{Homecomings & Organizing a Laundry Room. Day 2}

Day two of "31 Days to Lovely Little Spaces" is about homecomings. 

Our family comes and goes through the garage. The room immediately accessed from this entrance is a combination mudroom/laundry room. And it is S.M.A.L.L., which means we need to be really well organized in here.
 

Bela's weather chart is on the door.
I love that the steel door is magnetic!

I placed a bench next to the door and there are some coat hooks hanging above the bench. Unfortunately this makes it nearly impossible to actually sit down to tie your shoes. I also use these hooks to hang our shirts and other laundry that goes on hangers, taking up a lot of valuable space that could be used by hoodies and backpacks. Boo!

On the other hand, the bench is a great place to set things down. Before I moved the bench out here, people put their things on top of the washer & dryer, which drove me nuts! It's hard enough to get clothes sorted and folded without having to maneuver around library books, bottled waters, and treasured stones... Not to mention, the kids would accidentally push the buttons on the front loaders as they set their stuff on top, turning the machines on with nothing inside. Minor irritants, for sure, but I wanted to avoid them to keep our home happy.

The bench is also great for storing shoes underneath and out of the way. The walkway through this area is quite narrow. Shoes that are out of place are tripping hazards. Another-- unseen--perk of the bench is that the lid lifts up for storage. I keep mittens, hats, gloves, and other outer wear inside.

The bottom drawings were done by Griffin and
Bela did the ones on top.

My plan is to move the coat hooks over to this wall, which is between the door to the garage (on the right) and the door to the rest of the house (out of view on the left). The kids' art would have to be moved up, easily accommodated by cathedral ceilings. When you can't move out, move up! 

The laundry room is really too small for a full-size ironing board so I've moved that out. When something needs to be touched up with an iron, I do it on a quilt on top of the dryer. Eventually, I plan to add some sort of counter to connect the two machines but for now this solution works well enough. 

We LOVE flip flops!!!

The far wall (above the hamper and garbage can) is where I'll add two hooks for hanging our laundry. Without a good routine in place for getting through the wash and putting away shoes, this is what the room would look like. And we would be in some serious trouble! Luckily, it doesn't usually look like this. 

Yes, that's Holy water. No, I am not worried about a vampire invasion.

Above the washing machine and dryer is a shelf and two cupboards (which you can just barely see in this photo). I use the shelf to hold extra cleaners such as bleach, Woolite, and spray wash, and I use the edge of the shelf to hold hangers. Since there is no lip on the shelf, this is a not-so-great solution. There is always a chance the hangers are going to fall down behind the machines. 

The washer and dryer are front loaders, which I LOVE. My wonderful parents bought them for me three years ago as a housewarming gift (an incredibly generous one!!) because I was going to be living on my own with two young children, and they knew how important it is to be able to easily do laundry.

I am so grateful to them for the gift, yet getting the wash done is something I still often struggle with.

Both kids did the handprint poem in kindergarten.
It makes me tear up to read it.

To make the space more enjoyable, I turned the large wall across from the washer & dryer into a gallery for Griffin and Bela's art work. It is definitely more cheerful now! 

Other things I still want to do in this space:

1.) Paint!
2.) Hang a cute window treatment.
3.) Frame the hose cut-out in the wall behind the machines.
4.) Switch out the boring light fixtures.
5.) Move the coat hooks.
6.) Create a lip on the shelf.
7.) Add a counter to the top of the washer & dryer.
8.) Organize my cabinets and linen closet. 

Transforming the linen closet from this blurry mess into something highly functioning is on my list for this week. 

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{Day 1: Fall Nesting in Lovely Little Spaces}

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

Today is day one of my month-long series "31 Days of Lovely Little Spaces". It's a blogging challenge from The Nester to write about one topic for the entire month of October. 

And as if that challenge weren't enough, I have also decided to participate in The Inspired Room's Fall Nesting Series (this one is weekly). 

Because the more we do something, the better we get. My simplified interpretation of the quote from Aristotle. 

I feel good about the writing part: I've given a lot of thought to the content. I've even figured out, more or less, the schedule of when I'll write/post/etc. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out some of the technical aspects of this blogging thing, such as creating an image to link up with. And, worse, I have misplaced the USB cord that connects my camera to the computer so I can download pics. 

But, that's part of living with gratitude, in my opinion. When you say "yes" to October, to autumn, to the changing seasons, you are saying "no" to something else (visits to Dairy Queen, swimming at the beach, and the long, carefree days & nights of summer). We're on Mother Nature's schedule. "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." --Lao Tzu

So, for day one, because I LOVE a list :) -- "The 20 Little Things I Love About Fall"

Bela, age 1!

  
1. Pumpkins. 
Especially my little pumpkin, who was born on the cusp of fall six years ago. But I also love the kind that we'll transform with carving knives after purchasing from one of the farmers nearby. 

2. Family Connections.
We'll probably buy our pumpkins this year from a wagon I've seen parked at a few different homes around the village. It has a sign on it that says the pumpkins are from the grandkids, which is so charming to think of a multi-generational family living in one small community.
 
3. Colors.
The red, yellow, and orange of the leaves on the trees takes my breath away. Not only does it make a beautiful vista to enjoy from the windows of our home, but I'm enjoying my 20-minute commute much more lately. I think of it as my very own color tour!

Griffin, age 5, at our first house

4/5/6.  Football.
It's a really good thing this makes my list of fall favorites. My big lovey is playing in four fantasy football teams this year. (!!) He's nice enough to turn the big TV over to the kids on Sundays, and he tells me all about his players and teams. Since we live near (and attended) a Big 10 university, Saturday afternoons are dominated by football watching. Go State! And, finally, we can see the Big Lights over the local high school football field from our backyard.


7. Salted Caramel Mochas from Starbucks. 
I love Starbucks--and coffee--just about any time of the year, but I tried this one on a whim the other day. A nice cup of hot coffee on a brisk day is quite a good treat!

8. Sweaters & Boots.
When the fall weather rolls in, I get to pull out my knits and zip up my boots. I bought my best pair of boots from Bass sometime before Griffin was born -- nearly ten years ago! 

9. Voting.
I really cannot stand politics, but I love having the opportunity to vote, and always take my kids along so they know it's part of their civic responsibility.

10. Nature Walks & Collecting.
Going for a nature walk with my munchkins is one of my favorite things to do. It's even more fun when we can pick up acorns, branches, berries, and other fun little bits of nature to bring home and decorate with. Scarier but also fun are the corn mazes. A really fantastic one is not far from our house!

11. Fallen Leaves.
Crunching through fallen leaves on more regular walks is a fall favorite, too. One of the bonuses of our newer-development-home is that we don't have to do much raking!

12. Fall flowers. 
The mums I bought last month are looking a little worse for wear (I'm really not a gardener), but there are so many other pretty flowers associated with this time of year. In fact, I just made a table display with a big, silk sunflower and some faux leaves.

13. Back to School.
By the time we change the calendar to October, all of the little kinks associated with back-to-school have worked themselves out. We're accustomed to our schedule and can focus on Scholastic book orders and the scent of Crayolas. 

14. Rugby shirts.
Just like I love my own fall fashions, getting the kids dressed for school is super fun! And I love that Griffin will not only wear rugby shirts but prefers them. Oh this kid!

15. A glass of wine and a good book.
Not that it happens often (in fact, almost never) but the idea of curling up on the couch on a cold, dark night with a brand new hardcover and a glass of red is pretty enticing.

Bela, age 3, at our small rental house

16. Harry Potter.
I don't know why the boy who lived should be so closely associated with the fall for me, but he is. For movie night this week, we watched The Sorcerer's Stone (new to us on Blue-ray) and yesterday Griffin and Bela took my broom out on the driveway to play quidditch--complete with Griff hacking up the golden snitch at the end.

17. Hearty Food.
Soups, and especially chili, are my favorite at this time of year. I also love a good dip with some chips while watching all that football.

18. Pumpkin Pie.
There are so many delicious little variations of pumpkin pie that I've made and enjoyed over the years--bars, tarts, and muffins. I can't wait to pull out my recipes!

19. Farm stands and farmer's markets.
Perennial favorites of mine, this is a great time of year for some produce. Unfortunately, our favorite orchard is closed for u-pick this year because the weather decimated their crop. But, we've still been able to enjoy Honey Crisps from the grocery store along with apple cider and cinnamon sugar donuts.

Griff & Bela last year at home

20. Trick-or-treating.
It's one of Griffin and Bela's favorite activities of the year and they plan and discuss what they'll be for a long time in advance.

Last year, Griffin was Naruto, a Japanese anime character, and Bela was the star clown from Jojo's Circus. 


I love handing out the candy (and eating the candy...) as well as decorating for Halloween. We've already got some pieces out. How about you??










This post didn't show a lot of photos of my decor, and I doubt there are any good organizing tips, but what I hoped to convey was what's most important about my house: the people I share it with. I hope you will check back tomorrow for more of "31 Days to Lovely Little Spaces!"
 

Seven Simple Steps to Dealing with a Mess

There are mornings when I wake up, look around my house, and think I am a fraud for trying to write a blog about home organization and decor. Today is one of those days. 

It's more than just negative self-talk (which can be a really effective motivator for me, although it is not nice--I would never say to my friends or children the things I say to myself), this house IS kind of messy and out-of-control pretty much everywhere I look.

Rather than wallow in gloom, though, I have a few easy steps that I know I can take that will make a difference in how I feel about how this place looks.

1. Put something away. Toss something out.

 Source

Notice what is NOT on this counter: no box of cereal yet to be returned to the pantry, no half-finished lamp project or costume that needs to be stitched up, and no yesterday's newspaper. Put something away. Toss something out. These tasks take less than a minute but make a big difference in how your space feels. Plus, they compound. So once you put away the cereal box, you see yesterday's newspaper and can put that in the recycling or garbage. Before you know it, your counter is clear!

2. Make a decision & take action.

In the last tip, I mentioned the half-finished lamp project and the costume that needed to be stitched up. There are times when these types of projects overtake my house, either because I don't have the time to finish them or I haven't decided yet what to do about them. While the ideal situation is to "make a decision & take action" even deciding to move the project to a less conspicuous spot can be a good solution. For now, the lamp is in a corner of my bedroom (where it will eventually "live" once the project is finished) and the costume is in the laundry room near my needle and thread.

3. Return things to where they belong.

Source

I bet this gal is going to hang her coat in the closet and not drape it over that blue couch (speaking of hanging, the source article has a great tip about hanging art in unusual spots around your home). Have a place for things and put them there. If you are struggling to figure out where things should go, start to pay attention to where you use whatever it is and what's available. For example, we had a huge mess of chargers on a kitchen counter AND we had an empty drawer in a nearby table. Voila! A charging drawer.

4. Organize your entry.

 

Source

Line shoes up and put them under a bench or table, or just against the wall if neither of those are in your entryway (like mine currently). It makes a big difference visually to see a neat line of shoes versus things kicked off wherever they land. Bonus, you won't trip over anything lying in the middle of the floor AND you'll know where those Nikes or glitter boots are before you need to head out the door to get to school or work!

5. Fold it, fluff it, straighten it up.

Source

If you love to snuggle under a blanket or afghan, don't leave it in a pile. Fold it. And fluff the throw pillows or couch cushions. Not only does it look neater, but it will preserve the life of the sofa or armchair. Move on to straightening the items on your end tables, and before you know it, your living room or family room is neat and tidy!

6. Pick it up. Clear the floor.

 Source

This is my mantra for dealing with toys. We see it all here--Pokemon cards, Legos, Polly Pockets, and other random assorted kid stuff. While it's truly great for the kids to be able to spread out to play, a time comes when it all gets picked up or else someone will a) step on it and either injure themselves or break it, or b) suck it up in the vacuum. A variety of baskets are handy for collecting these items as well as making it easier to carry their stuff throughout the house. And as the above photo demonstrates, it can be cute!

7. Make the beds and open the curtains.

Source

On the best of mornings I make my bed and the kids make their own. Even little Bela can pull the covers up and straighten her pillows. It's just one of those little routines that you can feel good about. 
 

Source

And, it doesn't feel like the day has started until I've opened the curtains to let the sunshine in!

Each of these steps takes only a minute or two to accomplish. But when done together as you wait for your coffee to brew in the morning, or at night before you hit the hay (minus #7, of course), or even all throughout the day, it will make a huge difference in how you experience your home.

**My month-long blogging extravaganza "31 Days to Lovely Little Spaces" begins on Monday. Join me here as I transform some of the less functional spaces in our home.


 

My Dream Home

The other night I dreamed about my house. These dreams occur regularly enough, and over the years I've figured out that they aren't really so much about where I live as who I am. In dreams, the house represents my identity. 

For a long time, I would dream that I found a fantastic house, but it had shadowy, hidden rooms filled with ghosts. I was terrified by the mystery of these rooms. Another time, I dreamed that I had the perfect house but it was making me very sick.

After I got divorced, the house dreams changed. I now had the courage to go into these hidden rooms and found that they weren't scary. In fact, it was exciting to have the extra space. Usually there were two kitchens (I'm not sure what that meant). And one night I dreamed that I had a really nice house if I could just get rid of all the junk the last owner had left there. 

Source

 

The other night, though, the house in my dream was so like the one I live in today it seemed like an omen. Like I am where I am supposed to be. The only difference was that the ceiling was more like the one in the photo above (mine is just drywall and no beams). 

If only I had photos of some of the other dream houses... :)

Do you ever dream about houses? Do you think they represent your identity (or are they just places)? Please let me know in the comments section. I'm very curious!