My Friends Are Brilliant

Like most of you, I tend to commit myself to a lot.  There is so much that I love to do and so many opportunities out that that it's hard to say no.  I've gotten better at it, and when a friend of mine approached me a few weeks ago to ask if I was interested in joining her new club she was forming, my instant reaction was, "No, I've got enough on my plate."

Then she explained it further.  And I was so in.

The woman is brilliant.  Four of us get together once a week at a house, rotating through the four of us, and we work.  We fix and we ... complain for two and a half hours.

You know those projects that you don't do because ohhhh they are overwhelming or you don't know where you start or you just don't know enough to do it right?  That's where we come in.  Four people working for two and a half hours can get so much more done that you'd imagine.

The first week, we reorganized a friend's office.  We got rid of a ton of books on the shelves that shouldn't be there.  We went through the photos to decide what stays and goes.  We cleaned all the shelves.  We took charge of the tangle of cords and got them organized and put away.  By the time we left, it looked really put together.

This morning, we were at the second house.  While my friend who has an art history master's degree - among other artist credentials - went with her upstairs to help choose paint colors and decor, my other friend and I got to work in the kitchen.  We recovered four of her kitchen chairs and cleaned the wood on them.  Neither of us had ever done anything like that before, but with directions we did it.  It went so much faster having help because removing the cushions and putting them back on is just not a one person job.

And we also figured out how to remove some mold from the edges of the windows of my friends too well sealed house.  Australian tea tree oil - which I love for all sorts of magical properties - apparently has another use, as well.  It kills mold naturally.  You know I'm going out to buy another bottle of this.

By the time we left, my friend was thrilled that she knew what she was doing with a decor - and in realizing, thanks to my artsy friend, that she had a theme in her house already - and that she had gorgeous new kitchen chairs that "had never been so clean ever and that her windows were now mold free.  And we left feeling pretty good about ourselves, too.  We got a lot done, and we're all ready to tackle the day after this.

Next week is my house.  We're going after the jungle that was once a garden in my backyard.  If the weather doesn't cooperate, we're organizing my bathroom cabinets.  Next up is going through my closet to get rid of items that don't belong there.  My basement is up next, particularly the room that used to contain the gift closet and now is just overrun.

I.  Can't.  Wait.

This was the best idea ever, and I'm thrilled to be part of this club.  Because my friends are brilliant - even though I was the only one who knew what the word "slake" meant.