Shop the House

Before we talk about phase one of Cate's room, I need to do a quick back track.

As you may remember, during the summer I painted up a little unit I had and put it in my kids' bathroom.

As it turned out, in the Fall we finally had our central vac installed and the outlet for it was blocked by the dresser.  So I moved it out and replaced it with a smaller set of drawers I had in my entrance.  

I am not totally happy with this here, but at least I can get to the vaccuum (see the little door on the left).  I put the basket dresser in the entrance for the time being.  We are still in reno mode so I just popped it there to store until I could figure out where it should stay.

Okay, now back to Cate.  The biggest issue in her room is toy storage.  Her room is small so there are not many places to keep toys and she is a kid who plays with a lot of items at once so my hope is to get a good system where she can access things easily and can also learn to put them away properly.

This little turquoise unit is super cutie, but not practical.  It just doesn't hold enough to be useful.  

So, I measured for what could fit there and then I searched Kijiji for a couple days.  The only thing I saw that may have worked was more than I wanted to spend, so today I checked out Home Sense.  Again, what I found was more than I'd hoped to pay.

So I returned home with plans to shop at other stores. 

Then I walked through the hallway, and duh...rule number one of the room re-do?  

SHOP THE HOUSE.

A Time for Change

 While I agree that the New Year is a great time for resolutions and goal setting, I also get this crazy January itch for

  REORGANIZING.

I get completely excited and giddy in anticipation of the process and of course, of the end result.

This month I will be tackling the rooms of my 4 kids.  They are all pretty good at general tidiness, but once a year they need some help to purge, sort, organize and just for fun, we will throw in a rearrange to give them a new look.  Like my kids, each of their rooms has its own personality and I will spend some time with each child to discuss how their spaces are working for them and how we can make it better. (My oldest has already submitted a new floor plan to me.)

Here is a sneak peek of the befores.  Now please note that around here, January 1st is "stay in jammies and veg" day so the rooms have been played in and not cleaned up yet.  

BEFORE 

Cate (4)

Eli (6)

Jake (11)

Sofi (9)

My plan is to get started on Cate's room next week.  I hope you will follow with me in the process and maybe choose your own project to work on alongside me.

Happy New Year!

Holiday Ready

It's fun to step into the holiday hosting mode with your spaces organized and ready to go.  Granted, I don't imagine Darla will be using her linen closet too much in her hostessing duties...but hey, still nice to have it tidy.

Here's how it started out.

Before

Step One:  Sort

Beach towels

Everyday towels

Blankets

Bedding

Step Two:  Purge

Darla and I went through every item and got rid of things that were not being used...two garbage bags full to donate!

Step Three:  Organize

I folded up the remaining items and organized them into the closet.

Since beach towels are not in use as often, I put them on the top shelf, along with the extra duvet for the master bedroom.  Everyday towels are at eye level as well as extra bedding.

Containers hold various items that are stored here...batteries and flashlights, extension cords, haircutting kit, etc..  Toilet paper is low for easy access to the entire family.

On the floor, blankets...easy to grab when kids are building forts.

On the door I stored light bulbs and the hot water bottle.

Tips:

Take toilet paper and kleenex out of its wrapping for easy access.

Store face clothes in their own bin to keep them  tidy.

Throw blankets in a box or bin and don't worry about folding. 

Time elapsed:  one hour

I also did a quick organize of the tea towel bin.

Before

You guessed it.  Sort.  Purge.  Organize.

Hostess ready.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you God!

I feel God needs a public shout out for an amazing miracle he performed in our family.  My 78 year old Dad went through the ice on his quad on Friday and was in the water for 30 minutes before he was able to claw his way out with a screw driver in his jacket pocket.  He made it to shore and is doing fine.  When I think of what our Christmas could have looked like I am overwhelmed with thankfulness to God for saving our sweet Papa.  

Thank-you Jesus.

The Gift of Me

It occurred to me recently that those of you out there still working on that Christmas list may like to know that I do gift certificates.  If you have a friend or family member who might enjoy their space rearranged or reorganized and prettied up, I am available for $30/hour.  I consult via email free of charge before tackling a project.  That crazy and exciting New Year, when suddenly everyone feels the overwhelming urge to purge and organize is fast approaching!!

Okay.  Now, suggesting myself as a gift feels a bit scary to me. You know...it just feels weird to put yourself out there like that.  So, I decided that we should talk about RISK as a closer to this advertisement.

There are not many things you can tackle in the decorating and organizing realm that cannot be undone.  So many people are afraid to even move their living room around.  Paint can be covered over guys!  If you don't want holes in your walls, tape up paper before you hang.  Measure everything.  But there comes a time when you just gotta DO IT.

My friend Kristin and I recently decided that her living room would feel so much more spacious if we moved her huge leather chair to her bedroom...upstairs.  Now normally we'd call on a handy hubby but there were none available so, we risked it.  

And yes...there is the chair.  Stuck.  Midway up we had to stop and remove the legs.

But after a lot of pushing and shoving and laughing, ta-da!  It made it to the destination and looks lovely.

And if it hadn't fit up the stairs or looked good, well, we would have moved it back!  Yes...it would have taken time but so what?  At least we would have known and could then move on to a different plan.

So what have you been thinking of doing that you just keep putting off cause it feels a little risky?  My risk today was to advertise myself.  

What's YOURS?

Merry Christmas

I had the very lovely privilege of decorating Darla's house for Christmas again this year.  

Have a look...

Keeping items up high gives big impact but keeps decor out of the way.

Switching Christmas items for your regular decor helps avoid clutter during the busy holiday season.

In the kitchen it was easy to keep the white platters as a backdrop and just switch out the extras to seasonal items.

Have fun with your decorating...here Darla popped in a little Jet's fever.

Holiday guests are sure to visit your powder room, so don't forget to add some holiday towels and soap.

Playdate

While the little girls played, 

the big girls did some P~O.  You know...pretty organizing?!?  What else can you do on your first trip to see your friend's new house???

Erin has a great new home out in the country.  She wanted her record player to have a different spot, so, we moved it and hung some great art by her sister.

We worked on the mantel...more great art by Jenny.  But then we were stumped.  We tried to balance it with vases, bowls but nothing worked.  So we headed outside in the first snow and cut some branches.  Never overlook sweet nature as a place to find (free) decor.

The book shelf got sorted and arranged.  We took some items out that could find new homes and kept things looking clean and pretty.

Then I had my fun with the National Geographics.  HOW many people have such a fab collection of these I ask you?  Well, Erin's husband does and they are amazing and very handy and totally hip.  So this is how I left them.  

Erin ended up having to move them out of her daughter's reach, but that is the fun of decorating...nothing is permanent!  You can move and rearrange and see how you like things and move 'em back if you don't.  

So, take a little risk this week.  Move or arrange something you've been thinking about but have not been brave enough to try.  Change the furniture, hang that picture you've been contemplating...the other day my friend and I removed her kitchen cupboard doors...the sky's the limit.

And you can always put it back!