee shops in Santa Cruz - and cleaning, I got over to Ratsy's vintage store. I got a little silk scarf that I'm hoping to dye, and a short kimono top that looks pretty strange on the hanger, but goes perfectly with high-waisted skirts or pants and a bright belt. It's pretty simple, and I might have to experiment with making a couple of my own with nicer fabric.


I've also been wearing my little hair-flowers from H&M almost every day. I may have to make some of them of my own, too, because they're pretty perfect for dressing up outfits, especially when they lean towards the conservative side.


So much to do!