Monday, March 9, 2015

End of 1st Quarter: Spring Cleaning

A Monday Sunbonnet Sue...Baking.


This March 14-15th please join Raul at the Fossils & Flight Founders Symposium presented by the Western Interior Paleontological Society. It will be at the Green Center at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden. There will be all kinds of displays and lectures about dinosaurs, etc. Raul will have a booth and even be selling some pretty awesome stuff!! I can't make it unfortunately - but Raul will pass on all the hugs. :)


Spring at this point is more of a state of mind than an actual season in Colorado. More accurately it’s known as “Mush” since it can’t decide if winter is over or if road construction can start yet. This “Mush”-y feeling certainly inspires me to clean things…

  1. Whistle While You Work: I try to work as tidy as I can - which isn’t very tidy I suppose considering the materials I use - but after each project I’ll clear off my workspace, put reference books back on the shelf, sharpen pencils before placing them in their respective slots, clean off the whiteboard, re-pin the styrofoam, replace the paper on the top of my desk, quick inventories so I can refill depleted items, switch out wallpapers on my laptop and bravely seek out the dirty dishes on Raul’s desk. (I don’t clean his whole desk mind you; I just do search and rescue for glasses, plates and forks - might as well if I’m doing the same for my desk) This will prevent me from early procrastination on my next project, so I’m not pondering messes while trying to brainstorm ideas for characters or waiting around when I’ve run out of col-erase pencils. At least once a year I do this to the whole apartment - sometimes I find more art supplies hiding away that I forgot!

  1. Meditative Approach: Sometimes projects are emotionally draining which can be good and bad. I need time between projects so I can “detox” from the last subject to engage the next one with the same enthusiasm. This can range from a few days of relaxing (Read sleeping) to a week of “do-anything-else-but” activities - like traveling to visit friends and family, hiking, trying a new restaurant, giving the chihuahua a bath, holiday traditions, etc. Too much time spent away makes me feel equally “Mush”-y, so balance is key.

What are some ways that you participate in the spring clean?