Ever since I had my head shaved (see before and after photos here and the reason behind my decision here) I have been a little obsessed with the idea of shedding, not only my many excess personal belongings, which is, of course the theme for Spring, but also shedding ideas that do not suit me, fears that hold me back and beliefs that limit who I might become. This is easier said than done and I have not fully figured out what I even mean.
In part it is about making life simpler with less clutter and I have been doing a lot of closet and cupboard cleaning and donating. Some things have been easy to part with but most things cause a little pang of emotion and a moment or two of distress before they find their way into the goodwill box Once they are gone they are most likely never thought of again but some times the journey to "the box" can feel like a million miles.
Why do I have an emotional attachment to XY or Z thing that I haven't used in years? It's not a family heirloom or even something with any sentimental value. It is just a thing. A thing that in my mind I have defined as mine and therefore have allowed to become some strange extension of myself. I am me and I have a Z. Who will I be if I don't have a Z? I fret. What if I need my Z tomorrow? I would like to shed this fear of letting things go. I am working on it. I have managed to clean out most of my kitchen cabinets and I feel a lightness each time I see the emptier more organized shelves. There are tougher projects to come like my book shelves and crafting drawers, cupboards, closets, and room. I know I am not the only one who struggles to let go of things and I accept that I am unlikely to master this art but still I can hone my skill and try to cultivate a less is more philosophy.
The process of clearing out and letting go of things is exhausting but the results have been liberating.
Recently we replaced our foam mattress and the craft hoarder / waste watcher in me just could not bear to throw the old mattress away. Even though I am in this new place of purging. I am ashamed to admit that it languished away in our living room for over a week while I contemplated its uncertain fate. I immediately thought of making dog beds but I couldn't think of a suitable material to us as a cover . I have spent hours on previous projects making removable fabric covers. Which aside from all the time to make them had other bigger draw backs.
If you like cleaning and are very diligent about it you may not have these problems but I am not good or diligent about cleaning and since our two dogs and two cats have mastered the art of "shedding" in the most literal sense of the word, cleaning is a mostly losing battle in my house. The fabric covers that I made for previous dog beds were difficult to remove and replace on the foam, they collected hair like a magnet and even when they were clean they were really just cleanish. A while back I switched to old second hand comforters in an effort to at least ride myself of the battle to remove and apply the bed covers. As you can see this was a rather unsightly mess but it did simplify the washing process.
My dog doesn't like having her picture taken. Can you tell? :-)
Anyway back to the "elephant" in the room. For a week I lived with my unresolved conflict eclipsing the couch.
All the while knowing that the time was approaching when I would have to end the duplicity of hanging on and letting go. I pondered what else I could use for a cover feeling guilty about leaving the unsightly behemoth in my living room but feeling worse when I imagined its fate if left out on the curb. To ease my guilt of hanging on I worked on getting rid of other things and so it is, that as I sorted and cleaned, I came across a solution in the linen closet.
I have several rectangular table clothes including this plastic one.
Did I mention that my dinning room table is square? So none of my table clothes even fit the table. Those were some of the easier things to let go.
Anyway the process to make this dog bed with very simple. For the first step I had a little help from the hubby. We marked the mattress with a sharpie and a T square and then cut it into four equal pieces with a hand saw.
There are three foam layers which separated very easily.
I selected one of the layers and wrapped it like a gift box with the table cloth.
I used some straight sewing pins to hold the folds temporarily and then taped it up with some duct tape.
I don't know how well it will wear but it looks a lot better, it will stay so much cleaner. and if I need to, it will be easy to recover.
Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the other mattress pieces :-)
Happy Upcycling,
