Urban Excavation Effect - an invitation

This is an event i have affectionatly called Urban Excavation. It is a challenge of sorts, to clear one's clutter & uncover the forgotten objects that slip to the bottom of the pile hidden from view, and to transform them into useful objects. No-one likes to tidy up.. let's face it. That's why we end up with all these loose threads in the first place. NO, this is not a tidying exercise people, we are not into boring mundane routine rituals here (housekeeping included!)..

Urban Excavation is a way of thinking about the possibilities of something you have forgotten about. It is a process of deciding if you can work with said unearthed object, or to give it a new function by repurposing it (to re-create a new function so it becomes useful). If you don't need it, the action is to rehouse it in a useful way.
There, no mention the word tidy!

It is my mission, over the next little while, to gather & nurture all my buried fossils, to dust them off, catalogue & honour the existence of all the little castaways in my life.. to resurface them & give them new meaning.

Urban Excavation Effect:
There are any number of steps you may take while exploring the fields of your own Urban Excavation. They typically begin in your home or studio. There is no time limit on the duration of your own Urban Excavation.

step 1. Unearth = find, uncover 'things' (objects, waylaid to-do-list items etc);
step 2. Action = recreate, transform or rehouse the 'things';
step 3. Document step 1 (Before) & step 2 (After) = in written [blog], photographic form or both.

For example..
Step 1, Unearth: loose threads in your yarn stash.
Step 2, Action: knit some simple rectangular armwarmers, or donate threads to your local school or charitable cause.
Step 3, Document the process/proceedure of transformation.

Actions may include but are not limited to:
* excavate your studio or creative space;
* unearth the things that lurk under your bed;
* tidy sort out/update your photo files, accounts, paperwork;
* get the crap out of the cupboards & take the unwanted bootie to your nearest thrift store;
* repurpose the clothes your children have outgrown & are no longer using, or pop in a box & take to the op shop;
* ditto for excess toys;
* consider as you walk past that old box of old school records, why you are actually keeping them hidden in a box, & what you are planning to do with them ie. scrapbook, purge, or keep in the box for an occasional trip down memory lane.. then actually do it!
* de-clutter the entire house [studio, shed] and start again!
* all of the above;
* clense other needs as they arise along the way.

If you would like to join me & partake in the Urban Excavation Effect, please link to this post & begin documenting your finds & resurrections on your blog, aptly tilting with "Urban Excavation Effect", so we may find you *-* Have fun!