The ABCs of Decorating | C

I know, I know. You came here looking for some kind of awesome secret on home decor and cleaning was the last thing you wanted to do. I'm sorry, but today is just good ol' sage wisdom. You will never, ever, EVER love your house when it is a mess. That may be harsh, but it's the truth. We all have goals we want to meet where home decor is concerned. The very first step is starting with a clean slate..... which is equal to a clean home. 

Room Refresh | Adding pretty to the kitchen.

I am going to try my best to not be too wordy with this post. I know pictures do a great job of speaking for themselves. I recently finished working with one of my first clients. She was an absolute dream to work with as she was willing to go along with all of my crazy ideas without question. 

20 Bags in 20 Days | An Organizational Challenge for YOU!

In my last post, I shared my thoughts on breaking down the clutter in your home. I also shared a great resource to declutter in 2013. Maybe you are looking for a smaller commitment? Maybe you don't have a ton of decluttering to do, but could still use a bit of a refresher. That is where I stand. So, I've come up with this: 20 bags in 20 days. It's not an original idea. I believe the first suggestion was 40 bags in 40 days and I've seen all sorts of numbers in between. I looked at my calendar. I assessed the needs in my home. I realized this could all be done in time for the beginning of Lent. Just imagine: a clear, clean home in time for all the wonderful reflection of the season. I'm excited about it.

So, here's what you do.

1. Grab a trash bag.

2. Go to your designated spot.

3. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Just 15 minutes.

4. Clean out and clear out!

5. Take that bag to the trash, the thrift shop, your neighbor's house... wherever. Just get it out.

6. Sit back, relax, enjoy less stuff.

PS - This is a list I personalized for the needs in my own home. I'm sharing with you all in order to give you an idea of what may need to be done in your home.
PPS - Yes, I do need FOUR days to concentrate on our school closet.

Clutter | Does it ever end?

A very common topic that comes up when I am speaking with others about home decor and organization is clutter control. No matter how hard we try, it seems to never fully go away. I admit that I am constantly working on getting rid of clutter in my own home and it is still always there. I've just gotten good at hiding it.

Last year, I embarked on a decluttering adventure beginning in January. I documented my experiences, including before and after pictures all the way through April. I quit documenting the decluttering process only because taking the pictures, editing them and typing up a post each week was very time consuming. The actual decluttering was not. It was a very simple process and one I'd recommend again in a heartbeat. If you struggle in this area, go visit Beth at My Simpler Life right now. She has an awesome decluttering calendar that breaks it down week by week. I've said this before and I stand behind it 100% today, it is extremely difficult to have a comfortable, pretty and functional home when it is consumed with clutter. I say it in love, but it is true.

My number one tip on keeping clutter under control is to recycle, donate, throw away, get rid of stuff you do not use or need! I admit because we move every 1 to 3 years, I am forced to do this much more often than the average person. I grew up as a packrat, but I have absolutely zero qualms about getting rid of things anymore.

If you don't need it, don't even bring it in the house. Don't accept free samples, gifts, leftover craft supplies, etc. I am extremely tempted by these things. But you know what happens when I do bring home those free samples, leftover craft supplies, or things other people are getting rid of? They sit in my bathroom drawer unused or in a box on the top shelf of our school closet or worse.... they create clutter in my home. I don't need that and you don't either. Just say no to free stuff!! (Unless you will really, truly use it.)

Bring one in, take one out. Better yet, bring one in, take TWO out. This goes for clothing, toys, shoes, dishes, appliances, etc. We let Christmas win this year, but I still very much intend to get this done by the end of January. For every toy my kids received, we will be donating at LEAST one. (hopefully more) We weed through the kids' clothing regularly and send outgrown items to family members or to the thrift shop. I used to save it just in case, but I no longer do that. I do keep a few very sentimental pieces of clothing that belonged to my children, but certainly not everything. * One exception to this would be if you have the space and you know without a doubt there will be a sibling coming up that could use this clothes, go ahead and store it away. I am all for saving money!

So there are my top three tips for cutting back clutter. It isn't easy and it's not always fun, but the result is so, so worth it. Having a clutter free home creates serenity and a place of refuge from our otherwise chaotic life. Take the time to invest in the peace of your family!

The Makings of a Boy's Room | Part 4

Add Complimentary Storage Options

 

One thing is for certain: When you have a baby, you will need storage. In the infant months, it's for diapers, wipes and burp cloths. With toddlerhood comes the invasion of toys and the collection just keeps growing from there. It's best to think about storage options from the beginning. I like to try to find versatile pieces that will grow with our needs.

 

The Expedit Shelving Unit from IKEA is one of my favorites for this reason. We actually purchased it to store toys in our girls' room. When we moved, it became a storage/display piece in the baby's room.

 

 

 

And as he's grown, our needs have changed. We turned it horizontally once again and it's the perfect height for him to play with his toys on... or to climb on and look out his window.

 

 

Another one of my favorite storage options is this laundry basket. I know it sounds crazy, but the color of it works nicely with his room and it's just perfect for throwing in those random toys at the end of the day.

 

 

And of course, there is the armoire I discussed in my Part 3. No matter what storage options you choose, remember to think outside the box and to think towards the future!

The makings of a boy's room.

Once upon a time, I posted a picture on Facebook of my daughter studying in her bed. It was meant to tell the story of how peaceful and quiet our home was for all of those five minutes. Instead, it got quite a response from friends about the decor of her room. One response {from my sister}, lovingly stated, "I bet you can't make your little boy's room that beautiful." While it was in jest, I took this challenge head on. My son's room was already cute enough, but it wasn't quite exactly how I envisioned it. Some changes needed to be made, so I got to work..... slowly. Did I mention the photo and comment were posted on April 11? So, six months later, here I am.

 

Over the next few days, I am going to share with you what I think are key elements of a child's room. Of course, this is just my opinion. But I do hope you find these posts useful or at the very least, entertaining.

Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 13

We are one quarter of the way done! How have you been doing? Can you tell a difference in your home? I have to say, in some places of my homes (such as the ones most recently decluttered), it is noticeable. In other areas that haven't been decluttered since January.... well, they could stand to be decluttered again. I have a tendency to be frustrated or angry at myself for letting this happen, but then I choose to remember this is life. Life is fluid. Always moving. Kids are always, always moving. Most of the time, they carry things with them and move items from one place to a perfectly decluttered space. It happens. So, I choose to stow away my frustrations (for now) and move on to this week's list.

First up, get rid of cleaners you don't use.
We don't really use cleaners in our house other than Norwex antibac microfiber cloths. The microfiber is so fine that it picks up everything. As for the bacteria, Norwex uses silver that is interwoven into the cloths to kill bacteria on contact. I love them. My hubby even loves them. We've been using Norwex for about four years and I don't see us ever going to conventional cleaners again. I did find a random bottle of Clorox wipes under our bathroom sink this past week though. Actually, Sam found it and I promptly threw it out. It's something he obviously doesn't need to play with and we haven't had the need for.

Replace any mops, dusters, brooms, brushes that need it and get rid of the old ones.
We have a Libman upright broom, brush and dustpan that is still going strong. We also have the Norwex mop that is also in great condition. No need for us to replace anything yet, so there is nothing to get rid of either. Love that!

Update your car first aid kit.
For a long time, I had a great first aid kit in the car that I bought at Target for $9.99. It was perfect and had everything you could ever potentially need. About six months ago, I took a closer look at it and realized all but the bandages was expired. I now have a fantastic collection of bandaids. This is a great reminder to nudge me in the direction of replacing the ointments, medications and creams in that kit. If you aren't sure what to put in the kit, click here for a great resource.

Return items you have borrowed to friends, family and the library.
Good reminder! We do have some books & movies to turn in!

Do a quick pick up of clutter areas you have already decluttered.
Yes! and NO!! This is where my hard work truly occured this week. Of course, this is something I pretty much do on a daily basis, you?

I apologize for the lack of pictures this week, but it's basic cleaning out and I didn't feel pictures of my Clorox wipes in the trash can would really be helpful. Stay tuned this week for pretty pictures!

The 2012 Declutter Calendar was created by Beth at www.mysimplerlife.com You can jump in at any time and join in!

Seagrass Storage Baskets { Local Finds }

I love these baskets. They are pretty. They are functional. And they will forever tell a story for me.

When we moved into our farmhouse in Simmozheim, we quickly realized we lacked one thing: STORAGE. Our house did not have a single closet or cabinet. We made do pretty well with what we had plus a few armoires from IKEA. One area that proved a little tricky was the bathroom. I don't know about you, but I have a LOT of bathroom stuff. Suddenly, I found myself sharing a bathroom with my entire family. This was going to be a challenge.

I envisioned the perfect solution to our bathroom storage dilemma. Something like this:

Or this:

Heck, even this:

One problem, I couldn't find anything remotely close to these options here in  Germany. I looked online and either the item was too expensive to be shipped over here or the option wasn't even available.

A friend of mine told me while living over here you buy what you can when you find it. Basically, you have to settle. I was okay with digging a little more and being more creative. I was not okay with settling. I admit, first I was excited about the challenge. However, my excitement quickly turned to frustration.

I kept looking and looking. Finally, at Mömax I found these lovely sea grass baskets with a hinged lid on them.

I thought they'd be perfect because I could stack them. I put the items rarely used in the bottom baskets and kept the more essentials in the top basket.

We've had them for 18 months now. They worked well at our house in Simmozheim and they have transitioned well into our house on post. I imagine they will be part of our decor family for a long time to come. I can see them having a future as toy boxes or a place to store extra curriculum. Regardless of where they end up. I am sure they will be well loved and look lovely in the process.

{PS to my local friends. If you happen to be on the lookout for products with a safe rating on the EWG's Cosmetic Database, this Pure & Natural soap has a rating of 2 and can be found at the Exchange.}

Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 12

Raise your hand if you or your family has had the stomach bug in the last two weeks. *raises hand and waves it back and forth* I am sorry for the silence around here for the last two weeks. My home has been somewhat of a small time infirmary and/or pharmacy during that time. It has not been fun. But that is life, no? Today we are working hard to get back on track. I have some fun posts in store for you this week.

 

Back to the decluttering! This week we are working in the bathroom. To be honest with you, I could go back into my own bathroom and declutter again. But I decided to work on our kids/guest bath.

• Clear out under the bathroom sink. 
• Declutter bathroom knick knacks and things on the wall. 
• Get rid of multiples of hair dryers and curlers. 
• Declutter the shower or bath area.

I honestly don't spend much time in here... ever. It gets out of control. It gets really chaotic. Here is our girls' bathroom before:

                                       

 
I didn't need to declutter so much as organize what was in here. I did throw out a few expired items and random things Sam had carried in here. Other than that, it was basic picking up and cleaning. Pretty easy. Now, who wants to come mop the floor?

 

Don't forget to spend 15 minutes each decluttering another bathroom or room. My girls and I actually set a timer and do this. Make yourself stop at 15 minutes. You'll be amazed at how much you can get done during that time!

 

One more week of decluttering and we will be 1/4 of the way done with 2012! Can you believe it?

Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 10

Hello, Monday. I can't believe you're here again. Where does the time go?

This week's pictures are going to be iPhone quality. I wasn't feeling inspired to drag out my real camera and do any editing at all. Hubby's TDY, baby's teething, school girls are whining and complaining. It's a wonder I got any decluttering done at all!

Clean, organize and declutter the microwave area. Here is my microwave area. Normally, I keep kitchen towels on the white tray on top of the microwave, but they are all dirty! Thank goodness I don't do laundry for this blog.

Empty out, clean and declutter your utensil crock. My utensil crock truly only has the few utensils I use. I did take them out and was pretty surprised and a teeny bit yucked out by the bottom of that crock! Make sure you clean yours out.

 

Declutter your small utensils and kitchen tool drawer. Get a drawer organizer if you don't already have one. We have very little flatware, so this task wasn't very daunting. We had some old coffee stirrers that needed to be thrown out. Other than that, I only needed to put a baby spoon in it's rightful place.

Clean off one kitchen shelf. I decided to tackle our coffee/tea cabinet. We have quite the tea and coffee obsession in our house. I guess it would be more accurate to say I have a tea obsession. You just never know what kind of mood you'll be in when the desire for tea strikes. Will you want the calming effect of Sleepy Time? Will you want the relaxing Vanille Rotbusch or the Chai? Maybe a little Earl Grey Creme is just what you need to start your day. I digress. Here is our coffee/tea cabinet before and after. Lots of clearing out expired tea, tossing a few packs of cocoa and organizing a few mugs.  Oh, and I guess this isn't the correct place to keep the girls' DS and games, huh?

So, that it is for week 10. If you'd like to join in or you are curious about how this whole decluttering thing started, visit Beth's blog, My Simpler Life. Beth has all kinds of tips for simplifying as well as a free PDF download of the 2012 Decluttering Calendar.

Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 9

Welcome March! Is it feeling like spring where you are yet? I wonder how hard it will be for us to stay inside decluttering when the beautiful weather beckons to us. Or maybe the lovely air will be an inspiration to clear out unwanted and no longer needed items in our dwelling place.

As you all know by now, I completely bowed out of week 8. I could make it up, but I've made the decision to just pick up with the current week. I hope that encourages you to do the same. Some days (and weeks) in our lives just don't lend themselves to extra work and that is okay. The point is to never give up fighting clutter. Now onto week 9!

Our first task was to let go of hobby items from a hobby you have outgrown. Did you know I used to make and sell hairbows? I have a ridiculous amount of ribbon. I sold a LOT, but I still have quite a bit. I think this is the perfect nudge I need to get rid of it. I have been saving it just in case I needed to make some more bows for my girls or maybe my sisters' children. Now my girls have nearly outgrown hairbows and my sisters have all boys. Goodbye ribbon!! I don't have a "before" picture, but rather a "during" picture. Here is all the ribbon being wound and packaged to send to a friend.

And here is the ENTIRE storage container I gained by clearing out the ribbon. You have to love that.

On day 2, we were to "trim a collection." I don't really have any collections unless you count stamps! Funnily enough, I had been in the process of putting together a list of retired stamps and accessories to sell and pass on. Here is just a tiny peek at what I set aside to sell. I've actually already sold about 1/4 of these. It is nice to pass on things to people who will use them and to make a little pocket change while doing so! Maybe you have some things you could sell too!

The last day of February had us recycling electronics we no longer use. Did you find you had many {or any} of these? Maybe it's all the moving around, but we don't really have any electronics we aren't using.

Next up on the list is decluttering an end table in the living room. This is our table between the couch and chair. It is usually kept fairly clutter free thanks to our little one year old boy. He can reach most anything on top of this table and he will grab it.

After putting away a few things and straightening up the boxes a bit, here is our table again.

I have a special little side tip for you. Naturally, my one year old gets into these boxes. So, instead of filling them with anything of any value to me whatsoever, this is what is inside the top box:

Cars! I love them and so does Sammy. The bottom box truly is just storage. Here's what it looks like. A few books and some random coasters. I just had a thought, I should probably pass those on as well. Hmm.

On Friday, we were to get rid of pet toys no longer being played with. Well, we don't have a pet, but we do have a one year old. {This post is quickly becoming all about him!} I don't have any pictures, but I went through all of his toys today and weeded out the infant toys, the teethers and the rattlers. I put them in a box in his closet and I will soon pass them onto a pregnant friend.

Finally, on Saturday we cleaned out a coffee table or another end table. We don't have a coffee table, so I chose the end table in the corner of our living room. The top is pretty clear of clutter for the same reason our other end table is. The top drawer however, could stand to be cleaned out. Here it is before:

A few magazines tossed and office supplies put up where they belong. Sam likes to open this drawer and play with whatever he can grab, so I will put stash some of his toys in there as well.

The cabinet on the bottom of this end table  is where we store all of our WII supplies. They are haphazardly tossed in there, but it works for us.



And that is that for Week 9. It felt good to get back into the decluttering. As always it's never too late to join! If you would to join us, download your free calendar at Beth's website, My Simpler Life.

Pretty Hooks = Laundry Room Helpers

I see these types of hooks all over the place. You know the ones: wine label hooks, a ceiling tile hook, cheap ones, ornate ones, vintage finds and discount store treasures. I love them. The thing that always stops me from buying them up is the thought of, "What will I do with them?" Well, the thought deters me anyway.

So, I have these pretty hooks. I also have the drooliest baby who goes through bibs and shirts like you would not believe! I have two messy girls and a messy hubby too. We have dishes and a table that begs to be wiped down. You add all those things up and you come up with wet bibs, damp towels and soapy dishcloths.

When I'm ready to get these things out of my sight, I like to take them to the laundry room. I can't just throw them in the hamper though, they will become foul and contaminate the rest of the laundry. Before I would toss them into the pile of patient laundry, I would lay them flat on the dryer or over the door of the washing machine. That wasn't the most convenient place because I needed it for empty detergent bottles and socks who'd lost their partners.

Well, guess what I found! Some pretty hooks. These in particular came from the dollar bins at Michael's. {Does Michael's still have those?} I just used tiny nails to tack these to the wall in our laundry room right underneath a decorative sign. They work wondrously!

So, do you have any extra cute hooks looking for a home? Put them to work and rescue the rest of your laundry from the stink!

Special thanks to my own mom who gave me this idea!!

Declutter With Me on Monday Tuesday | Week 7

Wow. I have to admit to you I am having some serious backsliding as of late. Not only is my decluttering suffering, but I find myself very tempted to buy unnecessary things. I wonder if there is a support group for this? I will be striving to focus on family/home time during Lent this year. I hope this will help curb my desire to purchase some a lot.

Now back to decluttering!

This week was fairly easy as well. I tried to enjoy the small amount of decluttering because I think next week has me in the storage space in the basement. Yikes. I will absolutely be enlisting the help of my hubby for that.

When I read that the bulk of this week's tasks were clearing a desk, I was excited. I thought I was totally off the hook for decluttering. Here is my desk and printer before:

And after putting some clothes in their right place and packaging up something that needs to be mailed, here is my desk and printer after:

In my dreamy fantasy world, that is all I would have needed to do this week. But wait! There is this other desk... in our master closet. Much to my hubby's dismay, it is pretty much my office. I bet he just loves getting dressed in there! Here is my space before:

I have to admit that I pretty much enjoy organizing this space. Crafting makes me happy. Organizing my crafting things makes me happy too. Here is my happy little space after:

So, with the exception of organizing your bulletin board {which I do not have,} that is it for this week! Hope you are all hanging in there with the decluttering.

If you are new to this blog or this concept, please check out Beth Dargis's blog, My Simpler Life. She has a free downloadable calendar to help guide you decluttering your way through 2012. It's never too late to start! Take the first step today.



Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 6

Left, right & center of bedroom dresser
I felt this week's tasks were fairly simple and straightforward. Normally, our bedroom dresser is pretty free of clutter. As luck would have it, however, it was a bit out of control this week.

Things just needed to put away in their rightful place. It wasn't too labor intensive or taxing on my brain. It was just busywork, which I already have plenty of, *thankyouverymuch*!

Clear off one bedroom shelf

We don't necessarily have any shelves in our bedroom, so I tackled the window ledge in our master bath. This is where my hubby and I keep our items of daily use. I still had things up there that hadn't been put away since our trip to Venice. I'm horrible about unpacking.



A little rearranging is always good. The coffee cup has been returned to it's rightful home as well as the dusting cloth. Hey, if anyone has any ideas as to what to put in the cream colored bowl, please let me know! I've considered river rocks and decorative balls, but neither seems to fit.

Clear off another bedroom shelf

I've run out of shelves, so I moved to an area in my home that is always in desperate need of tidying... my daughter's bedroom.

Every surface of my girl's room is usually covered in something. Her room is pretty random. Take her dresser top for example. My conditioner was carried in here by her baby brother and the screwdriver was probably left here by yours truly.  

So, that's kind of it for this week. Not terrible. I'm starting to wonder what kind of trouble I'm in for next week! How is your decluttering coming??

Declutter With Me On Monday | Week 5

It's February! We have completed one entire month of decluttering. How is it coming? Even if you've missed some days, it's still okay to jump right in at the current date. Don't worry about what you've missed. Just start today.

This week we conquered candles, nixed knives and fought with the fridge. If your household is anything like mine, you actually fought the toddler to get to the fridge! I am happy to report that this week our lives are back to our normal and I was able to accomplish some decluttering tasks.

Candles + Kitchen Drawer {1/30 + 2/3}
I don't have a lot of candles anymore. I used to be an avid collector of candles. If it was pretty, if it smelled good, if it had sentimental value I bought it. As you may or may not realize, candles do not move well. They usually end up melted or broken. I guess you could say I have the military to thank for my small stash of candles.

Here is what my stash consists of:
The Everyday | Niven Morgan Gold - When we moved from Oklahoma in 2005, my dear friend Rebekah gave me a Niven Morgan Gold pillar as a going away token. Needless to say, I was smitten. With the exception of fall + Christmas scents, I have not bought any other candles since then.
The Holiday | Yankee Seasonal Scents - I'm a sucker for them
The Practical | generic candles in various colors to change with the seasons

I combined Monday's task with Friday's task of cleaning out one kitchen drawer. Because we have very few kitchen drawers, I moved onto the cabinets. Conveniently, the cabinets that housed the candles really needed to be organized. Here are the shots:

Photo Organization {1/31}

I admit I do have some photos in boxes that I should go through, but the vast majority of my photos are digital until I print them out for a project. I am currently enjoying Project Life, so my photos are organized by week. Here is a screenshot of how I organize them.

Keep Only Your Good Knives {2/1}

Go Through Your Plastic Bag/Foil Area {2/2}

My foil area has been pretty well contained. We rarely use these products in our home, but they are here just in case.

The whole plastic bag situation was a little out of control. Sometimes {frequently} I forget to bring my reusable bags to the commissary. I always save the commissary bags I acquire to be used for trash bags in the bathrooms and in the car. My previous storage solution for these bags was throwing them onto the top shelf of one of my cabinets. Yeah, that wasn't working well.

I had this extra 2 gallon plastic pitcher collecting dust. I wadded up each bag individually and stuffed them one by one into the the pitcher. {You know it stinks when you grab a plastic bag that has four more stuffed into it!} After the pitcher is filled up, it's easy to grab just one bag through the lid. And look how much more space I have on the top shelf now!



Empty Your Fridge + Clean It {2/4}



Thankfully, I work very hard not to let old and expired things get lost or forgotten in my fridge. That made it pretty easy to complete the last task of the week. I did throw out a few things though!



Don't you just love my little helper? He is involved in almost all of my weekly tasks.

Have a wonderful week fellow declutterers!