August 23, 2026

Today’s update.

Remember yesterday when I said I was going to tackle laundry today?

Yeah.

About that.

I couldn’t sleep last night. I don’t even know why. There wasn’t a cricket holding a concert outside Mom’s window this time. My brain just apparently decided we weren’t sleeping, so I spent a good portion of the night awake and then, naturally, slept through a good chunk of today.

Needless to say, Mount Laundry remains unconquered.

But surprisingly, the day wasn’t a total wash. Pun absolutely intended.

Once I finally got myself moving, I did the basics. I ate, drank some water, took my meds and took care of Beaker. Then I actually managed to get some things accomplished around the house.

I took down some shelves in my office because there’s a wall in there that I want to redo. I moved some more stuff downstairs, which seems to be the never-ending process around here lately. Every day, something gets moved, sorted, donated, thrown away or finally given a permanent home.

It’s slow.

But holy shit, it’s actually working.

My Office Is Becoming an Office Again

I keep walking into my office and being a little surprised by how much it’s changed.

There’s still a lot to do. I need to fix up that wall, hang some new shelves, finish organizing and figure out where some of my ridiculous collection of trinkets is going to live. But for the first time in a very long time, the room is actually functioning as an office again.

Today I brought up a box of earrings I’d made and sat down at my desk to photograph them.

Then I started listing them in the shop.

At my desk.

In my office.

Like a normal fucking person with a functioning workspace.

That probably sounds incredibly insignificant to anyone who hasn’t watched this house slowly become overwhelmed by caregiving, business inventory, boxes, supplies and six years of life being turned upside down.

But to me, it felt huge.

I had enough room to sit down, photograph inventory and upload it directly to the shop without having to clear a pile of shit first or create some temporary workspace somewhere else.

That’s what I’ve been trying to get back.

Not necessarily the house I had before everything happened, because I’m not the person I was before everything happened. I don’t think there’s any going completely “back” after the last several years.

I just want my spaces to work for the life I’m living now.

And slowly, they’re starting to.

The Shop Is Getting There Too

Downstairs is making progress right along with the office.

I’m so close to having a usable streaming space in the shop.

That’s exciting because September is creeping closer, and I’d really like to get back to my Whatnot shows. Taking August off was absolutely the right decision, but having an actual organized space waiting for me makes the idea of returning feel a little less overwhelming.

I don’t want to come back because I forced myself to.

I want to walk downstairs, look around and feel like I’m ready to work again.

We’re getting there.

The shop still has plenty of chaos. There are beads everywhere because apparently the mysterious woman who keeps ordering them still hasn’t been apprehended. There’s inventory to unpack, jewelry to package and approximately nine million things that need homes.

But there’s a difference between chaos with no direction and a work in progress.

Right now it finally feels like a work in progress.

I can see where things are going.

That’s a really good feeling.

Tomorrow, We Attempt Laundry Again

So no, I didn’t do the thing I said I was going to do today.

That’s okay.

Tomorrow, I need to call Mom’s life insurance company. That’s the important thing on the list.

And I am going to do at least one load of laundry.

One.

We’re not declaring war on Mount Laundry. We’re approaching diplomatically.

If I do more, fantastic. If I wash, dry and put away one load, I’m counting that as a victory.

Because this whole a little each day mantra I’ve accidentally adopted seems to be working.

When I look at any individual day, sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’ve accomplished much. I moved a box. I sorted something. I hung a shelf. I took down another shelf. I photographed a few products. I cleared one corner.

None of those things sound particularly impressive on their own.

But then I look at my office.

I look at the hallway.

I look downstairs at the shop.

And suddenly all those tiny things have added up to something I can actually see.

Maybe that’s how I need to approach more than just cleaning the house.

Maybe that’s how I get my business functioning again.

Maybe that’s how I get back into creating.

Maybe that’s even how I figure out this new version of my life.

Not by waking up one morning magically okay and ready to conquer everything.

Just a little each day.

Today I slept more than I intended. I didn’t do the laundry. I didn’t have some wildly productive Sunday.

But I took care of myself and Beaker. I worked on my office. I moved things downstairs. I photographed jewelry. I added new pieces to the shop.

The day wasn’t wasted.

Far from it.

Now I’m going to take a shower and hopefully convince my stupid brain that tonight we actually sleep when we’re supposed to.

Tomorrow, life insurance.

Tomorrow, one load of laundry.

And whatever else happens, happens.

A little each day.

Turns out that mantra might actually be working.